Chapter 725: A Man Deletes His Phone Before He Dies

“I think the killer has made his intentions clear. He’s avenging Duan Lin, and he’s not done yet. There will be more killings!” Chen Shi voiced his opinion in the car.

Lin Dongxue responded, “I think so too… but let’s wait for the forensic results.”

“You don’t need to wait for everything. Show some initiative!”

From the front seat, Peng Sijue interjected, “Someone’s implying that my existence is meaningless.”

“Hey, Old Peng, don’t take it personally!” Chen Shi said. “By the way, I have something to ask you. How was Duan Lin’s body divided?”

“Head, upper chest with both upper arms, left forearm, right forearm, pelvis with both thighs, right calf, left calf, abdominal organs like intestines and stomach, and thoracic organs like the heart and lungs.”

“Thanks. Look, Wei’s left calf was cut off. I have a bold idea. I think the piece he received was the left calf. The body parts they received are death warnings.”

The recipients of each body part had been a mystery.

Lin Dongxue said, “I don’t understand why they won’t say which part they got. It doesn’t affect anything, right? Like that guy last time, Xiao Si, he was willing to admit to his dirty deeds but not this.”

Chen Shi added, “I’ve been pondering that too. Suddenly, it hit me. How did they know the pieces they received were from a girl named Duan Lin? The one who got the head, sure, that’s obvious. But the other eight? How could they know?”

“Ah!” Lin Dongxue suddenly realized, “They’re hiding who got the head. But why? Is it that important?”

“It’s the killer’s test!” Chen Shi’s eyes sparkled. “The killer doesn’t know who killed Duan Lin, but he suspects someone. The suspect received the head. If this person recognizes Duan Lin, it confirms he’s the killer. Guilty conscience. The ‘suspect’ realizes trouble is coming, so he did two things: destroyed the face and got the other eight to keep it a secret.”

Lin Dongxue thought for a moment, “Or, the ‘suspect’ received another part, like a piece with a birthmark on Duan Lin’s chest. Think about it, these nine guys often bragged about their new girlfriends in the group. When we first questioned Zhang Xiao, he knew Duan Lin, and so did Xiao Si. This shows they shared information. Duan Lin might have had some distinguishing feature known only to her boyfriend. This person realized it was a test and got everyone to keep their piece a secret.”

“Hahaha, very detailed!” Chen Shi praised Lin Dongxue’s imaginative reasoning. “If that’s the case, I have another idea. The killer destroyed the victim’s face, but if these nine guys still knew who she was, it means the one who received the ‘special part’ was her boyfriend!”

“But how did the killer know they knew?”

“Hmm…” Chen Shi was puzzled. How did the killer get the information? A flash of inspiration struck him. The killer is one of them!?

Chen Shi wanted Peng Sijue’s opinion, “Old Peng, what do you think?”

Peng Sijue remained motionless in the front seat. The driver said, “Captain Peng is asleep.”

“Damn!”

Back at the station, Chen Shi was eager to investigate further, to re-interview the remaining eight men. But Lin Qiupu kept emphasizing, “Wait for the forensic results!”

The initial results were from the deceased Wei’s phone. His fingerprints and blood were on it. Many files had been deleted but were recovered through technical means.

Everyone gathered in the meeting room, watching videos from the deceased’s phone.

After one video, Lin Qiupu immediately said, “Turn it off! Turn it off!”

The videos were all obscene, self-directed AVs filmed secretly by the deceased during his hotel trysts. There were dozens of them, each with a different “female lead.”

“What a disgusting scumbag!” Someone commented from a dark corner.

“Who said that? Was it you, Xiaodong?” Lin Qiupu glared.

“It wasn’t me…” Xu Xiaodong looked innocent.

Then there were a bunch of photos. Some showed him in luxury cars, hands on the steering wheel wearing expensive watches, others were staged in front of famous landmarks (mostly European), or playing golf.

When the photos were magnified on the screen, flaws became apparent. Several officers said, “Photoshopped, the shadows on the face don’t match!” and “Stolen from the internet, the size is wrong, the watermark is cropped.”

Lin Dongxue was curious, “Why delete these things?”

“Haha, a man’s most important task before dying is to clear his hard drive. The deceased not only deleted his phone but also hid it in his pants. High awareness!” Chen Shi said.

“Don’t disrespect the dead.” Lin Qiupu said.

“Right, respect the scum.” Someone muttered from a dark corner.

Lin Qiupu, both angry and helpless, glanced at Xu Xiaodong. Xu Xiaodong innocently said, “It wasn’t me this time… nor last time!”

“A policeman should act like one, don’t speak recklessly!” Lin Qiupu admonished.

Next were chat logs. Opening the deceased’s WeChat, everyone was shocked. The female contacts were labeled as “Five-Star Prey—Lili,” “Three-Star Prey—Xiao Ai,” “Three-Star Prey—Xiao Ai’s Mom,” “Not Daring—Manager Wang,” “Conquered—Ajun.”

The chats were meaningless, not worth reading.

One conversation with Zhang Xiao stood out as surprisingly serious—

Wei: Brother Xiao, you deleted the third lesson in the group share.

Brother Xiao: Deleted is deleted. The cops might check our phones. Delete everything. We can redo it later.

Wei: Cops are really annoying!

Wei: By the way, Xiao Si is treating us to a bath tomorrow.

Brother Xiao: Where?

Wei: Baisha Pool.

Brother Xiao: Look at his choice, a legit bathhouse.

Wei: Haha, Brother Xiao wants to go to an illegitimate one?

Brother Xiao: Only fools pay for women!

Wei: Hahahaha.

After reading this, Chen Shi said, “This conversation happened on April 2nd. Xiao Si was close to the deceased. We should interview him again.”

“That little hooligan again?” Lin Dongxue frowned, “Talking to him is exhausting.”

“Now that someone’s dead, he might be next. I think he’ll be more cooperative.”

“What do you mean, the next one!?” Lin Qiupu was shocked.

“Oh, I forgot to mention, Winter and I discussed in the car. I think the killer has another target.”

After Chen Shi explained his theory, Lin Qiupu frowned, “Baseless!”

“We can’t wait until three or four of them are dead to leisurely conclude it’s a serial killer. The killer’s message is clear. He wants to chop off a piece of each of the nine.”

“The forensics aren’t done, why are you in such a hurry?”

Chen Shi was exasperated, “The forensics won’t be finished today, but the killer might act tonight. Can I at least warn them?”

Lin Qiupu, after much consideration, said to everyone, “Interview them again! Inform them of Wei’s death!”