Chapter 348: The Last Wish

Police Station.

Interrogation Room.

"Why did you steal a corpse?"

"I didn't steal," the man who had been taken to the Police Station lifted his head and glanced at the officer conducting the interrogation.

The officer sneered, having not expected the man's mouth to be so brazen; the corpse had been found in his home, yet he still tried to argue.

"You didn't steal? The corpse we saw in your room is proof—both body and perpetrator. Are you still trying to argue?"

"It's not an argument," the man said, staring unflinchingly into the officer's eyes. "It was her last wish. While she was alive she couldn't be with me; after death she could. If you hadn't arrived a step earlier, I would have gone down to be with her."

The officer looked puzzled: "A last wish?"

The man nodded and then began to explain his motive for stealing the corpse.

"Well, the last wish—Xiaoyu and I were a couple, but her parents thought I was incompetent, forcibly broke us apart, confiscated her phone, prevented her from contacting me, even found her a marriage prospect and forced her into a blind date."

"Xiaoyu refused, so they kept her locked at home. In the end she saw no way out, pretended to compromise by going to the blind date, claimed she would follow her parents' choice, and thus managed to get her phone back from them, allowing her to contact me. We planned it: she would kill herself first, I would take her corpse out, then I would go down to be with her."

"Since we couldn't be together while alive, we would become a pair of doomed lovers after death. I originally planned to take her out of the hospital, then bring her to a picturesque, tranquil place to rest together... I hadn't even had time to change her into a nice dress before we set off, and you arrived."

After hearing the man's account, the officer remained silent for a while.

But he soon spoke again: "Even if everything you say is true, your actions still constitute corpse theft. The law states that theft, insult, or destruction of a corpse are all crimes."

I expected the man to try to defend himself further, but instead he simply nodded: "I understand. Since you've caught me, I have nothing more to say; punish me as you see fit."

"How you are punished is not up to us; our job is only to catch you. Continue your confession: what method did you use, and how did you create the Fake Corpse scenario?" the officer continued.

He was curious about what method the man had employed to make the corpse appear to chase people like a Fake Corpse.

"I'm trained in mechanics, so I'm handy. I prepared a device beforehand, then when I went to the Tai Ping Jian I strapped it to the corpse. A metal frame supports the body from falling; I added two small wheels to the bottom of the frame so the corpse could move. I also put a floor‑dragging long skirt on her, which covers the frame and wheels. I tied a thin fishing line to both myself and the corpse, allowing it to move. Beneath the frame are two arms linked to the wheels; when the wheels turn, the arms swing back and forth, and through the skirt it creates the illusion that the corpse's legs are moving."

The officer nodded slightly after listening: "So that's how it is."

The Fake Corpse phenomenon simply does not exist; a corpse chasing people is pure nonsense.

All of this was because the man built a clever contraption and used a floor‑dragging long skirt as a cover, creating the Fake Corpse illusion.

The man expended so much effort likely because he knew that outright corpse theft would quickly draw the Police's attention, so he devised this idea.

He attempted to mislead the Police with the scientifically impossible Fake Corpse phenomenon.

He didn't expect the Police to be so fast; just after leaving the hospital, before he could act further, they caught him.

On the right side of the Interrogation Room was a one‑way glass; the local officer conducted the interrogation inside, while Xu Mo and Chen Ke watched from outside.

As the man explained his method, Chen Ke outside the Interrogation Room sighed, "All this trouble, and it turned out to be a love‑suicide..."

After finishing the interrogation, the officer stepped out and expressed his thanks to Xu Mo and Chen Ke.

"Thanks to both of you for the help. If it weren't for you, we might never have solved this case; by the time we uncover the truth, the criminal would have..."

"Indeed, without your help we would have been a step late; then we would probably only find two corpses, and the case would become a Headless Unsolved Case."

"Since the case is wrapped up, let me treat you both to a meal!" a police officer suggested.

They were genuinely grateful to Xu Mo and Chen Ke; without them the case might not have been solved so quickly.

Especially Xu Mo—had he not spotted the irregularity on the surveillance footage in time, relying only on them they might never have noticed the problem.

By then, even if they could identify the suspect, it would be too late, since in the recent interrogation the criminal mentioned he was preparing to take the deceased to a picturesque spot to rest together.

"Meal... never mind, another day. Another day, I just want to go back to the hospital and rest," Chen Ke, now half‑asleep, said, wanting to rest rather than eat.

Today he and Xu Mo got up early to catch a flight, but the flight crashed en route; although they survived, Chen Ke broke his arm and spent the whole day in the hospital.

The accident and the day's events were too intense; Chen Ke's spirit was already exhausted, and now, after working on the case until after 2 a. m., he truly couldn't hold on—he needs a bed more than a meal!

Of course, Xu Mo had no such problem; his mental state was fine. Before coming to the hospital he had already rested in a hotel for over two hours, and thanks to his System Reward's Turtle Breathing Technique, he only needs two hours of sleep a day to stay energetic. Having just finished his two‑plus hours of sleep, Xu Mo was not sleepy at all.

Chen Ke's reminder made the officer realize how late it already was.

They were on night duty, so sleeping during the day and staying up at night was no issue, but Xu Mo and Chen Ke were different; they hadn't slept all day, and after the daytime crash their mental stamina was severely depleted.

"Oops, it's already past 2 a. m., look at me... Sorry, sorry, I lost track of time. I was planning to treat you to a meal to show my gratitude, but never mind. I'll see you back to rest now; we'll talk about the meal tomorrow, and we can arrange it then."

"Alright, we'll talk later."

At that moment, a system notification sound rang again in Xu Mo's mind.

"You have successfully captured the Escapee and earned a reward—limited‑time one‑yuan flash sale!"

…