(1) Body Parts

Xiang Dong didn’t really want to talk to Shen Wanwan right now.

He truly didn’t expect the plastic bag to contain a severed male genitalia, still attached to a chunk of flesh—cut off with brutal precision.

The moment he saw it, he felt a wave of pain surge through his body. He didn’t dare voice it, but the nausea was impossible to suppress.

Yet Shen Wanwan wasn’t afraid at all.

Xiang Dong tried to act as if nothing had happened. “The item was outside the window, not inside the house. No need to enter. What you’re describing—I’ve read about it in books, but novels shouldn’t be confused with reality.”

Although Cui Luo didn’t particularly like Xiang Dong’s pretentious tone, she had to agree. “This is only the third floor—not that high.”

“I already observed before coming up,” Shen Wanwan responded calmly. “The tree in front of the building is five meters away, making it impossible to use for access. The entire wall is smooth, with no water pipes. The windows are flush with the wall, leaving nothing to grip. The only protruding structures are the clotheslines each household extends outward, but I checked earlier—these lines are homemade, just strong enough for laundry, but incapable of supporting a person’s weight.”

With no handholds, the killer couldn’t have climbed up barehanded—they must have used a tool.

Each floor of the residential building was four meters high. The tool would have to be at least ten meters long, possibly even longer.

Shen Wanwan couldn’t imagine a killer carrying such a massive tool just to dispose of a body part.

Hearing her analysis, Cui Luo chuckled. “I was so focused on coming up to check that I didn’t even think about it. You ran faster than me and still managed to notice these details.”

Xiang Dong hadn’t noticed either.

After learning about a possible body part, who would still have the presence of mind to examine the building structure?

Yang Chunling, however, had no answer to Shen Wanwan’s question. She adamantly insisted she knew nothing, which only made her seem more suspicious.

Since all they had found so far was a body part with no other evidence, Cui Luo could only politely invite Yang Chunling back to the station for further questioning.

Yang Chunling reluctantly put down her little Pekingese, while Shen Wanwan flashed a victorious smile—“Hah! You’re stuck now, little dog!”

Upon returning to the station, they learned that the other search teams had made a major breakthrough: they had found the victim’s head.

Veteran investigator Tao Jiang immediately recognized the deceased—it was a fugitive on the wanted list.

So far, twenty-two bags of body parts had been discovered citywide.

Each bag varied in size, but together, they were forming an increasingly complete corpse.

As dusk settled, dim streetlights flickered on across the city, like stars dotting the night sky.

Despite the chaos in Xuzhou, life had to go on. As the night deepened, more street vendors appeared.

Many people timed their stalls to coincide with factory workers finishing their shifts. Although the variety of goods wasn’t as abundant as in later years, the offerings were already quite diverse.

Meanwhile, the lights in the small building of the city bureau remained on.

Everyone on the team was accustomed to it—whenever a homicide occurred, they had to catch the killer as quickly as possible.

It was their duty—not only to bring justice to the dead but also to provide an answer to the entire city.

Shen Wanwan was attending the team’s collective meeting for the first time.

Unlike the neatly dressed groups of a dozen people sitting around a conference table on television, the team meetings were far more casual—just a few old stools pulled together, and that was enough.

As newcomers, Shen Wanwan and Xiang Dong sat on the outermost edge.

Xiang Dong had prepared a notebook and a pen, while Shen Wanwan came empty-handed.

Their teammate, Zhu Jianhua, walked over carrying a thermos from ^[1]Jingjiang …refers to the brand or label on the thermos cup (保温杯) that Zhu Jianhua is carrying.Jingjiang, smiling warmly.

He didn’t seem particularly enthusiastic about work, nor did he like getting too involved. He sat in the back row with Shen Wanwan and Xiang Dong, sipping tea now and then, occasionally glancing at Tao Jiang, but never voicing an opinion. Shen Wanwan even wondered if he was actually listening to what Tao Jiang was saying.

