Miss Forensics – Chapter 63

Volume One: First Scroll

Ransom

Chen Chunan is her weak spot, so she will be her armor.

Ten o’clock at night.

Being the boss of a large listed company with assets exceeding a hundred million wasn’t that easy. Lin Youyuan was still in the conference room, haggling back and forth with representatives from a foreign enterprise over a project worth tens of millions.

It was a lively scene of give and take, a war of words¹.

The other party had been in China for over half a month, and Jingtai was responsible for all their food, drink, and daily needs. They frequently stayed in five-star hotels, enjoyed high-class cuisine and sushi, and even had leisurely baths and rounds of golf, all covered by Jingtai. The entire Jingtai staff could be said to have done their utmost².

Unexpectedly, the other party refused to yield even 0.1% of the profit and even wanted them to prepay the initial capital.

Lin Youyuan’s brow twitched. He took a sip of tea to moisten his throat and, at the same time, suppress his anger.

Just then, the secretary knocked on the door and hurriedly walked in: “President Lin…”

He raised an eyebrow, suppressing his anger: “What is it?”

The secretary glanced at the others who had stopped their discussion, leaned down, and whispered in his ear, “The young miss… she…”

He was sitting alone in the main seat, while the other employees were seated far away.

The secretary opened a tablet and handed it to him: “This arrived in your email five minutes ago.”

The video was completely silent. Lin Yan was like a dead dog, her limbs chained with iron, suspended in mid-air. Even her neck was encircled by a thumb-thick chain. Her hair was disheveled, and she was covered in blood.

Lin Youyuan squeezed out a few words from between his teeth: “Use-less-thing.”

“President Lin, what should we do now?” The secretary swallowed, a look of panic on his face.

Lin Youyuan picked up his teacup, took a sip, and closed the tablet, handing it back to the secretary as if he had just looked at an ordinary report.

“What ‘what should we do’? Forget a hundred million, they won’t get a single cent.”

Apparently, some of the foreign enterprise representatives understood Chinese. Hearing this, they became somewhat restless, which was exactly what Lin Youyuan wanted. He waved his hand, signaling the secretary to leave, and continued discussing business.

The secretary walked out the door, growing more fearful the more he thought about it. He paced back and forth. Time ticked by, minute by minute, second by second. There were less than two hours left before the kidnappers’ deadline for the ransom.

He gritted his teeth, took out his phone from his pocket, and decided to call the police: “Hello, is this the Jiangcheng City Public Security Bureau? I’m from Jingtai Group, reporting a crime…”

---

Since the operation began, Feng Jianguo had been standing in front of the large screen in the operations room all day, without eating or drinking.

Seeing that they had arrived downstairs at the hospital, Song Yuhang pressed the intercom: “Team One, Team Two, Team Three, guard the stairs, be ready for fire support at any time.”

“Snipers, occupy the high ground.”

A head popped out from the control console at the beach amusement park opposite: “Snipers in position.”

“Team Four, Team Five, Team Six, advance alternately, search in tactical formation with me.”

Several special police officers holding riot shields rushed up. Song Yuhang held her gun, leaning against the wall, the short hair under her helmet completely soaked.

The group moved silently along the base of the wall.

Drones on the periphery transmitted real-time footage back to the municipal bureau. Feng Jianguo was also sweating for them.

“Director Feng, bad news!” Someone rushed in shouting.

He didn’t turn his head and instinctively cursed³: “Who the f*ck is having bad news?! Can’t you say something auspicious at this critical moment of the operation?!”

The young police officer rushed in clutching a laptop, flustered, forgetting even to salute: “N-no… it’s… Lin… Forensic Doctor Lin’s not good!!!”

Duan Cheng had just come in after pouring tea for Feng Jianguo when he saw Feng push the laptop in front of him. Duan Cheng swallowed and said, “Jingtai Group just reported that Forensic Doctor Lin has been kidnapped, is missing, and a large ransom is being demanded. This is the video sent by the kidnappers.”

