Chapter 6

Chapter 6: 1. deep rising-05

Two days later, on Friday afternoon near the end of the workday, a man “bang” pushed open Liu Yi’s office door.

The visitor was An Pingdong, a criminal investigator from the First Brigade of the Criminal Investigation Division of Xinhai City Public Security Bureau. His opening motion carried the roughness of a familiar person. Then, with a flourish, he plopped down into the chair by the desk and, feeling at home, pulled a tissue from the box to wipe the sweat glistening across his forehead.

“Damn, running around all day outside—totally exhausted me!”

An Pingdong wiped his sweat while panting heavily. “Lately it’s been cursed, cases everywhere, busy to the point of madness!”

“Officer An, thank you for your hard work.”

Liu Yi smiled and stood up, personally pouring a cup of hot tea for An Pingdong and placing it in front of him.

“If you had come five minutes later, I’d already be heading home.”

An Pingdong pretended to look at his watch, then raised an eyebrow teasingly. “It’s only four o’clock, Director Liu. Early leave, huh? Got a date with a beauty, rushing off to have fun?”

Shaking his head, he said, “Diamond Yellow Number Five, that’s living the life—so carefree! Unlike me, rushing to pick up my daughter from kindergarten after work.”

Liu Yi gave him a cold glance, thinking: you’re a straight man with a perfect family, flaunting it deliberately in front of this single guy—why bother?

But Liu Yi wasn’t one to back down when teased; he chuckled and shot back, “Well, unlike you, I have to work overtime at the station on weekends. Anyway, I don’t have anything pressing today, and tomorrow’s a day off, so of course I should enjoy life tonight…”

“Pfft, pfft, pfft!”

Before Liu Yi finished, An Pingdong sprang up like a spring, spitting several times, nearly reaching to cover Liu Yi’s mouth.

“Director Liu, have mercy! Don’t you know you absolutely cannot say things like that!”

He cast a disdainful look at Liu Yi’s enviably handsome face. “Remember, we criminal investigators and you forensic experts are in the same boat. If a case comes in requiring your overtime, there’s no escaping it!”

Many professions—especially doctors, nurses, police, firefighters—have an unspoken rule: never say “I have nothing to do today,” or else you’ll immediately be swamped.

Liu Yi lightly snorted through his nose.

As a returnee, he never cared about such superstitions. He didn’t dwell on the “flag” issue, instead casually changing the topic: “By the way, where’s your partner? Why isn’t he here?”

“Oh, you mean Xiao Qi?”

An Pingdong tilted his head back, finishing the last sips of the verdant, fragrant tea, smacking his lips as if savoring it. “He said he had something tonight and left early.”

He waved casually. “Wasn’t it just to sign a handover record? No need for both of us to make a trip.”

“Officer Qi? What’s his full name?”

Liu Yi internally felt a twinge of regret, then asked An Pingdong about his partner’s name.

Since the rainy day at the dismemberment case, Liu Yi had been impressed by the young, handsome Officer Qi Shanyu.

A fresh-faced, well-groomed young man like Qi Shanyu was rare—just looking at him was enough to lift one’s mood, even if Liu Yi had no intention of pursuing anything.

Unfortunately, Liu Yi hadn’t had a chance to meet him recently. Though An Pingdong had several encounters, his attractive partner was never present.

“He’s Qi Shanyu,” An Pingdong answered matter-of-factly, unaware of Liu Yi’s thoughts. “‘Shanyu’—like ‘the mountain rain is coming, the wind fills the building.’”

“Oh.” Liu Yi nodded, thinking the name poetic.

He returned his gaze to An Pingdong, smiling: “So, Officer An, did you come today with any guidance?”

“Not at all, not at all.”

An Pingdong laughed heartily. “Actually, nothing much—just killing time here. It’s almost off-duty, and the 315 bus stop is right opposite your institute. I’ll take the five o’clock bus to pick up my daughter.”

Seemingly intent on loitering until the end of the day, he refilled his tea from Liu Yi’s teapot, then reclined in the chair, feet up, continuing idle chatter.

