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墨書 Inktalez
I glanced at the chubby figure approaching with a plate and made a shushing gesture. "Isn't spontaneous combustion considered an accident? Besides, isn't it a locked room? Heh heh, are you being too sensitive?"
"I took notes, and I feel it's not," Ah Huang hesitated for a moment before continuing, "I think you could help me strategize. I find this matter suspicious."
"Haha, how can I strategize?" I understood Fourth Uncle's eagerness to solve the case and gain recognition, but not every case hides a grievance; there are many things in science that remain unexplained.
"Brother, really, let's talk later. I'll come by your unit later, and we can catch up then."
"Sure! I'll give Old Bi a call."
"No need. Elder Brother is out on a date, so it's just the two of us."
"Alright! I'll wait for your call!"
After hanging up, I grabbed a steamed bun and sat down on the stool, devouring it hungrily. I was indeed starving; after all, I hadn't eaten two meals!
At that moment, Jinghe brought over a cup of water. I smiled at him, "Hey, you're quite sharp!" Jinghe blushed and smiled shyly while standing to the side. When I had eaten most of my bun, Jinghe suddenly asked, "Company Commander, did you really spontaneously combust earlier?"
"Yeah, why?" I wiped my mouth.
He scratched his head. "I saw something like that on TV before, but it mostly happened abroad. I never expected it would happen around us!"
I immediately became interested. "Oh? You know quite a bit about this stuff; you're quite the science expert!"
Jinghe quickly shook his head. "No, no! I'm just really interested in these strange phenomena." He ran inside to grab a stool and sat down in front of me to start his lesson.
"Well, I can't speak for abroad, but the earliest record in our country dates back to December 30th of the twelfth year of Daoguang (January 19th, 1838). A couple named Wu in the eastern corner of the city were both sixty years old. On New Year's Eve, they went to bed. The next morning at three zhang (about ten meters), their family knocked on the door calling for them but received no response. When they pulled open the door, they found the elderly couple sleeping as usual. When they touched them, they turned to ashes instantly—unexplainable. This was recorded in 'Miscellaneous Stories from Nanfeng County.'"
"Wow, you have a good memory!"
"Hehe, I'm a top scholar from the college entrance examination."
"What the hell! No wonder! Why are you here in the army?" I asked, a bit puzzled.
The chubby man ignored me and continued, "Actually, many scientists tend to explain spontaneous human combustion using the candle theory. When the human body is ignited by cigarettes, smoldering embers, or other heat sources, it burns from the inside out like a candle. Inside the candle is a wick, and the outer layer is made of wax composed of flammable fatty acids. The fat in the human body acts as the combustible material, while the victim's clothing or hair serves as the wick. When heated, the fat melts and seeps into the clothing, acting like wax to keep the wick burning. Scientists say this explains why the victim's body is burned while surrounding objects are largely untouched."
Something felt off to me; I suddenly grasped something.
"This can actually be used to explain Qiu Shaoyun's martyrdom process. The Qiu Shaoyun incident occurred during the early stages of the Battle of Ganling on the Korean Battlefield, specifically during the ambush at Hill 91. Hill 91 is an isolated peak occupied by enemy forces from Syngman Rhee's pseudo-9th Division, 7th Regiment, 7th Company. The 9th Company of the 87th Regiment, where Qiu Shaoyun and Suo Decheng were stationed, was tasked with a main assault mission. They lay in ambush on the northern slope of Hill 91 while the 7th Company feigned an attack and the 8th Company acted as reserves. On October 11 that year at 9 PM, various companies set out to ambush Hill 91 according to their different missions. At noon on the 12th, Hill 91 was suddenly attacked by enemy incendiary bombs. A few drops of burning liquid splashed onto Qiu Shaoyun, igniting his camouflage first, then his clothing, followed by his skin cracking and extracting body fat, leading to a prolonged candle effect. The primary fuel—body fat, straw, and cotton clothing—are porous materials that act like a candle wick by extracting body fat to sustain combustion. Thus, the flames on Qiu Shaoyun burned for an extended period; one record from a comrade likely noted when smoke began to form. The actual burning time might have been longer to reach a charred and shriveled state. The martyr smiled ten minutes after catching fire and then lowered his head; this was precisely when his skin began to contract and split (the critical point). The burning of subcutaneous fat after skin splitting led to an irreversible process in the martyr's sacrifice."
Jinghe spoke endlessly, but I suddenly realized where there was a problem. I had to interrupt him while he paused for breath. "Hey, you might be right about Qiu Shaoyun and all that, but I'm confused about one thing."
Jinghe looked at me in confusion. "Where did the initial spark come from? Even if it's some kind of candle effect, if the wick isn't lit, how does it burn?"
