Chapter 157 Local Thug Fang Zhengfeng

The taxi stopped in front of an old apartment building.

Although it's called an apartment building, it's actually just a row of apartments on the edge of the old town's factory area. Essentially, it's still a self-built house, just painted beige to look more upscale.

The apartment building had a sign that read "Shunyi Apartment," the white plaque now yellowed, the red lettering faded to a pale pink. Shen Xing checked his face one last time in the rearview mirror, put on his sunglasses, picked up his new suitcase with his left hand, opened his umbrella with his right, and walked towards the apartment building.

At the entrance of the apartment building on the first floor, there was a small guardhouse partitioned off with aluminum alloy. An old woman was inside, eating sunflower seeds and listening to the radio. She seemed to catch a glimpse of Shen Xing out of the corner of her eye, stared at him suspiciously for a moment, then immediately spat out the sunflower seed shells, pointed at Shen Xing, and shouted, "You little rascal, you dare come back? Let me tell you, you'd better pack all your things and get out tonight!"

She wasn't a security guard; she was just the mother of the landlord of this self-built building. With nothing else to do, she kept watch at the gate and collected rent on the side. Before she could finish speaking, Shen Xing had already stepped forward, placed three hundred yuan on the wooden table in the guardhouse, and said, "You won't be shortchanged, here you go."

After saying that, Shen Xing tapped the crumpled bills with his fingers.

"This is for two months, what about the other month? What about the water and electricity?" The old woman put the money away, checking each bill for authenticity, her voice still sharp and full of energy as she continued to argue.

"Hey, give me another month, I've found a job, I'll get paid next month." Shen Xing waved his hand, a deliberately practiced nonchalant smile on his face.

The trick to this kind of smile is that your mouth has to be crooked, otherwise it won't look punchable enough. Shen Xing has summarized the technique.

"Really? You're going to look for a job?" The old woman looked at Shen Xing with disdain and casually asked, "Where will you make your fortune?"

"It's a hotel too. You can stay there in a while. I'll give you a discount." Shen Xing smiled, picked up his bag, and prepared to leave.

"Really? Which hotel? If you don't tell me, they won't renew your lease. Your room stinks to death."

The old woman was skeptical. If she couldn't be sure whether the man in front of her had found a proper job, and if he still didn't have a job, she would have to fire him for a while.

"You can go to the city funeral home and ask."

Shen Xing pulled his suitcase and left, and behind him came the old woman's curses.

"You damned bastard, you're cursing me to die? You just wait! I'll call and ask, if you don't work there, you're dead!" "No matter how handsome you are, you'll still be sleeping on the streets!"

Shen Xing ignored the curses behind him and walked up the stairs.

The corridor was dark and even unlit, with rough terrazzo flooring. Each floor had a long corridor with double metal security doors on both sides. At the end of the corridor were public toilets and water rooms with a pungent smell.

There are no private toilets here, and the sanitary conditions are very poor. When Shen Xing walked through the corridor, he could see rats scurrying past.

Shen Xing's new identity means he lives on the seventh floor, which is the top floor with no elevator and a potentially leaky roof, so it's the cheapest option.

Shen Xing stopped at the entrance of 707 and immediately smelled a strong odor, like that of a dead rat.

He took out his key, looked around to make sure no one was there, then opened the security door and the wooden door, went inside, and locked the door from the inside.

He pressed the switch on his left, and the incandescent light in the room turned on.

The room was simply furnished, containing only a metal bed, a peeling plywood table, and a ceiling fan. The air reeked of decay and mold. On the bed, lying face up, was the corpse of an adult male, his face covered by clothing.

The upper body of the corpse was naked, and rigor mortis had completely subsided. The limbs were like soft noodles filled with mud, and there were obvious dark green putrefaction marks on the lower abdomen.

Both are consistent with the characteristics of death occurring approximately 72 hours prior.

Fortunately, the house was not leaking, but the doors and windows were tightly closed, making it like a sealed container, which accelerated the decomposition of the body.

Shen Xing opened his suitcase and took out [02-Doll].

With its new body, the doll looks much more agile. The movable ball-jointed doll is indeed more useful than the cotton doll's body; you get what you pay for.

Shen Xing took out rubber gloves from his suitcase, put them on, and then entered a long-lost work mode.

The corpse is easy to handle. The [02-Doll] is like a trash can. You can eat everything except the head and internal organs. You only need to deal with the head and internal organs.

At the very bottom of the suitcase was a waterproof bag, just big enough to hold his body parts and head. Once sealed, it could be taken to the crematorium. However, the doll couldn't be eaten directly now, otherwise the house would be uninhabitable.

Shen Xing walked to the iron bed and lifted the clothes covering the man's face.

Upon seeing the man's expression, Shen Xing hesitated for a moment.

The corpse's expression was one of extreme pain and contortion, indicating that it had endured immense suffering before death. There was blood at the corner of its mouth, but no blood elsewhere. Its lips and nail beds were a deep purple. Behind Shen Xing, with a slight effort, he pried open the jaw with his left hand and inserted his right index finger directly into the corpse's mouth, stirring it around.

His tongue was bitten raw, and his teeth showed obvious signs of wear. Blood scabs spread from the corner of his mouth all the way down to his neck.

He didn't die suddenly; he was in extreme pain before he died, and his fingernails broke.

Are there any external injuries?

Shen Xing withdrew his right hand, then gently turned the man's body over with his left hand, looking at his back.

Turning a corpse over is a difficult task because the internal organs and muscles may have become tangled together, and the center of gravity is unstable.

There were no red spots or wounds on his back. After straightening his body and gently pressing his abdomen, there was no pungent odor coming from his mouth or nose. With no external injuries, industrial toxins and pesticides could be largely ruled out. Considering the ease of obtaining poison, the simplest way to kill someone in this state, given his violent struggle, is essentially only one type of poison.

Thymoxanthroat poison, a highly toxic rodenticide, can be bought in the market, and some people even carry it on shoulder poles and sell it from street to street.

Shen Xing had encountered similar corpses before, some from suicides, some from children who had accidentally ingested them. Now, even without testing, he was 99% certain that this person had ingested rat poison.

He didn't die of a sudden natural death?

Why didn't Wang Xinran say?

Shen Xing frowned slightly.

Fang Zhengfeng, 26 years old, divorced, with a 4-year-old daughter, has a chaotic social life and makes a living by extorting junior high and elementary school students. He is a typical thug.

Who would kill such a person?