Chapter 374: More

The so-called "another corpse" was actually only half a corpse—this time the upper torso, headless and split into two pieces.

The burial site was about 40 meters from the national highway. Similar to the location of No. 3, it had an elevation difference from the highway, with sparse trees providing cover, and was highly desolate, with weeds and broken bricks making movement difficult.

Liu Jinghui followed Jiang Yuan to the spot, glanced around, and murmured, "This guy likely acted alone."

"Because of the dismemberment?" Jiang Yuan whispered back. They were still in the speculation phase. Solving a case required bold hypotheses and careful verification, but hypotheses couldn't be shouted aloud, lest they influence others' judgments.

Liu Jinghui grunted and said, "No. 1 was closest to the highway—about 20 meters—and was found precisely because of that distance. No. 3 and this new No. 4 are 50 and 40 meters away respectively—still not far. If two people were carrying it, they could've taken it much farther, or not cut it so finely. Here, the scene is obvious: one upper torso split into two body bags, internal organs spilled everywhere. Unless it was for single-person transport, what's the point?"

"Could it have been chopped into pieces first, then packed separately?" Jiang Yuan immediately stripped off his clothes, bundled his coat and pants into a plastic bag, sprayed them with alcohol, then put on a fresh set of protective gear and three disposable coveralls.

If the two crime scenes contaminated each other, it wouldn't just hinder the investigation—it would also hurt the prosecution's case and risk complications during later death penalty reviews.

Liu Jinghui reluctantly took off his clothes, changed into protective gear, and looked down at the body parts in the temporary grave: "This guy used an axe, not a power saw. I think he planned it. Look at this body section—it was decapitated, then cut through the waist. If two people did it, stopping here would've been enough. Why split the sternum into two segments, spill the insides like soup, make a mess, then reassemble the two halves and bury them in one trench...?"

Yes, the two body bags contained two parts of the same victim's upper torso, severed down the center of the chest, like splitting a lamb—but far cruder than a butcher's work.

The victim's internal organs, having been left too long, had all liquefied.

Though not a forensic pathologist, Liu Jinghui had seen enough to easily identify which body parts the severed sections came from. Jiang Yuan exhaled, quickly glanced at the two body bags, Mianqiang reassembled them, and said, "The head isn't here. Just the upper torso—weighs about 40 jin. If he couldn't carry that, the killer's strength must be poor. An elderly man?"

"Maybe he's sick," Liu Jinghui's eyes lit up—this might be a breakthrough. He began observing the surroundings. Neither considered female involvement seriously. Such a brutal, bloody dismemberment case was extremely unlikely to be committed by a woman—far less likely than by an elderly or sick male.

Women's murders typically involved poisoning, or killing when the victim was vulnerable—intoxicated, post-coitus, or asleep.

No. 1 and No. 2 both underwent full toxicology tests—no signs of poisoning. Instead, there were signs of kidnapping, extortion, and knife wounds—all inconsistent with female modus operandi. At this point, discussing female involvement was meaningless.

For a man, carrying 40 jin daily might be heavy, but a normal middle-aged or young adult could easily carry 40–50 jin when committing murder—unless there was a special reason.

Mei Fang had finished collecting evidence at the previous scene and now arrived by car, hastily changed into protective gear, then brought over two large cases.

"Is this the same corpse as the recently found No. 3?" Mei Fang bent down to arrange his equipment, asking casually.

"No. Half a corpse—but another victim. Headless." Jiang Yuan replied briefly.

"Is it based on time of death?" Mei Fang asked.

"Yes. Also, both No. 3 and No. 4 have tailbones." Jiang Yuan glanced once, but caught the lowest segment of the spine. One person clearly can't have two tailbones.

"So more body parts or body bags are still out there," Mei Fang said with a sigh, gazing outward. "Did your boss regret it?" Liu Jinghui suddenly grew curious.

Mei Fang chuckled, shrugged, and said, "We searched around the body after finding No. 2—covered a two- to three-kilometer radius. But expanding further... today's level of commitment was already hard to justify."

After finding one corpse, searching a few hundred meters around was normal. No police unit would ever say, "Guys, let's search ten kilometers out!"

Even finding No. 2 was just one step in the search process.

Jiang Yuan insisted on bringing Xu Taining precisely because of his own post-mortem judgment and Liu Jinghui's assessment.

Of course, it also had nothing to do with him bearing the cost.

The Luyang Municipal Bureau couldn't have made this decision before—and still can't now.

The rapid discovery of the bodies was also tied to Xu Taining's strategy. He deployed hundreds of personnel, especially over forty police dogs, along with supporting vehicles, and scattered them across a vast area—110 kilometers long, 50 meters wide on each side of the highway—with multiple search teams starting simultaneously.

The Luyang Municipal Bureau couldn't manage any of these.

Even Liu Jinghui's earlier suggestion—80 kilometers long, 20 meters wide on each side—likely wouldn't have found anything: No. 3 was over 20 meters away, No. 4 over 40 meters—both outside the range.

"Catch bugs, collect bodies," Jiang Yuan said, watching Mei Fang prepare hot water, alcohol, and poison vials, then crouched down to begin work.

Soon after, Xu Taining and the leadership of the Luyang Municipal Bureau arrived at the scene.

The group still stood over ten meters away, while logistics staff brought umbrellas and chairs so they could sit and watch.

But this distance couldn't block the stench. The faint, lingering odor, even just a trace reaching the nose, felt like being force-fed a mouthful of shit—so foul it made one want to cry.

"I plan to expand the search width on both sides to 80 meters, and up to 100 meters in some areas," Xu Taining said, seeing the main leaders of the Luyang Municipal Bureau present, and immediately proposed the revised plan.

The few who had just sat down were speechless.

"Could the provincial bureau help fund part of this?" Political Commissar Zhou Yuanqiang, nudged by a glance, quickly asked.

"That's up to you—I don't handle money," Xu Taining smiled. "There are always special funds, but I don't know how much."

Homicides must be solved if possible, but the Luyang Municipal Bureau didn't want to go bankrupt. Under Xu Taining's request, expanding by another 30 to 50 meters would cost more than double. The farther from the highway, the fewer human-made environments, the more natural terrain—and everywhere meant more spending.

The Luyang Municipal Bureau would rather catch the suspect first, then bring him back to point out the body's location—digging then would cost far less than digging now.

The leaders exchanged glances.

Xu Taining had encountered similar situations countless times over the years. He just smiled and said, "Think carefully. The case isn't solved yet. You haven't even seen a hair of the suspect. Don't kill the ox before the millstone is off its back."

"No, no, never," the director laughed, clapping Xu Taining's hand and promising, "We'll do our best to cover the expenses. As long as we solve the case, Comrade Xu, feel free to use personnel and funds as needed."

Even with two and a half more corpses, the case hadn't progressed—no return on the initial investment yet—and Luyang had no choice but to grit their teeth and push forward.

Seeing the communication went smoothly—given the massive spending, this level of cooperation was already smooth—Xu Taining reassured them:

"Many areas expand to 80 meters right up to the hills. There might be major discoveries there."

The leaders didn't know whether to be pleased or not.