Beneath the Dome, Sin within Sins - Chapter 68 - Eerie

“Che, stop joking around. We’ve been following this case closely; how could we not want to know?!” I frowned, asking with some confusion.

“I know, but… bro, if you find out who those fragments of epidermal debris belong to, this case will become even more complicated-maybe more complicated than we ever imagined.”

Lu Che’s serious expression truly startled Su Mo and me. We exchanged glances before Su Mo broke the silence and spoke first.

“Lu Che, what’s going on? With you acting this way, it makes me feel even more overwhelmed. But let’s be real, solving cases is never an easy job. Since we chose this line of work in the first place, we all knew what kind of resolve it demands.”

Their conversation took me back to the chat Su Mo and I had just outside the forensic pathology lab. At the time, Su Mo had said almost the exact same thing to me. It seems true-if you choose this path, you’ll have to face the consequences.

“Fine, no matter what I say, you two are going to insist on knowing the truth anyway. But what I’m about to tell you might shatter your worldview. I hope you’re mentally prepared.”

Su Mo and I exchanged another look, then nodded.

“I found that the epidermal debris doesn’t belong to the victim. Instead, they belong to a man named Zhao Dekai. But here’s the thing-do you know? Zhao Dekai died several years ago.”

With that, Su Mo and I were both at a loss for words. Just dealing with a vampire was already unimaginable enough, and now a vampire zombie had entered the picture? This case really wasn’t cutting me any slack-it just kept getting messier and messier.

Su Mo froze for quite a while. I saw his lips move as though he wanted to say something, but in the end, not a word came out.

Curious about what he might be thinking, I asked, “What is it? Is there something you want to say?”

Su Mo nodded and hesitated for a moment before speaking. “I… I’m wondering if Lu Che could’ve made a mistake?”

Hearing Su Mo’s suggestion, I instinctively nodded in agreement. It wasn’t entirely impossible, after all.

But seeing our reaction, Lu Che became visibly agitated. “You two-seriously? Is denial your idea of coping? Do you really think this is the way to act right now?!”

At that moment, Lu Xun stepped out of the break room with a cup in hand and caught sight of Lu Che lecturing Su Mo and me. Puzzled, he asked, “What are you arguing about now? Weren’t you all getting along just fine a moment ago?”

The moment Lu Che saw Lu Xun, she looked as if she’d found her long-lost ally. In a flash, she walked over in quick strides, wrapped herself around Lu Xun’s arm, and said with a pitiful expression, “Lu Xun, they don’t believe what I said!”

Without missing a beat, Lu Che repeated everything she had just explained to Su Mo and me.

After hearing it all, Lu Xun fell silent for a moment, deep in thought. Then he finally spoke, “Could it be possible that vampire zombies really exist in this world?”

The instant Lu Xun said these words, Su Mo was the first to protest. “Hey, hey, hey! Lu Xun, now you’re being ridiculous! Vampires were already hard enough to wrap our heads around, and now you’re bringing up vampire zombies? You can’t just throw wild theories out like this!”

I sighed and glanced at the clock. It was already 2 a.m. Normally, I’d be sleeping like a log by now at this time of night.

Su Mo noticed me checking the time and assumed I was getting tired. “Senior, if you’re exhausted, why don’t you head home and get some rest first?” he suggested.

I rolled my eyes at him and replied with a hint of exasperation, “It’s not that I’m tired. It’s just that it’s so late already. We should all just get some rest so we’re ready to work properly tomorrow.”

Su Mo nodded in agreement after hearing my suggestion. Then, checking his own watch, he said, “Fair enough. Let’s call it a night. I mean, at this hour, there’s no way something new with this case will come up, right?”

The moment Su Mo finished speaking, the on-duty officer burst into the room, looking flustered. “Director Su! There’s been a body found on Dongliu Road!”

The second those words left the officer’s mouth, all our eyes turned toward Su Mo. He let out a couple of nervous chuckles before asking, “What happened? It’s so late-how was it discovered?”

“The man who reported it said he’s a nighttime driver. He came across it while stopping for a break.”

“Well… alright then. Let’s gear up!” Su Mo said.

As we all sprang into action, Su Mo turned to me with an apologetic expression. “By the way… uh… Senior, sorry for dragging you into this.”

I shrugged nonchalantly in response. “It’s fine, Su Mo. It’s not like this is new to me. But you know, I’ve gotta say-you really have a knack for speaking things into existence.”

“Hey, I was just casually saying it! How was I supposed to know it’d actually happen?” Su Mo muttered, looking slightly embarrassed.

With that, we all piled into a squad car and headed for Dongliu Road.

When we found the driver, he was leaning against his car, his legs trembling. The moment he saw us, he rushed over as if we were his saviors. “Officer! A corpse! There’s a corpse over there!”

The driver was incoherently pointing toward the greenbelt not far away. His dark complexion had visibly paled from fear.

“Calm down. Don’t worry too much. What happened exactly?”

Su Mo sent the other police officers to check out the scene while he stayed behind to question the driver.

“I… I just went over there to take a leak, and then I saw someone lying there. At first, I thought they were just sleeping, but then I got closer… closer, and realized… they were dead!”

At this point, the driver’s emotions spiraled out of control. Which, to be honest, was understandable-coming across a corpse during a night shift while relieving yourself? Unless you were trained for it, staying calm would be nearly impossible.

“Did you see anyone suspicious nearby?”

“Suspicious? Around here?” The driver thought for a moment before continuing, “No. This road doesn’t get much traffic at night. When I arrived, there was no one else but me.”

Hearing this, Su Mo’s tone shifted. “If there’s rarely anyone here, what are you doing here?”

“I… I’m working!” Su Mo’s sharp tone clearly rattled the driver, and he immediately looked nervous.

“Working? You just said this road is practically deserted, so tell me-what kind of business are you running here?”

The driver stood there stunned, struggling to form words. After hesitating for a while, he stammered, “O-Officer, you’re… you’re not suspecting me, are you?”

“It’s not about suspicion; you are a suspect. Do you understand that?” Su Mo’s words were direct and firm.

Upon hearing this, the driver nearly collapsed to his knees. “Officer, no! Please don’t say that! I don’t even know this person. Why would I kill them?”

“Then tell me-why are you here?”

“I… I was here to pick up passengers!”

“But you just said this area doesn’t see much traffic at night. Who exactly are you here to pick up? Ghosts?!”

“I… I…”