An infinite journey starting from paradise

She turned around and smiled at Yuzumi-san. "Sorry, Yuzumi-san, your sandwich will have to wait a little longer."

"No, I should go now."

Yuzumi Jiasan stood up and looked out the window. Through the glass, he saw Lin Shangren waving at him across the street.

Chapter 70 Laplace!

Lin Shangren, who was leaning against a street electric pole, looked at Yuzumi Jiasan who walked out of the Moon World Coffee Shop.

At this moment, the system prompt sounded in his mind.

[Detected a mystery to be solved (2/5)]

"Another case? The shadow touch shows that everything around is normal. It seems that Officer Yuzumi has another difficult case to 'share' with me." Lin Shangren made a judgment in his heart.

"Mr. Lin, we..."

"We need to change places to talk. There are outsiders in the Moon World, right?"

As he spoke, Lin Shangren waved to Yuzumi Jiasan, signaling him to follow him. Yuzumi Jiasan followed Lin Shangren in silence and got into the Packard 200.

Yuzumi, who was sitting in the passenger seat, was about to tell Lin Shangren about the murder of Abe's family and the dumping of the body in Tama Cemetery, but Lin Shangren asked first:

"Officer Uozumi, has there been any progress on the case at Inokashira Park? What are the autopsy results? Can you confirm the exact number of victims and the identities of the two heads?"

"The autopsy results haven't come out yet." Yuzumi Jiasan said truthfully.

"That's right, it's only been a day. Miss Natsume isn't a full-time forensic doctor, so her slowness is understandable. However, the two heads are still quite well preserved. Although the faces are swollen, the features can still be seen. Confirming their identities shouldn't be too difficult. But..."

Lin Shangren changed the subject: "However, your police force is very short of manpower recently because the case of the Abe family's murder has taken up a lot of police resources. Therefore, there are no extra officers to investigate the identities of these two deceased people."

"Mr. Lin already knows about that Abe guy?"

Lin Shangren smiled slightly: "I have my own intelligence channels. I heard that he died a very tragic death."

"I don't know the details," Yuzumi Kazuzo said. "Now that he's dead, the Tokisaka siblings shouldn't have to hide anymore. It's just..."

"It's just that the organization doesn't have enough staff to take care of the unconscious Tokisaka. This is simple. We can discuss it with Tokisaka Yukari later to see if she wants to continue staying with me with her brother or send Comrade Tokisaka to the hospital." Lin Shangren continued, "I can pay for the hospitalization."

"Uh... um."

Seeing that Lin Shangren seemed to have thought everything through, Yuzumi Kazo nodded dully. He was about to tell Lin Shangren about the Tama Cemetery case when he heard Lin Shangren ask, "Officer Yuzumi, where is Miss Natsume's hospital?"

"Ah... ah?"

"I want to go to her place and see the two bodies. I can help her with the autopsy. By the way, I also want to learn a few things from her. Officer Uozumi, you wanted me to go with you to her place, right?"

As he spoke, Lin Shangren turned the car keys and continued half-jokingly, "So where is her hospital? Don't worry, you don't have to reimburse the gas."

"Um...walk north along Meiji Avenue, near Takadanobaba. The hospital is called Takajo Hospital. Thank you, Mr. Lin."

"You're welcome."

Despite being interrupted several times by Lin Shangren, Yuzumi Jiasan didn't feel any resentment. Rather, the feeling of not having to use his brain and being led by a master was simply amazing.

"Mr. Lin, there's actually one more thing." Yuzumi Jiasan said, "Um..."

Seeing that Yu Zhu Jia San was still hesitant to continue, Lin Shangren looked at him curiously: "What's the matter?"

"This morning, we received another report of a murder. A female corpse was found in Tama Cemetery..."

After listening to Yu Zhu Jia San's account of the woman's death, Lin Shangren fell into deep thought:

"Murder and dumping the body, yet the scene is arranged in such a bizarre manner. This kind of case is either a psychopathic killer following some pattern, legend, or text, or perhaps they're using this death to symbolize something. Of course, it could also be a complete cover-up.

The body was buried in the ground, but only one foot was exposed and set on fire...hmm..."

Lin Shangren began to search the complicated knowledge in his mind.

