Chapter 515: The Example Is Well Chosen; Don't Cite Another Next Time

"Come on, tell me," Han Fei, now interested, urged Xu Mo to keep talking.

You should know, after investigating up to now, this case can basically be classified as a "headless case."

Especially since this headless case dates back twenty years, it's even more of a headache.

Han Fei even thought, since there's no way to start, should we just give up further investigation, temporarily seal the case, and resume when we have the capability later?

In the Police's system, such situations are very common; almost every Police Station has one or two cases that officers are powerless to solve, sealed away.

It's not that they're lazy; the cases are just too tricky, yielding no leads no matter how much manpower and resources are poured in—it's merely a waste of time.

The key is that forcing a investigation is futile; rather than waste time with no results, it's smarter to temporarily give up and revisit when we're capable.

Of course, everyone knows deep down that "when we have the capability later" is just an empty promise.

Can the officers really not know how hard a headless case is to investigate?

What is a "headless case"? Only a case with absolutely no clues can be labeled as such—why bother investigating when there are no leads?

Even if such a case is left for ten or twenty years, it remains unsolvable; any useful clue the Police discover will keep the investigation going, not be temporarily sealed.

Xu Mo briefly gathered his thoughts, then looked at Han Fei.

"Han Team, let me ask you a question first: why would the murderer place the victim's body inside a bridge pier?"

"How could it be otherwise? Of course it's to avoid detection—the spot is the safest, nobody will find it, far more reliable than burying it in the ground."

Xu Mo didn't continue; he just stared at Han Fei.

Being stared at by Xu Mo, Han Fei quickly sensed something was off.

"That's wrong—the body was eventually discovered by us... Moreover, if the murderer truly wanted to dispose of the body cleanly, there are clearly better methods. Why insist on stuffing it into a bridge pier? The cost‑effectiveness is terrible!"

With his extensive experience handling many cases, Han Fei instantly thought of a puzzling point.

Hiding the body inside a cement‑reinforced steel bridge pier is almost the most dangerous way to deal with a corpse.

The construction site is swarming with workers; if the murderer stuffs the body into the pier, it's easily spotted by passing laborers, and once discovered, he's finished.

If the murderer truly aims to keep the body hidden, he could clearly choose a safer disposal method.

Han Fei could instantly think of several ways to make a corpse vanish completely; although each is somewhat difficult to execute, they're far easier than lugging the body onto a construction site and hiding it in a bridge pier.

"Exactly," Xu Mo nodded. "In other words, the murderer hid the body in the pier not primarily to keep it from being found—at least that wasn't his main goal."

"Then what was the murderer's primary objective?" Han Fei asked.

Following Xu Mo's line of thought, he suddenly felt that this case might have another solution.

Moreover, Han Fei believed he was close to the truth of the case.

"Well asked!" Xu Mo suddenly raised his voice.

His confident expression made Han Fei think Xu Mo was about to reconstruct the truth of the case.

For a moment, Han Fei couldn't help but cast an expectant look at Xu Mo, as if his eyes were saying, "Keep going, keep talking!"

But the next second, Xu Mo shook his head: "I actually can't be sure about this."

Han Fei: "???"

You damn well said you can't be sure, yet you just now acted all confident? You wasted my expression!

"But I have some conjectures," Xu Mo shifted his tone. "Criminal psychology posits a theory that some offenders return to the crime scene to seek a sense of achievement, to get a thrill and satisfy their perverse desires."

"I know that, but what does that have to do with the murderer hiding the victim's body in the pier?" Han Fei couldn't grasp Xu Mo's point.

Is there any connection between the two?

"There is. Normally, dumping a body in a bustling crime scene allows only one revisit, because the Police quickly remove the corpse; the murderer gets one glance and no second chance. In short, only one thrill. But hiding the body in a bridge pier lets the murderer go back repeatedly, getting a thrill every day."

"That's the logic," Han Fei frowned. "But by your reasoning, if the murderer just buried the body in a remote wilderness, wouldn't he also be able to go there whenever he wants?"

Xu Mo waved his hand and said,

"Can the effect be the same? The remote wilderness has no one, while Binjiang Bridge is bustling with traffic—obviously the thrill is greater and better satisfies the murderer's perverse desire."

"Moreover, the murderer returns to the scene because there are officers and Onlookers present; he's driven by the thrill. Burying it in the wilderness lacks that vibe, but hiding it in a pier on Binjiang Bridge is different—daily traffic passes, yet no one knows there's a corpse, and no one suspects the murderer."

"Let me give you an example: Lao Wang is having an affair with a widow; he wouldn't feel any thrill. But if Lao Wang were having affairs with every wife in an entire apartment complex, and the husbands are unaware, then every time Lao Wang enters the building and sees those unsuspecting people, wouldn't he feel constantly stimulated?"

This example is well‑chosen; don't bring up another next time... Han Fei gave Xu Mo a strange look, said nothing, and instead frowned, pondering for a while.

After a moment, he nodded.

"I get your point… so you think the murderer will frequently return to Binjiang Bridge solely to seek thrills and satisfy his perverse desire."

"Exactly," Xu Mo nodded.

He paused briefly, then offered another conjecture.

"Another possibility is that the murderer harbors deep hatred toward the victim, so he hid the body under the concrete pier of Binjiang Bridge, allowing him to step on the dead whenever he wants; even if he's busy, the daily foot traffic over the bridge does the stepping for him."

Han Fei nodded slightly: "So you mean the murderer is likely to appear on the bridge, and we should stake out the site to look for suspicious individuals?"

"Right, that's what I mean. Time is of the essence; I suggest we set out now," Xu Mo glanced at the wall clock.

The time is about right; departing from the Police Station now, we should reach Binjiang Bridge around 6:10.

By then, there will be only twenty minutes left before the 6:30 clue given by the system.