Controlled Experiment Chapter 34

Game of Death – 10

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Du Yusheng hadn't swallowed the mouthful of rice he was chewing, he looked at Li Yao in disbelief.

He asked again, "What did you say?"

"I said that when Gu Qingyu went in, Chen Xin was probably already dead."

Du Yusheng looked at the simple sketch Li Yao had passed over. Those who studied medicine usually knew how to draw; anatomical diagrams, human structures, they were most adept at these. Although this was nothing more than some basic outlines, Chen Xin's hospital room had still been roughly reconstructed by Li Yao. The entrance was circled, as was the location of the air vent.

Li Yao said nothing, but Du Yusheng understood.

"You mean to say that two people entered Chen Xin's room."

Li Yao nodded and pointed to the two circles on the sketch. "This is my theory. First, the first person entered Chen Xin's room from my office, lit the incense in the air vent, then exited via the vent and killed Chen Xin. Immediately after that, a second person appeared. He was wearing my coat, entered the hospital room and discovered Chen Xin was already dead, so he left without doing anything. If two people entered Chen Xin's room one after the other, which one do you think was Gu Qingyu?"

Du Yusheng rubbed his fingers and answered, "The second one."

"Why?" asked Li Yao.

"It's very simple. From the surveillance footage, Gu Qingyu clearly went to the hospital, but just now he lied to me and said he hadn't. If Chen Xin was still alive when he entered, he could've just told me the truth, that he went to the hospital and saw Chen Xin. But he didn't."

Du Yusheng picked up the glass of water on the table and took a sip.

If the killer had managed to murder Chen Xin through the air vent, then he wouldn't have needed to put on someone else's white coat and enter the room again through the front door, that would have been unnecessary. Thinking about it that way, Li Yao made a good point: that night, two people had been in Chen Xin's room. And based on the inference, Gu Qingyu should have entered only after Chen Xin was already dead.

"So either Gu Qingyu entered after Chen Xin was already dead," Du Yusheng rubbed his chin, "or Gu Qingyu killed Chen Xin."

Li Yao nodded slightly, the corners of his mouth lifting.

"Have you checked Chen Xin's home?"

Du Yusheng gave a cold laugh and shook his head helplessly. "Do you know how tough his wife is? She's still clinging to the hospital and refuses to let us examine his home. But one of my colleagues went to talk to her and we've issued a final notice, if she won't cooperate, we'll carry out a compulsory search."

Li Yao smiled and didn't say anything else.

The brunch was very good. Li Yao wasn't skilled in cooking, so it was rare for him to have a satisfying meal.

After briefly tidying the dishes on the table, Li Yao rolled up his sleeves, turned on the tap, bent down and rummaged through the cupboard for the bottle of dish soap he bought last month. It had come as a freebie with something else, and Li Yao had never used it, the cap was coated in a layer of dust.

Li Yao took a deep breath, ready to open it, when his wrist was suddenly held by someone.

"What are you doing?" Du Yusheng stopped him, raised his hand and smiled, "Let me do it, cooking and washing up go together, they're a set, can't be split."

Li Yao felt a little awkward, but Du Yusheng clearly had no intention of letting him near the water, so after a moment's thought, he gave in.

Pulling a few tissues from the table and wiping his fingers, Li Yao leaned against the table, watching Du Yusheng's back as he washed the dishes.

The interior of Li Yao's home had been decorated according to pictures he'd seen, with no consideration for the owner's height. As a result, the cupboard above the sink had been installed far too low. Du Yusheng had to hunch over to wash up, and it looked uncomfortable. Li Yao suddenly had the thought of replacing the kitchen cupboards, and he was startled by the idea.

Du Yusheng seemed sensitive to the cold, under his top, he wore an undershirt. As he hunched over, not only was the outline of his clothing clear, but so was the bulk of his muscles. The deltoid, teres minor, teres major, latissimus dorsi, external oblique, and all the way down to the gluteus maximus. As Li Yao stared at Du Yusheng's back, he found himself mentally sketching the position of each muscle on Du Yusheng's body.

It was the sort of task that demanded restraint. Li Yao turned his head away and drank a glass of cold water.

"By the way, has the cause of Chen Xin's death come out yet?" Li Yao asked to distract himself.

"Should be soon," A muffled reply came from Du Yusheng's side. "Speaking of which, I just remembered something, guess what they found in Chen Xin's stomach?"

The sound of the tap on Du Yusheng's side was very loud, it wasn't until the second time that Li Yao could hear his words clearly.

