Chapter 407: The Hard Investigation

Chen Shi noticed the room had gone silent. He looked around and saw everyone in the lab staring at him in surprise. “Why are you all looking at me like that?”

Peng Siqiao said, “You were deep in thought for a long time and then suddenly blurted that out. How do you think we should react?”

“What I mean is, the killer ‘cleaned’ the victim’s stomach and hid the head because the victim gave him oral sex. The victim’s mouth and stomach might have his DNA!”

Peng Siqiao understood immediately and instructed, “Cut open the esophagus!”

“By the way, have you calculated the location?”

“A group of meteorologists is working on it outside.”

“I’ll go check.”

Lin Dongxue had been standing at the door during the entire autopsy. She didn’t dare come closer. Just listening to their deductions was disgusting enough.

Despite having seen many cases, she wasn’t afraid of corpses anymore. But as a woman, hearing about such sexual torture murders made her instinctively uncomfortable.

Chen Shi waved her over to follow him. In another meeting room, a group of bespectacled experts was arguing. The table was covered with draft papers and maps. Chen Shi asked, “Hello, I’m with the special investigation team. Do we have any results?”

An elderly expert with graying hair said, “Captain Peng said the time of death was between 8 PM and midnight. Calculating from that range, the area is still too large.”

“Dismembering takes time. You can calculate from midnight to 5 AM.”

“We did, but you don’t know the situation. There’s a low-pressure system moving in, and the wind direction last night was unpredictable—sometimes southeast, sometimes northwest. We might need to conduct an experiment.”

“What experiment?”

“Can you find identical balloons? We want to attach a weighted object and see how long it takes to fall.”

“That sounds dangerous. We’re lucky the falling body parts didn’t kill anyone today. What if something goes wrong during the experiment?”

“We’ll track the balloon’s path and conduct the experiment in the suburbs to ensure it doesn’t hit anyone.”

“Alright then.”

Chen Shi went to the technical team and brought back pieces of the balloon. The experts examined them and roughly determined the size. Fortunately, one balloon hadn’t burst, and the technicians had found it contained 98% pure hydrogen.

The experts were about to leave for the experiment when Chen Shi asked, “Do we need to consider the release height?”

The elderly expert paused and said, “Good point. Yes, that’s an important factor.”

“Our investigation shows the release was from a high-rise rooftop. Use the average height of the fifty tallest buildings in the city.”

“Just so you know, the calculated range might be quite large.”

“No problem,” Chen Shi smiled. “Having a range is better than nothing.”

Peng Siqiao called them over. They went to the underground garage, where the technicians had brought half a pig and various saws from the market, including several electric saws. Chen Shi shook his head when the electric saw was turned on. “Too loud. The killer wouldn’t use this.”

“Let’s try it anyway,” Peng Siqiao said.

After cutting off a pig leg, Peng Siqiao examined the cross-section, shook his head, and had his team try again.

They tested all the saws. The half pig was now dismembered into pieces resembling the corpse. They finally determined the closest match was a folding gardener’s saw, like a foldable knife, very convenient to carry.

Lin Dongxue said, “This saw is only sold in large supermarkets, right?”

“Let’s check it out now,” Chen Shi said. “Wrap some leg meat for me and freeze it in your lab.”

They inquired about the saw’s suppliers and went to several supermarkets. Not many people had bought it, and even fewer matched the crime time. They found surveillance footage from five supermarkets.

At 8 PM, as they left the last supermarket, Chen Shi stood still, staring at a building ahead. Lin Dongxue followed his gaze. “That’s the Dynasty Hotel, a five-star hotel. You don’t think…”

“No, I’m just thinking about the case… Let’s go back. Tao Yueyue must be starving.”

“Am I having dinner at your place tonight?”

“Sure, you’re welcome!”

Exhausted, Chen Shi had no energy to cook and ordered takeout for dinner.

After eating, Tao Yueyue went to her room to study. Chen Shi took a bottle of whiskey from the fridge and asked Lin Dongxue, “Want a drink?”

“If you want to drink, then drink.”

Chen Shi poured a small glass of whiskey. After a hard day, a drink felt great. He turned on the TV and sat with Lin Dongxue.

The TV was a recent purchase. He used to think a computer was enough, but lately, he enjoyed watching brainless TV shows with Lin Dongxue after dinner.

Maybe the feeling of home lies in these seemingly trivial things. After a day’s hard work, a man looks forward to coming home, having a drink, watching some TV, and spending time with his partner.

Lin Dongxue flipped through channels and stopped at a regular station showing a variety show. Singer Luo Zuyu was playing an interactive game with the host, full of laughter.

“No drama tonight?” Chen Shi asked, holding Lin Dongxue.

“No dramas on Saturday nights… Do you know this singer?”

“Seems like he was banned a few years ago for some inappropriate comments. How is he back now?”

“I’ll tell you a secret. The one who exposed him was my brother’s idol… Song Lang!”

“Really?” Chen Shi became interested.

“I heard that Song Lang was investigating a case and accidentally found Luo Zuyu making inappropriate comments in a semi-public setting. Despite the agency’s pleas, Song Lang handed it over to the media. Ruthless, but deserved. Coming to the mainland to make money and daring to say such things!”

“Haha, serves him right!”

The show entered an interview segment, which was also part of the interactive game. Luo Zuyu had to draw random questions from a box and answer them. He pulled out a question.

The host read, “Mr. Luo, a viewer wants to know, who is the person you dislike the most?”

Luo Zuyu made an exasperated face. “How to put this, my career has been pretty smooth. If I have to say, it might be my past self!”

“Dislike your past self?”

“Because when I first became famous, I got a bit arrogant, you know, prideful. I might have left a bad impression on my fans. I’ve been trying to reform myself, doing charity work, hoping to leave the past behind and show you a more positive Luo Zuyu!”

The host applauded. “Great answer. We can see that you have changed.”

Watching this segment, Chen Shi showed a faint look of contempt.