Simulated Crime, This Criminal Doesn't Seem to Be Acting-Chapter 81

When Ye Sangsang returned to the bureau, it was already half past ten in the evening. The autopsy table was opened, and the dismembered body parts were carefully placed on it.

Being a forensic pathologist is a high-risk profession.

During the autopsy process, if not careful, one might end up splashed in the face with bone fragments or blood foam. If the deceased had infectious diseases such as HIV or syphilis, it could easily lead to occupational exposure.

Therefore, except in specific situations, such as determining the time of death by the smell of decay, masks and necessary protective gear must always be worn.

After placing the body parts, the first step is to properly put on protective equipment.

If the body contains sharp objects like metal splinters, three layers of gloves must be worn.

Ye Sangsang learned very fast and efficiently donned her mask, gloves, and headgear.

She then picked up the clipboard for recording, prepared to document the process, and approached the cold stainless steel autopsy table, looking at the middle-aged man.

The man was Zhou Jianguo, a stern and rigid forensic pathologist in his mid-forties, also one of the first batch of forensic pathologists in Zhongzhou Country.

Such forensic pathologists didn't particularly favor female colleagues, as those born in the fifties to sixties often believed that women were more prone to fragility and fear.

But Fan Jingsi was no ordinary woman. Persisting for years, she insisted on becoming Zhou Jianguo's apprentice, transforming from a young girl who was scared to tears by the sight of a bloated, decaying corpse into an experienced forensic pathologist.

The records didn't explicitly mention this, but Ye Sangsang could infer the rough process from the descriptions.

To her, fear and panic were not exclusive to any gender.

【In 2004, the equipment was outdated, and the tools in the autopsy room were scarce.】

【Yes, DNA matching probably had to be done in the provincial capital, and it would take a long time to get results.】

【Time to get to work, though it's all blurred out.】

The two worked quickly, reassembling the dismembered body parts.

By measuring the height of the head using the scales on the autopsy table, they estimated the victim's height.

They ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‍then observed the victim's external appearance for bruises, marks, or evidence of blunt or sharp objects. They determined the origin of these marks.

The body was already in a state of decomposition, but it was still possible to make judgments based on experience.

"Based on recent temperature and humidity, the victim died between 48 to 60 hours ago. The cause of death is unclear, but it's certain that the victim was already dead before being dismembered."

The two picked up their tools and began their meticulous examination.

Since the body was already in pieces, there was no need to perform a traditional autopsy.

Ye Sangsang assessed the wounds, continuing, "The hands show signs of strain, and the back has marks from dragging, suggesting they were caused before death."

"The old injuries on the feet are likely from childhood burns caused by direct skin contact with hot water."

After the external examination, they began sifting through the boxes filled with bloody water and the dismembered internal organs.

Lungs, heart, liver, small and large intestines—perhaps because these are easier to cut into pieces, the killer had chopped them even more finely.

They had to reassemble them all and observe for damage, as well as check for signs of disease or external blows.

The process was complex, but Ye Sangsang was extremely patient and focused on her tasks.

Even with the head included, the girl was only about four foot five, fragmented and lying on the oversized autopsy table, a sight that was hard to bear.

Even for seasoned forensic pathologists, this situation felt like a heavy rock weighing down their hearts.

After finishing the blood tests and reaching the final stages, both sighed in relief.

【Wow, Sangsang didn't skip any time at all; I watched the whole process.】

【Through the thick blur, I can still see their serious expressions. Being a forensic pathologist is so tough.】

【If it were me in that scenario, I'd be screaming or throwing up the whole time. 'Crime Files' is really intense. Though it's scary, I still watch all of it—it's strangely captivating because of that human focus and dedication.】

Time flew during the autopsy. When Ye Sangsang looked up at the mechanical wall clock in the autopsy room, it was already one thirty in the morning.

"Hopefully, they'll find the head tomorrow, and then we can accurately determine the cause of death."

As forensic pathologists, they had to take responsibility for the results of their autopsy. So even though they already suspected that the child had been suffocated to death, they had to wait until the head was found to officially record the cause of death in their report.

"I went to the residential building where the family lives. The security there is practically non-existent. Most of the residents are elderly, so it's likely the killer took the head with him, making it difficult to find."

