Amidst the cold winter's midnight, inside an apartment in the Guang City.
Yellow caution tapes blocked off the apartment complex, with the police making sure that no idle passerby comes in and out after they arrived.
A woman dressed in a black suit was escorted by the police through the caution tape, heading straight into the crime scene apartment.
The woman in the black suit had her long hair put up, wore black leather boots, and was holding a silver case in her hand. She was stunningly beautiful, yet had a stern look on her face.
"Doctor Long, this is the seventh serial murder this month. The victim, a twenty-four-year-old model living alone, is just like the other six victims. Before the incident, she went to a bar on 8th Street. Her heart was ripped out, and no traces of any third parties' footprints or other clues were left at the crime scene. It was her best friend who reported this incident, claiming that she had been missing for two days. After receiving the report, our team came to investigate. No one answered when we rang the doorbell. The surveillance revealed that she hadn't left the apartment since returning two days ago. We asked the landlord for the keys to get in and found the victim's body in the living room," the captain of the criminal investigation team said to the woman in the black suit, his face filled with frustration.
He let out a sigh, "Dr. Long, I won't beat around the bush. So far, we have no leads at all. The Provincial Department has already issued an order for a deadline to solve the case. You were brought in as the last resort. The Head of Department said, whenever there's a mysterious case, look for Long QiQi."
Long QiQi furrowed her brows, slowly putting on gloves and squatting down. Other than the wound on the chest, there were no other apparent injuries on the victim.
The wound on the chest didn't seem to be inflicted by a weapon, instead, it looked as if a large hand had plunged into the victim’s body, gruesomely tearing out the heart.
The state of the deceased was not horrifying at all. On the contrary, she looked like she was merely sleeping, with her eyes slightly closed and her makeup still perfect. There were no signs of a struggle at the crime scene; it appeared that the victim didn’t even have a chance to fight back.
"Anything else unusual?" Long QiQi asked.
She'd heard about this serial murder case, but as she wasn't a forensic doctor in Guang City, she hadn't been personally involved. However, being summoned in the middle of the night, she knew there must be something unusual about this case.
"Yes," replied the Captain, in a low voice, "every crime scene has a blood-soaked old copper coin and a bloody yellow charm."
Long QiQi abruptly lifted her head, her eyes flashed, "Where's the copper coin?"
Captain Han Xing replied, "It's in my car. After the department head ordered to have you come over, I thought I'd show it to you, but I didn't bring it up just now."
"Quick, take me down to take a look." Long QiQi hurriedly said.
Han Xing instructed the criminal police at the scene to collect evidence and bag the body, then took Long QiQi down to the apartment's underground parking lot.
Han Xing drove his own car, a run-down jeep. In the vast parking lot, only a few scattered cars were present. Since a murder had occurred, the residents dared not return.
In the empty parking lot where the light was dim, echoes of footsteps of the two resonated in the air. Long QiQi felt something was clearly amiss. Scanning her surroundings, she felt a sense of covert danger looming in the air.
"Hold on!" Long QiQi called out to Han Xing.
However, Han Xing had already opened the car door. Bending over, he took a box from the passenger compartment, and with a chuckle said, "Doctor Long, take a look. It's these seven copper coins and seven talismans."
Long QiQi instinctively turned around, only to be met with a powerful light suddenly emanating from the box in Han Xing's hand. She quickly stepped back, and in the bright light, Han Xing's face twisted as he roared with laughter, "Long QiQi, your time has come."
Realizing the danger, Long QiQi cursed her negligence. She had let her guard down against Han Xing, the renowned detective in town. Her magical staff slipped from her grasp, and before she had a chance to counterattack, the strong light swirled around, pulling her in.