Chapter 279: A Suicide Note from the Demon Witch – I Regret It So Much…

Everyone present was a seasoned detective.

Even when faced with the stiff corpse hanging behind the curtain, none of them flinched or showed signs of fear.

But their hearts had already sunk.

Because this time, they had come up empty again. And worse than the Demon Witch escaping once more, was the fact that they now had to clean up her corpse.

This meant one thing—her mouth had been permanently shut.

There would be no more leads from her about the rest of the 【Drug Trafficking Organization】. It was the worst possible outcome.

…

At that moment.

When Wang Qi saw the Demon Witch’s body, he couldn’t hide his fury. He cursed loudly.

“Damn it all to hell.”

“We finally managed to dig up this lead and…”

Before he could finish, Lin Tian reached out and cut him off.

He stepped forward, unplugged the Tmall Genie surveillance device from the table, and said coldly,

“Truly ruthless.”

“To make absolutely sure the Demon Witch kept her mouth shut, they even had her record the suicide in real-time through surveillance, just to avoid any unexpected mishaps.”

“If I’m not mistaken, K was on the other end of the feed, watching her hang herself to death, using the footage to monitor our investigation’s progress.”

After a brief pause, Lin Tian looked at the Demon Witch hanging in front of the curtain and gestured.

“Give me a hand.”

“No matter what, she was forced into this.”

“Now all we can do is see if there’s any crucial clue left on this body.”

With that, Wang Qi and Huang Qiang, both heads of the Criminal Investigation Brigade, stepped forward to help Lin Tian lower the stiffened body of the Demon Witch.

They could now clearly see—

The item she used to hang herself wasn’t an ordinary rope, but the strap from the bag she had been carrying earlier.

She had threaded the strap through the curtain rod’s mounting bracket to serve as the support for her suicide.

Huang Qiang squinted as he examined the strap and the makeshift anchor point, speaking in a low voice.

“She didn’t plan to kill herself.”

“Or rather… she was ordered to do it on the spot by K. With no time to prepare any tools, she had no choice but to use this painful method to end her life.”

“Clearly, K was able to make that call because he had complete control over her fatal weakness—most likely threatening her family.”

“For a middle-aged woman, her family and child would be her greatest vulnerability.”

Lin Tian nodded in agreement, then looked at the Demon Witch’s twisted face, contorted from hanging, and said,

“Let’s start with a basic autopsy.”

“See if there are any key details or leftover clues.”

Hearing this, Liu Yang, who had long lost his passion for criminal investigation and rarely took part in cases anymore, silently stepped aside to give Lin Tian and Huang Qiang more space.

Lin Tian first touched the hair at the temple of the corpse. Feeling something off, he gently tugged at the skin on her face.

Three seconds later, the lifelike 【Skin Mask】 made by Qiang Wei was peeled away.

The Demon Witch’s true face was now clearly revealed to everyone—it was Zhang Lifang, the woman who had previously cared for Yu Ruyi.

As he pried open her mouth, Lin Tian spoke calmly.

“Now that the 【Skin Mask】 has been removed, we can confirm the deceased’s identity. She’s Zhang Lifang, the one who looked after Yu Ruyi, and a member of the 【Drug Trafficking Organization】—the Demon Witch.”

“Her teeth are pinkish-red, stained by blood, which confirms she died of asphyxiation by hanging, not by any other cause.”

“This also rules out the possibility of murder or execution. It shows she was forced into suicide by K’s threats.”

Next to him, Huang Qiang rolled up the Demon Witch’s sleeve. He noticed some visible livor mortis and carefully pressed her muscles to test for elasticity before continuing.

“There are already clear signs of livor mortis on the body.”

“Though not yet fully set, judging by the stiffness and the extent of the lividity, we can estimate the time of death to be around five to six hours ago.”

“There are no injection marks on her arms, and no foreign matter under her nails. Even if she struggled, she didn’t manage to grab anything.”

Wang Qi examined her from the feet upward, checking for any overlooked details. As he worked, he narrated his findings.

“One of her shoes came off during the struggle, and the other shows signs of slipping off.”

“This suggests she was in extreme pain while hanging, kicking and flailing in the air. But without anything to stand on, her struggle was doomed to fail.”

“She’s wearing a tight belt around her abdomen, likely to conceal her belly fat and fit the disguise of an older, unmarried woman.”

“As for her ribs… wait a second… there seems to be something in her pocket.”

He suddenly stopped, drawing everyone’s attention.

A moment later, Wang Qi reached into the pocket and pulled out a piece of white paper, folded in two.

With his extensive experience, he immediately realized what it likely was.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he carefully unfolded the paper.

Once fully opened, the uneven handwriting was clearly visible to all.

Wang Qi glanced around at everyone, then gave Lin Tian a slight nod before reading aloud:

“Officer, I know you’ll find me eventually. Probably very soon. That’s why I left this note.”

“I deserve to die. I really do.”

“If my family and my son end up killed by K because of me, I’ll never forgive myself. Not even in hell.”

“Please, officer, I’m begging you—help me. Please help me.”

“Find someone to protect my family and child. I’m truly afraid K will go after them. I’m terrified.”

“I’m scared that even if I die, K still won’t let them go.”

“I regret everything. I regret it so much.”

“Please, I’m begging you. I have no one else to turn to.”

“That case before, the one with the boy in red in Luan County—that was me. I ordered others to carry it out. The man behind it was my former employer, Guo Daqiang.”

“He said business was bad, that he couldn’t land any contracts, like he was cursed. He asked me how to change his luck.”

“So I told him what K told me—that killing someone would turn his luck around.”

“I’m trading this case for your protection. Please, protect my family and child. I’m begging you.”

“I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry.”

“As for the organization… I can’t talk. I really can’t. K is too terrifying. He’s truly terrifying.”

“If he finds out I snitched, he’ll kill my family and child. He’s a real devil. Please catch him. Catch him quickly.”

“I regret it so much. I really do.”

“If I had another chance, I would never have joined this organization…”