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墨書 Inktalez
"Really?" Zhang De scratched his head and said, "Where did Li Erdan go? That guy usually shows up early to greet everyone after winning at Fight the Landlord. Something feels off today; why isn't he here? Could it be that he dug up the body?"
Hearing Zhang De's words, Old Shao frowned. He slammed the file onto the table and said, "Did you let this information slip?"
Zhang De rubbed his head, feeling a bit timid as he replied, "They all asked me what I was doing last night. I just casually mentioned that there were police around; it wasn't anything serious. I was just joking."
Old Shao banged the table again and exclaimed, "Didn't I tell you not to tell anyone? And now you've gathered everyone together?"
Zhang De was momentarily speechless, unsure of what to say, standing awkwardly in place.
"Quickly tell us Li Erdan's address; we need to go now," Old Shao instructed Zhang De.
Zhang De nodded and said, "He lives in a remote area. Wang Da, hurry up and drive. You've been to his place before, so take us there quickly. If we get delayed on the way, let's just quit our jobs."
Wang Da slapped himself twice, the loud sound startling a few people around him, leaving them confused about his behavior.
He said, "Let's go! That guy won a few hundred bucks from me; can we try to get it back too..."
Wang Da drove the hearse with Zhang De and the others speeding down the road while the task force members followed in another police car. Fearing that Li Erdan might escape, Wang Da drove recklessly fast, feeling free since there was police backup behind them.
The hearse zoomed past a Mercedes like a fleeting shadow, prompting the driver of the luxury car to shout angrily, "Driving that fast? Are you waiting to reincarnate?"
The girl in the passenger seat weakly pointed out, "That looks like a hearse..."
After more than half an hour, Wang Da finally stopped the car. A few people stumbled out and immediately bent over to vomit on the ground.
Wang Da said, "Li Erdan lives in this rental house. The landlord built these rooms himself without any oversight; it's six hundred a month. I've been here a few times before; he lives alone in that room. I was even considering renting one here myself. Follow me; it's a bit of a detour."
Wang Da led the way ahead, resembling a brave guard.
After crossing a narrow path, they finally arrived at the building. Wang Da yanked the door open and stepped inside.
The staircase was made of several stones stacked together, lacking railings or safety measures. Climbing to the upper floors felt precarious, as if one could fall at any moment. The surface of the stone steps was uneven and pitted; anyone wearing high heels would certainly struggle to navigate such stairs. The walls on both sides were plastered with advertisements—some for sewer services, others for fake identification, and even some seeking partners.
Upon reaching the first floor, everyone was startled to see the words "Owe Money, Pay Back" emblazoned across the wall in large letters. This phrase appeared on nearly every floor, accompanied by a strong odor of cheap paint. The paint had not yet dried, leaving the letters trailing red streaks that slithered across the surface like snakes or resembled splattered blood on the wall, creating a terrifying sight.
It seemed that this place housed a mix of people from all walks of life. In Dragon City, where one could rent an entire unit for six hundred yuan a month, it was evident how poor the living conditions were.
Everywhere they looked, there was an assortment of debris—garbage, feces, discarded umbrellas, bloodstains—anything could conjure vivid images in their minds.
Li Erdan lived on the fourth floor, and Wang Da stood at his door.
“Bang bang bang!” Wang Da pounded on Li Erdan's wooden door. With each strike, dust fell from the walls, illuminated by sunlight streaming through the window, creating a drifting spectacle.
But no one answered.
“Just kick down the door,” Yuan Jun suggested. “I think Li Erdan has run off.”
Wang Da knocked again but still received no response.
“Kick it,” Old Shao said decisively. “These buildings are illegal constructions and rented out without notifying the police.”
Yuan Jun nodded and motioned for everyone to step back. He took a few steps back himself and then delivered a powerful kick to the wooden door. With a loud crack, he created a large hole in its center. He quickly stepped forward, reached through the hole to unlock it from inside, and pushed the door open.
With one hand resting on his holstered gun at his waist, Yuan Jun bent slightly and entered the room. After surveying the space and finding no one there, he said, “Come in; Li Erdan is already gone.”
A few people walked in, and Zhang De spoke up, "I think it was Li Erdan who did this. He's the one with the most bad intentions. Every time we play Fight the Landlord, he either cheats or plays tricks; he's just too cunning."
Jiang He surveyed the room. It was about forty square meters, consisting of a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. Each room was small, but despite its size, it had everything one would need. The living room was empty; the floor wasn't tiled, and the walls weren't plastered—just a bare shell of a house.
