Chapter 192: Well, This Is Just… Wow

【Ding! Congratulations, host! Case sign-in successful.】

【System reward: Skill – Lockpicking Expert.】

【System task issued: Solve the theft case.】

【Time limit: 10 days.】

【If the host completes the task within the time limit, an additional system skill will be awarded: Camel’s Endurance!】

【If the host fails to complete the task within the time limit, the awarded system skill will be revoked!】

【Countdown starts now.】

A flood of knowledge about lockpicking, techniques, and skills surged into Xiao Yu’s mind. He stood there, stunned for a moment. 

Was his system seriously trying to turn him into a thief?

Shaking his head, Xiao Yu thought this was another one of those abilities he wouldn’t really need for now. His system had a way of handing out skills whether he needed them or not. No choice. Just take it.

“Man, this system really knows how to complicate things.”

And what was Camel’s Endurance? Like the endurance of a camel? Surviving without food or water?

He vaguely remembered hearing someone say that camels were pretty amazing. They coul go about ten days without eating or drinking. For humans, not eating or drinking for just three days can be fatal.

“Ten days, huh?”

The system’s time limit weighed on Xiao Yu’s mind as he frowned. Ten days wasn’t a lot of time, meaning this case might not be as simple as it seemed, but not too hard either. 

Glancing at the case file on his computer, Xiao Yu stood up.

***

In the Captain’s office.

“What?” Captain Zhao Changshan stared at Xiao Yu in disbelief. “You want to investigate a theft case?!”

His reaction was almost as if he’d just been told that aliens were invading Earth. Completely shocked, utterly baffled.

The Criminal Investigation Unit hardly ever dealt with theft cases. That was more the territory of lower-level units. Having seasoned detectives chasing petty thieves would be like stealing someone else’s job. It was beneath them.

Xiao Yu was no ordinary detective. His skills, his brain—he was always on the big cases, major cases. He typically dealt with high-profile, serious crimes–the kind of cases that involved the national security team, where top agents came along just to keep up.

And now you’re telling me… he wants to investigate a petty theft case?

Was the world about to end? Or had his prized protégé lost his mind?

“Yeah,” Xiao Yu nodded. “That train theft case from six years ago.”

“You mean that case?” Zhao Changshan’s expression shifted as the memory resurfaced. 

That particular case had indeed been handled by the Criminal Investigation Unit back then, but they hadn’t found any useful leads. In the end, the case was shelved, waiting for new evidence to resurface for further investigation. 

This sort of outcome wasn’t unusual. If there were leads, they’d naturally pursue them. If not, it was often written off as a coincidence. In short, they might have overthought things at the time. There was no sense in wasting too many resources on a dead-end case like that.

“Are you bored or something?” 

Zhao Changshan gave him a look like he was questioning Xiao Yu’s sanity. It was written all over his face: Maybe you should check in with the brain department?

‘Come on, boss, don’t be so quick to write me off. You might be eating your words later.’ 

Xiao Yu suppressed a laugh. “Yeah, I’ve got a bit of free time, but I feel like this case has major issues. It could end up being a big deal.”

“Huh?” Zhao Changshan was taken aback. “A big deal?”

A theft case—how big could it really be?

“I have a hunch that if we dig deeper, and if my theory holds, it could be the start of something huge.”

Xiao Yu wasn’t going to lay all his cards on the table yet. “This case might very well turn out to be a major one.”

But what was up with the skeptical look on the captain’s face? Had Xiao Yu’s reputation quietly taken a hit without him noticing?

That couldn’t be right.

“Hmph!” Zhao Changshan sucked in a breath, clearly surprised. “You’re saying it’s that serious?”

“It could be even more serious than you think,” Xiao Yu nodded confidently.

After a brief pause to think it over, Zhao Changshan’s face turned grim. “How do you want to allocate the manpower?”

“Not too many people, just have Guo Qiang’s team follow up with me. That’ll be enough.”

Xiao Yu shrugged casually. A few people to assist him would suffice.

“Go ahead and investigate, then.” Zhao Changshan, ever the decisive type, agreed. 

His straightforward nature meant that once he made up his mind, he would commit fully, no second-guessing.

And so, Xiao Yu took charge of the case, reopening the investigation. The first stop? The forensics department.

Why there? 

When that family of three was found dead after the theft, their deaths had been ruled a suicide. There would have been an autopsy report stored in the archives, just like the case file itself. Since the case remained unsolved, the records would not have been destroyed.

That afternoon, Xiao Yu headed to the forensics department and made his way straight to the archives. 

He read through the autopsy report on the family of three who had supposedly committed suicide.

At first glance, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

The suicide of this family of three was rather bizarre.

Did they mix rat poison and cockroach poison to cook porridge? Then the whole family died from the poisoning.

The victims were a husband, a wife, and their son. The source of the poison was also traced. It was bought by the wife. The scene even had a note left by the wife, and handwriting analysis confirmed it was hers.

With no signs of struggle and no other suspicious evidence, it was concluded that the wife bought the poison, and the three of them committed suicide.

After six years, it was impossible to preserve the bodies. The relatives claimed the remains and had them cremated.

But was it really suicide? 

Xiao Yu frowned, thinking for a moment before asking the records manager, “Is Dr. He Li still around?”

He Li was the forensic pathologist who had performed the autopsy on the family.

“Yeah, she’s here,” the person nodded. “She’s working today, in the autopsy room.”

***

As soon as Xiao Yu stepped inside the autopsy room the cold air hit him, thick with the scent of disinfectant. Sometimes, disinfectant wasn’t just used for cleaning but also to mask the smell of blood and decaying bodies.

In a place like the forensics department, they probably received bodies for examination every few days.

When Xiao Yu entered the room, the first thing he saw was two autopsy tables placed in the center. On one of the tables was a body, and a middle-aged female doctor was conducting an autopsy.

The scene was…

The body’s chest had been cut open, with some internal organs and flesh removed and placed on trays beside the table.

Next to the forensic doctor were two metal trays, holding tools like an organ scale, scalpels, dissection knives, a bone saw, and a cranial saw.

Watching the female doctor’s gloved hands, already covered in dark, foul-smelling blood, Xiao Yu couldn’t help but think of a butcher shop. But the difference was, instead of livestock, the body being disassembled here was human.

People without a strong stomach might faint or even vomit at the sight.

Xiao Yu’s lips twitched slightly, though his face remained calm as he looked at the forensic doctor.

Their eyes met—the pathologist’s gaze was blank, distant, and entirely desensitized.

“…”

Xiao Yu couldn’t help but feel like the doctor was looking at him the same way she looked at the corpse.

This is… seriously messed up!