This trip was rather long, because due to the flooding in the underground tunnel, Cindy had to detour through the Northern Ring Line, and by the time they got to the location they previously found, it was already a little past 1 o'clock.
Under the pitch-black nightfall, there was water everywhere, blurring the boundary between ground and sky, but Gordon's brown sedan was still visible parked on the roadside not far away, with the tail lights on.
Su Ming and Cindy were preparing to get out of the car to check on clues. As for the two journalists, even if they rushed Vico away now, she wouldn't leave. She was still waiting for more big news and the 'fight promo' Su Ming promised her.
Pete, being Vico's lackey, wasn't considered by Su Ming to have the courage to walk alone through three gang territories at midnight.
"Can I go down? Maybe shoot a documentary about solving crimes?" Vico hastily started putting on clothes, looking at Su Ming with eager anticipation.
Su Ming didn't mind; perhaps having video footage could be useful?
"You can, but don't get both Deathstrokes in the same frame, and don't film Barbara. No live broadcasts. If you try any tricks, I'll make your life a living hell."
Cindy had no opinion on this either; after all, whoever's doing the thinking among the two Deathstrokes wouldn't make a difference, rather she felt somewhat reassured again, like being with her good friend Holly.
Barbara did want to go down as well, but it was simply inconvenient for her to move, so she had to stay in the car.
The cold chill returned to Su Ming once more, all emotions swiftly left him as he took long strides towards Gordon's car, opened the door, and checked.
The car smelled of tobacco and coffee, but there was no scent of blood. The cell phone was placed on the dashboard, showing several missed calls from Barbara, confirming it was Gordon's phone.
The car keys were still inserted, and the engine was in idle mode, indicating he had only planned to leave the car for a short while when an accident happened.
There was still half a tank of gas, the battery was fully charged, and there were no signs of the hood or the trunk being tampered with, ruling out vehicle malfunction.
So what was the reason that made him leave his car and fall into the trap of the Men in Black?
"Su, there's a body in the water here."
Having gone to check the surveillance cameras, Cindy jumped down from the utility pole, splashing a large wave of water. There indeed was something like a music player connected to the camera, and she retrieved the equipment planning to study this method later.
As she walked towards Su Ming, she noticed a blurry white shadow beneath the sewage not far in front of the car; experience instantly told her it was a corpse.
Su Ming understood the corpse was the reason Gordon left his car. As a policeman, only such a situation would ensure on any occasion Gordon would stop to check.
This indicated the Men in Black wanted to capture him alive, not dead, which was a piece of good news.
Cindy nudged the body out from the sewage with her foot; the corpse was somewhat deformed from soaking, the impact of rainwater accelerating the decomposition of fat, making the skin appear loose and slack.
The pair immediately discovered the cause of death was massive blood loss due to external trauma, and they began conducting an autopsy on site.
As an assassin, understanding anatomy is a basic skill; when necessary, they could act as forensic pathologists too. Cindy went to check the internal organs, while Su Ming examined the limbs and head.
"Dear audience, what we are now seeing is the scene of Director Gordon's disappearance case, and behind me is...."
From afar, Vico's voice came as she recorded a program for the camera; she indeed didn't intend to get both Deathstrokes in the shot, knowing it was probably a boundary—crossing it would immediately turn Deathstroke hostile.
The two were unaffected by her, busy executing their tasks swiftly, with four hands employing the same technique.
After thirty seconds, both confirmed there were no omissions, and amidst the pouring rain, only this many clues could be gathered.
"Who goes first?" Su Ming smiled and asked, "I'd rather not play the game of speaking simultaneously again."
"I'll go first." Cindy stood up, scanning around, but there was nothing but rain: "The deceased's internal organs—not only from this knife wound—had some signs of bruising, indicating they had been hit before death."
"Their cardiovascular system is well-developed, suggesting they were a manual laborer or an athlete; nothing was found in the stomach, guessing they had been starving for two or three days, so I think she was executed in a secret prison somewhere—she was a prisoner."