“By the way, that frozen death case you examined recently—really something!”

“Oh?” Liu Yi became interested. “You solved it?”

“Not yet, no way it’s that fast!”

An Pingdong waved, then lowered his voice mysteriously: “But the deceased’s second son confessed—his dad really died in their supermarket’s freezer.”

Liu Yi nodded.

His forensic conclusions and reasoning matched reality perfectly—very satisfying.

“But the second son said his dad locked himself in the freezer to commit suicide. He only moved the body to the manager’s office on the second floor, then waited for it to thaw, pretending to discover it and called 120.”

“Suicide? Are you sure?”

Liu Yi’s eyes widened in surprise.

Statistics show that over 90% of “frozen deaths” are accidental, around 10% are intentional, usually targeting defenseless elderly or infants. Suicide by freezing is extremely rare.

“The case isn’t fully investigated, so naturally it’s not certain!”

An Pingdong shrugged. “The supermarket freezer has an electronic lock. To prevent accidental entrapment, anyone knowing the code can open the door from the inside.”

“Opening from the inside requires consciousness and mobility.”

Liu Yi immediately rebutted: “If the deceased was unconscious or restrained, he could still be locked in the freezer and die from hypothermia.”

His fingers lightly tapped the table. “Zhang Yu’s toxicology was checked—no sedatives found. But in this case, we should consider other uncommon toxins.”

An Pingdong frowned. “Actually, there’s an even more important point.”

He pulled out his phone, opened the album, and handed it to Liu Yi: “Zhang Yu left a handwritten will, secretly hidden by his second son until he became a suspect, then presented it.”

Liu Yi skimmed the will quickly, surprise growing.

“Although no handwriting analysis yet, in my experience, this will is probably genuine.”

An Pingdong scratched his chin. “According to Zhang Yu’s second son, Zhang Wenqiang, his father had recently lost money playing mahjong and bridge, owed high-interest loans, even mortgaged the house and supermarket. That’s why he supposedly committed suicide.”

“So if it’s suicide, why did Zhang Wenqiang move the body and stage the scene?” Liu Yi pressed.

“Zhang Yu had two large health insurance policies. Zhang Wenqiang said if his father died of illness, they’d get compensation. But suicide voids the insurance.”

An Pingdong continued: “I think if someone wanted to murder and stage it as sudden illness, there are plenty of ways—no need to lock him in a freezer in such a bizarre way.”

Liu Yi didn’t reply, still staring at the will, brow furrowed in thought.

At that moment, a “bang” sounded outside, followed by a young man’s scream.

Liu Yi and An Pingdong stood and rushed to the door, pulling it open.

Outside was Li Jin, sitting on the floor, wincing in pain, surrounded by scattered file folders.

Because of the institute’s hygiene requirements, the corridors were mopped twice daily, each time with disinfectant.

The floor was freshly mopped, wet and slippery. Li Jin had only intended to deliver organized files to Liu Yi but, too nervous, slipped at the office door, falling hard and straining his upper thighs, causing him to sweat and scream.

Liu Yi glanced once, immediately guessing the clumsy intern’s situation.

He reached out, grabbed Li Jin’s arm, and helped him up.

“Are you okay?”

Liu Yi asked kindly.

Li Jin’s face was red, shaking his head like a rattle, trying to bend down to pick up the files, but every movement sent pain through his thighs and legs. He groaned repeatedly.

Liu Yi twitched a brow, thinking young people today are utterly fragile—how could dropping a few files cause such a disaster?

Still, he maintained a gentlemanly demeanor, picking up the scattered folders and placing them on the bookshelf. He patted An Pingdong, still standing by: “Alright, time’s almost up. I’m heading back, Officer An, you should go too.”

Turning to Li Jin, he smiled gently: “Good work today, Xiao Li. I’ll drive you home on the way.”

Author’s note: The case ends here for now, leaving a small epilogue to be addressed in another case~⊙▽⊙