Passing the Torch (1)
Three years later.
On a rainy day, a bus slowly drove up and stopped in the waterlogged street. The crowd filed on, and a girl closed her umbrella and jumped on.
In the summer morning’s early bus, people were packed tightly. Even with the air conditioning on, their skin felt sticky.
The girl held onto a strap with one hand, swaying with the vehicle’s movement, while using her other hand to browse her phone for directions.
Just as she typed out “Jiangcheng City Public Security Bureau,” the bus’s onboard television started broadcasting.
“Early this morning, dozens of skeletal remains were unearthed at a construction site in the Jiangbei Development Zone of our city…”
Her professional instincts made her abruptly lift her head and stare at the TV.
The reporter, dressed in a raincoat, pointed ahead, and the camera followed: “The excavator on site has now stopped working. Not far ahead, you can see a deep pit where dozens of skeletal remains were found at the Beixin Real Estate Company’s construction site. Police are currently securing the scene, awaiting professional evaluation.”
Raindrops pounded on the reporter’s umbrella, and the sound of police sirens could be heard in the background.
“According to reports, the leadership of the Jiangcheng City Public Security Bureau is taking this very seriously. Deputy Director Song Yuhang has already led a team to the scene.”
A police car marked “On-Site Command” sped to the front of the construction site, coming to an abrupt stop.
The car door opened, and a pair of polished leather shoes stepped out, followed by an umbrella being opened to shield the person from the rain and hold the door.
Sharp-eyed reporters noticed and swarmed over.
“Director Song, Director Song is here! Director Song, can you comment on this case?”
“Director Song, are these remains human bones?”
“Director Song, I’m a reporter from Jiangcheng Daily. Can I have a moment for a brief interview about this case?”
Deputy Director of the Jiangcheng City Public Security Bureau, Song Yuhang, is a legend. Not only because she is one of the few women in the political arena but also because of her numerous achievements in solving bizarre cases and her courageous battles against drug traffickers. Her heroic deeds have been recounted in countless versions.
Public lore has made her almost mythical, yet she rarely appears in public and never accepts interviews, especially those that praise her.
As she puts it: “It’s a waste of time. I’d rather solve more cases and go home early to have dinner with Lin Yan.”
It’s well known that in the eyes of all the public security officers in Jiangcheng City, the heroic and mighty Director Song is, in essence, a wife slave.
Someone who is rarely seen has finally made an appearance at the crime scene, causing the media to be eager to extract some sensational news from her.
Song Yuhang stepped out of the car, shut the door with one hand, adjusted her broad-brimmed hat, straightened her uniform meticulously, and frowned with a stern expression.
“What are you standing around for? Seal off the scene!”
The person holding the umbrella for her was momentarily stunned, not having time to react before she strode towards the pit in the rain, pulling gloves from her pocket and putting them on swiftly and professionally.
The first batch of local police officers who had arrived at the scene seemed to come to their senses, put up police tape, and pushed people back.
The elite officers from the bureau who had come with Song Yuhang also gathered around, each getting drenched by the rain, their sharp eyes forming a human wall.
“Move back, move back, protect the scene! No unauthorized personnel allowed!”
Xue Rui and several others jumped out of the car, pulling the police tape aside and coming in, followed by Duan Cheng and Fang Xin.
“Director Song, Director Song.”
Song Yuhang squatted by the pit, examining the situation below, and nodded slightly: “Get to work.”
“Next stop, Jinhua Commercial Center.” The bus’s announcement chimed as the vehicle came to a sudden halt at the station. The girl was jolted by inertia, nearly dropping her phone, snapping back to reality from the onboard TV, and grabbed her umbrella, rushing out.
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“Driver, driver, I’m getting off, please move aside, move aside.”
She finally squeezed out of the crowd, took a breath of relief, and looked at the completely unfamiliar street scene, dumbfounded.
No way… Would she be fired for being late on her first day reporting?
