Chapter 4: Indiscriminate Murder

The chief of the criminal investigation team shook his head helplessly: "I know what you want to ask. We in the police are not fools; we have investigated everything that needs to be investigated. Unfortunately, apart from the similarly brutal manner of death, we cannot find any other common criminal points that you wish to know."

Oh?

The last incident occurred last night

The second case occurred one week after the first case

The deceased was an employee of a foreign-funded enterprise in Nánwén City, approximately thirty years old. The body was discovered in a trash bin located in the alley behind a bar not far from his company. From the photographs, it appears that the victim was attacked at the back door of the bar. Mǎ Xiàofēng observed in a series of crime scene photographs that there was a large splatter of fresh blood on the back door of the bar, and then a trail of intermittent blood led all the way to the large trash bin at the end of the alley.

Upon arriving at the Public Security Bureau, Ma Xiaofeng followed Shi Yong in a grand manner, occasionally teasing the policewomen passing by, which left Shi Yong feeling overwhelmed. In the end, he nearly dragged Ma Xiaofeng by the collar into his office to prevent this fellow from causing trouble for the innocent women in the bureau.

The body was discovered in a small alley on Lixin Road. Based on the bloodstained traces indicating the body was dragged, it appears that the deceased was attacked on Lixin Road and subsequently dragged into the alley. The head of the deceased was bitten off, and the facial features were mangled beyond recognition. There were still blunt force injuries on the abdomen, and similarly, some internal organs were missing.

"Have you finished watching?" Shi Yong asked silently

The first murder case occurred on the 3rd of this month, and the victim was a male named Zhou Bo

Shi Yong looked puzzled: "What is the point of going to the crime scene? All the evidence and clues that can be obtained have already been collected by our police."

Ma Xiaofeng smiled and said: "I do not doubt your police's ability to handle matters, but there are certain things that ordinary people cannot discover. I simply do not believe that this monster could have done it so cleanly, leaving not even a trace behind"

"Do not doubt it," Shi Yong said, tapping his fingers on the table. "We have thoroughly investigated all the information regarding identity, crime scene, social circles, and so on, but these individuals have no connections whatsoever. Therefore, the murderer did not choose to attack selectively"

Ma Xiaofeng looked on with deep regret; these four cases were more brutal than the last. The man-eating monster seemed to be growing increasingly violent for some reason. Such a monster should be identified and eliminated as soon as possible, otherwise, it is uncertain how many more lives will be lost to its jaws

This incident occurred five days ago, involving the death of a male owner of a convenience store, approximately in his forties, named Zhang Youcai

The deceased was a female clerk at a company, named Lin Xin

This time, the deceased was a female high school student, only seventeen years old, named Zhang Minmin

Shi Yong closed the laptop screen and said: "You kid have quite a resilient nerve. Ordinary people would be unable to eat for a month after seeing these photos. When I first saw a murder scene, I was utterly distressed. Yet here you are, looking completely unfazed."

The cold and eerie dissection room left Shi Yong feeling quite uncomfortable, while Ma Shengkui, who had dealt with monsters and ghosts for many years, was completely unfazed. The criminal investigation team leader did not possess his level of resilience; upon hearing that Ma Xiaofeng wanted the deceased's information, he immediately took Ma Xiaofeng out of the hospital, as his own office in the Public Security Bureau was a more suitable place for discussion

With a loud "bang," Shi Yong slammed the door shut, leaving only him and Ma Xiaofeng in the office.

Ma Xiaofeng surprisingly did not refute him. The charlatan fell silent for a moment, then stood up and said: "In that case, Shitou, take me to these four crime scenes to have a look."

Ma Xiaofeng smacked his lips, secretly cursing Shi Yong for being stingy. Shi Yong ignored the brat and took the laptop from the table. After accessing the desktop, he opened a top-secret file that required a password to view, then turned the laptop screen around to face Ma Xiaofeng.

The two individuals then left the hospital and drove to the Public Security Bureau

Ma Xiaofeng nodded slightly, then picked up the coffee and took a small sip

"If it were easy to resolve, why would I come to you?" said Shi Yong

When two cups of coffee were placed on the office desk, the clock on the wall indicated that it was nearly 10:00. Ma Xiaofeng smiled and said, "Quickly take out your materials for us to review; perhaps we can finish in time to grab a drink at the 'CC-BAR' in the east of the city before it closes."

The body was discovered at the school attended by the deceased. In the photograph, the body lies in the center of the long jump sand pit. The deceased's shirt has been torn off significantly, appearing as if the person had been assaulted, but this is not the case. The left breast has been bitten down to a small remnant, and the lower abdomen is a gruesome mass of flesh and blood. Even more tragically, the right leg of the deceased has been nearly gnawed clean, leaving only a small section of bone and some strands of flesh attached. The blood that has flowed out has stained the surrounding sand red. In the photograph, some of the nearby police officers collecting samples are unable to suppress their vomiting. One can only imagine the extent of the gruesomeness at the scene.

Ma Xiaofeng shook his head and continued to examine the third case

Shi Yong felt quite frustrated by this scene. Sometimes he wondered if Ma Xiaofeng was reincarnated from a hunting dog, as his sense of smell was remarkably keen, unlike that of a human. No matter where Shi Yong hid the local coffee powder he brought back from his trip to Ireland earlier this year, Ma Xiaofeng was always able to find it.

You can take a look yourself

Ma Xiaofeng approached and noticed that the document not only included a detailed introduction of the deceased but also attached a series of photographs, which were quite comprehensive. Thus, while sipping his coffee, he carefully examined these materials.

The deceased's face was contorted, and his mouth was agape as if he had called out loudly. However, the noise of the bar was sufficient to drown out his cries for help. In the photograph, the deceased's fist was tightly clenched, as if he had fought back fiercely before his death. Yet, judging by the blurred state of half his body, it was evident that his resistance had been of no effect

Ma Xiaofeng was not polite at all. As soon as he entered the office, he sniffed a few times, then with a mischievous grin, he found one of the cabinets in the office. After opening it, he rummaged behind some files and pulled out a can of Irish coffee, then proceeded to make himself a cup.

Shi Yong cursed, calling him a cold-blooded animal, but Ma Xiaofeng merely smiled and ignored it. The latter pointed to the notebook and said: "The deceased listed in here, I believe the police have already investigated them, right? Is there any connection among these individuals?"

Shi Yong glared at him and said, "You are treating? The money I have on me has been completely drained by your dinner."

It is merely a matter of habit. Ma Xiaofeng said淡淡: I have seen bloodier scenes than this; after witnessing so much, one becomes numb to it.

The condition of the deceased was even more tragic, as the body was bitten in half. The upper half was discarded in a small alley next to the convenience store, while the lower half was dragged to a recycling station located five hundred meters away from the store. Along the way, pieces of flesh and internal organs were scattered everywhere, necessitating the efforts of four to five shifts of sanitation workers the following day to clean up the scene.

"So that would be indiscriminate killing?" Ma Xiaofeng furrowed his brows: "That would be troublesome. The murderer is killing without discrimination, which means we cannot deduce their motive for the crime, and we also cannot predict the next victim. Therefore, the strategy of waiting for the rabbit is no longer applicable. Moreover, this will necessitate an expansion of the search area, which is quite a headache."