Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Cold sweat began to bead on Zhang De's forehead as he spoke, "Brother, your words are leaving me a bit confused. This place has always been for the dead; how could there be living people inside?"
Jiang He shook his head. Supporting himself against the furnace door, he leaned in and said, "It's been cleaned very well inside, and there are straw mats laid down. With just an extra blanket, it would make for a warm and comfortable single bed."
"And no one would come here to disturb you," Old Shao added from the side.
Old Shao also bent down to take a look and discovered that the crematorium had indeed been modified. Regardless of its length or width, the crematorium could easily accommodate an adult, and there was even space for a backpack beside it. If the Criminal Consultant were living here, then it would be nearly impossible for anyone to track his whereabouts.
After all, no one would think to check if there was a living person inside the crematorium.
Yuan Jun gazed at the crematorium and remarked, "Anyone who can live here must have a strong mental fortitude; he is not an ordinary person."
Both Old Shao and Jiang He strongly agreed. During their brief encounter, the Criminal Consultant had prepared every escape route, seemingly anticipating all possible outcomes. Jiang He even suspected that the scent left by the Criminal Consultant was intentionally meant to draw him to this place.
But what was he planning this time? Would he target those around him again?
This posed a significant question looming over both Jiang He and Old Shao.
Zhang De observed the mysterious demeanor of these individuals and found it quite strange. "Who is this person you're talking about? I can't understand you at all. Don't scare me; even though I'm in charge of the crematorium, I'm actually quite timid."
Old Shao straightened his back and said, "You don't need to worry about this matter. Since there are no bodies in the crematorium, we can rest easy. By the way, do you know how many corpses are currently in the funeral home?"
"Eleven," Zhang De replied firmly.
"What?" Yuan Jun and Jiang He instantly stood up straight, staring intently at Zhang De.
Zhang De felt uneasy under the gaze of the two men, glancing left and right but failing to notice anything unusual. A sense of dread lingered in his heart as he said, "You two brothers really enjoy scaring me. What's going on? Don't frighten me; is there something dirty next to me?"
Jiang He shook his head and asked Zhang De, "Repeat that. How many bodies are there in total?"
"Eleven," Zhang De replied, looking at Jiang He. "Come on, brother, why would I lie to you about this? If I had one more body, I'd have to kill someone. If I had one less, I'd have to bury a body. What do I gain from that?"
"Doesn't the funeral home have any numbers or markings on the bodies?" Jiang He pressed.
Zhang De shook his head. "They're all unclaimed bodies, no one has come forward for them. They don't match any records. Besides their height, weight, and appearance, we don't even know their names, let alone any other information. You police officers know how many people go missing every year in Dragon City; these might just be missing persons from other cities, probably never to return home."
Yuan Jun looked at Zhang De and walked over to pat him on the shoulder. "Since you're so adamant about this, you should explain how that extra body ended up in the funeral home."
"What?" Zhang De clearly didn't grasp what was happening.
Jiang He reminded him, "You just said there were eleven frozen bodies here, but we found twelve in the storage room."
Upon hearing Jiang He's words, Zhang De's mouth fell open in shock. He quickly explained, "That’s impossible! I notify my superiors every time a body comes in; how could there be...?"
But seeing the serious expressions on Yuan Jun and Jiang He’s faces, Zhang De realized they were not joking.
He couldn't help but picture a scene: on a quiet night, someone dragged a body to the crematorium, evading the old guard's patrols and quietly entering the funeral home. They stuffed a body into the freezer and then slipped away unnoticed.
In the dark of night with a strong wind blowing, no one knew who he was or who the body belonged to.
"Could this extra body be from a murder?" Zhang De trembled as he voiced his speculation.
Old Shao nodded and said to Zhang De, "It seems that's the case. A corpse can't walk on its own, so it couldn't have crawled into the refrigerator by itself. The only explanation is that someone hid the body inside. Moreover, this place has always been sparsely populated; if it weren't for us, this body might never have been discovered."
Thinking of this, Old Shao suddenly asked, "How many bodies can fit in the refrigerator?"
"Thirty-two," Zhang De replied. "If it's full, there can be a total of thirty-two bodies. However, it's unlikely to be full; generally, those that have been dead for half a year are taken away, so we keep things fresh. We've had a maximum of twenty bodies here at one time, but we've never filled it up."
