As soon as they got into the car, Zhou Ning and Doctor Liu both turned to look at Xu Dayuan.
Seeing the master and apprentice make the same gesture, Xu Dayuan tugged at the corner of his mouth and clicked his tongue.
"Stop looking at me like that, I don't have much information. The police from the port station called to say they'd found a body. It's a bit far, in the Bi Hai Lan Tian Garden, which is at the very southern edge of the development zone, right next to Qindao Port.
The occupancy rate of the compound where the incident occurred is very high, after all, it's the closest location to Qindao City District in Qidong, and there are hospitals and schools nearby, two universities, and it's also by the seaside.
The reporters are two men who said they have been working overtime a lot recently, and decided to just stay at a friend's house who was away. This morning, they accidentally discovered someone under the bed."
Doctor Liu listened and nodded continuously, and when Xu Dayuan paused, he opened his eyes wide and spread his hands.
"That's it?"
"That's it. The folks at the port police station just took a look and confirmed it was a body, then they immediately contacted me. The two who reported the case were also kept there."
Zhou Ning didn't speak. The car's air conditioning was not very good; it seemed to be leaking air everywhere. Zhou Ning pulled his hat down and hugged his arms, closing his eyes to sleep, with the intermittent sounds of Doctor Liu and Xu Dayuan's conversation in his ears.
Half an hour later, the car jerked a few times, seeming to go over a speed bump. Zhou Ning lifted his hat, and indeed, they had arrived at the scene.
After donning his mask, Zhou Ning hopped out of the car and took his investigation kit, following behind Doctor Liu.
He didn't plan on taking the initiative today, but to follow his master's arrangements, since this was his first time attending a scene with Doctor Liu.
As they were getting ready, several policemen came over, shaking hands and greeting Xu Dayuan warmly. The chubby tall guy was Chief Zhu. Seeing Doctor Liu, he continuously nodded and, halfway through extending his hand, he turned it toward the building behind, and Liu Yongxin slowly lowered his half-raised hand without showing any displeasure, just smiling.
Zhou Ning wasn't surprised by this treatment, but still felt uncomfortable when he actually saw it.
Chief Zhu didn't seem to notice and continued with his briefing.
"...The body was found in Room 102 of Unit 3, Building 6. The two who reported the case both work at Qindao Port. One is named Song Luqing, a crane operator, and the other is named Wang Ye, a dispatcher. The port has been busy recently with a lot of overtime. They've been staying here for these eight or nine days.
Oh, the owner of this apartment is Feng Cuiqin, a 74-year-old aunt with poor leg mobility. She lives in Dongtai District and owns quite a few properties. She has three apartments in this compound alone.
This apartment, Room 102, was rented to Yu Jingwei in June this year. It was arranged through an agency, and they even paid a 500 yuan agency fee. As for information about this Yu Jingwei, I was still checking when you arrived."
Chief Zhu repeated the contents he had on his phone, apparently already familiar with the basics, and Xu Dayuan nodded.
"Alright, you've worked hard. We need some assistance maintaining order here. I'll let the forensic doctor have a look first, and after that, we'll determine the direction of the investigation. But call those two reporters over for me to have a word with them."
Chief Zhu wiped his hands and glanced at Doctor Liu and Zhou Ning.
"When dealing with such a vicious case without any leads, I feel we are still lacking. How about we talk to the city's forensic office and ask them to send someone over?"
Xu Dayuan laughed, not just with an expression, but with a genuine laugh as if he had heard an amusing joke. He gestured behind him.
"Okay, pal, I'll take it as your concern for the case. We'll take it from here. You guys can leave. What are you waiting for, the meal to be served?"
As Xu Dayuan finished speaking, the criminal investigation team sprang into action, taking over the police cordon, dispersing onlookers, and officially taking custody of the two reporters.
Xu Dayuan didn't give any orders, and Zhou Ning wasn't in a hurry. He Chunyang went to take a statement from the elderly lady, and the two reporters were brought forward. Chief Zhu left without further ado, leading his men away.
Doctor Liu spoke softly, "There has been a rumor recently that Qindao Port area might be transferred to Taidong District. I guess Chief Zhu has his own thoughts on that. Just don't add to the chaos, and that will be fine."
Zhou Ning nodded, understanding the rationale.
"I got it, Master. I'll go to the scene as soon as Xu Da instructs. Don't worry, I won't embarrass you."
Liu Yongxin smiled, leisurely taking out a cigarette and lighting it up. As the reporters were brought before them, Zhou Ning looked at the two men who both seemed rather pale as if they'd been scared witless.
