Chapter 251: The Iron Maiden (2/2)

”Where’s the body?” asked Xiaotao.

Upon entering the morgue, I gasped at the sight of the body.

It wasn’t a corpse at all that awaited us, but a medieval instrument of torture, the Iron Maiden that was fashioned in the appearance of the Virgin Mary. The interior of this metal coffin was filled with many spikes that would penetrate the flesh when a person was encased inside it.

The Iron Maiden on the slab was dripping with blood. It turned out that when the officers found the victim, she was already trapped in this torture device with countless stab wounds on her body, causing excessive blood loss and eventually death.

When the officers tried to open it, the victim suddenly screamed as if some mechanism had been triggered. Soon after, even her voice died off and they were left with silence. In an unexpected turn of events, the spikes inside this special Iron Maiden were designed to avoid any major organs. If it remained unopened, the victim would slowly bleed to death, but once opened, another set of spikes would be triggered and instantly pierce the victim’s key organs.

Since the victim’s entire body was impaled with countless spikes, they decided to transport the entire torture instrument to the morgue.

The officers’ explanation was followed by tearful apologies but Xiaotao seemed unfazed by that. Her hands clenched into tight fists, she trembled as she shouted, ”Why didn't you use your brains?! What’s the point of apologizing to me?! You should apologize to the families of the victims instead!”

”There’s no point losing your temper now,” I consoled. “This is another one of the murderer's tricks. You can’t blame this on them!”

The body couldn't be examined so we had to wait until tomorrow when the mechanical experts took apart the torture instrument.

Although it was already four in the morning, we were brimming with nervous energy, the sleepiness having been replaced by the anxiety of waiting for Wang Yuanchao and the others to return. At dawn, they drove back and escorted a group of handcuffed men.

I was ecstatic at the thought that we finally arrested the murderers, but closer inspection revealed that both our suspects weren’t among the group.

Wang Yuanchao explained that when they managed to catch up with the suspect, he saw Pork Rong enter a black car. The police cars pursued at full speed but were thwarted when the suspect’s car suddenly entered the woods and out came more than a dozen cars with identical license plates, blindsiding them all.

An impatient Wang Yuanchao had maneuvered his vehicle into one of the cars, successfully stopping it, only to find a gangster sitting in the driver’s seat. It was a similar situation with the rest of the cars.

Afterwards, these gangsters confessed that they had been paid by someone and knew nothing.

”Did any of them slip through?” I asked.

”We missed four other cars,” nodded Wang Yuanchao. “The suspects might be in any one of them!”

”I highly doubt that,” I sighed. “He most likely abandoned his car in the woods. The cars you chased were all dupes.”

Storm Punisher’s plan was so meticulous he was on another level entirely.

What’s worse was Song Xingchen had appeared out of nowhere during the chase and interrupted them. While he had helped capture a few of these gangsters, he also injured a few officers!

Because Song Xingchen didn’t bother identifying himself, he was regarded as a suspect. Of course, this guy wasted no time in retaliating against three or four officers. I knew that Wang Yuanchao wasn’t one to pass the buck and from his words, so it was clear the remaining cars wouldn’t have gotten away if it weren’t for Song Xingchen’s “assistance.”

I couldn’t help the frustration that welled up from within. How could I have been so silly! This guy was obviously a lone ranger who didn’t have any sense of team spirit. I shouldn’t have sent him!

”Are they badly hurt?” I asked.

Wang Yuanchao shook his head. ”Not really. His techniques are quite clever, leaving them with dislocated joints which I easily fixed.”

Thank God! Otherwise, I would’ve been too ashamed to face these officers. My first thought was that Song Xingchen’s skills and agility would make a great addition to Wang Yuanchao’s brute force and tenacity, but what a big mistake that was! Together, they were more like positive and negative charges that offset each other.

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