The already dim, unfinished apartment suddenly became tense. The man’s demeanor shifted abruptly, turning somewhat terrifying. Fortunately, Ding Qingyuan was experienced; he stepped forward quickly, clamping down hard on the man's philtrum with his middle finger, which slowly brought him back to calm.

Everyone scattered with a gasp, then rapidly began a thorough search of the entire unfinished unit.

Tense nerves undoubtedly heighten the sensitivity of one's sensory organs. Not long after the search began, a cry went up: "There are clothes here!"

Another voice immediately followed: "Here are shoe buckles!"

Finally, all the items were gathered. The man identified them, and they were almost entirely He Shuhua’s. The man’s face had gone as white as paper, as if a slight breeze could carry him right off the rooftop. It was only because Ding Qingyuan stayed close by that he managed to hold on.

My brow furrowed deeply, because the collected items were enough to prove He Shuhua had been here, yet her body was nowhere to be found.

The reason I thought of a body was that Wang Xudong had found a brassiere in the inner room, which the man confirmed belonged to He Shuhua. A young woman whose bra had been removed, missing for three days—I could only think of one possibility: rape and murder!

I surveyed the area. Every conceivable hiding spot had been checked. Where in the world was the woman's corpse hidden?

Or perhaps, she wasn't here at all.

Let's construct a scenario: Late at night, a man waits until He Shuhua steps out of her rental room, presses a sharp dagger against her throat, and forces her up to the rooftop. Or perhaps, just as she was returning home and reaching for her door, he struck her hard from behind, knocking her unconscious, and carried her to the top floor.

Once on the roof, the man brought He Shuhua into the unfinished apartment, stripped her naked, and proceeded with the **. Because He Shuhua was subdued by coercion and fear, or perhaps remained completely unconscious throughout, no loud sounds were made. The only noise heard by people downstairs was faint, failing to draw any attention.

Afterward, the killer brutally murdered He Shuhua to conceal his crime.

If this was where He Shuhua was killed, the lack of extensive bloodstains made it seem unlike a primary murder scene. This was a contradiction, but it didn't rule out methods that didn't involve much bleeding, such as strangulation. If that were the case, the killer couldn't possibly carry a bulky, dead body down from the rooftop and find a place to hide it, as that would expose far too many vulnerabilities and risk being spotted midway.

Could it be that the man had ** He Shuhua and, instead of killing her immediately, forcibly took her away, and then…?

If that were true, there was still a slim chance He Shuhua might have survived. Perhaps the man's lust wasn't fully sated, so he took He Shuhua back to his lair to vent his urges whenever he pleased. However, this was just one possibility. Another was that the man had decided to kill her to silence her but feared her death throes might alert the downstairs residents. Thus, he forced her out of the rental building and killed her in some secluded, deserted spot.

The unfinished room was cluttered with debris, scattered haphazardly across the floor, none higher than ten centimeters, and largely spaced apart—no possible place to hide a body. I sniffed the air again, detecting no scent of putrefaction. Had the woman truly been taken away?

Zhang Jiewei frowned, his eyes like knives, seeming determined to scrape another layer off the walls of the unfinished room. He was completely in the zone now, as agitated and sharp as a hound spotting its prey.

Hong Yang’s face was equally tense, showing no expression. Having found He Shuhua’s belongings, he had definitively lost this round. I imagined his pride must be causing him immense pain.

In my own heart, I secretly hoped the woman had been taken away; at least that offered a sliver of hope for survival. If we found her here, the outcome would be tragically certain.

The group searched every room in the unfinished unit again, turning the debris inside out, but still found nothing.

I spoke with a touch of listlessness: "Let's stop looking. Do you honestly think we'll find her here?"

Zhang Jiewei and Hong Yang certainly wouldn't answer such a pointless question, but Wang Xuyang blurted out, "Of course! If we find her, we can determine the nature of the case, saving everyone the..."

At this point, several fierce glares swept over him, seemingly slicing his tongue and throat into a thousand pieces, silencing him completely.

After a moment, the young man stammered, "I didn't mean it like that, I just let it slip while following his lead."

Good heavens, trying to shift the blame! Normally, I would have disciplined him soundly, but this wasn't the time; otherwise, wouldn't I be just as bad as him?

Hong Yang glanced around, dusted off his hands, and said, "The person probably isn't in here. We should quickly start the external investigation and try to find clues from the surrounding surveillance cameras as soon as possible."

Hearing him, I felt a slight disdain. Relying on high technology for everything—how were old cases solved?

Just then, I noticed a slight shift in Zhang Jiewei’s gaze and my heart suddenly hammered: No way, did this guy really discover something?

