Chapter 1199: The Unknown
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Late into the night, the Interpol squad stood outside the autopsy room.
Zhao Yu came into the autopsy room at that point, which made him feel a little guilty. Not one police officer on duty could be seen in the building. The surroundings were strangely quiet, and it made the atmosphere a little weird.
The door of the autopsy room was closed, and it was uncertain if there was anyone inside. Zhao Yu leaned his ear in against the door and listened. While listening, he thought to himself. If Zhang Peipei had already returned to the hotel to rest, then there should be at least another forensic doctor on duty in the autopsy room, right?
In the midst of him thinking about what to do, the door of the autopsy room suddenly opened. From the inside came a person with a thin body wearing a white coat.
“Oops!” This person did not expect anyone to be outside and gasped, holding his chest in shock when he saw Zhao Yu.
“Oh my god!” he said.
Zhao Yu was not paying attention either and was a little stunned. After seeing clearly who it was, he quickly explained.
“Old Gao! Old Gao! It’s me, don’t get so worked up!” Zhao Yu said.
“Oh, you scared me!” Gao Facai held his chest and took off his mask, saying to Zhao Yu, “Zhao Yu, what are you up to? You know my wife had to undergo heart surgery, right? Do you want me to follow in her footsteps?”
“Sorry, sorry!” Zhao Yu answered.
Zhao Yu scurried to comfort him by pressing gently on his chest but was quickly pushed away by Dr. Gao.
“I’m just here to check out the situation!” Zhao Yu explained again. “How would I know that you would come out at the exact moment I was going to knock?”
“Dr. Gao… are you alright?” someone inquired from inside the autopsy room.
“It’s okay, go on, go on!” Gao Facai said, taking a few breaths to regain his composure. Then he said to Zhao Yu, “I haven’t seen you for a day. I actually wanted to talk to you! Uhm…” He took out a cigarette and pointed to the corridor. “Come, let’s talk over here!”
“Huh, so a forensic doctor like yourself smokes too?” Zhao Yu hurriedly helped him to hold the lighter and light the cigarette in order to express his apology.
The two moved further into the corridor. Gao Facai smoked a few puffs of the cigarette before saying, “No choice, as you can see. This job is really taxing! Sigh! When you age, you can only take a few puffs…”
“Just now you said that you were looking for me? How is it? Are there any new findings?” Zhao Yu asked quickly.
“Hmm, Zhang Peipei’s analysis was good!” Gao Facai said seriously. “The corpses did not breed bacteria, so they have yet to decay!”
“Oh, so it’s clear now? Did someone treat the corpses with preservatives?” Zhao Yu asked.
“I can’t tell…” Gao Facai said, sighing. “After we dissected it, a waxy substance was found in the visceral organs and the lower layers of the skin. After testing it, it turns out to be a saponified fat, something we often call corpse wax!”
“Corpse wax?” Zhao Yu asked, puzzled. “Is there anything particular about this?”
“Most process of corpse wax occurs from corpses being immersed into water, or corpses buried in soil with sufficient moisture. In theory, corpse waxes cannot be generated through dry environments like the hanging coffins!” Gao Facai explained. “So, we can only draw two conclusions at this moment.
“One, the corpse has been subjected to some unknown anti-corrosion treatment. Or two, there was an unknown anti-corrosion substance placed inside the corpses of the hanging coffins that can suppress the growth of bacteria, resulting in a perfectly preserved body.”
“You used the word unknown twice!” Zhao Yu said, shaking his head. “I didn’t expect that a top expert like you would use the word unknown!”
“Zhao Yu, there are always so many things in this world that cannot be thoroughly studied by science at the moment!” Gao Facai explained. “Take the hanging coffins as an example. We have not been able to explain precisely how the ancient people managed to place heavy coffins on the cliff and keep them like that for thousands of years.
“Sometimes, the wisdom of the ancient people exceeds our imagination!”
“Since you emphasize so heavily on the wisdom of the ancient people,” Zhao Yu said. “So that means that the first possibility has already been ruled out, and the criminals did not treat the corpse with preservatives?”
“Yes!” Gao Facai admitted honestly. “The most obvious point is that the moment the corpse left the hanging coffin, there was a noticeable change in the bodies. If it were an artificially processed corpse, such a phenomenon would not occur.
“Besides, the body has no traces of artificial treatment. As far as I know, even the current most advanced anti-corrosion technology in the world would not be able to achieve this effect that we see!
“I guess you shouldn’t be unfamiliar with this, right? It was you who caught Li Fei in the headless corpse case!”
“Uhm, indeed…” Zhao Yu remembered that Li Fei had used a very complicated technique to keep the corpse intact.
“Oh, right!” Gao Facai said. “Not every corpse developed corpse wax. The wax is completely absent from female corpses number five and six; there is even less wax in female corpses number one and four. Female corpse number seven has the most wax!”
“The more wax there is, the earlier the corpse was placed in the coffin?” Zhao Yu asked.
“In theory, that is the case, but… because our research on the hanging coffins is nothing but a blank piece of paper, it cannot be a guaranteed 100%!” Gao Facai replied.
“Okay, I get it!” Zhao Yu said after digesting Gao Facai’s words and thinking for a moment. Then he shifted the topic, saying to him, “Well, old Gao, there is one more thing that I have to ask you. How is it going with the matter of Zhang Peipei and Zeng Ke?”
It turned out that Zhao Yu had been concerned with Zeng Ke’s matter and had asked Gao Facai about it a long time ago. Therefore, he knew for a long time why Zhang Peipei was acting coldly towards Zeng Ke.
“Hmm,” Gao Facai said. “I have not done it yet. Did I not just say? The love of my life had heart surgery…”
“Oh, I’m so sorry. Is she alright?” Zhao Yu asked quickly.
“Yeah, the operation went well!” Gao Facai took a deep draw of his cigarette and said, “However, I can’t really stay with her, so my heart is not at ease!”
“Well, it’s still good to hear she’s okay! When I’ve returned to the capital, I will make sure to take good care of both of you, haha…” Zhao Yu said.
“Actually, Peipei is okay…” Gao Facai said. “She told me that she has good feelings towards Zeng Ke. However, her parents reacted very strongly against it! They despise him for not being from the capital, and his family’s condition is not very good either. The two are polar opposites, and they have different customs, etcetera.
“Peipei is an only child. Her parents gave her a name that means ‘to accompany.’ Is that not obvious enough?
“But Zeng Ke often follows the special investigations team and travels around the country. So, you understand, right? If it was your daughter, what would you think about that?” Gao Facai asked.
“I would at least respect my daughter’s choice!” Zhao Yu said without missing a beat. “In fact, such objective questions are nonsense. The key is that the two of them like each other!”
“Alright, alright, don’t get so worked up!” Gao Facai said, putting out his cigarette. “In fact, her parents are still very reasonable people. Give me some more time and I’ll talk to them.”
Zhao Yu wanted to continue the conversation, but his cellphone rang. He opened it. It was a call from leader Xiong Wendong.
“Hello, officer Zhao, are you in the Interpol office yet?” Xiong Wendong asked hastily. “Some news has just arrived from the boatmen. I think we may have found the suspicious ship!”
