Miss Forensics – Chapter 47.1

Investigate A Case

The Jiangcheng City Criminal Investigation Team was divided into groups and scattered throughout the streets and alleys, questioning the families of the deceased. This is the most fundamental and crucial part of daily criminal investigation work.

“Hello, police. Did your daughter have any contact with symbols like ‘white whale’ or ‘ocean’ before she passed away?”

“I don’t know; my daughter didn’t live with me.”

“Alright, thank you.”

“Hello, police. Did your son ever mention words like ‘white whale’ or ‘liberation’ before his passing?”

The man thought for a moment, retrieved a diary from inside the house, and handed it to the police officer. “Yes, my son… he had a car accident when he was young, leaving him with a disability, and he was often bullied by his classmates at school. Once he came back and told me that he didn’t want to live anymore and wanted to seek ‘white whale’ for liberation. I thought he was just saying it in jest, but who knew… this is my son’s diary from before his passing. If it’s of any use, you can take it.”

The investigator opened the diary, and the first page held a picture of the boy’s handsome face. He looked somewhat melancholic and asked, “Regarding this ‘white whale,’ did your son ever mention it to you? Is it an individual or an organization?”

“I work at a construction site during the day and come home late at night. We didn’t communicate much,” the man thought for a moment. “However, there was a period before he passed away when he was immersed in the internet. I’d come home late at night and see him chatting with people online. I thought maybe this ‘white whale’ could be an online friend.”

Zheng Chengrui stepped forward, saying, “Can we take a look at your son’s computer?”

The man opened the bedroom door for them and replied, “Sure, please.”

The room was not large, with a layout of two bedrooms and a living room. The interior was modest, and there were signs of water damage on the ceiling.

The man lived alone, worked at a construction site, and didn’t appear to be well-off, but he had still purchased a computer that his son loved.

Zheng Chengrui gently blew away the dust from the keyboard, pressed the power button, and skillfully navigated the vast ocean of information to find something useful amidst the chaos.

Lines of vibrant blue code danced across the eyeglass lenses. As time ticked away, he finally extracted keywords from the vast and boundless sea of information.

“Ocean,” “white whale,” “liberation,” “want to die.”

Accompanying these words was an encrypted chat room.

He tapped on the keyboard, attempting to decrypt it, and the onlookers held their breath. After a chilling alert sound, a large red “X” appeared on the screen.

Decryption failed.

A bead of sweat formed on Zheng Chengrui’s forehead as he turned to the father of the victim and asked, “Do you know your son’s password?”

The man thought for a moment and admitted, “I don’t know. I’ve never even touched this thing; I don’t understand it at all.”

“What about your son’s birthday?”

After receiving the answer, Zheng Chengrui inputted a six-digit string of characters, but the decryption still failed.

He clenched his teeth and inquired, “Are there any other numbers that could be a password or something of great significance to your son?”

The man pondered for a moment, and his gaze landed on a photo of his deceased wife placed next to the computer.

“Try his mother’s birthday.”

“Alright.” Zheng Chengrui clasped his fingertips, took a deep breath, and entered the characters.

After a brief silence, nothing seemed to happen. Just when they thought the decryption had succeeded, a slow emergence of a whale appeared on the computer, transitioning from white to red, oozing blood.

“Oh no!” Zheng Chengrui cursed under his breath. Before he could react, the whale burst with a resounding bang, scattering fragments of glowing blue light throughout the air, and the computer screen immediately went black, rendering it unresponsive.

He kept pounding on the keyboard, attempting to restore the program, but the computer continued to emit a chilling alert sound.

“Sorry, the program is damaged and cannot be started.”

“Sorry, the program is damaged and cannot be started.”

“Sorry, the program is damaged and cannot be started.”

……

He let out a sigh of defeat and lowered his hands. “This chat room not only had an unconventional encryption program but also an additional self-destruct program outside of the encryption. When you input the wrong password three times in a row, the self-destruct program activates. I’m sorry, I was careless.”

A teammate patted his shoulder and said, “It’s alright. Let’s go back and report to Team Leader Song, and then we can figure out a way to recover slowly.”

* * *

Throughout the day, both Song Yuhang and Miss Lin had gathered a fair amount of information about the “white whale.”

Despite having set some ground rules, Miss Lin was not the type of person to keep her word.

“Hey,” she drawled, calling out to her, “Song Yuhang, I can’t walk anymore.”

Song Yuhang paid no attention, shouldering her bag and clutching a notebook for recording information as she continued forward.

“Officer Song…” Lin Yan weakly tugged at the hem of her clothes, “Can you please stop for a moment? I haven’t had a drop of water all day. Do you think you’re in a race?”

Song Yuhang turned to look at her and said, “You chose to follow, and we have our ground rules. Are you going back on your word?”

Lin Yan was momentarily silenced, seething with frustration. “I—”

“Hurry up; we’ll need to return to the police headquarters for a meeting soon,” Song Yuhang interrupted, shaking her head slightly, then turned and continued walking.

The fabric had slipped through her fingers, and Lin Yan clenched her teeth as she quickened her pace.

Damn it, if it weren’t for the fact that she, too, was just trying to solve the case, Lin Yan would have given her a piece of her mind long ago.

As she thought this, she braced herself against the wall and managed to take a couple of steps, her heel’s skin smarting from the chafing of the high heel straps.

Lin Yan bit her lower lip, her face turning somewhat pale.

Song Yuhang turned around and noticed that she hadn’t caught up yet.

“What’s wrong?”

Lin Yan was currently bending over to unfasten the troublesome strap that had been causing her discomfort. “It’s nothing, I can still—”

Before the words had fully left her lips, her wrist was already seized by someone.

Song Yuhang crouched down and said, “Don’t move; let me have a look.”