The video was played, and everyone in the operations room simultaneously stopped what they were doing.

From the background alone, it was impossible to determine the location. Lin Yan didn’t say a word, not because she didn’t want to, but because she couldn’t.

An iron chain as thick as a thumb was around her neck, her head hanging as she was suspended in mid-air. A knife was embedded in her shoulder. It was unknown if she was dead or alive.

Just from this footage, even an old criminal police officer like Feng Jianguo, with decades of investigative experience, couldn’t discern any clues.

At the end of the email, the ransom demanded by the kidnappers was one hundred million, one hundred million!

Feng Jianguo paced back and forth, fiercely pinching the bridge of his nose. He suddenly spun around, snatched the teacup from Duan Cheng’s hand, and smashed it on the ground.

Tea splashed, and broken porcelain scattered everywhere. The others didn’t dare to breathe a word.

Feng Jianguo panted heavily, “They f*cking really know how to pick their moment! And a hundred million, why don’t they just go rob a bank?!”

The arrest operation was at a critical juncture, and almost all of Jiangcheng City’s active police force was on the front lines. Let alone an entire criminal investigation team, he couldn’t even scrape together a single field team right now!

Zhang Jinhai watched the recording, and it took him a long while to find his voice, stammering, “Sh-should… should we tell Captain Song… ask her to pull some people back.”

Feng Jianguo paced with his hands behind his back and decisively⁴ rejected his suggestion: “No, we can’t let her get distracted. It hasn’t been confirmed if these two cases are related. Lin Yan’s life is a life, but so are others’. We can’t take this risk.”

That being said, Lin Youyuan was already over sixty this year. Despite his frequent marriages, it was unlikely he would have any more children barring any accidents.

As the Lin family’s sole heir and the future CEO of Jingtai, Lin Yan’s life was worth much more. Otherwise, the secretary wouldn’t have rushed over to report the case in such a panic⁵.

“Have the people from Jingtai arrived?”

“They’re here, waiting in the reception room.”

“First, block the news. Not a single word about this matter can be leaked. Technicians, immediately analyze the video’s location and the other party’s server. It must be fast!”

Indeed, old ginger is spicier⁶.

Feng Jianguo put on his wide-brimmed hat and strode out: “Good that they’re here. I’ll question them myself.”

After Feng Jianguo left, Duan Cheng sidled up to Zheng Chengrui: “Lao Zheng⁷… Forensic Doctor Lin… she… she…”

Zheng Chengrui was typing on the keyboard, his forehead covered in sweat: “Can’t decode it. The background is a warehouse storeroom, no reference points at all. There must be hundreds, if not thousands, of warehouses like this in Jiangcheng City.”

Duan Cheng also got anxious, pacing back and forth. He suddenly leaned on Zheng Chengrui’s shoulder: “Why don’t we just tell Captain Song? I think she’ll definitely have a way.”

Zheng Chengrui glanced at him, pushed him down, and lowered his voice, “Are you crazy? Do you still want to take the civil servant exam or not? Didn’t you hear what Director Feng said? Not a single word can be revealed.”

Duan Cheng was choked up: “I…”

“But… but…” He was also as anxious as an ant on a hot pan⁸. Although Forensic Doctor Lin is mean, sharp-tongued, and violent, we’re colleagues. Every time I watch her perform an autopsy, I learn a lot. Are we just going to watch her miss the ransom deadline and die in vain?

The Lin family is really something, sitting on hundreds of millions in assets, yet they’re unwilling to part with a mere hundred million.

While Duan Cheng was worrying anxiously, Feng Jianguo knew that this wasn’t the first time for the Lin family.

As soon as he entered the reception room and saw it was the secretary and not Lin Youyuan himself, his heart skipped a beat.

“Please sit.”

Before he could finish speaking, the secretary shot up and, without waiting for Feng Jianguo to speak, launched into a long, eloquent speech⁹.

