CHAPTER 514: 204 FIRST ENCOUNTER, COMPLETE DEFEAT

Over his many years of solving cases, Xiang Chenyan had never encountered a criminal disguise that could escape his discerning eye.

Just like with Helian Yi, he immediately recognized the young girl standing before him as the one who had been seen by Feng Yueyang’s side six months ago.

Her appearance and demeanor had changed dramatically, but what lies beneath—those innate traits—cannot deceive.

Aside from his wealth of experience in criminal investigation, his greatest expertise is criminal profiling.

An individual’s skeletal structure, facial features, height, weight—no matter how advanced the disguise—it is as though they are stripped bare before him, impossible to hide.

He precisely caught the fleeting flash of astonishment in the depths of the girl’s eyes behind her glasses, the quick return to calmness happening so swiftly it was as if it never occurred.

It seems she recognized him too.

Shen You’an truly hadn’t anticipated that the police officer to show up would be Xiang Chenyan. He typically handled major cases, so why would he personally involve himself in a seemingly minor one?

But within moments, Shen You’an composed his emotions and approached calmly: "Officer Xiang."

Xiang Chenyan raised an eyebrow.

Impressed by the young lady’s composure.

Bi Xing’s gaze fluctuated between the two of them.

The two of them knew each other?

Gao Yuyue was even more astonished—why was it that, since arriving in Chunzhou, Shen You’an seemed to have more and more connections?

Xiang Chenyan’s gaze fell onto the bottle of water on the table. He took out a pair of disposable medical gloves from his pocket, swiftly put them on, walked over, picked up the bottle of water, and opened the cap to sniff it lightly.

Xiang Chenyan’s brows furrowed deeply.

Outsiders knew him only as a brilliant detective, but in truth, his skills relied on his extraordinary physical abilities. For instance, his five senses far surpassed those of the average person. To most, this bottle of water appeared to be ordinary mineral water, yet he detected a different scent.

From Xiang Chenyan’s subtle changes in expression, Shen You’an knew he had already discovered something. Internally, Shen felt amazement—so it really was Xiang Chenyan.

Xiang Chenyan’s gaze then shifted to the tube of Vitamin C effervescent tablets on the table. They were the only two items placed separately.

Nearby, a glass cup contained a small amount of water. The water was transparent and clear—seemingly colorless and odorless.

Gao Yuyue added, "Officer, the water has been spiked with pentavalent arsenic. Pentavalent arsenic, you know? It’s a chemical element containing arsenic and is weakly toxic. But once it combines with Vitamin C, the strong reducing property of Vitamin C turns it into trivalent arsenic, arsenic trioxide—commonly known as highly toxic arsenic powder."

Gao Yuyue pointed to that clear water: "That’s the culprit right there."

Bi Xing’s scalp prickled—clearly, the individual responsible for the poisoning had a solid knowledge of chemistry. It’s terrifyingly hard to guard against such methods.

Shen You’an stepped closer: "This dosage isn’t lethal, but inorganic trivalent arsenic entering the body produces oxidative activity. It interacts with sulfur and phospholipids, causing the signal molecules generated during metabolism to severely damage cells, which makes it highly likely to induce cancer. Last September, the journal University Chemistry published a study related to this exact phenomenon."

The girl, incomparably beautiful, captivated attention even more with her confident, composed demeanor.

Bi Xing swallowed hard. "R-really?"

Having solved cases with Captain Xiang for years, Bi Xing had encountered plenty of poisoning cases. But this roundabout, elaborate method? It was a first.

This perpetrator didn’t seek to kill outright but exploited the chemical properties of Vitamin C to enhance toxicity, slowly leading the victim’s body toward cancer—stretching their suffering under the torment of illness.

Silent, unnoticed, it not only harmed the victim but cleverly exonerated the culprit from suspicion.

It’s clear the perpetrator’s mind was both meticulous and ruthlessly unyielding.

Bi Xing looked at the stunningly beautiful girl before them, unable to imagine her being consumed by the ravages of disease—as if witnessing the radiant blossom of a peony wither and decay at an alarming, visible pace.

It was simply too cruel.

Whatever Bi Xing could think of, Xiang Chenyan naturally had thought as well—or perhaps even more within the span of mere moments.

From the perspective of criminal profiling, the culprit was highly educated, knowledgeable of chemistry, and had likely come across that research paper. But through what means?

"Forgive me for asking, but may I confirm your identity...?"

Shen You’an did not hesitate, responding promptly: "I’m a first-year student at Qingzhou Lanya High School, here in Chunzhou for winter camp."

Xiang Chenyan mulled over this.

The culprit and the victim might share the same identity—students.

Shen You’an pulled up the surveillance footage from the hallway to show Xiang Chenyan.

Xiang Chenyan raised an eyebrow, taking a long, scrutinizing look at the composed expression of the girl before him.

It had been less than thirty minutes since the incident occurred, yet she had already pieced together every clue available up to this point.

"Yesterday morning, at 7:30 a.m., the hotel’s customer service manager, Li Zonghong, secretly entered our room for one minute before leaving. She may have taken photos or recorded videos at the scene, which she passed on to the mastermind. Upon discovering a tube of Vitamin C effervescent tablets in the room, the mastermind devised this ingenious poisoning method. Pentavalent arsenic is colorless, odorless, and non-toxic—most people would fall for it easily. Unfortunately for them, I happen to have an unusually sharp sense of smell since childhood. And, coincidentally, my chemistry grades have always been perfect."