I quickly followed his line of sight. Near the wall of the adjacent room sat several boxes of white putty powder used for decoration. However, these boxes weren't large enough to hold a corpse, and there was some powder scattered outside them, confirming they held putty and nothing else.

Zhang Jiewei’s gaze lingered on the putty boxes for a moment, then shifted elsewhere, and my heart finally settled down.

Suddenly, a horrifying thought flashed into my mind: Why was the putty powder scattered outside?

Logically, unused putty powder would have been sealed when carried up to the roof. This meant the powder inside shouldn't have spilled out; even if the box was dropped heavily, at most a wisp might drift from a corner seam.

Yet, in front of those putty boxes, there was a significant amount of white powder scattered around. How did it get out? Furthermore, judging by the color, the spilled powder was very white and fresh, not like putty left exposed to the air for long.

Goosebumps instantly erupted all over my body, like countless disgusting insects crawling over me. I pointed a finger at the boxes, trying to speak, but no sound emerged.

Xiao Cuo, noticing my distress, stepped forward, placed a hand on my arm, and asked, "Brother Lei, what are you trying to say?"

I pointed at the putty boxes, mumbling indistinctly, "Powder, powder, came out, it came out."

No one else understood, but Zhang Jiewei did. He dashed to the putty boxes, gently lifted one lid, revealing a dazzling white expanse inside.

I let out a long breath. I hadn't seen the terrifying scene I imagined. Just as everyone thought it was a false alarm, Zhang Jiewei plunged his hand into the putty and pulled upward—a pale, white hand was brought out.

My heart clenched violently, my stomach churning, and finally, I couldn't hold back. Ugh—I vomited loudly.

Soon, Zhang Jiewei pulled out a small section of an arm and a knee from the box. Hong Yang, Xiao Cuo, and Wang Xuyang retrieved the remaining body parts from the other boxes.

I was the only one, leaning weakly against the wall, feeling as feeble as a gravely ill person, nearly collapsing to the ground.

The forensic investigation team arrived quickly. The entire rental building was cordoned off, and all tenants and the landlord were notified that they were forbidden from leaving the city for the time being, and their phone numbers had to be registered truthfully for future inquiries.

Everyone was busy, and the rooftop was chaotic. I sat on a square brick against the wall, watching forensic examiner Lin Shuqing painstakingly reassemble the shattered, fragmented pieces into a complete human figure.

Suddenly, the face of the assembled 'white person' on the ground flushed red, and the features gradually became distinct. I was stunned by what I saw, my mouth wide open, trying to scream, but no sound came out.

Then, the 'white person' suddenly sat up, flashed a grin at me, and a bolt of thunder exploded in my mind—I saw Xiao Xuan!

It was Xiao Xuan, though her face was terribly pale, but I would never forget her appearance. Her head was severed, merely resting on her neck, where a deep ravine gaped—one touch and I could carry it away...

"Brother Lei, Brother Lei!"

Xiao Cuo's urgent voice interrupted me. I sat there, still shaken, my whole body drenched, even the brick beneath me was soaked.

"Brother Lei, why are you still here? Everyone has left. Let’s go quickly; this place is too creepy."

By then, I realized the unfinished room was empty again; even the corpse I had just seen was gone. What exactly did I witness?

A wave of chill shot from my head to my soles. I leaped up from the ground, shouting like I'd seen a ghost, "Let's go, let's go!"

After rushing down the rental building, the fear began to subside once I was in the police car. Then I thought again: If the body wasn't there, was what I saw truly the ghost of Xiao Xuan?

Did she want to see me, or was she trying to tell me something?

My heart gave a sudden jolt: Could this case be connected to the murderer who killed her?

Back at the station, I sat quietly in my office, meticulously reviewing every detail, but I couldn't connect anything to Xiao Xuan. I pressed my aching head and closed my eyes in distress.

Just then, Elder Jiang walked in and slapped my shoulder heavily: "Wang Lei, excellent performance today."

I knew Zhang Jiewei must have told him about my discovering the body, but I couldn't feel happy because I truly did not want to see that scene. I was afraid of seeing corpses!

Elder Jiang announced, "Since our Special Investigation Unit found the body, the bureau has assigned this case to us. Everyone, cheer up and work hard."

I suddenly asked, "But the previous case is still without leads?"

Elder Jiang seemed to have anticipated this, replying instantly, "This case will be headed by the Special Investigation Unit, with Team Four assisting. Understood?"

The Special Investigation Unit members cheered. This was the first time in history that the Special Unit had outranked Criminal Investigation Team Four. Fu Zhen and Hong Yang must be furious beyond measure.

