More body parts, more victims.
Yi Jiayi tried hard to see the murderer but saw more atrocities instead.
She clenched her teeth, watching those women, as vulnerable as herself, being tortured, trampled, humiliated, and killed.
She could almost feel their despair and suffocation, her fingers tightening, veins bulging.
Her body was already stiff and cold, yet she insisted on staying in the autopsy room, watching the forensic experts restore the body parts and gather clues…
She wanted to see more, to keep watching, over and over again.
Even though the mutilated bodies meant she couldn’t witness an entire slaughter or see the murderer’s face clearly, she at least wanted to remember that room, to see the murderer’s hands, clothes, arms, shoulders, and even the occasional sounds he made…
Finally, today’s last piece of the corpse was cleaned of mud, insects, grass clippings, and other matter by the forensic officer, allowing Yi Jiayi to enter the last segment of her mental imagery for the day.
This was the most fiercely struggling victim, her eyes filled not only with fear but also with anger and hatred. Daring to the extreme, she provoked the murderer to become even more brutal, more eager to conquer her, to make her submit and tremble.
Yet the woman, like a mad person, even in death wanted to take a piece of him with her. With her hands restrained, she fiercely head-butted and bit him.
Whenever the murderer slightly neglected to secure her hands, he would be slapped and scratched.
Until the murderer thought of an even more inhumane way to remove all her resistance, torturing her to the point of helplessness, yet she still glared at him with hatred.
Finally, she forced the murderer to squat down to her level, fiercely slap her face, and even stab her with a fine knife—
In this blurry scene, the murderer’s face and the victim’s were in the same frame, and Yi Jiayi finally saw his face.
Even though half-hidden in the darkness, it was enough for Yi Jiayi to remember, confident that she would recognize him at a glance.
She lowered her gaze, took a deep breath, clenched her fists, and tried to make her voice sound calm as she thanked and bid farewell to Xu Junhao before turning to leave the autopsy room.
Xu Junhao watched Yi Jiayi’s somewhat stiff back and slow steps, sighing softly.
Hoping that after witnessing so much darkness, she could still live in the sunshine.
…
As Yi Jiayi left the autopsy room, she happened to meet Fang Zhenyue coming out of the forensic office.
Both paused, exchanging looks for a few seconds before regaining their composure.
“Got a suspect, shall we go take a look?” Fang Zhenyue checked the time, then suggested going to Sham Shui Po. If she wanted to follow, they would bring the person back to the police station together. If she didn’t want to follow, he could drop her off at home on the way.
“Okay,” Yi Jiayi nodded. “Who is the suspect?”
“The bag used for carrying the body parts came from a street vendor in Sham Shui Po who sells steamed buns from a cart.”
“Would the killer be so foolish as to use his own branded bags to carry body parts?”
“I hope he’s that foolish.” Fang Zhenyue returned to Office B, called up Lin Wangjiu and a few others, and they headed straight for Sun Xin’s residence.
At this time, Sun Xin might not be at home. As the car entered the crowded streets of Sham Shui Po, Fang Zhenyue slowed down, while the others peered through the car windows, searching for the small bun cart.
When they reached Sun Xin’s home, it was indeed empty.
They had no choice but to return, parking the car near Yi Ji, and then each person went to Yi Jiading to get a pork chop bun and a cup of Yi’s Iced Delight, and began walking the streets again, continuing their search for Sun Xin and his bun cart.
On Ruzhou Street, you could see the Kowloon West Centre – Sham Shui Po Police Station.
Further on, the street was filled with the aroma of various snacks; Dapu Street was so crowded and noisy it was astonishing. Narrow alleys were packed with vendors offering fish balls, rice noodle rolls, fried pork cracklings, bonito peanut porridge, and beef brisket with radish… all kinds of drool-inducing snacks available.
Behind these stalls were various electronics shops. Yi Jiayi even spotted the audio store from “Infernal Affairs” that Tony Leung had visited, the Kebo gutsy store. If not burdened with the duty of finding a suspect, he really would have liked to browse around.
“Selling snacks everywhere fits perfectly with the existing clues. It’s convenient for buying snacks and scouting places to dump bodies, and it’s hard to arouse suspicion,” said Liu Jiaming, finishing his pork chop bun and eyeing all the snacks he encountered on the road.
