Chapter 26: Gene Sequencing

He Wei and Cheng Zesheng sat collectively in the lounge, identical to the final time. Two chairs had been going through one another, and from an outsider’s perspective, they seemed to be speaking to skinny air, amusing themselves.

Cheng Zesheng drew a schematic diagram indicating the shoe prints and the positions of the our bodies. He then marked out which of them belonged to the victims and which of them belonged to the third celebration. After passing the diagram to He Wei, he checked out it and have become momentarily puzzled: “What do 1 and a pair of imply for the shoe prints close to the lounge?”

“Based mostly on the distribution of the shoe prints, 1 is the assassin’s, and a pair of is the sufferer’s.”

“However they’re the identical. The assassin and the sufferer have related heights and weights, they usually’re even sporting the identical sneakers. It’s extra probably that they’re buddies or kinfolk. What about this aspect? What does 3 imply?”

“Quantity 3 is what we discovered throughout the earlier scene investigation. There was a small stone embedded within the round tread sample on the only real of the shoe. Neither #1 nor quantity 2 had it, so…”

“So that you deduce that there have been 4 individuals on the scene, however three of them left an identical footprints.” He Wei smiled faintly. “Is that how succesful this He Wei is? May even create shadow clones?”

From his tone, Cheng Zesheng might clearly sense a touch of mockery. He furrowed his brows, “Do you suppose I wish to imagine that? Leaving organic proof on the homicide weapon that couldn’t probably have been induced, and the post-mortem outcomes are much more weird. That He Wei has a ten-year historical past of allergic bronchial asthma, however the bronchi of the physique not solely had no lesions but in addition confirmed proof of smoking for at the very least 5 years.”

“Do the DNA and fingerprints match? Are you positive it’s him?” He Wei rubbed his chin. “Have you ever investigated my youthful brother? He’s my an identical twin, so now we have the identical DNA.”

“We investigated way back. Even the forensic specialists in our bureau couldn’t imagine such a weird case and suspected they’d the improper individual. We’ve already taken samples out of your youthful brother for genetic sequencing.” Cheng Zesheng shook his head with a sigh. “However I don’t suppose we obtained it improper. The fingerprints match, and there are not any two utterly an identical leaves on the earth. In circumstances involving twins, fingerprints typically present extra proof than DNA.”

Because the starting of the case, Cheng Zesheng had been suspecting that the deceased He Wei and the He Wei they had been investigating had been two totally different individuals. He had at all times been skeptical of the concept one individual might have two our bodies, however now that parallel worlds had been even showing, what couldn’t be doable? In spite of everything, there was a He Wei sitting proper there.

“Do you smoke?” he requested.

He Wei smiled, “Why? Are you suspecting that the deceased in your world is me? Then who’s speaking to you now?”

“…,” Cheng Zesheng murmured, “I’m unsure both; it’s only a hunch.”

“I don’t have sufficient details about this case, so I don’t have any leads in the mean time.” He Wei prompt, “Deliver the forensic and post-mortem reviews and the bodily proof again tomorrow. I’ll research them fastidiously.”

“… Present them to you?” Cheng Zesheng’s voice clearly held hesitation.

“Why not? We’re not working in the identical place, and even when I see them, I gained’t leak any data. Perhaps I may help you resolve the case extra shortly.” He Wei paused for a second. “Moreover, the one who died is a parallel model of me. I wish to see if there’s something improper with my very own report.”

“No, the difficulty isn’t there,” Cheng Zesheng reminded him, “If I convey the bodily proof again and also you contact it, the place else can I discover it?”

“In the event you hadn’t talked about it, I wouldn’t have remembered. What in regards to the surveillance cameras?” He Wei questioned Cheng Zesheng, “You took them down, and now they’re gone. How am I supposed to present them again to the tech crew?”

Cheng Zesheng was stunned, “You set them up?!” So he had actually misunderstood his father. Fortunately, he hadn’t confronted him in a bizarre tone when he obtained dwelling. It might have induced a giant scene for no cause.

He Wei sneered, persevering with to ask in regards to the cameras’ whereabouts. Cheng Zesheng gently informed him that he had taken them again to the workplace final week, desiring to take them to the tech crew to establish the mannequin. Nonetheless, they disappeared as soon as he took them out, and the probabilities of retrieving them had been slim.

“Not simply slim, however inconceivable,” He Wei pinched his brow, sounding helpless. “The atomic construction of the issues that don’t belong to this world would collapse if taken out of the node. I can’t even take your fingerprints out, not to mention the cameras.”

“…” Cheng Zesheng tried to vary the topic, “You’ve had your share of the case; it ought to be my flip now.”

