The Last Wish

At the police station.

In the interrogation room.

"Why did you steal the corpse?"

"I didn't steal it," the man who had been brought to the police station raised his head and met the interrogating officer's gaze.

The officer let out a cold laugh. He hadn't expected this man to be so stubborn, still denying everything even though they had found the corpse in his house.

"You didn't steal it? The corpse we found in your room is evidence enough. We caught you red-handed, and you're still trying to deny it?"

"I'm not denying anything," the man stared back at the officer unflinchingly. "It was her dying wish. We couldn't be together while she was alive, but we could after death. If you hadn't arrived so early, I would have gone to join her."

The officer was bewildered. "Dying wish?"

The man nodded and began explaining his motives for stealing the corpse.

"Yes, a dying wish. Yu and I were a couple, but her parents thought I wasn't good enough. They forcibly separated us, confiscated her phone, prevented her from contacting me, and even arranged a marriage match for her, forcing her to go on blind dates."

"Yu didn't want to, so they kept her locked up at home. Finally, when she couldn't take it anymore, she pretended to give in and agreed to go along with their choice. That's how she managed to get her phone back and contact me. We planned it together - she would take her own life first, then I would retrieve her body, and afterward, I would join her."

"Since we couldn't be together in life, we decided to be star-crossed lovers in death. I had planned to take her from the hospital and find a beautiful spot in the mountains where we could rest together forever... I didn't expect you to arrive before I could even change her into a beautiful dress for our journey."

After hearing the man's story, the officer remained silent for a while.

But he soon spoke again: "Even if everything you've said is true, your actions still constitute the crime of corpse theft. The law states that stealing, desecrating, or destroying a corpse is a criminal offense."

The officer expected the man to try defending himself further, but surprisingly, he just nodded: "I know. Since you've caught me, there's nothing more to say. Whatever punishment I deserve, I'll accept it."

"The punishment isn't for us to decide. Our job is just to arrest you. Now, continue explaining - how exactly did you carry out the crime? How did you create the illusion of the corpse 'coming back to life'?" the officer continued.

He was curious about how the man had managed to make it appear as if the corpse was chasing people around like a reanimated body.

"I studied mechanical engineering and I'm good with my hands. I prepared some equipment beforehand and attached it to the corpse in the morgue. There was a metal frame supporting the body to keep it upright, and I installed two small wheels at the base of the frame. I dressed her in a long dress that touched the ground to hide the frame and wheels. I tied a very thin fishing line between myself and the corpse so I could make it move. The base of the metal frame had two arms connected to the wheels - when the wheels turned, the arms would move back and forth, creating the illusion of legs moving under the dress."

The officer nodded after hearing this. "I see."

The phenomenon of 'reanimated corpses' is absolutely impossible, and the idea of a corpse chasing people is pure nonsense.

It was all achieved through this man's clever contraption, concealed by a floor-length dress to create the illusion of reanimation.

The man had gone to such lengths probably because he knew he would quickly become a police target if he simply stole the corpse directly, so he came up with this plan.

He attempted to mislead the police with this completely unscientific phenomenon of a 'reanimated corpse.'

He just hadn't counted on the police moving so quickly, catching him shortly after he left the hospital, before he could proceed with his next steps.

On the right side of the interrogation room was a one-way mirror. While the local officer was interrogating the man inside, Xu Mo and Chen Ke were watching the whole process from outside.

As the man was explaining his methods, Chen Ke sighed from outside the interrogation room: "So after all this, it turns out to be a case of dying for love..."

The interrogating officer then left the room and expressed his gratitude to Xu Mo and Chen Ke.

"Thank you both for your help. Without you, we might still be trying to solve this case, and by then, the perpetrator might have..."

"Yes, if it weren't for you two, we might have been too late. We probably would have found two corpses instead, and the case would have remained unsolved."

"Now that the case is closed, let me treat you to a meal!" one officer suggested.

They were genuinely grateful to Xu Mo and Chen Ke. Without them, the case might not have been solved so quickly.

Especially Xu Mo - if he hadn't spotted the irregularities in the surveillance footage in time, they might not have discovered the problem so soon.

By then, even if they had identified the suspect, it would have been too late, considering the perpetrator had mentioned his plans to take the deceased to a scenic spot for their final rest together.

"A meal... maybe another time. I really want to get back to the hospital and rest," Chen Ke said, his eyelids heavy with exhaustion. He just wanted to get some proper rest rather than eat.

Today, he and Xu Mo had caught an early flight, but then their plane crashed. Although they survived, Chen Ke had broken his arm and spent the entire day in the hospital.

Between the injury and the day's intense events, Chen Ke was completely drained. Now, after helping with the investigation until past 2 AM, he was truly at his limit. More than food, what he needed now was a bed!

Of course, this wasn't an issue for Xu Mo, who was still quite energetic. He had already rested for over two hours at the hotel before coming to the hospital, and thanks to his system-rewarded turtle breathing technique, he only needed two hours of sleep to maintain his energy. Having just slept for over two hours, Xu Mo wasn't tired at all.

Chen Ke's reminder made the officer realize how late it had gotten.

They were on night shift, so staying up late wasn't an issue for them since they had slept during the day. But it was different for Chen Ke and Xu Mo, who hadn't slept all day and had just survived a plane crash. Their mental energy must have been severely depleted.

"Oh my, it's already past 2 AM! Look at me... I'm sorry, I lost track of time. I wanted to treat you to a meal to show our appreciation, but let's forget about that for now. I'll drive you back so you can rest, and we can discuss the meal tomorrow. We'll be in touch tomorrow, okay?"

"Alright, we'll talk later."

Just then, another system prompt sounded in Xu Mo's mind.

"You have successfully captured the fugitive. Reward obtained - Limited Time One Yuan Flash Sale!"

...