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墨書 Inktalez
I immediately called Juan Juan, and what lay before us truly left us stunned. If this person was indeed the so-called Mark, then this horse had already become a dead one. Dezi also promptly notified the Police Department, urging them to send someone over immediately.
The door opened to the left and right, and as we looked in, we saw a low beam directly in front of us. Several ropes were tied to this beam, and beneath them, a knot branched out into several more ropes that bound a person underneath the beam. This individual appeared to be around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, dressed in a tight black bodysuit. It was extremely snug, clinging tightly to his skin.
The bodysuit was made of rubber and resembled a high-cut swimsuit style. His legs were bare, and due to poor blood circulation, they were swollen and engorged.
The entire body wrapped in the black bodysuit appeared somewhat "curvaceous," but it did not evoke any sense of beauty; rather, it was quite horrifying. Numerous knots were tied around him, and from the outside, it was evident that the bindings conformed closely to his body structure, indicating a certain level of skill and technique rather than random tying.
From the arrangement of the ropes coming down from the beam, they crossed over his chest from top to bottom, wrapping around twice before encircling his waist multiple times. They then crossed through his legs and finally tied off at his groin before extending upward to bind his hands.
Another rope that branched off from the beam went straight down through the two crossing ropes at his groin, similarly securing him there before wrapping around his wrists and hanging down in front. A separate rope was wound around his ankles, binding both feet together.
From his ankles all the way up to his hands, he was bound in this manner. I observed closely but could not draw any conclusions. The entire corpse presented a "standing" hanging position, with the head above and feet below.
Underneath the black bodysuit at his groin area, there was a bulge that indicated the deceased's genitalia. Additionally, I noticed white spots in that area; although Juan Juan had not arrived yet, I could estimate they were likely semen stains. Beyond that, I couldn't think of anything else.
As I moved around to examine his face, it appeared dark purple. The two ropes wrapped around his chest were pressing tightly against his neck just below the throat area; it looked like he had died from asphyxiation—commonly referred to as hanging. However, I had never seen such a method of hanging before; what was this Killer trying to achieve?
Next to the corpse lay an old stool turned upside down, looking extremely worn out as if it hadn't been used in a long time. The legs of the stool faced toward the corpse and were about thirty centimeters away. Additionally, I found a black shoulder bag at the scene. I put on gloves to inspect it and discovered it contained quite a few items.
Inside the bag were several lengths of white nylon rope and a change of clothes that seemed to belong to Mark. Besides these items, there was also a wallet, a phone, keys, and other belongings. The phone did not have any password or lock; I flipped through it and concluded that this must be Mark's phone.
The wallet contained Mark's identification card; his full name was Ma Youshan, and he was twenty-six years old this year. The wallet also held two hundred dollars in cash and several bank cards. From this analysis, it was clear that money could not be the motive for murder.
Just as we were investigating the scene, we heard police sirens blaring outside; it seemed that the Police Department had arrived. I stepped outside to see that police cars had already parked along the path.
Along with them were Mary and Juan Juan, with Captain Li among them as well. He instructed other officers to take Zhou Jun and Punk back for questioning while everyone else gathered outside this Old House. Captain Li approached me and asked, "What's going on, Officer Shao? Is there a dead body?"
I nodded and said to Juan Juan, " Juan Juan, you should go in and take a look."
As we spoke, we entered the room again. The sight of the body inside startled us all. Juan Juan's reaction was relatively normal; she approached to observe without rushing to move the body. Captain Li remarked, "This death is a bit strange. I've never seen anyone die like this!"
After watching for a while, Mary said to us, "Seeing this kind of binding technique reminds me of a Japanese art called Shibari. Shibari refers to the art of rope bondage. It’s said that ropes, like the female form, possess complex and graceful curves."
"And Shibari uses various techniques to bind the human body in a cyclical and orderly manner, combining the body and the rope into an artistic piece that offers visual impact and enjoyment," Mary continued, glancing at the body. "Generally speaking, the specific binding methods vary from person to person, such as the advanced techniques of 'Taka' (Hawk) binding, 'Kikkō' (Tortoise Shell) binding, and 'Shibari' (binding) among others."
"I haven't seen this particular method of binding before!" Mary shook her head and said, "Moreover, in Shibari, the subjects are usually female rather than male. This is because a woman's curvy body can showcase beauty in ways that a man's cannot. Can you see any beauty in this?"