"Controlled experiment."

Li Yao froze.

"Wasn't that what was found in Luo Daheng's stomach?"

"You and I had the same reaction."

Du Yusheng finished washing the dishes and was now stacking them by size in the cupboard. "That's why I need to have a proper talk with Luo Yang. Chen Xin's dead, all this mess happened, and we haven't had time to question him properly. Not that it's even necessary any more, the evidence is conclusive, we could drag him out and execute him on the spot. But with the exact same thing appearing in Chen Xin's stomach, just like Luo Daheng's, we've got to ask him about it."

With that, Du Yusheng sank into the sofa with a deep sigh.

"Ai, what am I supposed to do if Luo Yang doesn't give me anything either?"

Though his tone was half teasing, Li Yao could hear a trace of sorrow in it. Maybe this sentence was also meant for Du Yusheng himself.

Du Yusheng buried his face deeply into the sofa, letting out a muffled groan.

Before leaving, Du Yusheng thought to say goodbye to Li Yao. But to his surprise, when he came out of the bathroom, he found Li Yao fully dressed, standing by the doorway changing his shoes.

Du Yusheng frowned slightly, gave a short laugh, and said, "You heading out?"

Li Yao nodded from within, replying, "You're going to the station to question Luo Yang, aren't you? I happen to have something to do at the Huan Island Sub-Bureau as well, it's on the way."

Du Yusheng stared at him for a moment before finally managing a "Huh?" and then belatedly asked, "You've got something to do?"

Li Yao smiled a cultured and courteous smile as he said, "Personal matters, purely personal."

In the past, if he ever had the chance to make plans with Li Yao, it could lift Du Yusheng's spirits for several minutes. Sharing a ride somewhere, even if it was just a small thing, had always felt a little too good to hope for. For Li Yao to take the initiative to suggest going somewhere together, on the way or not, pleased Du Yusheng. But at the same time, it made him uncomfortable. Something felt off, though he couldn't quite say what.

He wanted to know what Li Yao was going to the police station for.

But he couldn't ask, not out loud, not in any way.

Taking advantage of a red light, Du Yusheng glanced sideways at Li Yao in the passenger seat. The latter had his eyes closed, feigning sleep. With a barely audible hum, Du Yusheng turned his thoughts back to the case.

Once inside the Huan Island Sub-Bureau and after saying goodbye to Du Yusheng, Li Yao headed up to the second floor.

Half of the second floor was made up of offices for senior officials. As Du Yusheng watched Li Yao's figure disappear down the corridor, his frown deepened.

He suddenly had a bad feeling.

A feeling that he'd been played.

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It had been a long time since his last meeting with Luo Yang in the airport bathroom.

Just like what Du Yusheng said, if it weren't for the lingering questions, Du Yusheng had no intention of ever speaking to Luo Yang again. The evidence was clear, case closed. If things had gone smoothly, the whole matter could have been wrapped up already. In fact, Du Yusheng didn't even care to know why Luo Yang had killed his father. If it hadn't been for the controlled experiment, they might never have met again.

Luo Yang looked slightly different from their last encounter.

He wore a grey standard-issue uniform, glasses that gave him a scholarly appearance, and seemed not to have slept well. His overall condition had worsened, he didn't look as composed as before, and there were additional bruises visible on the parts of his body not covered by clothing.

Luo Yang yawned and greeted Du Yusheng with a smile.

But the bruising on his temple and the swelling at the corner of his mouth were too striking to ignore. Du Yusheng signalled to a nearby colleague and asked about it.

"Hey, you also know how it is, some people inside are into that sort of thing. Luo Yang is fair-skinned and looks quite proud, so those people are drawn to him... We're watching him closely, but we can't be on him twenty-four-seven, right? There's only so much we can prevent."

Though he knew full well that Luo Yang on the other side couldn't hear, Du Yusheng still instinctively touched his nose.

He asked, "So... has he been eating?"

The man on the other side shook his head and gave a cold laugh. "Luo Yang drained someone's blood, left him in the men's bathroom all night. They only found him during morning roll call, the guy nearly died."

Du Yusheng glanced at Luo Yang, a chill running through his entire body.

After sending the others away, Du Yusheng walked over to sit opposite Luo Yang and looked directly at him.

Only up close did he notice how much thinner Luo Yang had become. He didn't look like someone who could win a fight. In fact, Du Yusheng was genuinely curious how he had managed to bleed someone out.

"Officer Du," Luo Yang lowered his head and smiled, "It's been a while."

