Chapter 93 Assumptions

Luocheng People's Hospital.

Outside the ICU ward.

At this moment, Chen Mo, along with Elder Liu and his granddaughter Liu Fengxia, arrived.

A police officer was standing outside the ward; upon seeing Liu Fengxia, he immediately straightened his back.

Just as he was about to say some polite pleasantries, he noticed Liu Qingwu standing to one side, and his expression instantly turned serious.

"Hello, Elder Liu!"

"Hmm." Liu Qingwu nodded slightly.

"Tell us the situation again."

Liu Fengxia looked through the glass of the ward door at the patient infected with the prion disease.

"The patient's name is Huang Guofa, male, 26 years old. Yesterday morning at ten o'clock, he was diagnosed with a prion disease by a doctor due to symptoms like limb tremors, and he subsequently called the police dispatch center."

"He is currently in a coma."

"Our team, after conducting investigations throughout yesterday afternoon and the entire night, has basically ruled out the suspicion that the patient, Huang Guofa, consumed human flesh."

"To be more precise, others are still outside conducting a more detailed investigation."

Xiao Song's voice had just fallen.

A hesitant voice rang out.

"How was it ruled out? Through which aspects?"

Liu Fengxia took the file from Xiao Song and handed it to Chen Mo.

"Read it yourself. There's a lot, anyway. I've already read it last night."

Taking the file, Chen Mo began to flip through it.

The investigation content in the file was very detailed.

From the patient Huang Guofa's mental state, to whether he had any peculiar habits, to his living environment from childhood to adulthood, and even inquiries with relatives and friends, and so on...

None of it showed any issues.

Saying that the suspicion of him actively consuming human flesh was ruled out was indeed not a big problem.

Handing the file back, he fell into deep thought.

Meanwhile, Liu Qingwu, who was standing to one side with a faint smile and stroking his beard, cast his gaze upon Chen Mo's contemplative face.

He had already figured out how to proceed with the investigation.

Since it wasn't something the patient actively put into his mouth, it could only be that he accidentally ingested an animal carrying the prion disease.

Therefore, the next direction of the investigation should be what Huang Guofa had eaten!

Follow that to find the source of the corpse.

"How about it? Do you have any thoughts?"

A smile hung on Liu Qingwu's face as he waited for Chen Mo to ask him for help, so he could show off his own ability.

"I have a point."

Chen Mo snapped out of his thoughts.

"I've previously read explanations about prion diseases; this virus has an incubation period, meaning it doesn't necessarily cause illness immediately after consumption."

"So, since the suspicion of Huang Guofa actively consuming human flesh has been ruled out, the next direction of the investigation should focus on what he has eaten."

"It is highly likely that he accidentally ingested an animal carrying the prion disease!"

Chen Mo stated his thoughts.

"Xiao Song, did you hear that?"

"Have the people outside shift the focus of the investigation to check what Huang Guofa has eaten."

Xiao Song nodded and immediately walked to the side to make a phone call.

Meanwhile, Liu Qingwu, standing beside Chen Mo, felt puzzled in his heart.

He wasn't puzzled that Chen Mo could think of the investigation direction, because that wasn't difficult in itself.

What was difficult was that Chen Mo had actually sorted out his thoughts so quickly.

He had just understood the situation and immediately pinpointed the next direction for the investigation.

He could react so quickly because he had decades of criminal investigation experience to support him.

But what about Chen Mo?

One could only say, this kid is impressive.

He thought to himself, at his age, he didn't have this level of skill.

"Elder Liu, is there any problem?"

Chen Mo turned his head to ask.

For him, solving the case was secondary; letting Elder Liu point out his flaws was the primary goal.

This was also his main purpose for coming to Luocheng.

"Do you think there's no problem?"

Liu Qingwu's expression suddenly stiffened, and he spoke in a serious tone.

This sudden change left Chen Mo feeling a bit confused.

He pursed his lips and thought for a moment.

But there really wasn't any problem.

Since he didn't eat it actively, it must have been passive.

Investigating what Huang Guofa had eaten was correct.

"The accidental ingestion you mentioned is indeed a good direction, but in reality, you have made a huge mistake!"

Liu Qingwu had his hands behind his back and his head slightly raised.

The hands behind his back were already sweating, and his brain was turning rapidly.

What to say!

What should I say to pick holes in this kid's logic?

Let him know that my ability is very strong!

More than enough to teach him!

His expression was calm, but he was anxious inside!

Because what Chen Mo said was completely correct, and that was exactly how he had thought before.

Pick my own mistakes?

Suddenly, a flash of lightning streaked through his mind.

"I have a question. Since you know the virus has an incubation period and won't erupt suddenly, how do you expect the officers to investigate?"

Friends who have dealt with prion diseases know that the incubation period varies from several months to several years...

And a normal person eats three meals a day; that's over a thousand meals a year. How are the officers supposed to investigate that?

After saying this, he let out a long sigh of relief in his heart.

He had finally found a reason.

After hearing this, Chen Mo fell into deep thought for a long while.

It was undeniable that what Elder Liu said was not without merit.

The investigation direction he casually arranged could really run his subordinates ragged.

And the effectiveness would be very poor.

And Elder Liu's meaning was also very clear: the scope of the investigation was too large, and he should find a way to narrow it down before issuing orders.

"It seems you cannot answer my question; this time I can only give you a score of 0."

Liu Qingwu wiped his hands, which were behind his back, on his trouser legs.

"I have learned something."

There was no dissatisfaction on Chen Mo's face; he accepted the 0 score. He really hadn't considered the reaction of the officers below when hearing this investigation direction; they would probably curse.

If it were his superior giving such an order, he imagined his own mood wouldn't be any better.

Under the current circumstances, it was already assumed that no clues could be found from the point of what Huang Guofa had eaten.

But to advance the case and trace the source of the corpse, it was unavoidable to know what Huang Guofa had eaten.

Only by knowing what he had eaten could they continue to investigate along that line.

In an instant, 'Clear Mind' began to work.

It helped him quickly sort out his messy thoughts.

He now needed to make a hypothesis.

According to the previous investigation of the patient, he basically cooked his three meals a day himself, and the vegetables and meat were bought at the vegetable market.

Assume I am a vendor at the vegetable market who killed a person; how stupid would I have to be to choose to mix human flesh into food like pork?

The answer is impossible; there are too many ways to dispose of a corpse.

This method is purely asking for trouble.

Retaliatory society?

But I haven't heard of anyone else contracting the prion disease, and the reporting center has only received this one report call so far.

So, before new clues appear, the group of vendors at the vegetable market can basically be ruled out of suspicion.

This is strange; if it wasn't from meat bought at the vegetable market that was ingested, what other channel could it be?

A restaurant?

The possibility is also very small; there is no reason to take such a huge risk to do that.