Chapter 64: Rats! Police Officers!

Beneath the ventilation shaft!

Shen Ting and the four others pressed themselves flat against the earthen wall far away from the opening, their chests heaving violently, terror written across their faces.

Ten eyes stared unblinkingly at the protruding, moldy face of the corpse coffin opposite them.

However, the skull made no further movement.

"Squeak, squeak~~"

At that moment, the tightly closed mouth of the skull was suddenly forced open.

A large rat slowly poked its head out, let out a couple of squeaks, and squeezed its entire body out from the oral cavity.

It jumped onto the table, its red eyes scanning left and right.

Its black fur was stained with brown, white, and black filth of various kinds.

Holding up its paws, it licked them leisurely a few times, then jumped off the high platform and melted into the darkness.

The "swishing" sound from earlier was likely caused by its squeezing past the remains, with bones rubbing together.

The "rustling" sound was probably it gnawing on the corpse.

Seeing the five people in the shaft all plastered against the earthen wall with looks of absolute terror on their faces, Qin Shan grew even more anxious:

"What on earth is the situation down there?

Say something!"

Realizing it was just a rat, the five of them let out a collective sigh of relief and relaxed.

"Phew, scaring ourselves over nothing!"

They exchanged glances and forced smiles, but the expressions were extremely strained, more like baring their teeth than smiling.

Zheng Yuanqiao took a few deep breaths to steady his nerves before raising his head and calling out weakly:

"Captain Qin, there is indeed a huge space on the other side.

It should be the criminal's..."

Zheng Yuanqiao glanced quickly across the opening, momentarily at a loss for the right word.

"It can't really be called a body-dumping site; calling it a base is more appropriate.

Anyway, we've found the criminal's activity point within this construction site."

"That's great then!"

Qin Shan, still unaware of the horror on the other side, said encouragingly:

"I'll have the forensic doctors and crime scene investigators go down immediately to gather clues.

By the way, the criminal certainly didn't use this shaft to enter the space opposite.

I'll have the officers patrolling outside check the surrounding area for the entrance to that space."

Zheng Yuanqiao nodded immediately, thought for a moment, and added:

"Captain Qin, the situation down here is complicated.

Young officers shouldn't come down.

Those who aren't married and don't have children shouldn't come down either.

If we're short-handed, pull personnel from the other squads.

I'm afraid this case isn't something our First Squad can handle alone."

This request actually caught Qin Shan by surprise.

Discovering the criminal's base was a massive merit.

The subsequent investigation and evidence collection would represent yet another wave of major achievements.

Yet Zheng Yuanqiao's current approach was undoubtedly to share the credit with the other squads.

Knowing, however, that Zheng Yuanqiao was always reliable in his work and deeply considerate of his subordinates, Qin Shan replied directly:

"Alright, only veteran police officers will go down.

I'll pull more officers over from the other squads."

Veteran police officers generally referred to those holding the rank of Police Inspector or above.

Compared to ordinary officers, their shoulder insignias featured an additional silver bar.

One bar with one plum blossom denoted a First-Class Police Inspector.

One bar with two blossoms denoted a Second-Class.

Colloquially known as "one-bar-one" and "one-bar-two."

Promoting from an ordinary officer to an inspector took at least six or seven years.

They possessed more experience.

And broader exposure.

Generally speaking, they wouldn't suffer psychological trauma!

Of course, that was under normal circumstances.

Yet the scene before them was enough to make even the most experienced person's heart tremble three times over.

Zheng Yuanqiao looked back at the four people behind him:

"Scared, huh? Ahem, I got a huge jump out of it too.

It's been many years since I last saw such a thrilling sight!

Why don't you guys go up and rest for a bit, calm yourselves down..."

Shen Ting and the other three could tell Zheng Yuanqiao was trying to lighten the mood.

However, his voice was dry and somewhat hoarse, making it impossible for the four of them to relax.

Besides, since they had already seen it, how could they leave without seeing it clearly?

Judging purely by what they had witnessed so far, even if this case were eventually solved, the files would definitely be classified and sealed away forever.

If they went back up now, they probably would never have another chance to touch the details of this case.

"We don't need rest!"

"I'm not... afraid!"

"I'm fine too!"

"Let's shine a light and take a look!"

Although Shen Ting was also terrified, after seeing that corpse coffin, he grew even more worried about Gao Ya's whereabouts.

He pulled out a high-intensity flashlight and shone it across the opening toward the opposite side.

"Rustle, rustle~~ Swish, swish, swish~~~~"

The sound of pages being violently flipped by a strong wind rang out simultaneously.

And the very instant the space was illuminated!

The hair on the bodies of the few who had just managed to calm their nerves stood straight up once again...