Xiahou was examining some debris on the ground, picking up pieces and putting them into an evidence bag. "This time, the killer didn't let the bomb act directly on the victim, but on a rock on the mountain. But I'm curious, how did you two end up on this mountain road?"
"The road over there was suddenly under repair, so we took a detour. Who knew we'd end up on this road!" I said.
"So it seems the killer struck during this time. The rain washed away the scene, and they knew about the road construction nearby. This place is also so secluded. Although there are surveillance cameras on the road, there are none on the mountain."
As we talked, several people climbed up using ropes and reached the site of the previous explosion. We found no footprints along the way, likely washed away by the rain.
A chip remained at the explosion site. Xiahou spent a great deal of effort digging it out of the mud and putting it into an evidence bag.
He examined it and said, "This is a remote-controlled bomb. If the killer installed it and waited for the victim to pass by before detonating it, the killer would definitely be crushed by the falling rocks! Of course, this also takes into account the law of free fall, but the killer must have been very familiar with this, and probably experimented with it!"
"But how did he predict that this man would pass by at this exact moment?"
"It's possible the killer intentionally lured him here. Let's look for the killer's phone. Oh, right, didn't you hear the explosion just now? Did you not see any suspicious individuals fleeing at the time?"
"No, there was no one around. It was just me and He Xin who discovered the situation."
"Perhaps he fled before you approached, or perhaps he never got close at all. Everything was done from a distance."
We returned to the body and found that the rocks had been moved by a crane. The forensic team moved the severely disfigured male corpse to the road. However, the current weather made it difficult for us to conduct the autopsy, so we had to take it back first.
The traces at the scene were quickly washed away by the rain. I looked up at the surrounding surveillance cameras. If the killer had appeared on the road, he should have been captured.
But after so many times, the killer probably wouldn't be foolish enough to expose himself here.
Still, I asked Gao Mingqiang to retrieve the traffic management bureau's surveillance footage. Then we returned to the police station. Our mood was extremely heavy all the way. This was the third similar explosion case, and we had only found half a fingerprint, which was difficult to restore.
Before the autopsy, I asked the forensic technicians if they had found the victim's phone, camera, and repeater.
They said nothing was found this time, indicating that the case might be different from the previous ones.
I faced the corpse. With the man's head smashed like this, we couldn't determine his identity immediately. We could only use the Sky Eye system to review the situation at the time, hoping to capture a frontal view of the man.
While drawing blood, I asked Xie Chuchu to examine the victim's fingernails. I suddenly noticed a tattoo on the man's neck, a dragon across his shoulder. I found some golden hairs on his chest, and I thought to myself that this victim might have been involved in underworld activities.
Xiao Dong was next to me, helping to extract fibers from the victim's skin. After comparing them with the hairs on the victim's body, we found that the DNA was consistent. I looked at the victim's deformed face, touched his skull, and thought that if there was no result from the surveillance footage, we would have to resort to facial reconstruction.
I examined the victim's lower body and found everything to be normal. Then I asked Xiao Dong to help turn the body over. The outline of the tattoo clearly appeared on the victim's back. However, near the second rib, I found many marks from being bound by chains. I also found burn marks on his limbs.
It was very strange. This person seemed to have been abused. Observing the soles of the victim's feet, I found them to be red, indicating that the soles had been burned by high temperatures. Had he walked on a steel plate at an extremely high temperature?
But why would he do that? Was he forced? Was this person the killer?
I carefully picked up a pair of tweezers and extracted some skin fibers from the sole of the victim's foot, placing them in a glass dish and handing it to a forensic technician.
I hoped to test for different results here.
While Xie Chuchu and I were still busy, Liu Yuning entered for some reason.
"Don't you have anything else to do?" I asked.
"The victim's identity hasn't been confirmed, so what else can I do? I just came to see your autopsy."
I showed Liu Yuning the sole of the victim's foot. She said, "It was burned here?"
"Yes, I suspect the victim was tortured for a period of time, and he was forced to walk on a floor that emitted high heat. Someone behind him was forcing him forward. Although he refused, he couldn't resist. Until he reached a certain point, his feet were severely burned. This process was likely livestreamed by the killer!"
"In this situation, it reminds me of the volcanic hell in the underworld. But wasn't he crushed to death by rocks?" Xie Chuchu asked curiously.
"After being tortured, the killer released him and then forced him to go to the crime scene!"
"Why did he do what the killer said?"
"He must have been threatened. Combining this with what you just said about being crushed by rocks, it's possible it's the same principle as the eighteen layers of hell. In other words, this person must have committed acts of embezzlement, bribery, petty theft, and abandonment during his lifetime." I said.
Liu Yuning and Xie Chuchu both looked surprised. "How did you figure that out?"
"You'll know if you investigate." It wasn't that I wanted to play coy; if I explained it now, they would think I was being pretentious.
Alright, now we just had to wait for the lab results. I took off my rubber gloves, sat on a chair, took a sip of water, and then left the forensic department. When I came out, He Xin was waiting outside. I thought she was here for something.
To my surprise, as soon as she saw me, she grabbed me and said, "I've screenshotted the man's frontal view and am analyzing his identity now!"
"Then why did you come over? Don't you have work to do?"
"Yuan Hezhi is here. Don't you trust him?"
"Ah, I see. Is it lunchtime? I knew you little foodies were hungry again!" I said, playfully wiping He Xin's nose and stroking her hair.
"No, you forgot something!"
I touched my head, trying to recall. I considered my memory to be quite good, so it was unlikely I would forget something. But why would He Xin say that?
Read novels