(1) Body Parts

The black plastic bag hanging from the clothesline belonged to an apartment on the west side of the third floor.

Shen Wanwan took large strides, leaping up three steps at a time. Even Xiang Dong, who was slightly taller than her, couldn’t keep up.

The west-side apartment had a green security door, old and worn. Its mesh screen had turned completely black from years of dust.

Shen Wanwan knocked on the door tentatively. A dog barked from inside.

Hearing the barking, she felt a headache coming on.

When she was little, she used to grab stray dogs by their tails for fun—until one bit her.

Ever since then, she had avoided all cats and dogs, never daring to touch another pet.

She knew that even stray dogs wouldn’t attack people without reason, but she still couldn’t control her fear.

She wasn’t the type to scream and panic, but if she could avoid dogs, she would.

Right now, though, there was no avoiding this.

She sighed deeply and knocked again.

Cui Luo and Xiang Dong arrived late. “Is anyone home?”

The dog inside barked even louder.

Maybe thanks to the noise, they finally heard the sound of someone shuffling inside. A few seconds later, a sleepy-looking woman opened the security door.

She was in her early thirties, with permed, wavy hair that looked messy from sleep.

Seeing several people standing outside, she scratched her head impatiently. “What the hell are you knocking for this early in the morning?”

Cui Luo’s eyebrow twitched. “Ma’am, it’s 5 PM.”

The woman glanced out the window indifferently. “Oh. It’s that late already.”

Cui Luo sighed and pulled out her badge. “We’re from the city bureau. We need your cooperation.”

The mention of the “city bureau” seemed to wake the woman up. She grabbed a jacket from behind the door and put it on. “What do you need from me?”

Cui Luo didn’t explain and stepped into the apartment first.

The woman’s name was Yang Chunling. A few years ago, she had worked as a hostess at a dance hall, but recently, she hadn’t held a steady job.

Her current apartment was a rental—a small one-bedroom unit. The living room was tiny, barely big enough to move around in, and it didn’t even have a proper window for natural light.

During the day, if the lights weren’t on, the entire place was pitch black.

Yang Chunling turned on the light and stood aside, looking confused.

A ^[1]“京巴” (jīng bā) is a common Chinese nickname for the Pekingese dog breed. It’s a small toy dog originally bred in China, known for its long fur, flat face, and loyal … Continue readingPekingese stood at her feet, its snow-white fur well-groomed and fluffy, but it was baring its teeth aggressively.

Shen Wanwan forced herself to stay calm and took two steps back.

Seeing this, the little Pekingese barked even more fiercely.

Shen Wanwan was struggling internally. She just couldn’t understand why so many people loved keeping pets. Sure, they were cute, but weren’t they way too aggressive?

Still, she knew that in the future, her investigations would inevitably involve meeting many people, and more and more of them would own pets. She had to overcome this fear.

After all, she couldn’t entirely blame the dog for biting her back then.

Determined to toughen herself up, she took a step toward the little Pekingese.

The dog immediately shrank back.

Shen Wanwan was quite pleased, feeling a sense of victory.

But just as she and the dog were locked in this silent battle, Yang Chunling picked up the Pekingese. The moment it was in her arms, it acted as if it had found its protector. It started barking even louder than before, completely losing the timid act.

Shen Wanwan: “……”

Bullying others just because you have backup, huh?!

Annoyed, she muttered, “Bark, bark, bark! If you’ve got the guts, come down here!”

Pekingese: “Woof woof!”

It seemed to be telling her to come closer instead.

Cui Luo watched the ridiculous standoff between the human and the dog and wondered if she was imagining things.

She patted Shen Wanwan’s shoulder. Shen Wanwan got the hint and headed straight for the bedroom.

The clothesline was right outside the bedroom window. Shen Wanwan opened the window and was about to step onto the windowsill to grab the plastic bag when Xiang Dong stopped her. “I’ll do it.”

Eager to see what was inside, Shen Wanwan didn’t argue.

