Chapter 318: Silver Needle Pierces the Sky!

Mu Lingxue gripped her phone, her fingertips still trembling; half her mind was Lin Yuan's analysis, half was her trust in Yin Yirou's professionalism.

She hesitated for two seconds, then still pressed the dial button.

The phone rang three times, finally getting connected.

"Hello."

Yin Yirou's voice came from the earpiece, carrying slight driving noise, still cold without a hint of warmth.

"Forensic Doctor Yin, it's me, Mu Lingxue."

Mu Lingxue took a deep breath, trying to keep her tone steady: "There's something urgent… my friend Lin Yuan says that the 'security guard corpse' on your car is problematic; he's not really dead, he's faking it, possibly the fourth robber."

On the other end, silence for a second, then came an extremely faint cold laugh.

"Captain Mu, have you been reading too many novels lately?"

Yin Yirou's tone was full of mockery: "I used professional equipment to test; heart rate, blood pressure, pupil reflex—all signs of death. How could he fake death?"

"That guy surnamed Lin doesn't even know basic coroner knowledge, casually spouting nonsense about 'false death technique,' and you believe it?"

"He's just bored, trying to show off at the crime scene; don't let his words interfere with our work."

Mu Lingxue was choked up, just about to say more details she'd discovered at the scene about the killer.

Suddenly from the phone came a "clang" of a heavy object striking.

Immediately after came the assistant's terrified scream: "Ah! The corpse moved!"

In the phone, Yin Yirou's voice instantly changed tone, no longer mocking, only shock: "What?"

From the phone came the screech of an out-of-control steering wheel, plus the piercing screech of tires rubbing the ground.

"He, he sat up!"

In the phone, the assistant's voice trembled with tears: "His hand is moving! It's reaching toward us!"

Mu Lingxue's heart leapt to her throat as she shouted into the phone: "Forensic Doctor Yin! Stop the car quickly! Immediately inject him with a sedative! Don't let him get up!!"

From the earpiece came a muffled "bang," as if someone had hit the car seat.

Yin Yirou's voice became hurried, with panting: "Don't panic! I'm braking!"

Then came the sound of fabric rubbing, plus Yin Yirou's lowered shout: "Don't move!"

Then, suddenly from the phone came a burst of electrical static, the voice instantly blurred.

Mu Lingxue gripped the phone tightly, shouting continuously into the earpiece: "Forensic Doctor Yin! How are you? Can you hear me?"

But that end only had intermittent static, occasionally mixed with muffled cries; no clear response could be heard anymore.

Her palms instantly soaked with cold sweat, she turned to look at Lin Yuan, eyes full of panic: "Something happened on the phone! The corpse really moved!"

Mu Lingxue gripped the phone that hadn't been hung up, her knuckles whitening from force.

Lin Yuan's face also changed; indeed he had guessed correctly.

Mu Lingxue suddenly turned and shouted into the walkie-talkie: "All teams, pay attention! Immediately contact the General Bureau! Contact the Traffic Management Department! Block all highway entrances/exits and national road toll stations across the city!"

"Retrieve all street surveillance along Forensic Doctor Yin's vehicle route, focusing on spots where the vehicle deviated from the road!"

The order was clear and urgent, transmitted via walkie-talkie to every detective's ears.

The top priority is to find Forensic Doctor Yin immediately! Otherwise, she's likely to meet misfortune!

The detectives sprang into action—some ran toward police cars, some grabbed walkie-talkies to contact the command center; the scene instantly fell into tense busyness.

Lin Yuan quickly walked to Mu Lingxue's side, tone grave: "That robber is no ordinary; he has practiced the Turtle Breath Technique from ancient martial arts."

"The Turtle Breath Technique can lower his breathing and heartbeat to the extreme, simulating a death state, usually maintainable for about half an hour. When Forensic Doctor Yin tested earlier, it happened to be the peak of his Turtle Breath Technique taking effect, so no abnormality was detected."

"Moreover, I'm not sure if he has also practiced other ancient martial arts; such people have environmental perception far beyond ordinary, making it easy to evade routine checks."

Mu Lingxue's pupils contracted sharply; she had only thought the robber cunning, never expecting him to have such ability.

Lin Yuan stepped out onto the pavement, scanned the surroundings, then suddenly crouched, fingertips lightly brushing the roadside weeds.

A faint brown mark clung to the grass blades, nearly invisible under the light.

"This is left by the robber."

