Chapter 876 - You’re the Only One in My Heart
Yang Chen sighed before he tapped Cai Yan on the head. “You little idiot. Those are vampire bites! They call themselves the blood race. Back then, I told you that there are multiple incredibly strong, hidden powers in the world. And among them are the two divisions of the blood race. I’ve actually met them back in the day.”
Cai Yan squirmed where she stood. “Don’t vampires suck blood from necks? Why would they bite… such revolting areas…?”
Yang Chen proceeded to explain with a sinister grin. “That was just a rumor spread by the blood race to conceal their identities and habits. Blood tastes different when extracted from different parts of the body. While the neck generally is the most common spot, it is also too obvious to the naked eye.
“But the arteries in the insides of the thigh, however, are where the blood is the sweetest and most sumptuous! The blood race are already well-akin with perversion and sensuality, so for them to snuggle below a woman’s skirt where the arteries pump fresh blood, was an intriguing and convenient region to feed on. Not to mention the robust aroma of feminine hormones…”
“Ugh, disgusting!” Cai Yan had chills through her spine at the thought of such revolting actions!
Yang Chen had his moment annoying his lover. He thereafter panned out the plastic wrap over the corpse, before accompanying Cai Yan out of the forensic room and back to her office.
Lin Ruoxi was waiting for their return as she hurriedly brought herself to enquire about any crucial findings.
Yang Chen quickly asked, “Where’s Hongyan?”
“She’s with Lawyer Zhang handling the bailout procedures. He said that she should be allowed to leave here without a hitch since the evidence was inconclusive.
“I’ve paid Lu Yao’s family five million yuan in emotional distress severance. They should leave us alone, and as long as we keep them at bay, her company would not try to pick a bone with us,” Lin Ruoxi explained.
“Five million?! A court settlement would have been much much cheaper! Not to mention the fact that you ain’t even related to this!” Cai Yan exclaimed. “Ruoxi, why did you pay so much? Lu Yao is a big star. Her insurance companies are going to pay them a big sum of money. This is the worst kind of extortion!”
Lin Ruoxi bitterly explained, “She died at our event, there’s no debating that. Plus, five million isn’t much for peace of mind. Naturally, if they were to further spread false rumors about us, we would halt the funding instantly.”
Cai Yan came to understand her reasoning. “Y’know sometimes I feel like you’re too soft. Did Wang Gang and his men give you a hard time?“
Lin Ruoxi pouted at Yang Chen before she added, “Those thugs seemed to be genuinely terrified by this brat over here. After you left, they gave some spiel about investigating the crime scene and left immediately.’
”How was I a brat? That was a heroic act I did there,” Yang Chen grumbled.
Cai Yan, however, clapped enthusiastically as she exclaimed, “Oh my, what a surprise! Those people are the most incompetent detectives I’ve ever seen. It seriously baffles me how they managed to shit talk their way through the field all these years! If it weren’t for the federal bureau in their defense, I would’ve kicked their hinds and sent them scurrying a long time ago!”
Lin Ruoxi giggled. “Alright Yanyan, why don’t we talk about what you found out in the forensics room? My only wish, for now, is for this to be settled and dusted as soon as possible. Ous US stocks are declining because of the incident.
“Besides our own associated media coverage, there have only been rumors all over. ‘Yu Lei has been undermining their competitors’, ‘President Lin masterminded the execution of a rival superstar’. These were but some of the headlining titles that were spread.”
Yang Chen was somewhat dispirited as he blabbered, “This case might be easier investigated than to conclude I reckon…”
Eyeing Lin Ruoxi’s confused gaze, Yang Chen summarized their findings from the beginning.
Upon the revelation that the murderer might be a vampire, Lin Ruoxi felt like her head was about to explode!
Yang Chen then said, “Ruoxi, you remember how I acted all hostile to Lu Yao even though we’ve just met?”
Lin Ruoxi nodded as she perplexed, “You’re saying you knew she was tied to the blood race at that moment? Oh right, you mentioned something about her ‘father figure’ and her expression instantly changed. Does her relationship with her father figure have anything to do with the blood race?”
“It isn’t a normal relationship,” Yang Chen explained. “I could sense the presence of the blood race encompassing her. It wasn’t too overbearing per se, but she sure was in line to become one of them.
“And in the process of being a member of the blood race, more commonly known as ‘initial embrace’, which putting it simply is the process of letting a man of the blood race consume a large amount of a mortal’s blood, regurgitate, then inject the fused blood back into the body of the mortal they’ve been feeding on.
But due to the difference between our physiques with Caucasians, the blood does not fuse uniformly. A brash attempt in an ‘initial embrace’ would result in the failure of complete blood circulation through her heart.
That said, she most likely was still in the first stage. A lowly flesh slave, a sacrificial lamb devoting her blood to her vampire overlord. That would explain her lack of abilities but strong scent.”
