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墨書 Inktalez
As the fire raged, the body of the man began to twist and deform. I tried to remove the leather gloves from my hands, and a couple of insects fell off, which I quickly brushed away. Eventually, no more insects dropped; it seemed that the Insect Eaters here had been completely eradicated.
We moved the body of the fallen detective back to the car, transporting it to the morgue. Tears flowed uncontrollably from many eyes; this was their brother, their comrade with whom they had shared countless days and nights. Over the years, they had eaten together, slept together, and carried out missions side by side. But in moments of crisis, death could strike in an instant.
"Salute!" I shouted.
This profession is like that—filled with danger, often leaving no trace of even a name behind. We might only see a brief line on a television screen—"A detective tragically sacrificed while on duty; let us mourn our hero." Then, life would continue as usual, and people might not feel even a ripple in their hearts.
But we will always remember your name until the last moment of our lives.
With the threat neutralized, we re-entered the factory.
"Search around and see if there's anything here. What about that piece of jade?" I said. "Zhongshan Jade, when heated with charcoal for three days and nights, retains its color unchanged. There’s evidence to prove that jade should not be burned away. I've heard that true jade remains warm and smooth even when subjected to fire."
Juan Juan shook his head and replied, "You've been watching too many shows. There's an old saying about jade being burned along with everything else. Anything placed in fire for a while will change. Let's check if he had that piece of jade on him!"
The jade was not found on the body, and other officers searching the factory found no trace of it either. The Detective Captain led another thorough search but still found no sign of the jade. He remarked, "We've searched high and low without finding anything here; could it be that the jade melted in the fire?"
Juan Juan shook his head again and said, "Impossible. The temperature here isn't high enough to completely destroy jade. If we haven't found this piece of jade, there are only three possibilities: one is that it's somewhere in this factory but hasn't been discovered; another is that he never had it on him at all."
"And the last possibility?" the Detective Captain asked.
Juan Juan looked at the body and said, "That he swallowed the jade!"
I pressed my fingers against my temples and said, "Take the body back to the morgue for an autopsy; everyone else can stand down..."
At that moment, my phone rang—it was Greasy Forensic Doctor calling me. He sounded as nonchalant as ever: "Hey there, Captain Shao. I've looked into that task you assigned me. That thing is protein from an Insect Eater species native to Myanmar. These insects live in Myanmar's jungles but seem to have been controlled by someone. I think someone must have controlled their queen; ha ha! Doesn’t that sound a bit cheeky?"
I sighed in frustration.
Greasy Forensic Doctor continued, "Just like ants have a queen, these Insect Eaters are social creatures with clear roles. Their queen is a large black insect that's quite fierce. If you encounter this temperamental mother, you'd better run for your life! However, they can't survive long in urban areas; our country's climate isn't suitable for them either. So someone must be raising them—someone familiar with their habits..."
"I can tell you we just killed a Black Beetle," I said flatly. "Not quite as temperamental."
"Damn! You really know how to handle things! It seems these Insect Eaters have some kind of sensitivity to jade; who knows?" Greasy Forensic Doctor replied. "If they weren't completely devoured, consider yourselves lucky. That's about all I have for you; since you've found those black bugs, you must have caught the culprit already—just interrogate them to find out more. I won't keep you; I’ve got an appointment to play cards with an old friend."
I furrowed my brow and asked, "When did you start hanging out with the old Taoist?"
The Greasy Forensic Doctor replied, "There's a company that claims their office is haunted at night, with things frequently moving around. The old Taoist scheduled a day to go catch some ghosts. Not to mention, it sounds like a fun spectacle. The company has deep pockets, and they don't really understand the chemical reactions involved. But the old Taoist sure knows how to tell a story; I'm mainly going to learn how to perform some comedy..."
As he spoke, the Greasy Forensic Doctor hung up on me. I couldn't help but marvel at how capable that old Taoist was; even after getting out of jail, he hadn't changed a bit and had managed to team up with the Greasy Forensic Doctor. They were quite the pair—one wearing a robe that hadn't been washed in who knows how long and was stained with chemicals, while the other donned a lab coat that was equally filthy with who knows how many years of corpse oil.
Although we had found the Killer, there was no evidence to prove anything, and we still hadn't unraveled a series of mysteries. I addressed everyone, saying, "The Greasy Forensic Doctor just called me. He said this Insect Eater is a type of bug from Myanmar and has a low survival rate. If that's the case, this person must be from Myanmar."
