Chapter 222 - 153: Case Established: Human Skin Blood Robe Case

She was completely naked. At that moment, she paid no mind to the skin that had fallen to the ground, but just stared quietly ahead, stroking her face.

Sadness flickered in her eyes.

Silence.

Utter silence.

At the scene, there was only the howling of the north wind, carrying flurries of snow.

Everyone stood in the snow, frozen in place as they stared at the scene.

Only Xu Huo heard the voice that suddenly rang in his ears.

[Congratulations to the Host for triggering the mission: Write the story for the ’Human Skin Blood Robe Case’.]

[The rewards are set at four tiers, based on 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% immersion respectively.]

[Time to complete: Thirty days.]

[Penalty for failure: Forfeit the reward for this mission.]

Xu Huo’s gaze flickered down to the ground.

It was a...

...piece of human skin.

On it, the poorly scraped-off layer of fat was clearly visible, reeking of blood and decay, utterly nauseating.

And this was the skin she had sewn onto her own body...

’She had used a needle and thread, piercing her own flesh and pulling it tight. The needle would have shot out the other side, the coarse black thread grating against tender, bloody flesh in the raw hole...’

This was a piece of skin.

A piece of skin flayed from a human body!

At that thought, Xu Huo paused.

He looked up, met Zhang Liang’s eyes in the distance, and made a hand signal.

Zhang Liang’s pupils contracted sharply.

’The last thing I wanted to see...’

’...it happened after all...’

He took a deep breath, silently began to manage the surrounding crowd, and took out his phone.

Xu Huo slowly backed away from the woman, careful not to startle her.

After a long moment, once he had retreated to a safe distance, he finally stopped.

He glanced back at the naked woman.

Snowflakes drifted down from the sky, landing on her body, but she didn’t react, letting the snow steal her body heat...

The time was.

December 24th.

3:30 in the afternoon.

Eight days until New Year’s Day.

In front of the Capital City’s exhibition hall.

A naked woman wearing human skin appeared, strolling through the snow. With every step, she left a bloody footprint on the ground.

(Human Skin Blood Robe Case)

[Case file opened!]

"Tsk."

"It’s one thing after another."

A sigh was heard.

...

...

「3:40 PM.」

Zhang Liang of the Special Fifth Bureau led a team to the exhibition hall.

The countless people inside the comic convention were quickly brought under control, screened, and then hastily dispersed.

Countless people looked stunned, whispering amongst themselves with panicked expressions, not knowing what had happened.

But when the police arrived at the scene, all they found were...

...a few bloody footprints.

The exhibition hall was not a body dump site, nor had a Murder taken place.

There was only one person.

"It’s confirmed. That’s human skin!"

"Judging by the traces, it was flayed no more than twenty-four hours ago."

"As for the woman..."

Meanwhile.

Inside the forensic lab at the Capital City Public Security Bureau.

Everyone watched the forensic examiner at work, their expressions grim.

Even before the autopsy report was out, their seasoned experience told them exactly what kind of skin it was just by looking.

Human skin...

Whether it was the result of a Murder, or flayed from a corpse, it didn’t change the fact that a crime had been committed!

’To commit such a heinous crime in Capital City right before the new year...’

At that thought, Zhang Liang’s heart sank.

But he pushed the thought aside and sighed.

"The woman... so far, we have no useful leads on her."

’No leads?’

Xu Huo froze, his brow furrowed as he looked at Zhang Liang.

"Not a single lead?"

"Not one!"

Zhang Liang confirmed, then added:

"During interrogation, the Special Fifth Bureau personnel discovered the woman has mental problems. In other words..."

"She’s a lunatic!"

"For now, we’re calling her the Madwoman."

"The Madwoman won’t communicate with anyone. All interrogation methods have been useless. Even a psychologist couldn’t get through to her."

"Considering the possibility she was faking and the urgency of the situation, we used Truth Serum."

Truth Serum is something that often appears in sci-fi movies.

In reality, the principle behind it is quite simple.

For example, after a tooth extraction, a person enters an anesthetized state, somewhere between conscious and unconscious.

If they speak during this period, they’ll talk nonsense.

In other words, in this state, a person lacks the ability to think!

Lies, however, require thought and logical construction.

To put it another way, Truth Serum can be crudely understood as a mental anesthetic, putting the body into a state where it can respond verbally as if talking in its sleep.

And this was how Truth Serum was first discovered. A doctor, after administering an anesthetic, found that some patients would answer questions fluently and without lying, which led to a bit of research...

...and thus, Truth Serum came to be.

"A lunatic?"

At this, Li Jianye, who had been slacking off on the side, couldn’t help but show his surprise.

"A lunatic!" Zhang Liang confirmed.

What the police fear most is a lack of information.

And what they also fear is chaotic information!

If they could get their hands on a member of a criminal organization, or even a victim, they would have a path to solving the case.

But catching a lunatic, and a completely non-communicative one at that...

...that makes the investigation incredibly difficult.

"The Truth Serum had little effect."

"Her worldview, her sense of common sense, it’s different from a normal person’s."

"Also, we can’t touch the human skin on her face. The moment anyone even suggests taking it, she becomes extremely violent."

Zhang Liang sighed.

"Without a doubt, she’s a complete and utter lunatic."

A lunatic, draped in a layer of human skin...

Indeed, who but a lunatic would pierce their own flesh with a needle and thread?

It’s as if she doesn’t even feel pain!

And just as everyone fell into silence...

A forensic examiner in a white lab coat suddenly walked out of the lab.

’Unlike Linlan City, Capital City has extremely professional forensic examiners!’

"Any leads?" Zhang Liang and the others asked hurriedly.