Chapter 376

The detection results for Body No. 4 were similar: a female corpse, age 28, height 165 cm, weight around 50 kg.

Her time of death was 20 months ago, making her the third victim among the four bodies found so far.

Jiang Yuan extracted DNA samples from Bodies No. 3 and No. 4 and sent them directly to the provincial laboratory.

DNA extraction is a specialized skill; ordinary police labs, equipped with just three million yuan as mandated by the ministry, handle blood, muscle, and bodily fluid samples without issue, but struggle with ancient decomposed corpses.

Jiang Yuan was able to extract samples from bone only because he had Level 4 Forensic Physical Evidence Science; yet he still felt uncertain whether a match could be made, since most people's DNA records are not stored.

Once the work here was nearly done, voices came again from the scene: human remains had been found again. No surprise at all.

The killer buried the bodies along the national highway. Of course, without police dogs, these corpses would likely never have been discovered.

The timeline clearly shows that the later the body, the deeper the killer buried it.

Body No. 4 was buried at a depth of 60 to 70 centimeters; Body No. 3 was buried even deeper.

At this depth, ordinary police dogs can hardly detect the bodies—a sign of the killer's escalating crime pattern. From whole corpses to headless ones, from shallow graves of 30–40 cm to 60–70 cm, it's clear the body bags grew smaller, tied to burial difficulty. Digging 30–40 cm in the wild is already strenuous; digging 60–70 cm or even a meter deep takes young men two or three hours, leaving them drenched in sweat.

Dissecting the body into bags allows for shallower pits, but the remaining parts require additional disposal.

If this progression continues, by the time the killer digs pits one point eight or two meters deep, detecting the bodies will become nearly impossible. Jiang Yuan rushed to Site No. 5 at top speed.

As before, it was just a shallow pit, with a snake-skin sack planted inside. "Is this another duplicate body?" Liu Jinghui stood outside the perimeter, not entering, waiting for an answer.

Jiang Yuan silently examined it, then grunted: "It's the other leg from Body No. 3."

"Cut so evenly—he couldn't possibly bury a whole body in a single day," Liu Jinghui had already suspected: the killer couldn't possibly bury one leg and leave the other—that would be too deranged.

Now that they'd identified a killer of ordinary perversion, Liu Jinghui's mind became active.

While Jiang Yuan examined the body, Liu Jinghui thought aloud: "The killer likely has low education and leads a solitary life."

Most serial killers are reclusive, Jiang Yuan mentally scoffed, but didn't interrupt Liu Jinghui—better not disrupt his flow, or block the detective king's spell.

Despite finding so many bodies, decisive evidence was still lacking.

This is one of the most frustrating aspects of cold cases: ideally, if the killer left fingerprints on the plastic bag, cigarette butts in the grave, or fresh blood pooled in the pit, the case could be closed immediately.

But time erased much, and the killer was initially very meticulous.

Yet Liu Jinghui's reasoning had merit. From the recent excavations, the killer showed clear signs of growth—but all were self-taught. For instance, dismemberment was meant to conceal the body, and burial was meant to conceal it too; yet he buried shallowly at first, then deepened later, but still not deeply enough.

Fundamentally, if the killer had buried Bodies No. 1 and No. 2 deeper, Case 805 would have dragged on even longer. Yet all this knowledge is available in public books.

He killed so many people yet never seriously studied relevant knowledge—that's a sign of low education. In fact, even petty thieves with a high school diploma, once in prison, spend time reading law books; only those with literacy difficulties—like those with elementary school education—pretend "studying that stuff is useless."

Crime, too, involves cost-benefit analysis. The entire Criminal Code doesn't impose maximum penalties like the ancient "Three Articles of Law" precisely to make potential offenders pause and reconsider after beginning their crimes, to choose alternatives instead of rushing headlong into brutality—because brutality always has consequences.

Crime must also consider cost and benefit; the entire criminal code does not impose severe punishments across the board, as it did in the era of the "Three Simple Articles," precisely to give people pause before or after committing a crime, to encourage them to think again and choose differently, rather than rushing headlong into brutality—because such acts always carry consequences.

Liu Jinghui continued: "Over the past two days, I've reviewed people living and working nearby. Personally, I lean toward the latter group—those who work along the highway. Locals living here mostly consist of villagers; if they wanted to bury bodies, they'd have more options and wouldn't all choose the roadside, which is inconvenient. The remaining group are those who work or commute along the highway."

"It's likely his burial depth gradually increased as he moved farther from the highway," Jiang Yuan mused. "An 80-kilometer stretch of national highway… actually longer now—there could be many workers."

"Traffic police, road maintenance crews, landscaping workers, construction crews, power, network, telecom workers, gas stations, roadside shops and small factories, couriers, transporters… and the killer might not even be within this 80-kilometer range—could be dozens of kilometers beyond," Liu Jinghui frowned. This list would be hard to compile and easy to miss people.

"Traffic police, road maintenance workers, landscaping staff, all kinds of construction workers, including those in power, network, and telecommunications, gas stations, shops and small factories along the route, couriers, transport workers… the key might not even be within this 80-kilometer range—it could extend dozens of kilometers in either direction." Liu Jinghui frowned; this list would be hard to compile and easy to miss people.

"Hmm…" Liu Jinghui frowned, his mind full of tangled yarn.

Mu Zhiyang, who had come along to assist Jiang Yuan, had nothing urgent to do and said cheerfully: "At least we're ahead of the Luyang team."

His remark instantly lifted the mood. The atmosphere around the bodies became noticeably livelier.

Liu Jinghui glanced at the Luyang city officials and added: "Ultimately, we made the decisive move to investigate the highway. Since we still can't confirm the victims' identities, we can be bolder."

Liu Jinghui glanced at the leaders of Luyang City and added, "Ultimately, we made the firm decision to investigate the national highway. In truth, since we can't yet determine the victims' identities, we can afford to be bolder."

"I recall Body No. 1 was a sex worker. This case involves burying bodies along the highway, the killer is likely someone working near the highway, and none of the multiple victims had family coming forward to cry foul or search widely. I propose we assume Bodies No. 2, 3, and 4 were also sex workers." Liu Jinghui counted on his fingers: "Let's first locate all sex workers near the highway, especially the missing ones, and cross-reference them. If we succeed, great; if not, the list won't be long."

"I recall number one was a seller of te***. In this case, with bodies buried along the national highway, the killer is likely someone working near the highway. None of the multiple victims had family members coming forward to cry foul or search extensively. I suggest we assume numbers two, three, and four were also sellers of te***." Liu Jinghui counted off on his fingers: "Let's first locate all the te*** sellers near the national highway, especially the missing ones, and compare them. If we succeed, great; if not, the list won't be long."

Sex workers absolutely occupy a significant portion among serial murder victims.

They are easy targets, frequently change work locations based on the killer's preferences, have weak resistance, possess sexual allure, interact with all kinds of people, and lack stable social ties—often disappearing without notice, making them favored prey for many serial killers.

From one perspective, some serial killers have managed to kill repeatedly without being caught precisely because they target sex workers.

The killer in Case 805 doesn't seem particularly intelligent, and his physical strength appears average; his ability to kill repeatedly may stem precisely from targeting sex workers.

Previously, with so few bodies discovered, it was understandable; now that multiple bodies have been found, and considering no one has been coming daily to the Luyang Public Security Bureau crying for help, the situation has become highly unusual.

Liu Jinghui pulled out his phone and immediately inquired about Luyang's side.

Liu Jinghui pulled out his phone and immediately inquired about the Lu Yang side.