"Does the killer have a fetish for collecting heads, or did he simply take it to make the investigation harder?"

As they discussed, Ye Sangsang recalled the anger and ferocity she felt at the crime scene, guessing that the killer likely belonged to the former category.

Some deranged murderers collect items they see as significant, like weapons or bones.

Though the head is a large target, if someone wanted to keep it as a trophy, there are ways to do it.

Zhou Jianguo waved his hand, "Hand the report over to the investigators, then go home and get some rest. Don't stay up too late."

"Alright, I'll deliver the report first. You go ahead and rest, Master Zhou. I'll handle the rest." The body was still on the autopsy table, and there were still tasks to complete afterward, which would take some time.

Zhou Jianguo frowned at Ye Sangsang.

"I told you to go home, so go home once you deliver the report."

Ye Sangsang nodded.

Knowing Fan Jingsi's personality, though, she would likely return to check on things after delivering the report.

The journey wasn't far; it took about seven or eight minutes to travel there and back.

Baicheng's autopsy room was relatively large, divided into two rooms by a partition—one for autopsies and the other for preparation.

A window was specially installed for easier communication.

When she returned quietly, she immediately noticed Zhou Jianguo deep in thought.

His complex expression suggested he was pondering something important.

Ye Sangsang stood in the preparation room for a while, then walked to the door and knocked.

Zhou Jianguo was startled from his thoughts and looked up at her. "Didn't I tell you to go home?"

"Let's tidy up together, then we can all go home," Ye Sangsang said matter-of-factly, offering to help.

This time, Zhou Jianguo didn't refuse and nodded, agreeing to clean together.

After placing the body in cold storage, they began cleaning up the bloodstained scene.

By the time they finished, it was almost three in the morning.

Working late into the night, their bodies were utterly exhausted. As they undressed in the preparation room, they couldn't stop yawning.

Ye Sangsang knew she had to rest.

She rarely experienced such exhaustion. Usually, she could function well on about five hours of sleep daily.

Realizing she was too tired after several yawns, she gathered herself and headed home.

She didn't skip the timeline lightly, as there was another person involved in this scenario, and skipping would affect both.

Moreover, she felt there might be many unexpected events in this scenario, so she decided to return home, take a shower, and allow her body to fall asleep before attempting to skip the timeline.

If the other person skipped the timeline or restarted, she would follow suit.

Hopefully, the other person would be competent enough to avoid restarting.

【Looks like the matched host couldn't be found. Maybe they're overseas or a smaller streamer?】

【Possibly, with five thousand spots and ten thousand live streams, finding the same one is like searching for a needle in a haystack.】

Neither side's live broadcast room can mention the other; doing so directly silences you, and then you can't comment, which sucks. So it's better not to look. I trust Sangsang anyway; she'll figure it out eventually. Knowing the identity early on doesn't really matter.

As the live chat continued, many had tried to find the paired streamer after the matching mode was activated.

Unfortunately, no one managed to locate them in any live streaming room.

Ye Sangsang was only curious about the other player's identity, as the live chat suggested, they would eventually find out.

She slowly skipped the timeline, soon reaching the next morning.

When she walked into the bureau with breakfast, most of her colleagues had already arrived.

To her surprise, Fan Jingsi's master, Zhou Jianguo, was late for work.

She chatted with another colleague about yesterday's events while eating breakfast.

Until one minute before work started, Zhou Jianguo still hadn't arrived.

"He used to come a whole half-hour early, but today he's so late," the male colleague, who was in his early thirties, said, glancing at his watch with a look of surprise.

"Maybe he only got off work at three in the morning yesterday. With his age, he couldn't handle it and overslept because he didn't hear the alarm," Ye Sangsang mused, not thinking too much about it. Zhou Jianguo, being an old forensic pathologist, wasn't the type to get himself in trouble like being murdered.

If anything, it was more likely he had simply overslept.

As it turned out, Ye Sangsang was right. Just a few seconds before work started, Zhou Jianguo entered the office, barely making it on time.

The weather was scorching, and beads of sweat rolled down his temple from his hurried run. He was panting as he approached his desk and placed the cluttered pile of documents he was carrying onto it.

Ye Sangsang had already finished her breakfast of buns. Seeing Zhou Jianguo, she pulled out a sheet of paper to wipe her hands and then picked up the extra breakfast she had prepared for him, walking over.