“Your case isn’t that mysterious. There’s no proof pointing to an inconceivable crime in the mean time. However the killer and the third suspect current on the scene are each very intelligent, leaving nearly no traces. Oh, by the best way, do you even have a brother over there?”

“…He’s useless,” Cheng Zesheng’s voice out of the blue dropped, “He died by the hands of drug traffickers; it’s been a number of years.”

A quick silence fell in the lounge. He Wei had meant to dig for details about Cheng Zhenqing, however listening to the somber tone and low spirits in his voice, he modified his thoughts because the phrases reached his lips: “My condolences.”

As quickly as these phrases had been uttered, the ambiance in the lounge out of the blue modified. The deep silence of the night time enveloped them. He Wei glanced up, and this time, the time was 12:30, a couple of minutes later than final time.

The dialog got here to an finish.

—— 

After a couple of days of surveying and visiting round Cheng Zesheng’s residence, Chong Zhen returned with excellent news: they’d lastly discovered data associated to Cheng Zhenqing. They confirmed that this individual was in Shengzhou Metropolis and had certainly been lively within the neighborhood.

“It wasn’t straightforward. One crew pulled out all of the cameras and saved surveillance inside a five-kilometer radius for investigation, whereas one other crew went round exhibiting his photograph, and we obtained nothing after three days,” Chong Zhen twisted open a bottle of mineral water and took a giant gulp, wiping his mouth, “It wasn’t till the night time earlier than final that an aged woman who collects rubbish talked about she had seen Cheng Zhenqing. She had dropped a number of drink bottles whereas carrying them, and he helped decide them up for her.”

Wu Xiaolei continued, “This man actually is aware of conceal. He hardly ever goes out, and he’s extraordinarily cautious when he does. He at all times wears a masks, solely revealing his eyes. The place had been we supposed to search out him? It was that day when he took off his masks to spit out gum, and coincidentally, he noticed the previous woman drop her bottle. He reached out and helped her, exhibiting his face to her.”

“After that, we re-checked the surveillance in response to the aged woman’s description of his peak and construct, and we did discover a couple of pictures of Cheng Zhenqing caught on digital camera,” Chong Zhen unfolded a folded map and stated, “The factors marked on it are the areas captured by the surveillance. After connecting the dots, I roughly outlined the exercise space. However discovering the individual remains to be not straightforward. Most of that space is residential buildings. Except we knock on each door, it’s arduous to search out him.”

Yun Xiaoxiao blinked her huge, watery eyes, “You may coordinate with the native police station and examine the family registration.”

He Wei appeared on the map, the vary outlined with a black pen masking 4 communities, a big grocery store, a complete shopping center, and even a college and two industrial streets. He requested, “The place was Cheng Zhenqing final seen? And what was he sporting?”

Chong Zhen anticipated that He Wei would ask this, so he had already copied that phase of the surveillance and saved it on his telephone. Within the video, a tall and lean man stood at a crossroads, sporting a black masks, a black windbreaker, and khaki informal pants. The crossroads on the alternative aspect had a inexperienced mild, however he didn’t cross. He waited till the sunshine turned purple earlier than turning proper onto the pedestrian path and getting into an alley.

“There are solely two previous grocery shops in that alley and no surveillance. There’s additionally one other fork within the highway behind, I believe he selected that path to keep away from surveillance.”

Yun Xiaoxiao leaned in, curious, “If he needed to take the opposite path, why did he stand there for therefore lengthy?”

Wu Xiaolei speculated, “Perhaps he hadn’t selected the route but?”

“I believe he was one thing. He lifted his head for a couple of seconds,” Chong Zhen stated.

Hu Songkai was lounging on the aspect, considering that this type of matter ought to be left for Lao He to analyze. These eyes of his had been too sharp; he should have pried the Solar Wukong’s discerning eyes and put them on himself.

Positive sufficient, He Wei enlarged and zoomed in on the surveillance footage a number of instances, then turned to Yun Xiaoxiao and requested, “Xiaoxiao, did Cheng Zesheng have a branded watch in his endorsement?”

Yun Xiaoxiao nodded shortly and took out her telephone, “Sure, sure, there may be! That poster appeared so cool! I took an image of it after I noticed it on the road.”

He Wei glanced on the screens of each telephones, after which concluded, “He was Cheng Zesheng.”

“…?” Wu Xiaolei appeared bewildered, and He Wei sighed. With a swipe of his fingers, he enlarged the video, positioned it on the desk, and obtained as much as make tea.

Chong Zhen and Wu Xiaolei had been glued to their telephones. Chong Zhen made a significant sound first, “Oh, I see now. As anticipated of Lao He. I’ve to confess your expertise are spectacular.”