"This is bad," Old Shao said, slapping his thigh.
"What's wrong?" Yuan Jun asked.
"The murderer will definitely kill again," Jiang He answered. "This place has already been designated as a hiding spot for bodies. If there are more empty refrigerators, he will surely kill again and stash the bodies here."
Old Shao nodded and said, "That's true. The killer seems particularly fixated on human entrails; he must have some psychological issues that relate to his past experiences. Generally, those with severe psychological problems can trace their issues back to childhood."
"That old man did it?" Yuan Jun looked out at the dark night and said, "Isn't he always talking about some corpse robber? Didn't his mother have her entrails taken out?"
"No," Old Shao shook his head. "If it were him, he wouldn't have any reason to tell us these things. This case likely wasn't committed by an elderly man who can barely walk. The perpetrator should be between twenty and forty years old and may have obsessive tendencies."
"Zhang De," Old Shao turned to him and said, "Immediately check which body is extra; this is crucial. Serial killers often have a characteristic they aren't even aware of: they tend to have their own method for selecting victims. There should be some strong correlation among these individuals; once we find that pattern, we can lure out the killer."
Zhang De finally understood why he was here; he should have realized earlier that these detectives weren't just here to look at corpses—they were investigating a murder case that occurred in his jurisdiction at the crematorium. This realization sent a chill down his spine.
"Uh, I'm the person in charge here," Zhang De stammered. "The murderer wouldn't target me, right? I have an eighty-year-old mother and a baby daughter who depends on me. If anything happens to me, my family would fall apart."
Old Shao reassured him, "Don't worry; the killer won't go after a man in his forties."
At that moment, a voice called out from outside, "Old Shao, the autopsy results are in."
A figure appeared at the door—it was Xu Yiman.
Zhang De looked at Xu Yiman and couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you afraid to come in here alone?"
Xu Yiman shrugged and replied, "I've seen more corpses than living people. The crematorium and mortuary are practically where I spend my work hours. What's there to be afraid of?"
She added, "Dead people don't lie, while living people are full of lies."
"Impressive," Zhang De said, giving her a thumbs up.
Old Shao asked, "What did the autopsy reveal?"
Xu Yiman answered, "We examined the six bodies with holes in their abdomens and found that five of them had been dead for quite some time—the longest for three months, and the shortest for three. The causes of death varied; some died of illness, others by hanging, but they all seem to be suicides or accidental deaths. Otherwise, the bodies would have remained with the criminal investigation team."
"What about the sixth body?" Jiang He inquired.
Xu Yiman turned to Jiang He and replied, "The sixth one had been dead for two days. Its body was well-preserved, indicating it was placed in the refrigerator shortly after death. However, what surprised us was that this body showed signs of life response."
"Signs of life response?" Zhang De asked. "What does that mean?"
Xu Yiman explained, "If I stab you while you're alive, your wound will bleed under the skin and could lead to inflammation and other complications. But if you're dead and I stab you, there won't be any inflammation or bleeding at the wound site. Do you understand?"
"I understand," Zhang De nodded, his expression turning fearful. "So what are you implying?"
"My point is, she was still alive when her abdomen was cut open," Xu Yiman said.
Old Shao rubbed his temples. "What about the entrails?"
"Same situation," Xu Yiman replied. "This person's technique is very professional. Through the autopsy, we found that while he was removing the victim's entrails, he was also administering drugs and blood transfusions to keep the victim alive. It wasn't until he had removed part of the victim's entrails that the victim died from organ failure."
"That's truly twisted," Zhang De remarked. "What on earth is this person trying to do?"
"Although we don't know his intentions, it won't be long before he strikes again," Old Shao asserted firmly. "His craving for entrails has reached a horrifying level."
"Are the wounds on the bodies made at the same time, or at intervals?" Old Shao asked, stroking his chin as he posed a critical question.
"At intervals," Xu Yiman answered. "The killer can only cut open one body at a time. The human entrails are quite heavy when laid out, so he can't carry away too much at once."
Old Shao's eyes gleamed with intensity. "We need to move quickly. He can no longer satisfy himself with the entrails of corpses; now he wants the entrails of living people."
Comment 0 Comment Count