"What have you brought?" Ye Sangsang asked curiously.

Zhou Jianguo set down the documents, and a cloud of dust rose from them. He waved it away to avoid getting it in his face.

"Just some old case files. I was thinking of taking a look," he replied.

He took the breakfast, thanked her, and after taking a step back, opened the bag and started eating.

Ye Sangsang nodded and said directly, "I'll join you in going through them later."

Zhou Jianguo grunted in acknowledgment, his face etched with wrinkles, carrying an indefinable melancholy.

There were three forensic pathologists in total, and they chatted together for a while.

Meanwhile, the investigators had already scattered out, focusing on finding the girl's head and searching for her missing parents.

The job of the forensic pathologists was to examine the condition of the corpse, make professional judgments about the cause of death, the process of death, and the outcome. These findings would later be used by the detectives to question the suspect once they were apprehended.

After a while, the three began to examine the case files Zhou Jianguo had brought.

Having seen many cases in his career, Zhou Jianguo's choice of files was undoubtedly significant; they either held reference value or were related to the current case.

The files were covered in dust, indicating they were from an old case.

Upon opening them, Ye Sangsang realized the case was even older than she had expected—it dated back ten years, to 1994.

It was, in fact, a brutal massacre case.

The victims were a normal family living in the southern outskirts: a mom, a dad, a child, and the grandparents, totaling five people, all murdered in their home.

What was even more horrific was that their bodies had been chopped into pieces and stuffed into various household containers.

"This case was one I worked on with other forensic pathologists at the time. Back then, we only had two of us, and we spent a full half-day piecing together the five bodies."

He spoke, seemingly recalling the scene, his brow furrowed tightly, his face ashen.

Ye Sangsang glanced at the file and said, "The key point is that this case also lacked a head. The victims were identified solely by their clothing as members of that family."

"Right! This case shook the whole city at the time. The killer had followed the child into their home. In those days, everyone lived close to each other, and neighbors were familiar with one another. There was no habit of closing doors and windows. The killer slipped in unnoticed and swiftly killed everyone with a knife."

"After the murders, the killer calmly left the door wide open and completed the dismemberment inside the house. But perhaps because they were a novice, the dismemberment was rather crude."

"After this incident, everyone began to keep their windows and doors tightly closed, and no one dared to go out alone. Due to the lack of advanced forensic techniques and no one having seen the killer's face, the police were unable to track the killer down. Over time, the case became a cold case."

Zhou Jianguo sighed, then picked up his cup of water and took a sip.

With the head still missing and a similar case occurring now, he felt a chill run through him, unable to fall asleep all night, feeling cold allover.

In the end, he got up and went straight to the archives to retrieve the physical evidence box from ten years ago.

He was terrified of that killer, for the killer had been extremely cunning.

Back then, the dismemberment had even been carried out on a padded cotton blanket on the ground, ensuring that the sound of chopping had not been heard.

Moreover, the killer had also managed to leave with the bodies' heads without alarming anyone.

This all pointed to just how formidable a killer this was.

"Is this the same killer?"

Ye Sangsang's male colleague asked.

Ye Sangsang thought for a moment, then shook her head, "The five-person massacre in 1994, based on my analysis, would have been committed by a young man between the ages of 25 and 30. Ten years ago, that would place him between 15 and 20. Most people at that age are fueled by youthful arrogance, which doesn't quite match the carefulness exhibited by the killer of that massacre."

"Of course, it's not impossible, but my guess is that this might be a case of copycat crime."

After all, according to Zhou Jianguo's account, many people knew about the case at the time.

The colleague thought about it and found the reasoning plausible, nodding in agreement.

Zhou Jianguo, holding the documents, sighed and said, "This case was a sore point for many detectives and forensic pathologists in the bureau. If a similar case arises and we fail to solve it again, we'll truly be seen as useless."

"With the advancements in technology, things won't be like they were ten years ago," the colleague said confidently.

Ye Sangsang remained silent. She decided to take a closer look, trying to find any similarities.

After finishing her own portion, she even took over Zhou Jianguo's and the colleague's materials to review them.

Bai City was no small place, and forensic pathologists were far from idle. Around noon, they received news of another case.

