Chapter 224: Dead as They Could Possibly Be

Chapter 224: Dead as They Could Possibly Be

Xiao Yu and his companions followed a narrow path toward the small hill that sheltered a sprawling courtyard.

They walked for a full twenty minutes.

Only when the four of them reached the midpoint of the hill did they come upon the courtyard.

The yard was vast, its buildings arranged like those on a manor estate.

A three-story structure covering around two to three hundred square meters.

Standing in front of the courtyard gate was a middle-aged man.

He was the same man who had just peered through the telescope at Xiao Yu.

“Who are you?”

The middle-aged man replied in a bad mood, “Don’t you know this is a private island?”

What exactly qualifies as private property?

It’s like your own house where the property belongs solely to you.

If a stranger intrudes, you have every right to kick them out—or even beat them!

But…

“Police.” Guo Qiang flashed his officer’s badge.

Li Xin and Liu Hongqiao scanned the surroundings.

Xiao Yu’s eyes fixed on an iron rod clutched in the middle-aged man’s hand.

Thanks to the acuteness of his Wangdie’s Nose, he detected a whiff of blood.

Human blood… had it found its mark?

“Huh?”

The middle-aged man’s expression shifted slightly; a cold smile crept across his harsh features. “Ah, it’s a police officer. Welcome, welcome.”

“Are you the island owner?”

Slowly lifting his head, Xiao Yu regarded the man with a calm gaze.

“No, I’m not. I’m just the night watchman.”

The middle-aged man beamed broadly.

“Where’s the island owner?” Xiao Yu pressed on.

The man replied offhand, “He’s not here. He hasn’t been around for a long time.”

“May we come in and take a look?”

Locking eyes with the man, Xiao Yu raised his hand and motioned toward the courtyard and the three-story building.

“This… it’s not convenient,”

the middle-aged man said, his expression revealing his discomfort.

Xiao Yu remained silent while Guo Qiang picked up his briefcase and retrieved a document.

A search warrant!

It had been prepared long before their arrival.

At this, the middle-aged man’s face changed, and he said nothing further.

“Let’s go,”

Xiao Yu signaled to Guo Qiang and stepped toward the gate.

Li Xin and Liu Hongqiao followed behind.

Meanwhile, Guo Qiang moved beside the middle-aged man and said in a low voice, “Let’s take a look together.”

The middle-aged man’s expression shifted once more before he silently entered the courtyard, with Guo Qiang trailing him.

Inside the vast courtyard were two vegetable plots and, visible in the distance, a water reservoir.

Xiao Yu advanced step by step.

Suddenly his pace halted as he looked toward the far end of the courtyard, fixing his gaze on a well.

An ordinary person might not sense anything unusual.

But with the acuity of Wangdie’s Nose, Xiao Yu could detect a faint hint of corpse stench riding the air.

That stench was wafting from the well.

A chill gripped him and Xiao Yu tore his eyes away, continuing toward the three-story building ahead.

No rush—first he had to confirm if this was the place.

If so, he needed to locate the basement.

He had to see if anyone was still alive…

Pushing the door open, he was greeted by a rather nondescript hall.

Xiao Yu gestured, “Disable the safety!”

Li Xin and Liu Hongqiao, standing behind him, exchanged worried looks.

They drew their sidearms and switched off the safety as they began to search the first floor.

At that moment, Guo Qiang entered the hall with the middle-aged man.

“Is there anyone else here?”

Xiao Yu’s expression hardened as he turned to the middle-aged man.

“No, there’s only one,” the man replied.

But Xiao Yu detected deceit in his eyes and ordered coldly, “Handcuff him!”

Guo Qiang froze for a moment, then without hesitation produced a pair of handcuffs, aiming to cuff the man.

“Officer, what crime have I committed?”

The middle-aged man’s face contorted as he began to back away.

Bang!

Under Guo Qiang’s dumbfounded stare, Xiao Yu slowly retracted his leg and glared coldly at the middle-aged man, who lay unconscious on the floor. “What a load of crap!”

Guo Qiang: …

That temper hasn’t changed a bit!

Anyone familiar with Xiao Yu knew there was more to him than the sunny young man he appeared to be.

In fact, everyone knew he was far from squeaky clean.

They still remembered the first time he joined a police raid – during an ‘illegal corpse smuggling’ case – when he single-handedly took down seven or eight burly thugs, three of whom were seriously injured.

When he struck, his ruthlessness was unmatched.

Guo Qiang remembered it vividly!

“Cuff him!”

Xiao Yu pointed at the unconscious middle-aged man, gave Guo Qiang a look, and then strode up to the second floor.

Guo Qiang wasn’t stupid.

Since Xiao Yu had taken action and even ordered him to handcuff the man, something was definitely off about this island.

Considering the purpose of their investigation on the island, Guo Qiang suddenly brightened with a thought.

Could it be that they had stumbled onto something by chance?

Xiao Yu couldn’t be entirely sure yet.

One thing was certain: the well in the outer courtyard reeked of corpses.

Even if it had nothing to do with their case, the island itself was undoubtedly problematic.

But by all odds, this was the place!

Xiao Yu searched both the second and third floors, finding nothing of note.

The search was meant to ensure no one else was lurking about.

After all, a basement wouldn’t be situated upstairs.

Once he finished, Li Xin and Liu Hongqiao emerged from their own search of the area, shaking their heads at him.

They signaled that they had found nothing.

Could someone really hide so well… Xiao Yu frowned and conducted a personal sweep.

Indeed, nothing seemed out of the ordinary inside.

So it wasn’t within the house.

Liu Hongqiao glanced at the middle-aged man as the others stepped outside.

“It can’t be in the well,” he said.

Scanning the courtyard, Xiao Yu muttered to himself while continuing his search, “Then where is the entrance… huh?”

Suddenly, his gaze landed on a large iron plate set in the side wall of the three-story building.

It looked like a manhole cover for a cesspit—but something was off.

Normally, no one would dare tamper with a cesspit.

Under ordinary circumstances, dust would have settled atop it.

But the handle on that iron plate was gleaming.

It was only so shiny because it was frequently pulled.

Xiao Yu stepped forward, crouched, and grabbed the handle before pulling it.

Squeak!

The iron plate was pried open.

Suddenly!

Xiao Yu felt a rush of danger and recoiled instantly.

Boom!

Gunfire erupted.

A stray bullet grazed past Xiao Yu, hitting the wall and sparking a brief flare.

Hearing the gunshot, Guo Qiang and Li Xin were momentarily stunned.

When they regained their senses, they saw Xiao Yu not retreating but leaping down.

They followed right after.

Crack, crack!

The horrifying sound of bones breaking intermingled with screams and stifled wails echoed from the hole beneath the ground.

Guo Qiang and Li Xin exchanged looks before charging forward with their weapons drawn.

“Head, are you alright?” Guo Qiang called out anxiously.

But the hole under the iron plate was shrouded in darkness.

“I’m fine. You keep watch outside,”

Xiao Yu’s voice came up from below. “Keep going…”

Suddenly,

a figure shot out from the hole.

Thud—it landed right in front of Guo Qiang and Li Xin.

“Hiss!”

When they finally recognized the figure as a human, both gasped in shock.

It was a corpse!

Not only was the person dead, but both arms were grotesquely twisted.

The head was contorted backward, pressed against the spine, hanging limply.

Dead as could be!