Chapter 9: The Third Brigade

Xu Nian’s hand paused just as he was about to inject the needle, a hint of confusion in his voice. “What’s wrong?”

Zhou Yi replied, “First, let’s do a wound assessment. We can compare the wounds on the victim with those on you to confirm if they were caused by the same weapon.”

“Oh, right.” Xu Nian felt a flush of embarrassment. He was a forensic doctor, yet he needed someone else to remind him of the procedure. “Sorry, I overlooked that.”

After completing the wound assessment, Xu Nian began stitching Zhou Yi’s injuries.

Over his long career as a criminal investigator, Zhou Yi had suffered many wounds of varying severity; a few stitches were no trouble for him.

“Have you studied forensic medicine formally?” Xu Nian asked, perhaps to divert Zhou Yi’s attention.

“Just a little, a friend taught me.”

“Is your friend a forensic doctor as well?”

“Yes.”

“If there’s a chance in the future, could you introduce me? I want to learn more. Our city has always lacked talent in forensic medicine.”

“Sure, there will be an opportunity.”

Zhou Yi thought to himself, that friend is right here in front of me.

After stitching the arm wound, Xu Nian treated the injury on Zhou Yi’s head, mainly to check that there was no concussion.

Whether it was Zhou Yi’s tough skull or the assailant’s lack of force, the head wound was much shallower than the one on his arm, with no signs of concussion at all.

Still, what bothered him most was how unbelievably hard bricks were back in the nineties.

Satisfied with his work, Xu Nian looked over the “masterpiece” and nodded. “All done, Brother Yun Chang, you can go find Captain Wu now.”

“Yun…” Zhou Yi couldn’t help but laugh quietly. “Thanks a lot, Doctor Hua.”

Xu Nian smiled, returning to his desk to organize the blood samples collected earlier, preparing for laboratory comparison.

…

Before his rebirth, Zhou Yi was quite familiar with the Baicheng Municipal Bureau, having worked there for over a decade.

Though the decor was rather outdated now, the layout remained the same. He instinctively headed straight to the office of the Third Squad.

Baicheng was a prefecture-level city. The Criminal Investigation Division of the municipal bureau was divided into three squads, with the Third Squad specializing in major cases and homicides, often called the Major Crimes Unit.

He recalled that Wu Yongcheng was the deputy captain of the Criminal Investigation Division and concurrently the captain of the Third Squad.

What made it more interesting was that Zhou Yi himself would later become the captain of the Third Squad.

Meeting Wu Yongcheng now felt like a reunion beyond time and space.

He knocked on the door. Inside, Wu Yongcheng called out, “Come in.”

Pushing the door open, Zhou Yi expected to see the familiar, nostalgic scene he remembered.

Instead, a thick haze of smoke, heavy with the acrid scent of tobacco, hit him.

Coughing, he thought, “Goodness, how harsh on the throat, like a farmer smoking dry tobacco.”

Sure enough, Wu Yongcheng was seated behind his desk, deeply focused on a pile of crime scene photos.

A lit cigarette hung between his lips, the long ash drooping softly but stubbornly refusing to fall. The ashtray was overflowing with cigarette butts.

“You’re here?” Wu Yongcheng put down the photos and finally noticed the room was filled with smoke.

He hurriedly opened an old steel window beside him to let out the smell.

The smoke rushed out eagerly, while a cold draft swept in.

Zhou Yi glanced at the pitch-black window and then at the wall clock—3:15.

“Captain Wu, have you finished the scene investigation? It’s about to rain, and once it does, the scene will be completely ruined.”

Wu Yongcheng looked puzzled. “Rain? I watched the Central TV weather forecast last night; they didn’t mention rain.”

Just as he finished speaking, a few large raindrops pattered against the window.

Seconds later, a torrential downpour followed.

“Hey, your mouth must be blessed to be so accurate.” Wu Yongcheng, who had just sat down, jumped up to close the window.

“Captain Wu, the crime scene…”

Before Zhou Yi could finish, Wu Yongcheng waved him off. “Don’t worry. I happened to be on duty today. After the patrol team reported in, I rallied the young guys from the police dormitory to work. Everything that needed doing has been done.”

“If it weren’t for interrogating you, Chen and I would have been asleep hours ago.”

Zhou Yi nodded with relief, repeatedly saying, “Good, good.”

This meant that, compared to before his rebirth, the trajectory of this case had already changed drastically.

First, the crime scene, which would have been destroyed by the rain, was now thoroughly investigated—this was crucial.

Because the murderer was no immortal and couldn’t avoid leaving clues.

Secondly, the unexpected attack on him—Zhou Yi, the wild card—would inevitably leave behind more traces.

Moreover, he was currently the only person who had direct contact with the killer.

“The victim’s identity is basically confirmed. There’s a nurse named Du Xiaolin at the Third Municipal Hospital’s emergency department. We contacted her family, who said she hasn’t returned home. The hospital has records of her handing over her shift clearly. Her family is on their way now to identify the body.”

Zhou Yi nodded, feigning realization, though this was all within his expectations.

“Also, some of the information you mentioned has been verified by the hospital, including your grandfather Zhou Asi’s admission and the receipt with your signature for payment.”

“Thanks for your hard work, Captain Wu. Forensic Doctor Xu is currently conducting blood extraction and comparison tests. She also examined my wounds so we can compare them with those on the victim to determine if the person who attacked me is the same as the murderer of Du Xiaolin.”

Wu Yongcheng nodded approvingly. “That girl Xu is really meticulous. I completely forgot about that.”

Zhou Yi remained calm, quietly taking credit where it was due.

“Master, the family just came to identify the body. The victim is confirmed as Du Xiaolin,” a young officer hurriedly entered.

Seeing Zhou Yi there, he showed no surprise, merely nodding in greeting.

Zhou Yi nodded back.

Wu Yongcheng nodded as well, putting out his cigarette in the ashtray.

Then he said to Zhou Yi, “Let me introduce you—this is my apprentice, Chen Yan, two years older than you.”

Chen Yan immediately saluted Zhou Yi upon his master’s nod.

“Chen Yan…”

At the sound of that name, Zhou Yi froze for a moment.

He had a deep impression of this name.

He had heard it in internal police reports before:

Chen Yan, a member of the Third Squad of the Criminal Investigation Division of BC City Public Security Bureau, was posthumously honored as a martyr in April 1998 for heroically sacrificing his life in a major case to protect national property and the lives and property of citizens.