She hesitated for a moment but took out her phone and called the person who had recruited her.
“Hello, Teacher Duan…”
Before she could finish her sentence, the sound of rain and a man’s roar came from the other end: “Are you here yet? If not, don’t go to the Public Security Bureau, come straight to the scene!”
Then the call was abruptly hung up, leaving the girl staring blankly. Seeing a taxi approaching, she quickly hailed it and gave the address: “Jiangbei Development Zone, Beixin Real Estate Company.”
Duan Cheng hung up the phone, wiped it dry on a dry spot on his sleeve, and put it in his pocket. Fang Xin, walking past him, glanced at it. Although he didn’t think much of it, Duan Cheng quickly raised both hands.
“Hey, this time it’s not a young girl, it’s a new forensic intern from the technical investigation. I asked her to come directly to the scene.”
Fang Xin, carrying an investigation kit, carefully stepped between two skeletons: “I have to say, making her come to a crime scene on her first day is quite something.”
Duan Cheng laughed, squatted down, and took out tools from the kit: “Compared to Sister Lin pressing my head to observe gigantism on a corpse in the autopsy room, this is much gentler.”
Fang Xin sneered, not bothering to banter, and focused on collecting trace evidence at the scene.
Several technical officers taking photos around the skeletons whispered: “For such a big case, do you think Sister Lin will come?”
Someone shook their head, taking another close-up of the skeleton: “Probably not, after all…”
Before he finished speaking, there was a commotion outside the police tape.
“Let me in… I… I’m the new forensic intern today.”
The criminal police officer in charge of clearing the area gave a sarcastic smile: “A reporter, right? Next time, come up with a better excuse.”
The girl blushed furiously, “Hey, I’m not, I’m really not a reporter…”
Duan Cheng stood up, glanced over, and waved his hand, “Let her through, she’s new from the technical team.”
The criminal police officer responsible for blocking her path rubbed his nose and opened the police tape for her, “Go on in, it’s not our fault, it’s just that these reporters are really annoying…”
The girl nodded, hugged her bag, walked to the edge of the pit, and took a glance down, her face instantly turning pale.
The pit wasn’t large, about a hundred square meters and more than a meter deep, with seven or eight technical officers in white protective suits working busily.
With their patient clearing, more skeletal remains were being unearthed from the pit, scattered haphazardly.
When she looked down, Duan Cheng spread out a blue sterile cloth next to him, gently placing a freshly cleaned skull on it. The dark eye sockets seemed to stare directly at her.
The girl was startled, involuntarily stepping back.
Duan Cheng called out, “Get your gear and come down, can’t you see we’re busy? Come help!”
“Oh, coming, coming.” The girl took a mask and gloves from a nearby technical officer, deftly put on shoe covers, but as she descended the slope, she nearly tumbled down out of nervousness.
The technical team turned their heads and chuckled softly.
Duan Cheng laughed too, placing another cleaned bone on the sterile cloth, “First time seeing a corpse?”
The girl stammered, “In… in school… I’ve… I’ve seen cadavers.”
Fang Xin elbowed him, giving a look to signal not to bully the intern.
Duan Cheng cleared his throat, “Alright, go help with the camera over there. You know how to take forensic photos, right?”
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The girl nodded vigorously, edging her way along the pit, “Yes, yes, I can, Teacher Duan, don’t worry.”
Xue Rui was taking statements from several workers operating the excavator. Song Yuhang was listening nearby. A local precinct officer wanted to offer her a cigarette, but she waved it away.
She was famously unapproachable.
The precinct chief looked embarrassed and quickly turned his head. The headlights of a new “On-Site Investigation” police car illuminated the road in front of the construction site.
Song Yuhang looked over. The person who had been stern-faced a moment ago suddenly revealed a helpless smile.
“Give me the umbrella,” she took an officer’s umbrella and walked over, seemingly to greet someone.
The forensic intern had been crouched down taking pictures for a while and finally stood up straight. Seeing the figure, she excitedly grabbed a colleague’s sleeve.