Though it was a murder case, the situation was straightforward, and the suspect had been caught red-handed.

Thus, only one colleague went, while Ye Sangsang and the others remained on standby at the bureau.

Having stayed up until the early hours of the morning, they took a nap during the noon break.

Ye Sangsang was awakened by a sudden, urgent ring of the phone. Instinctively, she set down her crossed legs on the desk and stood up from her office chair.

"Hello," she said, picking up the white landline.

It was the policewoman who had given Ye Sangsang a ride the previous night. "Fan Jingsi, please come to Lingxi Park. A body has been discovered in the reeds there."

Ye Sangsang quickly agreed.

As she was about to check on Zhou Jianguo, she found him already standing up, rubbing his face to wake himself up.

Having prepared themselves, the two quickly headed to the scene.

Sealing off the scene required many police officers, especially since Lingxi Park was a popular spot with lots of visitors. They needed to keep curious onlookers away.

Along the way, Ye Sangsang heard that the one who reported the discovery was a seasoned angler looking for a secluded, cool spot to fish.

He had searched around and finally found a suitable place.

But upon entering, he was met with a stench rising from the reeds.

At first, he thought some wild animal had died and was rotting. But upon closer inspection, he saw pieces of flesh and even fingernails.

"The man was so terrified that he collapsed on the spot. It took him a while before he finally remembered to call the nearby police station and report it," a fellow officer recounted.

【Indeed, anglers tend to venture into the most remote areas and often find strange things or even reel in peculiar catches.】

【This is not surprising for an angler.】

【I'm horrified just reading this. I used to be an angler myself, but I’ve since quit the hobby. Don’t ask me how I quit fishing.】

As Ye Sangsang gazed out the window, she felt unease creep in as the weather turned overcast.

This sight… was it going to rain?

Soon, they arrived at Lingxi Park.

The management had already opened the gates for the police cars to enter directly.

The vehicles drove until they reached the southeast corner, then they got out and walked for about three minutes until they reached a patch of reeds.

The green reeds were tall and lush in the summer, deep and dense.

Ye Sangsang couldn't help but think: How could a fisherman find the courage to enter such a deep, dense reed patch to look for a fishing spot? Didn't they fear falling and no one being there to help?

Seeing the forensic pathologists arrive, the observing detectives parted the reeds to let them through.

"It's going to rain soon. We need to work quickly. If it’s not feasible here, we’ll bring it back to the bureau. For now, focus on the key parts," Zhou Jianguo said.

Ye Sangsang nodded.

But upon stepping in and seeing the scattered body parts, both she and Zhou Jianguo were stunned.

The size of the pieces was exactly the same as those found indoors.

However, their level of decomposition was more severe, likely due to exposure to direct sunlight in the open air, where the outdoor temperature was higher, thus accelerating the decay.

Ye Sangsang narrowed her eyes, her gaze carrying a hint of danger.

She understood quite clearly that the psychological fortitude of this killer was, in essence, quite close to her own. She could clearly sense that, apart from anger and malice, the killer's mindset was very clear.

In other words, while committing these acts, the killer's mind was in a state of extreme excitement.

Excitement and joy filled him, so he wouldn't feel panicked or uneasy, leaving fewer clues behind.

When he was a detective himself, he realized how truly difficult cases could be.

Ye Sangsang's face was tense as she quietly began to clean up.

The weather gradually darkened, and seeing something was amiss, the investigators put on gloves and started retrieving items.

They first picked up what they could see, and if there were any in the distant part of the river, they might have to wade in to collect them.

In short, everything that could be salvaged needed to be collected to ensure the remains were intact, making it easier to find evidence.

There was even a chance they could recover the murder weapon.

A summer rain came fast. No sooner had they finished collecting the evidence than it started pouring.

Holding a bag of dismembered body parts, they protected them from the rain and carefully returned to the car.

Zhou Jianguo also held the bag close to his chest, afraid it would get wet, as if he couldn't smell the foul odor.

"Don't leave yet. Let's wait and see if the rain will stop," Ye Sangsang suggested.

Summer rains come quickly and leave just as fast, so it was entirely reasonable to wait a bit longer.

The others agreed, and some had already put on their raincoats and gone out.

As Ye Sangsang had predicted, the rain lasted for about three minutes before stopping.

