Chapter Seven: Reporting the Anomaly

No matter what kind of child Wang Yuluo was in everyday life, whether she was close to her father or distant, at such a crucial moment, his sister’s words made him feel deeply uncomfortable.

“Yuluo is not that kind of child!” His voice carried a hint of anger. “She’s gone now, and you’re still talking about whether she worked hard enough for graduate studies!

She’s my only daughter! If I could choose, I’d gladly die in her place so she could live, eat, drink, play—so what if she spent her life accomplishing nothing? That would be enough!”

As he spoke, tears fell again. “Just a few days ago, I called her and told her to stop tormenting herself over the postgraduate exams. She’d already taken them for two years and hadn’t even reached the minimum score. I offered to arrange a job for her, but she refused. We ended up arguing and parted on bad terms. After that, she blocked my number and never answered my calls again...

Otherwise, I would never have let her go see that damned horror movie!”

“Horror movie? She went to see some scary film and something happened?” The aunt was startled. “Didn’t they say that movie scared people to death abroad? Did it scare our Yuluo to death too?”

“You knew she was going to see a horror film?” Yuluo’s father turned to his sister.

She nodded. “I heard from Yumengpeng this morning—she said Yuluo was going to watch that film she’d been wanting to see for ages, said it was really scary, really exciting. I wouldn’t let her go, so she got mad at me.”

“You managed to stop your own daughter, why didn’t you help me stop Yuluo?!” he snapped.

The aunt felt aggrieved. “Could I have stopped her? Yuluo’s temperament—ever since she was ten, you let her do whatever she wanted, told me not to interfere, as long as she was happy. Later, when she grew up, do you think she’d listen to anything I said? If she was happy, she’d call me ‘aunt,’ if not, she’d say, ‘You’re not my mom, what business is it of yours?’ I couldn’t get a word in edgewise!”

Hearing this, Yuluo’s father regained a bit of composure. Remembering his daughter’s usual stubbornness, he realized this truly wasn’t something his sister could have prevented, and sighed, saying nothing more.

He was lost for words, but the aunt was not.

She turned to Ning Shuyi, her face serious. “Child, let me tell you, my niece was always healthy—I took her for her check-ups every year. So this isn’t our responsibility.

You mentioned that horror film—why wouldn’t a proper cinema show it? There must be a reason!

My daughter said that movie scared people to death abroad. I’ve listened for a while and I understand now: my niece went to see a movie perfectly fine and then something happened, right? Was she scared to death by the film? I’ve heard before that people can be frightened to death—shouldn’t you police be handling this? Shouldn’t the cinema bear responsibility?

My daughter said that movie wasn’t allowed anywhere else, and that cinema showed it secretly, didn’t even dare to advertise. Isn’t that suspicious?

Our wonderful child, in her twenties—the best years of her life—was scared to death by their film. You police owe us, the family, an explanation!”

“The cause of death hasn’t been determined yet. The most important thing is to clarify what happened to Wang Yuluo. Accountability comes afterward, once the facts are clear,” Ning Shuyi explained to the aunt.

Her father agreed, nodding repeatedly. “Nothing else matters to me—I just want to know what happened to my daughter!”

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Ning Shuyi called out, “Come in,” and Huo Yan entered, heading straight to her and handing over a report.

Ning Shuyi took it, seeing it was the preliminary toxicology results. She motioned for Yuluo’s family to wait and read the report carefully.

The conclusion contained nothing unexpected; it aligned with Ning Shuyi’s earlier suspicions—Wang Yuluo’s body was not “clean.”

According to the test, her blood still contained traces of a certain substance, one with addictive properties and capable of inducing hallucinations.

From what Ning Shuyi knew, small amounts caused hallucinations, but if the intake accumulated, it could result in death.

To put it plainly, the detected substance was a well-known “soft drug,” absolutely forbidden by law.

Images from the mall’s surveillance footage flashed through Ning Shuyi’s mind: Wang Yuluo, animated and seemingly excited.

At the time, she thought Yuluo was simply in a good mood, out shopping and watching a movie with friends, but now it was clear—that wasn’t the case.

She was still “high,” not fully returned to normal.

The report showed the concentration of the substance in her blood was not enough for a lethal dose—it wouldn’t have caused sudden cardiac arrest in such a short time.

So the true cause of death needed further investigation, though this substance might be a significant contributing factor.

“What’s Dr. Zhang’s opinion?” Ning Shuyi asked Huo Yan.

He had already discussed this with Dr. Zhang before returning.

“Dr. Zhang recommends more in-depth testing,” he replied. “Common drugs have been preliminarily ruled out, but if there’s something else, it’s likely unusual. We can’t handle it here—it needs to be sent to the provincial lab.

Currently, the conclusion is that the deceased consumed a soft drug, which caused rapid heart rate and, under the stress of the horror film, possibly triggered sudden cardiac death. There’s no direct evidence of homicide.

Dr. Zhang can’t guarantee the provincial lab will yield decisive results, so we need the family’s consent.”

“I have no objections!” Before he finished speaking, Yuluo’s father had already leapt from the sofa, his movement more a spring than a rise.

“My daughter was a good child—a little rebellious, maybe, but she knew right from wrong. She would never touch soft or hard drugs, whatever you call them!”

Clearly, at such a moment, the test result wounded him—a truth hard to accept. “There’s definitely something wrong here! Someone must have harmed her, drugged her!

So investigate as thoroughly as you need! Send it to the province, send it higher if you must—I don’t care! If there are any costs involved, our family will cover them!

Money is no object—I just want an explanation, proof that my daughter didn’t choose to go astray! I absolutely support your work, and I’ll sign any consent you need!”