Mary nodded and said, "I was just trying to figure out what he meant by that last statement, but I couldn't recall it until now. He said, 'That piece of jade is mine.'"
"That piece of jade is mine?" I frowned, pondering the meaning behind those words. It seemed that this jade was far more complicated than we had imagined; there might be some hidden story behind it. I said, "It looks like we need to go back and ask Yang Shuai about the origins of this jade."
"Here's the plan," I arranged. "Captain, you book train tickets. The Special Investigation Team members will head to the morgue to perform an autopsy."
Everyone nodded and split up to carry out their tasks. We arrived at the morgue in this small town, which looked quite dilapidated with poor facilities. The charred body had been brought in; it was twisted and deformed, resembling a lump of charcoal. Juan Juan began the autopsy and said, "The exterior of the body is charred, and most of the internal organs have been eaten away. If you hadn't ordered us to act quickly, those bugs would have caused serious trouble once they got out."
"Is there any trace of the black jade?" I was concerned about the jade.
Juan Juan shook her head and replied, "Unfortunately, there are no signs of that black jade in either the stomach or intestines of the deceased. If it's not found in the factory either, then there's only one possibility left." Juan Juan frowned as she said, "The black jade isn't on him at all!"
I rested my chin on my hand, my fingers lightly tapping my lips. There wasn't just one Killer; this person controlling the bugs must have passed the jade to someone else along the way. But if that were true, why did he drive through the checkpoint? He was stalling for time! Giving another person a chance to escape!
This meant that the Killer's target likely wasn't just this piece of jade; it was an organized and premeditated crime! There must be a series of conspiracies hidden behind it all. I furrowed my brow again, feeling confident in my suspicions. Tonight, everyone in town—even Captain's subordinates—would be focused on this small city while our manpower in Magic City was significantly reduced.
So what would this gang's next target be in Magic City? A series of questions made me feel like this case was part of a larger mystery; capturing this Killer was merely the beginning of something much bigger. Where had that piece of black jade gone?
"Didn't Yang Shuai say that this jade came from Xinjiang Hetian?" I asked.
Yan Junde nodded and confirmed, "That's right; he did say that."
"Then that means he's lying," I stated. "It looks like we need to return to Tianyu Company immediately and find Yang Shuai. Zhao Yu, Sun Bikun, Yang Shuai—none of them are telling the truth. We've been misled by their lies and trapped in a cycle. Yang Shuai may not even be a victim! He must be hiding something."
At that moment, Detective Captain had already booked our tickets back to Magic City. We left subsequent matters to the local police and hurriedly boarded the train homeward. On the train, Detective Captain dozed off in his seat; he hadn't slept for two days straight.
I patted the Detective Captain on the shoulder and said, "Get some sleep."
The Detective Captain shook his head and replied, "I can't sleep. If I do, I'll be out for two days, and you won't be able to wake me up. Haha, my wife often argues with me about this. She says that whenever I come home, I just sleep for two days straight without waking up."
We all laughed, and the Detective Captain continued, "Seriously, I have to thank you today. If it weren't for you, I might have ended up in trouble at the factory."
"You're too kind," I said. "Now you know that sometimes a dagger is better than a gun, at least in situations like this."
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Juan Juan looking at me with a complex expression. Mary and Yan Junde knew that I was never assigned a gun, but they didn't know the specific reason. Only Juan Juan knew why I didn't carry one. I also realized that I hadn't fully moved past my inner turmoil, but some things are better left to unfold naturally.
"This case," the Detective Captain sighed and said, "I always feel like we're a step behind, as if we're being led by the nose. If we can't get ahead of the Killer, I fear more people will die. The Killer shouldn't just be one person; it could be two or three, maybe even more."
I nodded in agreement; the Detective Captain's thoughts aligned with mine, shaped by years of investigative experience. Given the current situation, uncovering the secrets hidden behind the black jade might be key to solving this mystery. I just hoped nothing unexpected would arise during this time.
"Don't worry," I patted the Detective Captain's shoulder again and said, "the more complex the case, the more clues are left behind, which means more opportunities for us."
A young man went hunting with his grandfather in the mountains and unexpectedly encountered Mouse Burning Incense and Wild Cat Worships at the Temple—statues made from human corpses. When he returned home late at night, his biological mother was chasing him with "people," revealing that his grandfather had committed unspeakable acts against her!
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