Murder in the Bathroom

“There have been three previous serial murder cases, none in this city. The victims were all young, beautiful women around twenty years old. After committing the crime, the killer would leave wax blocks on various parts of the victims’ bodies, with messages inside taunting the police…”

“Could the killer have come to our Yan Hai City?”

Gu Yuan listened to the discussions around him, his face showing little expression. He collected some vaginal secretions for testing to determine if the victim had been sexually assaulted before death.

The discussions grew more intense. Xiao Ze exited the autopsy room, likely to report the new findings to his superiors.

Gu Yuan trimmed the victim’s fingernails for testing, as they might contain the killer’s DNA.

After roughly cleaning the bloodstains on the skin, a needle mark was revealed on the right arm.

“The needle mark looks fresh, no more than 24 hours old.”

The body was mostly examined and was then sent for a CT scan. Once the CT results were out, they would decide whether further autopsy was needed.

Gu Yuan gave a simple statement:

“The victim is a female, around 20 years old, height 158 cm, weight about 40 kg, no history of childbirth or breastfeeding, no defensive wounds before death.”

“The fatal injury was a severed right carotid artery, cause of death was hemorrhagic shock.”

“The middle finger of the left hand has a thick callus from long-term writing, while the right hand does not, indicating the victim was left-handed.”

“There is a needle mark on the right arm, no more than 24 hours old, suggesting the victim underwent a blood draw or infusion before death…”

At this moment, Li Meng brought news.

“The victim’s identity has been confirmed. She was a sophomore at Yan Hai City’s Polytechnic University, named Zhou Yun, 20 years old. Her family has been notified and will arrive here by tomorrow morning.”

“Any new findings from the trace detection team?” Xiao Ze asked.

“From the blood spatter patterns at the scene, the bathroom is the death site.”

“The blade has human fiber tissue and a lot of Zhou Yun’s fingerprints, confirming the murder weapon was the blade found at the scene.”

“Unfortunately, we haven’t extracted more directly useful information yet,” Yan Ji from the trace detection team said helplessly.

Li Meng then received a call, notifying that there was indeed a note inside the wax block.

After hanging up, he quickly opened the newly sent picture on his phone. A white strip of paper, cut thumb-width, boldly read: [The vile shall die!]

“Could it really be a serial murder case?” Li Meng pondered, looking at the body, cold sweat running down his back. “The previous serial murders were all in Lianchi City. Is the killer targeting Yan Hai City now?”

Gu Yuan lifted his head, only his eyes visible above the autopsy gown. His long eyelashes cast large shadows, blending with the deep color of his eyes, giving an ethereal feel.

Gu Yuan asked Li Meng through his mask, “How long until the test report is out?”

He seemed to be on a different wavelength from everyone else, unusually calm.

“At least three hours,” Li Meng replied.

“Alright, call me in three hours,” he said, removing his gloves, looking indifferent.

After taking off the autopsy gown, he stood by the sink, washing his hands carefully, as if the people behind him were insignificant.

Drying his hands, he slung his backpack over his shoulder. “Call me if anything comes up, I live nearby.”

“The police station has a restroom…”

“I’m not used to public restrooms…”

The air suddenly went silent. Li Meng stared at Gu Yuan’s departing figure and asked those around him, “What’s his background?”

Everyone shook their heads.

Logically, in such an emergency, one should voluntarily stay and work overtime. Without the captain’s word, no one dared to leave. Even though it was already off-duty time, leaving in front of everyone was not an option.

He seemed unconcerned, not intending to integrate into the group.

Though unaware of Gu Yuan’s background, Li Meng’s intuition told him not to anger this newcomer. His temper… didn’t seem very good…

Back home, Gu Yuan, as usual, didn’t turn on the lights and habitually took a shower.

This was his occupational habit, using constant handwashing and showering to alleviate the discomfort after autopsying bodies.

After showering, he wore a white T-shirt and casual pants, walked through the pitch-black living room, and sank into the sofa, opening his laptop.

His hair was still dripping, water droplets spreading on the T-shirt.

He logged into a website skillfully. This site seemed abnormal, to be precise, it was a forum for people with severe depression, discussing various depressing topics.

Depression sufferers tend to magnify many emotions in life, revolving around “pain” and “despair,” a new term became a hot topic—suicide.

Many expressed that their lives were meaningless and wanted to end it.

Thus, a blogger emerged, clearly not normal either.

Because all his posts revolved around suicide, each post had over 1000 comments.

After gaining thousands of followers, he began sharing various suicide methods, even extensively commenting on the pros and cons of each.

Gu Yuan recalled the death methods in the previous serial murder cases, all mentioned in the posts, and the order of deaths followed the order of the posts.