“Director Feng, hello. I am Chairman Lin’s chief secretary, fully representing Jingtai Group to handle this matter. We really cannot come up with this one hundred million yuan. We just completed our second round of financing for the year…”

He had heard this kind of rhetoric several years ago.

The man who had flown into a rage¹⁰ in the operations room maintained the dignity befitting a municipal public security bureau chief when facing outsiders.

Feng Jianguo didn’t waste words with him: “The kidnappers sent the email at half-past nine, and you only reported it at ten past ten? There’s less than an hour and a half left before the ransom exchange. Where do you expect me to find people for you?”

The secretary kept wiping the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief: “Ashamed, ashamed. Chairman Lin was in a meeting. It’s really, really… We can only trouble you, police comrades, police comrades.”

Before he finished speaking, the computer screen of a technician nearby lit up.

“Director Feng, the kidnappers sent another message.”

Lin Youyuan watched the screen as Lin Yan was tortured. She was dragged by her hair and brutally pushed into the water. She struggled desperately, the iron chains clanking as they dragged on the ground. The wound on her shoulder started bleeding again, dyeing the clear water a pale red.

She clenched her teeth, not making a sound. Then, she was pulled up by her hair again, and her captor grabbed a handful of white powder from the side and sprinkled it on her wound.

The secretary covered his eyes, his heart pounding in fear¹¹: “Wh-what is this?”

He soon found out.

Coarse salt crystals embedded themselves deeply into her flesh. The blood and water dissolved them, and Lin Yan was in so much pain she felt she was dying¹². She could no longer bear it and let out a roar from the depths of her throat.

Lin Youyuan slammed the laptop shut. He sat alone in the dark conference room, eyes closed, his brow twitching slightly.

“F*ck your mother!” The man also roared, his voice hoarse and gravelly, and slapped her across the face.

Lin Yan still didn’t relent, biting his arm fiercely until he slammed her head against the wall, again and again. The “peng peng peng” sounds echoed in the warehouse.

A large bloodstain quickly appeared on the wall. When Lin Yan fell, she had bitten off a piece of flesh from his arm.

The man was in heart-wrenching pain¹³ and kicked her hard in the chest a few more times. He dragged her forward by her hair, leaving a trail of bloodstains where she passed.

---

“Ten million, no more.” He still called Feng Jianguo.

There was a moment of silence on the other end. “Aren’t you afraid the kidnappers will really kill the hostage¹⁴?”

“Afraid,” Lin Youyuan said bluntly. “I’m more afraid of losing both the person and the money¹⁵. I don’t want what happened twenty-six years ago to repeat itself. So, I can only give ten million. The rest is up to you.”

Feng Jianguo rubbed his temples, standing by the window, wanting to curse loudly. “You businessmen always want to maximize profits and minimize risks. Don’t forget how Lin Cheng died.”

Lin Youyuan gave a smile that didn’t reach his eyes: “One Lin Cheng died, there’s still Lin Yan. If Lin Yan dies, there’s still Lin Ge. If worst comes to worst, I can just adopt a child from an orphanage and give them the surname Lin. But there’s only one Jingtai. If I give out this hundred million today, countless subsidiaries will go bankrupt, and tens of thousands of employees will be laid off. Lin Yan can die, but Jingtai must live.”

The butterfly effect. Lin Yan was just the fuse. The second round of financing had just passed, a period of temporary shortage¹⁶. It was also a time of economic recession and a market winter; the capital invested wouldn’t be recoverable any time soon.

This hundred million would truly cause serious damage¹⁷. He couldn’t take this risk, couldn’t gamble with Jingtai.

“Hurry, hurry up, decipher the IP address, Lao Zheng, Lao Zheng!”

Duan Cheng was practically about to grab a megaphone and cheer him on from the side.

Zheng Chengrui was already chubby, and being anxious and stressed made him sweat profusely. His hands were so slippery he couldn’t even hold the mouse properly, failing several times in a row.

He took a deep breath and started over.

