The toilet was very simple with just one sink, one squat toilet, and one shower.

  “It’s inside.” Tang Yan took a look and turned to the professor. “It’s your turn to do the job.”


  The toilet was not very big. It could only accommodate three people and it so happened that the professor just brought Mu Qiqi and Feng Shanshan along. So, they entered the toilet.

  The corpse was actively decaying after passing the bloating stage. The body was curled up in the shower on its side. Obviously, someone put him in after his death.

  “The victim is a male, about sixty to sixty-five years old. There is a visible ligature mark on his neck and his body shows signs of struggling. There is some fabric fibre and some keratinous tissue beneath his nails, and no wounds on other body parts. No signs of being poisoned so we can rule that out. So, we can basically be sure that he was choked to death.”


  “I wasn’t expecting another murder case to be entwined with the current case. It doesn’t seem difficult to be solved.”


  “The secret passage in the hotel bathroom above leads straight into this underground casino. The murderer knows this place. He might have hidden himself in here before. But when did he leave the place in the end?”


  Feng Shanshan raised her doubts.

  And, they were more stumped than ever.

  In order not to leave any footprints, the murderer must have stayed until the police came before leaving the place. Everyone had thought that the murderer would leave footprints before they arrived. However, they would not think that he’d be hiding in the basement, waiting for the police to come before escaping.

  Now that many policemen had walked in and out of the hotel every day, how could they find the footprints of the murderer anymore?

  “He’s so cunning.”


  “Let’s find out who the murderer of this case is first. There was evidence beneath the fingernails of the victim. It shouldn’t be difficult to investigate this case. Perhaps the two cases are related in some way.” The professor stood up and said to the rest, “Let’s go back and do the DNA analysis.”


  “I’ve got an idea,” Mu Qiqi said to the professor.

  Right then, Tang Yan said, “Compare the DNA of the fingernail scrapings with the DNA of the four victims.

  Which was exactly what Mu Qiqi was thinking about.

  If it was as they expected, then there might be a personal vendetta. The murderer had to be related to the victim then.

  “Well, if that’s the case, we’ve got to act quickly.”


  After the breakthrough, everyone was fired up. While the investigation team was confirming the identity of the victim, Tang Yan had a new question. “Since there is no exit in the basement and it can only be used for hiding, how did Liao Xing get out?”


  Everyone thought about the mystery.

  “He said that after he checked on the bodies, he was knocked out by someone. And when he gained consciousness, he was already outside,” the policeman answered. “Our colleague saw the wound on his head.”


  “But what he said is illogical. Because when we got in, the murderer was hiding in the basement. He did not go out. If Liao Xing was knocked out by the murderer, the murderer should have gone out when Liao Xing was brought out of the place. So, it’s impossible that we didn’t find his footprints. And if Liao Xing was carried out by the murderer when we were there, who called the police then? It doesn’t make sense. He must be lying. You have to interrogate him again.

  “Previously, we ruled out Liao Xing because we thought there was an exit in the basement that allowed him and the murderer to leave. But now that we know there isn’t any exit, it means he was lying!”


  Just as Tang Yan finished talking, the result of the DNA analysis came out.

  “The skin tissue belongs to the older brother, Liao Sheng. Your guess is right. But there is something more bizarre. This victim is…… Liao Xing’s father, the brother’s uncle.”


  In this case, was it necessary to continue the investigation? The outcome was so obvious already.

  Since there was substantial evidence, Liao Xing confessed in the end.

  But what they had guessed wrongly was his motive. He did not kill the four people to avenge his father. He had no idea that his father had already died in the basement.

  He killed them because the brothers always humiliated and mocked him while they let him come to earn some tips out of pity. They even said that he was monstrously ugly.

  So, Liao Xing had the intention to kill them since long ago. And he had imagined it a thousand times in his mind.

  In the morning that day, the brothers had Liao Xing come to earn tips as usual. However, Liao Sheng took advantage of this time to date Liao Xing’s wife.

  After Liao Xing knew about this, he could not suppress his anger anymore, so he brought forward his plan. In the evening, he carried an axe to the hotel and killed them all.

  After that, he hid in the basement and left only after all the policemen left.

  As for the call, it was an arrangement he made earlier. He hired a man to report it to the police using his name in order to eliminate his suspicion.

  “Then, do you know that your father died in the basement? And the murderer was Liao Sheng.”


  Liao Xing was stunned when he heard that, but he laughed in the end. “It must be karma. The brother deserved it.”


  “Liao Xing, you will still be punished by law.”


  “Humph, I’ll just be convicted of a crime of passion. If I had gotten more time, I would have been able to erase all traces and not let you find any clue. Anyway, the brothers were really hateful. I couldn’t stand them!”


  Seeing the hideous side of the murderer, Mu Qiqi and Feng Shanshan felt bitter.

  “That’s why we always say that people who are alive are the most terrifying.”


  “Since the case is solved, I shall treat you all to an afternoon tea,” the team leader said to the team.

  But Tang Yan acted aloof. “You all have fun. I won’t be joining.”


  “What a boring soul.” Feng Shanshan couldn’t help but comment while she had her back to him.

  “That’s not true. He is helping me with something this evening,” the professor told Feng Shanshan. “You all have fun. I won’t be joining as well.”


  Seeing Tang Yan leave, Mu Qiqi couldn’t help but lean against Feng Shanshan’s shoulder as she said, “Actually, he is quite strong. Moreover, the one in my house told me that he is a national champion in martial arts and kickboxing.”


  “But his EQ is terribly low.” Feng Shanshan shook her head. “I really doubt he would be able to get married. Even if he does get married, there must be something wrong with his wife.”


  “You say you don’t care about him but still you talk so much about him.” Mu Qiqi turned her face away. “Besides, isn’t it enough already that you bad-mouth people in secret?”


  Not far away, the professor smiled helplessly and said to Tang Yan, “Boy, can you be a bit gentler to the girls? How long do I have to wait to see you get a girlfriend?”


  “I think girls are troublesome, especially Feng Shanshan.”


  “Why?”


  “She’s so fussy,” Tang Yan said coldly and walked into the forensics laboratory.

  If Feng Shanshan knew what Tang Yan commented about her, she would probably explode again.