Eyes that are the same as those of evil

Chapter 67 Strange Corpse 5
“I think what Zheng Heng said is true,” Tan Jia said as they left the hospital. “He didn’t kill Zhong Xiaoyang in his dream, even though he was so emotional that he almost lost his mind.”

When emotions dominate their minds, many people easily engage in abnormal behaviors that they have been suppressing.

For example, he might kill his girlfriend when things don't go well in their relationship, or slaughter his future father-in-law's family when they can't agree on the dowry. He would start killing her and then keep going without stopping, and afterwards he would regret it and say that he was controlled by anger.

But Zheng Heng is clearly not that kind of person.

Xiao Chen put his hands on his hips: "But if it wasn't him, then who could it be? We've ruled out anyone with a motive; none of them had the time or opportunity to commit the crime. If we still can't find him, are we just going to conclude that Qiu Chenxing died accidentally?"

Tan Jia asked curiously, "Hasn't the cause of Qiu Chenxing's death been found yet?"

She didn't expect that the case would still be unresolved after so long, and that even a clear suspect could not be identified.

With so much biological information at the crime scene, and all the possible perpetrators waiting to be examined, how could there be no progress?

Zheng Yan shook his head solemnly: "No. Old Li didn't find any external or internal injuries or diseases. The suffocation of the deceased came out of nowhere. Common toxicology tests were done, but no problems were found."

She became interested: "Could it be a very rare poison that Zhong Xiaoyang used? Didn't they kiss? What if he put poison on his lips..."

“Then Zhong Xiaoyang should die too,” Zheng Yan quickly sorted out his thoughts. “Now we can only go back to the beginning. Considering that it may have been poisoning, Xiao Chen, sort out the deceased’s itinerary for the past two days. Find out and examine every place he went and every thing he came into contact with.”

"Also, since we can't find the answer in the 'potentially suspicious' areas, let's think about the impossible. Check the hotel's surveillance footage again, and combine it with the forensic examination results to see if no one else really entered or left the hotel. In addition, Zheng Heng just mentioned Zhong Xiaoyang and the deceased's online celebrity accounts; let the technical team dig deeper into that."

Cast a wide net; it's a massive undertaking.

Working in criminal investigation is really not easy.

Tan Jia was thinking about how she could help when Zheng Yan's phone rang.

—The forensic examination revealed something.

They rushed back to the police station and were shocked for two seconds by the sight of the forensic examiners working overtime until their faces turned pale.

"...The clues we found must be very useful, right?" After all this effort, it would be unreasonable not to get a big reward.

The forensic examination revealed that "firstly, all the fingerprints, shoe prints, bodily fluids, lip prints, and other biological samples in the hotel suite belonged to the thirteen people present and the deceased, with no information about outsiders."

"Secondly, everything in the room that was eaten, drunk, or sprayed was also non-toxic."

"But! We detected yogurt in the stains on the deceased's clothes, which contains trace amounts of belladonna toxin." The forensic examiner displayed the garment as a trophy.

"Bellatoxin?" Tan Jia leaned closer to examine it carefully. "Is the murderer Agatha Christie reincarnated?"

The forensic examination revealed that "the methods of belladonna poisoning are now far more sophisticated than those used in Agatha Christie's novels. Abuse of atropine, accidental ingestion of belladonna plants, and application of belladonna ointment can all lead to poisoning. Poisoned individuals are prone to hallucinations, excitement, and restlessness; severe cases can result in respiratory failure."

"The symptoms are very similar to those of the deceased!" Tan Ming was excited for a moment, then puzzled, "But why didn't Old Li detect it?"

The forensic investigator sighed, "It's probably because it's a 'trace amount.' Although we don't know how much the deceased accidentally ingested, if it's only the amount detected, it wouldn't be enough to cause poisoning; at most, it would just cause some excitement."

Looking at the stain on the clothes, Zheng Yan asked pointedly, "The toxin appeared in the yogurt, and the yogurt splashed on the clothes, which means the deceased drank yogurt. But was a yogurt container found at the scene?"

"No, that's the problem. There was no yogurt at the scene. Either the deceased drank it outside, or the murderer took the yogurt."

Tan Ming frowned: "I remember none of the thirteen people had a yogurt container. They were all wearing swimsuits and bathrobes at the time... They probably hid it. I'll contact the hotel staff immediately to check the recent trash." He went out, and Zheng Yan thought for a moment and called Lao Li over.

"The forensic examination revealed that the deceased may have consumed yogurt containing belladonna toxin. Have you had it tested?"

"How is that possible!" Old Li's eyes widened as his professional competence was questioned. "I've handled bodies poisoned by belladonna before, but this person definitely didn't die from belladonna poisoning! He suffocated, and belladonna doesn't simply cause suffocation!"

Zheng Yan wiped away non-existent saliva from his face and calmly asked, "Could it be that belladonna poisoning caused hallucinations that led to self-suffocation?"

"Impossible! To cause such severe hallucinations, the ingested toxins would definitely be detected in the autopsy."

"Could it be that the alcohol triggered the toxicity, or that something else was added to it, causing the trace amounts of toxin to have an unexpected effect?"

As he spoke, he casually pointed his finger at the forensic examination table: "They were having a party at the time, and there were many kinds of alcoholic beverages. Maybe the deceased was taking some kind of medicine before his death, or maybe something strange was passed to him during the kiss?"

Old Li retorted irritably, "The deceased wasn't sick, so why would he take any medicine? Aphrodisiacs, perhaps!"

After speaking, he paused, and everyone's eyes met for a moment.

Tan Jia pondered: "Don't say that, it's really possible. Don't couples like to do something special on each other's birthdays to create beautiful memories? These days, there are quite a few cases of people dying from aphrodisiacs."

You know too much! Zheng Yan held back from saying that.

Old Li countered again: "That's unlikely too. Aphrodisiacs only have a few effects: relax the sphincter muscles, arouse lust, increase heart rate, and make the skin sensitive. After taking them, breathing becomes rapid, but the room wasn't a vacuum. How could the deceased have suffocated to death?"

"What if that bathroom became a semi-vacuum with insufficient air during the half hour he was in there? Use a ventilation system." Zheng Yan suggested, encouraging him to think outside the box.

Old Li: "You think too highly of the hotel's ventilation system. Do you think it's a sausage vacuum cleaner?"

"...It's neither this nor that, so how exactly did he die? Was he suffocated by being kissed?"

"Hey, you know what, that's actually quite possible."

"..."

If that's the case, it's absolutely suffocating.

After careful consideration, Tan Jia realized that among their outrageous guesses, his own wild guess was more likely.

"Could it be that some kind of aphrodisiac is acting similarly to belladonna? Perhaps it's stimulating hallucinations, affecting breathing, or perhaps the relaxation is so excessive that it makes breathing difficult? I remember a drug called Rush, a heart medication used by some homosexuals to enhance their experience; just smelling it can make them feel like they're floating on air, who knows..."

Before he could finish speaking, Old Li suddenly shouted.

"what!"

They were startled.

Zheng Yan: "Are you crazy?"

"How could I not have thought of that? How could I not have thought of that... I should have realized it sooner! Death from acute poisoning by asphyxiation gas! I should have realized it sooner, now the gas has all escaped! Ahhh!"

(End of this chapter)