This was very suspicious.

Opening the latest post, published two days ago, the content was “Slit the carotid artery, feel the thrill of hot blood flowing…”

If the killer read this post and then committed the crime, this blogger was truly harmful!

The computer screen’s light cast on Gu Yuan’s face, separating him from the darkness.

*

The police station’s atmosphere was unusually tense.

Captain Xiao Ze was reporting to his superiors. Since the case might be related to the serial murders, he didn’t dare delay.

The higher-ups also rushed to the station immediately.

Director Zheng, after understanding the case’s ins and outs, repeatedly instructed that this matter had already caused significant public opinion.

The criminal police teams in various cities were under intense scrutiny, so the case must not have any judgment errors, or it would greatly impact other related work.

“This serial murder case has caused extreme social panic. A famous criminal psychology expert has been dispatched to assist in the investigation. You must cooperate with the expert, providing all conditions for assistance!”

“The incident happened suddenly. The expert will arrive in Yan Hai City on the earliest flight tomorrow morning.”

Upon receiving the directive, Xiao Ze immediately prepared to welcome the criminal psychology expert. After seeing off Director Zheng, he found someone sitting in his office.

Gu Yuan was holding a file bag, sitting on the sofa, elbows resting on his legs, head down, seemingly deep in thought.

Didn’t he go home to rest? When did he come back?

Seeing Xiao Ze, Gu Yuan took out freshly printed forum screenshots from his backpack. “I suspect the serial murders are related to this forum.”

Xiao Ze briefly glanced through it and also felt the matter was complicated. He retrieved related materials from previous cases on his computer. “From the timeline, it indeed correlates with the post order.”

After a while, Xiao Ze realized, “Why are you reading such posts?”

Could he also have depression?

This person indeed seemed a bit abnormal…

Seeing that Gu Yuan didn’t intend to answer, Xiao Ze considered if he had touched a sore spot, so he softened his tone. “You should go back first. I’ll notify you when the test results are out.”

Gu Yuan turned to open the glass door to leave, hearing Xiao Ze add, “Remember to wear your uniform tomorrow, an expert is coming to guide the work.”

*

At ten in the evening, Gu Yuan’s phone rang.

It was Li Meng: “DNA has confirmed the victim is Zhou Yun. No other DNA was found in the oral cavity, and no male semen was detected in the vaginal secretions, only a small amount of lubricant.”

“The ten-finger extracts also found traces of lubricant.”

“The blood test showed a high alcohol content, and the blood HCG was positive.”

“The CT indicated signs of a fetus in the uterus; the victim was pregnant, likely three months along.”

After hanging up, Gu Yuan saved Li Meng’s number. In the contact name field, he hesitated for a long time, unable to recall his name, so he entered two words: Black Man.

At this moment, recalling Li Meng, he only remembered his tanned skin and the standard police crew cut.

Gu Yuan took a military green coat from the wardrobe and went downstairs.

When everyone thought this forensic doctor wasn’t very dedicated, he suddenly appeared in the autopsy room again.

The gleam of the scalpel flashed by, a “Y” shaped incision started from the left mastoid behind the ear, slanting down to the sternal notch, stopping there. A symmetrical incision was made on the other side, meeting at the sternal notch, then extending down, bypassing the navel, finally stopping at the pubic symphysis.

When there’s a neck wound, this “Y” shaped incision can preserve the neck’s injury condition well.

Next, he skillfully pulled the subcutaneous soft tissue to both sides, exposing the deep red muscle and white fascia.

The intestines in the abdominal cavity were severely bloated, almost bursting through the incision gaps, with a strong putrid smell filling the nostrils.

Gu Yuan carefully extracted the entire stomach.

Cutting open the stomach, it was empty, indicating the victim hadn’t eaten two hours before death.

The victim’s blood showed a high alcohol content. To verify this, he cut a small piece of stomach tissue for testing.

The entire intestines were filled with gas. After death, intestinal bacteria multiply rapidly, increasing pressure. If the intestines were accidentally punctured, the contents would gush out like water from a faucet, a scene unforgettable for life.

Gu Yuan cautiously avoided the danger zone, his hand moving towards the uterus. A three-month pregnant uterus was slightly swollen. To obtain the fetus’s DNA, Gu Yuan had to cut open the uterus.

After slicing open the uterus, a barely formed fetus curled inside, its skin almost transparent, many structures still vague.

The photographer quickly documented this little life that died in its mother’s womb before seeing the world.

Though the scene was shocking, Gu Yuan didn’t linger, swiftly collecting DNA, then placing the fetus back and suturing the uterus.