I was the main contributor to this discovery. In the past, I would have certainly gone to Elder Jiang to claim credit or rewards, but I wasn't in the mood now. I just smiled along with them, then sat listlessly, gazing blankly out the window at the vibrant green leaves.

As soon as Elder Jiang left, Xiao Cuo became active, his goal being nothing more than freeloading a meal, as Zhang Jiewei had promised him earlier. Zhang Jiewei was also pleased today; since I was now under his command, my success was his success. So, he slapped his chest and decided to treat everyone tonight at Sihai Feast.

Sihai Feast was quite a prestigious establishment in Anyin City. It seemed Zhang Jiewei was both wealthy and generous, though, as the saying goes, you can’t catch a wolf without sacrificing a cub; he also needed his subordinates to work hard for him.

That day, I drank myself into a stupor. Everyone thought I was celebrating, but I was trying to forget. I wanted to forget everything I saw in that rental building, including Xiao Xuan. Because I knew that was absolutely not Xiao Xuan, but merely a vile specter deliberately trying to scare me. This spectral entity had appeared in my mailbox, had haunted my dreams, and now it had taken form in the rental building, using that woman's lingering spirit to terrify me.

It thought taking Xiao Xuan's appearance could fool me, but I could recognize it instantly. Xiao Xuan would never manifest on such hideous, dismembered remains; she only appeared in my dreams.

My heart suddenly ached, as if pierced by a steel needle, because thinking of Xiao Xuan reminded me of the wolf wearing human skin—You Qiaolin.

You Qiaolin was now incarcerated. For a criminal guilty of multiple murders, only one outcome awaited him—that was a certainty. But he was still in the death row cell because he hadn't fully disclosed the details of his crimes.

In every country governed by law, there is a strict process from the sentencing to the execution of a death row inmate. As the saying goes, life is paramount, which conveys this very idea. Moreover, to fully grasp the offender's methods for future prevention and investigation, every effort is made to make them talk and reveal all aspects of their criminal execution before the death penalty is carried out.

Often, death row inmates, knowing they are doomed, speak quite readily, as if wishing to leave something behind in this world. They recount everything they have ever done, some even adding embellishments, fearing they might leave too little.

But there are a small number of individuals who are harder than steel, not only disregarding the lives of others but also their own. When facing death, it’s just like reaching the end of a road; cessation is a normal event. Such people remain silent. Faced with irrefutable evidence, they will admit no crime other than the one they committed. They are extremely selfish; even in death, they refuse to give up their secrets to others.

You Qiaolin was undoubtedly one of the most stubborn among this group. He not only confessed to the crimes he was proven guilty of but also admitted to crimes without evidence, yet he refused to divulge his motives or methods. He was like a cat playing with a mouse; even caged, he maintained the demeanor of a tormentor, still employing the same tactics.

The most tragic part was that I, the cat outside the cage, was actually being toyed with like a mouse by him.

I had to see this brutal man. Even if I couldn't extract anything from his mouth, I needed to humiliate him, to make him understand that he was now the mouse in the cage, not me!

The next day, I filed my report. Since You Qiaolin was a death row inmate, seeing him required approval from the relevant higher-ups. The most critical point I wrote in the report was that I was the fiancé of the victim, Lan Jinxuan, and a comrade who had fought alongside her. Under these dual identities, I demanded to meet the murderer who killed both my fiancée and my comrade.

I believed my reasoning was sound enough to move any superior. Indeed, my report received a swift reply, but it was somewhat startling.

The superiors approved my request, but not immediately. You Qiaolin was currently on a hunger strike in prison and was undergoing emergency treatment.

What was this crazy man trying to do?

Was he so eager for death that he wanted to keep something hidden forever?

A stream of thoughts flooded my mind, and my desire to see him grew stronger.

At that moment, new leads emerged in the He Shuhua rooftop murder case. According to the medical examiner's report, the victim, He Shuhua, had clear ligature marks around her neck, indicating death by asphyxiation. However, there was no semen found internally, thus ruling out rape.

In densely populated areas with transient residents, murders of young women are often linked to sexual assault. But this case presented a different scenario. What did that imply?

Did the killer have no interest in young women? Or was 'he' not a woman at all? Or was there some conflict of interest with the deceased?

A chain of questions arose, and then began to answer themselves: First, if the killer was indeed a woman, she must have been physically larger than average to strangle the victim without making much noise. But if the victim had a conflict with someone who then hired an assassin, the likelihood of sexual assault would decrease significantly. Still, what kind of deadly trouble could a woman as poor and powerless as He Shuhua have gotten into?