Chapter 59 - 59 58 Digging up a Corpse

Words : 1670 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

59: Chapter 58 Digging up a Corpse 59: Chapter 58 Digging up a Corpse The Apricot Valley Copper Mine was a copper mine developed after the founding of the nation. Its scale was not small, production was high, and resources were depleted quickly. By the turn of the century, it was no longer worth extracting here. What followed was a variety of surface backfilling. The subcontractor whom Tan Yong worked for had taken on this project. However, due to reasons such as the return of project funds, the surface backfill work would occur in spurts, pausing intermittently and not proceeding continuously. Clearly, this afforded Tan Yong a great opportunity. For the purpose of backfilling the air shaft, the company had already opened up the access route to that area, and vehicles would come every so often, making Tan Yong’s presence not at all conspicuous. There were no gatekeepers or guards here anymore, so with completely free entry, the security for disposing of bodies was significantly heightened. Moreover, the backfilling that took place every now and then meant that after Tan Yong dumped a body, he didn’t even need to cover it up properly. The personnel lowered down the mine didn’t take long to confirm the presence of the first corpse. A young, dismembered female body. The Criminal Police officers, who had been busy for many days, were invigorated by the discovery. The dogs guarding the pit barked softly, baring their teeth. Only Heizi remained as composed as usual, embodying the tranquility of an old dog. “Using dogs to find bodies is really useful.” Liu Jinghui stood beside Heizi, looking down at the dark air shaft, wanting to touch Heizi but not daring to do so. Heizi’s handler restrained him, saying, “These days, police dogs tend to be all-rounders, best equipped with abilities in tracking, searching, and attacking. Heizi is smart and learns quickly, and his skills are on par with specialized dogs.” “There’s such a consideration?” “Yes, specialized dogs require more frequent deployment, high demands on the handlers, and a lot of physical stamina from the dogs. Besides, the cost of keeping police dogs is indeed quite high, so all-rounders provide better value for money, especially for smaller units.” Heizi’s handler was seconded from Longli County to help with the search, focusing more on the search itself. Liu Jinghui only pretended to be at ease, but when the female corpse actually appeared before him, he couldn’t maintain his composure. “Judging by the state of decay, the time of death is over three years, the exact time will have to be determined back at the lab. We’ve collected the larger pieces of the body, there are still smaller fragments that will take some time,” said the forensic doctor from the city bureau, who had gone down the mine and come back up looking dusty and disheveled. Several leaders nodded gravely. Liu Jinghui responded with a noncommittal grunt. Originally, finding the body confirmed his judgment and reasoning—that Tan Yong had killed more than one person. But now, everyone’s focus was no longer on Liu Jinghui. “Good job,” said Brigade Chief Yu Wenshu, patting Jiang Yuan heavily on the shoulder, a weight lifting from his heart. No matter what, the case had occurred in Changyang City, within their jurisdiction. Liu Jinghui and Gao Qiang were sent by the provincial department as reinforcements, and the detectives from Ningtai County were just a fresh force pulled from below. Ultimately, the Changyang City Criminal Police Detachment was still the main body responsible for the case. Now that the case was seeing the light of day... no, it should be said that the truth was being unearthed, Yu Wenshu truly had to thank Jiang Yuan. With an affable expression on his handsome middle-aged face, he said, “Later on, if you have any thoughts or suggestions, you’re welcome to come and talk to me...” “I’d like to go down and help,” Jiang Yuan pointed at the air shaft. Yu Wenshu was taken aback, “But it’s all dismembered bodies down there.” “You don’t often get the chance to work on cases like this,” Jiang Yuan added with a brief explanation. Yu Wenshu then expressed understanding, saying, “Alright, it’s good to be young.” He agreed, and made arrangements for Jiang Yuan to be placed in a basket chair and slowly lowered into the shaft. Those below had no objections. Who would willingly do the grim task of excavating body parts if not compelled? The more experienced the forensic doctor, the less he is willing to deal with such distressing cases. It was only a young and fearless person like Jiang Yuan who would volunteer himself. Down in the pit. The diameter of over ten meters meant an area of over a hundred square meters. Four people crouched inside, each responsible for a patch of ground the size