"Let's add a few more keywords. Suppose the case the system wants me to investigate is related to the other two tasks, then add demons, cults... no, religion. Hmm...

"Burning feet. In the secular world, it is called hot ashes. When a sinner comes out of the great hell, he sees hot ashes outside, which look like a flat open space. Seeing this, he thinks, 'I should go there.' So the sinner goes there. When his feet step on the hot ashes, his skin and flesh immediately rot."

No, the Buddhist hell of burning feet should only burn the feet of sinners, which does not conform to the idea of ​​burying people underground.

What about Christianity? The Christian hell…"

Suddenly, an idea flashed through Lin Shangren's mind:

“I hope what I am saying now will serve as a clear proof so that people will not be misled.

Each hole has the feet and calves of a sinner.

Even the thighs were exposed outside the hole.

The rest was buried in the hole.

The soles of all sinners' feet are on fire;

Because the two knee joints were shaking abnormally,

Even if it is tied with rattan and hemp rope, it will be broken apart.

Like oil greased with fire,

The flames were just floating on the surface.

That is what happens to these sinners: they are burned from the heels to the toes.”

Seeing Lin Shangren suddenly say a long string of incomprehensible things, Yu Zhu Jiasan was inevitably confused. He asked, "Mr. Lin, what did you just say?"

"This passage is from Canto 19 of the Divine Comedy: Inferno. It describes the punishment meted out to sinners in the third layer of the eighth circle of Hell: being buried upside down in the ground, with their feet burned by flames."

Lin Shangren explained.

"This is basically consistent with the scene you described. The question is, why did the murderer arrange the scene this way? Could he be a fanatical Christian? Has the deceased been identified?"

"It's confirmed. The deceased's appearance remains intact, and there happens to be someone in the police station who knew her. The deceased's name is Hotaru Koizumi, she's seventeen years old, and she was a student at Sakuraha Girls' Academy."

"Yingyu Girls' College?" Lin Shangren asked.

Yuzumi Kazo replied, "Yes...it's the girls' school where you, Mr. Lin, currently work."

"Um…"

Lin Shangren pondered for a moment, then asked:

"Then... Officer Uozumi, did the deceased have any other occupation, or what did her family do? Did they trade in Christian artifacts?"

"Trading Christian artifacts?"

Lin Shangren explained, "According to the description in 'The Divine Comedy,' her death was a punishment for Pope Niroch III and other Christian clergy who traded in holy relics. I suspect the murderer may have been following the punishment of sinners in hell as described in 'The Divine Comedy.'"

"Well... according to our investigation, Hotaru Koizumi comes from an ordinary middle-class family. Her father is a clerk at the telegraph office. As for her, she does have a side job. She might be a prostitute."

"Private prostitute?"

"That's not accurate. My subordinate who recognized her had sex with her the day before yesterday. According to him, Koizumi Hotaru seemed to have just lost her virginity and was very inexperienced. The strangest thing is that she didn't charge any money."

Speaking of this, Yuzumi Jiasan also felt a little strange.

"I've seen women from lower classes forced to sell their bodies just to make a living, and I've also seen so-called socialites who sell their bodies for luxury. But this is the first time I've heard of a female student who's not after money. She's clearly educated, so why doesn't she value herself?"

"Maybe it's because of repression... No one gave her the right guidance..."

Lin Shangren remembered the strict school rules of Yingyu Girls' College.

"I hope this is just an isolated case."

At this time, the car just arrived in front of Gaocheng Hospital.

This gray, two-story building may be called a hospital, but it's actually more like a community clinic. Standing alongside the surrounding residential buildings, it's unassuming. If it weren't for the shabby sign reading "Gaocheng Hospital" hanging on the utility pole in front of it, no one would mistake it for a hospital.

"This hospital is really... unique."

Looking at this overly "sloppy" hospital, Lin Shangren even doubted whether it could really have a complete set of autopsy equipment.

"Come on, let's go in."

"Ah."

Yuzumi Jiasan nodded, then solemnly adjusted his collar.

Lin Shangren walked forward and knocked on the door of the clinic.

The person who came to open the door was not the casual Miss Natsume, but Hayashi Naoto's colleague Takashiro Hiroko.

"teacher LIN?"

Gao Chengkuo looked at Lin Shangren in confusion.

"Why are you here...?"

