"Vice-Chief He, we'll all be together, not a single member of the Punishment Squad will be left behind!"
Everyone stood by my side, witnessing my reddened eyes and clenched fists, my face contorted with grief and anger. January 15th of that year was the day my parents were murdered, a day forever etched in my memory, casting a shadow that clung to me like a persistent nightmare, refusing to dissipate. If I couldn't thoroughly solve this case, the consequences could be even more dire.
Although I shouldn't have taken this case, being a relative, Director Zhang and higher authorities bent the rules to insist on my involvement. The fact that they were willing to make such an exception proved their high regard for my abilities and their confidence in my self-control during such a sensitive investigation.
Therefore, I made up my mind: "Thank you all. He Xin, start the investigation immediately. I'll contact my colleagues in the Narcotics Division. This time, we'll join forces to take down those detestable drug lords."
From the description provided by He Qiming, my uncle, I knew these drug lords were connected to Polaris. They had previously attempted a fish scale disease case and failed, only to resume drug trafficking and continue to harm people. They were relentless.
After assigning tasks, I, along with Liu Yuning, Xia Hou, and others, headed to the hotel. The forensic team accompanied us.
Upon arriving at the hotel, we entered a suite on the fifth floor and found the deceased drug addict. White foam lingered in his mouth, his eyes were rolled back, and his clothes had been completely removed. His neck and chest were covered in scratch marks. If I wasn't mistaken, he had inflicted these scratches himself, but we would need to confirm this by examining the skin fibers under his fingernails.
We examined the body on the bed, noting the rigor mortis and lividity. We estimated the time of death to be around 1 AM the previous day. The body was discovered by a hotel cleaner. The door to the room was ajar, and the cleaner, assuming the guest had left, entered to tidy up, only to find the corpse on the bed.
I didn't question the cleaner; Xia Hou and the others were handling that. Xie Chuchu and her team continued their examination of the body. I began to survey the suite. In the bathroom's bathtub, I found a considerable amount of vomit. I collected a sample and sprinkled some seaweed ash. This revealed some handprints on the bathtub. Based on the angle, someone had vomited here. If these handprints belonged to the victim, it meant he had already succumbed to the drug's effects in the bathroom. Following the traces of vomit on the bathroom floor, I traced them back into the room.
As I followed the trail, I deduced that after vomiting into the bathtub, he had staggered out of the bathroom and towards the bed. Under the influence of the drugs, he was likely highly agitated, pacing and turning erratically. Judging by the direction and distribution of the footprints, he had spun around several times with each few steps before finally collapsing onto the bed.
The creases on the bed suggested he had been trembling violently for a long time before gradually succumbing to death.
Based on his trajectory and the visible signs, the drug in his system was unlikely to be cathinone; otherwise, his condition would have been far worse, possibly even causing his body to rupture.
We found no further clues at the scene, so we decided to take the body back. In the victim's pockets, we quickly found his wallet, which contained his work ID, a national ID card, and some cash, along with coupons for various clubs and KTVs.
From these documents, we learned the male victim's name was Ding Xingyan, and surprisingly, he was the owner of this hotel.
I summoned the hotel manager and some staff to inquire about the situation, but they seemed unable to provide any useful information, nor did they know why their boss had resorted to drug use.
No one seemed to be aware of his drug habit, suggesting Ding Xingyan had been very secretive about it. I decided to proceed with the autopsy, while Liu Yuning would handle the investigation into surveillance footage and his social connections. She was already adept at managing these follow-up tasks independently.
Back at the forensic laboratory, I had everyone don sterile suits. Another battlefield awaited, and the process of dissection began. We activated the exhaust fans and surgical lights, starting with the fingernails and skin surface. Upon analyzing the skin and muscle fibers, we confirmed that the scratches on the victim's body were indeed self-inflicted by his fingernails. He must have endured immense pain before his death. As one of the forensic doctors proceeded to draw blood, I picked up the scalpel and made an incision from the victim's throat, then across his chest, abdomen, and finally removed his rib cage to extract the internal organs.
