The Manner of Death

Xiao Hei continued his account. "After that, Mr. Igan stayed on the farm the whole time. After celebrating Mrs. Igan's birthday, he went to the wheat field to check on the spring wheat he'd planted this year, and then he went to the stables to feed his beloved horse."

"Feed the horse?" Tu Ran raised a question. "According to your earlier statement, you discovered Mr. Igan lying on the haystack while you were on your way to feed the horses."

"That's right," Xiao Hei admitted, looking earnestly at Tu Ran, puzzled as to why she'd asked.

"Since Mr. Igan had already gone to feed the horses, why did you need to go again?" Tu Ran stared at Xiao Hei.

Xiao Hei hesitated for a moment. "Well... it's like this. Maybe I didn't make it clear before, and that's caused a misunderstanding. Mr. Igan runs a large horse farm with many horses, but his beloved horse is just one of them. He only went to feed that one horse, not all of them."

Tu Ran: "..."

The joke was on her.

"Mr. Tubin, please continue," Tu Ran said, putting on a perfectly composed smile that hid her previous embarrassment.

"Oh, all right," Tubin said, unbothered by the interruption. "Near dusk, I went to add fodder to the stables, and there I saw Mr. Igan lying face-down in the hay. I called out to him twice, and when he didn't respond, I knew something was wrong. I hurried over to turn him over, and I found his body was... soft. As if he had no bones left."

Upon examination, Igan indeed had no bones left—his entire skeleton had been removed, leaving behind a pool of flesh.

A gruesome way to die.

The group finally reached the haystack where Kenny Igan had been found. Tu Ran noticed Tubin's tears streaming down his face uncontrollably.

The bond between master and servant seemed strong.

Tu Ran and Ding Naiqing lifted the cordon tape simultaneously and stepped into the sealed-off area.

The scene was neat, and the corpse still lay on the haystack.

To facilitate the investigators, the Federal Government had issued a notice early on that these victims should not be buried yet, but instead left in place so that pioneers could investigate and seek justice for the dead.

The corpse's appearance matched the information in the files. According to the medical examiner, the time of death was around six o'clock yesterday evening.

It was a mass of flesh, collapsed like water on the withered hay. The body had been turned over. Ding Naiqing stepped onto the haystack, approached, and lifted the shirt. On the pale, mottled belly gaped a fist-sized hole, especially unsettling. Around the hole was a ring of red dots, like marks left by pricks from a thick needle.

Tu Ran searched her memory for which kind of alien creature might leave such wounds on humans, but unfortunately, she found nothing.

As of now, the Federal Government's knowledge of alien creatures was limited; the Threshold had only lifted a corner of its veil to reveal itself.

For the time being, the corpse yielded no useful intelligence.

The two of them jumped down from the haystack one after another. Ding Naiqing asked Tubin, "How far is the farm from the county town?"

Tubin withdrew his gaze from the body and answered, "Over thirty kilometers."

Tu Ran, meanwhile, surveyed the surroundings. "Don't you have surveillance cameras on the farm?"

"The cameras were all removed a few days ago," Tubin replied. "Because we were renovating the stables, Mr. Igan decided to replace all the cameras with the newest models."

Tu Ran nodded. She was done with her questions. Ding Naiqing took over. "From the time of death yesterday until now, how many people have come in or out of the farm?"