Chapter 1225

According to this calculation, Li Ningxia is still the victim. Cui Qishan still accepted Xiao Si's judgment.

Liu Jinghui nodded slowly: "If that's the case, this killer is not simple. Li Ningxia was forced to change the victim's clothes, and during the stripping process, Li Ningxia was likely still alive; in a struggle to survive, she would inevitably reveal the bank deposits inside, and for the killer to resist taking them is truly no easy feat."

Only those who have killed or seen a dead person know how filthy a person becomes when killed.

One can compare it to a drunk person: they not only vomit in jets, they vomit like the Baotu Spring, and also vomit in thin, steady streams. When a person's body muscles begin to relax, leakage is not limited to the intestines and stomach, but also tears and nasal mucus, uncontrollable feces and urine, and anything dirty within reach that can be touched.

Therefore, an experienced killer, if wanting to use clothing worn by the victim, had better remove it while the victim is still alive; once dead, not only does the body become heavy and stiff, making removal difficult, but it also easily soils the clothing.

One oversight, and leaving traces ruins everything.

Based on this judgment, Liu Jinghui has already regarded the killer as an experienced murderer.

And not taking money despite having the opportunity—reasons can be many, but facing hundreds of thousands of yuan within easy reach and giving it up, the killer is actually quite rare.

What the police often see are people trying their luck at ATMs for just a few thousand yuan. Don't they know ATM cameras will capture them? Most just wear masks and sunglasses, trying to conceal the machine while trying to conceal themselves.

Ordinary people facing nonexistent hundreds of thousands might think, "I absolutely won't risk taking it," but if a person earns 3,000 yuan a month, rises early and returns late to work, is scolded by the boss at work, criticized by customers when going out, must suppress desires when buying things, returns home to resentment, and at gatherings is mocked and ridiculed, losing face, has a beloved they lack the courage to approach...

Any one of these dissatisfactions, if linked to having a bank card in their pocket with several hundred thousand yuan available for withdrawal, would they take it or not?

Whoever does not take it must either be poor yet resolute, or already wealthy.

Either way, they are opponents the police dislike.

Liu Jinghui touched on the point briefly; those who understand naturally become more alert, while those who don't are unaffected in the investigation.

Jiang Yuan continued examining the skeletal remains.

Meanwhile, the cold case task force and the Fourth Brigade began gathering missing persons reports from various regions for comparison.

Whether 38 or 33, both belong to the socially robust age group. People of this age have a relatively low probability of completely disengaging from society; if they suddenly disappear, those around them usually report it.

The only issue is that the case has become a cold case, involving a somewhat larger scope.

Evening.

Tao Lu and Huang Qiangmin linked arms and came to the meeting room to visit everyone.

Jiang Yuan also completed the autopsy, cleaned up, and sat silently in the corner drinking tea.

"How is it?"

"Any difficulty?"

Upon seeing Jiang Yuan's appearance, Tao Lu and Huang Qiangmin were both startled.

"Tired." Jiang Yuan replied briefly, then added: "Hungry."

The two first sighed in relief together, then their expressions turned stern:

Huang Qiangmin shouted: "Wang Chuansheng!"

Tao Lu shouted: "Cui Qishan!"

Huang Qiangmin & Tao Lu: "What are you doing?"

Wang Chuansheng and Cui Qishan glanced at each other, thinking, We've become so busy...

The two didn't really want to hear an answer; Huang Qiangmin turned and said: "Jiang Yuan, what would you like to eat? Hot pot?"

"I don't want to eat anything today, I'm a bit tired." Jiang Yuan had fought continuously on several cases, especially doing consecutive autopsies, which may not have consumed much physical strength but certainly mental energy.

This case encountered an autopsy error, which also placed some pressure on Jiang Yuan.

You say the other side's autopsy has problems, then our side's autopsy should not have problems either; but what is the standard for whether problems exist? Solving the case is the best explanation.

Seeing Jiang Yuan so exhausted, Huang Qiangmin immediately turned and complained to Wang Chuansheng: "I Yuan is like this, and you don't care at all... that... Wei Shikan, you get something for us, put it on the criminal police brigade's account."

Tao Lu coughed twice, then fixed her gaze on Huang Qiangmin.

Huang Qiangmin gave a laugh, turned his head, and corrected: "Put it on the Zhengguang Bureau's account."

