Chapter 717: Dumping the Body

On a dark and windy midnight, a group of people carrying black bags sneaked out of the neighborhood, looking around cautiously as if they were part of a secretive gathering.

“Damn it, they took it away!”

“Let’s dump it on the street!”

The people, in groups of two or three, headed to the street. Although they didn’t know each other, they exchanged knowing smiles when their eyes met, like comrades in a fallen territory.

Someone in the crowd shouted, “Hey, there’s a trash can over there!”

“Charge!”

“Screw the garbage sorting!”

“Yeah, screw the garbage sorting, haha!”

They joyfully ran towards the lonely trash can on the street corner. Just a few steps away, the people in the front swung their bags like shot put athletes. Some hit the target, while others missed.

They didn’t care; just tossing the trash near the bin was the extent of their civic responsibility.

Recently, Long’an was designated as a pilot city for garbage sorting, and many people found it hard to adapt. Wet waste, dry waste—they couldn’t figure it out. A milk carton had to be dismantled into several parts for disposal, which was extremely troublesome.

“Using different plastic bags to sort trash is even more polluting.”

“We have our own national circumstances. This Japanese idea doesn’t suit us.”

“We already had an ecosystem where scavengers sorted the trash. Now it’s all messed up, wasting manpower and resources. It’ll probably blow over soon.”

Like other pilot cities, Long’an was filled with complaints, albeit mostly in private.

So, as soon as night fell, groups of people would sneak out to dispose of the day’s accumulated trash.

Suddenly, a beam of light shot out from behind the trash can. The midnight trash dumpers instinctively shielded their eyes from the glare. Someone shouted from the other end of the beam, “Freeze, police!”

“Shit, it’s the cops! Run!”

They dropped their trash bags and bolted. The waiting police officers and neighborhood garbage supervisors chased them down but only managed to catch one or two, who grudgingly paid the fines.

Soon, the area returned to nighttime quiet. The neighborhood committee members shook their heads at the scattered trash bags. “These people, they keep dumping trash in the dead of night, adding to our workload. Thanks to the police for their help today.”

“Sigh, this isn’t a long-term solution,” said one officer.

“After all, the 200 yuan fine isn’t high. Hiring someone to dump the trash for you costs almost 400 yuan a week. This garbage sorting thing needs more time,” said a wise older woman from the committee.

They started cleaning up the trash. When they opened one plastic bag and dumped its contents, a pale hand appeared among the fruit peels and toilet paper. The person dumping the trash jumped back, screaming, “Officer, what is this?”

The police officer approached and felt a chill down his spine. “Contact the criminal investigation team.”

On April 2, Chen Shi received a text from Lin Dongxue and went to the bureau. The dismembered body had been placed on Peng Siyue’s autopsy table, roughly pieced together into a human shape. There were nine pieces in total, appearing to be a woman who had been dead for a week. The cause of death was still undetermined.

“What’s the situation?” Chen Shi asked.

“Recently, due to the implementation of garbage sorting, people have been secretly dumping trash at night. Last night, the neighborhood committee and local police organized an operation to catch these people. They found the dismembered body in the discarded trash… Oh, the body parts were packed in different bags,” Lin Qiupu said. “But by the time we got there, the committee members had dumped dozens of trash bags out, so we couldn’t trace which bag the parts were originally in.”

“What about those people?”

“They came from several nearby neighborhoods. We couldn’t get anything out of them. Their main motive was to avoid garbage sorting, so they wouldn’t admit to anything.”

“You can tell them we’re investigating a murder, not the littering.”

Lin Qiupu smiled wryly. “I don’t think they’d believe it. These people are habitual trash dumpers and could face hefty fines, so they wouldn’t admit anything.”

“Habitual trash dumpers!” Chen Shi wanted to laugh. Garbage sorting had brought a lot of trouble to his life. The committee’s sorting booklet gave him a headache. Fortunately, Tao Yueyue helped with sorting. He missed the days when he could just dump everything in one bag.

Civic responsibility often starts as a forced measure. Decades ago, people didn’t consider spitting in public as immoral. Only through strict fines and regulations did not spitting become a social norm.

He saw garbage sorting as individuals helping the country. In this era, environmental protection should be part of morality. Although reluctant, he still supported it.

“Chen Shi, what do you think?” Lin Qiupu asked.

“The body dumper is smart,” Chen Shi said. “Their goal is to prevent the police from finding out two things: the source of the body and the identity of the deceased. Dumping the body parts in the city has the same effect as dumping them in the wilderness.”

“Are you here to praise the body dumper?” Lin Qiupu teased.

“The forensics team is here. Why are you asking my opinion?”

Peng Siyue said, “We haven’t identified the deceased or determined the cause of death, but I found something else. The body parts seem to have been cut with the same tool, as the cut marks and metal particles left by the tool are similar. However, the body parts were treated differently: the right leg was scrubbed with a steel wool pad, the left hand soaked in lye, the chest had bite marks possibly from a dog, and the head had been cleaned with a corrosive liquid.”

Chen Shi concluded, “I suspect the body dumper isn’t the killer. They’re a group of people. The body was dismembered by someone and then came into their possession. Not knowing how to deal with it, they took this approach. One thing is certain—they know each other. Otherwise, they wouldn’t dump the body together in one night. It’s a small circle.”

“Neighbors?” Lin Dongxue suggested.

“Neighbors aren’t a small circle. I think it could be a company or a hobby group.”

“If the body dumper isn’t the killer, why didn’t they report it to the police?” Lin Dongxue asked.

Chen Shi looked at the dismembered body on the autopsy table. “There’s only one possibility: the deceased was related to them, and that relationship had to be kept secret. The person who dismembered the body used it as a silent threat, as if to say, ‘I know your secret!'”