Chapter 193: Many Methods

Chapter 193: Many Methods

Facing the gaze of the female forensic examiner, Xiao Yu felt a tingle of unease.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Are you planning to dissect me?”

Clearly, Xiao Yu was overthinking it.

The numbness in the forensic examiner’s eyes gradually faded as she looked at Xiao Yu curiously. “Who are you?”

Ordinary people wouldn’t be allowed into the autopsy room, and even internal system members need approval.

Xiao Yu’s ability to enter directly hinted at several issues.

“Criminal Investigation Team, Xiao Yu.”

Xiao Yu extended his hand. “Hello, He Jie.”

“Xiao Yu? I feel like I’ve heard that name before.”

He Li tilted her head, removed her gloves stained with dark blood, tossed them into the trash, then took off her mask to reveal an ordinary woman’s face.

In her forties, there was nothing particularly striking about her.

Reaching out to shake his hand, He Li smiled. “I remember now—you’re that Xiao Yu, right?”

“Am I really that famous…?” Xiao Yu smiled without replying.

He was indeed well-known in Bincheng.

Especially within the system.

After all, forensic examiners are insiders too!

“Never thought Officer Xiao would be so young,”

He Li joked, “Anything I can help you with?”

It was obvious that although she appeared older, her personality was lively and cheerful.

“Just kidding,”

Xiao Yu laughed, “I’m investigating a case. Six years ago, a family of three committed suicide. You, He Jie, performed the autopsy. Do you remember it?”

“Six years ago?”

He Li thought for a moment and nodded. “Three bodies—a family of three… I remember now. It did happen.”

“Can you recall any details?” Xiao Yu asked hesitantly.

Looking back on events from six years ago was indeed difficult.

“Let me think,”

He Li strained to remember. “Some details elude me, but I do recall that externally the bodies appeared to have died from poisoning. However…”

“However?” Xiao Yu’s eyes lit up.

“What impressed me most during that autopsy was one specific detail.”

He Li’s expression turned serious. “The family of three had ingested a mix of cockroach and rat poison.”

“Exactly,” Xiao Yu nodded.

Admittedly, the female forensic examiner’s memory was impressive.

For most people, after more than six years, very few could recall such details.

“There’s something very odd about it,”

He Li’s demeanor turned strangely serious.

“Odd?”

Xiao Yu’s eyes gleamed with clarity. “What’s odd about it?”

“The smell!”

He Li asserted, “Ordinary people can’t stand that odor.”

This peculiar point made Xiao Yu frown in confusion.

In an instant,

his eyes suddenly brightened.

Thanks to his Medical Expert ability, he was familiar with countless substances.

What are the ingredients in rat poison?

Common ones include Gamflu, Fluoroacetamide, Botulinum toxin, Sodium fluoroacetate, and others.

Many assume that rats, being not very bright, will eat anything.

But that’s not actually the case.

While rats have an excellent sense of smell, their vision is poor.

They end up consuming rat poison because some odor markers attract them.

Rat poisons essentially contain these scents.

But those same odors are unbearable to humans.

Likewise, the components in cockroach poison attract cockroaches in a similar manner.

And the smell of cockroach poison is even more intolerable to us.

Mix these two types of poison with rice and cook them into porridge?

To put it another way, who would be tempted by a steaming bowl of mush?

Well, perhaps some eccentric individuals might be.

But if you’re set on suicide, why not choose a more dignified method?

Isn’t jumping off a building more appealing?

Or is cutting your wrists not satisfying enough?

Or is it too troublesome to set off a gas explosion?

Do you really enjoy making your own death as repulsive as possible?

“Although these two poisons can be mixed, combining them triggers a chemical reaction.”

Recalling the autopsy of the family, He Li’s eyes flashed with a memory. “For instance, the human tongue and taste buds are extremely sensitive. When these poisons react, they create a needle-like stinging sensation… Do you get what I mean?”

“I do!”

A sharp gleam crossed Xiao Yu’s eyes. “No normal person could drink that!”

“Yet they did.”

He Li looked puzzled. “First the smell, then the stinging sensation… And even stranger, during the autopsy, I found no signs of forced injection. The stomach residue analysis indicates they drank it themselves… It just doesn’t add up!”

Not only does it defy logic, it’s also highly unscientific.

Xiao Yu squinted and pulled out his phone, opening his photo gallery.

He had just photographed the autopsy records in the archives.

He began reviewing them…

“Stomach residue, components of rat poison, components of cockroach poison, a porridge-like substance… Huh?”

Xiao Yu paused. “Porridge-like substance?”

“Yes, a mushy rice porridge.”

He Li clearly remembered the details of that autopsy and nodded. “Is something off?”

“He Jie, I have a question.”

Xiao Yu blinked. “You can cook, right?”

“Yes,” He Li nodded.

“So, when you make porridge, do you cook it for a long time?”

Xiao Yu frowned. “Turning porridge into a mush—sticky and slimy… almost like nasal mucus?”

Normally, a well-cooked rice porridge still contains distinct grains.

How many people intentionally make it thick and mushy?

It isn’t merely a matter of time; it’s also about texture.

And while there are various ways to break down rice into a mush,

records from that suicide case indicate that the family’s kitchen featured an old electric rice cooker (Zhao’s rice cooker).

The kind that, with one simple press, automatically switches off when the rice is done.

To break the rice down into a complete mush, it needed to go through three to four cooking cycles.

That process takes from an hour to an hour and a half.

If someone’s planning to commit suicide, would they really take the trouble to prepare a pot of unattractive, mushy porridge?

“It makes no sense at all!”

He Li exclaimed in surprise, affirming, “That was my oversight. I never expected… it can’t be! Normal people wouldn’t prepare a porridge like that!”

“Exactly. And here’s the real question,” Xiao Yu said, nodding.

“You’re trying to ask…”

He Li continued, “How did this mushy porridge, with no signs of being forcibly administered, end up in the stomachs of the family of three? They must have drunk it voluntarily?”

“It doesn’t have to be forced,”

Xiao Yu coldly snorted as an idea struck him. “There are still many methods!”