Chapter 42: Stop Hiding, Turn Yourself In (Please Support, Fourth Update)

"Honestly, Chen Fan, stop hiding it, turn yourself in, really, this way, it's good for society."

"You're a born criminal—who in their right mind would research the difference between a chainsaw and an ordinary saw?"

"Damn it, useless knowledge is piling up again, how annoying."

"So tell me, what exactly has this guy been through to end up the way he is now?"

Old Zhou, standing aside, was quite speechless. He said, "Sorry, this falls into my knowledge blind spot. I can't really explain it."

Boss Yang said, "This counts as a knowledge point?"

"How should I put it—dismemberment cases in the country were pretty common in earlier years, but there have been a lot fewer recently. Basically, you just need to check whose household water usage spiked, or look at luggage bags and the like, and you can start narrowing down suspects."

Teacher He, standing aside, said, "By what you're saying, the drop in crime in recent years is also a sign of social progress?"

'Yes, society has progressed. Everyone's level of education has risen, they understand the law, so naturally they won't go commit crimes. But every now and then a case like this does pop up. The reason people feel like there are so many cases is entirely because, on the forensic side, what you come into contact with every day is, naturally, cases.'

Everyone agreed with this point. Just watching this forensic season, it feels like there are basically cases every single day.

But in reality, there aren't actually that many cases.

Old Liu had found the basic tools the killer had used to dispose of the body. What was left was to determine the cause of death.

Chen Fan, on the other hand, was very calm, slowly beginning to examine the woman's body.

Staring at the skin and the chest right in front of him, he zoned out.

"What are you looking at?"

"It's weird, I just feel like something's off about this woman. Maybe it's my imagination."

"Off again? Don't tell me it's about the cup size."

Chen Fan said, "Yes, it's about the cup size. Look at this—well, theoretically, judging from her face, this woman shouldn't be very old, so a woman at this age should be at her physical peak. But this chest, it's obviously not good-looking, it's all sagging."

The viewers in the livestream, the previous second still immersed in the fear Chen Fan had brought, the next second were sent into laughter by that line of his.

Wait, hold on a minute—no way, Officer, you're already driving now?

On this broken road, your car is already flooring it?

Old Liu said, "What you said is actually pretty accurate.""

"Right? I just said something felt off. Normally, she should be this big, because with this kind of skin, the size should clearly be very large. But this woman's size has shrunk, and it's sagging too. Why is that?"

Old Liu chuckled, notebook in hand, and said, "You're the professional, and you're asking me?"

Chen Fan mulled it over for a long time, but couldn't figure it out.

Meanwhile, Boss Yang was also very puzzled. At this moment, Gao Ye said, "I think I might know what's going on. This was caused by weight loss—rapid weight loss over a short period."

Rapid short-term weight loss?

Old Zhou said, "You're sure?"

"Mm, I go to the gym often and have come into contact with some people. Some of those who lose weight rapidly end up with loose, slack skin. What Chen Fan described should be exactly this."

Old Zhou picked up the phone and told Old Liu the situation. Old Liu stared blankly for a long while, then said, "Now that you mention it, it's really possible."

Chen Fan said, "Possible what?"

"Weight loss causing loose skin, so it looks strange to you."

Good lord, it can actually be like this?

Old Liu began to cut open the skin, bit by bit.

The autopsy has already basically nothing left to do, because this woman's internal organs had all been taken out, making it very hard to determine the cause of death.

They could only look for evidence from other basic areas.

There was no mud under the fingernails, which meant there hadn't been much struggle at the time of death—she'd been killed in one clean cut.

After that came the painstaking analysis of the skin, bit by bit, checking for any extra abrasions.

There were none.

Chen Fan, meanwhile, dragged over a stool and sat there staring at the woman, zoning out.

He felt that this woman seemed almost like a custom-made piece of art.

But he just felt—why was this piece of art so bizarre?

Soon, something unexpected happened: the woman's identity had been tracked down.

The officer arrived and said, "Any progress?"

"The woman should have lost a significant amount of weight rapidly before her death. Also, no extra traces were found—the killer cleaned up very thoroughly."

The man silently took out a cigarette and said, "The person has been identified. This Miss has been missing for three years. Surprised?"

????

Missing for three years.

Chen Fan said, "So she's missing, so what? Why is that surprising?"

"Her husband is standing right outside."

??????