“The deceased, Cheng Li, 32 years old. Seven years ago, he murdered two people and fled Xuzhou. Cheng Li had a high school diploma and was highly skilled in counter-surveillance, which is why he was never apprehended. His parents and older brother still reside in Xuzhou. I’ve contacted the colleagues who originally handled his case—Cheng Li had no direct contact with his family. His older brother, Cheng Liang, went into business years ago, and his ventures have been doing well in recent years.”

A fugitive murderer who had been on the run for years had now turned up dead in Xuzhou—dismembered and dumped. It was truly baffling.

Cui Luo speculated, “Could this be revenge from the victims’ families? The act of dismembering the body carries strong emotional overtones of vengeance.”

“We don’t know yet,” Tao Jiang responded. “Back then, Cheng Li’s victims were his colleagues at the factory. He had borrowed 500 yuan from them, using his father’s illness as an excuse, but refused to pay it back even after a year. When the victims went to demand repayment, Cheng Li denied ever borrowing the money. After a long argument, he flew into a rage and killed them both. The two victims were completely innocent.”

Xiang Dong, always proactive, quickly noted down the key points and then spoke up. “The police never gave up on tracking down the killer. If the victims’ families had discovered Cheng Li’s whereabouts, why wouldn’t they have contacted the police?”

Tao Jiang glanced at Xiang Dong.

His sharp, hawk-like eyes—honed from years of dealing with criminals and suspects—held an intimidating edge.

But Xiang Dong remained calm. “Furthermore, the purpose of dismembering and dumping a body is usually to make it harder for us to identify the victim and to distance the perpetrator from the crime. If the victims’ families were responsible, they would have known that the police already had Cheng Li’s records. So why go through the trouble of dismembering and disposing of the body?”

Tao Jiang didn’t express agreement or disagreement. Instead, he turned to Shen Wanwan.

“You, over there—let’s hear your opinion.”

Shen Wanwan had no clear thoughts on the matter yet. She answered honestly, “We don’t know the situation of the victim’s family yet, nor do we understand Cheng Li’s social connections over the past years. It’s hard to judge. I think we should start by investigating his family.”

Xiang Dong said, “Our colleagues have been monitoring Cheng Li’s family this whole time. How would he dare contact them? You’re thinking too simply.”

Tao Jiang shot Xiang Dong another glance.

To be honest, he had never liked having women on the team.

It wasn’t just about whether they were delicate or not—even those willing to endure hardships had physical limitations. The difference in strength between men and women made him hesitate to push them too hard.

Over the years, he had always recruited men for the team—it was just more convenient for the tougher, dirtier work.

But this time, the two newcomers… Shen Wanwan actually seemed more composed than Xiang Dong.

Xiang Dong was eager to prove himself. Ambition was good, but impatience wouldn’t get him anywhere.

Tao Jiang said, “Start by looking into Cheng Li’s family. We also need to quickly determine his current residence and the people he’s been in contact with.”

From Tao Jiang’s tone, he didn’t seem to suspect the victim’s family.

Xiang Dong, now feeling validated, relaxed a little and smiled. “Captain Tao, regarding Cheng Li’s family, wouldn’t it be best to ask the colleagues who handled his case? That way, more manpower could be allocated to investigating his social connections.”

Tao Jiang raised an eyebrow, his tone neither warm nor cold. “Are you saying Cheng Li’s family isn’t important?”

Xiang Dong replied confidently, “Cheng Li has been on the run. He wouldn’t dare contact his family casually.”

“That’s not necessarily true,” Shen Wanwan disagreed, siding with Tao Jiang. “Captain Tao mentioned that Cheng Li was highly skilled in counter-surveillance, and it’s been seven years. It wouldn’t be surprising if he managed to reach out to his family.”

Xiang Dong insisted, “I didn’t say we shouldn’t investigate them, just that it’s not as important. We already have colleagues handling that, so—”

Before he could finish, a detective suddenly burst through the door.

“Captain Tao! We just got word—Cheng Li’s brother, Cheng Liang, was murdered two days ago!”