Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
The cold wind howled as I held a long leg over a meter in length, a chill creeping into my bones. It was a bone-deep cold that numbed me from the scalp down to the soles of my feet, a chill more penetrating than the air itself, striking straight at the heart.
Captain Zhou approached me, and I could see the steam rising from his mouth. "Wu Meng, are we heading back now?"
I glanced at the leg I was holding and replied slowly, "Let's go back and see if we can find any useful clues from this leg."
On our way back to the police station, Captain Zhou no longer had the mood to joke with us. After such an incident, even the most optimistic person would struggle to maintain their cheerfulness. With that thought in mind, I kept my silence as the two cars moved slowly through the biting cold.
Inside the police station.
In a dilapidated Autopsy Room.
This Autopsy Room seemed to have been unused for many years. In Captain Zhou's words, it was merely a decoration of the Public Security Bureau. Yumu City hadn't seen a murder case in ages, and those who died accidentally had their autopsies performed in hospitals, leaving this place nearly untouched.
There was no heating here, and it was so cold that it made one want to stomp their feet.
Guan Zengbin looked around at the shabby conditions with some helplessness but said, "Although the conditions are a bit harsh, we can still proceed. However, this leg is frozen solid like a block of ham; we can't perform an autopsy until it thaws out."
"There are no quick thawing conditions here," Captain Zhou scratched his head, looking somewhat embarrassed. "So what do we do now?"
"How about we wait in here?" I suggested.
If you were to push open the door of the Yumu City Public Security Bureau, you would witness a peculiar scene. Four people were gathered around a table where a human leg lay stretched out from thigh to foot.
The room had heating, and you could see the transparent ice melting off the leg, forming droplets that fell from the toes onto the floor below. Before long, puddles began to form on both the table and the ground.
We sat around the table like hungry diners fixated on a feast before us, our eyes glued to that elongated leg.
As expected, the leg began to thaw visibly before our eyes. After about half an hour, it was completely defrosted. The thawed leg lost its previous firmness and appeared somewhat wrinkled. Captain Zhou fetched a towel to wipe away the remaining ice shards and water stains from the leg.
Guan Zengbin reached out to stop Captain Zhou's actions. "Don't! That coarse towel will shed fibers and might wipe away crucial evidence left by the murderer. The friction could also scratch the freshly thawed skin..."
Captain Zhou, upon hearing this, was clearly filled with respect, his eyes shining as he exclaimed, "Impressive! Truly impressive! In just a few short moments, I have learned so much. Sometimes, one cannot help but admire those who come from great places. My admiration for you is like the endless flow of the Yangtze River, unceasing and overwhelming like the floods of the Yellow River..."
"That's enough!" Guan Zengbin lifted the large leg with some excitement and said, "We can proceed with the autopsy now and see if we can find anything."
The few of us made our way to the makeshift Autopsy Room, where the environment was truly unbearable. It was so cold that it was hard to endure. Just speaking would produce a cloud of white breath. However, Guan Zengbin had to perform the autopsy in such conditions; to avoid affecting her work, she only wore forensic gloves that did little to shield her from the cold.
Guan Zengbin swiftly and accurately made incisions using the tools from the special kit provided by the Ministry of Public Security.
Captain Zhou stood by, astonished. "Is technology really this advanced now?"
Finally, Guan Zengbin obtained what she was looking for. Captain Zhou hurriedly brought in a hot water bottle for her to hold. When Guan Zengbin removed her gloves, I could see that her hands were already red from the cold. She hugged the warm water bottle while exhaling warm breath. "There are no fingerprints; the murderer might have worn gloves or they could have been washed away by melting snow. Based on the condition of this leg, it appears to have been severed six to nine hours ago."
"In other words," Guan Zengbin continued, "when we arrived at the scene, this leg was likely cut off one to three hours prior. The conditions here do not allow for a more in-depth autopsy, and since the leg has gone through freezing and thawing, I cannot determine the time too precisely. If we can find other body parts, we might be able to conduct a comparative analysis."
I nodded; having a rough timeframe would give us some direction.
Captain Zhou looked at Guan Zengbin and said somewhat apologetically, "You should hurry back inside to warm up; these conditions are really quite unbearable."
However, Guan Zengbin waved her hand dismissively and tossed the warm water bottle into my arms. I reached out to catch it; it was already not very warm. Through the drafty window, I could see snowflakes drifting down again; it seemed that this year's cold wave from Siberia was particularly strong.
"I want to show you something." In just a moment, Guan Zengbin used tweezers to pick up a short brown hair. It looked much harder than human hair; I had no idea what it could be.
