False evidence

Chapter 478 Painted Skin (28)

Old K said that the plastic bag we see now was put on after he received the antidote. Before that, the antidote was wrapped in a transparent candy wrapper, similar to the inner packaging of a toffee.

If the coffin lid is opened too roughly, the antidote will fall onto the person inside the coffin.

The body temperature of a living person will quickly melt the specially made 'candy wrapper' in a very short time, allowing the antidote to evaporate and take effect, and most of the people who have been drugged will wake up instantly.

The restaurant owners, a husband and wife, had both changed into burial clothes and applied mortuary makeup. Waking up suddenly and seeing each other's appearance, it seemed they were lucky to have been driven insane by the shock.

I examined the plastic bag closely. It contained a small pile of grayish-white granules, about half a millimeter long and the thickness of mechanical pencil lead. There were some irregular white flocculent substances on the outer layer, which I guessed were the melted 'candy wrappers' caused by Old K's body temperature.

I asked Old K, "Did you take this out of the coffin with that measuring tape?"

"You can't deny that the person who invented the measuring tape was very clever. One generation sows the seeds, another reaps the harvest; with a little modification, it becomes a very useful magic prop."

As Old K spoke, he took out the measuring tape again and showed me a small section of it.

That's when I realized that not only had the front end of the measuring tape been changed to a 'fishhook', but the body of the tape had also been specially treated to prevent it from reflecting light. One side of the steel body had also been polished to be as sharp as a blade, enough to cut some things that were not very hard in an instant.

Including...human flesh.

I can't help but imagine that on a stage adorned with dazzling colors, a magician uses a specially made measuring tape to hook onto various other mechanisms and uses a blade-like tool to cut off clues that might reveal the truth, presenting the audience with a magical scene.

"That's awesome!"

I nodded and turned to Cao Xinyun: "Don't just stand there, lend a hand!"

Since the consequences have been anticipated, the priority at this time is not to answer questions, but to deal with the potential crisis.

Even if you ask first, you probably won't get an accurate answer in a short time.

The reason is simple—even if a magician explains the mechanism of a magic trick to you, you still can't actually do it.

Cao Xinyun and I worked together to lift the coffin lid to the side and lifted the boss and his wife out of the coffin. We found a rag and wiped the dead makeup off their faces; then we found their usual clothes from the bedroom and helped them change.

"What do we do next?" Cao Xinyun wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Take them back to their rooms to sleep."

I gestured to Cao Xinyun to help lift the person, and just as I lifted the restaurant owner's shoulder, I saw another figure at the door.

"What's going on?" Gao He wiped the rain off his face and asked in a low voice.

Old K closed his eyes and said, "You really shouldn't have participated in this part!"

"I'm already here!"

Gao walked quickly forward, first looking at the unconscious boss and his wife, then staring straight at me.

Without thinking, I said, "If you trust me, then don't ask any questions."

Gao He said no more and helped Cao Xinyun and me carry the boss and his wife back to the bedroom in the back room. We tidied up the bed and carried the two of them back to bed.

After a flurry of activity, Gao pointed to the female corpse still lying on the ground and asked me, "What happened here?"

"Help me lift her into the coffin first."

"Bullshit!" Gao He finally couldn't hold back any longer and burst out, deliberately lowering his voice but saying urgently, "No matter how strange something is, in reality, investigations still rely on forensic and legal evidence as the basic reference! I don't know why this corpse is like this, but moving the body without authorization... you've crossed the line!"

"Thank you, Brother Gao. I know what I'm doing."

I said something to him, and then told Cao Xinyun to help me carry the wax corpse into the side room and put it in the coffin.

Is it necessary to do this?

When I told him that the coffin lid was to be closed, Cao Xinyun couldn't help but ask a question.

I paused for a moment and said only to Gao He:

"Captain Gao, I don't want to elaborate on how strange this matter is. I only guarantee that as long as you do as I say, I will give you a relatively satisfactory answer." "Okay!"

Gao He only said one word before stepping forward to help lift the coffin lid.

I stepped onto one end of the bench supporting the coffin, stared at the wax corpse inside for a while, and sighed helplessly, "When a person dies, it's like a lamp going out, just a shell... I've done my best to take care of you."

After saying that, he gritted his teeth, jumped down, and together with Gao He and Cao Xinyun, lifted the coffin lid up and closed it tightly.

Silence fell again in the cramped side room.

After a long pause, Gao He spoke first, asking me, "What do you want to do next?"

I paused for a moment, turned to him, took a step back, put my arms at my sides, and bowed deeply to him.

Gao He frowned and asked, "What are you up to?"

I slowly straightened up, gazed at him for a moment, and said, "Officer, your surname is Gao? Officer Gao, I want to go home."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Gao He's eyes widened immediately: "You... Sanqi! Don't joke around!"

“I’m not Sanqi,” I said resentfully.

From the moment I spoke, the voice that came out of my mouth was no longer my own, nor a man's voice, but a slightly hoarse woman's voice.

“My name is Wang Xi, I was born on XX month XX year. I came to this city to work. My last job was as a ticket seller on the No. 9 suburban bus route, which was outsourced.” The voice that came out of my mouth was still that of a woman, and it was somewhat sobbing and choked.

Gao He's eyes darted around: "Wang Xi? The ticket seller who went missing two years ago in the night shift bus accident on route 9?"

I nodded.

"Are you really Wang Xi?" Gao He turned his head, his eyes revealing not only suspicion but also a hint of wariness.

I nodded again: "I didn't actually die. He imprisoned me, and he made me look like someone else."

Gao stared at me, wide-eyed: "Who did he say you were? Who is he?"

I shook my head suddenly: "I can't say."

"You fucking idiot Sanqi! Don't try to fool me!" Gao He roared. "I know you can do ventriloquism!"

Shaking his head again: "Officer Gao..."

I had only uttered those three words when my body suddenly jolted.

An overwhelming sense of sorrow quickly rose and filled my mind.

I was on the verge of tears, looking at Gao He with tears in my eyes: "Officer Gao, there's no use saying anything more. If you want to know the answer, go to No. 23 Tanjiaqiao Lane as soon as possible."

Gao's eyes darted around, clearly showing he was deeply puzzled.

As my body trembled again, my voice returned to normal.

"Brother Gao, the story can be told slowly. Human life is at stake, and we cannot afford to make any mistakes."

As I spoke to Gao He, I walked quickly outside.

Gao He hesitated, wanting to speak but then stopped, and simply followed closely behind.

Cao Xinyun followed them out, hiding under Old K's open umbrella, muttering to himself, "I knew it... I knew it would be like this. Thank goodness I changed into rubber shoes..."

Gao got into his own Jeep.

Old K, Cao Xinyun, and I got into the van.

The two cars, one after the other, sped off into the night at Tanjiaqiao Lane.

(End of this chapter)