As Jiang He stepped inside, he noticed that his bedroom floor was littered with ash and cigarette butts, and there was toilet paper strewn everywhere. A bed was pushed against the wall, covered with a filthy quilt. Jiang He reached out to touch it; the quilt was already cold, indicating that Li Erdan had been gone for some time.
"I have a question for you," Jiang He said, looking at Zhang De. "When did you last see him?"
Zhang De scratched his head and replied, "It was on the way when you all sent me here. It was already past eleven at night. I was a bit grumpy and jokingly mentioned this in our WeChat group. Then in the middle of the night, the police asked me to go to the crematorium—what kind of ghost police is that?"
"I was just teasing," Zhang De added.
Jiang He turned to Shao the Elder and said, "Li Erdan must have left last night; there's not a trace of warmth in the quilt. Plus, I looked around and saw that he took everything he could carry."
"Is that true?" Zhang De asked. "How did I not notice?"
Jiang He walked over to the bedside and pointed at the dust on the headboard. "Do you see this dust?"
"What about it?" Zhang De tilted his head in confusion.
Jiang He explained, "There's a blank space in the middle where dust has accumulated around it in a rectangular shape. The floor is covered in trash, yet there's not a single piece of paper here. Based on my deduction, I'm eighty percent sure there used to be a suitcase here. If he wasn’t running away, why would he take his suitcase with him?"
"That makes sense," Zhang De nodded. "But this guy spends all his money gambling; if he had a suitcase, what would he even put in it besides bedding?"
Jiang He suddenly lifted Li Erdan's bedspread, releasing a foul odor from beneath the quilt.
"What is that smell?" Zhang De pinched his nose with one hand while waving away the stench with the other. "Oh my god, how can it be this bad?"
A few people looked over, and hidden under Li Erdan's blanket were several pieces of clothing.
"That's the smell of decay," Xu Yiman said. "I've dealt with corpses the longest, and this is definitely the smell of decay."
Jiang He nodded in agreement. "That's right, it's the smell of decay."
Yuan Jun glanced at the clothes and remarked, "It seems these really belong to Li Erdan."
By now, everyone had put on gloves and masks.
"Comrade, can I have a mask too? This is unbearable..." Zhang De said.
Jiang He handed his mask to Zhang De while using one hand to shake out the clothes. Once the garments were spread out, everyone noticed that some underwear was mixed in among them. The strong odor of decay was emanating from these clothes, making it quite difficult to endure.
These were women's clothes, all in feminine styles. Jiang He counted carefully and found a total of four pieces of underwear, along with two shirts and a pair of shorts.
Jiang He turned to Liu Yifen and asked, "Can we confirm that these clothes belonged to a corpse?"
Liu Yifen stepped forward despite feeling nauseous and examined the clothing. "I'm not sure about that; I'm only responsible for recording. I haven't seen the corpse myself."
Wang Da interjected firmly, "I swear, this must be Li Erdan's doing. The last time I transported a corpse with him, I left first while he stayed behind in the house. After a while, I noticed he hadn't come out yet, so I went back in to check on him."
"What do you think I saw?" Wang Da asked.
"What?" everyone turned their attention to him.
"This guy was staring at a female corpse's face as if he were infatuated," Wang Da said with a look of disgust on his face. "I kicked him right then and there. I'm not even married, and here he is, a married man, getting all worked up over a pretty girl—who happens to be a corpse! I thought to myself that he was bound to become a pervert."
Old Shao looked at the clothes and slowly asked, "Did you bring these clothes back when you collected the bodies?"
Wang Da explained, "Generally, anything on the body has to be removed and handed over to the police. If the body is undisputed, the belongings are given to the family. If there are no family members and the body is also undisputed, then we take them back for safekeeping."
"Actually..." Wang Da glanced at Old Shao and chuckled, "So we ended up bringing back the clothes from these bodies. Usually, they just get stuffed into the freezer, but for some reason, this one was brought back here. What a weirdo!"
Jiang He rummaged through the clothes and indeed found a man's distinctive fluid on them.
The others pursed their lips, feeling a bit nauseous.
"Let's check other places," Old Shao said. "The kitchen and bathroom—see if there are any other clues."
The group nodded and left.
Old Shao turned to Jiang He and asked, "Do you think Li Erdan is the murderer?"
Jiang He replied, "I don't know yet, but judging by the clothes on this bed, they likely belong to those six bodies. However, who could that extra body be? Is it also an unclaimed corpse?"
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