Chapter 1829: Special Capsule
"Ah, so that’s her true identity. Finally, I know who she is." Zhang Ting picked up on the clues from Feng Ling’s words, realizing that this woman belonged to Chen Yuxin, and was certainly dispatched to keep watch over Ye Shikai.
"No wonder you’ve been fed up with her all along, and could only let her tail you. So, it’s your wife who sent her to monitor you." Zhang Ting looked at Ye Shikai as if he were a kept man, further convinced that Ye Shikai was living off the Chen family. After all, the Chen family was one of Yanjing’s four major families, with vast assets under their name. Ye Shikai, "powerless and without influence," must be there for the free ride.
"I’ll explain that another time." Ye Shikai continued, "Let’s discuss the case, shall we?"
"The bodies have already been sent for autopsy, and I suspect we’ll soon have the results."
"The autopsy can determine the cause of death, but it may not reveal the identities of these individuals." Ye Shikai concluded that whether they willingly ingested poison or died from it unraveling meant there was a shocking secret hidden behind it, a cover-up that had only temporarily disrupted the trail. He was determined to pursue it to the end.
Two days later, at the police station meeting room.
"Cyanide was found in the stomachs of the deceased, so we can basically conclude that the cause of death was poisoning." Huang Hai relayed the contents of the autopsy report to everyone.
"Ye, you were the only one present. Did these people really not commit suicide by poisoning?" Huang Hai asked.
"I’m afraid not. At the time, their mouths didn’t have any peculiar odors. If they had truly committed suicide by poison, there should have been remnants of bitter almond flavor. I suspect they took the capsules laden with poison earlier, and after a period, the poison naturally took effect." Ye Shikai judged.
"If things are as you say, then the poison within the capsules should always be at risk of leaking. Why did it happen precisely when you were interrogating them? Furthermore, how could more than ten people die from poisoning simultaneously? Even if they took the capsules at the same time, the cyanide leaking shouldn’t be so coincidental. It doesn’t quite add up." A police officer on site questioned, and the others shared this suspicion, considering Ye Shikai’s explanation full of holes and with many details failing to hold up.
"I’ve thought of this too, which is why I believe the poison in the capsules wasn’t leaking by itself but was man-made." Ye Shikai continued.
"What do you mean by that?"
"For instance, the capsules could be remotely controlled to dissolve, thereby governing the release of the cyanide inside." Ye Shikai explained. He had witnessed this technology abroad before, although in Huaxia, it should still be exceedingly rare.
"This... is a bit too far-fetched. Where could one get such capsules? Moreover, it’s merely your assumption, without any evidence."
"Indeed, there’s no evidence to prove my inference, but likewise, there’s no evidence to disprove it, right? Plus, my supposition is the only one that explains the autopsy report, isn’t it?"
"Ye, this is just conjecture. In our investigations, we need evidence and can’t blindly pursue just a theory." Huang Hai continued, "However, you do have a valid point, considering the autopsy already confirmed there’s cyanide residue in their stomachs."
Ye Shikai couldn’t persuade these officers, but the simultaneous poisoning was indeed real. More explicitly, someone had "delivered" these poisons into their stomachs simultaneously. Apart from the hypothesis Ye Shikai proposed, he couldn’t think of any other method.
Inside the hotel.
"That thing you just mentioned, does it really exist?" Zhang Ting asked curiously.
"Yes, it does, though it should be quite rare in Huaxia." From what Ye Shikai knew, such items were generally possessed only by professional assassin teams. Surprisingly, it appeared here. Is it possible that foreign forces might be involved? That seemed unlikely. There were only two explanations: one, someone in Huaxia possessed such capsules; or two, they were bought from foreign assassin organizations. Based on Ye Shikai’s understanding, those assassin groups resembled businessmen. Buying such capsules from them wasn’t probable, as this would be considered their unique skill.
"If it were only a simple kidnapping or missing persons case, it would definitely not warrant such means. I feel this case is much larger than we imagined." Ye Shikai murmured.
"The bigger the case, the better! Little cases don’t fall under our major crimes unit." Zhang Ting was still full of fervor and fighting spirit, of course, this related to her character. Yet, this character often brought trouble, for instance, Zhang Ting hadn’t understood the power of cultivators well. If things really escalated, Zhang Ting, as an ordinary woman, at most physically brawny, wouldn’t last more than thirty seconds.
"Following this lead might yield results." Ye Shikai sent information to Worm, asking him to help search for data. If these capsules truly existed in Huaxia, some trace should be found.
"But, how should we investigate? To be honest, I’ve been in the major crimes unit for years, seen all kinds of cases, yet these capsules you mentioned are a first for me." Zhang Ting said calmly.
"By the way, how do you know about such things?" Zhang Ting suddenly questioned.
"Well, it was mentioned back in the army days." Ye Shikai casually provided an excuse to divert.
"In the army, you could know of such things?" Zhang Ting retorted.
"You’re just uninformed. Enough about that, back to the main point. If I’m not mistaken, following this lead might bring a breakthrough."
"Alright, let’s continue investigating." Zhang Ting seemed eager.
"Wait a moment, I have personal matters to attend to." Ye Shikai suddenly said.
..............................
Zhongyuan City, cemetery.
"Qian, you came too?" Ye Shikai was surprised to see Ji Qian when he arrived at the cemetery with flowers.
"I came to see Miss He’s cenotaph." Ji Qian spoke calmly. The incident from before lingered in her mind. Perhaps as Ye Shikai suggested, personally confiding at her cenotaph might be soothing.
"You came too?"
"I’m here for the investigation and to see her." Ye Shikai placed flowers before the tombstone, speaking blandly. With him present, Ji Qian might find it hard to voice her feelings.
"If you’re planning to talk to her, I can step aside." Ye Shikai returned to the car, leaving Ji Qian alone to mumble something at He Linghan’s grave. He understood clearly that this was Ji Qian confiding, a "communication" between her and He Linghan.