Chapter 1499: And with the forensic doctor, a sprinkle of sugar 12

The dim hallway, with voice-activated lights that kept turning on and off with each sound, and the faint hum of the ceiling ventilation system.

And the elevator that suddenly opened at this moment.

Wu Lin spent only half a second considering his situation, like the perfect moment for a cannon fodder to be killed in an old Hong Kong movie.

The difference was that the person who quickly walked out of the elevator was not a murderer disguised as a good guy, but the stern-looking squad captain staring at him.

"Didn't I tell you not to come out?"

Jin Chen pulled Wu Lin behind him, his voice low and annoyed: "You're treating the organization's orders like wind in your ears."

"I only came out after hearing you arrive." Wu Lin tried to free his arm from the excessive force, but failed.

What an innocent tone, yet Jin Chen didn't believe it at all.

"You're kidding a ghost."

Wu Lin leaned half‑against the doorframe on his side, following the pull, his slender posture calm as a statue standing there: "No, I'm just teasing you."

Jin Chen: "……"

Yi Tian's four‑person team, followed by a squad of police, caught up; seeing people arrive, Jin Chen didn't waste time and prepared to break in.

Wu Lin: "I just heard a sound from inside."

Jin Chen knocked on the door, listened for a sound, heard nothing else, and directly drew his gun to break in.

The black gun muzzle led the way into the room before anyone else; Jin Chen vigilantly swept the dim living room, turned on the light switch, and several police quickly entered to search the room and any hidden killer.

Unfortunately, aside from the corpse lying sideways on the bedroom's large bed, there was no killer in the house.

When the bedroom door was pushed open, Yi Tian at the front let out a low exclamation: "Jin Team! This way of death……"

Jin Chen's expression grew complex as he holstered his gun; the smell inside made him reluctant to go in.

The sealed bedroom was filled with a rich incense and an odd smell from the shrub, really irritating.

Wu Lin hooked the mask's straps and handed it to Jin Chen: "Jin Team, you should still take protective measures."

Following his gaze, Jin Chen realized Wu Lin had already put on a mask and gloves upon entering—truly professional.

The victim lay flat, tangled in messy sheets, a loose silk scarf fallen beside the neck. There was an unknown liquid on the body, plus dried wax oil, red like blood, concentrated over the entire lower abdomen.

Wu Lin observed the surface symptoms, pried open the victim's eyes with his fingers, then checked the corners of the mouth and fingers, and finally pressed on the neck's turns.

"Petechial bleeding on the eyelids, nails and lips showing a dark purple, and the neck clearly compressed."

Yu Jue asked: "So it's mechanical asphyxia? It looks indeed like strangulation."

Wu Lin straightened his body, picked up the still‑burning incense from the bedside table and waved it slowly, speaking slowly.

"Sexual asphyxia."

Duan Xiao Bai hissed, "Sexual asphyxia……"

Pervert psychology generally holds that sexual asphyxia is a deviant act stemming from sexual desire inversion, mainly producing sexual pleasure from oxygen deprivation plus other stimulation, mostly from the subject's fantasy or direct sexual stimulation.

Wu Lin glanced at the things scattered on the floor; it was obvious that his usually quiet and taciturn neighbor belonged to the second type—death caused by neck strangulation leading to oxygen loss plus sexual stimulation.

"Cui Jiao also underwent psychological control before being killed." Jin Chen picked up the object that had rolled onto the carpet beside the bed, familiar with such a tool: "This control can produce memory regression through deep hypnosis."

"Oh~ Host, you've also used this on the Main God!" Ling Gun Gun realized.

"Hypnosis and control……" Wu Lin muttered, recalling the flashing symbols on the suicide‑help website's homepage, unconsciously pressing his wrist, frowning in thought.

"Hey Jin Team, you already know the drunkard's identity, huh?" Ke Xiu, still squatting on the ground placing evidence into a sealed bag, looked up at him upon hearing: "That fast?"

Jin Chen certainly wouldn't delve into this topic, vaguely saying that his foreign friend checks identities faster.

"Jin Team, there's this on the living‑room table." Yu Jue handed a card to Jin Chen: "Damn, the person behind this even knows you."

The card had only one sentence.

——Greetings to Sir Jin.

The signature was a red skull.

Jin Chen: "……"

Yu Jue glanced at Jin Chen nervously, half‑stepping back, afraid that the invisible kick would be directed at him.

"No…… we can't disturb the crime scene, Jin Team."

"Damn bastard." Jin Chen gritted his teeth and muttered low.

This is clearly a provocation!

The scene search still had to continue; Jin Chen reined in his anger a bit and had them carry the body back.

Even Wu Lin, who was lazily loitering around the room, was pulled out by Jin Chen.

"It's not too late to examine the corpse tomorrow; what you need to do now is go to sleep."

The living‑room light in Cui Jiao's house switched on, spilling into the hallway and onto Jin Chen's back; Wu Lin looked at him, narrowed his eyes, and suddenly asked: "Jin Team, don't you think this case happened because of my negligence?"

"What are you saying?" Jin Chen didn't follow Wu Lin's topic: "What does this case have to do with you?"

"Even back at Counselor Zhou Ming's house, I noticed the man in the photo looked familiar; if I'd realized earlier that he was the neighbor… today's incident wouldn't have happened."

Wu Lin stated it flatly, so calmly it seemed as if he were forcibly assigning himself a crime.

Jin Chen laughed angrily.

"Well then, I'll arrest you and cuff you?"

After a moment he added: "What's wrong with you, rushing to find guilt for yourself? This has nothing to do with you."

Jin Chen raised his hand to ruffle Wu Lin's hair: "Be good and go to sleep; tomorrow you'll have even more work."

Getting closer, Jin Chen caught a faint smell of blood.

He pulled Wu Lin's hand over: "What did you do? You reek of blood."

Wu Lin's fingers couldn't help but twitch a few times; he thought, indeed his guess was right—tonight all this was a coincidence that felt somewhat out of place.

He also didn't have the inclination to show his scars to others.

"No, you smelled wrong." Wu Lin said this with a face that didn't blush and a heart that didn't race.

Jin Chen suspiciously rolled up his sleeve to look; apart from the wrist that was thin enough to show bone, there really were no scars.

But the fingers still resting on the fake skin of his wrist were pressing tightly; Wu Lin worried that it would be noticed.

"Jin Team, it's not good to play the hooligan in the middle of the night." Wu Lin's lips curled with a hint of a smile, "Does this count as harassing a subordinate?"

"Get lost, what kind of harassment is this." Jin Chen lifted his eyelids and gave him a glance, a playful mood rising in his heart, he increased the force pulling the arm, directly dragging the person into his embrace.

Wu Lin basically had no defenses, trapped between Jin Chen and the door panel, the surrounding air seemed thin.

"Only then can it barely count."

A nasty laugh came from someone nearby; Wu Lin gritted his teeth, the trapped arm gripped the door handle, fingerprint recognition succeeded.