Starting with dissecting ghost stories

The air inside the video arcade was so stuffy it was suffocating.

Even with a mask on, the stench, a mixture of the smell of corpses, chemical raw materials, and excrement, still seeps in everywhere, like a greasy film stuck to the nasal mucosa.

"vomit--"

A sound of retching came from the doorway. It was the young auxiliary police officer who had tried to squeeze in to see what was going on. He only glanced at the things on the offering table before covering his mouth and rushing out.

Inside, the white light of the flashbulbs went off one after another.

Lu Wenying stood in front of the offering table, the shutter of her Canon camera clicking incessantly.

In the viewfinder, there are three heads that have long since lost their life.

Even without complicated identification, in this small, old town with a close-knit community, a local police officer recognized two of the deceased at a glance.

"He's a notorious gambler, I've arrested him many times. The woman in the middle is his ex-wife, Liu Cui, she's been missing for three days. The younger one is his daughter, her grandmother also reported her missing last night..."

Police officer Lao Zhang shook his head, turned around and looked at Li Ya, who was huddled in the corner with a gruesome death expression, and said, "This kid probably went crazy. He took too much of that drug, killed his wife and children, and then sent himself to his death."

The forensic investigators and police officers nearby were all nodding in agreement.

The scene was so "complete".

The body was at the scene, the murder weapon was at the scene, the victim was at the scene, Li Ya had a criminal record and was also a drug addict and gambler, so his motive was also very clear.

In grassroots criminal investigation work, this is the kind of case that is set in stone and can be closed as long as the report is written nicely.

"Captain Chen, I think that's enough."

Outside the video rental store, Old Zhang took off his mask to get some fresh air, lit a cigarette to calm his nerves, and said to those inside:

"This kid was still holding a syringe. Once that stuff is in, even a god can't save him. Plus, the whole room smells like that... He probably wanted to dispose of the body, but he got high and poisoned himself."

Chen Liming did not speak immediately.

He walked around the table covered with plastic film, his hands behind his back, his gaze sweeping over the overturned chemical drums and then over Li Ya's body in the corner.

Although tragic, the logic is indeed sound.

"Notify the hearse to come and pick up the body," Chen Liming said in a deep voice. "First, take these few...back home and let forensic doctor Wang do a quick check. If there are no problems, then..."

"The case cannot be closed."

A slightly trembling voice abruptly interrupted Chen Liming's deployment.

Everyone paused for a moment, their eyes turning to Lu Wenying, who was still squatting in the corner.

Lu Wenying didn't look up; she was holding a camera and taking macro photos of the edge of the plastic film stuck to the corner of the wall.

"Captain Chen, something's not right here." Lu Wenying stood up.

"What's wrong?" Old Zhang exhaled a puff of smoke impatiently. "Lu, the talented woman, the body is right here, and the murderer is lying there too. What else is there to investigate? Investigate why a heartless drug addict would kill his wife? Does a drug addict need a reason to kill someone?"

You said it yourself, he's a gambler and a drug addict.

Lu Wenying pointed to the plastic sheets covering the wall tightly, her tone calm:

"The behavior of someone who has committed a crime of passion and is in a state of euphoria due to methamphetamine, or even experiencing severe hallucinations, should be chaotic, destructive, and disorderly."

She walked to the wall, glanced at the surrounding plastic sheeting, and then said:

"But look here."

"All the plastic films in this room are applied extremely smoothly, without bubbles or wrinkles. Every piece of tape is cut neatly with a knife, not bitten or torn by hand."

Chen Liming interrupted Lu Wenying in a deep voice: "This only proves that he hadn't injected drugs when the scene was set up."

"How many drug addicts have you seen who inject methamphetamine directly into their bodies? There are no other needle marks on his body, is his addiction that severe?" Lu Wenying subconsciously retorted, but quickly realized something, and immediately lowered her head, saying, "I'm sorry, Captain Chen."

A brief silence fell over the scene.

Nobody likes working overtime, especially in this small town where no major crimes have ever happened, yet three people have been brutally dismembered... and it was even the murder of a close relative.

Everyone wants to escape this feeling of disgust and discomfort.

Old Zhang, leaning against the door, chuckled, threw his cigarette butt on the ground and stomped it out, then said with a forced smile:

"Alright, alright, Officer Lu, we're investigating a case, not writing a thesis. Li Ya worked in different factories when he was broke, he might have even worked as a packaging worker, so it's normal for him to be good at applying screen protectors..."

"Where is the body?"

Lu Wenying ignored Lao Zhang's sarcasm and threw out the most crucial question.

