Chapter 142: Everything Is Poison (2/2)

I traced the ice cube along the purple vein. This was the path that the poison took to spread through the body. It ended on the chest and spread in a wider area there.

“The poison entered the victim’s lungs,” I stated. “Looks like the hardness of the lungs was due to lung failure, not excessive smoking. But what poison can cause this effect? Cyanide? Hydrocyanic acid? No, the symptoms don’t match up… Carbon monoxide? No, that’s a gas… Ricin? No…”

Bingxin used a cotton swab to collect some blood from the puncture wound, then she said, “I’ll do some testing on it in the lab next door. Let’s see who finds out the answer first, Song Yang-gege!”

“Deal!” I said. “Whoever loses has to treat the winner to a meal!”

Bingxin laughed. “Then get ready to take me out for dinner, because I’ll definitely beat you to it!”

She then took her box and ran out.

“Do your best, Song Yang!” Xiaotao laughed. “Don’t lose to Miss Sun!”

“I’m actually not that confident this time…” I smiled wryly.

Drug tests were my kryptonite, and right now, I just couldn’t think of any poison that would match the victim’s symptom. Still, I wouldn’t just give up on myself. I examined the victim’s body again, this time more thoroughly. I checked the victim’s vagina too, which prompted Dali to ask, “Why do you always check that part of the body, dude? It’s almost like you enjoy it.”

“Shut up!” I snapped. “Some poisons are diuretic, which means I have to check the victim’s residual urine.”

However, this poison didn’t seem to have a diuretic effect at all. Not only that, but there were just no other signs throughout the body at all. This made me worry. I no longer cared about winning the bet with Bingxin. I just hoped that she could figure out the answer as soon as possible.

Suddenly, Bingxin burst through the door with plastic goggles resting on her head. She smelled of some chemicals.

“I’ve figured it out, Song Yang-gege!” she shouted.

“Oh my god!” cried Dali. “You actually lost to her, dude!”

“My specialty is in autopsy,” I said. “I’m not good at drug testing at all. Tell me the answer, Bingxin!”

“Why don’t you guess what it is? The name starts with an ‘N.’”

“We’ll be here all day if you wait for me to guess the right answer.”

“Come on, Song Yang-gege!” she insisted. “You must know. It’s Dad and Uncle Wang’s favorite poison!”

I suddenly had an epiphany.

“Nicotine!” I cried.

“Correct!” Bingxin exclaimed while clapping her hands. “It’s nicotine at a concentration that’s high enough to kill!”

“Clever!” I remarked. “Very clever!”

Bingxin blushed.

“You’re too kind, Song Yang-gege!” she mumbled. “If you hadn’t said that the poison spread in the lungs, I wouldn’t have thought of it myself…”

“No, I don’t mean you,” I replied. “I was talking about the killer.”

Bingxin’s expressions turned sullen immediately. Xiaotao covered her mouth and tried to hold in laughter. Only then did I realize that I’d spoken without thinking again.

Fortunately, Bingxin was a cheerful girl. Her expressions soon returned to normal.

“Why did you say the killer is clever, Song Yang-gege?”

“Well, think about it,” I said. “The businesswoman had a stomach problem, so the killer poisoned her medicine. The student loved to beautify herself, so the killer tampered with the Botox. The model was promiscuous, so the killer poisoned the condom. And now, the fourth victim was a chain smoker, so the killer poisoned her with nicotine! The killer obviously has a meticulous and cunning mind!”

“My lecturer once said that anything can be poisonous,” said Bingxin. “The only thing that differentiates something from being toxic and non-toxic is the dosage. Even salt and sugar can kill us if consumed excessively. I think the killer must have deep knowledge in pharmacology and toxicology. With slight adjustments in the dosage, the killer turned Botox and nicotine into murder weapons!”

I glanced at the victim. If it wasn’t for the puncture wound on her waist, her cause of death might’ve never been found. After all, further testing would only show that there were high levels of nicotine in her lungs, which checked out with her history of being a chain smoker.

I couldn’t help but feel for the murderer. These murders were so close to being perfect crimes!

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