Chapter 124: A Haunting Mystery

Chapter 124: Is He a Ghost?

Three distinct scents: one from the female victim, one likely from her boyfriend, and another… What is this smell? It has a manly note, but it’s off—mingled with an animalistic tang. Not livestock, nor poultry… What could it be?

Squatting on the crime scene floor, Xiao Yu narrowed his eyes as he examined the traces before him, lost in thought.

Even though the body had been removed, dried bits of flesh still marred the floor.

A nauseating odor of decay mingled with the brown stains of dried body fluids…

After a long inspection, Xiao Yu stood and headed toward the hall’s window.

Although the window was now closed—police had prevented further disturbance of the scene…

it had been left open at the time of the incident.

Everyone knew that.

In over 90% of residential windows, handles are absent; they can only be opened from inside.

So, how did you open it?

Xiao Yu carefully examined the marks on the window.

For a full ten minutes, using his Falcon’s Eye ability…

yet he failed to discern any useful clues.

Xiao Yu was baffled, unable to comprehend what he saw.

Could it be that the female victim herself opened the window, waiting for you to kill her?

He recalled a saying.

“Only after exhaustive effort do you realize that some gaps in intelligence are simply unbridgeable.”

With a grim expression, Xiao Yu muttered, “My smarts were completely trampled on…”

Even with his intellect, nothing made sense.

Frankly, Xiao Yu couldn’t think of any normal explanation.

Unless… it was an abnormal method?

Through the window, one could see the residential building opposite.

It wasn’t far away; the situation was clearly visible.

Witnesses saw exactly what happened.

Then came a peculiar twist.

The victim lived on the sixth floor.

Assuming the killer was human… no assumption was even necessary!

Then how did he manage to float about?

Xiao Yu blinked.

For someone as clumsy as he was…

if he couldn’t do it, could anyone else?

He mused: I wasn’t aiming for a horror scene, but this maneuver is truly chilling!

And then it got even more terrifying.

After the crime, the killer left no trace on the body besides the wounds.

No other evidence was found!

Slowly closing his eyes, Xiao Yu felt his eyelids twitch uncontrollably.

Two possibilities emerged:

One: the killer mastered surveillance, counter-surveillance, and every forensic trick.

Two: the killer is non-human.

Either possibility is deeply unsettling.

Normal people would never want to confront either!

Taking a deep, steadying breath, Xiao Yu prepared to leave the first crime scene.

Before departing, he glanced at a police officer with a strange expression, touched his own face, and asked with a smile, “Is something off about my face?”

“No.”

Liu Lei quickly shook his head and, with a respectful tone fit for a superior, asked, “I’m just curious—at your age, how did you become so formidable?”

He genuinely couldn’t understand.

Age and appearance never lie.

How did a police officer younger than him manage to command an entire team from National Security?

Was it because he was good-looking?

If that were so, I’d lose all faith in a world that values looks above all!

What do you mean by ‘so formidable’… Xiao Yu nearly laughed and retorted, “You’ve overthought it!”

After leaving, he joined the National Security team as they headed to the second crime scene.

At the home of Zhu Xiaoying, the victim…

……

Entering the second scene—Zhu Xiaoying’s residence—

Xiao Yu surveyed the hall.

The victim had been a rather untidy woman!

Despite the decent renovations, the furnishings were in disarray, with clothes, pants, and socks carelessly strewn on the sofa.

Leftover snacks littered the coffee table.

Upon opening the bedroom door, a putrid stench hit him hard.

It was as if a husky had just left a mess on your head.

The overwhelming odor of decay!

Why was the smell of a decomposing body so intense?

Because it was May—after April’s heating cutoff—and the victim had her air conditioning set to 20 degrees during her life.

Normally, a body begins to soften and decay both inside and out within hours of death…

When the victim’s mother found her, nearly 40 hours had passed.

What could possibly happen in that scenario?

In a 20-degree air-conditioned room, her chest and abdomen had been torn open, spilling out her organs, with blood and flesh exposed to the air…

The corpse had decomposed so severely that fluids trickled down its remains!

After receiving a respirator from Wang Dong, Xiao Yu put it on and stepped into the bedroom.

Even though the body was gone, the lingering stench in the unventilated room was unimaginable.

Using his Falcon’s Eye, Xiao Yu examined the scene in just twenty minutes before returning to the hall.

According to National Security’s investigation, the killer had entered through the hall window once again.

The bedroom also had a window—why were both cases accessed via the hall window?

Xiao Yu was perplexed.

Was it merely a coincidence?

Taking out his tablet, Xiao Yu replayed a segment of surveillance footage.

He pressed play!

At 2:21 AM…

In the dim glow of the residential complex, a vague figure drifted into view.

A pair of wings, spanning two meters, flapped alongside a humanoid form as it slowly floated to the victim’s window.

The sparse streetlights barely illuminated the area.

Everyone knew that bright lights cannot fully cover residential buildings.

The surveillance footage captured only a blurry silhouette.

Enough…

Xiao Yu immediately concluded:

It was a human!

But how did he manage to fly?

Xiao Yu’s intellect took another beating.

He paused the video and let his imagination run wild.

He couldn’t fathom how wings spanning two meters could lift a person into the air.

You might not believe it, but…

With just a few gentle flaps, the figure floated effortlessly.

Science?

Or is my imagination limited by poverty?

Ah, right—my wife is worth a billion!

With a twitch at the corner of his mouth, Xiao Yu reassembled his shattered worldview.

It wasn’t really wings—it was a disguise.

A deliberate misdirection to create a false impression?

The theory held!

So how did he manage to float?

And in such a… drifting manner?

Xiao Yu’s mind raced.

Hidden wires?

Probably not.

On the day of the murder, no cranes or similar vehicles were seen.

Investigations by National Security between buildings revealed no traces of hidden wires.

Light agility? Abilities? Magic?

Or perhaps… was he a ghost?

Ha… Xiao Yu shook his head, shutting down his mental daydream.

Can’t keep fantasizing—otherwise it’ll turn into pure fantasy.

Although he couldn’t pinpoint the method, the killer must have employed some extraordinary technique.

A technique far beyond ordinary experience.

What could it be?