Chapter 37

By the time the vehicle was discovered and the police were called, the entire car had already been burned pitch black.

When the call came in, Ruan Mingxi was at home playing with the dog and cat.

Two days earlier, the traffic bureau officers had intercepted a stolen dog-meat truck.¹ Most of the dogs with tags had already been claimed by their owners after proper paperwork.

The remaining unclaimed dogs, according to procedure, were sent to a shelter to await adoption. Ruan Mingxi remembered that Jiang Xuzhou had recently mentioned wanting to raise a dog. He thought instead of buying one, it would be better to visit the shelter—if they found one they connected with, they could bring it home.

After Ruan Mingxi told Jiang Xuzhou about this, the two of them immediately went to the shelter.

Among the group of dogs, Jiang Xuzhou’s eyes landed on a small golden retriever that looked just about two months old.

Because it was still young, its fur wasn’t long yet and it looked scruffy, but it was lively. Jiang Xuzhou instantly liked the little one.

At the same time, they also took home a kitten that had been stolen along with the dogs. Suddenly, their household had both a cat and a dog.

The little golden retriever had a good temperament, wagging its tail and acting affectionate toward Ruan Mingxi.

When they heard about the case, they immediately prepared to go.

Just after finishing with the canned food, Jiang Xuzhou saw him getting up to leave. “Going out?”

“Yes, there’s a situation I need to check.” Ruan Mingxi said.

Jiang Xuzhou paused at his words. “Not a case?”

“Not confirmed yet. There are suspicious points. Whether it’s a homicide will depend on Lin Peixin’s autopsy. The traffic police asked me to look at the scene so that if it does turn out to be a homicide, the criminal investigation team won’t be caught unprepared.”

Jiang Xuzhou immediately put down the can. The two little pets scampered off to eat. “I’ll drive you there.”

After this period of recovery, Ruan Mingxi’s leg was much better, but he still couldn’t drive.

During this time, Jiang Xuzhou had been driving him to work every day, acting as a dedicated chauffeur.

Following the address, they quickly arrived at the scene.

Lin Peixin had just gotten out of his car. He carried a case, while the intern forensic doctor behind him struggled to carry another.

The intern was small in stature, and seeing him lug the case, Ruan Mingxi worried he might topple over.

“Xiao Jiang, you got pulled in too, huh. Hard work, hard work.”

Lin Peixin greeted Jiang Xuzhou warmly.

Ruan Mingxi frowned. “What do you mean pulled in? That sounds awful. This is about safeguarding the lives and property of the people.”

Lin Peixin gave him a disdainful look, ignoring his chatter.

“What’s the situation at the scene?”

“They said it was a car accident.” Ruan Mingxi explained. “The car crashed straight into the roadside guardrail last night, causing an explosion. Because the location was remote, it wasn’t discovered until morning.”

“Any suspicious points?” Lin Peixin asked.

It was normal for forensic doctors to be called to determine unnatural deaths. But calling in the criminal investigation team before results were out was unusual.

“They said the road surveillance showed the car speeding, and when it was about to hit the guardrail, there was no attempt to slow down. That’s all they told me.”

Ruan Mingxi and Jiang Xuzhou reviewed the footage. The car was moving so fast it left afterimages, with no sign of braking.

Traffic police also checked the site and confirmed there were no brake marks.

“Is the cause of the fire clear?” Ruan Mingxi asked.

The traffic police replied: “Yes. Violent collision ruptured the fuel tank, sparks ignited the gasoline, causing the explosion.”

Jiang Xuzhou replayed the footage several times, confirming no suspicious details were missed, then handed the tablet back to Ruan Mingxi.

Photos had already been taken, and the body was being removed from the car. Lin Peixin began a preliminary examination.

While waiting, Ruan Mingxi asked: “What were you just thinking about?”

“The timing of the vehicle is strange. Four in the morning, speeding through a deserted road. Why?” Jiang Xuzhou said.

There were also many shattered fragments scattered across the road. Judging from the video, the speed was likely close to 200.

Both the timing and the speed were highly unusual.

Ruan Mingxi nodded. “Normally, people have an instinct to survive when facing danger. Even those attempting suicide often show unconscious survival reactions at the brink of death. Driving at such high speed without any attempt to brake is suspicious.”

Both shared their thoughts. Though suspicious, they still had to wait for Lin Peixin’s autopsy results to confirm whether it was an accident or homicide.

The severely deformed front of the car had trapped the victim tightly, and removing the body took considerable effort.

After much effort, the body was finally removed, leaving everyone panting from exhaustion.

Lin Peixin crouched down to make a preliminary forensic judgment.

