1993, Pengcheng Police Affairs

Zhang Zhenhua has indeed been found.

However, all they found was a corpse.

The Bao'an section of Yangpeng Highway is wide and flat, but it is still somewhat desolate compared to the prosperity of later generations.

Now, besides the newly leveled land on both sides, there are some scattered low-rise factory buildings in the distance, which can be seen far away at a glance.

When he and Hou Hao arrived at the scene, the area had already been cordoned off.

Police officers from the Bao'an branch had already arrived and covered the entrance of the culvert with a white cloth.

It appears that the murderer stuffed Zhang Zhenhua's body into the culvert.

Gu Huai felt somewhat lost when he first appeared at the scene.

However, he still understood the rules: he could not enter the scene before the forensic examination and trace evidence examination were completed.

So he stood outside the cordon and looked around.

After searching for a while, Gu Huai finally found the person he was looking for.

"Master Zhang? Master Zhang! I'm over here!" Gu Huai waved vigorously.

Zhang Shengli, who was explaining the situation to someone, immediately turned around when he heard Gu Huai's shout.

After confirming that the person was Zhang Shengli, Gu Huai pushed aside the person blocking his way and squeezed his way towards Zhang Shengli.

The policeman who was questioning Zhang Shengli shouted, "Hey, comrade, don't go any further in! This is a police cordon! Go watch the show somewhere else!"

"I..." Before Gu Huai could even open his mouth, Hou Hao behind him spoke first, "Captain Li, Captain Li, I'm Hou Hao from the Municipal Bureau. We've met before, and we've been following this case together."

"You're working with him?" Li Xiao frowned at Hou Hao. "Since when have you been able to handle cases independently?"

"We're not handling this case independently," Hou Hao said with a smile, scratching his head. "I'm just helping my mentor with some preliminary work."

Although Li Xiao was somewhat skeptical of Hou Hao's words, considering that the person who reported the case had asked him to contact the Municipal Bureau immediately, he waved his hand to signal his subordinates to let Gu Huai in.

After Gu Huai lowered his head and walked into the cordon, he immediately approached Zhang Shengli and asked in a low voice, "Master Zhang, what's the situation now?"

"Officer Gu, I mobilized the brothers to look for Ahua as you said before. Just now, one of the brothers who drives long-distance trucks found Zhenhua's car here."

"Car?" Gu Huai asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Yes, right there..."

Following Zhang Shengli's finger, Gu Huai saw the taxi lying in the ditch.

Why is the car still there?

In the case that Gu Huai remembered, the criminals' goal was to steal the car; the murder was just a side effect.

And in most cases, they would take the driver to their hideout before killing him, and would never kill him in the middle of nowhere.

No, absolutely not.

Just as Gu Huai was still questioning his existence, an old forensic doctor emerged from the culvert.

Once ashore, he completely ignored the mud covering his body and said, "Captain Li, the preliminary autopsy results are in."

Upon hearing this, Gu Huai immediately followed Li Xiao over.

Seeing a stranger following their captain, the old forensic doctor glanced at Li Xiao inquiringly.

Li Xiao glanced at Gu Huai. "He works for the Municipal Public Security Bureau."

Old Chen opened his notebook and read aloud, "The body is in a prone position, with the right side of the face submerged in the mud, where lividity has formed. The area is fading when pressed, and there is no sign of gigantism in the abdomen. Based on this, the time of death is estimated to be between 24 and 36 hours ago."

"In terms of forensic examination, apart from some footprints, no other drag marks were found around the culvert, so it can be basically determined that this culvert is the primary crime scene."

"In addition, the footprints are quite blurry because it rained the day before yesterday, and Lao Zhou is working hard to collect them."

Gu Huai frowned deeply upon hearing this.

Zhang Zhenhua went missing three days ago in the afternoon, and 72 hours have passed since then.

However, according to the autopsy results, there was a gap of 36 hours between the time of death and the time of disappearance.

What exactly happened to Zhang Zhenhua during those 36 hours he disappeared?

Although he had some doubts, Gu Huai did not interrupt.

According to regulations, investigators are not allowed to interrupt during a forensic report.

Especially since Wu Feilin hasn't arrived yet, and the surrounding area is full of people from the Bao'an branch, I can't just interrupt now.

"The initial assessment indicates the fatal wound is primarily in the neck," Old Chen reported, his voice changing slightly. Gu Huai noticed a hint of surprise in his expression.

"There was a clear ligature mark on the neck, about five millimeters wide, with concave edges and a small amount of intradermal bleeding at the boundary with the skin. The initial assessment is that the murder weapon was a nylon rope or a similar material."

Death by strangulation.

This was similar to the situation of some victims in the case he remembered, but combined with the previous circumstances, Gu Huai felt something was off.

"You just said it's the main thing, so are there any secondary things too?"

Gu Huai finally couldn't hold back and asked the question that had been on his mind.

Old Chen glanced at Gu Huai, but didn't say anything. Instead, he closed the report in his hand and said, "What I'm going to talk about next is the secondary wounds."

"The victim's crotch area was cut open, with a neat slit running from the navel to the perineum. The entire operation was exceptionally clean, as if the fabric had been cut with scissors. The entire reproductive system, both inside and out, had been removed."

"And!" Old Chen's tone suddenly turned serious, "The murderer used a knife, and he did it while the victim was still alive."

After saying that, Lao Chen handed the report to Li Xiao.

Gu Huai quickly leaned over to take a look, and to his surprise, he discovered that the report also contained several Polaroid photos.

"Hoo~"

In the photo, Old Chen had completely cut open the corpse's pants. The exposed flesh, whitish fat layer, and severed blood vessels inside the abnormal cavity made Gu Huai gag.

It wasn't that he was disgusted by the corpse. Although this was his first time at a crime scene, he had prepared himself mentally beforehand.

What he never expected was that the first victim he encountered on his first crime scene in both his lives would die in such a bizarre way, and the perpetrator's methods would be so heinous.

"What's wrong with you?" Hou Hao, who was comforting Zhang Shengli, saw Gu Huai's exaggerated actions and quickly stepped forward to ask.

Gu Huai covered his mouth, using all his strength to prevent himself from spitting it out, and kept pointing his finger at Li Xiao.

Hou Hao immediately understood Gu Huai's meaning and whispered, "Even if it's your first time on duty, you don't need to exaggerate like this. You've seen cadavers before, haven't you..."

He walked and talked until he reached Li Xiao's side, and he noticed that Li Xiao's expression was also very appropriate.

Although not as exaggerated as Gu Huai's, his face was still ashen.

Seeing this, Hou Hao immediately stopped joking and took the report from Li Xiao to read it.

Not long after he started watching, Hou Hao felt his stomach churning, and the bamboo noodles and wontons he had just eaten seemed to be rushing out of his mouth.

"Hoo~~~"

"Damn it, what kind of freaks are these!"