He raised his hand, showing the mark to Mu Lingxue: "In TCM trace analysis, 'observing the mark to know the substance'—those who practice ancient martial arts have solid qi and blood; when they set foot, the soil forms subtle compaction, completely different from the loose traces of ordinary people."

"Moreover, this mark contains trace amounts of sweat crystals, exuded when his Turtle Breath Technique waned and his qi and blood recovered—his constitution tends toward dry heat, his sweat carries a faint iron-rust taste, a characteristic of long-term hard training."

Mu Lingxue leaned in for a look, and indeed saw subtle soil compaction traces at the grass roots.

She had only paid attention to footprints before, overlooking these more concealed details.

"Where is he heading now?"

Her tone gained a bit of urgency, and also a bit more trust in Lin Yuan.

"Forensic Doctor Yin's car was heading west along Wenyi West Road; we'll follow this road."

Lin Yuan stood, his gaze sweeping the road surface: "In TCM, 'using traces to determine the path'—stones pressed by tires leave different reflections—the forensic car's tire tread is deep, the edges of pressed stones show subtle wear; we follow this trace."

Mu Lingxue immediately nodded, opened the car door: "Lin Yuan, ride with me in one car and give directions."

Lin Yuan bent to get in the car, sitting in the front passenger seat.

The police car instantly started, engine roar tearing through the night sky, speeding west along Wenyi West Road.

Outside the window, streetlights flashed backward; Lin Yuan's gaze stayed fixed on the road, occasionally telling Mu Lingxue to slow down.

"At the upcoming intersection, turn left—the stone wear on that road segment just now became denser, indicating the vehicle slowed here."

"Go another two hundred meters ahead, watch the roadside drainage ditch—mud splashed by the tires adheres to the ditch edge, direction unchanged, still heading west."

Thus, under Lin Yuan's guidance, the police car traveled about two kilometers.

Lin Yuan suddenly shouted: "Stop! Right here!"

Mu Lingxue immediately pressed the brake; the car steadied at the roadside.

The two got out; Lin Yuan pointed to a clear tire mark on the road:

"Look, the tire print here is deeper, the edges show friction marks—indicating the vehicle stopped here, and the stop wasn't long; the mark hasn't been blown away by wind."

Mu Lingxue crouched down and shone a flashlight on the tire prints.

The prints were clear; they were indeed the tire pattern of the forensic doctor's vehicle.

She immediately took out her walkie-talkie and contacted the command center: "Check the surveillance at the point two kilometers west on Wenyi West Road, see where Forensic Doctor Yin's car went after that!"

The walkie-talkie brought the command center's reply, voice tinged with anxiety: "Captain Mu, we can't find it! This is a surveillance blind spot; three hundred meters west is the entrance to North High Peak Forest Park, and the surveillance there has been out due to line maintenance for three days and hasn't been restored."

"A surveillance blind spot?"

Mu Lingxue's face sank: "In other words, the car disappeared here?"

She looked around; the roadside was dense forest, and farther west lay the entrance to North High Peak Forest Park—only black tree silhouettes were visible in the night.

The forensic doctor's car had vanished, leaving only the tire prints on the road, still extending toward the park entrance.

Lin Yuan walked to the end of the tire tracks, crouched, and pressed his fingers into the ground.

"The soil's moisture and stickiness match that of North High Peak Mountain."

He rose, his gaze toward the park entrance, and added: "Besides, there's a faint hint of disinfectant here—the scent of Forensic Doctor Yin's uniform mixed with the rusty smell of the bandits; they must have entered the mountains from here."

"The bandits knew this was a surveillance blind spot, so they deliberately hid the car nearby, then took Forensic Doctor Yin up the mountain trail to escape."

Mu Lingxue immediately shouted into the walkie-talkie: "All teams, attention! The target may have entered North High Peak Forest Park! Immediately dispatch personnel to seal all park entrances; the rest follow me into the mountains to search!"

She turned to Lin Yuan, eyes firm: "Lin Yuan, we still need your help judging the direction."

Lin Yuan nodded, pulled out the bottle of herbal ash powder from his pocket: "After we go into the mountains, I can use this to find their scent traces—don't worry."

The two got back in the car and drove toward the park entrance; the police convoy behind followed closely, their headlights forming a long line of light in the night as they headed deep into the mountains.

……

Soon, the road ended ahead; the car couldn't go further, so Mu Lingxue led Lin Yuan and a large group of police out of the vehicle and charged straight into North High Peak National Forest Park……

Late at night, the entire national forest park was pitch black.

Dozens of police wielded flashlights, constantly searching the pitch‑black forest!