Xiang Dong quickly took down the plastic bag. As he did, liquid continued to drip from it.

Although the cement floor didn’t absorb color well, Shen Wanwan could still tell that the liquid was dark red.

Cui Luo carried the plastic bag to the living room.

Yang Chunling craned her neck to take a look. “What is that?”

Xiang Dong said, “We’ll know once we open it.”

As he spoke, Cui Luo had already opened the bag, and the stench of blood hit them in the face.

Xiang Dong lowered his head to look inside, and a strong wave of nausea overtook him. He held it in for a few seconds, but the strange, lingering smell wouldn’t dissipate. He had to step back against the wall, covering his mouth to keep from vomiting.

Inside the plastic bag was a severed piece of flesh.

It was clearly human flesh, and it even had male genitalia attached.

Shen Wanwan glanced at it. She had mentally prepared herself well in advance, so the shock wasn’t too overwhelming.

In fact, upon confirming that it really was a body part, she even felt a sense of relief—at least they had more evidence now. Their hard work this afternoon hadn’t been in vain.

After she and Cui Luo confirmed what was inside, they tied the bag shut again.

In recent years, with rapid economic growth, Xuzhou City had seen an increase in instability.

Cui Luo had been on the job for two years and had already participated in dozens of criminal cases. She had even encountered “^[2]“巨人观” (The Giant’s View) likely refers to a notorious or particularly gruesome criminal case that became well-known within law enforcement circles. It’s not a literal translation like … Continue readingThe Giant’s View” and had long become desensitized to relatively fresh remains like this.

What surprised her was how calm Shen Wanwan was—not only did she show no fear, but she could also help process the evidence.

Compared to her, the confident Xiang Dong, who had claimed he would take care of the girls, was…

Cui Luo found it amusing but didn’t let it show.

Xiang Dong’s reaction was normal. Not many people could remain as composed as Shen Wanwan upon seeing body parts for the first time. The fact that he only dry-heaved was already commendable.

Among criminal investigators, there was a common saying: If you’re going to a crime scene with a highly decomposed body, it’s best not to eat breakfast—it’ll just go to waste.

Cui Luo turned to Yang Chunling. “Ms. Yang, please have a seat.”

From her angle, Yang Chunling couldn’t see what was inside the bag. Holding her Pekingese, she sat down in confusion. “Does this thing have something to do with the case?”

Cui Luo countered, “Is it yours?”

Hearing that, Yang Chunling took a closer look at the plastic bag but hesitated. “Maybe? Maybe not? I usually don’t hang anything on the clothesline. That old rope isn’t sturdy, and the old lady downstairs always makes a fuss about everything.”

Shen Wanwan asked, “Are you saying that someone might have secretly placed it there while you weren’t home?”

“Was my house broken into?” Yang Chunling looked puzzled. “But burglars steal things. Why would they leave something behind?”

Just as Shen Wanwan was about to respond, the little Pekingese barked twice again.

It seemed to have a personal grudge against her, ignoring Cui Luo and Xiang Dong and barking solely in her direction.

Shen Wanwan had no energy to argue with it. She could only comfort herself—Why should I bother competing with a creature that eats table scraps?

Finally, Yang Chunling remembered to lock the dog in the bedroom. “So what exactly is that?”

Cui Luo said, “Please answer our question first. Have you been home these past two days?”

Yang Chunling hesitantly nodded. “I was at home.”

Cui Luo asked, “And you never noticed it?”

“I did my laundry yesterday. When I hung the clothes, it wasn’t there.”

“Did you hear anything unusual?”

“No.”

Xiang Dong, having regained his composure, joined the questioning. “No one would willingly put that in their own home.”

The implication was that Yang Chunling was likely unrelated to the case and that the perpetrator had used some method to tie the bag to the clothesline.

Cui Luo agreed with this reasoning.

However, Shen Wanwan calmly remarked, “Yang Chunling claims she was home the entire time. The Pekingese barks at strangers, yet she says she didn’t hear anything. Doesn’t that seem off?”