Abyss of Sin 2: Life and Death [Criminal Investigation]

[Next Novel in the Works]: "The Fragrance of Punishment [Criminal Investigation]". I'm currently drafting the blurb!

A very important person had arrived in Ningjiang New District, or so everyone said. No one knew anything about him, except that he was very rich, had a huge private villa, and often hosted parties. Day or night, the place was always brightly lit.

None of this had anything to do with the Ningjiang Municipal Public Security Bureau, until the "important person" was found dead in his swimming pool, bloated into a giant's corpse. Someone passing by saw him and called the police.

The major crimes unit led by Shi Cining and Shao Linchuan received orders and immediately headed to the scene. There was only one victim in this case so far, but it shook Shi Cining and Shao Linchuan more than any case they'd ever encountered, even more than the notorious September 28 mass murder case years ago.

The reasons:

1. After reporting the crime, the passerby received psychological counseling from the police. The bloated corpse, with fat bursting out and oozing from it, was standing upright and smiling.

2. A face had been sewn onto the bloated corpse. It wasn't a fake. It was real skin, taken from someone who had once been alive.

3. It wasn't the bloated corpse that was smiling. It was the face sewn onto it.

4. The "important person's" desk held notes and a phone, along with references to controlled drugs with obscure names, black-market contacts, and login details for the dark web. They called the deceased "Mr. Big."

5. There was a hidden room in the villa. The smell of rotting human flesh seeped through the door. This was Shao Linchuan's area of expertise. He could distinguish at least three different stages of decomposition from the stench, but one person couldn't die in three different stages. Before the hidden door had even been opened, Shao Linchuan had already reached his conclusion: there were at least three bodies inside. At least.

6. The police found an invitation addressed specifically to Shi Cining and Shao Linchuan. If they failed to show up on time, a cruise ship carrying six hundred people in Chinese waters would be sunk.

The handwritten invitation came with two cruise tickets. The ship was due to depart in half a month, giving the police only fifteen days.

It turned out that Mr. Big's death was no accident. It was an open declaration, the beginning of a carefully planned major crime that would kill six hundred people, including Shi Cining and Shao Linchuan.

The black market, smuggling, the dark web, dismemberment, cannibalism, serial killings, a cruise ship serving as a hideout. Those nightmares had returned.

Three years later, Shi Cining was once again tossing and turning with anxiety. He was worried about Shao Linchuan's safety, the one person he loved with unwavering certainty.

His intense anxiety suddenly triggered a stomach spasm. Ever since his surgery for gastric bleeding, it had always been like this. He clenched the bedsheets in pain, immediately waking Shao Linchuan, who was just as sleepless.

Shao Linchuan held Shi Cining from behind and pulled away the cold hand pressed tightly against his stomach. He drew Shi Cining fully into his arms. His hands were warm as he gently massaged the cold, tight spot in his abdomen.

Shao Linchuan had always taken on Shi Cining's vulnerability and pain this way. Afraid that talking at night would upset Shi Cining and interfere with his sleep, he would silently comfort him until the pain eased, then gently pat him and coax him back to sleep.

But this time, Shao Linchuan spoke in the darkness. "Ningning, I've already prepared myself... for anything, even the possibility that we might die."

"We won't," Shi Cining said, his voice trembling from the intense stomach pain. But his tone held the same certainty as Shao Linchuan's three years ago, on that morning when they had faced life and death together. "I'll take you home."

#I'll take you home, just as you took me home when we were children.

#Torrential rain lies before us, and a thousand lights shine behind us.

Screenshot archive date: April 29, 2026. Three minor revisions: May 13, 2026. Plagiarism and copying will be pursued. This novel is quite challenging for my current skill level, so I need more time to work on it. I expect to begin writing in 2027.

Theme: As heaven's movement is ever vigorous, so the noble person strives ceaselessly