Du Yusheng didn't quite know what to say. He simply nodded and dropped into the seat directly across from Luo Yang.

"I wasn't planning to come again either. The evidence in your case is solid, there's no chance of a reversal, but I heard you've hired a lawyer." Du Yusheng licked his lips before continuing, "Why did you kill your father?"

Luo Yang thought for a moment and then said, startlingly calm, "No reason. I just felt like it."

His expression was surprisingly composed, without the slightest ripple of emotion. For a few seconds, Du Yusheng wondered if he'd misheard.

Luo Yang looked as though he were merely exchanging pleasantries, chatting about trivial family matters.

"What do you mean, you just felt like it?" Du Yusheng couldn't help raising his voice. "That was your father."

Luo Yang suddenly smiled and asked in return:

"Officer Du, do you eat?"

Du Yusheng didn't respond.

"Then why do you eat?" Luo Yang chuckled and said, "You asking me why I killed him is the same as asking why someone eats. I just did, no reason. I was his illegitimate son, what feelings could there be between us? He needed a son, and I just happened to be the one."

There was something novel about this answer, and Du Yusheng had to admit he was impressed. Trying to understand a psychopath's mind was a lost cause.

Du Yusheng slapped the table.

"That slip of paper in Luo Daheng's stomach, did you put it there?" he demanded. "What did the words 'controlled experiment' mean? Don't tell me you just found two random words and stuffed them in."

Luo Yang's hands were cuffed, so he moved with difficulty. He lowered his head and rubbed his face.

Then he suddenly laughed.

"Did someone new appear again?" Luo Yang's glasses caught the light, making it hard to see his eyes.

Still chuckling under his breath, Luo Yang said, "Another person found dead with a slip of paper in their stomach? Someone new, right?"

Du Yusheng didn't answer, but from the look on his face, Luo Yang already knew.

"Aren't you particularly curious? The murderer is clearly already here, so why are there still dead people like Mr Luo?"

Luo Yang fluttered his eyelashes and leaned closer to Du Yusheng's face, smiling faintly.

He lowered his voice and said, "Officer Du, have you ever heard of the game of death?"

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When he came out, Du Yusheng leaned against the corridor wall and lit a cigarette.

There is no doubt that Luo Yang was the one who killed Luo Daheng, but it seems he isn't the end of the line.

And what about Chen Xin? Sooner or later, Chen Xin's killer will be found too, but will that person be Chen Xin's endpoint?

Du Yusheng exhaled a puff of smoke, feeling like he was trapped in a dead end.

Controlled experiment. Controlled experiment. Du Yusheng silently mouthed the words to himself. Two slips of paper. Two deaths.

Could the answer lie within those two words?

Suddenly, Du Yusheng remembered the anonymous email he'd received at the start, the one with the photograph of the twins.

Twins.

Du Yusheng frowned. More and more, he felt that email wasn't just some idle harassment.

With that thought, Du Yusheng took out his phone and made a call.

"I've got an email here, I'll send it over to the tech team in a bit, help me check the source of the email and the photos inside."

Du Yusheng sighed as leaned against the wall.

As he flicked the spent cigarette into the garbage bin, his phone rang again.

It wasn't a follow-up on the email, but a call from Xiao Bai.

He was calling from Qin Yan's office landline, Du Yusheng guessed that Chen Xin's results were probably out.

"Brother Yu, I've got two things in my hands right now, which one should I tell you first?"

Du Yusheng frowned. "Spit it out."

Xiao Bai smacked his lips and said, "Brother Qin's results are out. Chen Xin was definitely murdered."

Du Yusheng nodded. "And the second thing?"

"There's been another death."

Du Yusheng's mind buzzed.

"Brother Yu, and here's the strangest bit," Xiao Bai went on. "The victim died at home. His apartment's in the same residential complex as Chen Xin's, neighbouring buildings, same floor, same layout, same apartment number."

The only difference was the building number, everything else matched perfectly.

Du Yusheng gripped his phone tightly, his head buzzing.

Then, he saw Li Yao descending slowly from the opposite staircase, gradually walking towards him.

As he stared at Li Yao's face and listened to Xiao Bai's strange report over the phone, for the first time, Du Yusheng felt the urge to run.

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Author's Note:

I watched an episode of National Treasure today and my tears flowed. I've caught a cold and a fever lately, QAQ. Also, the game of death is about to begin.

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: June 2, 2025 by Angel

Edited: June 24, 2025 by Angel