They got out of the car, placed the body parts properly, and turned back to the scene to look for anything they might have missed.

Nearby, the forensic investigators were snapping photos, not missing a single trace at the scene.

The river in the park wasn't deep, even after the recent rain, it only reached up to an adult man's thigh.

So, after getting waterproof clothing, commonly known as "water ghost clothes," they went straight into the water to start retrieving more evidence.

In short, being a police officer requires not only skills but also a lot of physical labor.

Dredging gutters, rivers, ponds, and digging up soil—these were all tasks that criminal police and regular police couldn't escape.

With most of the things on the shore collected, Ye Sangsang went over to inspect what they had retrieved from the water.

For newcomers to the game, if they didn't recognize something, the game copy would label what exactly it was and what it contained.

Ye Sangsang didn't need that and simply opted to ignore it.

She carried a bag, picked up the dismembered body parts, and placed them inside, moving quickly.

"Sister Jingsi, can you really tell the difference?" a young, doll-faced female police officer asked as she came closer to Ye Sangsang.

In such situations, female police officers were generally not allowed to go into the water, nor were slightly shorter or weaker officers.

Besides the chilling cold, they were afraid of the river currents becoming too strong and causing an uncontrollable accident.

Ye Sangsang, hearing the female officer's question, didn't even look up. "No, it's easy to identify. Once you get familiar with it, you'll be able to tell too."

"Do you think, what kind of person could have done this? Brother Qiu has no leads at all," the doll-faced officer inquired.

Brother Qiu was one of the lead investigators in the case, a seasoned veteran detective.

Ye Sangsang didn't answer, only sighed.

The doll-faced female officer, steeling her courage while looking at the decayed body parts, said, "Sister Jingsi, I'll hold the bag. You just pick them up; it'll be faster that way."

Ye Sangsang nodded, not objecting. As a criminal police officer, actively engaging with the case was the fastest way to grow.

The process was tedious and monotonous.

They continued collecting for over two hours before it finally stopped.

Everyone looked a bit disappointed because they still hadn't found the head.

Like the previous case of the little girl, the head had disappeared completely.

Though no one said it out loud, everyone knew in their hearts that the perpetrator of this case was likely the same person as the one in the little girl's case.

They all remained silent on the way back to the station.

The forensic office was taken over by the investigators, as it was next to the autopsy room, and they wanted to get the results as soon as possible.

Another colleague, having finished his tasks, joined the case again.

After working together, the three of them basically confirmed one thing:

The victim was likely a 35-year-old male, estimated to be around 1.7 meters tall based on the head's approximate height.

"The victim worked in a factory lifting heavy objects, so his hands and lower body had muscle development. He had multiple fractures before death, likely due to torture..."

Ye Sangsang directly communicated with the investigators, detailing the victim's height, weight, physical characteristics, injury patterns, and the distribution and nature of the body part cuts.

Next came the estimated time of death and the possible weapon used by the murderer.

Ye Sangsang finished explaining and found that the weapon used to dismember the little girl's body seemed different from the one used on the man's body.

One used a kitchen knife, the other a chopping axe.

Based on the timeline, the girl had died first.

She recalled the amount of blood in the room, which didn't seem to match the girl's blood loss; it was too much.

That couple likely also died in the room.

But if that was the case, why would he choose to take the bodies away for disposal? It would have been easier to just dismember them in place and take only the head.

Ye Sangsang's vision was blurred by someone waving their hand in front of her. She raised her head to meet the doll-faced female officer's concerned dark eyes.

"What are you thinking about, Sister Jingsi?" she asked curiously.

Ye Sangsang shook her head. "Just thinking about the case."

"If they died in the room together, wouldn't it be better to dispose of the bodies together instead of taking them away individually?"

"It's not easy to carry away two people."

Ye Sangsang took a deep breath, still unable to figure out the key point.

Although the female officer was an intern, she had participated in the entire case discussion and was a professionally trained individual, so she immediately understood what Ye Sangsang meant.

She pursed her lips, furrowed her brows, and thought, but couldn't quite grasp it.

Ye Sangsang knew they couldn't discuss it further; finding the real murderer wasn't going to be simple.

The case was assigned to a forensic investigator, probably because the forensic team was seen as playing a crucial role. Otherwise, she would likely have been a criminal police officer.

