<h4>Chapter 46</h4>


    "We were also surprised," Zhang said quietly. "The female victim''s name is Wang Xiaoya. She was Lu Tian''s best friend. What a coincidence that these two ended up dead!"


    "The killer definitely can''t be Lu Tian or Prosecutor Nie. Yesterday, Mu Mian and I were watching them closely the entire time. In the middle of the night, Nie Yan even attempted suicide. Thankfully, Mu Forensic Doctor discovered it in time, otherwise Nie Yan would have lost her life," Chen Xue immediately cleared Lu Tian and Nie Yan of suspicion.


    "We weren''t suspecting them anyway!" Zhang said. "There were only four people on the yacht at the time. Two are dead, so one of the two survivors must be the killer."


    Mu Mian examined the two corpses. Both victims had white foam around their mouths and their skin had turned bluish.


    "They were poisoned, likely by some kind of neurotoxin," Mu Mian carefully inspected the bodies'' surfaces. "No external injuries. No obvious needle marks, so we can tentatively rule out injectable drugs. We''ll need to run toxicology tests to determine the specific poison used."


    Fang Rui turned to one of the people who reported the incident, "You didn''t use any illegal drugsst night, did you?"


    The person he addressed was Chen Dongdong, Lin Qianjie''s assistant andckey, who often participated in Lin Qianjie''s misdeeds.


    "No... of course not," Chen Dongdong''s expression was evasive. "I definitely didn''t use anything. If you don''t believe me, you can take me for a urine test."


    "You''d better not have!"


    Mu Mian took samples of all the food on the yacht. There were several opened bottles of alcohol and some sses with alcohol residue on the table. She packaged them as-is, nning to take them back for toxicology testing.


    "What''s this?" Zhang pried open the bedside drawer in the yacht''s cabin and discovered a bottle of pills. The bottle was white with abel in English that Zhang couldn''t quite understand.


    Mu Mian hadn''t seen this medication before, but she could read the ingredient list. "Based on the ingredients, it might be some kind of erectile dysfunction medication. Let''s take it back for analysis!"


    Mu Mian opened the bottle and poured some out. It contained small white pills. The bottle was only about a quarter full, suggesting the user had been taking this medication for some time.


    After Mu Mian finished collecting samples, Fang Rui and his team had alsopleted their crime scene investigation. They hadn''t found any useful clues on the yacht and were preparing to leave.


    "Is this Qianjie''s body?" A cold female voice came from outside the yacht.


    Fang Rui walked out to see the speaker was Jiang Yun, Lin Qianjie''s stepmother.


    She was wearing a ck suit dress, looking polished and businesslike. She looked at Lin Qianjie''s body with a slight frown but showed no trace of sorrow, her expression cold and detached.


    Jiang Yun knew Fang Rui and addressed him directly: "Fang Rui, are you in charge of this case?"


    "Yes, I am."


    "There''s no need for you to investigate this case. I want to take this body away and find the killer myself!" Jiang Yun''s tone was aggressive.


    Due to the police''s obvious bias towards Lu Tian in the previous rape case, she didn''t trust that Fang Rui and his team would take this case seriously.


    Fang Rui refused, "I''m sorry, but we''ve already taken over this case. ording to procedure, you can''t take the body away."


    "I''m the deceased''s family member. I have the right to handle his body."


    "We''ll return the victim''s remains to you after the case is closed," Mu Mian suddenly spoke up. "But not now. Please trust us. We''ll solve this case as quickly as possible."


    Although Mu Mian was wearing a mask, Jiang Yun still recognized her as the girl she had encountered in the gallery that day.


    Jiang Yun looked Mu Mian up and down, her tone arrogant, "You''re a forensic expert? You look extremely unprofessional! Why should I trust that you can find the real culprit?"


    "Are you afraid we won''t find the real killer, or are you worried we''ll discover your son was using illegal substances and tarnish your family''s reputation?" Fang Rui stepped in front of Mu Mian, cutting off Jiang Yun''s words. "We''re investigating this case, and that''s final!"


    At that moment, Chen Xue held up a toothpick and asked Mu Mian, "Mu Mian, should we take this back for toxicology testing?"


    "Yes, we should! Chen Xue, you''re bing more attentive to details."


    Mu Mian... Upon hearing this name, Jiang Yun froze. She scrutinized Mu Mian carefully. She should have recognized her; this was her child after all!


    She approached Mu Mian and asked in a trembling voice, "Are you... Mu Mian?"


    Mu Mian didn''t answer her. Instead, she said to Fang Rui, "Fang Rui, I''ve finished collecting samples. Let''s head back!"


    "Alright!"


    "Mu Mian, I''m..." Jiang Yun grabbed Mu Mian''s hand, but halfway through her sentence, she couldn''t continue.


    She had said such vicious things that day, and she had never visited Mu Mian. What right did she have to acknowledge her daughter now?


    "Ms. Jiang, please don''t interfere with our work," Mu Mian gently removed her hand. "We''re very busy."


    Jiang Yun stood there, stunned.


    She had finally heard her daughter speak, but she had addressed her as "Ms. Jiang."


    After Mu Mian and her team had driven away, the assistant cautiously asked, "Ms. Jiang, shouldn''t we be heading back now?"


    She had worked for Jiang Yun for many years, but she had never seen Jiang Yun disy such a guilty and despairing expression. Jiang Yun had always been a cold-blooded woman.


    "Yes, let''s go back," Jiang Yunposed herself, reminding her assistant, "If the police discover that Qianjie was using illegal drugs, make sure to suppress the news immediately."


    "I understand. I''ll have someone keep an eye on the situation."


    In the autopsy room, Chen Xue kept ncing at Mu Mian. She suspected that Jiang Yun might be the mother Mu Mian had been searching for, but she didn''t know how to bring it up.


    "Chen Xue, Ms. Jiang is my biological mother," Mu Mian said as she cut open Lin Qianjie''s stomach. A strong smell of alcohol wafted out. His stomach was nearly empty, with hardly any food residue.


    It seemed likely that the poison had been in the alcohol.


    "Then why didn''t you acknowledge her?" Chen Xue was puzzled. "Haven''t you always wanted to meet your mother?"


    "Yes. So now that I''ve seen her, I won''t want to anymore."


    Mu Mian collected a sample of the deceased''s heart blood for toxicology testing.


    "But she''s very wealthy. If you acknowledged her, you''d suddenly be rich," Chen Xue remarked. "Then you wouldn''t have to work anymore and could spend money freely."


    "I enjoy working, and I don''t like excessive spending," Mu Mian paused, looking at Chen Xue. "Besides, I''m already quite wealthy now."


    "...Are you referring to your few hundred dors of savings that were scammed away? Or our meager sries?"


    "Of course not! My sister has a lot of money, and I can use as much as I want."


    Chen Xue had met Mu Mian''s sister. She was beautiful and elegant, and judging from her clothes and car, she was indeed very wealthy.


    "That Ms. Jiang doesn''t seem like a good person. You''re better off staying away from her. Look at how she raised Lin Qianjie - he turned out to be such a scoundrel! It''s fortunate that she didn''t raise you, otherwise you might have be a bloodthirsty forensic expert!"


    "I don''t like blood; I prefer bones. I might have be a thief instead, stealing mummies from museums or corpses from ancient tombs."


    "..." Chen Xue was speechless. Even if Mu Mian had turned to the dark side, she wouldn''t have been very destructive.