I and Xie Chuchu continued to analyze whether the deceased was poisoned through skin contact. The deceased had no skin abrasions, making skin penetration unlikely. There were no traces of poison in the stomach or abdomen. Upon examining the deceased's nasal cavity, I discovered a relatively high concentration of botulinum toxin there, and I quickly understood.
"It seems the transmission was through gas. But we were at the scene too. How did Liu Chuxin die, and the others were completely unharmed?" I muttered to myself.
"Could it be that Liu Chuxin had inhaled these toxins before, but in a low concentration, and it took time to take effect?"
"That's also a possibility. Then the person who used this toxin is very professional. They must have a very deep understanding of it, otherwise they wouldn't be able to achieve such precision."
The remaining autopsy work should be of little significance. I handed over the finishing touches to Xie Chuchu and Xiao Dong, and left the laboratory myself. I planned to check on Liu Yuning's situation. With the findings from the autopsy, I might be able to find evidence to clear Liu Yuning's name.
I asked Xie Chuchu to print out the complete autopsy report. Holding this document, I went to the outside of the interrogation room. Liu Yuning was being questioned by Huang Qichao.
Given my situation, I could only stand in the observation room. Although I couldn't hear anything inside, I could tell from Liu Yuning's reactions that Huang Qichao's attitude was very unpleasant. I handed in a report, praying it would have an effect.
When Huang Qichao received the report, he examined it carefully. Then he asked Liu Yuning a few more questions, and his expression immediately softened. I thought the report had worked.
I don't know how long it took, but the interrogation finally ended. As Huang Qichao walked out, he patted me on the shoulder and said, "You're quite fast. Don't worry, if Liu Yuning isn't the killer, we won't wrongly accuse her."
"Captain Huang, I know your character. But how did you receive the notification?"
"Someone called the police, saying there was a situation at Xinyu High School, so we went over."
"Did the caller not say who they were?"
"No, they didn't. We checked their number, and it was from a public phone booth. There are still such phone booths these days."
I remembered that some very remote villages still had a few left. Although very few, they were not completely gone.
This caller is suspicious. They seemed to know that a death would occur and then immediately called the police.
Could this person be the killer?
I asked Captain Huang for the phone number and asked He Xin to investigate again. He Xin sent me a location based on where the call was made.
Liu Yuning couldn't go out at the time, so I had to find Gao Mingqiang to accompany me. We went to the vicinity of Sunflower Park, the location He Xin had sent me.
Sunflower Park, I remembered it was relocated a few years ago, so it's abandoned. When we arrived, we found a telephone booth still standing at the entrance. It looked like it hadn't been removed when the park was relocated.
When Gao Mingqiang arrived here, he suddenly froze and pulled me back with his hand: "Don't rush!"
"What's wrong?" I asked curiously, turning back.
"Haven't you heard the legend of this telephone booth? I didn't recall it just now, but as soon as I saw it, I remembered it. This is a legend in Guangming City about a terrifying telephone booth."
Gao Mingqiang's words made me suddenly remember something. I had seen that news before. The terrifying telephone booth, its terror index was no less than that of the eerie subway line K21. It is said that a high school girl was dragged into a telephone booth by a gangster and murdered while passing by after school. Since then, people often hear the sound of a girl calling from inside the telephone booth when they visit Sunflower Park. This Sunflower Park was relocated because of this.
But it is said that even after the relocation of Sunflower Park, many strange phenomena occurred. A high school girl in a school uniform often appeared in a corner of the park, and in the dark of night, with a pair of bloodshot eyes, she would peer at the tourists visiting the park.
I gave a wry smile: "Mingqiang, that must be a rumor. Do you believe in such legends?"
"No, look at that telephone booth!"
At this moment, Gao Mingqiang said in astonishment, as if he had really seen something. My attention was drawn to him. A bizarre, distorted face was stuck to the transparent telephone booth!
On one of the glass panels of the telephone booth, a mechanical-looking girl was stuck, with countless bloodstains flowing down. This scene was exactly what the girl saw when she was murdered!
For a moment, I thought we had seen a ghost. But as I calmed down, I rushed over, ignoring Gao Mingqiang's reaction, and forcefully opened the door of the telephone booth!
Inside, a female corpse lay limply, covered in blood, wearing a school uniform from Xinhe High School. I immediately understood. This was not a ghost at all, but a killer deliberately using this place to murder someone and then abandon the body here to scare us.
Seeing me supporting the female corpse, Gao Mingqiang also reacted and immediately came to my side: "That person must have been here. And he should have had this woman with him at the time. He killed her and then called the police?"
"Yes." This time, Gao Mingqiang also contributed his clumsy reasoning.
I couldn't help but give him a look of approval: "Alright, you call for backup. I'll secure the scene!"
Gao Mingqiang grunted and picked up his phone. I quickly put on rubber gloves and pulled the female corpse out of the telephone booth, placing her on the nearby cement ground.
When the female corpse was leaning against it just now, I almost left marks on her. Fortunately, I was still quite careful. I reminded myself that if there was a next time, I must put on gloves before examining the scene and not be impatient.
I briefly examined the deceased and found that she had countless wounds. She did not seem to have died of poisoning, but rather was whipped to death by someone. Her limbs were covered in thousands of scars, and I couldn't imagine how many lashes the killer had inflicted on her.
The unimaginable pain, coupled with severe blood loss, caused the girl to slowly lose consciousness and lean against the glass. Her body was never discovered until we found this place.
The time of death was around 32 hours ago. Calculating that I and Liu Yuning were on stage, I said to Gao Mingqiang: "You've reasoned incorrectly. The girl died before we went to the school."
"No way? Then when the killer went to the telephone booth, didn't they see the body?"
"No, perhaps he had killed her long before. He only called the police after we had been at the school for a while. The body has been left here all along. The surroundings are very secluded, and there are no surveillance cameras. The nearest camera is on Xinghua Road outside. We can only investigate the surveillance footage from there!"