Tao Lu hummed twice, then said nothing more.

Using funds from a higher-level unit is always better than using one's own unit's funds.

Wei Shikan eagerly stepped forward, smiling: "I previously said I'd get Jiang Dui some coffee to refresh himself, but Jiang Dui didn't want... let me get us some nourishing food instead. I have a younger brother who runs a medicinal cuisine restaurant. Nowadays everyone says Jingcheng's food is not tasty, but Jingcheng actually has two tiers: the cheapest, most basic things emphasize good quality and low price, while the other is rich, fatty, flavorful food with tradition..."

"Fish maw." Jiang Yuan also spoke bluntly, then said: "If it's against regulations, I'll pay myself..."

"What regulations!" Tao Lu immediately declared: "Working late on a case isn't against regulations, eating something isn't against regulations—food is made to be eaten. That whoever... give me a pork knuckle, a big bowl of rice, and a bowl of kelp soup."

Jiang Yuan eating fish maw is fine; Tao Lu, as brigade captain, eating a pork knuckle is already the limit; the others naturally know where the ceiling is.

"Then I'll have pig's trotters."

"Braised pork!"

"Do you have stir-fried yellow beef? A bit spicy..."

Everyone ordered dishes one after another, all appearing quite law-abiding.

Tao Lu nodded satisfied.

After a while, the meeting room filled with the aroma of food.

Jiang Yuan's fish maw ginseng chicken soup was rich in flavor, but he also had no intention of yielding.

As the son of Jiang Village's richest man, Jiang Yuan had long been accustomed to being the center of attention. If he always tried to blend in, his father's money might not even lose one-thousandth.

After silently drinking a bowl of soup and spacing out for a while, Jiang Yuan felt his energy recover somewhat, then took out a lunch box, gently opened it, and from inside took out a cervical vertebra, beginning to handle and observe it.

"Any findings?" Cui Qishan came over, gnawing on a chicken claw.

The previous investigation had gone astray, and his pressure had suddenly increased.

Jiang Yuan rubbed the bone and said: "This is cervical vertebra C5, with bone hyperplasia and slight deformation; for a deceased aged 33, this is somewhat early. From a forensic anthropology perspective, such early deformation must result from long-term, prolonged behavior; if following the classic model, it should originally have been caused by some kind of sports activity or occupation."

"Originally?" Cui Qishan seized on the key point.

"Hmm." Jiang Yuan sighed: "It could also be from playing with phones. The 'head-down tribe'."

This group is too large to have any screening significance.

Wei Shikan, listening nearby, found it interesting and bold, saying: "By this logic, playing with phones could also count as a kind of sports."

"For the cervical spine, the pressure is considerable." Jiang Yuan somewhat regretfully set down this cervical vertebra, then placed it alongside the other two cervical vertebrae in the box, saying: "If such severe deformation occurred elsewhere, it could be directly classified, but since it's on the cervical spine, it's almost unusable."

"I'm a police officer, and my cervical spine isn't in good shape." Cui Qishan shook his head: "People who work at desks are prone to cervical spine deformities. During physical exams, many show problems."

"Hmm... the lumbar spine is the same." Jiang Yuan replaced a lumbar vertebra bone and displayed it, saying: "This is vertebral body compensatory hyperplasia, consistent with long-term sitting or standing occupations. As of now, it's the same—no longer useful for reference."

Cui Qishan couldn't help but wryly smile: "In other words, everyone's damaged areas are the same, so we can't find anyone based on that."

"The cervical and lumbar spines are like this. However, I also noticed wear on the glenoid labrum of the victims' right shoulder joints, indicating frequent use of their rotator cuff muscles. The wrist joint cartilage also shows damage. If it were from sports, I'd say it's more consistent with racket-swinging activities like badminton..." As Jiang Yuan spoke, several criminal investigators nearby stopped eating.

"Did the victims like playing badminton?" Liu Jinghui stopped eating, immediately leaned in, and asked: "Were they good at it?"

"Were they good at it?" Jiang Yuan found Liu Jinghui's question a bit odd, but answered truthfully: "It looks like they were the type who often smashed the shuttlecock."

"Then they'd need a court! And people to play with—it couldn't just be a private hobby." Liu Jinghui slapped his thigh, saying: "Call the families of the missing persons directly and ask if any of them liked badminton!"

(End of Chapter)