Jinghe nodded thoughtfully. "Well, some scientists believe there is some kind of natural electric current in the human body that can ignite combustible materials inside it. Others think it's due to an excessive accumulation of phosphorus in the body that produces flames. Recently, there's been a new explanation from a physics perspective suggesting that there may be particles within us that are even smaller than atoms which could cause combustion. However, none of these theories have reliable evidence; they are just speculations."
I nodded. "Alright, I get it now. You can continue working; however, you've taught me a lesson today. From now on, you'll be the scientific instructors for our soldiers—whatever technology stuff you want to delve into." Making use of everyone's strengths is my principle.
I went back to my room to change clothes. Not long after, Fourth Uncle called me. "I'm coming out!" I replied briefly.
After greeting Old Tang, I headed towards the front door.
Huang, our Fourth Uncle, was anxiously pacing by the roadside when I approached him. He was still looking down as he wandered around until I tapped him on the shoulder. He suddenly looked up and upon realizing it was me, he joyfully grabbed my arm. "Let's go over to McDonald's and chat!"
Without hesitation, he dragged me several hundred meters away to a McDonald's store. After ordering two drinks, Ah Huang eagerly said, "Someone reported it yesterday afternoon; coincidentally, it's that spontaneous combustion case! I felt something was off right away!"
"Oh? What seemed off?" I asked casually; Ah Huang's occupational sensitivity was too keen. I roughly recounted what I had heard from Jinghe.
After listening for a moment in silence, Huang quickly continued, "We'll discuss how this process happened later; first let me tell you about the background."
Since I had nothing else to do anyway, I decided to listen as I took a sip of my drink and waited for Ah Huang to speak.
Ah Huang began explaining: "Yesterday after we finished eating and returned home, initially I had no plans to go into work since I'd been drinking; however, there was a sports event at work in the afternoon that many people participated in. So I had no choice but to drag myself out of bed around four o'clock to go in."
I primarily handle reports for criminal cases at work. Around five o'clock, a young woman came in, heavily made up. As soon as she sat down, she became agitated, saying her husband had been harmed. I asked her to summarize the situation. Her husband had been burned to death. After she mentioned the district name, I realized it was the same area where the previous case had occurred. I thought to myself, could it really be that coincidental? Two people burned to death in the same place? Later, when I made a call to check, you won't believe what I found out.
Ah Huang frowned and said, "It's the same case!" Seeing my disbelief, he continued, "According to regulations, regardless of the circumstances, if someone reports a crime and there is a confirmed death, we must file a case. However, once we opened the case, problems started surfacing: First, this woman turned out not to be the deceased man's wife; after investigation, we found out she was actually his mistress! Second, when we called the man's wife to verify this information, she didn't seem to have any doubts about it; third, further investigation revealed that the deceased's ashes had already been cleaned up and placed in the Cemetery. The insurance company has also intervened for an investigation."
I couldn't help but ask, "Are you suspecting that this man's wife might have done something?"
Ah Huang nodded. "It's very suspicious. First of all, his wife remained unusually calm, which is not typical. During my inquiry with her, she insisted that we were making a fuss over nothing and claimed she would report us to higher authorities. Second, do you know what his wife does? She's a chemistry teacher. This relates to your earlier theories and effects; at least she has the capability to commit such an act. As for how it was done, that's one of the reasons I called you for assistance. Thirdly, the deceased had purchased two accident insurance policies—one for himself and one for his wife—with their son as the beneficiary. Moreover, the incident took place in a property that the man privately bought to live with his mistress, but the title deed is under his name. I asked our boss about it; after the incident occurred, it was actually the Deceased's Wife who went to the scene while their Son was still at school. This clearly indicates that Deceased's Wife knew about this house's existence. Fourthly, our boss also noticed that Deceased's Wife's emotional fluctuations were minimal at that time; however, he didn't think much of it then. All these points are indeed worth investigating."
I responded with an "Oh," realizing from his words that he suspected it was a Murder Case and believed that his wife was the prime suspect.
Ah Huang nodded and glanced at his watch. "I have this feeling, so I accepted the report and informed Department Leader. The leader took it seriously and instructed me to follow up with both the deceased's family and the reporter. However, I've already dispatched relevant personnel to the scene; do you want to come with me to take a look?"
What the hell! I knew this wouldn't end well; however, my curiosity got the better of me. Plus, since Fourth Uncle had spoken up, I couldn't refuse him. If I were still in the military, it would be different; now that I'm out, refusing would be inappropriate.
Alright then, I nodded and decided to go take a look!
(To be continued; more exciting content tomorrow!)
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