The investigators discussed some details of the case.

Ye Sangsang found that, like the case from ten years ago, no one around them appeared suspicious.

In other words, this case only had the crime scene and the missing head; there were no eyewitnesses.

The forensic team extracted traces and evidence from the scene, discovering footprints and fingerprints from four people.

Two of them were matched to the already identified victims.

The other two were likely from the wife of the family of three.

The last one was most likely the murderer.

But no suitable match was found in the system, meaning the perpetrator might not have a criminal record.

Ye Sangsang entered the autopsy room, where Zhou Jianguo was carefully continuing the postmortem.

He had a serious look on his face, his eyes filled with determination.

【Though he seemed emotionless when talking about the massacre case earlier, it's clear he has been deeply affected by that case.】

【I once watched a documentary about a case that had gone unsolved for 26 years until a persistent detective finally cracked it. His unwavering gaze brought tears to my eyes.】

【Yes, their dedication is beyond what most people can imagine. They want to deliver justice to the victims and remain steadfast in their beliefs.】

Ye Sangsang didn't speak, putting on gloves and approaching the body.

She carefully cleaned out the dirt from between the fingers and possible DNA remains.

She also compared the size of the cutting tools used and checked if there were any missing body parts.

In fact, the victim had likely endured some form of torture before death.

After all, being a grown man, he posed the greatest threat to the murderer.

So, the first thing needed was to overpower him violently.

The dumping site was also strange, broadening the police's assumptions about the murderer's range.

Ye Sangsang looked at the leg and said, "There are marks of restraint here. The victim must have witnessed his daughter's death."

She could even imagine the scene: the murderer bound him and forced him to watch as he killed his daughter.

Even the wife died in front of the man.

Finally, the murderer killed the man and dismembered his body.

Her hand rested on the victim's leg as she pondered: if she were in that situation, what kind of psychological state would she be in to witness such a scene?

Did she enjoy their pain?

According to the investigators, this family of three was kind to others, though not wealthy, they had a good family atmosphere.

She moved her hand to the edge of the autopsy table, her mind suddenly becoming clearer.

Perhaps the murderer didn't enjoy their pain; instead, he reveled in the destruction of their happy relationship.

He despised everything they represented, so he chose to ruin it.

To destroy this kind of relationship.

If that were the case, it aligned with the name of the copy: Malice.

However, these were just speculations, only providing guesses about the motive behind the crime.

In reality, they didn't serve much purpose and might only be used as references later.

She snapped back to reality and looked at Zhou Jianguo.

"Should we arrange for family members to identify the bodies?" Although they had already confirmed that the remains belonged to a father and daughter from the same family, without heads, they still needed to follow the proper procedures.

Their relatives were also in Baicheng, though in a rural area.

They had been notified immediately after the incident occurred, and given the timing, it was now appropriate to arrange for the identification of the bodies.

Zhou Jianguo nodded, "Make sure the bodies are tidied up, and let the family send someone brave enough to make the identification."

"Alright." Ye Sangsang nodded.

The three of them got to work.

After finishing, Ye Sangsang began notifying the family members.

Once the deceased's family members were notified, they immediately arrived at the bureau. The room for identifying the bodies was located elsewhere.

Ye Sangsang looked at the large group of people and directly stated, "Not everyone can go in. Choose someone who is close to the deceased, is familiar with their body, and is brave enough to identify them. Do not touch or damage the body, and if you feel overwhelmed, leave immediately..."

After giving them the necessary instructions, she watched as people from the crowd made their decision.

After some discussion, the male deceased's father and uncle, along with the girl's aunt, stepped forward. The three of them followed Ye Sangsang into the morgue.

Since the heads were missing, the areas above the necks were covered with white cloth.

The bodies had been stitched together with fine thread after a thorough examination.

So, the entire body was covered in dense stitching, and it took the three of them over two hours to finish this massive task.

The scene was both horrifying and grotesque. Even with some cleaning to maintain a semblance of cleanliness for identification purposes, it was enough to challenge anyone's nerves.

Before unveiling the white cloth, even though Ye Sangsang had already prepared them mentally, the expressions of fear and panic were unavoidable once the cloth was lifted.

Then came the vomiting, fortunately, Ye Sangsang had already arranged for trash cans.

