National Forensic Doctor-Chapter 1148 - 1079: Meeting Someone (Seeking Monthly Votes)

Chapter 1148: Chapter 1079: Meeting Someone (Seeking Monthly Votes)

"Should we open it?"

A group of police officers at the crime scene uncovered a hidden object, revealing a manhole cover. What else could they think of? The only question was how to open it.

Before Jiang Yuan could say a word, Mu Zhiyang shouted, "Hold on," and then turned around to remove his tactical backpack. From it, he pulled out a shotgun and began assembling it.

As thumb-thick bullets were loaded into the chamber one by one, the police present were all dumbstruck.

The police in Lanyue City were mostly from the Criminal Police Brigade. If you had to say it, the brigade was the top of the investigative food chain. Good guns, good armor, good cars—everyone had seen and used them. But when performing a task, carrying a Type 79 submachine gun on your chest and a shotgun on your back—was this really a proper police operation?

After all, Lanyue isn’t Detroit!

"Ready." Mu Zhiyang skillfully raised the shotgun, aiming at the manhole. His intent was clear: if anything went wrong, he’d fire those massive bullets directly down.

Compared to submachine guns, the defining feature of shotguns is their stopping power. If a submachine gun hits a person, it’s like a sword piercing through them. But if a shotgun hits a person, it’s like an axe smashing down.

Someone hit by a submachine gun might, under the rush of adrenaline, still manage to pull a trigger. But someone struck by a shotgun might fly through the air, landing butt-first in a poetic "falling crane pose."

This was exactly the effect Mu Zhiyang wanted.

Two workers glanced nervously at the shotgun and refused to approach. Two Lanyue City Criminal Police walked forward volunteering, grabbing a crowbar and prying open the manhole cover.

Woo woo...

A gust of wind blew up from the manhole.

Beneath it, a long vertical shaft appeared, pitch black and so deep it was impossible to see the bottom.

"Go find the engineering plans," Liu Jinghui hesitated for a moment, then added, "Try shouting. It’s best if the suspect comes out on their own."

Shen Yaowei stepped forward decisively and began shouting into the shaft, "Listen up down there! We’re the police. Coming up now is in your best interest..."

He shouted hoarsely several times, then turned back to Liu Jinghui and asked, "What if this guy managed to escape to the outside through this? Just ran off like that?"

"Can the sewers here even allow someone to pass through? Normally, for this residential area, it shouldn’t be possible." Liu Jinghui, who had done his research on domestic sewer systems—just as Sherlock Holmes had studied London’s—knew this was a necessary skill for a detective.

One of the Criminal Police Brigade members standing nearby chimed in confidently, "Sewers in Lanyue City rarely allow people through. This area shouldn’t be passable either. You couldn’t even crawl out."

"Try shouting a bit more," Liu Jinghui said.

Shen Yaowei grabbed another colleague and the two began shouting alternately, hollering back and forth for two minutes straight.

"Could there be no one down there?" Shen Yaowei questioned tentatively, then added, "How about I go down to take a look?"

"Too risky." Liu Jinghui wouldn’t let an officer go down like that. After deliberating briefly, he said, "Find two tear gas or smoke grenades and toss them down to see."

Shen Yaowei naturally turned to look at the Criminal Police Brigade officers next to him.

The city cops from Lanyue Bureau were dumbfounded.

Dai Mingsheng, feeling overwhelmed with a million disjointed thoughts, sighed and said, "I’ll call someone to send two tear gas grenades over."

Someone nearby suggested, "Why not start a fire down there? Once smoke rises, the suspect should be unable to bear it."

Liu Jinghui immediately shook his head, "Setting a fire isn’t good. First, it could cause burns. Second, it might destroy evidence. Also, if the suspect withstands the smoke, the officers going down might be attacked. Tear gas is still more reliable. For elimination, you need something powerful."

The effects of tear gas or smoke grenades are something no normal person can withstand.

At this point, Dai Mingsheng stopped hesitating, picked up his phone, and issued the order.

Not long after, two tear gas grenades were delivered. Dai Mingsheng inspected them briefly, then pulled the pin on one and tossed it straight down.

Thick smoke began rising within the shaft.

Cough cough... Achoo...

As noises echoed up from the shaft, the officers waiting in the small room visibly changed their expressions.

"There’s really someone down there?" Though everyone followed Liu Jinghui’s orders willingly, deep down, not all believed there was a suspect hiding here.

If even police dogs couldn’t scent anyone in this area, how could an individual be hiding in a deep shaft? The situation seemed bizarre.

And yet, this was an accomplice in a major case.

Still, regardless of denial or probability-based speculation, definitive evidence renders all doubt powerless.

Right now, that definitive evidence was the suspect himself.

"Listen up down there! Climb up properly, or I’ll toss a mustard-flavored tear gas grenade next!" Shen Yaowei bluffed casually, but the tone carried heavy intimidation.

The coughing voice below quickly responded, "I’ll climb up right now, don’t throw anything else!"

Tear gas releases gradually, and the confined space of the sewer meant the person below was soon overwhelmed. He coughed repeatedly and hastily climbed up.

Two criminal police officers immediately pounced on him, locking him up tightly.

Handcuffed with his arms behind his back, the suspect resembled a crab with its claws bound, his ability to resist greatly reduced.

The suspect didn’t resist at all, his face covered in snot and tears.

"What’s your name?" one criminal police officer demanded grimly.

"Wang Xiang," the handcuffed suspect answered cooperatively.

The surrounding officers silently observed him.

He was a young man, barely in his twenties, tall—at least six feet—and very fit, with abs and chest muscles. Overall, he was slender—what might be described as a classic "skinny guy."

Recalling Jiang Yuan’s description of the suspect, the age and physique lined up perfectly.

Liu Jinghui’s mind stirred—while the mastermind was still desperately holding out and refusing to confess, this Wang Xiang’s interrogation at the center might lead to unknown outcomes.

Liu Jinghui signaled Wang Chuanxing with his eyes, then addressed the suspect, "Do you know why we apprehended you?"

"N-no... I don’t... Cough cough... Give me some water." Wang Xiang looked pained.

"If you don’t know, how did we manage to find you?" Liu Jinghui wasn’t skilled at interrogation, but when dealing with novices, he could easily bluff them.

Wang Xiang was predictably stumped.

The place he’d been hiding, as far as he knew, was only known to the mastermind Wang Yuxian. It should have been the safest hideout imaginable.

But now, in this hidden spot, someone had suddenly tossed in a tear gas grenade. Wang Xiang’s head couldn’t wrap around it. Instinctively, he responded, "What did you say? I don’t understand."

Liu Jinghui sternly replied, "Think carefully. If you don’t confess, your accomplice will. If that happens, this entire case will rest on your shoulders alone."