Chapter 102: The Sorcerer Is a Crucial Lead

Steam swirled thickly, a pungent stench hung in the air, and the eerie atmosphere around sent inexplicable chills coursing through one’s body.

The raging fire in the refrigerated warehouse had yet to be extinguished, while the hallucinatory glow bathed the entire street in a deep crimson, as if a massive bucket of red dye had been overturned across the pavement.

Ma Baoguo stared solemnly at the fiery building shrouded in black smoke. Suddenly, another tongue of flame shot into the dark sky, licking at the murky void.

“Two more brutal murders have just occurred. The research team absolutely cannot stay here any longer—this place is far too dangerous. I’ll arrange for their immediate evacuation first thing tomorrow morning,” Ma Baoguo declared firmly.

Naturally, Li Tianque disagreed. “Director Ma, given the current situation, the higher-ups will undoubtedly dispatch more police to assist with the investigation. Personally, I still don’t recommend pulling the team out right now. After all, we can’t entirely rule out the possibility that the perpetrator is among the research team.”

“Possibility, possibility… The greatest possibility right now is that the killer is going to keep murdering!” Ma Baoguo shot back angrily, his eyes blazing.

Li Tianque noticed Ma Baoguo’s emotions were clearly unsettled. Though not as exaggerated as outside the laboratory, there was a strange undercurrent to his demeanor.

But, on reflection, it wasn’t surprising. The world in this scenario mirrored reality quite closely. Ordinary people still had normal physiological needs.

Li Tianque’s character was specialized—he could stay up all night without rest—but Ma Baoguo was fundamentally an ordinary man. After three days of endurance, his spirit was thoroughly exhausted.

If he still maintained emotional stability under such strain, that would be the real anomaly.

Thinking this, Li Tianque gently patted Ma Baoguo’s shoulder and said, “Let’s hold off on the evacuation for now. The urgent task is to save lives. Also… if you have any extra police on hand, send them out to find Grandma Zhuoma. I suspect she’s heavily involved.”

Ma Baoguo ripped open a pack of cigarettes, pulled one out, and lit it amid his frazzled state. “You think I don’t want to control her? Many have already said they saw Zhuoma at the crime scene. Didn’t we also see her skulking around earlier? Obviously, this fire is connected to her!”

“Alright, then hurry up with the arrangements. Our priority remains firefighting!” Li Tianque said, preparing to rush into the blaze.

Having participated in fire training during university, Li Tianque was somewhat familiar with firefighting procedures. He first located fire hoses near the scene and connected them to fire hydrants, then methodically organized the personnel on site to combat the fire.

After assigning duties, Li Tianque circled to the back door of the refrigerated warehouse, slipped inside, and immediately enveloped himself with a thick defensive layer of cancer cells.

The flames were fierce; the fire would take a long time to subside completely.

Li Tianque intended to attempt a solo rescue first. Supported by the powerful aid of the extermination device, he still had advantages ordinary people lacked in such perilous conditions.

Meanwhile, two fire hoses connected to hydrants above him began spraying water, suppressing the blaze from above.

Coughing through thick smoke, Li Tianque made his way deeper into the fire, feeling his way to the morgue where Forensic Doctor Xia was stationed.

Inside the inferno, electric sparks flickered, and waves of acrid, burnt odors continuously seeped out.

These odors didn’t disperse widely; instead, they seemed to cling stubbornly, invading the nostrils and causing nausea.

Judging by the smell, the fire was likely caused by electrical aging. Yet, the strong scent of gasoline indicated someone had poured a substantial amount of fuel inside the warehouse.

This fire was hardly accidental; it was clearly arson.

Outside, the scene grew increasingly chaotic as many residents awoke from their sleep and joined the firefighting efforts.

About an hour later, the county fire brigade arrived promptly, sending two six-ton water tank trucks and one fifteen-ton water tank truck to assist.

These large vehicles quickly became the main force, helping to control the flames.

Finally, through everyone’s collective efforts, the blaze was successfully extinguished.

The fire had raged for a full three hours, damaging two nearby earthen buildings. The one on the right had its outer walls completely burned away, blackened debris falling in clumps.

By the time the flames were doused, dawn was breaking, the sky pale gray, nearing four in the morning.

People began clearing the site and soon discovered two bodies inside.

