Chapter 475: Unwilling Victim (1/2)
”Build an office?” asked Bingxin.
”That’s right. After experiencing this incident, I think my dad wouldn’t mind donating some money to the city bureau so we can construct another building next to this one and justifiably occupy the first floor.”
”Wow, your dad’s got deep pockets!” Bingxin flashed two thumbs up.
A few minutes later, Lao Yao rushed in, looking like an indescribable mess. His head was tangled like beach kelp after a storm, shirt buttoned incorrectly, with one foot in a shoe and the other in flip-flops. He carried his breakfast in a paper bag, gasping for air as if he had run all the way here.
Glancing at her watch, Xiaotao remarked, ”Just in time, not bad! Guys, give him a round of applause.”
While Bingxin and Xiaotao clapped their hands enthusiastically, Lao Yao scanned the room, taking a seat between Song Xingchen and me. As soon as he was seated, Lao Yao winked flirtatiously at Song Xingchen, ”What's your name, handsome?”
Song Xingchen replied coldly, ”Fuck off!”
Thus, Xiaotao commenced our first formal meeting, giving a general idea of our current case. Upon hearing the incidents that led up to our discovery, they were horrified and taken aback, especially Lao Yao and Bingxin.
The urgent task at hand was to locate this club. We had three directions to start our investigation. The first was the bodyguard company, which Wang Yuanchao was in charge of exploring. Next were the wealthy folk present for the club meeting, which Xiaotao would look into. Meanwhile, Song Xingchen and I were to locate the actual location of the club according to Mr. Huang’s description.
Lao Yao would search for clues of the club on the Internet. Considering the hidden nature of the club, the Internet was undoubtedly most convenient for the organization’s operations.
On the other hand, Bingxin was tasked with testing the kidney to determine the victim’s identity.
After assigning our tasks, Xiaotao turned her attention to me.
”Let me modify Bingxin’s task. Do you still remember the human nails we found in Guihe Garden’s soup dumplings two days ago?” I asked.
”Another team has been placed in charge of the investigation. I hear they’ve brought some people in for questioning,” replied Xiaotao.
”My intuition tells me that this case is somehow involved with the cannibal club. Bingxin, look for any connections between the two cases... Oh, never mind,” I changed my mind. “I’ll look into it. I’m rather concerned about this case.”
With that, Xiaotao, Bingxin and I headed to the forensic laboratory. Unfortunately, the coroner didn't find any information from the fingernail. Because it was broken and cooked, extracting DNA from the fingernail proved even more challenging.
The coroner pulled out physical evidence from the refrigerator. In fact, it was common for them to keep human organs in the refrigerator. At the sight of those bloody organs, my mind drifted to the cannibal club once more.
There lay the soup dumpling and nail that we pieced together. It was a complete adult-sized nail with traces of trimming in the front section and lunula on the base.
I stared at this fingernail thoughtfully for a long time, unable to discern anything from it.
”How did this fingernail get into the meat? Was it added into the meat before the wrapping process or after? Could it be a deliberate attempt of sabotage by their competitors?” Bingxin wondered out loud.
Though unintentional, Bingxin’s casual remark sparked a thought. ”Yes, now that you mention it, can you check how long the meat was frozen?”
The coroner took some samples and looked at them under a microscope. When cells were frozen and thawed, the damage would be inevitable. The severity of the damage could only be seen under a microscope. Upon examination, the coroner proceeded to test the cells with reagents. We waited patiently for the results.