Chapter 2: On-Site Investigation

Zou Xiangdong responded and then left the laboratory. Ling Li also came out, lit a cigarette in the corridor, and frankly, he had seen many grand scenes, but today was the first time he encountered something like this. The air in the dissection room seemed to be filled with a strong smell of blood. He admired Liu Xiaolu, who was surprisingly calm and composed as if nothing had happened.

The murderer is truly deranged! Forensic expert Liu Xiaolu frowned and said: From the facial muscles of the deceased, it appears that his face was distorted due to fear. The fatal wound was likely the cut across the jaw, which directly severed the trachea. The murderer must have started the incision from the jaw and continued down to the perineum. Following that, there were horizontal cuts made on the neck, armpits, chest ribs, groin, and both sides of the ankles. The murderer must have used a hook to grasp the jaw and pulled it upwards with force, which separated the skin of the deceased's head from that of the neck. There are signs of cutting on the back of the neck, which I believe indicates that the murderer attempted to separate the scalp from the back of the neck and the back of the head. Finally, the murderer forcefully pinched both of the deceased's ears and pulled, completely stripping away the skin from the entire head and face.

Old Xing gave a wry smile: "It seems that hetushu.com is a tough nut to crack"

Two young police officers could not help but vomit. Liu Xiaolu continued, "I suspect that the victim was conscious when the murderer struck. If the first blow from the murderer did not take his life, but rather involved skinning, cutting flesh, and removing bones..." Liu Xiaolu's words made Ling Li uneasy as well: "If what you say is true, it is very likely that the murderer was performing a vivisection, torturing the victim to death?" Liu Xiaolu sighed, "It is highly possible. I wonder what deep-seated hatred existed between them; otherwise, why would such cruel methods be employed?"

The two officers from the technical department have also completed their investigation work

"Ling's team found no traces at the scene; the murderer must have meticulously cleaned up after committing the crime," sighed Old Xing from the technical department as he took the cigarette Ling Li handed him. Ling Li nodded, saying, "I anticipated this. Xiao Liu mentioned that the murderer used such methods to kill, which would require at least four to five hours. The composure and calmness displayed indicate that the murderer is a very composed and cool-headed individual. The timing and location of the crime are also quite deliberate; he must have some knowledge of the medical university. He knows that no one comes to the southeast corner laboratory building at night, giving him ample time to commit the crime and clean the scene."

Liu Xiaolu held the scalp that the murderer had thrown into the equipment tray, gesturing as she spoke

The teaching assistant was also stunned by the scene before him when he arrived. Although he did not vomit like most of the students, his face turned as pale as paper from fear. While Yan Ping and the others were calling the police, he also contacted the school leaders.

Such a scene, combined with the overwhelming smell of blood, caused many students to be unable to hold back their nausea

The person reporting the case is a medical school student named Yan Ping. Strictly speaking, he is not the only one filing the report; there are also his classmates.

The criminal police team of Leizhou City Bureau arrived at the medical college immediately after receiving the report

Ling Li gazed at the deceased's pair of hands: "But why did he leave behind this pair of hands for the deceased?"

After she finished speaking, she wanted to head to the autopsy room, but Ling Li stopped her. Ling Li sent her to look around, not wanting her to witness the scene in the autopsy room. Although working as a criminal investigator inevitably involves dealing with corpses, he did not wish for this young girl to see such a bloody sight. This could be considered his way of caring for Miao Xin.

At that moment, a female police officer hurriedly ran in from outside, her high heels echoing in the corridor

Old Xing Chongling smiled wryly. Liu Xiaolu had already stood by the door without anyone noticing. She glanced at Miao Xin and said, "Are you sure you want to see it?" Ling Li wanted to say something, but Liu Xiaolu spoke first: "Captain Ling, just let her see it. After all, she will have to get through this sooner or later!"

The captain of the criminal police team in Leizhou City is named Ling Li. Although he is just in his early thirties, he is already a renowned detective in the southwestern province. He joined the police force at the age of twenty-three, and in the eight years since, he has solved more than ten influential cases. At this moment, he has a stern expression on his face, his eyes fixed intently on the "skeleton" on the operating table

This cannot be their experimental subject, as there are no experiments that are so terrifying and bloody

Liu Xiaolu stated that the deceased was approximately forty to forty-five years old, and it is naturally impossible for them to be a student

Ling Li said lightly: "Even tough bones must be chewed, after all, this is the line of work we are in"

She ran in front of Ling Li and said, "Captain Ling, we found Master Qu in the boiler room, but he is completely unable to communicate. Director Wang from the school office said that Master Qu has hearing issues and can hardly hear anything, not even thunder. Even when we managed to talk to him, it was all nonsense. I suspect there is something wrong with him!" The female police officer, Miao Xin, had just been assigned to the criminal investigation team. Her enthusiasm for work was quite high, but she had not yet truly entered the state of her duties.

Liu Xiaolu shook her head: "This is something to ask that murderer about." Liu Xiaolu nonchalantly picked up the deceased's hand, examined it closely, and softly said: "This is a hand that holds a scalpel. A hand that holds a scalpel is quite similar to a hand that holds a pen; if one is not careful, it is indeed difficult to distinguish between the two. Generally, there are four common ways to hold a scalpel: the bow grip, the pen grip, the standard grip, and the reverse grip. Among these, the pen grip and the reverse grip are extremely similar to the action of holding a pen. Therefore, based on the calloused areas on his hand, one might think he could be someone engaged in literary work. However, Captain Ling, look at the first joint of his index finger; there is a concave callus, which is caused by the bow grip. The bow grip is the most common method; it has a wide range of motion and is flexible, mainly used for longer skin incisions and incisions at the anterior edge of the rectus abdominis, etc. This is how the knife is held." Liu Xiaolu picked up a scalpel to demonstrate: "See, at this point, the index finger rests against the protrusion at the front edge of the blade, providing stability. Now, take a look at the first joint of my index finger; isn't it quite similar to the callus on the deceased's finger?" Ling Li examined it closely and indeed found it to be the case: "Hmm, let's quickly ascertain the identity of the deceased. Dong, let's start by checking with the medical school to see if there are any missing faculty or staff members."

Old Xing glared at Miao Xin and said, "Captain Ling doesn't let you see that for your own good. You're a girl, and aren't you afraid that seeing these things will give you nightmares at night?" Miao Xin, somewhat unconvinced, replied, "I am also a criminal police officer. Why can't I see it? If I can't overcome this, how can I be a good criminal police officer?"

This morning, during the third and fourth periods, there was an anatomy class with a lab session, so they went to the dissection room. Yan Ping and a few other students arrived the earliest and found that the door to the dissection room was not properly closed. Pushing the door open, they saw that only a bloodied and mangled head and a complete pair of hand skeletons remained on the dissection table, along with fragmented pieces of flesh in the pool.

Ling Dui, could you just let me take a look inside? Just one glance, is that alright?