Yuzumi Kazuzo stepped forward and explained, "Hiroko, we're here to see Miss Natsume. Mr. Hayashi is a consultant to our police station, and he's here to help with the autopsy."

"Oh...Oh. Please come in, both of you."

Gao Chengguangzi led Lin Shangren and Yuzumi Jiasan into the room. Contrary to Lin Shangren's expectations, the interior of the hospital was very neat and tidy. He noticed that there was a shrine in the corner of the first floor, on which was enshrined the portrait of a young man.

Yuzumi Jiasan said, "Mr. Lin, I'm going to go pay my respects to a friend first. I'll have to ask you to wait for a moment."

"Please."

After watching Yuzumi walk towards the shrine, Hayashi Naoroto asked Takagi Hiroko, "Teacher Takagi, may I ask... who is...?"

"He's my younger brother, Takagi Akigo. He's... a detective." Takagi Hiroko said in a complicated tone, "That kid has been a maverick since he was young... He... He died in a tragedy six years ago.

Six years ago, a serial murder occurred in Ueno. The murderer was a fanatical nun. She killed several women who had abortions. Qiu Wu found out her identity...but...he was slashed by her. And then..."

"Feel sorry."

Lin Shangren silently released the Eagle Finger's soothing power to Gaocheng Kuanzi.

"Okay, Mr. Lin, let's go. Miss Natsume should still be in the basement."

……

The basement of Takagi Hospital is the morgue and autopsy room, where Natsume Takagi usually sleeps.

Uozumi opened the sliding door and saw Miss Natsume dissecting the body of Hotaru Koizumi.

"Oh, Uozumi is here?" Miss Natsume turned around. "Oh, and Brother Lin, are you here to see us too?"

"I'm here to see the body. Dr. Gaocheng, do you need my help?"

Miss Natsume snorted lightly: "Humph~ If you want to call me Miss Natsume, you have too many brothers and sisters. If you call me by my last name, who knows who you are calling me, you are such an unromantic guy."

"As for your help, we've already identified the body parts from Inokashira Park, and the report is on the table. As for this one, would you like to take a look, Brother Lin?"

"Then let me see it."

Hayashi Shangren took the scalpel from Miss Natsume and began to examine the body.

"The deceased was Hotaru Koizumi, a 17-year-old female. Her left arm was severed, her abdomen was cut open, and her right foot was burned.

The incision on the corpse's left arm occurred three centimeters below the base of the coracoid process of the joint capsule. The fracture surface had been violently compressed, with the bone shattered. This is... tissue contraction, a clear sign of life. This suggests the murderer severed the victim's arm while she was still alive.

The killer likely used a hatchet, judging by the blade and placement of the cut. He doesn't appear to have a sophisticated knowledge of anatomy. The direction of the cut suggests he was right-handed.

The abdomen was cut open..."

Lin Shangren used tweezers to open the wound on the corpse's abdomen.

"Fuck me!"

Lin Shangren suddenly uttered a curse in Chinese: "Fuck, this murderer is simply insane."

He found that the deceased's abdominal wound showed obvious signs of life, which meant that the deceased had been disemboweled while still alive.

"Hmm? The uterus was removed, but the vagina was preserved. Judging from the incision, it wasn't a sharp scalpel, but probably a thick-bladed table knife. There were no signs of damage to the other internal organs. It seems the murderer has some basic knowledge of anatomy. Yes, but not much.

Is this... a stitch...?"

"Yes," Miss Natsume continued, "it was sewn with cotton thread. The technique was amateurish. Besides that, there's also this."

Miss Natsume showed Lin Shangren a piece of black eggshell fragment: "The pelvic cavity of the corpse, where the uterus should have been, is now filled with this eggshell."

"Eggshell...hmm..."

Lin Shangren rubbed his neck and made a judgment: "Is this a metaphor for something? Considering the murderer's act of taking my uterus... I don't understand.

Um... the killer has basic knowledge of anatomy, but no surgical experience. He may have received higher education and possessed a deep interest in art and religion. He might be a painter or sculptor specializing in Western paintings.

People in these two industries meet the two characteristics of having basic knowledge of anatomy but little practical experience. Of course, this is just speculation."

"Next is the private area...it's red, swollen and enlarged."

"stop."