Chapter 527: The Mysterious Laboratory

Chapter 527: The Strange Laboratory (Update 5)

On the outskirts of Bincheng.

Xiao Yu stood before a private building that had been burned to the ground.

A tall wall enclosed a three-story building within.

But the three-story bungalow was completely charred.

Its previous incarnation had been a private chemical laboratory!

Could an individual legally set up a private chemical lab?

The answer is yes, definitely!

However, approval from the local authorities is required.

You need proper documentation – permits, health certificates – and the necessary equipment.

As long as you don’t harm people or endanger the country, any accredited experiment is legal.

Of course, for high-risk experiments with strict conditions, safety must be a top priority.

Key point: Your experiment must fall within the state’s allowable limits, using only purchasable materials; regulated raw materials are tightly controlled…

This is something most people on Earth already know.

Experimenting is like handling a high-yield bomb – extremely dangerous.

One mistake and it could explode… just like what we see here!

An hour ago, the police received a report.

An explosion at a certain laboratory had ignited a fire; casualties remain unclear.

Soon after, firefighters and police arrived to extinguish the blaze.

Once the fire was out, the police began investigating the scene.

They discovered eight bodies… isn’t that troublesome?

Accidents occur every day in the human world.

Every day, many lose their lives in unforeseen incidents.

Yet, accidents can vary greatly in scale.

Experimenting is one thing, but eight deaths…

No one could possibly overlook that!

The lab’s manager was arrested immediately.

Arresting someone without understanding why?

Consider this straightforward example.

You know about private coal mines, right?

If a mine collapses or a gas explosion occurs causing fatalities…

The coal boss gets thrown in jail!

Why?

Firstly, when you engage in an industry, you must understand its inherent risks.

Once you’re in it, you must ensure absolute safety and eliminate risks.

Otherwise, if disaster strikes, you’ll be the first one blamed.

The same applies to laboratories!

So why did Xiao Yu come here?

Because something huge went wrong!

An on-site autopsy revealed that out of eight burned bodies, three were suspicious.

They appeared to have been deliberately killed!

Upon hearing this, Yun Xiangguo from the City Bureau was not only furious—he nearly exploded.

What’s the matter? Haven’t things been calm for just a few months?

Is Bincheng turning into Gotham City?

Immediately, Yun Xiangguo called the Criminal Investigation Team and asked, ‘Is Xiao Yu around?’

Anyone in the know understood that Little Brother often went off the grid.

Those with insider information knew he was off on private gigs.

Coincidentally, with Yun Xiangguo’s status and connections,

he clearly knew what kind of private work Xiao Yu was involved in.

Even more coincidentally,

Xiao Yu had just reported for duty at the Criminal Investigation Team.

And moments later, he received this very case.

Even on a warm May day, a chill ran down Xiao Yu’s spine.

He barked, ‘System, come on out, I’m sick of your messing around… Do you always have a knack for blowing things up?’

Not even the heavens would dare complain—it was all for safety.

Cursing the system left Xiao Yu utterly unfazed.

Besides, the system barely ever responded anyway.

Cursing was pointless!

Entering the laboratory building, Xiao Yu spotted the coroner, He Li.

At that moment, He Li’s gaze at Little Brother was strangely odd.

“What a coincidence, He Jie,”

Xiao Yu greeted her with a smile.

“It sure is,”

He Li fixed her stare on Xiao Yu and said, ‘Whenever a major case hits our city, it seems you always show up.’

Xiao Yu: (￣□￣)

That remark sounded oddly mystical—something was off.

What does he mean by ‘I always show up’?

“Just a coincidence,”

Xiao Yu could only offer that and quickly changed the subject, ‘What’s the situation at the scene?’

“Follow me to the basement,”

He Li said without wasting a word, ‘The scene hasn’t been disturbed yet. Moving the bodies would ruin key evidence.’

At her words, Xiao Yu’s heart sank.

If even a professional like He Li was too cautious to touch the bodies for fear of contaminating evidence, something major was amiss.

Moreover, He Li had clearly identified the victims.

This indicated that certain traces had already been found on them.

It was unmistakably a murder!

When Xiao Yu and He Li reached the basement, they were hit by the aroma of grilled meat.

They also saw five charred bodies strewn about, burnt to a crisp.

No wonder there was a grilled meat smell… Xiao Yu smirked.

“Out of eight bodies, five were in the basement and two on the third floor.”

Examining the charred corpse, He Li explained, ‘I’ve already checked the three bodies on the upper floors. They seem to be the result of a chemical explosion that triggered the gas in the third-floor kitchen, causing a secondary blast that set off the entire lab…’

“But these five bodies here are very strange.”

“Take this one, for example…”

Wearing latex gloves, He Li pointed at the body before her.

The clothing was burnt away, but the body’s size clearly marked it as female.

Activating Falcon’s Eye, Xiao Yu scanned the corpse and quickly noticed discrepancies.

Normally, a burned body not only shows fire damage; its internal organs typically explode.

For instance, during cremation, professionals use special tools to open the chest and abdomen so the organs can spill out.

Otherwise, the body would burst open from the inside out!

This body, however, was different – despite clear burn marks, it remained intact.

Oddly, the muscles appeared to have atrophied. Instead of bursting, the chest and abdomen were deeply contracted.

“There’s definitely something wrong!”

Xiao Yu’s expression turned steely as he slowly crouched down.

“Mm,”

He Li nodded, ‘A body will only show this condition in a raging fire if it has been specially treated. Even without a full autopsy, I can tell this body… isn’t fresh!’

Describing the body as ‘not fresh’—Xiao Yu mentally scoffed at the odd wording.

But he understood the implication in He Li’s words.

Not fresh meant it hadn’t died recently – it had been dead for some time.

Yet, it had been preserved meticulously through embalming.

And then exposed to intense flames…

Which is why the body exhibits these abnormal burn marks.

Such details become obvious with a proper autopsy.

“The reason we haven’t disturbed these bodies is because of this one,”

He Li stood, moving to a corpse with a burst chest and charred hands, pointing as she continued, “He had something in his hand that he guarded fiercely. I fear that disturbing it would destroy the evidence inside.”

Xiao Yu’s gaze fell onto the corpse’s hand.

In that instant, his eyes lit up as he noticed the irregularity!