During the forensic examination, a corpse underwent a meticulous inspection that involved opening up the abdomen.

After the autopsy, it might even be cremated, ultimately resulting in nothing but a handful of ashes.

The only thing that remains in the case file, as legal and scientific evidence, is this report.

It is the condensation of all material evidence and biological traces from the deceased's final journey in life.

Soon, the autopsy report was delivered into Jiang An's hands.

Mr. Wu said, "This is the complete examination record."

"First, this is the male victim found in the living room, labeled as #1, the body is severely charred, overall carbonized, in a typical fighting stance, with eyebrows and hair all burned."

"General observation shows that the victim has a total of five stab wounds on the chest, mainly distributed around the heart area, sternum, and right abdomen."

"These wounds are extremely deep, all of them have injured internal organs, causing rupture of the heart, lungs, stomach, kidneys, and spleen."

"A large amount of blood can be seen accumulating in the thoracic and abdominal cavity, clearly indicating fatal injuries."

"The #2 victim is found on the bedroom bed, female, also in a fighting stance, with muscles across the body severely carbonized, but no apparent puncture wounds on the body surface."

"Confirmed by X-ray and autopsy, no fractures were found in the skull, limb bones, or torso."

"The toxicological results show no detected common or suspicious toxic substances, currently the cause of death remains unclear."

"The #3 victim is found under the bed, an adult female."

"This corpse is less burned, with only partial charred marks on the body surface, most of the skin remains intact."

"Postmortem examination found obvious petechial hemorrhage in the conjunctiva, cyanosis at the fingertips, and livor mortis is bright red."

"These signs strongly suggest that the cause of death could be carbon monoxide poisoning."

"The #4 victim is nestled within the arms of the #3 victim, a young girl."

"Apart from the hair on the right side being charred and carbonized, the skin overall is relatively intact."

"Livor mortis is similarly bright red, nails are cyanotic, and the conjunctiva shows a large number of petechial hemorrhages."

"These manifestations are consistent with the cellular asphyxia characteristics caused by carbon monoxide poisoning."

After a brief pause, Mr. Wu spoke: "The cause of death for these bodies is relatively clear, the only particularly noticeable aspect is the numerous stabbing wounds on the male victim."

"However, as the skin of the corpse is already highly carbonized, we cannot determine whether there are superficial wounds; the visible wounds currently have already penetrated deep into the victim's chest and abdominal cavity."

"Of course, in the limbs or chest and abdomen, there may still be some superficial wounds that we cannot identify for the time being."

Upon hearing this, Jiang An gently nodded, then said, "Mr. Wu, you've worked hard."

"Completing the autopsy of these bodies in such a short time is indeed challenging for you all."

Wu You waved his hand and said with a smile, "Ah, Mr. Jiang, you are being too polite."

"Here in this forensic autopsy room, we cooperate very well."

"The two new forensic assistants are very diligent, and their dissection skills are also very precise."

"As an 'old-timer' forensic pathologist, I am just blinking my eyes, taking notes, and the main hard work is done by them." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Then, Wu You raised his watch and looked at it, asking, "Mr. Jiang, do you see any other work left to do?"

Jiang An quickly said, "Mr. Wu, you've worked hard today, go back and have a good rest early."

Wu You nodded and said, "If there's nothing else, I'll go pick up my grandson, it's probably almost school dismissal time now."

"If there's anything else you need, feel free to call me, I'll be in Jiangcheng for the time being."

"Alright, Mr. Wu, take care."

"Shall I drive you to pick up your grandson?"

Wu You shook his head and said, "No need, my wife is waiting at the door with the car, I'll go directly in a moment."

"Alright, take care."

At the entrance, watching Wu You's figure gradually fade away, ultimately disappearing at the stairwell, Jiang An finally withdrew his gaze slowly and turned to push open the office door again.

Inside the room, the lights were bright, the atmosphere heavy.

As Jiang An stepped into the room, Wan immediately raised his head and quickly moved forward.

"Mr. Jiang, you came back right on time."

"We just carefully reviewed the autopsy report, and one finding is particularly noteworthy—from the injury situation of the four bodies, the male head of the household in the living room was far more severely injured than the other three."

"The dense and severe trauma, especially multiple fatal wounds on the head, face, and chest and abdomen, clearly indicate that he suffered a concentrated and intense attack."

"Does this suggest that the killer's main target was highly likely to be the male head of the household?"

"Others might have just been caught up or killed out of necessity."

As soon as Wan finished speaking, Qin Feng immediately followed up, his voice calm yet subtly excited: "Mr. Jiang, I completely agree with Wan's view."

"Moreover, the positioning of the bodies is highly suggestive."

"The male head of the household was found lying in the center of the living room, surrounded by clear traces of a struggle, furniture disarrayed, and the spray pattern of blood indicates he was conscious and engaged in direct and intense confrontation with the killer."

"The intensity of this confrontation is far beyond a sudden attack or simple venting of anger."

"Therefore, we tend to believe that the killer's core intent was to take the life of the male head of the household."

"The other three victims were likely cleared incidentally under this main purpose."

Jiang An stood still, listening to the two men's narrative, his gaze lingering on their faces for a moment, then falling into a brief contemplation.