Lin Yan leaned on her shoulder for support, and with one hand, Song Yuhang steadied her. Without waiting for her to object, her other hand had already removed Lin Yan’s shoe.

“No need…” Lin Yan’s face turned slightly red.

Song Yuhang held her foot in her hand, and the heel was chafed to a bright red, with a sizeable piece of skin having come off.

“Why didn’t you say something earlier?”

“Did you give me a chance to talk?” Throughout this journey, they’ve either been questioning the families of the deceased or rushing around. There really hasn’t been much time for conversation.

Song Yuhang rubbed her nose and looked around. “Let’s find a place to sit for a while. In the future, we can talk in situations like this.”

“In the future? What future? I never want to go out with you again in the future!” After this afternoon’s walk, Lin Yan’s mouth was dry, her feet were in pain, and she was not in a good mood.

Song Yuhang put her foot back into the shoe and assisted her as they walked. “It’s also your fault. You knew it would be tough, yet you still wore high heels.”

“I wonder who’s in such a rush, or else I could have run out without even having time to change my clothes,” Lin Yan retorted, and as they bickered, she noticed that her feet didn’t hurt as much.

Song Yuhang couldn’t be bothered with her spoiled attitude. “What would you like to eat? Let’s grab something to eat and take a break.”

Lin Yan allowed her to assist and, glancing at the array of signs along the street, pointed to one. “Let’s go to that one.”

* * *

Milan Bar.

It was early evening, and the bar had just opened, with not many patrons yet. Bai Ling stood at the counter, polishing glasses, when the curtain was suddenly lifted, and the wind chimes at the door jingled.

She looked up and was pleasantly surprised. “Sister, you’re here.”

Song Yuhang helped Lin Yan sit at the bar and said, “You go ahead and order; I’ll go buy something.”

When Bai Ling returned with the menu, she exchanged a glance with Song Yuhang, offering a polite smile by way of greeting before turning and pushing open the door to walk outside.

The girl had a hint of mischief in her eyes. “Is Sister out with a friend again?”

Lin Yan lazily leaned on the bar, her long legs resting on the floor. One of her high heel straps wasn’t fastened properly, swaying loosely, and she exuded an unexpected charm.

“Her? She’s definitely not just a friend.”

Bai Ling handed her the menu and innocently asked with wide eyes, “Then, what’s going on? That night, not only did she protect you, but I also saw her hugging you near the restroom.”

Lin Yan nearly choked on her water, coughing a bit before she replied, “Ahem… Kids should mind their own business and not peek into grown-up matters. I’ll have a Mojito, a lemon water, and two waffles. Tell the kitchen to hurry; I’m starving.”

Bai Ling revealed a mischievous smile as she handed the completed order slip to the young kitchen assistant.

At the age of fourteen or fifteen, one is at the age of budding emotions. Although she didn’t quite understand the relationship between her beautiful and kind-hearted sister and the short-haired woman they had just encountered, she could still see the undercurrents between them and the evident care they held for each other.

Lin Yan observed her as she wrote, her strokes strong and her handwriting neat.

“Wow, not bad at all. Are you in the ninth grade?”

Bai Ling replied with a charming smile, “I’m in the ninth grade, preparing for the provincial entrance exam next year. I hope I can get into a provincial key school.”

As the girl spoke, a faint trace of sorrow became apparent. Her mother was bedridden, and she had to work hard to not only get into a provincial key school but also secure a scholarship. Otherwise, her meager income alone wouldn’t be enough to cover her mother’s high medical expenses.

Lin Yan took a sip of her drink and observed her carefully. “Is something troubling you?”

The girl returned to her senses and smiled, declining her offer. “No, it’s alright. I’m content with things as they are now. Thank you, sister.”

The last time, that money had come just in time to alleviate her urgent situation.

Faced with the girl’s sincere gratitude, Lin Yan turned her face slightly awkwardly and said, “No, there’s no need to thank me. Thank you for what? Money is the last thing I lack.”

Bai Ling gazed at her, admiring and aspiring to be someone like her – a woman who was not only beautiful and stylish but also possessed a strong sense of justice and kindness. She decided quietly in her heart that she would learn from this sister and become a woman who could help those in need.

“By the way, sister, I’ve learned a new way to mix cocktails. Would you like me to make one for you?”

She couldn’t repay her in money, so she could only put effort into these small things.

“Sure.”

Lin Yan lightly tapped her fingertips on the table, watching Bai Ling prepare the cocktail. However, her thoughts were preoccupied with Song Yuhang and where she might have disappeared to for such a long time. Did she leave her, the tag along, behind and go off on her own?

Just as she was pondering, Song Yuhang returned, holding alcohol wipes and a box of band-aids.

“Lift your foot.”

Lin Yan was reluctant. “I’ve already told you there’s no need—”

Before she could finish her sentence, Song Yuhang had already knelt down and lifted her foot, placing it on her own knee.

“Hey…” Lin Yan tried to move backward, but Song Yuhang firmly held her ankle. As soon as the alcohol-soaked cotton swab touched her, she let out a sharp gasp of pain and gripped the edge of the bar stool.

Song Yuhang glanced up at her. “Bear with it; I couldn’t find any iodine, so we’ll have to make do.”

“Hiss…”

Each time she lifted her foot, Lin Yan would flinch, causing her smooth skin to slide back and forth in her hand.

Song Yuhang had to exert more force to hold her in place.

Lin Yan cast her eyes downward, and they were tinged with red. “Song Yuhang, are you done yet?!”

Song Yuhang seemingly calmly placed the alcohol wipes on the ground and gently applied the band-aids. “There, it’s done. Later on, don’t put your shoes on just yet.”

With that, she picked up Lin Yan’s shoes and applied two band-aids at the back of her heels before returning them to her.

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