Duan Cheng stared intently at the progress bar. Fang Xin also watched the computer screen with anxious eyes.

90%, 93%, 95%, 99%… 100%!

The group held their breath—

After a brief silence, a line of garbled characters appeared on the screen.

Zheng Chengrui threw his glasses on the table and shook his head dejectedly: “No good. It’s an overseas server, can’t resolve it.”

Duan Cheng slammed his fist on the table, his eyes red: “Sh*t! Then… then what do we do now…”

Fang Xin released the finger she was biting and shot up: “We can’t just sit here and wait for death¹⁸. We need to find clues, see how Forensic Doctor Lin disappeared.”

---

“Buzz—” The phone pressed against her flesh vibrated. Song Yuhang ignored it, leading the charge into an empty room, the laser sight from her gun barrel piercing through layers of mist, scanning back and forth.

She raised her hand: “Clear, no target found. Withdraw.”

“Buzz—” The phone vibrated again.

Song Yuhang’s heart tightened. She thought of Lin Yan’s recently disconnected call. Her pace slowed slightly. She signaled the special police captain to take the lead, slung her service pistol onto her back, and pulled her phone out from her pants pocket.

Two video clips.

She clicked on them and instantly went mad. She bit off her tactical glove and immediately called Director Feng.

The other party also roared, “I’m f*cking swamped¹⁹ too, and you’re here questioning me?! Lin Yan is a grown adult, who could stop her? Ghost knows where she went!”

Song Yuhang lowered her voice, took a deep breath, her heart twisting in pain: “How much time is left until the agreed ransom exchange?”

“One hour.”

She couldn’t help but roar, “Then why didn’t you tell me sooner?!!”

The group turned to look at her. Song Yuhang took off her helmet, goggles, and night vision device, pulled out the communication mic from her ear, and turned to run downstairs.

“Captain Song, Captain Song…” Others tried to stop her. Feng Jianguo heard it and cursed loudly.

“Song Yuhang, can you f*cking show some promise?! Don’t you forget the military pledge²⁰ you just made to me! You were to take responsibility for protecting the entire Jiangcheng City! And now? You’re going to desert just for one Lin Yan? Don’t forget, you are the highest commander on site! Are you worthy of the police rank you wear?!”

Song Yuhang pushed back the stray hair from her forehead, turned around a few times, took several deep breaths, forcing herself to calm down: “Then what about Lin Yan? Who will protect Lin Yan?! Her life is in danger too!”

Feng Jianguo paused for a moment before saying, “We are already on our way to the ransom exchange point.”

“How much money do the kidnappers want?”

“One hundred million.”

“And the Lin family?”

“Only gave ten million.”

Song Yuhang almost ground her teeth to dust: “Isn’t this f*cking bullshit²¹?!”

“Whenever it involves Lin Yan, you always seem to become particularly emotional, Song Yuhang. Don’t say I’m unreasonable²² or that I’m not giving you a chance. You can come back and save her, on one condition: either bring the criminal suspect to justice²³, or take off your police uniform and come back to act courageously for a just cause²⁴. You choose.”

After hanging up the phone, Song Yuhang was silent for a long time. The others had already dispersed to continue searching the entire hospital; after all, lives were at stake²⁵ here too.

She pressed her head against the cold wall and watched the two video clips again. When Lin Yan’s face contorted in pain as she roared, Song Yuhang’s own face was streaked with tears.

She knew why Lin Yan had left the team without authorization. It must have been because she discovered suspicious points similar to the Chunan case during the autopsy. Only this reason would be enough for her to go after the murderer for revenge alone without notifying her.

The “White Whale Case” and the “Fenyang Pier Mutilation Case” had similarities, but also many differences. However, regardless of whether the murderer was one person or not, Song Yuhang thought, he couldn’t be unrelated.

The most pressing task was to find the murderer; that would lead them close to Lin Yan.

Chen Chunan is her weak spot, so she will be her armor.