"There are only three heads here."

"Where did the three people's torsos go? That's at least a hundred kilograms of body parts. Li Ya doesn't have a car, and there's no sewage outlet in this video studio. If he really dismembered the bodies here, then the torsos must still be nearby."

"Without finding the torso, it cannot be proven that the primary crime scene was here."

"If the primary crime scene wasn't here, how did Li Ya manage to transport three heads and hide the bodies all by himself?"

"Is it possible..." Lu Wenying took a deep breath, "that someone helped him? We can't rule out the possibility that Li Ya is the only murderer. We'll have to wait for the fingerprints of the murder weapon and the forensic report."

"Oh dear..." Old Zhang was speechless and could only sigh dramatically. He spread his hands to the brothers around him and said, "Listen to this, listen to this. This is the academic school. Even if the murderer puts a knife in your hand, she will first check if there are any alien fingerprints on the handle."

A few scattered laughs rang out from the surroundings.

"Lu Wenying," Chen Liming said, his voice somewhat deep.

"exist."

"Your reasoning makes sense, but investigations require evidence." Chen Liming pointed to Li Ya's hand. "Did you extract fingerprints from the syringe in his hand?"

"It's been extracted, and preliminary comparison confirms it belongs to Li Ya," the forensic investigator quickly replied.

"Where's the lock?"

"It's a spherical lock, locked from the inside, with no signs of forced entry, and the windows are all sealed shut. It's a secret room."

Chen Liming looked at Lu Wenying with a hint of warning in his eyes: "A locked room, suicide, a murder weapon in hand. To overturn these, you need something tougher."

"Autopsy."

Lu Wenying did not back down. She straightened her back and continued:

"I request that a full autopsy be performed on the four deceased."

"First, conduct toxicology analysis to determine whether Li Ya died from a drug overdose, chloroform poisoning, or something else. If it was suicide, there would be characteristics in the injection angle and depth... If it was murder or forgery, there would definitely be defensive wounds or signs of being subdued."

"Second, confirm the exact time of death and the cutting tool used by the three victims. If it was the same boning knife, the tiny chip on the blade would leave a unique scratch on the bone."

"Third, and most importantly—the three bodies must be found. I don't think the case should be closed until the bodies are found."

Upon hearing that they still needed to find a body, Old Zhang immediately panicked: "Miss Lu, this old city area is so big, full of unfinished buildings and demolished houses. Where are we supposed to find it? Isn't this like looking for a needle in a haystack? We already don't have enough police resources..."

"Then we'll request police dogs and assistance from the neighborhood committee," Lu Wenying insisted. "If Li Ya has accomplices, those accomplices might be hiding in the shadows right now, laughing at us. Letting a murderer go is a desecration of the dead."

The atmosphere became tense.

On one side are the seasoned veterans who are eager to close the case and don't want to go through any more trouble.

On one side are the newcomers who uphold procedural justice and cannot tolerate any wrongdoing.

Chen Liming remained silent for a long time.

Looking into Lu Wenying's unwavering eyes, he seemed to see himself twenty years ago, a naive young man fresh out of police academy.

This Lu Wenying might also be an opportunity for me.

a long time.

"Alright."

Chen Liming waved his hand, interrupting Lao Zhang's unfinished complaint.

"Old Zhang, take some men and search the garbage dumps, unfinished buildings, and sewers within a two-kilometer radius. If you don't find the body, expand the search area."

"Captain Chen! This..." Old Zhang looked constipated.

"Do as I say." Chen Liming glared at him, then turned to Lu Wenying. "Regarding the autopsy, contact forensic pathologist Lao Liu. Until the report is out, the case will be suspended and the nature of the crime will not be determined."

After saying that, he gave Lu Wenying a meaningful look, and then continued:

"Wen Yin, since you think there are suspicious points, then investigate to the end. But I'll also say this upfront: if it turns out that Li Ya committed suicide in the end, you'll have to bear the resentment of the brothers working overtime this week."

"Yes."

Lu Wenying gave a salute, her voice clear and crisp.

She turned around and looked again at the seemingly perfect scene that felt so incongruous.

Although Captain Chen had finally spoken, the unease in her heart had not disappeared.

It's too clean.

Even the so-called "chaos" was as clean as a rehearsal, with not a single drop of waste liquid contaminating the corpses.

If there really is a second person...

Lu Wenying's gaze fell on the overturned bottle of medical alcohol.

That person must be an extremely terrifying individual.

He not only understands counter-surveillance, but he even... understands how grassroots police officers think and how to guide their thinking.