Chapter 228

"Victim Su Yuqing, 26 years old, librarian at Zizhen City Library." Forensic doctor Old Zheng took off his mask, "The time of death is approximately between 10:00 PM and 12:00 AM last night. The cause of death is the same as the previous cases: eyes stabbed to ruin with a sharp weapon, abdomen sliced open, signs of sexual assault. And, similarly, the victim's private parts were cut off..."

Gu Changzheng squatted down, carefully observing the corpse. This time, the victim Su Yuqing was wearing a dazzling red dress, the clothes were pulled up to her chest, her lower body was naked, and a pair of her own panties was stuffed into her mouth.

But this time, the murderer left more things—the victim's right hand was tightly clenched, as if holding something inside.

"This is..." Gu Changzheng put on his gloves and carefully pried open the victim's stiff fingers. Inside was actually half a cigarette! Gu Changzheng took a closer look, and it was actually the same brand as the cigarette butt found at the scene of Xia Fei's murder! Both were Crane brand cigarettes produced in Nanjiang Province!

Gu Changzheng carefully used tweezers to clamp out the cigarette and handed it to the technical department for analysis as soon as possible.

"Old Gu! Take a look at this." Forensic doctor Old Zheng's voice carried a trace of shock!

He pointed to the victim's abdomen. "This time it seems a bit different." Old Zheng said slowly: "The edges of the opening this time are neat, as if left by a scalpel. But the most puzzling thing is that the knife marks on the victim's abdomen actually formed the shape of the letter 'Z'! I don't know if it was intentional or..."

"Is he marking something?" Luo Fei muttered.

Gu Changzheng didn't answer. His attention was attracted by a photo frame on the bedside table. In the photo, Su Yuqing was telling stories to a group of children, with a gentle smile on her face. It's just that in the photo, Su Yuqing was wearing a red dress! However, the style seemed different from what she was wearing when she was murdered!

"Luo Fei!" Gu Changzheng stood up, "You take people to search the victim's wardrobe and all places where the victim's clothes can be placed. Look for it, is this dress still there?" He pointed to Su Yuqing in the photo.

Luo Fei looked carefully in the direction his finger was pointing and also discovered the red dress in the photo. He nodded and said: "Understood!"

After about ten minutes, Luo Fei came to report with a look of disappointment: "Captain Gu, didn't find it."

"Heh!" Gu Changzheng suddenly let out a cold laugh: "The previous victim Xia Fei, that park should not be the first crime scene. We were all deceived by the murderer!"

"Impossible!" Forensic doctor Old Zheng said anxiously: "The victim was clearly raped and killed there, and then her abdomen was sliced open and her eyes stabbed! How could this be wrong!"

"Hey hey! My Old Brother Zheng!" Gu Changzheng knew his old partner too well, knowing he thought he didn't believe his judgment: "I mean, the previous victim Xia Fei was not controlled by the murderer in the garden. And, if I'm not mistaken, Xia Fei should also have a red dress, and! It's this style!" He said, pointing to the dress on the victim Su Yuqing at the scene.

"What?" Old Zheng exclaimed in astonishment.

"What does this mean!" Luo Fei asked with a confused face.

Gu Changzheng smiled faintly: "Seeing the crime scene of this victim, what did you discover?"

Luo Fei touched the back of his head, frowning and thinking. Old Zheng looked at him suspiciously and whispered: "This time there is a sense of ritual, and the other party seems to have deliberately stuffed the half-smoked cigarette into the victim's hand."

"Pa!" Gu Changzheng clapped his hands, making a loud sound! "That's it! You old guy is still amazing!" Gu Changzheng joked with Old Zheng.

"Go go! Don't tease us anymore. Tell me, what do you think is different about this case?" Old Zheng glanced at him and said. He knew Gu Changzheng must have some new ideas!

Gu Changzheng put away his smile and said seriously: "Up to now, there have been four consecutive perverted rape-murder cases with similar methods. The first two, the Yang Xiaoli murder case and the Xiao Hualing murder case, have several common points: 1. The victims are all single women living alone, and they are migrant workers, with low education, low income, and average appearance. 2. They were all abused and killed before being violated.

However, the first victim, Yang Xiaoli, only had her eyes stabbed, without the behavior of slicing open the abdomen and cutting off the private parts. But by the second victim, Xiao Hualing, besides being abused and violated, this time the murderer not only stabbed the victim's eyes but also cruelly cut off her private parts!

And up to the third victim, Xia Fei! Besides the above operations, the murderer more pervertedly sliced open her abdomen! By the fourth victim, Su Yuqing, the murderer's sense of ritual was even more obvious! And, he seemed to deliberately leave us clues—the same brand of cigarettes appearing twice! If the DNA test results prove it is one person!

Then, what does this indicate?"

"Ah?" Luo Fei gasped and said: "Could it be that the murderer's methods are constantly evolving?!"

"Heh heh! Your metaphor is quite apt!" Old Zheng hummed: "Old Gu, do you mean the murderer is practicing?"

"Yes! The first two victims were very likely randomly chosen by the murderer, just to practice his courage. And starting from Xia Fei, that was the beginning of his slaughter!"

"Luo Fei!" Gu Changzheng ordered: "Immediately have people check the surveillance of every road leading to the community with Xinxin Community as the center. Pay attention to checking males aged 23-39, height 175 cm, lean build, who might be wearing a gray hoodie on their upper body!"

"Yes!" Just as Luo Fei was about to go and execute the order, Gu Changzheng added: "Have them re-check the surveillance around the crime scenes of Yang Xiaoli and Xiao Hualing. The target characteristics are the same! Find everyone who appeared around the time of the crime with these characteristics for me!"

"Gao Ye!" Following Gu Changzheng's call, Gao Ye, who had also followed him for many years, stood up straight and said: "Captain Gu!"

"You take people to Xia Fei's unit and her residence to check. See if there is a photo similar to this one where she lived, and also, if there is a red dress at home! By the way, understand her social relationships! Damn it, this bastard doesn't give me any time at all!"

He cursed and said. There was no clue about the previous murder cases, and this time this madman was actually killing people in succession! Too hateful!

———

Returning to the police station, Gu Changzheng locked himself in his office. The wall was covered with photos and clues related to the case. Suddenly, his gaze stopped on the "Z" shaped knife wound on Su Yuqing's abdomen.

Gu Changzheng stood up abruptly. He knew he was one step closer to the truth. But at the same time, he also felt that an invisible net was tightening around him.

Outside the window, the rain was getting heavier. The night sky of Zizhen City was torn by lightning, as if predicting that a more terrible darkness was about to descend.