Chapter 157: Time Anchor

Qi Fei placed the aluminum lunch box flat on the evidence table, the oily metal surface reflecting fine light spots under the fluorescent lamp.

Wu Shanqiu put on gloves and carefully pried the edge. With a "click" of the rusted buckle, the smell of old oil ink that had settled for forty-two years permeated instantly.

Several yellowed photos were laid out in the inner layer of the lunch box.

Qi Fei used tweezers to pick up the top one, the edges covered in mold spots. In the photo was a woman in her thirties. She had short hair to her ears, the ends slightly curled, and the cotton-padded jacket on her body was washed until it was pale, with fine lines at the corners of her eyes. The back of the photo was marked with blue-black ink: "Chen Afeng, 1983.7.17".

The remaining four photos were, without exception, the victims of the "Mirror Demon Case" back then. Every deceased was marked with a name and date on the back.

It's just that this date was not exactly the same as the date Qi Fei knew well.

"Strange, Chen Afeng was the first deceased found, the time was July 19, here it is written July 17. The discovery date of the second deceased Wang Lijuan was August 25, but here it is written August 16..."

Wu Shanqiu also discovered this problem: "Really, the dates behind each deceased's photo are basically consistent but not exactly the same, so strange."

However, Qi Fei soon discovered: "These dates are all earlier than the date the deceased was found. Is it possible that it is the date of their death? Because I remember the autopsy report at the time, for example, this Wu Meiling, the estimated time of death was about 10 days, and the date old Ye noted was November 13, which is within the estimated time range of death."

"Hmm, this is reasonable, but even with current technology, such corpses soaked in seawater cannot achieve such precise determination of the time of death. If your guess is right, Brother Fei, how did old Ye confirm that this time of death was correct?" Wu Shanqiu said puzzledly.

Qi Fei knew that Wu Shanqiu's statement was not unreasonable.

"However, old Ye put all his heart and soul into the 'Mirror Demon Case'. These dates are definitely not because he made a mistake. Wait!"

Outside these familiar victims, Qi Fei found a note with an unfamiliar name, Xu Chunxia, and the noted date was 1983.12.12.

Qi Fei and Wu Shanqiu looked at this thin, brittle yellow paper with four eyes.

Only heard Wu Shanqiu mutter: "Who is this Xu Chunxia again? The treasure that old Ye let Sister Zheng keep for so many years is just these..."

The sound of high heels came from behind them. In the police station, only one person would wear these shoes. Sure enough, Zhong Kui's sweet and greasy voice came: "I heard that you found a key clue?"

"The key is the key, but we didn't understand it." Wu Shanqiu straightened her waist and said to Zhong Kui.

Zhong Kui stroked her hair and leaned against Qi Fei: "My dear, relax a little, let me see what the problem is?"

Qi Fei was blushed by her words, and whispered: "In Ye Ming's box, there are only photos of several victims and the dates on the back, but the time old Ye wrote is different from the time the corpse was found in the file. Shanqiu and I are worrying about not knowing what is going on."

"Let me see?" Zhong Kui said, already wearing rubber gloves, her fingertips lightly stroking the mold spots on the edge of the photo, turning these photos one by one unhurriedly, her gaze stayed on the date written on the back, and the corners of her mouth curled up: "That's right."

"Hmm? Right what?" Qi Fei didn't understand Zhong Kui's meaning.

"It seems old Ye finally touched the killer's pulse. This 'Mirror Demon Case', I think he walked on the correct path of investigating the case." Zhong Kui said, placing the five photos in order of date on the table.

Then, she picked up the paper with the name Xu Chunxia and said: "As far as I know, some religions regard mathematics as the core carrier of sacred knowledge or cosmic truth. In the Middle Ages, Western monks believed that mathematics was the key to interpreting God's blueprint for creation."

As she spoke, she placed the paper of Xu Chunxia 1983.12.12 after the five photos: "I think old Ye found an undiscovered victim through reasoning."

"Reasoning?" Qi Fei looked at the photos arranged in order by Zhong Kui, seemingly finding some clues in them.

"It's not a difficult problem, just an arithmetic progression. The month increases, the date decreases. Lao Ye suspected that the killer was implementing a killing plan according to a 30-day cycle. Although I don't know where he got this conclusion, he found this Xu Chunxia, an undiscovered victim, and also..." Zhong Kui picked up the paper and pen on the side and wrote a number and placed it behind the paper of Xu Chunxia.

Qi Fei looked at it, and it read: "1984.01.11". This was the day old Ye went missing, the day that the entire Nancheng Police Station could not forget.

"I think, on New Year's Eve forty-two years ago, old Ye found the killer's killing cycle, so he went out in a hurry. It's just that he didn't know how he confirmed the location of the killer's appearance." Zhong Kui also had times when she couldn't figure it out.

"Xinhua Square in JN District, half an hour's walk from Nancheng Old Church." Qi Fei muttered, "He warned Zheng Aiyuan not to hand over the lunch box to anyone, because once this rule here is known by the killer, this killing cycle will be broken, and the difficulty of catching the killer will be even greater."

As they were talking, Wu Shanqiu's phone rang. After hanging up, Wu Shanqiu said to them: "Regarding the button in old Ye's hand, there is a new discovery."

As she spoke, she handed the picture received on her mobile phone to Qi Fei.

I saw the copper button that had been cleaned and restored to its luster back then, and the four numbers "0111" engraved by humans could be clearly seen on the back, exactly the same as what Zhong Kui wrote just now.

This should have been engraved on his own button by Ye Ming in advance, just to remind the investigators of his date of death in case he had an accident. Qi Fei looked at this set of numbers, full of mixed feelings, and couldn't help but sigh: "It seems that he was already prepared to sacrifice when he went out. If he died, that would be the most accurate link in this time anchor."

Zhong Kui did not have Qi Fei's emotional fluctuations. Her finger tapped lightly on the paper with Xu Chunxia written on it: "As far as I know, this person did not appear in the list of deaths found in Dongji Town. And, you said that after the continuous discovery of female corpses, Dongji Town strengthened its security, and there were no female disappearances later. Then, where did old Ye find this Xu Chunxia?"

"Hmm, if old Ye inferred that Xu Chunxia's time of death was December 12, 1983, that is to say, we have to look for the list of missing personnel in the entire Nancheng who were not found before this date." Wu Shanqiu said. ===== CHAPTER 158 =====