Inside the office chair sat a withered, incredibly pale, and terrifyingly emaciated female corpse. Her eyes were wide open, her face contorted in a look of agony, and her arms bore two large bloodless holes. To facilitate blood extraction, the killer had seemingly torn open some of the victim's clothes.
As we approached, we simultaneously noticed that the victim was naked from the waist down. After laying the body flat and conducting an examination, we concluded that the female corpse had been sexually assaulted.
With the aid of yellow wine, I discovered two handprints on the deceased's neck. Judging by the depth of the bruises, the perpetrator had likely strangled the victim before draining her blood.
"How can this be? I thought the cases related to porphyria were over," Xie Chuchu asked, a hint of confusion in her voice.
"There should be more porphyria patients than just these few. Although we apprehended a key figure before, Zhao Shisan and his gang remain at large. It's possible they have a hidden stronghold in Guangming City, with the hospital in Panhe Town merely one of their outposts. We need to find and dismantle this tumor for a complete solution."
"Alas, that will be difficult unless we can find Zhao Shisan!"
After Jing Mengyun was apprehended, if no similar cases had occurred in the city, we would have considered it closed, despite our continued pursuit of Zhao Shisan.
Once the examination of the body was mostly complete, I surveyed the victim's office. I opened several cabinets and then searched through drawers. I found an envelope that was supposed to contain photographs, but it appeared to have been tampered with, and the pictures were missing. The victim's phone was also gone, as were her wallet and identification. It seemed the killer had taken them.
I recalled that the previous porphyria patients hadn't been so cautious. This individual, however, was more meticulous than them. Yet, this might also be an opportunity for us to locate their den.
I sprinkled some Luminol reagent around the area and detected residual bloodstains on the floor. There were no signs of the area being cleaned. Observing traces of saliva, I surmised the perpetrator had licked the residual blood clean.
Unfortunately for them, this action rendered their prior meticulousness moot, as I could now collect the saliva from the floor. While collecting it, even Xiao Yuande remarked, "This killer has truly let a small oversight ruin everything!"
"We were just lucky; otherwise, this would have been quite troublesome."
Upon returning to the provincial headquarters, we analyzed the saliva and extracted DNA. I then compared this report against the DNA of all recorded porphyria patients in Guangming City. We had hoped this would lead to identification, but the results were negative.
"Could it be that this killer hasn't been treated at a hospital yet? Otherwise, why would there be no data?" Xie Chuchu mused, poring over the reports.
"It's not impossible that they haven't been to a hospital. After all, when those individuals were arrested, they all claimed they needed to drink blood to be cured. So it's plausible they didn't require hospital visits," Zhang Keying offered.
"I had really thought that with this DNA sample, we'd be close to apprehending them. It looks like we'll have to go back to meticulously checking surveillance footage and interpersonal relationships!"
While they discussed, I left the laboratory with a sense of disappointment. However, I hadn't given up. I returned to the scene of the crime, leaving the other tasks to Xiahou and his team.
I continued my work, from dissection to writing the autopsy report, without distraction. Yet, the clues gleaned from the body were almost non-existent, suggesting that abandoning this avenue of investigation was inevitable.
I proceeded to the information technology department. With He Xin's assistance, several technical officers meticulously reviewed surveillance footage from the vicinity, all floors of the company, and even the interior of the office. Before Zhu Baifeng's demise, a male assistant had entered her office. However, Zhu Baifeng was unharmed when he left.
Just a few minutes later, the surveillance footage was inexplicably obscured. I immediately instructed He Xin to slow down the playback and examine it frame by frame. Just before the footage was covered, we saw the faint shadows of bats.
Bats obscuring the surveillance footage? What kind of method was this? Had the bats been controlled by the killer?
After the bats flew away, Zhu Baifeng's desiccated corpse was found in her chair. However, this office was on a high floor, and we had already inspected the scene; there were no signs of escape from the window. Therefore, the killer must have left through the office door after draining the blood.
I asked He Xin to fast-forward to the footage outside the office door. Fortunately, the corridor outside was not covered; otherwise, tracing the killer's movements would have been significantly more challenging.
Following Zhu Baifeng's murder, a man wearing the company's uniform exited her office. He was looking down, walking at a brisk pace, carrying files, and heading towards the nearby elevator.
Once we confirmed it was him, we could begin our search through the city's surveillance network. He Xin and the other technical officers worked diligently, tracking the suspect along the roads near the building. Ultimately, we narrowed down his disappearance to the vicinity of Wande Street, but we couldn't ascertain his exact location, forcing us to stake out the area. I dispatched numerous detectives; this time, they cooperated with our Punish Sin team for the apprehension operation. As soon as the suspect's specific residence was identified, they were to arrest him immediately.
I stood up and personally took charge, quickly departing from the provincial headquarters with a few officers in a car. Theoretically, I wouldn't need to be involved in stakeout work, but to expedite the suspect's capture, I didn't want to waste any time.
Upon arriving at the location, we waited in the car. Our personnel were stationed at various intersections; if the suspect dared to emerge, he would undoubtedly fall into our ambush.
Of course, I knew stakeout operations weren't always quick. So, we waited, eating bread when hungry and drinking mineral water when thirsty. As night fell, our attention intensified, as night was the prime time for porphyria patients to act.
Indeed, after midnight, we spotted an individual whose physical characteristics closely matched the one seen on the surveillance footage, emerging at the street corner. He initially appeared cautious, bending low to avoid surveillance cameras and streetlights, but this person had a penchant for standing in the moonlight, as if basking in its glow, deriving evident enjoyment from it!
At this moment, I shouted forcefully into the radio communicator, "Action!"