Being family members, the grief was more intense than other emotions, and soon the three of them composed themselves to begin identifying the bodies by examining the hands, feet, and general body condition.

The father, who was familiar with his child, quickly confirmed that the deceased was his son.

The male deceased's uncle identified the body by a mole on the arm.

The girl's aunt had taken care of the girl for over a year and was very familiar with her body.

When identifying the girl, the grandfather and great-grandfather turned away to wipe their tears.

It wasn't about being modest; it was mainly due to grief. When the father recognized his son, his eyes filled with tears, and in that moment, he seemed to age by ten years.

The girl's aunt covered her mouth, wiping away her tears forcefully as she approached to take a close look after Ye Sangsang removed the cloth.

Her hands, placed on the slab, trembled uncontrollably as she examined every inch carefully.

Visit freewebnoveℓ.com for the best novel reading exp𝒆rience.

As time passed, Ye Sangsang could clearly see the hope in her eyes gradually fading.

Presumably, because the aunt was so familiar with the child, she had already recognized that this was her niece.

"Wuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"

Until she saw the burn mark on the girl's foot, she covered her face and broke down in sobs.

Tears streamed out from between her fingers. Before coming here, they had tried to comfort themselves with the thought that it might not be their family, but in this moment, that psychological preparation crumbled.

Ye Sangsang had a general understanding of the situation, covered the body properly, and then helped the aunt to her feet.

"Let's go outside and talk."

There, they could mourn properly.

The investigators also needed to ask them if the couple had ever offended anyone or had any arguments with others.

The three of them went out and informed the others of what had happened.

The deceased's mother didn't cry, but the helplessness and confusion on her face made it clear how deeply lost she felt.

[Crying would be better. If she doesn't cry now, she might react later and feel even more devastated.]

[Too tragic. Every murder case is behind lives severed.]

[This kind of realistic scene makes me weep every time.]

The investigators sent away the unnecessary people and kept the closest blood relatives. After comforting them, they began asking questions.

Ye Sangsang quietly stood to the side and watched.

Death happens in an instant, but for the living, everything is just beginning.

In fact, she could empathize with such a scene, because she had experienced something similar.

The departure of Madame Ye Xin, at first glance, seemed calm, but in reality, she often thought about her.

Thanks to her good memory, she could accurately remember the small mole on her cheek, the color of her eyes, and even the angle of her smile.

Previously, she didn't understand why she kept recalling these memories.

Now, looking at the mother's blank expression, it suddenly clicked.

The investigators didn't get any crucial information. The couple worked in the city and brought their daughter to attend elementary school there. Due to the high cost of phone calls, they only contacted their family three times a month.

With such infrequent communication, there wasn't much time to discuss anything else, let alone whether they had offended anyone or encountered any issues.

In Zhongzhou Country, people tend to share only good news when they are away from home.

Ye Sangsang returned and looked at the two bodies, one large and one small, pushing them back into the cold storage.

Hopefully, they could soon reunite them with their missing parts.

The impact of this incident was greater than expected. With a family of three resulting in two deaths and one disappearance, coupled with the fact that the crime scene resembled a decade-old massacre, it quickly made the front page of the Baicheng Evening News, and even some provincial city newspapers seemed poised to report on it, with reporters already on their way.

The city was under immense pressure, and this pressure cascaded downwards, ordering the case investigators to produce results within a week.

If the case continued to be as unresolved as the decade-old one, the credibility of the entire police department would be called into question.

The forensic department was under significant pressure as well, working overtime to analyze DNA samples, test blood types from the scene, and determine the status of the other missing female victim.

The criminal investigation team was fully mobilized, analyzing potential crime scenes, conducting door-to-door investigations, and reviewing surveillance footage.

Even police dogs were deployed in the search, hoping that the missing woman was still alive and could be found.

In this tense atmosphere, the white landline phone rang.

Almost instantly, Zhou Jianguo's face darkened.

Because the phone rang, it meant they, the forensic team, needed to head to the scene.

The third victim had likely already met their fate.

He closed his eyes and, trembling, reached out his hand.

"Hello, Baicheng Forensic Science Department."

A young hand reached out, surpassing his, and firmly picked up the phone.

Her voice was resolute, her eyes filled with absolute calm.