Chapter 35: The Case Escalates, Xu Changsheng Shocked by Su Ming’s Reasoning!

Opioid drugs.

These are commonly used powerful sedative painkillers in clinical settings and have a certain addictive potential.

Some of the most well-known ones include: morphine, pethidine, fentanyl, and so on.

But regardless of the type, they are all tightly controlled substances by the state, and pharmacies are strictly prohibited from selling them.

Only patients in the final stages of cancer, for example, can purchase them at public hospitals with a doctor’s prescription.

…

Now, since traces of both narcotics and opioids have been detected in the deceased’s blood, it undoubtedly further confirms Su Ming’s deduction.

Opioid drugs have sedative and pain-relieving effects, and their side effects include extreme drowsiness, confusion, and addiction.

This explains why, over the past ten days, Zhang Wan, who previously never slept during class, suddenly became unusually tired and even brought a pillow.

Furthermore, her personality becoming more reclusive and quiet is also related to the sedative effects of the drugs!

As a middle school student, she definitely wouldn’t have access to such drugs.

Moreover, no doctor would dare prescribe morphine, pethidine, or other controlled drugs to a middle school student.

Therefore, in this case of the fall, there is undoubtedly a hidden suspect who has been controlling and guiding the entire incident!

If we make a further bold assumption…

Opioid drugs are extremely effective for pain relief, so it is highly possible that the deceased did not feel pain or discomfort while self-harming due to the drugs’ effects, which caused the body’s self-protection mechanisms to fail.

At this point, the criminal suspect would have seized the opportunity, using narcotics to manipulate the deceased’s mind.

Gradually, they would have implanted thoughts such as “suicide won’t hurt” and “after death, you will become a blue whale and gain freedom,” which clearly suggest death!

As for the type of drug the suspect used, it still needs to be investigated, but the most important thing right now is…

Finding the second key figure in this case—Huang Yan.

From Huang Yan’s action of wiping away footprints, it seems she did not immediately plan to commit suicide, meaning there is still a chance to save her!

…

After clearing his thoughts, Su Ming wasted no time and walked straight toward Xu Changsheng, who was discussing matters with the technical department.

Coincidentally, Xu Changsheng had just hung up the phone. Seeing Su Ming approach, he frowned and complained.

“Dammit!”

“This limping criminal suspect is so hard to find. I just had the criminal technical department remotely access the surveillance cameras at Shude Middle School.”

“We checked the school’s internal surveillance and a few entrances, but we didn’t find any suspicious limping figures!!!”

“Then, I asked the security guards and confirmed that no one entered or exited the campus last night.”

“Logically, this shouldn’t be the case!”

“With a limp, where could the suspect have gone if not through the school’s entrances? They surely couldn’t have climbed over the wall…”

Before Xu Changsheng could finish, Su Ming interrupted him and, with a bit of emotion, explained.

“Brother Sheng.”

“Not finding anything is actually the normal situation!”

“I just spoke with the deceased’s two class teachers and the vice-principal. I can now roughly confirm the identity of the suspect!”

“The person who was with the deceased on the rooftop during their final moments and cut open the deceased’s radial artery should be the deceased’s only peer, a friend named Huang Yan!”

“During the first and second years of middle school, Huang Yan and the deceased were in the same class and developed a strong friendship.”

“But towards the end of the second year, Huang Yan was in a car accident, resulting in a comminuted fracture of her left leg. Despite full treatment, she was left with a disability and became a limp from then on.”

“Also, since Shude Middle School follows a boarding military-style management system, Huang Yan, with her disability, was no longer suited to continue her studies here and was advised to leave after the summer vacation of the second year.”

“Her transition from being physically healthy to disabled has certainly created a fertile ground for suicidal thoughts.”

“Since she spent two years here, she must be familiar with the school’s layout.”

“That’s why it’s perfectly normal that the surveillance cameras didn’t detect Huang Yan. She probably didn’t use the school entrances.”

“If I’m not mistaken…”

“Even though Shude Middle School practices military-style management, the railings or walls must have some weak spots, allowing students to sneak in and out.”

“Huang Yan likely used this secret passage to come and go from Shude Middle School.”

“Therefore…”

“As long as we find this passage that only students know about and then review the nearby road surveillance, we should be able to track Huang Yan’s movements.”

Upon hearing this, Xu Changsheng immediately slapped his thigh, excitedly praising Su Ming.

“Not bad, Xiao Ming.”

“This clue you uncovered is very important. Once we confirm the identity of the suspect who witnessed the case, the difficulty in locating and capturing them will significantly decrease.”

“I’ll have Principal Qu bring in a school troublemaker to ask about it.”

“These troublemakers should know about the secret passages students use to sneak out.”

Su Ming nodded in agreement, but his expression grew serious again as he continued with gravity.

“Brother Sheng.”

“Aside from this information, I have an extremely important deduction…”

“This case is very likely not a case of mutual suicide or depression-related suicide, but rather a premeditated murder!”

“Huang Yan is neither the murderer nor an accomplice; she is, in fact, another target of the real killer!”

“In this case, there is a third person—the actual killer—who has been lurking in the shadows, controlling and guiding everything from behind the scenes!!!”

This conclusion left Xu Changsheng stunned for a moment, and then his expression became serious as he looked up and gestured for Su Ming to continue.

“Go on, Xiao Ming.”

“Explain where you deduced the existence of the hidden murderer from.”

Su Ming, without needing to organize his thoughts, immediately began explaining.

“First point.”

“When I was asking the deceased’s class teacher, I unexpectedly learned that, in the past fifteen days, the deceased had become unusually fond of and fixated on blue whales.”

“In the letter the deceased left, they also mentioned wanting to become a blue whale after death.”

“Also…”

“The first criminal suspect in this case, Huang Yan, had mentioned to her former class teacher a month ago…”

“Whether a person could become a blue whale after death.”

“I strongly suspect that the idea of freedom represented by this blue whale was forcibly implanted into the deceased’s mind in a very short period.”

“Second point.”

“The self-inflicted wounds on the deceased’s arm, the earliest of which hadn’t even formed into scars yet.”

“This suggests that the time from the self-harm to the suicide by falling was, at most, around fifteen days.”

“This timeline is too short for depression to develop so rapidly.”

“Third point.”

“Most importantly.”

“Coroner Shen Lin has already detected traces of both narcotics and opioid drugs in the deceased’s blood.”

“Although the specific type of narcotic hasn’t been confirmed yet, the drug found is definitely an opioid painkiller!”

“These two substances are controlled and cannot be obtained by middle school students!!!”

“With all this evidence, I have every reason to believe…”

“There is a hidden mastermind behind the scenes!!!”

After Su Ming finished explaining his deduction, Xu Changsheng’s face was filled with shock and confusion. Just how gifted must Su Ming be to unravel such hidden clues from these details and come to…

Such a shocking conclusion?!

Xu Changsheng was certain that if he had been the one to ask the deceased’s class teacher about the case, he likely wouldn’t have been able to uncover these deeply hidden clues like Su Ming had.

But Xu Changsheng had to admit…

Su Ming wasn’t just guessing recklessly; he had taken all the details and evidence to their fullest extent and deduced the crucial conclusion.

Taking a deep breath, Xu Changsheng suppressed the shock in his heart and nodded forcefully.

“Xiao Ming, your deduction is crucial.”

“We must fully prioritize this fall case.”

“Further reasoning must also account for this hidden criminal suspect lurking somewhere.”

“However…”

“Right now, the most critical goal is…”

“To find Huang Yan!!!”