“What you’re implying is that… Lu Yao wanted to be a vampire? But why?” Cai Yan was dumbfounded by the concept of vampires in her head.
Yang Chen shook his hands in denial. “You gotta understand that the greatest trait of the blood race is their immortality and their inability to age. Those alone are exceptionally appealing to the likes of young, gorgeous women with no intention of losing their beauty and allure.
“Besides, the blood race is hardly as obscene as what humans picture them to be. Other than a few who have grown tired of their everlasting vigor and wanted to mess around, the rest of them pretty much keep to themselves.
“What I am most curious about is why one blood race member has murdered Lu Yao. Was he the one she had succumbed to? If he was, then what would his motives be? If otherwise, then there’s proof that there is a significant presence within our vicinity.”
Lin Ruoxi analytically contemplated, before she proclaimed, “And how does any of that prove that her murderer was indeed a vampire? If it was, he wouldn’t need a fruit knife to do it, would he?”
Yang Chen snapped his fingers. “Good question, Ruoxi. And it was because of that fruit knife that I can confirm someone from the blood race is responsible for her death. Think about it, where was the wound of the fruit knife?”
After a moment of contemplation, Lin Ruoxi’s eyes glowed from enlightenment. “I got it! He used the fruit knife to hide the wound lying close to the artery, which in turn kept the bite wounds shielded by a grotesque demolishing of the scar!”
“Exactly. Usually, with makeup applied over the neck, a concealed wound could easily be identified by the forensics team. But this time the culprit utilized a trick of pure genius, and would’ve gotten away with it until their overconfidence took over because they left the hidden scar between her thighs.” Yang Chen let out an accomplished smirk.
“If that’s the case, then why were Hongyan’s fingerprints on the fruit knife?” Cai Yan enquired.
Yang Chen replied, “The blood race has been effortlessly preying on humans due to their pre-existing ability to induce hallucinations.
“Hongyan must have been mind-controlled the moment she barged into the dressing room and did as she was instructed to. She picked up the fruit knife, threw it on the couch, and only came back to her senses once the man was gone.
“As such, Hongyan has effectively become the scapegoat, and all crimes have been transferred into the hands of Yu Lei International.”
Lin Ruoxi and Cai Yan took a glance at one another, seemingly grasping the situation through each other.
“You’re horrible! If you knew all this while that there’s something off about Lu Yao, why didn’t you tell me upfront?! If you paid slightly more attention then she could’ve made it through tonight!” Lin Ruoxi vented her frustration on her husband as she smacked him on the back.
Yang Chen smiled bitterly. “I mean… Dear, people everywhere have dreamed about becoming a member, even if they were a lowly flesh slave. There really wasn’t anything extremely obnoxious about her presence, besides her self-centered personality. Wasn’t that why you were furious in the first place? Not like you care if she’s still alive…
“Besides, you’re the only one in my heart, there isn’t any space left for other women…”
“Pfft, that has to be the most blatant lie I’ve ever heard!” Lin Ruoxi aggravatedly rolled her eyes on him. Nonetheless, to hear that remark right next to Cai Yan left her feeling rather accomplished.
As for Cai Yan, listening to Yang Chen blabbering nonsense by her side, she couldn’t help but give him a tight pinch on the waist. Knowing full well of her position as the third wheel, that was the furthest she could go to vent her anger.
Yang Chen simultaneously cackled at Lin Ruoxi’s coy reaction, while comforting Cai Yan on the back of her hand, trying his best to curb the ambers on both ends. If only dealing with relationships was as easy as dueling monsters and beasts… he thought.
The causation and evidence might have been concluded, but those were just the beginning of their problems.
“Who can this man be, to first murder Lu Yao, then frame our company?” Lin Ruoxi frustratedly asked.
Yang Chen gave it a thought. “That’s the part where we have to find the culprit, then everything will fall into place.”
“Yang Chen, I’m sure you have a plan like you always do, don’t you?” Cai Yan enquired with anticipation.
Yang Chen awkwardly replied, “I would’ve already done it if I could. At my best, I would definitely be able to track their scent. But the problem is that I don’t know where to start. The blood race are able to dash from place to place quicker than the human eye can see. Finding him is like finding a needle in a haystack. Even if I’m a deity, I wouldn’t know where to start!”
Lin Ruoxi was rather dispirited as she proclaimed, “If even the likes of you have exhausted all ideas, there is no chance for us to find the murderer. We can’t just start a press conference and tell everyone that the killer was a vampire, but we can’t track him, can we?”
Yang Chen blinked, before he cracked a devilish smile. “Rest assured, I might be out of ideas, but that doesn’t mean we’re helpless. You gotta know that the blood race have six restrictions. This individual from the blood race has obviously broken the ‘seclusion’ rule, so the blood race will have to deal with that themselves. Wouldn’t that make things so much easier for us?”