Song Yuhang wiped away her tears, sniffled, put on her helmet, quickly fastened the buckle, and ran upstairs with her gun.

Lin Yan, wait for me.

---

“Still, no one has come to save you.” Bloody water flowed into her eyes, making her already blurry vision even more unclear.

The man who hit her had disappeared. She was once again suspended in mid-air, hearing only a cold, emotionless, mechanical voice.

Lin Yan’s lips curved slightly in a sarcastic smile.

But immediately after, she couldn’t smile anymore.

“Come hit me, you bitch, idiot²⁶, big fool²⁷!” The familiar voice instantly pulled her back to that afternoon twenty-six years ago. A boy kicked her to the ground, stepped on her chest, pried open her fingers, took out the two kuai²⁸ she clutched tightly in her hand, and tore them to shreds.

“Ptooey²⁹! You bastard³⁰, you think you can take my dad’s money? Are you worthy?! You’re as cheap as your mom! Get lost!” The ten-year-old boy, already sturdy like a little fatty, kicked her to the wall.

Lin Yan’s head hit the ground. When she woke up again, she was tied up with Lin Cheng. Water dripped from the ceiling onto her face, drop by drop.

Before she could regain her senses, a masked man viciously whipped her.

“Cry! Everyone cry for me! The louder the better! Let your rich old dad see how his children are being tortured by Laozi³¹!”

The whip stung painfully. Lin Cheng wailed loudly, but Lin Yan was already used to it, clenching her teeth and remaining silent.

“Yo, quite stubborn, huh? Your little face is quite cute, but these eyes…” The man lifted her chin, looking her over.

“Too fierce.”

With that, he lashed her viciously across the corner of her eye.

Lin Yan closed her eyes, trembling all over. Tears flowed unconsciously, but she still didn’t cry out.

The man grew interested: “She’s not a mute, is she?”

His accomplice chimed in: “A mute is good, a mute is wonderful! Since she can’t talk anyway, let’s strip her naked for her dad to see, and let us see what’s different about a rich man’s daughter compared to us poor folk.”

The sound of tearing clothes.

Lin Yan’s eyes were nearly popping from their sockets in fury³². The sound seemed to come from all directions, and through the warehouse’s echo, it entered her ears, seeping in everywhere³³.

Her hands and feet were tied, she couldn’t cover her ears. Her eyes grew redder and redder. She roared, the sentences she uttered mixed with broken, gasping sounds.

“Who… who on earth are you? Co… come out!”

“Who I am doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’re about to die. No one came to save you when you were little, and it’s the same now that you’re grown up.”

“Lin Yan, oh, Lin Yan, how pathetically you live.”

The steady, mechanical³⁴ voice actually let out a sigh, which was inexplicably hair-raising³⁵.

Lin Yan was suspended in mid-air, struggling to turn her neck. The slightest movement sent pain through her entire body³⁶. Blood flowed continuously from her head, stinging her eyes painfully.

She tugged her arm, the chains clanking. Lin Yan narrowed her eyes slightly: “Want me dead? It’s not that easy. I’ve always relied on myself, never on others.”

The voice chuckled, as if speaking through clenched teeth, sounding very much like the emotionless, pale, and weak voice of a game NPC³⁷. For a moment, Lin Yan couldn’t tell if it was male or female, or even human at all.

“Look at your current situation. This iron chain descends six centimeters³⁸ every five minutes. After half an hour, if I don’t see the ransom at the agreed location, no one will come back to save you, yo~”

As soon as “it” finished speaking, the iron chain holding Lin Yan suddenly loosened downwards. A sense of weightlessness washed over her. Lin Yan closed her eyes slightly, only to be caught by an invisible force.

The seawater shimmered below; she was suspended above a transparent glass tank.

Lin Yan’s pupils contracted. The voice sounded again.

“Alright, our clever Forensic Doctor Lin, calculate for yourself how far you are from the water surface, how long it will take to suffocate, and whether they will come at all~”

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LP: Re-translated on May 19, 2025

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