Chapter 184: Some Drugs Can Be Induced

On the way here, Yu Dazhang had already thought through the questions he wanted to consult about.

He was analyzing it from the killer's perspective.

If one wanted to fool the forensic examiner, the first thing to consider was…

Does the forensic profession have any loopholes?

Unfortunately, the answer is yes.

The very nature of the profession determines its limitations.

Although the word "medical" appears in "forensic examiner," they are not real doctors and do not treat patients.

If someone has a heart condition, they would naturally go to a hospital to see a doctor—no one would go to a forensic examiner.

There's a term for this: professional bias.

The same matter looks completely different to a layperson than to an expert.

For example, if you asked a forensic examiner about treating heart disease, you'd just be picking a fight.

Put another way—ask a forensic examiner what side effects the medications for heart disease have.

Which drug requires attention to dosage and shouldn't be taken in excess?

You'd be wasting your breath; only a cardiologist could answer questions like these.

But!

Drug side effects and overdosing on a certain medication can cause death.

"The evidence bag…"

The male doctor took a careful look at the lettering on the transparent bag, then raised his head to look at Yu Dazhang:

"Are you a police officer?"

"Yes." Yu Dazhang didn't hide it, nodding in reply:

"In one case, the victim had taken these two medications before death—about half an hour after taking them, he suddenly suffered a fatal heart attack."

Perhaps because it touched on specialized knowledge, the male doctor, upon hearing Yu Dazhang's description, couldn't help glancing at the label on the bottle.

"Metoprolol, verapamil…"

He unconsciously read them aloud, thought for a moment, then continued:

"One treats angina, the other treats arrhythmia. These two can be used together—no problem."

"Do these two drugs have any side effects?" Yu Dazhang asked.

"Of course they do—it's written right on the bottle," the male doctor explained:

"Generally, heart medications will have some adverse reactions; that's inevitable."

Yu Dazhang certainly knew that every drug has side effects.

He still understood the principle that every medicine is three parts poison.

"Do the side effects of these two drugs carry a fatal risk?"

That was what he really wanted to ask.

A doctor's approach to medication is curing the sick and saving lives, so he needed to steer the conversation a bit.

"No," the male doctor answered crisply:

"The most serious adverse reaction is abnormal liver function, but it won't be life-threatening."

The side-effect angle could be ruled out… Yu Dazhang muttered to himself.

Next he got straight to the point:

"Under what circumstances would taking these two drugs cause death?"

He'd steered enough; he figured the doctor's train of thought had already been led astray, and it was time to ask the most critical question.

The reason he couldn't come up with the answer was that he lacked the expertise.

But the cardiologist in front of him wouldn't be stumped by a question like this.

The male doctor thought for a moment, then asked back:

"How did the patient die? Describe the symptoms at the time."

"Cause of death was sudden cardiac death from a heart attack. As for the symptoms…" Yu Dazhang recalled for a moment, unable to come up with suitable words to describe it on the spot.

In the end, he simply imitated Liu Zhengyang's appearance at the time.

Drooping eyelids, head sagging onto the table, then his body gradually going limp and weak, like a pile of mud, collapsing onto the floor.

The male doctor found it a bit funny at first, but as he watched, his expression slowly grew heavy and solemn:

"All right, all right, get up."

Yu Dazhang sat back up, looking at the other expectantly: "Well? Did you figure something out?"

He was confident that his impression just now was a highly faithful reproduction.

And an experienced doctor could analyze a patient's specific condition just from the symptoms.

Sure enough, the male doctor only paused to consider briefly before quickly answering:

"Cardiac arrest."

"From what you just demonstrated, the patient suddenly lost consciousness."

"Only when the heart's pumping function suddenly stops, the pulse in the major arteries and heart sounds disappear, causing the brain to be deprived of blood and oxygen, would these symptoms appear."

This technical term was not unfamiliar to Yu Dazhang, but it wasn't what interested him.

He thought for a moment, then continued asking:

"Is there any chance these two drugs could cause this kind of outcome?"

More detailed than the cause of death given by the forensic examiner—this was the expertise a cardiologist possessed.

Next, he only needed to confirm whether these two drugs were related to this cause of death.

Not a single mistake, not a single oversight in the entire content—take a good look!

"An overdose of Verapamil can induce cardiac arrest." The male physician answered after some deliberation:

"But a mistake like that shouldn't occur. These kinds of drugs all have clear dosage standards and precautions, unless the patient deliberately took too much on purpose."

Liu Zhengyang committed suicide? This thought suddenly popped into Yu Dazhang's mind after hearing his analysis.

However, this idea was quickly dismissed by him.

If it were suicide, what couldn't Liu Zhengyang have taken? Why would he have to take Verapamil, a drug for treating heart disease?

Moreover, according to the butler's description, Liu Zhengyang took his medication before the meeting at the normal dosage and did not take an excessive amount.

"Thank you, Physician."

After thanking him, Yu Dazhang stood up and left the cardiology department.

Everything that needed to be asked had been asked, and the most puzzling questions now had answers, but his mood was heavier than when he'd arrived.

The killer's intelligence and ability to plan had already exceeded his imagination.

This could no longer be described as clever or cunning—it was simply leaving nothing to chance.

Listen to the word the doctor just used: induce.

No wonder the forensic pathologist concluded it was a natural death.

"Induce" and "cause"—the two have an essential difference.

"Verapamil" itself is a drug for treating heart disease, and Liu Zhengyang normally took this kind of medication to maintain his heart rate.

So even if the forensic pathologist detected "Verapamil" in Liu Zhengyang's body, he wouldn't be suspicious of it.

What a brilliant design—the person who came up with this idea even factored human nature into it.

And it doesn't end there.

Keep in mind that before the meeting, Liu Zhengyang took the same dosage of medication as usual.

So how did the killer manage to make him take an excessive amount of "Verapamil" and induce cardiac arrest?

In Yu Dazhang's view, the trap the other party had set was one ring linked to another.

Even if the drugs were swapped, this couldn't be achieved.

No third drug was detected in Liu Zhengyang's body.

So even if there was a swap, the killer still tampered with these two drugs.

How could one tamper with them to make Liu Zhengyang take an excessive amount of "Verapamil" all at once?

Yu Dazhang had by now arrived at the hospital's main entrance.

He stared at the crowds coming and going at the hospital, unable to take a step for a long time.

His mind kept running through hypotheses.

After a long while, he came back to his senses and let out a helpless sigh.

Damn, with that kind of intelligence, you'd succeed at anything… he grumbled inwardly.

Just in that short while, he'd been led by the other party's line of thinking into a mental blind spot.

No matter how he thought about it, he couldn't guess the other party's specific method.

(End of this chapter)