Gu Chen asked, "What is this?"
Guan Zengbin shook her head and placed it into an evidence bag. "I'm not sure. We can't conduct tests here; if we want to know what it is, we'll probably need to send it to a facility in the province."
Captain Zhou felt a bit awkward and said, "Alright, I'll send someone to take this for examination in the province right away. Let's head back; it's too cold."
Everyone nodded and left the Autopsy Room.
As I opened the door, a rush of cold air slammed into us, nearly pushing us inside. The biting wind grew stronger, and the surroundings were engulfed in darkness; I had never witnessed such a scene before. Returning to the warmth of the heated room finally made us feel the power of humanity.
Guan Zengbin placed her hands on the heater, absorbing its warmth. She said, "This is the first time I've seen such a cold winter. In summer, my life is sustained by air conditioning. In winter, my life is sustained by heating."
Her words reminded me of the hidden Murderer lurking in the shadows. Did this person not fear the cold? We were bundled in thick clothing yet still felt the bone-chilling cold as the northwesterly wind howled into our garments. Who could this person be, who discarded bodies in broad daylight?
Who could it be?
Suddenly, I recalled Wu Zui's words: if there were no gifts, then I was just an ordinary person. But if I were to engage in Criminal Profiling, I feared becoming too immersed in it. Sitting on the sand and gazing at the frost patterns on the glass, I contemplated whether or not to proceed with Criminal Profiling.
"What should we do next?" Captain Zhou asked us.
I gritted my teeth and decided to go ahead with the profiling.
I closed my eyes and imagined myself as the Murderer—why would I kill? How would I dispose of a body? What was my motive?
Scenes began to unfold slowly in my mind, and I spoke softly, "I am the Murderer. I stand between six feet and six feet three inches tall, with a solid and robust build. I have a protruding belly, wearing black or a Blue Work Uniform, with my pants pulled up above my navel. I'm wearing boots and leather gloves."
A slight headache began to throb at my temples, but I continued, "I wear a fleece jacket and hold a cleaver in my hand. It's a large cleaver about twenty-four to thirty inches long; its edge has dulled from chopping through too many bones and is not very sharp anymore. The blade is stained with blood, its color altered by the gore that has soaked into it, emanating a strong metallic scent."
The pain in my head intensified as the Murderer seemed to emerge more vividly: "My hands are calloused; I wrap a scarf around my belly. The scarf was originally white but has now turned dark red. After using the knife each time, I wipe it on the scarf..."
"I have a place that belongs to me." I fought through the excruciating pain and quickly added, "This place is unknown to anyone; it has no electricity or water..."
"I am a butcher!" I shouted suddenly.
In an instant, my head buzzed loudly, and everything in my mind went blank. It felt as if I could hear nothing and see nothing at all. I stood in emptiness, surrounded by no one.
"Wu Meng! Wu Meng!"
A faint, ethereal sound drifted over, gradually growing louder. I slowly began to sense my surroundings, feeling the light, the warmth, and a hand resting on my shoulder, shaking me gently.
I heard Guan Zengbin's voice calling out, "Wu Meng! Wu Meng!"
I suddenly opened my eyes to see everyone staring at me. I touched my forehead and found it covered in beads of sweat. I gasped for air as if I had just finished a marathon. My mouth felt dry, and my head throbbed painfully.
Captain Zhou glanced at me, seemingly pondering something but held back from speaking.
Guan Zengbin asked with concern, "Are you okay?"
I rubbed my temple and cleared my throat before replying, "I'm fine, but right now, this is all I can think of. If I could gather more clues, the image of the murderer should become clearer. At this point, I still can't determine the murderer's motive or the criteria for choosing victims."
Guan Zengbin took the towel that Captain Zhou handed him and reached out to wipe the sweat from my brow.
"This... isn't this the towel you were going to use to wipe off the water from that big guy?" I felt a warm sensation inside me at first, but upon seeing the state of the towel, I couldn't help but comment.
Captain Zhou waved his hand dismissively. "It wasn't used afterward. But Wu Meng, that move you pulled earlier was incredible. You closed your eyes and managed to identify the murderer's characteristics. I believe your description is pretty close to what the murderer looks like. But can you teach me how to do that later?"
"Sure, if you want to learn," I replied with a smile.
However, what Captain Zhou didn't understand was that this kind of thing couldn't really be taught. It reminded me of how the theory of criminal profiling was proposed by a psychiatrist who had spent nearly his entire life studying mental illness; only someone with a deep understanding of psychology could truly apply such profiling techniques effectively...
Comment 0 Comment Count