1 Chapter 1 The Whale's Fall

At the end of summer, as the night deepened, several police cars were parked downstairs of Building Seven in the Wanhe Residential Area, with blue and white police isolation tapes circling around the entrance of the building. Two detectives stood inside the police line, blocking the curious gazes peering into the isolated area.

On the second floor, Room 208, personnel from the Criminal Technology Department had all arrived. The crime scene photographers were capturing the overall condition of the scene, the Trace Examination Group was checking fingerprints, footprints, and other special traces inside the room, while the Physical and Chemical Biological Inspection Group was responsible for collecting blood, tissue from the corpse, and other biological evidence.

In order to avoid destroying potential evidence, the officers constructed a temporary pathway using dozens of palm-sized, fast-pass boards in areas without footprints, leading to the body lying on the living room floor.

Two forensic scientists, clothed in isolation gear, were squatting beside the body. One was responsible for examining the exterior of the corpse, while the other was recording on a human body chart and capturing the verbal recording.

"Zhang Cuilian, female, 67 years old, body length 162cm, normally developed, with average nutrition, skin color dark yellow, postmortem lividity in purple-red color located at the back part of the head, neck, back, sacral area, and underneath the limbs not under pressure, does not blanch under pressure, abdomen shows postmortem greening...."

"Meow meow meow"

"Bark bark"

The intermittent calls of cats and dogs were also incorporated into the forensic scientists' verbal recordings.

Zhang Cuilian had kept three cats and four dogs which, in the two days following her death, had greatly destroyed the traces at the scene. The young officers from the Physical and Chemical Biological Inspection Group had a hard time confining the cats and dogs into cages—these pets could also be considered "biological evidence".

Officer Wang, who had over twenty years of experience on the force, automatically ignored the noise at the scene. He stood in front of the bookshelf in the living room, gently picking up a photo frame from the shelf.

In the photo, Zhang Cuilian was standing with her husband and son, her smile serene. She had meticulously permed her half-white short hair and was wearing a glaze-blue shirt with a bird and floral pattern and capri pants. Earrings, necklace, ring—she had all the accessories.

She was a lady with great poise, yet fate had not been kind to her. Her husband had died of myocardial infarction a few years ago, her son also died unexpectedly, and now, she herself had also....

Officer Wang put down the photo frame, turned around, and looked towards the living room.

The body once known as "Zhang Cuilian" lay sprawling in a "big" character shape on the floor. The dried-up bloodstains, with the corpse at the center, radiated outward, occupying most of the living room floor with a dark red color, like a crudely made, ugly ink painting.

Large areas of muscle tissue were missing from the limbs of the corpse, and only the stark white bones remained in the palms and soles of the feet. The fingers and toes had completely vanished.

Even more eerie was the fact that the entire face of the corpse, including the eyes, had completely disappeared, leaving only the frontal bone, zygomatic bone, and the lower jaw still attached with a thin layer of muscle, leaving nothing but dark, empty eye sockets staring at the ceiling.

No face, no skin.

Officer Wang exhaled a cloudy breath. The mutilated corpse before his eyes reminded him of something,

Uneaten pickled pepper chicken feet.

This association made him feel nauseated, and he stepped on the temporary bridge to leave Room 208, heading downstairs to smoke.

Most of the residents in the Wanhe Residential Area are old men and women who had been relocated here due to demolition. They stood outside the isolation tape, their curiosity to spectate not in the least doused by the drizzle.

"I heard it was Sister Zhang from the second floor who had an accident, right?"

"Yeah, she was pitiable, living on her own. If it weren't for the neighbor across the hall who couldn't stand the stench that drifted over and complained to the property management, I'm afraid no one would have known she had passed away...."

"Ah, people are such ephemeral beings, here one moment, gone the next. I went shopping with her before; she seemed fine at that time. How could she suddenly be gone, I wonder what happened...."

Inside the police line, Officer Wang silently listened to the chatter, lowered his head to light a cigarette, and couldn't help feeling somewhat disappointed.

The deceased hardly ever participated in the community activities for the elderly within the residential area. She had a narrow social circle and a low social frequency; the knowledge of the surrounding masses about the deceased was not substantial.

"Maybe it was diabetes."

In the crowd, a youth with a backpack and clutching a box of chive pockets said softly, "To be precise, it was a myriad of complications caused by Type 2 diabetes."

Hmm?

Officer Wang suddenly looked up, "Who are you?"

The ordinary high school student named Li Ang smiled, "I am a successor of communism, a delicate flower of the motherland, a red scarf who does good deeds without leaving a name."

Who's asking you that?

Officer Wang, a bit annoyed, glanced at Li Ang, "Do you know her?"

Li Ang replied, "I don't know her, but I saw her walking her dog when I was playing badminton downstairs in the residential area before."

"How do you know she has diabetes?"

"I guessed."

Li Ang said casually, "At that time, I saw she had a bulky figure, a rosy complexion, dry skin, sluggish and feeble steps, swelling in the lower legs and feet, swollen fingers, ulcerative sores on her arms, droopy eyelids and recurring traces of eyelid scabies,

so I guessed she had diabetes, even advised her to watch her diet, take her medicine on time, keep exercising, and seek hospital treatment as soon as possible, but alas...."

Having said that, Li Ang shook his head.

The surrounding crowd cast odd glances at Li Ang, and Officer Wang couldn't help but draw on his cigarette, "Kid, did you study medicine?"

"When I was young, I had constipation, and the doctor said a drop of enema would do, but I poured the entire bottle on the stool, and it still didn't help."

Li Ang spoke calmly, "After that, I read some medical books and taught myself."

Kid, you really have an exceptional talent, aren't you a bit of a fool?

Li Ang, looking with a hint of envy at the police uniform Officer Wang was wearing, said, "Officer, I've always wanted to be a glorious people's policeman. For that, I often go to comic book stores to read Detective Conan to improve my investigative skills, and I even use a pencil to mark who the criminal is on the comic books,

Last time, I acted heroically in the amusement park and wrestled with a suspected thief for over two hours before the park manager kicked me off the carousel."

Officer Wang's eye twitched; there were many points to criticize, but he didn't know where to start, so he just stubbed out his cigarette and turned to walk towards Building Seven.

"The windows of 208 on the second floor, they don't seem to be open," Li Ang looked up and said casually, "I wonder what those cats and dogs that Sister Zhang raised have been eating for the past two days."

Hmm?

Officer Wang's footsteps paused.

Li Ang continued as if no one else were present, "If Sister Zhang fainted due to acute diabetic complications, her pets would have sensed something wrong with their owner and would likely have tried to wake her by licking her skin."

"Sadly, their attempts to awaken their owner were unsuccessful, and the cats and dogs became agitated after licking the skin and tasting blood. Plus, with no one to feed them, the pets began to search for something to eat on their own."

"For instance... their owner."

"Generally speaking, an unprotected and soft, boneless face is usually eaten first, and the easily nibbled fingers, toes, forearms, and lower leg areas are also targets."

Unperturbed by the odd looks from the bystanders, Li Ang simply smiled as he said,

"When whales die in the ocean, their bodies sink to the ocean floor, ultimately providing food for marine life such as blind eels, clams, and blind shrimp. Biologists have named this process 'whale fall.' It's the last tenderness a whale leaves to the sea."

"The cycle of life and death goes on as usual...."