Chapter 1494: Being Sweet with the Forensic Doctor 07

Emerald Water Park is huge; they only finished a thorough investigation the next morning.

At this point, it had been three days since Zhou Ming's body was discovered; they had gathered many clues, but couldn't connect them.

The bad news is that the investigation in Emerald Water Park has made no substantive progress; aside from proving the killer tampered with the surveillance and knew Zhou Ming, there are no other clues.

They questioned the night-shift staff, but they said they didn't know anything; it's an old parking lot where all sorts of people come and go, making it impossible to watch everyone closely.

But there is also good news: the old man that Jin Chen suspected was confirmed by the landlady yesterday during surveillance to have only glanced a few times; he isn't a resident of their community, and they thought he was someone from the neighboring community who knew Zhou Ming's family.

They couldn't find the old man's whereabouts last night, but this morning they spotted him on surveillance, bundled up and buying cigarettes, and caught him.

I really am not the killer.

In the interrogation room, the old man unexpectedly spoke candidly: "You ask what you want, I answered what I could at the time; how could you say I'm the killer?"

Yi Tian finally got a clear look at the old man's face—he was just an ordinary person in the crowd, with no distinguishing features.

"How did you know Zhou Ming, and how did you happen to run into us investigators?" the interrogating police officer asked.

"Ah... that." The old man remained frank: "Someone gave me 20,000 yuan to wait there and say that; when I was young I was even a background actor!"

Jin Chen, listening outside the interrogation room: "..."

Duan Xiao Bai silently stepped a few paces away from the grim reaper, his mouth twitching: "Are we being played by the killer again?"

Wu Lin, who had been called over to observe, glanced at Jin Chen, pondering whether to ask out of humanitarian concern, when he saw this captain open the interrogation room door and stride inside.

Seeing another policeman arrive, still a greenhorn, the old man didn't think much of it—until Jin Chen's approaching gaze startled him.

It was like knowing a fuel tanker ahead was about to explode, yet he couldn't avoid it and got smashed head-on by the tanker.

The old man dared not grin sheepishly; as he spoke hesitantly, his smoke-stained yellow teeth showed: "What are you doing, comrade?"

Bang!

Jin Chen slapped the table; in the overly quiet interrogation room, only his icy voice, laced with anger, could be heard.

"How could you not know I'm a police officer? I told you plainly yesterday—helping a murderous criminal deceive the police, do you think that isn't illegal?"

"What does that person look like? Tell me."

The old man leaned back, "Say... I'll say."

Only then did he realize his back was soaked in cold sweat.

"I don't know what he looks like; I was wearing a mask tightly... there was just... a sour smell on him! I ran into him while... taking a stroll."

That sour smell was likely the odor of high-concentration gamboge.

"Ah... also... possibly, he wasn't young either; those hands... the backs were covered in scars." The old man remembered this vividly; if the pay hadn't been good, he wouldn't have taken the job.

Jin Chen asked: "Where did you take your stroll?"

"Outside X University."

X University.

Jin Chen also recalled the piece of evidence from the factory that revealed the school emblem.

It was the information Zhou Ming had clutched in his hand before death, intending to retain the killer's identity.

Or perhaps the killer deliberately did so, leading them to investigate X University.

Jin Chen walked out of the interrogation room, a little tired from little sleep the previous night, pinching his brow as he looked at the inquisitive Wu Lin, and laughed lazily: "What are you looking at, Chief Forensic Officer?"

Wu Lin stood a bit away, half a corridor's distance apart; Jin Chen waved at him.

Wu Lin stayed silent for a moment, then walked over.

"How..." Before he could finish, a strong arm suddenly rested on his shoulder; Jin Chen leaned half on it, his low voice exploding in his ear: "Do I look menacing?"

Wu Lin nodded; he still preferred seeing Jin Chen unguarded and calm, which made him seem... easier to control.

Wu Lin is very good at observing people; Jin Chen noticed this from the first time he introduced his team members to him.

"You observe well—what do you think I'm thinking?"

As Jin Chen asked him, he unconsciously gazed at that handsome face.

Wu Lin lowered his eyes to observe Jin Chen's body language, had no intention to answer, and simply said: "You need sleep."

He thought it was just a simple statement, but it landed in the ears of this odd‑wired captain and was misunderstood as something else.

"You care about me so much." Jin Chen drew out the "ah," poking Wu Lin's shoulder, "but your captain won't suddenly die anytime soon—rest easy… huh?"

Wu Lin's mouth twitched involuntarily, and he walked away.

"Hey, you heartless little thing."

Jin Chen also felt recharged, rubbing the back of his neck as he went into his private office to rest.

"You all take a nap first; we'll assemble at 8:30 for the mission."

"Okay, Jin Team."

Duan Xiao Bai and Yi Tian, who had been watching the whole proceedings, exchanged a glance.

Yi Tian: "I might be light‑headed from skipping breakfast, but Jin Team still has this flirty side."

Duan Xiao Bai weighed eating breakfast against sleeping, stuffed two candies into his mouth, returned to the office, and fell asleep lying down.

Inside the autopsy room.

Heavy curtains blocked the outside sunlight; the cold white incandescent light illuminated every corner of the room.

Zhou Ming's body lay on the autopsy table, awaiting discovery of his secrets.

Wu Lin donned his protective gear, slowly put on his mask, and as he prepared to wear gloves, his eyes behind the protective lenses flickered with a momentary hesitation.

He suddenly recalled how natural it had seemed yesterday when Jin Chen tried to put gloves on him.

After several seconds passed before he snapped out of it, Wu Lin lightly coughed to shift his thoughts, put on his gloves, and picked up the scalpel.

Yet, looking at the silent corpse, Wu Lin inopportunely recalled that intense visage, the scorching heat when touching the limbs.

Click.

The silver scalpel fell into the dish; Wu Lin just stood there under the light, the shadow cast on his body becoming the only darkness in the room.

Today is not suitable for dissecting a corpse.

Perhaps he also needs sleep to clear his mind.

In fact, the information provided by Zhou Ming's corpse was already sufficient; the truth that Zhou Ming died after being burned following exposure to a high-concentration gamboge solution was also gradually confirmed as the test results emerged.

Moreover, compared to ordinary corpses, burnt corpses are also easier to conceal unknown secrets.

Wu Lin, you are a forensic pathologist; you should respect the deceased.

When Wu Lin slept deeply, those words came to mind again.