The other party seemed very frightened but couldn't express it through words. I held her tightly and gently patted her back, comforting her, "It's alright! We're police officers, we'll get you out of here!"
I didn't know if the woman understood, but her emotions seemed to calm down a bit. Liu Yuning called for backup, but we didn't wait for others to arrive before noticing that the woman had some paint on her that had stained the floor.
I stood up, told Liu Yuning to protect the woman, and followed the paint marks carefully toward the end of the corridor.
At the end, I discovered a trapdoor beneath my feet and stairs. It seemed the woman had climbed up from here earlier.
I cautiously crouched down and inspected the stairs. I wasn't sure if there was danger below, so I hesitated.
Only after backup arrived did I cautiously descend with the others.
It turned out there was a secret room beneath the Longteng Tattoo Parlor. This could be considered a special studio where an unknown number of women were imprisoned, and most of them were dead. Their bodies seemed to have become canvases, adorned with various tattoos. The floor was covered in paint, and countless tables nearby held an array of tattoo pens and machines.
Paint was smeared on the walls, and a faint light flickered from the ceiling. I sprayed Luminol reagent upwards, and unexpectedly, a Polaris symbol slowly materialized!
As everyone was searching, they suddenly noticed another room at the very back of the secret chamber.
I approached the room's door and found it locked. I took out my gun and pulled the trigger, shattering the lock. As we pushed the door open, we discovered a young girl being preserved in a medicinal solution within the room!
The girl was inside a glass bottle, sleeping peacefully.
She bore a slight resemblance to Jin Lezhi...
"Benefit is the root of harm, and fortune is the precursor to disaster."
This is from Han Ying's *Hanshi Waizhuan*. It means that benefit is the source of disaster, and fortune is the harbinger of calamity.
My name is He Sheng, I'm 30 years old, and currently a forensic consultant for the Fuming City Police Bureau. I graduated from forensic medicine, but my grandfather was actually a coroner.
I have a friend named Liu Yuning, who is the criminal investigation captain of the Fuming City Police Bureau. Today, because of our last case, I, as a consultant, received a bonus. She called me earlier and said that according to Director Huang's wishes, she had to personally deliver the bonus to me.
Before she arrived, I opened the curtains of the room's window and looked out at the road.
Soon, a Chevrolet drove over.
"Looks like you live in a nice place!" I murmured.
A knock came from the door.
I left the room and opened the door. Liu Yuning handed me a yellow envelope, saying, "Here's your bonus. Oh, right, you didn't come to the celebration banquet last time, and everyone was talking about you. What were you so busy with? Didn't even have time to eat with everyone?"
"Haha, something came up at home, so I came back early!"
"What is it?" Liu Yuning asked curiously.
At that moment, a dog's head popped out from my arms!
"Ah, He Sheng, you like dogs?"
I scratched my head. "This isn't an ordinary dog. It used to be a police dog, but its owner passed away, so I adopted it."
Before me was an intelligent Labrador, entirely white, with a large head, strong limbs, sharp teeth, and keen eyes.
However, it didn't seem to like strangers very much.
Liu Yuning walked into my courtyard as if she were in her own home.
"You're not going to tell me you ran off mid-case last time because of this dog, are you?"
"Uh, you could say that. It has a name, Fei Hu."
"Hmm? That's a good name. I've heard about how capable police dogs are. It looks like you want to train it to be an excellent police dog!"
I remained silent, put away the envelope, and led Liu Yuning to a tree in the courtyard. I gestured for her to sit on a stone chair, poured her a cup of tea, and said, "It's still hasn't gotten over its past experiences!"
"Who was its original owner?"
"Someone from your team. Don't you know?"
"Hmm? You mean... I remember now. About half a year ago, someone from the police dog unit sacrificed themselves during a drug bust. Officer Huo, wasn't it?"
"Yes. Since then, Fei Hu's ears have had problems. I don't think it can be a police dog anymore."
"That's a pity!"
"There's nothing I can do. I'm usually quite lonely, so I adopted it. It keeps me company."
"I never thought you'd be so compassionate. I always thought you were just a cold bookworm."
"What do you mean, a cold bookworm?"
Liu Yuning waved her hand. "Never mind, forget I said anything. By the way, besides giving you the bonus, I have something to ask of you. We've encountered a rather tricky case recently!"
"Oh? Tell me about it!"
Liu Yuning briefly described it. It was about her cousin. Her cousin, Liu Shuhua, was supposed to get married last month, but on her wedding night, she was murdered. Liu Shuhua was still wearing her white wedding dress when she was found dead in her marital bed. Half an hour before the incident, she had texted Liu Yuning, saying she heard someone playing the guitar. Liu Yuning thought she had misheard and told her to go to sleep after comforting her.
"I never imagined that because of my own oversight, she died like this. I was extremely regretful afterward and had people investigate her room, but no signs of anyone entering were found. It seems like a locked-room murder case," Liu Yuning said sadly.
"Hearing guitar music before she died... that is quite eerie. Were there any findings on the deceased?"
"There were several large holes in her neck. The coroner confirmed that it seemed to be bitten by some animal, but they haven't been able to identify it yet," Liu Yuning said.
"It's been a month with no results. Could it be an alien?" I muttered.
"Don't be ridiculous. Perhaps seeing the body would be better."
"So, besides your cousin, were there any other victims?"
Liu Yuning looked surprised. "How did you know?"
"If that wasn't the case, you wouldn't have used the excuse of delivering a bonus to come see me!"
"Uh, even if I came directly, you wouldn't have refused, would you!"
"Haha, have you forgotten? You lost our bet last time! You still owe me a hot pot meal!"
"We'll see about that later. I need to be busy now. Don't always think about eating!"
"Alright, then tell me, how many other victims are there?"
"Currently, there is one more. She's also a woman, found in the mountains. Like my cousin, she was bitten when she died, and there was a red silk ribbon tied to her left hand!"