of a small living room, plus the well walls, which were not smaller in area. Jiang Yuan wore a gas mask and four layers of gloves, carefully picking up fragments of bone while he shoveled the earth. After three years of decay, most of the human tissue had been reduced to bones, though they had not yet evolved into stark white skeletons. However, the time and the internal environment had begun to make the bones brittle, somewhat like long-stored peanut brittle—if one wasn’t careful, the brittle bones would certainly break into more pieces. As they dug up more earth and excavated more bones, large chunks of construction waste started to appear. At the same time, several broken ribs also emerged next to a large piece of concrete. “This must be the layer of soil at the bottom where the body was dumped. Everything above has been backfilled.” The senior forensic doctor sighed, “This job won’t be done quickly. We’ll need machinery. At the very least, we’ll need a rotary hammer and a cutter.” “You’ll get whatever you need,” said a detective calmly nearby, “Now that we have two bodies and the three kidnapped people, we need to collect any evidence in such cases. Come help me lift this.” Jiang Yuan came forward to help, using a crowbar with others to pry a piece of concrete aside, and then carefully picked out the ribs from inside. A slightly dim ball of light rolled into Jiang Yuan’s hands. Chen Manli’s legacy: Culinary [Dog] (LV5)—Cooking for the stray dogs around her was Chen Manli’s most relaxing moment. No matter which city she worked in or in which community she rented, Chen Manli’s first consideration was always how to purchase the right ingredients to make delicious and nutritious food for her beloved dogs. Chen Manli felt that humans were ugly, evil, filthy, dirty, and hypocritical, only those dogs wagging their tails were so sincere, so lovely. Jiang Yuan felt somewhat dazed. To him, a level 4 Crime Scene Investigation skill was already quite impressive, something he could infer from the performance of the scene investigators from the Changyang City Criminal Police Detachment. So, just how powerful would a level 5 skill be? But the purpose of the Culinary [Dog] skill really puzzled him. Could it be that the winner in life was Dazhuang? “Xiao Jiang. Come up and rest,” the senior forensic doctor called to Jiang Yuan, and they both got into the lift basket. Jiang Yuan came back to his senses and asked, “Are we not continuing? There are still bodies down there, right?” “Tan Yong has come to point out the scene,” the senior forensic doctor paused, then added a reminder, “This is a huge project. There was a time during the early backfilling when concrete was directly poured in. Take it easy. It’s not something that could be finished in one or two months.” Jiang Yuan thought about it; Tan Yong didn’t even know how many bodies he had dumped or how long it had been going on. All that backfill needed to be dug out, which was a massive undertaking. Sometime later, the lift basket was pulled up to the wellhead, and Jiang Yuan and the others were taken directly to rest in the hollow. After a while, they saw a prison van, escorted by two police cars, driving up to the foot of the mountain. Next, Tan Yong needed to identify the body dumping site on camera. On one hand, this served as a confession, but more importantly, it verified that the criminal suspect was indeed the murderer. This was also one of the reasons why the case had to be kept confidential; there are always some details within a case that outsiders must not know. But Jiang Yuan had no intention of watching. Having personally been down to the cell, he had a clear understanding of Tan Yong’s brutality and antisocial level, and there was no need for him to “appreciate” it up close. ... “Doctor Jiang.” Wei Zhenguo ran over and pulled Jiang Yuan aside. “Has Tan Yong confessed? How many people altogether?” Jiang Yuan forcefully pried Wei Zhenguo’s fingers apart. “Tan Yong broke down today when he heard the interrogation officer mention ‘Apricot Valley Copper Mine’s ventilation shaft’ and confessed to a total of six murders, including the basement,” Wei Zhenguo sighed, “The other five are all here.” “How long?” “Three years.” “So, he murdered five people over three years, then escalated to kidnapping and murder?” “Seems like it, averaging one person every six months,” Wei Zhenguo shook his head and let out a long sigh. Jiang Yuan looked at the abandoned mining area in front of him. Under the sunlight, it seemed to reflect a metallic luster that was somewhat dazzling, and his eyes involuntarily became moist. “The case is almost wrapped up. Let’s head back. If we don’t go back soon, Captain Huang will be worried sick,” Wei Zhenguo coughed twice and said. “Yeah, let’s go home.”

Chapter 59 - 59 58 Digging up a Corpse

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