Special Forces Medic-Chapter 637 - 603: Xiao Lin’s Tracks

Wu Shuang wasn't awakened naturally but was jolted awake by a sliver of sunlight. She jumped up abruptly, wondering when she fell asleep and if she had been improperly touched while sleeping. Wu Shuang checked her clothes—they were intact.

The chair back was reclined quite flat; it must have been Hua Qingyi's doing! The driver's seat was empty. Wu Shuang tried to open the car door and jumped out. The independent building's factory had chains hanging across it, and Wu Shuang turned toward a nearby low flat house.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh, you're awake?" Hua Qingyi glanced at the disheveled Wu Shuang, twisting the faucet. Yellow rusty water splashed out. "See, there's water here."

"Last night!"

"No water." Hua Qingyi also stared puzzlingly at the ongoing stream of yellow liquid. "It shouldn't be like this!"

"Yeah, why is there water during the day, but none at night?"

"That's not what I meant!" Hua Qingyi took some water and sniffed it near his nose. "This isn't the smell of rust." He was always puzzled at what kind of water pipes would rust like this. Normally, once the water circulates through the pipes, it clears up, but all morning, the water flowing out was consistently yellow.

"What is this?" Wu Shuang couldn't detect the smell. She looked at Hua Qingyi blankly. He thought for a moment and then rushed out of the low house, following the pipes, reaching the peculiar factory.

A thick pipe was surrounded by several smaller ones of varying sizes. The thickest pipe led directly inside the factory, while several similar pipes diverged in other directions but also originated from within the factory. The pipe linked to the low house came from this thickest pipe.

Hua Qingyi pursued the direction of the thickest pipe. Finally, in an open area, he discovered that part of the pipe inclined slightly underground, which they initially hadn't noticed, overlooking a region behind the factory.

"Any discoveries?" Wu Shuang followed along. The open area was empty, and Hua Qingyi stood beside something that looked like a water pipe.

"Where was Ah San's body found?"

"In one of the rooms of the low house, but not the primary scene."

"Definitely not the primary scene." Without hesitation, Hua Qingyi concluded the facts.

The room was filled with lots of old wooden furniture, like door panels or broken chairs and bed frames, and some fairly thick logs and branches, resembling a storage room for firewood, previously used to store dry wood for stoves.

Because of these dry woods, the room absorbed quite a bit of odor. Hua Qingyi turned on the flashlight, illuminating from where they entered. Wu Shuang followed silently. Why was he using a flashlight now when the sun was already high? Following the light beam, she discovered the reason during their search.

In a normal environment, the beam's role is just lighting, but in certain special environments, it's different. The white walls bore traces like splashed water, and on the dry branches, there were spots. Wu Shuang had seen the stain on the ground when she came last time. No need to mention this; the beam revealed a bloodstain.

"When I came here, this was the bloodstain I saw on the ground."

Hua Qingyi turned off the flashlight. "Has the north district reported any missing persons?"

This was quite an irrelevant question. "There's almost no crime rate here."

"Oh, really?" Hua Qingyi displayed his signature contempt. "Such a well-secured area."

"Can't you stop being sarcastic?" Wu Shuang pouted.

"You just transferred to the special police unit, so naturally, it's not related to you." Hua Qingyi squinted his eyes, turning the light back on, and the beam changed to a blue hue.

"What kind of light is this?"

"A multifunctional beam light; different colors can detect different traces." Hua Qingyi took it from Dragon Soul because it was fascinating. It can identify up to seven different marks, which means it possesses many colors. Back then, he was enchanted by a childhood cartoon about a Flower Fairy, a tale of finding a seven-colored flower. "You stay outside."

With Hua Qingyi's shout, Wu Shuang really retreated. Under the blue light were numerous dark marks. "What are these?"

"Footprints." Hua Qingyi photographed the patterns above with his phone. "Even if the scene was cleaned, residues on the soles would still leave marks on the ground, generally invisible to the naked eye."

There were quite a few footprints in this room, which was somewhat troubling for him. The beam could show footprints, but it couldn't determine their order. Wu Shuang posed the question in another way. "Do you know any way to distinguish who is who?"

"No!"

"What good does knowing do?"

"No use! But examining footprints can help determine a person's height, body hair features, and even the number of people."

"Really? Is that possible?" Wu Shuang blinked. There was a class about this at school, but at the time, she only wanted to become a traffic officer, so she naturally forgot about the investigation lesson.