Both corpses were charred black and severely carbonized, their original features scarcely recognizable.

Based on their belongings, the preliminary conclusion was that the bodies belonged to Lin Ya and Forensic Doctor Xia.

What was truly horrifying was that the corpses were not intact; they had been cut apart.

The remains were arranged into a hunchbacked humanoid figure.

The positioning resembled crawling insects.

Even stranger, both bodies were missing some bones. Initial assessments indicated both victims were female.

After being carried out, the fragmented corpses were temporarily stored in the police station’s evidence room.

Li Tianque emerged from the fire looking disheveled and dirt-streaked.

Despite his desperate efforts to save lives, the fire was simply too fierce. Without the defensive cancer cells, he wouldn’t have even been able to enter.

Although he made it inside, he came out empty-handed; his cancer cells were almost depleted, forcing him to take a replenishing capsule.

Ma Baoguo, surprised to see Li Tianque emerge from the blaze alive, realized this man truly risked his life to enter the inferno—he must be utterly reckless.

“You’re crazy, kid! That fire was massive, yet you still went in! Admirable courage!” Ma Baoguo finally dropped his reservations and gave a thumbs-up.

Li Tianque nodded slightly but said nothing, his gaze fixed on the two charred bodies being carried away as he sank into thought.

Why would the murderer kill Forensic Doctor Xia?

And why burn Lin Ya’s body?

Could it be that Lin Ya’s corpse concealed some unspeakable secret?

Had Forensic Doctor Xia discovered this secret?

Was the killer silencing witnesses, then destroying evidence?

Before Li Tianque could voice his suspicions, an auxiliary police officer hurried over and whispered to Ma Baoguo.

Ma Baoguo nodded and instructed, “Good. Continue the investigation. Question the locals—did anyone see what Zhuoma was doing that night? Did anyone else hear that sound?”

The officer nodded and quickly departed.

Li Tianque approached Ma Baoguo and asked, “What’s going on? Any leads?”

“It seems our theory is correct. We found some clues after questioning the person who reported the incident that night. Besides Tudeng Nima, some other residents also heard the alarm. They all confirmed that the sound came from Zhuoma.”

Ma Baoguo took a deep drag and paused before continuing, “So, Zhuoma should be the one who reported the incident that night. If our suspicions hold, she might really be the mastermind behind these three murders.”

Li Tianque pondered deeply, scanning the crowd. “Where’s Tudeng Nima now?”

“Huh? He was here during the firefight, but now I don’t know where he’s gone,” Ma Baoguo replied.

“Call him. Get him here!” Li Tianque urged.

Ma Baoguo disliked Li Tianque’s bossy tone, but since this was a crucial case and Li Tianque had provided a plausible lead, he chose not to argue.

Ma Baoguo called Tudeng Nima.

The simple-minded fellow had worked so hard fighting the fire earlier that he got hungry and went off to find food.

At that moment, Tudeng Nima appeared carrying a large piece of beef jerky. He broke off two chunks and handed them to Li Tianque and Ma Baoguo, saying, “Phew, this really wore me out. Here, have some first…”

Li Tianque bit into the tough jerky and asked, “Did anyone leave the hotel during the incident?”

“Hah? You don’t trust me? Of course no one went out. Who’d dare?” Tudeng Nima replied.

“Did anyone act suspiciously?” Li Tianque continued.

“Others were okay, no odd behavior. But Professor Lü was different—he always acts strangely. If he ever behaved normally, that’d be the real oddity. Today, I don’t know what got into him—he kept crying and laughing in the lab, like his brain was soaked in horse urine…” Tudeng Nima grumbled.

These Kham men revered strength above all. Despite Li Tianque having physically bested him, Tudeng Nima bore no grudge and even respected him greatly.

In contrast, he looked down on intellectuals like Lü Zuzhi.

Except for Liang Zhichao, no one else from the research team had left the hotel, making it unlikely any of them committed the murders.

Thus, apart from Grandma Zhuoma, there seemed to be no other suspects.

But…

Was that really the whole truth?

Li Tianque’s uneasy feeling lingered. He sensed that the events unfolding before him were somehow interconnected in ways unseen.

To unravel these ties, the first step was to find Zhuoma.

Perhaps…

Only by finding this enigmatic shaman could all the hidden truths be uncovered.