“That… that’s Director Song… I heard about her back in school… She cracked the major drug trafficking case in Jiangcheng and the dismemberment case at Fengyang Pier seventeen years ago…”
The colleague rolled his eyes. Here we go, another newbie star-struck by Director Song.
“We’ve all heard the legends about her. Get to work, newbie, you’ll soon learn that Director Song may be nice and good-looking, but she tolerates no slack when solving cases.”
The forensic intern was still craning her neck to get a better look. Song Yuhang opened the car door and helped someone out with a gentle pull.
“Who has such influence that Director Song herself would come to greet them in Jiangcheng…”
The hand resting on Song Yuhang’s wrist was a woman’s, slender and fair.
Following the hand, a woman in black high heels stepped out of the car. The rain blurred her face somewhat.
As she came closer, the rookie noticed she was also wearing a spring and autumn uniform, with silver olive branches and two four-pointed stars on her shoulder patches. Her brown curly hair was neatly tucked into her cap, tied into a low ponytail at the back.
Her profile in the misty rain was fair as jade, with striking red lips.
It was a kind of beauty that made one’s heart race.
The rookie stared in a daze, her mouth forming an exaggerated “O.”
Song Yuhang pulled her closer, tilting the umbrella towards her. Soon, most of her own body was drenched.
She complained, “Didn’t I tell you to rest at home? Why did you come out again?”
Lin Yan rolled her eyes, ignoring her.
“I received ten media calls this morning, five from the city government, three from the provincial public security department, and guess who the last one was from.”
Song Yuhang laughed, taking the investigation kit from her hand, carefully supporting her as they walked slowly towards the pit.
“Be careful, it’s slippery. Was it Feng Jianguo?”
Lin Yan snorted, “That old geezer, his nose is sharper than a dog’s. When he couldn’t find you, he had to come to me.”
Song Yuhang rarely checked her phone at crime scenes, too busy to pay attention.
Lin Yan’s rare day off was disrupted, given the special circumstances.
Song Yuhang ground her teeth, “I’ll talk to the telecom department and have our home’s signal blocked.”
Lin Yan’s eyes crinkled with a smile, elbowing her, “Don’t be silly. How can a police director block her own home’s signal? Get to work, let’s get serious.”
Song Yuhang didn’t get upset, holding the umbrella and taking two steps forward, her expression worried, “Hey, you just got pregnant, and you’re still running to the crime scene. How can I be at ease…”
The rookie’s eyes widened, noticing the slight bulge under Lin Yan’s uniform. Her frame was slender; without a closer look, one wouldn’t notice she was pregnant.
Lin Yan glared back, annoyed, “Shut your crow’s mouth. Give me the investigation kit.”
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Despite the crowd, Lin Yan had no qualms about scolding Song Yuhang openly.
The rookie swallowed, stumbling over her words, “She… she… she is…”
Lin Yan is the captain of the Jiangcheng City Public Security Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Team and the head of the Forensic Department. She’s also a senior researcher at the Ministry of Public Security’s Evidence Identification Center and has participated in numerous national-level complex cases, making her a true textbook figure.
While studying forensic science at Binhai University, the girl had attended her autopsy lectures.
She never imagined meeting both of her idols at once, so excited that she couldn’t speak coherently.
Before she could say anything, Song Yuhang, supporting Lin Yan as they passed, casually dropped a light comment.
“She’s my wife.”
Then she jumped into the pit first, gently helping Lin Yan down.
Lin Yan’s voice came faintly through the wind, “Song Yuhang, I can walk by myself. I’m just pregnant, not crippled.”
“No way. What if you fall? It was hard enough for us to get pregnant.”
Lin Yan flared up, “Can’t you wish me well for once? Get lost and let me examine the bodies!”
The forensic intern weakly thought while watching her idols, That, uh, senior, the police department has a rule: no flirting at crime scenes…