Su Ming nodded and stood up to survey the surroundings as he continued:
"My findings match yours; the deceased didn't walk here alone. Her soles are intact, and they wouldn't be if she'd walked barefoot—proof of a body dump."
"Her knuckles are large, with noticeable wear and calluses on the first three fingers of both hands; her limbs are well-balanced and strong, indicating she was either a martial artist or a swimmer; defensive injuries on her forearms suggest she fought someone before death, with restraining marks on her wrists and ankles."
"Someone interrogated her and then executed her."
The two stood silently, pondering for over ten seconds, with only the sound of rain spreading between them.
"There aren't any obvious interrogation wounds." Cindy said, looking at Vico Vali in the distance, who astonishingly continued her cordial performance in front of the camera as if nothing had happened.
"It could be waterboarding, a technique called 'tickling the officer' using paper to cover the face and pouring water—it shows signs of suffocation in autopsy." Su Ming immediately thought of it.
"Where did you hear about this?"
Cindy said she hadn't seen this method of interrogation before—they typically pushed people into toilets which would result in water-filled lungs resembling a drowning state in autopsy.
"Oh, similar punishments were popular in ancient civilizations; you might have the chance to learn about them someday."
Actually, he learned this from a TV series while working as a security guard, but it should be a creation unique to the Celestial Dynasty.
Cindy sighed and shook her head:
"You're probably thinking what I'm thinking now, things are getting a bit complicated."
Su Ming understood too, because an ordinary person absolutely wouldn't reach the physical level of this woman:
"Those guys have come too."
"The Shadow Dancer Alliance." X2
Once again, the two simultaneously spoke the same words, but this time, they merely stood quietly looking at the corpse on the ground and said nothing more.
An assassin from the Shadow Dancer Alliance had died here; regardless of who did it, the assassins would definitely avenge her—that's the tradition in that ancient organization.
If this was done by the people who kidnapped Gordon, the Shadow Dancer Alliance wouldn't spend time distinguishing; they'd eliminate every living thing as a threat, which put Gordon's life at great risk.
"How many hours does it take from Nandabalt to Gotham?" Su Ming asked first, as he needed to know about the time.
"You don't know? How long would it take on your side normally?"
Cindy was curious, knowing Su Ming's place had things they didn't have here—do they make people run faster?
Nandabalt, being the headquarters of the Shadow Warrior Alliance, wasn't actually in the south but rather in a snowy area, a mysterious place imperceptible by any technological means.
Just like Paradise Island, Atlantis, and the Mysterious House, it seemed to be cloaked by some power or simply wasn't in the material world.
Judging from the Green Arrow series and The Dark Knight trilogy films, it's probably in Iceland or Greenland?
"About seven hours?" Su Ming speculated based on Gotham's location, estimating around that duration by plane.
"So slow! Over here, it only takes four hours, and you'd find Gotham full of Shadow Dancer assassins."
Seriously? Faster than flying? Could they have some special traveling technique?
"This doesn't seem like something worthy of comparison, does it? We're already on a tight schedule now!"
Su Ming impatiently interrupted, not understanding why she was so proud—even the traveling speed of the Assassin Alliance needed comparison.
"Alright. Those Men in Black are probably hiding in the buildings on both sides; let's check for any remaining traces." Cindy conceded.
"Sure, I'll go that way."
Su Ming turned and walked away; time was of the essence now, while Cindy shrugged in the rain, she only wanted to showcase her strength—Amazon women display their allure like that, but it seemed Su wasn't impressed?
She headed toward the buildings on the other side of the street, kicking open doors and going door to door, as if wanting to vent out her frustration by cutting something.
After they left, Vico with Pete went to the body and started taking a lot of pictures. Suddenly she felt she stepped on something, and then she saw the wound on the waist of the body, making a discovery, which brought a smile to her face.