We all shook our heads. Captain Li responded, "So there's a nuance to it. But looking at the situation, how was he bound like this? If it’s Shibari, it should be someone else binding him; it wouldn’t make sense for him to bind himself. So what purpose did the Killer have in tying him up like this?"
At that moment, Juan Juan shook her head and said to Captain Li, "A person can indeed bind themselves."
Hearing Juan Juan's words, we turned to look at her. Juan Juan grabbed one of the loose ends of rope hanging from the knot and pulled hard. To our surprise, Ma Youshan's wrist knot came undone; it turned out to be a slipknot. Analyzing this aspect, it became clear that Ma Youshan had been capable of self-rescue.
Juan Juan pointed at his neck and continued, "And look here at these two ropes! The position of these ropes is just below his throat; if he simply lifted his head up, it wouldn’t compress his trachea. This means he wouldn’t suffocate."
We looked closely and indeed noticed this detail; it seemed Juan Juan had more experience in this area as a forensic expert. Captain Li said, "Is there a possibility that he had been holding his head up for an extended period? Eventually, he would tire out; that kind of strain isn’t something one can endure indefinitely."
"So inevitably," Captain Li continued, "his head would drop down."
"This would compress his trachea and ultimately lead to death?"
Dezi stroked his chin and replied, "That seems unlikely. From what we gathered from some local thugs earlier, Ma Youshan hadn’t been here long—at most two hours. If it were longer, perhaps he couldn’t hold on; but for just one or two hours? He should be able to endure that discomfort for the sake of his life."
Juan Juan smiled lightly and said, "You’re right about that. However, there’s one point that suggests he could have saved himself. As long as he was conscious for even a short period, he could have pulled on the rope in his hands to loosen the knot around his wrist. Once his hands were free to move, he could untie himself entirely; even if he couldn’t manage that right away, he could still last quite some time."
I nodded and added, "Exactly; that's certain. Moreover, I noticed there were no abrasions on his hands. This indicates that the ropes weren’t tied too tightly; he hardly grasped them at all. In a life-threatening situation, one instinctively clings tightly to anything nearby—there should be deep impressions on his hands if that were the case."
"If that's true," I concluded, "it suggests that this person didn’t want to live anymore or perhaps died while in a state of unconsciousness." I turned to Juan Juan and asked her, "Do you think that's possible?"
Juan Juan nodded and said, "The possibility is very high. Based on the current situation, this person has probably been dead for not long. Judging from the stiffness of the body and the livor mortis, it seems they died just an hour or so ago. It could be suicide, but it could also be homicide. We need to examine the other traces left at the scene."
Having said that, Juan Juan looked at Captain Li and said, "Captain Li, let's get the body down. Once we return to the Police Department, a thorough autopsy will reveal whether Ma Youshan was in a drug-induced coma before death. If so, we can rule out suicide; if not, then the situation becomes more complicated."
Captain Li nodded and signaled a few officers to lower the body. Standing on the fallen stool, he reached up to untie the knot from the beam. After untying it, several people held onto the body and gently placed it on the ground before it was taken away.
Juan Juan turned to me and said, "I think the possibility of suicide is greater than that of homicide. You can observe for yourself at the scene; I’ll head to the autopsy and give you an answer in an hour or two."
Juan Juan's reasoning made sense. Given the current circumstances, I also felt that suicide was more likely. For instance, there was a knot that could be untied by oneself, a low beam reachable by stepping on a stool, and the neatly arranged black package nearby. All these factors suggested that Ma Youshan likely set this up himself.
However, nothing in life is absolute; the more unexpected something is, the more we tend to overlook it, which often becomes crucial later on. With this thought in mind, I suddenly had an idea and said to Dezi, "Although we won't see the autopsy report for a while, we can first test whether this suicide scenario is feasible."
Dezi seemed a bit confused by my suggestion and asked, "Brother Shao, what do you mean?"
I pointed to the distant black package and said, "There are some nylon ropes over there; they should be enough for us to conduct a simulation at the scene. I want you to try tying yourself up like this; I’ve memorized how the knot was tied earlier."
An unsolved mystery: A 21st-century Airborne Troops unit mysteriously appears in North America, rescuing Indian Red-Haired Beauties and enjoying adventures with Blue-Eyed Busty Blondes while dominating Wall Street and amassing wealth across America—ushering in a Han Ethnic Colonial Global Model.
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