"How did you become the captain of the special police unit?" Hua Qingyi suspiciously glared at Wu Shuang; investigation is a fundamental subject in case-solving, yet this woman seems unfamiliar with its content.

"Who said being a captain means you have to know all this?" Wu Shuang retorted, lacking confidence.

"You wouldn't be the child of some high-ranking official, would you? That would make us common folks a bit wary!"

"Hua Qingyi, stop rambling! Have you found Xiao Lin's traces?"

"Hmm!" Hua Qingyi nodded and walked toward the door. Under strong light, beams do not work well, but he stood with his back to Wu Shuang, simultaneously switching on two colors of beams, blue and white, displaying a strange posture at the doorway.

"What are you doing?" Wu Shuang saw Hua Qingyi stepping with one foot on the door frame, right toe on the ground, while his right hand stretched to hold the door frame, and his left hand supported the ground.

Hua Qingyi ignored Wu Shuang, closing his eyes as images appeared in the boy's mind.

Xiao Lin had run all the way here, his breaths heavy, as if someone were chasing him, and when he reached this room, he tripped over a piece of protruding stone at the door. Hua Qingyi guessed this because there was a small pit at the door, with a stone rolled into the corner of the room.

Wu Shuang left Xiao Lin first; it wasn't late then. Who would come during the day? Why did Xiao Lin need to hide? Given his skills, he didn't need to hide like this. This question left a dangerous signal in Hua Qingyi's mind.

Hua Qingyi stood up, shifted sideways to the left wall, leaning against it with his right shoulder, toes pointing out, left foot perpendicular. Right hand placed the fingertips to knock, then somersaulted facing the window entirely. Hua Qingyi's movements were strange, prompting Wu Shuang to unconsciously pull out her phone to record Hua Qingyi's series of peculiar actions.

What did Xiao Lin see from this window? Hua Qingyi thought, staring at the mysterious factory outside, realizing Xiao Lin got here to hide. Noticing the footprints trampled over the ground, Hua Qingyi propelled himself onto a pile of tall waste boards from a tiptoe stand. Scanning downward revealed a hiding spot fit for one person.

He jumped down, pressing his back against the wall, falling in a way that Xiao Lin's line of sight just slipped through the gap to see the entrance.

Hua Qingyi wanted to use the cold light for a sweep but found the space too cramped for him to turn around.

If Xiao Lin were trying to leave a mark in such an environment, where would it most likely be? Hua Qingyi intensely scanned the area visible from the corners of his eyes.

Aside from wooden planks, there was nothing ahead. Wood chips and nails, with branches intertwined chaotically, posing a risk of snagging things up or carelessly pushing the stuff ahead downwards.

The wall was the backrest, prompting Hua Qingyi to touch it casually, intending to test if Xiao Lin would do something like this based on his understanding of Xiao Lin.

In childhood, they often played a game called 'Secret Deal.' Nearly like hide-and-seek, he, Xiao Lin, and Wuzi would appoint one as the ghost, while among the remaining, one played the thief, and the rest as police. The ghost would flee with crucial documents, and the thief would use signals left by the ghost to support them. The police would naturally pursue the culprit, while the signals left by the ghost might be numerous secrets. The thief's task was to relay false information to the police alongside finding these messages, determining who would find the ghost first, thereby becoming the next ghost.

This was a scenario simulation training devised by Xiao Lin; such skills proved beneficial during urgent times. On the wall, Hua Qingyi indeed touched the mark Xiao Lin had left.

After having completely grasped the markings on the wall, Hua Qingyi forcefully pulled a chunk off from the alley corner, destroying the piece without so much as a glance at what was inscribed on it.

"Hua Qingyi, what exactly are you doing in there?" Wu Shuang occasionally glanced back at the sinister factory behind, unsure if it was merely nerves or what, but she incessantly felt as if someone was observing them within.

"Enough!" From above, Hua Qingyi leaped down, his expression piquing Wu Shuang's curiosity. "What's wrong? You look rather frantic."

"I just feel like someone is watching us from there." Wu Shuang whispered to Hua Qingyi, her intuition generally spot-on.

"Oh! It's still early, let's head back and return in the afternoon!"

"What?" Wu Shuang glared at him in disbelief. After all that hustle, just leaving like this?

"Do you want to get in the car?" Already seated in the driver's seat, Hua Qingyi urged the obstinate Wu Shuang, adopting a stance of 'if you don't leave, I will,' forcing Wu Shuang into the car.

"Where are we going?"

"Back to the hotel." (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)