Wu Xiaolei grabbed Chong Zhen’s arm, “Chong-ge, how did you work it out?”

“You see, there’s an edge on this video, exhibiting a glimpse of the cuff of a grey swimsuit and the sting of a gold watch, proper? Now evaluate it with the poster Xiaoxiao took. Isn’t it precisely the identical?”

Wu Xiaolei widened his eyes, “…That’s a shirt and a watch?” He thought these blurry white, yellow, and grey shapes had been an commercial for chilly medication!

Chong Zhen gave him a regretful look, and Hu Songkai smirked, “Hey, your Captain Heng doesn’t have this ability, proper? Why not come to our Felony Investigation Division? We have now lots so that you can study.”

Wu Xiaolei stared at He Wei’s well-proportioned determine, and his eyes unknowingly carried a touch of admiration. He Wei brewed his tea, utterly unaware that he had unintentionally gained a fan from the Anti-Drug Division.

———

Liu Renyu got here to search out Cheng Zesheng, and Professor Jiang requested him to go to the Forensic Division.

Strolling aspect by aspect, they mentioned Jiang Tan. Liu Renyu shook his head and stated, “Vice-Captain Cheng, Professor Jiang’s temper may be very dangerous. I counsel you not ask an excessive amount of for now. Wait till his temper calms down earlier than speaking.”

“…Actually? Can it’s that dangerous?”

Liu Renyu’s expression grew severe, and he nodded his chin a few instances as if emphasizing the severity of the scenario. Cheng Zesheng understood, he already had an thought of the result. He out of the blue thought, if he had been to inform Jiang Tan that there was one other residing He Wei in the home, wouldn’t it scare him mindless?

“By the best way, what was the identify of the science fiction film you talked about that’s going to be launched?” Cheng Zesheng requested.

“Triassic Chronicles.”

“Isn’t that in regards to the dinosaur period?”

Liu Renyu chuckled and shook his head, “The explanation it’s referred to as that’s as a result of the film entails three overlapping timelines. The unique work has obtained good critiques. Vice-Captain Cheng, you may take into account watching it.”

The 2 of them had already arrived on the Forensic Division. Jiang Tan sat behind his desk, holding a thermos cup, his eyes mounted on the check reviews. The door opened, and Jiang Tan’s eyelids lifted barely. In a dull tone, he stated, “You’re right here.”

“Yeah, I can inform out of your expression that the scenario isn’t optimistic. Inform me, I’ve ready myself mentally.”

Jiang Tan first picked up a report, “That is the results of the DNA methylation distinction check between He Lu and He Wei. Within the pattern DNA constructing blocks, there are 47 totally different loci. Analyzed utilizing the Illumina 450K methylation chip, He Wei’s pattern comprises the AHRR1 and F2RL32 genes, which He Lu doesn’t; there are additionally important variations within the two CpG loci3 within the COMT promoter area. The detailed content material is all on this report, and it may basically utterly distinguish between these MZ twins (monozygotic twins).”

Persevering with, Jiang Tan picked up one other report, “This one is the DNA methylation distinction check for He Wei and the blood pattern introduced again from the hospital. It used the identical DNA constructing blocks, and unexpectedly, these two DNA samples even have variations in 15 loci. Though each carry allergenic genes, one allergy pathway is said to IgE and the opposite to IgG.” He picked up the third report, “The sequencing outcomes of the hospital’s blood pattern and He Lu’s pattern present variations in 56 loci. Have you learnt what this represents?”

“…Go on.”

Jiang Tan took a deep breath, “This represents that the three samples come from three totally different people. He Lu’s pattern has important variations in DNA methylation from the physique and the hospital’s blood pattern, ruling out the opportunity of being from the identical particular person; the DNA profiling of the physique and the hospital’s blood pattern is sort of an identical. Generally, with a check of 23 loci, we will conclude that they arrive from the identical individual, however there may be nonetheless a methylation distinction. Excluding the chimerism4 that may happen in hybrids and contemplating the contradictory circumstances proven throughout the physique, I can solely conclude that these are additionally two totally different people.”

Though Cheng Zesheng was mentally ready, holding the precise outcomes nonetheless felt fairly heavy in his arms. It appeared that something associated to He Wei was distorting the traditional guidelines of science to some extent.

Jiang Tan appeared to launch a breath he had been holding, collapsing right into a chair, his child face drooping, “Loopy, it’s loopy… The identical individual really has two totally different genetic traits. If I hadn’t seen it with my very own eyes, I wouldn’t imagine that one thing like this might occur in my whole life.”