Chapter 751: The Gym Murder Case

“Boundless horizons are my love, flowers blooming at the foot of endless green mountains…”

In the early morning, the employees of the hotpot restaurant across from the police station started dancing again. Every time Lin Dongxue heard this, she knew she was late, but not too late, just in time. Then she saw Xu Xiaodong show up with dark circles under his eyes and greeted her.

“Stayed up all night gaming again?”

“No, the game was playing me. Last night, a boss had me stuck for four hours… but I finally beat it,” Xu Xiaodong said with a hint of pride.

“You’re going to drop dead like this.”

“No way, experts say that working overtime counts as staying up late, but playing on your phone or computer late at night is just regular late nights. It doesn’t have much impact on health. What’s a few less hours of sleep for young people? Look at me, still full of energy every day!”

“There are plenty of experts, but you just listen to the ones saying things like that!”

Just then, a taxi pulled up, and a man jumped out. Xu Xiaodong exclaimed, “Isn’t that the guy from last time?”

Xin Bai saw Lin Dongxue and excitedly ran over, shouting, “Dongxue, it’s me, it’s me!”

Lin Dongxue frowned, wondering why this annoying old man was calling her so familiarly. She said, “I’m not sure if we’re going to the prison today!”

“No, I’m Chen Shi!”

“What?”

“Last night we swapped bodies in our dream!” Xin Bai ruffled his hair. “Damn it, why did this happen?”

Lin Dongxue’s mouth dropped open in surprise. Just then, a rolled-up newspaper thumped Xin Bai on the head. Chen Shi appeared out of nowhere and said, “Stop making such silly jokes.”

Xin Bai chuckled and asked Lin Dongxue, “Officer Lin, did I trick you?”

“You jerk! Old Chen, you don’t look so good.”

“Oh, I had a nightmare last night, didn’t get much rest… I shouldn’t have watched The Ring with Yueyue before bed.”

That dream, which felt like a TV series, kept Chen Shi up until dawn, leaving him exhausted. Of course, body swapping was impossible. Upon waking, he realized that everything in the dream was related to his experiences or things he’d heard. So, it was just an ordinary dream.

But from this dream, it was clear that even his subconscious was influenced by Chen Fengde and Liu Tao’s twisted logic.

Captain Lin came over and said, “The paperwork for the prison isn’t ready yet, so how about we investigate a case today?”

“The gym one?” Xin Bai asked.

“I didn’t tell you. Can you stop tagging along?” Lin Dongxue said, annoyed.

Xin Bai clung to Chen Shi’s arm, “Mr. Chen, please take me along. I want to see how it’s done.”

“Let him come. He’ll see how boring casework is.”

Lin Dongxue sighed, “Don’t regret it!”

“Awesome!” Xin Bai cheered, raising his arms in excitement.

The gym victim was named Lu Ming. The scene had been examined yesterday. Lu Ming was a regular at the gym, reportedly consuming seventy egg whites a day and even buying breast milk online. His body was so large that it took two autopsy tables to accommodate him.

The autopsy revealed that Lu Ming was stabbed in the heart with a 30 cm blade and died instantly without any resistance. Since the murder took place in the shower, the killer was likely naked, generously leaving behind footprints. Judging by the size, the killer was around 5’7″ and slim.

It seemed like an ordinary case, one that could be solved with legwork—lots of interviews.

Lin Dongxue was assigned to interview Lu Ming’s girlfriend, Liang Jing.

They were currently cohabiting. When they arrived at Lu Ming’s home, Xin Bai was so excited it was as if he was on drugs. On the way upstairs, he said, “Should I stake out downstairs?”

“Stake out who? A stray Golden Retriever?” Chen Shi asked.

“No, when you knock on the door, the murderer inside will realize the jig is up, and they’ll jump out the window to escape. You’ll give chase, knocking over countless stalls, and in the end, the murderer will escape. You’ll return to find his girlfriend’s corpse.”

“You’ve watched too many movies. If that happens, I’ll take your last name!” Chen Shi said.

The three of them arrived at the apartment and rang the doorbell. No one answered for a long time. Xin Bai pressed his ear to the door, gesturing for Chen Shi to come over. Chen Shi curiously leaned in and heard the sound of a window opening and a man jumping, his yell echoing with Doppler effect—it had to be in mid-leap.

“No way!” Chen Shi was shocked. Xin Bai’s crow mouth had predicted it right. He immediately sprinted down the stairs.

When they reached the ground floor, they saw a man rolling off the first-floor awning, hitting the ground and rolling a few more times before getting up to run. Chen Shi was stunned because the man was completely naked.

“Look at that guy!”

“Is he crazy?”

Residents gathered to watch the commotion.

“Stop!” Chen Shi quickly caught up and pinned the man to the ground. The man screamed, “You’re gonna rip it off, let go!”

Chen Shi had no rope or handcuffs, so he borrowed a dog leash from a lady walking her dog, who watched in bewilderment.

The leash wasn’t ideal for restraining a person, so he looped it around the man’s neck to lead him.

The man sat up and checked his genitals, saying, “Seriously, all this for an affair.”

“Huh? Why were you running then?”

“I was in the middle of it when someone came back. Of course, I ran! Her boyfriend is built like an ox! Was it you who rang the doorbell?”

“Come with me to confront her.”

Chen Shi led him back. The man resisted, asking, “Are you here to catch me cheating?”

“No, I’m a cop,” Chen Shi lied, but it wasn’t really a lie.

“Oh, that’s a relief,” the man sighed in relief.

Back at the apartment, Lin Dongxue and Xin Bai were questioning someone inside. They were surprised to see a naked man being led back. Liang Jing was buttoning up her clothes and said, “You didn’t announce you were the police. I thought it was him coming back.”

“Don’t you know Lu Ming is dead?” Lin Dongxue asked.

“What?” Liang Jing froze, her hands stopping. Chen Shi thought it was a natural reaction. “How did he die?”

“He was killed in the gym. Do you know if he had any enemies?”

“Enemies? He had tons. He seemed to be living the high life, but he was actually drowning in high-interest debt, constantly hiding. He didn’t want to work honestly, always looking for quick riches. After a few years of fooling around, he didn’t make any business work, just amassed debt. He even asked me to help pay. To be honest, our relationship was beyond saving. Who’d want a man like him? But he kept clinging on. This is my new boyfriend, he’s a photographer,” she said, nodding towards the naked man.

The man, now sitting on the bed, was fiddling with himself, dejectedly saying, “You owe me compensation. I might be impotent from the scare.”