We began by weighing the organs and comparing their colors, then conducting pathological tests. The state of necrosis in the victim's internal organs indicated he had been using drugs for at least a year. This meant we could start by investigating individuals Ding Xingyan had contact with a year prior, which should help us gradually identify the person who supplied him with drugs.
Upon examining the victim's stomach contents, we discovered remnants of foie gras and scallops. This man had enjoyed a lavish meal before returning to his room and consuming drugs. Sometimes I wondered why wealthy individuals would court death, living such comfortable lives, only to touch those substances. Perhaps they had grown weary of everything and sought new thrills.
I recalled numerous reports of celebrities involved in drug abuse; many of them were the children of the wealthy or highly famous individuals, though some were ordinary people who were lured, enticed, or deceived into it.
This line of thought led me too far afield. A forensic doctor was concurrently performing a urine test. While I conducted other tests, I waited for the results. Xie Chuchu and Zhang Keying remained by my side, assisting me throughout. Once I completed the final test, the lab report emerged. The victim's system contained a significant amount of pethidine. So, this was the drug. However, we also detected traces of methadone. This was intriguing. Had he been admitted to a drug rehabilitation center and then escaped?
I handed over the remaining tasks to Xie Chuchu and her team and called the rehabilitation center for information. They confirmed that no one named Ding Xingyan had ever been admitted. If that was the case, Ding Xingyan's source of methadone became a pressing question. How could this be?
Did he intend to quit drugs, only to meet his end before completing the process?
I approached He Xin and instructed her to thoroughly investigate Ding Xingyan's whereabouts and the people he had been in contact with before his death. As for his situation a year ago, we would have to rely on interviews with relatives and friends to gather information. This task would require time, personnel, and resources. I assigned Xia Hou and his team to handle it. We were busy until the afternoon when a woman claiming to be Ding Xingyan's wife arrived at the provincial department. He Xin immediately verified her identity. This person was indeed Ding Xingyan's wife, Sui Aoxuan. We had previously been unable to contact her and had instead reached out to Ding Xingyan's parents.
I won't elaborate on the elderly couple's situation. His wife appeared to have a strained relationship with him, evident from her somber demeanor upon arrival. I sat with her in the reception room to discuss Ding Xingyan's matter. She had already been to the morgue.
Her reaction upon seeing the body was remarkably calm, as if she were looking at an ordinary stranger, not her own husband.
I immediately inquired about the situation. She replied, "Yes, our relationship is not good. To be precise, it's been cold for a long time, all because Ding Xingyan became addicted to that stuff. I noticed something was wrong a year ago. I advised him to stop indulging in it, but he simply wouldn't listen and became even more addicted. There was nothing I could do but leave. However, I haven't divorced him yet. But now that he's dead, the divorce is automatic, which brings this matter to a close. From now on, I won't concern myself with anything related to him."
"Ms. Sui, when you saw him using drugs, did you notice if he was in contact with anyone in particular?"
"Are you trying to find out who sold him those drugs? He was very secretive about it. I don't know how they transacted. I just saw him come home and hide away to use alone. At first, I thought he was hiding in his study to read or study. But one time, I secretly looked through the window and saw him looking like a lost soul. I confronted him. I didn't know it was drug use then, but later, when I saw him holding a syringe and a vial of liquid, I realized it was drugs."
"Ms. Sui, can you recall any other details? We're trying to investigate the person who sold him drugs at the time!"
I said this intentionally, to gauge Sui Aoxuan's reaction. She thought for a moment with visible distress, then clicked her tongue and said, "I told you, I can't recall. Or perhaps I can ask his few 'fox friends'?"
"What do his friends do? Isn't Ding Xingyan a boss? How did he get to know such people?"
"He has connections in the underworld. His hotel business has grown over the years thanks to these people. I remember one person named Da Xing was very close to him. He used to call him brother and said their similar names were a sign of fate. I think that's nonsense. In any case, he often interacted with this person. He's been in contact with him even this past year. They seem to have known each other for a long time."
"Can you describe this Da Xing's appearance, Ms. Sui? Or do you have a photograph of him?"
Sui Aoxuan recalled, browsed through her social media feed, and after a moment of searching, showed me a photo. "It's this person! Look, this was taken when they went to the beach for a trip!"