Chapter 197 - 197 189 Number 1

Words : 1822 Updated : Sep 23rd, 2025

197: Chapter 189: Number 1 197: Chapter 189: Number 1 Afternoon. Jiang Yuan had been asleep for a few hours when a phone call woke him up. He got into his car in a daze and headed to the Qinghe City Bureau for a meeting. The first floor of the City Bureau was where he had previously given a lecture, in the tiered classroom. Further inside was the meeting room he was now heading to. The meeting room was much smaller than the tiered classroom, only able to accommodate around twenty to thirty people. However, the director, deputy directors, and the head of the criminal police brigade among others were all present, contributing to an extremely serious atmosphere. Jiang Yuan was somewhat groggy, and he followed Wang Lan to the corner of the room to take a seat. He couldn’t help thinking to himself: If this were a primitive tribe, it would be like an evening bonfire gathering attended by everyone from the chief to the shaman, following the inexplicable death of tribe members. “Why are you sitting so far back?” Liu Jinghui moved from the conference table directly to Jiang Yuan’s side. While a few people turned their heads to look at them, they quickly looked away. A senior chief superintendent from the provincial department and a junior forensic doctor from Ningtai County wouldn’t have much of an impact on the City Bureau. The police department was a relatively independent entity. At the city and provincial department levels, if not working on a case, one could enjoy relative comfort and freedom. There was usually no need to pay attention to the provincial department. Jiang Yuan didn’t really need to care about what the people in the City Bureau thought either. He leaned back in his chair and said with little energy, “The front seats are not meant for me. We stayed up too late yesterday.” The word “stayed up” was a pun, which amused Wang Lan sitting beside him. Liu Jinghui knew this forensic doctor from Qinghe City and looked over, not quite understanding the joke. “We spent all of last night defleshing corpses,” Wang Lan completed the macabre joke. Liu Jinghui excelled in deduction. He quickly connected the dots and felt considerably disgusted by the thought. “You forensic doctors...” Liu Jinghui had seen much in his time, shook his head, then asked Jiang Yuan, “What do you make of the case?” Even though an analysis of the case was to follow, Liu Jinghui was more interested in Jiang Yuan’s thoughts. He had been a seasoned detective running around the province for 10 years, having encountered various unusual locals and professional experts sent from other provinces and ministries. But no matter from which angle, Jiang Yuan’s technical skills and judgment were of T1 level. There were indeed others of that level, but clearly none within the Qinghe City Bureau. Jiang Yuan patted his head, thought for a moment, and said, “I think those six corpses were disposed of quite cleanly, especially the last two. The upgrade was thorough. I’m not sure how he managed to dispose of the remaining heads.” Liu Jinghui hadn’t expected Jiang Yuan to approach it from this angle and couldn’t help asking, “Does the way he disposed of the heads matter?” “Compared to other parts of the body, the heads are harder to deal with,” Jiang Yuan replied. “The skull is the strongest part, not easy to cut. Maybe smashing with a hammer would be easier. Anyway, if he had a method for disposing of the heads, in theory, he could also handle the other parts of the body.” “What do you mean?” Liu Jinghui wasn’t sure he understood. Jiang Yuan said, “I’ve seen the place where the bodies were dumped in the reservoir. There are roads nearby. I suspect the killer drove close to a road, then transported the bodies from there before dumping them. Normally, you wouldn’t expect him to dig a separate grave to bury the bodies.” “Yeah, the killer must be strong, could have used a non-motorized vehicle, or even carried the bodies on his back,” suggested Liu Jinghui, sharing his judgment with Jiang Yuan. Jiang Yuan was a bit surprised, “That body bag was very heavy. When we moved it to the autopsy table, it was easy for four people, hard for three.” “In the countryside, it takes four people to carry a pig for the New Year,” Liu Jinghui remarked casually. “Still, it’s possible to carry it on one’s back. We’ve done some statistics before; for middle to close distance body dumping, people carrying or using non-motorized vehicles is the main method.” “Do you think the killer lives near the reservoir?” “At least he’s very familiar with the reservoir,” Liu Jinghui said. “I went to the site and asked the locals who helped retrieve the bodies. The spot chosen by the killer was very good. If it weren’t for the drought this time, it would have been undetectable under normal circumstances.” “But if he’s very familiar with the reservoir, shouldn’t he have chosen a deeper water area?” Jiang Yuan questioned. “There are two things to consider here. One is that the deep water areas are close to the center of the reservoir, which makes transporting a body by land difficult. Also, perhaps because the killer is so familiar with the reservoir, he might not have considered the possibility of it drying up. In his memory, the reservoir probably never experienced a drought to this extent.” Jiang Yuan nodded slowly. Liu Jinghui’s deduction had