He disappeared into the pitch-black alley, passed several shops, flagged down a car on the road, and then had the driver take him in a certain direction...
The next day, I arrived at the Fuming City Public Security Bureau with members of the Punishment Group. With Director Huang's assistance, Captain Li led us to several crime scenes for re-examination. I didn't participate, instead, Liu Yuning and I visited the victims' families.
However, we inquired about the situation back and forth but found nothing. Just as we were about to ask Captain Li and his team if they had discovered anything at the scene, the moment we stepped out of the last victim's residential building, a scream, like an electric drill piercing the heart, struck our ears. Liu Yuning and I exchanged a glance and immediately ran towards the source of the sound. We appeared on the side of a street where a wall extended to the end of several hardware stores. Strange whimpering sounds came from the alley, like a woman's call.
We entered the alley, expecting to find something had happened there, but we walked through the alley without seeing anyone. It wasn't until we reached a dilapidated hospital that we saw an elderly woman slumped outside. As we approached her, about to ask questions, the woman, like a desperate passenger on a sinking ship discovering a lifeboat, cried out, "You guys, call the police quickly! A child died in the hospital!" The elderly woman grabbed my leg.
I quickly pulled out my police badge and said, "We are the police. How did you get here?"
"I was picking up trash just now and accidentally noticed a strange smell in the hospital. I followed the smell inside to investigate, and who knows, there was a girl locked up in the hospital's equipment room. I dare not describe the situation, you guys go in and see for yourselves!"
I asked Liu Yuning to keep an eye on the auntie while I cautiously entered the old hospital. Liu Yuning had already called for backup on her phone.
My sense of smell is very keen, and shortly after entering, I indeed smelled the scent the auntie had mentioned. It was a smell of extreme decay and intense blood, like a disemboweled corpse that had been dead for a long time, stored in the hospital.
I found the equipment room, which was where the hospital stored old medical equipment, usually backup or under repair.
I carefully pushed open the door, and an even more pungent stench wafted out, making my stomach churn. I almost vomited. Especially when I saw the deceased, I thought I was watching an extremely bizarre horror film.
A little girl, about 10 years old, had been dismembered alive into more than a dozen pieces, like lumps of rotten flesh thrown into a large bottle. This person had become a complete specimen. If her head hadn't been relatively intact, I wouldn't have been able to immediately identify her as a person.
I approached the bottle, put on rubber gloves, and carefully moved the bottle. I opened the lid, and the stench of blood and decay, along with a formaldehyde smell, permeated every pore of my body. It was inconvenient to perform the autopsy now, as my forensic kit was not with me.
By the time the forensic team arrived at the scene, the old hospital was surrounded by police.
The officers began their respective tasks. Xie Chuchu, Zhang Keying, and I first studied how to remove the body parts from the large bottle. However, the mouth of the bottle was too small. Zhang Keying said, "We'll have to smash the bottle."
"Alright, bring me a pair of pliers!" A police officer handed me the tool, and I struck the bottle directly. With a loud bang, the bottle split in half from the middle.
We carefully moved the body parts down, being very cautious throughout the process, as glass fragments could easily damage the remains.
After we successfully removed all the body parts and reassembled them, I discovered that the entire person was there. Numerous police officers had already taken photos, and now they took more.
I took out tools like a listening bone, a shadowless reflector tube, and a dissection umbrella to perform a preliminary examination of the body. However, Zhang Keying was quicker. She put away the shadowless lamp and said, "Brother He Sheng, let me state beforehand, I'm not competing with you. This time, I'll go first. Analyzing from the wear and tear of the teeth, bone structure, and skin growth, the age is approximately between 10 and 12 years old. The time of death was 13 hours ago. I analyzed this from the degree of skin decay, lividity, and rigor mortis. The cloudiness of the corneas also indicates this. The cause of death was likely a cut to the neck; the muscle contraction in this area clearly indicates this. Look, there's also an infant's handprint on her chest!"
"But this time, the murderer used pain to cause death, unlike the previous cases of heat and cold exhaustion. Are they not the same person?" Xie Chuchu asked, confused.
"The victim's bodily functions were normal, not affected by heat or cold," I said, tapping the victim's chest and abdomen with the listening bone.
Humans have seven orifices, related to "eating, hearing, seeing, and breathing." *Ling Shu: Mai Du* states: "The five viscera constantly communicate internally with the upper seven orifices. Therefore, the lung qi connects to the nose; when the lungs are harmonious, the nose can distinguish smells; the heart qi connects to the tongue; when the heart is harmonious, the tongue can discern flavors; the liver qi connects to the eyes; when the liver is harmonious, the eyes can distinguish colors; the spleen qi connects to the mouth; when the spleen is harmonious, the mouth can recognize grains; the kidney qi connects to the ears; when the kidneys are harmonious, the ears can hear all sounds. When the five viscera are not harmonious, the seven orifices will not be unobstructed."
In other words, every blood vessel connects to all parts of the body. If a listening bone is used, the victim's blood flow and the extent of internal organ damage can be clearly analyzed.
This listening bone was forged by mixing with the finest willow wood, and its sound-listening ability is very significant.
"This is roughly the situation. We'll proceed with the next stage of the autopsy back at the station!" I concluded, stood up, and took off my rubber gloves.
The officers who went to survey the scene returned after some time, but they reported that they had found no suspicious footprints or fingerprints at the scene. The killer was very cautious and left no trace. There was also no surveillance in such a dilapidated hospital.
Leaving the hospital, we expanded the search area. On the nearby roads, there were several routes closest to the hospital, all of which needed to be investigated. Based on the traces at the scene, the old hospital was definitely not the primary crime scene; it was merely where the killer disposed of the body.
As I walked out of the old hospital, I saw the auntie still talking to a police officer nearby. I went up to her and said, "Hello, madam. Do you often come here to collect scrap?"