"Talk about it, how did you discover the body? Don't leave out any details. I'll handle the analysis - don't worry about being verbose. The more detailed, the better."
The younger one, Song Luqing, looked nervously at the taller Wang Ye beside him.
"My name is Song Luqing. In the last eight or nine days, our unit has been working overtime until midnight every day. Wang Ge (Brother Wang) and I were temporarily staying at his friend's rented apartment, this Room 102, because it's closer to our workplace.
This morning, when I got up, I realized I didn't have any cigarettes left, so I asked Brother Wang for some. Brother Wang teased me for always mooching off his cigarettes and hid them, saying if I could find them, I could smoke them, otherwise I'd have to go out and buy my own. So I started looking around.
As I was searching, I noticed something under the bed in the north guest room. I peered under the bed for a long while but couldn't make it out clearly, just a dark heap of something, not knowing what it was. So I lifted the mattress, and through a gap in the bed slats, I saw a hand."
At this point, Song Luqing retched twice, tears almost spilling out, that kind of fright made him feel as if he were reliving the experience again.
To the side, Wang Ye continued,
"Let me continue, I was using the restroom when I heard Song Luqing's shout. I hurriedly pulled up my pants and ran out to look, the hand was blue and black, definitely not that of a living person, so I immediately called the police.
We didn't touch anything and just waited downstairs for the police to arrive. Afterward, Chief Zhu came over and looked before contacting you guys. Neither of us was allowed to leave; could we make a call to our work to ask for leave?"
Wang Ye, being older, managed to control his emotions fairly well, but the hand holding his phone still trembled slightly. It's a normal reaction for people not accustomed to this sort of thing, and Xu Dayuan nodded his head.
"Wait a moment, you can make a call to ask for leave, but we still need you to help make a statement. If there are no issues, you can go back to work, it won't take long."
Relieved at hearing this, the two of them relaxed. Xu Dayuan then asked,
"Tell me, why are you staying in this house? As far as I know, your company provides dormitories, and if you work overtime, you can stay there, right?"
Seeing Song Luqing still crouching on the ground, Wang Ye quickly said,
"Yes, we have dorms, but this apartment is rented by my classmate Yu Jingwei. He went on a trip with his daughter for half a month. He has a dog at home that needs looking after. He asked me for a favor, so I agreed and that's why I'm temporarily staying here."
"A trip? How long have they been gone?"
Wang Ye seemed to consider for a moment before the still crouching Song Luqing eagerly raised his hand.
"They left on the 29th of last month. I was on the day shift then, and I was the one who came to feed the dog."
"Did they leave you the keys?"
Wang Ye waved his hand.
"It's a code lock, you can open it with a fingerprint or a code, no key needed."
Xu Dayuan nodded, and pointed at the police officer beside him.
"Alright, leave your contact information, make your calls to ask for leave, then follow our officer to the security station to make a statement, and after that, you can leave. We will contact you if we need anything. Don't go out in the meantime."
The two nodded happily, visibly relieved.
Xu Dayuan turned to Zhou Ning and Doctor Liu, noticing Doctor Liu was still smoking, seemingly not in any rush to go up.
"Doctor Zhou, take Zhao Xinli to check the scene. Doctor Liu and his team also need to collect samples, right?"
"I'll collect samples."
Doctor Liu, carrying a bag, walked in the direction where Song Luqing and Wang Ye had left.
Zhou Ning gestured to Zhao Xinli, who having heard the conversation, came over to help carry the investigation kit, eagerly following Zhou Ning into the apartment.
Arriving in front of door 102, the door stood open with no signs of forced entry. Zhao Xinli, very conscientiously, took out fingerprint powder and a brush and began searching for prints on the door.
Zhou Ning set down the backpack and looked past the entrance door; directly opposite was the bathroom, to the south was the living room and a bedroom, and to the north were the dining room, an open kitchen, and the guest room.
The room was fairly clean, mainly because there wasn't much furniture. There was just a long sofa in the living room, a flat-screen TV on the wall, and the dining table and cabinets were complete. You could tell no cooking was done based on the absence of any cooking utensils and condiments, and the surfaces were all dusty.
Zhou Ning stepped into the living room, and at that moment, barking erupted from the balcony of the living room. A black Labrador was scrabbling at its cage; although it was barking loudly, its tail was wagging.
Standing between the living room and the dining room, an offensive odor hit Zhou Ning's nose.
Zhou Ning furrowed his brows slightly. Can a dog really smell that bad?