some merit, and Jiang Yuan wasn’t inclined to argue with him on this point. “Another thing. The smaller body bags found later were in deeper waters, which can be seen as part of the crime’s escalation,” Liu Jinghui paused, then added, “I suspect that when he dumped the smaller body bags, he considered the flow of the water. That means the original dump site needs to be reconsidered.” Jiang Yuan looked at Liu Jinghui, who was scratching his head, and couldn’t help but smile. Criminal science and technology are difficult precisely because you must solve real-world problems with techniques that, in fact, originate from paper. In other words, you have to explain real-life situations through paper and laboratory operations. This is actually very difficult. Why are DNA and fingerprints so widely used and so handy? It’s because they are simple and straightforward, and they are less affected by reality. Why are so few people involved in crime scene reconstruction and bloodstain analysis? It’s because their judgment processes are too complex, and idealized situations occur less frequently. Those involved in economics, when writing works on economics, have to assume the concept of a “rational economic man” who is not only rational but also self-interested. For criminal scientists to assume a “rational criminal” would be sheer madness—if people were capable of being rational and self-interested, over half of the cases would never happen. For Liu Jinghui, the most troublesome part about reasoning lay precisely here. Without sufficient information, you can’t even determine whether the murderer is mentally ill—in the literal sense of mental illness. According to American profiling analysis, serial killers more or less have some mental issues. And the six corpses at hand are already enough to bestow that title on the culprit. Watching Liu Jinghui’s vexed expression, Jiang Yuan’s fatigue from the day eased a bit. Thus, Jiang Yuan decided to heap on more, saying, “Director Liu, if we can’t find the heads of victims number 5 and 6, we may need to consider expanding the search area.” “Is it that important?” “Not exactly, I’m just trying to reason it out. If the killer could dispose of the heads without leaving any trace, he should also be capable of disposing of the bodies in such a way that they leave no trace.” Liu Jinghui was stunned for a moment before he understood Jiang Yuan’s meaning, and then, concentrating and frowning, he said, “You’re not suggesting that there are more bodies, and that they’ve been processed separately, are you?” Jiang Yuan spread his hands: “Maybe. I have no evidence, just pure reasoning.” “Bullshit reasoning.” Liu Jinghui was thoroughly annoyed. He was usually the one to frustrate others with his reasoning; he hadn’t expected to be outmaneuvered by Jiang Yuan this time. This hit-and-run style of reasoning set Liu Jinghui’s brain spinning wildly. In the end, he had to admit, if the killer continuously upgraded and learned, it was indeed a possibility. “Ahem. Everyone, quiet down.” Brigade Commander Shen Feihong of the Qinghe City Bureau stood up, beginning the meeting proceedings. After announcing the establishment of the task force for the major homicide case 724 in Qinghe, Shen Feihong began to report on the case. Following some information on the autopsies, Shen Feihong said, “Just two hours ago, our frontline officers confirmed the identity of corpse number 1. Now, Captain Shi of the Major Crimes Unit will explain to everyone.” Jiang Yuan and Wang Lan were both surprised and listened attentively. Captain Shi was tall and thin with prominent cheekbones, dark circles under his eyes, and yellowed teeth. At first glance, he looked like one of those drivers who drove a taxi during the day, a ride-hailing car at night, and squeezed in food delivery while waiting for the shift change. He held a piece of paper in his hand, glanced at the few written words, and said, “Based on the information provided by the forensic doctor, victim number 1 was a female, approximately 40 years old, 170 centimeters tall, and had porcelain dental work... After unsuccessful searches among the missing persons in our city, we expanded the search to the entire province...” “Eventually, with assistance from the provincial department and mitochondrial DNA technology, we confirmed the identity of victim number 1. The victim’s name is Ma Hongyan, a resident of Wan Xiang City, a purchasing officer for Maolin Local Products Company. Eight years ago, she went on a business trip with colleagues, split in Changyang City to head to their respective destinations, with Qinghe City being the second stop on Ma Hongyan’s itinerary...” Jiang Yuan listened quietly in the corner, aware that the task force was now operating at full capacity. Both mitochondrial DNA technology and a province-wide search are highly resource-intensive endeavors. Choosing victim number 1 as the breakthrough was because her features were quite distinctive, and as it turned out, the task force’s choice was extremely correct. But looking at the results, the identity information of victim number 1 was not sufficient to push the case forward. Instead, from another perspective, it illustrated the complexity of the case. A disappearance from eight years ago implied that the killer had been active since then.

Chapter 197 - 197 189 Number 1

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