Mu Lingxue followed Lin Yuan, pressing deeper into the search.

Lin Yuan led the way, a pinch of herbal ash powder between his fingertips, occasionally bringing it close to the ground to sniff.

His sense of smell, already keen from studying traditional Chinese medicine, was now fully focused on distinguishing scents—

Besides the forest's decaying leaf odor, the air carried a faint trace of bloodiness.

That was the residual blood on the bandits—left from when Lin Yuan's silver needle nicked them, carrying a hint of rusty tang, spreading all the way into the depths of the primeval forest.

"This way."

Lin Yuan halted, pointing to a dense thicket on the right: "The blood smell's stronger—they must have just passed here."

Mu Lingxue immediately signaled the police to slow their steps, drew her sidearm, and followed behind Lin Yuan, trying to make no sound.

The deeper they went into the forest, the denser the trees became; moonlight was blocked by leaves and branches, leaking through gaps as scattered specks of light.

Gradually, Lin Yuan ventured deeper, moving swiftly enough to leave Mu Lingxue and the police squad behind.

Lin Yuan alone sped through the dark primeval forest, tracking the bandits by the scent at the scene.

As he went deeper, Lin Yuan's steps suddenly stopped, his eyes sharpening instantly—

He heard a muffled struggle ahead, plus a man's heavy breathing.

Lin Yuan crouched low and crept silently toward the source of the sound.

After wading through waist‑high weeds, the sight before him made Lin Yuan's pupils contract sharply.

Yin Yirou was pinned beneath a large tree by the bandits, her wrists bound behind her with rough vines, already leaving red marks where they'd bitten into her skin.

A corner of her forensic uniform had been torn away, exposing the pale skin of her shoulder, which gleamed like cold jade in the dappled moonlight.

Her disheveled hair clung to her cheeks, a few strands covering her eyes, yet they could not hide the fear and resolve in her gaze.

Her usually firm lips quivered slightly, taking on a pale pink from fright, while her sharp brows knit together, gaining a touch of pitiful fragility.

This pitiful appearance contrasted starkly with her usual cool, beautiful forensic demeanor—yet it made her look even more exquisite, tugging at the heartstrings.

The bandit holding her was none other than the man who had posed as a security guard; his disguise was gone, his eyes gleaming with greed.

One hand clamped hard over Yin Yirou's mouth to silence her; the other slid down her shoulder, its rough touch making her tremble all over.

"Don't move."

The bandit's voice was hoarse and lecherous, brimming with restrained desire:

"You're so beautiful—prettier than any woman I've ever seen. Behave, and I'll let you off easy."

His gaze roved over Yin Yirou's face and body like a hungry wolf eyeing prey, the corner of his mouth twisting into an ugly grin.

"Anyway, this is primeval forest—no one will come to save you, and those cops won't find this place. Hey, little lady, why not let me have my way? If I'm in a good mood, I might even let you live."

Yin Yirou struggled fiercely, her eyes filled with hatred and despair, tears spilling uncontrollably.

She, who could dissect a corpse without changing expression, now found herself unable to suppress fear in the face of the bandit's bestial lust—

Her struggles were useless against him; his astonishing strength made the hand over her mouth tighten further, leaving her barely able to breathe.

Seeing her stop resisting, the bandit's grin widened.

He slowly released his grip on her mouth, then reached for the collar of her forensic uniform, yanking it hard—with a rip, the collar tore open further, revealing her delicate collarbone.

"Tsk, what a great figure—such a waste to hide it in a forensic uniform."

The bandit's breathing grew heavier, his lust nearly spilling over: "I'll take you right here today, taste the flavor of a female police forensic doctor—heehee, you're bound to be fragrant and sweet."

Saying that, he leaned toward Yin Yirou's cheek, letting out a nauseating chuckle.

The bandit stuck out his disgusting tongue, intending to lick the beautiful forensic doctor's skin……

The bandit's tongue slowly inched forward……

Yin Yirou's nails dug deep into her palms as she turned her head away in despair……

Just as the bandit's tongue was about to touch her ear, a thin shaft of silver light suddenly shot from the bushes behind and to the side!

Lin Yuan, curled in the shadows of the corner, his wrist trembling slightly, sent three silver needles flying with pinpoint accuracy toward the bandit's Fengchi point at the base of the skull.

The faint whistling of the Silver Needle cutting through the air was almost drowned by the wind, yet it pierced straight into the bandit's flesh!

Among them, there was also a Silver Needle that directly pierced into the bandit's tongue!