(1) Body Parts

Shen Wanwan had only ever seen corpses in textbooks.

She had even bought an illustrated guide on the decomposition process of bodies, both to study the stages of decay and to prepare herself mentally in advance.

But in the end, those were just theoretical exercises. A real crime scene involved more than just the visual impact—it came with a mix of complex smells, something no picture could truly capture.

She slowly walked to stand behind the group, her gaze never leaving the photographs.

The backgrounds in the pictures were chaotic—some were taken at a garbage disposal site, while others showed random trash bags discarded by the roadside. The bags containing body parts were all black, their openings left wide open. The most striking image depicted a black garbage bag filled with a severed human hand.

Among the dozen or so detectives in the room, the most noticeable was a middle-aged man wearing a dark red T-shirt.

His short hair was thinning at the top, and the exposed skin on his face and arms was tanned dark. Deep wrinkles creased the corners of his eyes, and his gaze was sharp, set within strong, well-defined features.

He had a cigarette in his mouth, and from the moment Shen Wanwan entered the office, he had been scrutinizing her with an assessing look.

Cui Luo nudged a few people and called out, “Captain Tao, this is Wanwan, our team’s new recruit. I pulled her over to help.”

The detective Shen Wanwan had noticed—Tao Jiang—was the one smoking the most aggressively. A small pile of cigarette butts had already accumulated at his feet, and the cigarette dangling from his lips was already half-burned, though he hadn’t even bothered to flick off the ash.

People in the ’90s often had simple names, so names like Wanwan and Zhuoyue were quite common. Compared to that, Tao Jiang was somewhat unique.

Judging by his age, Tao Jiang had to be in his forties. Considering the era he was born in, his parents were likely educated.

Even though she had been forced into this job, Shen Wanwan didn’t want to leave a bad first impression. She did her best to stand at attention in a military-like posture and was about to introduce herself when Tao Jiang impatiently stubbed out his cigarette.

“A woman? What use is she? Can she even handle fieldwork? Who the hell sent her?”

Cui Luo kicked the leg of Tao Jiang’s chair. “Captain Tao, I’m a woman too.”

“You?” Tao Jiang rolled his eyes at her. “You’re stronger than most men. You don’t count.”

Cui Luo turned to Shen Wanwan. “Don’t mind him. He’s got a temper and pisses people off daily. Even victims’ families want to punch him sometimes. Anyway, we’re dealing with a dismemberment case right now, and we’re seriously short on manpower. We were hoping you could help with coordination. Do you have any other assignments these next few days?”

Shen Wanwan knew that veteran detectives often had tough personalities, so she didn’t take Tao Jiang’s words to heart. Since Cui Luo had asked, she immediately made her stance clear.

“Sister Luoluo, if you need someone for fieldwork, can I give it a try?”

Tao Jiang was the first to look over. The other older detectives chuckled.

Cui Luo couldn’t help but laugh too. “You’re the first female recruit to actually ask to be sent to a crime scene. Wanwan, fieldwork is exhausting, and as you can see, this case is a dismemberment. The scene could be pretty gruesome. You should ease into things first. We haven’t even identified the victim yet, so we’re getting a lot of calls from people providing potential leads.”

Shen Wanwan knew Cui Luo was genuinely looking out for her, so she responded seriously, “I’ll have to train for it sooner or later. Based on the number of body parts, we don’t even have a full corpse yet. We’ll need people to search for more remains. Sister Luoluo, I joined this job to be out in the field. I need a starting point.”

Tao Jiang shot her a sidelong glance, visibly displeased.

She could talk the talk, but once she saw an actual severed head, she’d probably run faster than anyone else.

The younger generation was getting worse and worse—too many of them overestimated themselves.

Tao Jiang said, “Since you want to go so badly, then go with Xiang Dong.”

Xiang Dong and Shen Wanwan were university classmates and had both been assigned to Team One.

He wasn’t particularly tall, but his features were well-defined. He wore black-framed glasses, kept his short hair meticulously groomed, and occasionally played basketball. Back in school, he had even received a few love letters.

Xiang Dong had good academic grades and was physically fit, making him one of the top students in school.

The original Shen Wanwan had also excelled academically, but outside of studying, she spent all her time at the Shen family doing laundry and cooking. With little free time, her physical fitness had always lagged behind.

Hearing his name called, Xiang Dong stood up from the corner of the room.

Perhaps because it was his first day “on the job,” he was dressed in a loose white dress shirt and baggy suit pants, with his hair slicked back using gel.

His impression of Shen Wanwan was vague at best—he only knew that such a person existed in their class.

Now, seeing her voluntarily ask to go to the crime scene, his reaction was the same as Tao Jiang’s—he thought she was overestimating herself.

Xiang Dong first acknowledged Tao Jiang’s instructions, then turned to Shen Wanwan and said, “Classmate Shen, don’t push yourself. We’ll probably be running around all afternoon, and it’ll be exhausting. You’re a girl—leave this kind of work to us.”

Before Shen Wanwan could respond, Tao Jiang shot Xiang Dong a glance.

Both of these new recruits were getting on his nerves.

“Look at the way you’re dressed. Are you going on a business trip? You know you’ll be running around all day, yet you’re wearing dress shoes? If you wreck your feet, don’t expect it to count as a work injury.”

Xiang Dong’s confident smile stiffened.

Shen Wanwan remained polite. “Captain Tao, Xiang, don’t worry. I’ll do my best to learn.”

Tao Jiang ignored her and waved at Cui Luo.

Cui Luo got the hint and turned to Shen Wanwan. “You and Xiang Dong can follow me. I’m in charge of Heping District, so the three of us will go together.”

Heping District was on the outskirts of Xuzhou and wasn’t very large.

The locations where the killer had dumped the body parts were scattered widely, and so far, Heping District was the only area where no remains had been found.

The less evidence there was, the more likely it was that something would eventually turn up.

As they cycled toward Heping District, Cui Luo gave them a brief rundown of the case.

“The first body part was found this morning in a park. The park is a popular spot for elderly people practicing ^[1]Tai Chi (太极 / 太極, Tàijí) is a traditional Chinese martial art known for its slow, flowing movements and focus on breathing, balance, and inner calm. It’s often practiced by older … Continue readingTai Chi. Around five o’clock, an old man spotted a bag under a bench. It wasn’t particularly well hidden. At first, he thought it was just pork, but then he saw the belly button. He was so scared he had to be taken to the hospital.”

“We rushed to the scene as soon as we got the report, but no other clues were found nearby. The bag wasn’t very big—someone could have carried it in without drawing much attention.”

“Since then, thirteen more bags have been discovered, but we still haven’t found the head.”

Xiang Dong, now dressed in more practical athletic wear, naturally chimed in after hearing Cui Luo’s summary.

“Most killers experience guilt after committing murder. The fact that this one was able to calmly dismember and dispose of the body means they have an exceptionally strong psychological profile.”

His expression was that of a ^[2]“seasoned detective” means a detective who has a lot of experience. “Seasoned” = well-trained, experienced, or practiced over time. So, a seasoned detective is someone who has … Continue readingseasoned detective, as if he had been doing this for years.

Cui Luo praised him. “As expected from a top student. You’re way better than I was when I first started.”

Xiang Dong raised an eyebrow, clearly pleased with the compliment.

He glanced at Shen Wanwan and spoke in a tone that suggested he was looking out for her. “Classmate Shen, this kind of scene isn’t something a newbie like you can handle. Don’t force yourself. If you notice anything unusual, just come to me—I’ll check it out for you.”