Even through the mask, the acrid burnt smell forced its way into his nose. Alongside the charred flesh, there was also the faint stench of gasoline burning, an unbearable odor.

The victim’s clothing had been completely burned away, making it impossible to identify the body through attire or personal documents.

Lin Peixin examined the surface of the corpse. The body was in a “boxer’s pose”², as if frozen mid-punch.

Ruan Mingxi noticed Lin Peixin holding the same position for a long time and grew curious. “Wait here for me, I’ll go take a look.”

Jiang Xuzhou nodded. At his current level of endurance, he truly didn’t have the courage to look directly at a charred corpse.

As Ruan Mingxi approached, he saw Lin Peixin gently press the victim’s arm. A crisp crack sounded, and a piece of blackened flesh fell away.

Ruan Mingxi’s eyes widened. “Burned this badly.”

Lin Peixin nodded. “Yes, the surface skin has carbonized³. Touch it and it falls off.”

“If I’m not mistaken, this posture—the boxer’s pose—appears when someone is burned alive.”

Lin Peixin exhaled. “That’s true. But if a body is burned after death, under certain conditions it can also form the boxer’s pose.”

“The fire here came from a gasoline explosion. To burn the car like this, the flames must have been enormous. Such intense heat can quickly cause the body’s soft tissue to contract, producing the same boxer’s pose as if burned alive.”

“Also, the smell of gasoline on the body is far too strong. Even if the fire started from a fuel tank explosion, normally it wouldn’t be this heavy. Follow up with biochemical tests for accelerants⁴ on the body.”

Ruan Mingxi nodded. “Alright.”

The burning was so severe that it was difficult to draw conclusions from the body’s surface alone.

Ruan Mingxi walked around the scene. The police cordon was set wide, and fortunately this road was rarely used. Otherwise, traffic would have been badly jammed.

After the body was brought back, in order to examine it properly, the curled-up posture had to be opened.

A corpse fixed in the boxer’s pose requires great effort to unfold.

Lin Peixin and the intern forensic doctor worked together to stretch out the body. Their faces flushed red from exertion, and veins bulged visibly on their necks.

The moment the body was opened, the overwhelming stench of burnt flesh hit them. Intern Yang Bin’s stomach churned, bile rising to his throat.

Unable to hold it back, Yang Bin rushed aside and retched.

Lin Peixin glanced at him. “Can you still hold on?”

Yang Bin’s face was pale, his voice nasal, as if he had been crying. “I can.”

After adjusting himself, Yang Bin returned to the autopsy table.

“Watch carefully. When facing a burned body, the first step is to determine whether the person was burned alive or burned after death.”

Yang Bin hesitated. “Master, the victim was found driving the car. If he was driving, he must have been alive. Isn’t it unnecessary to judge whether he was burned alive or after death?”

Lin Peixin did not answer directly, continuing his examination.

“The body is severely burned, the skin surface carbonized. Checking the burn depth for signs of life reaction is useless. At this point, what must be examined is the respiratory tract.”

Though puzzled, Yang Bin listened carefully, even if these were lessons he had already studied in school.

—

“It’s a homicide. Prepare to take the case.” Lin Peixin’s phone call instantly put Ruan Mingxi on full alert.

That afternoon, Jiang Xuzhou finished his classes and came to pick up Ruan Mingxi from work, coincidentally arriving during a team meeting.

“Consultant Jiang, perfect timing. We’re having a meeting, join us.” Ying Shi called out.

Jiang Xuzhou: ???

Before he could figure out what was happening, he was swept into the meeting room, unwillingly gifted overtime.

Ruan Mingxi was adjusting the projection equipment. Seeing Jiang Xuzhou walk in with a bewildered expression, he was surprised. Realizing what had happened, he nearly laughed aloud.

But with so many people present and work underway, laughing would be inappropriate.

He coughed lightly, suppressing his smile.

“The equipment is ready. I’ll first explain the general situation of the case, then Lin will present the autopsy results.”

Ruan Mingxi opened the meeting. The projector displayed footage copied from the traffic bureau of the crash site.

“At 4:20 this morning, a black car with license plate 73 sped at 190 km/h along the Jingning National Road. It crashed into the roadside guardrail, rupturing the fuel tank and causing an explosion. Before the crash, there was no sign of braking.”

“My god, that speed is like rushing to reincarnate!” Zhang Shuang’s eyes widened in shock.

“Watching the video, my adrenaline spiked. Wasn’t he afraid?” another chimed in.

Ruan Mingxi heard their comments but did not respond, passing the floor to Lin Peixin.