Chapter 52: The Evil in Human Nature

The manager paced around Xiao Li’s body for a long time, nearly finishing a pack of cigarettes. Everyone on the scene was terrified.

Suddenly, the manager said, “We need to saw off her head. If the police don’t know who she is, they won’t trace her back here!” Then he pointed at the female employees. “You, go get the tools!”

Under the manager’s orders, the female employees reluctantly went out, walked several blocks to a hardware store, and bought the tools. One of the female employees, an accountant who was the manager’s relative and confidant, supervised the entire process.

To ensure everyone was implicated, the manager made the female employees move the body to an empty lot behind the parking lot, saw off the head, clean it with disinfectant, and remove all traces of blood.

Afterward, he instructed two male employees to wrap the body in plastic and dispose of it in the wild, with the head and body discarded in separate locations.

Then the manager took a bag of money from the office safe, giving each person 10,000 yuan, saying, “No one speaks a word about this! Otherwise, we’re all dead. Understand?”

After this incident, the entire company was shrouded in fear and oppression. Colleagues avoided smiling when they met, carrying a sense of awkwardness.

The manager took some follow-up actions, including disposing of the table where Xiao Li was tied, erasing all her records to make her disappear completely, and repeatedly pressuring the employees.

He told them that if the police came, they should pretend to know nothing. He would handle it. He also said the police might interrogate them individually and trick them by saying others had already confessed, but they shouldn’t be afraid—it was all a tactic.

“The manager also said…”

“Enough!” Lin Dongxue couldn’t listen anymore, her teeth grinding. “They’re monsters!”

Chen Shi asked, “What about Xiao Li’s family?”

“Xiao Li was a migrant worker living alone. She only contacted her family during holidays, so they don’t know yet.”

“Her workstation?”

An employee pointed, “It was there, but then…”

“Disposed of?”

“Yes!” He replied, sweating profusely.

“Any records of her?”

“All destroyed… Wait!”

The employee led them to a hallway, opened an electrical box, and inside was a small shrine with a photo of a girl, flanked by electronic candles. Below the photo were some simple offerings like candies and cakes.

The employee said, “I don’t know who started it, but everyone felt guilty, so they quietly come here to pay their respects.” He wiped away tears. “Xiao Li, I’m sorry. I’m not a human being!”

“What’s the use of saying that now!” Lin Dongxue was furious at these people.

“Do you have nightmares?” Chen Shi asked.

The employee paused, “Every night, I dream of headless Xiao Li coming to take my life.”

Chen Shi said to Lin Dongxue, “Alright, the truth is out. Let’s detain everyone.”

The employee panicked, “Officer, didn’t you say you’d let me go?”

“I never said that. We’ll decide your fate once the case is fully resolved!”

“I didn’t kill her! I swear, she was still making noises when I was… with her!” His demeanor changed, desperately trying to exonerate himself. Lin Dongxue wanted to slap him.

Lin Dongxue called the bureau. Lin Qiupu personally led a team to arrest everyone and shut down the company.

Lin Qiupu said, “Got them all. You guys did it!”

Chen Shi smiled, “What about our bet?”

“Alright, hotpot at Dongdashun, my treat in a few days.” Although he lost the bet, Lin Qiupu was relieved to have solved the case.

But the case wasn’t truly over. The biggest challenge was determining criminal responsibility. During interrogations, the male employees tried every trick to exonerate themselves, their disgraceful antics disgusted the interrogators.

Peng Sijue suggested to Lin Qiupu, “The victim died from positional asphyxiation. She was taking acetaminophen, which impairs lung function. In such a condition, being violently tied up led to her asphyxiation. So the person who tied her up bears criminal responsibility.”

Lin Qiupu accepted his professional advice. In the end, the primary criminal responsibility fell on the obese manager. Despite his attempts to talk his way out and irrational demands for a lawyer, it was too late. All involved were soon handed over to the judicial system.

The obese manager couldn’t escape charges of manslaughter and rape. As for the employees, a few who weren’t involved escaped punishment, but most were left with indelible stains on their records, paying for that night’s madness with a lifetime of hardship.

These were later developments.

While the interrogation work began, Chen Shi, Lin Dongxue, and Peng Sijue drove to a wasteland in the western suburbs. With the bureau short-handed, the task of finding the victim’s remains fell to them.

“It’s around here, right?” Lin Dongxue kept looking outside.

“There’s a utility pole painted red up ahead.”

“That’s the spot!”

They parked and searched the wild land. Finding a head in hundreds of acres of wasteland was like finding a needle in a haystack. Chen Shi’s back ached from the search. He stood up, lit a cigarette, and noticed Peng Sijue standing beside him.

Out of courtesy, Chen Shi offered him a cigarette, “Captain Peng, want one?”

Peng Sijue took it, saying, “No one ever offers me cigarettes because I never smoke at work, so they all think I don’t smoke… How did you know I smoked?”

“I didn’t know. It’s just common courtesy,” Chen Shi laughed.

“Chen Shi, you always remind me of someone.”

“Let me guess, a friend?… Does the cold and stern Captain Peng have friends?”

Peng Sijue ignored his joke, “A taxi driver who solved three bizarre cases. Unbelievable! Who are you?”

“I’ve always wondered about that myself!” Chen Shi shrugged, smiling, and used his hand to shield the lighter flame for Peng Sijue.

“I found it!”

Lin Dongxue ran over joyfully, saw the scene, and laughed, “When did you two become so close? Oh, Captain Peng smokes too?”

“Cut the chatter and go look!” Peng Sijue put the cigarette into a test tube, extinguishing it after two puffs.

They went to where Lin Dongxue was pointing. In the grass was a decomposed head, with long hair indicating it belonged to a woman.

Lin Dongxue sighed, “Such a lovely girl, ending up like this. Why are people so wicked?”

“Maybe it’s the so-called collective unconscious. An individual with morals can lose their mind and become a beast in a group,” Chen Shi said.

“Carl Jung’s theory,” Peng Sijue said. “But why do groups commit evil deeds? Maybe it’s because human nature is inherently evil!”

The cold wind blew, as if the souls of the dead were lamenting.

Lin Dongxue clasped her hands together, silently praying, “Xiao Li, rest in peace.”