Special Forces Medic-Chapter 787 - 754: The Bizarre Deceased
Xiao Lin looked at the place he had drawn out before, still left there, the marks unchanged. There were a few more rows of footprints inside, still half a footprint. The clothes hanging on the balcony had been moved, replaced with new ones, while one species of fish was missing from the fish tank, replaced by two days of red. The aquatic plants swayed in the water, with floating debris clinging to them, and the water began to turn cloudy, with fish food scattered on the surface. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮
Xiao Lin walked carefully on the floor, with Mu Rongyun following curiously behind him, not knowing what he was looking at.
He pulled open the drawer, where the clothes were already neatly arranged. The colors of the underwear had changed from bright shades to darker ones, and the tags being torn off the imprints and the wrinkled bed sheets were smoothed out. The folds he had previously left were already flattened.
"Someone's been here after I was," Xiao Lin concluded.
The bed still showed no signs of being slept in, and the sheets, because of being ironed, were now soft with a bone-like structure instead of the stiff starchiness. Lifting a corner of the blanket, his palm brushed over the surface of the pillow, with the same soft, bone-like texture. He couldn't understand what kind of state would prompt ironing just for the sake of it, with no signs of use, so what was the purpose of such actions?
"This place is so strange!" The first thing Mu Rongyun said to Xiao Lin when he returned from walking around the room was suspicious. "Who was the original owner of this room?"
When Mu Rongyun was able to say the words 'original owner,' Xiao Lin realized he'd found the right person. "How can you tell that the current appearance wasn't left by the original owner?"
"Things are too new, the room is too clean, there are too few signs of life, the clothes, though washed, show zero signs of being worn. More importantly, the gas meter reading." Mu Rongyun turned his head, occasionally knocking his fingers against the wall, a habit for people like Xiao Lin. Wherever they went, they would think of secret compartments or hidden layers. Mu Rongyun exhaled deeply and sat on the sofa, naturally lighting a cigarette. "The kitchen utensils are new, not yet unsealed, but judging from the meter reading, they seem to have been used for quite a long period. There is grease in the sink, and rice water in the reservoir edge of the rice cooker. Is this enough, or are there more examples? Why did you bring me here?"
"This was Xiao Mei's residence before she died. In fact, someone was still here last week, and the traces at the time have been replaced. To be precise, during this period, someone else visited here, and what you see now is all new. However, during the investigation, the surrounding neighbors said no one had ever come in or out."
"What does that suggest?"
"Nothing. In the place circled, there is a half-footprint inside." Xiao Lin pointed to the place outlined with white lines. "Now new footprints have appeared inside, and I can't explain such an action. The person living here has wiped clean all the traces in the room, except leaving that area. Under what circumstances do you need to tiptoe to walk?"
"A dead person's room has signs of living people; is that what you're saying?"
"Xiao Mei was a hostess here. It would be impossible for no one to recognize her. If such a large area of items were replaced, would you not notice it?"
"I would!" Mu Rongyun answered straightforwardly. Xiao Lin let out a sound and then laughed loudly.
"You could indeed notice something like that." Xiao Lin walked silently to the balcony, and at the same position stood a person. He did not dodge but looked towards the line of sight of the other. "No matter how mysterious a room may seem, it's human-made, but this person in front of me appears even more peculiar than the room."
"Knowing that such a person exists, why don't you act?" The room was filled with Mu Rongyun's smoke, which couldn't be cleared even with the window open.
"It's now six in the evening. Are you interested in staying here with me to wait?" Xiao Lin walked away from the balcony, out of the other person's line of sight, and turned off the light.
"I'm not interested!" Mu Rongyun extinguished the cigarette butt in the ashtray. "Are you trying to say there's an issue with my autopsy report?"
"There are no problems with your report. I just feel that the deceased Xiao Mei might not be the Xiao Mei we're looking for. In other words, from the beginning, I walked into a misconception."
"The deceased is a fiend?"
"Yes, from the start, there was this Xiao Mei, a hostess, a trafficker in illegal drugs, Yao Zheng's mistress, etc. Then there was a corpse, and your report naturally framed Xiao Mei as the dead person. I'm hypothesizing—what if the Xiao Mei we're looking for is alive and well?"
"The deceased is an ordinary person, and the real connection is still alive. Do you want me to verify this fact?"
"Don't you think you have an obligation?"
Mu Rongyun's hand rested on the doorknob as he stared into Xiao Lin's eyes. In the darkness, he saw so clearly, a kind of provocation, a challenge to his domain.
"I'm just a forensic expert, responsible for the body in my hands, and whether she is the one you're looking for is none of my concern."
"No, you're wrong!" Xiao Lin shook his head with a soft smile. "You shouldn't want to stay in this room for a completely different reason. Is it because you're afraid that being with me in the same room for too long will infect and shake your inner self?"
"Haha!" Mu Rongyun forced a couple of laughs. "Is it that you've overestimated yourself, or I've underestimated myself?"
"Whether to stay or go is up to you." Encountering that person on the balcony again was no coincidence, and having two Secretary Lis wasn't a coincidence either. "Fourth Master is very good at replication!"
Eventually, Mu Rongyun stayed. He couldn't explain the reason, just felt he should, and indeed wanted to know why the person he'd previously autopsied appeared in this room, while the neighbors acted as if she was a transparent entity. Fourth Master is good at replication, and Xiao Lin's words piqued his interest.
As summer approached, the night always fell late. When the night finally turned completely dark, it was already close to seven. The two people sitting on the sofa hadn't spoken since that moment, as if they could predict something and placed a wager for tonight. Waiting was their only method of verification.
In the silence, listening to each other's breathing was a very subtle feeling. Xiao Lin could sense that Mu Rongyun was also following his inhalation patterns with his breathing at that moment. He didn't know how to describe such a mindset; at that moment, the two of them were in tune, that's all he could say. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