“What about the motive? Maybe it’s because his parents died in a car accident, and he felt the world was unjust, so he decided to take revenge on society?” Lin Wangjiu frowned and sighed. “Or perhaps, previously his parents kept him in check, and now that no one is around to discipline him, his innate evilness has surfaced?”
“It could also be that he was just born a psychopathic murderer,” Gary shrugged. After all, there are people who are just inherently bad. Could someone who committed the Ferry Street dismemberment really still be called human?
“It’s probably not something we can judge by common sense.”
As they talked and searched, mingling among the crowd, they gradually felt the vitality around them. The case chilled them to the bone yet the scorching sun nearly burned them; finally, they found a balance and returned to a normal temperature.
People coming and going, lights of thousands of homes, all emitting the worldly aura of life, giving a solid feeling underfoot.
“The forensic officer still can’t determine the exact time of death for each body part; they can only roughly estimate about a month, three weeks, two weeks, and yesterday or the day before,” Yi Jiayi suddenly recalled what Xu Junhao had told her in the autopsy room before leaving.
“Based on the current lab results, these body parts belong to 5 people, so that’s… about one crime per week,” Liu Jiaming frowned.
“Typically, the intervals between a serial killer’s crimes get shorter and shorter, but hopefully, the killer hasn’t yet reached the point of completely indulging his desire to torture and kill,” Fang Zhenyue sipped his Yi’s Iced Delight through a straw, and added:
“Following the current pattern, the next murder and body dumping will likely be in about six days. But if the killer first captures someone, plays with them, violates and tortures them, and then kills them… maybe there’s already a victim in his hands now…”
Upon hearing Fang Zhenyue’s words, everyone felt their body temperature, which had just returned to normal, being abruptly drained away again.
Their bodies, which had just relaxed, tensed up once more. They straightened their faces, perked up their ears, and widened their eyes, wishing they had the abilities of the gourd children’s super-hearing and telescopic sight.
They needed to catch the criminal quickly, to snatch the person back from the clutches of the King of Hell.
…
Lau Sum Kee on Furong Street is a must-visit eatery for Cai Lan whenever he passes through.
The thin-skinned wontons, the bamboo noodles full of shrimp, the tender meaty dumplings, and the aromatic broth of the grouper floating through the air…
Just standing outside the restaurant, one is continuously tempted by the waves of delicious scents emanating from within.
A tall, thin young man leans against the wall; next to him is a tricycle with a large basin on it, covered with a few bamboo baskets, each draped with a film that occasionally lets out the distinctive aroma of rice and flour-based foods.
Those who don’t have time to enter Lau Sum Kee for a meal, or passersby who are short on cash, might choose to buy some snacks from this young man to quell their hunger. Smelling the deliciousness from Lau Sum Kee while nibbling on a steamed bun, the bun seems to taste even better.
The young man has pale white skin that is strikingly visible on his face, neck, hands, and even his ankles outside his clothes.
He’s so pale that he seems to glow in the dark, a sight that makes the pretty girls passing by envious and longing.
With such fair skin, he must be a handsome young man, right? Many passersby can’t help but think this when they see him.
But the young man keeps his head down, and even when you buy a bun from him, he does not lift his face for you to see.
He seems uncurious about the bustle around him, nor does he care about the attire or appearances of those passing by, whether they are happy or not.
He keeps his eyes downcast, making no eye contact with anyone, nor looking around.
He stands like a pale stone statue guarding his small cart, watching his feet and the ground around them.
Suddenly, a soccer ball rolls to his feet, circling around his worn shoes before stopping behind his heel.
The young man finally changes his stance; he no longer leans against the wall. Standing upright, he quietly touches the ball with his heel, then timidly looks up.
Sure enough, he sees a little boy standing a few steps away, looking back at him with a timid gaze.
The two of them make eye contact for a while, as if having a silent contest of stares.
A few seconds later, the young man seems to have finally confirmed through the little boy’s eyes and expression that there is no malice or threat.
He lowers his eyes again, tips the ball with his toe, and then gently kicks it away.
The ball bounces unevenly on the rough surface, finally settling back at its owner’s feet.
However, the little boy does not leave. He toys with the ball under his foot and then kicks it back to the pale young man.
Furong Street is noisy, but this area has a touch of warmth and tranquility.
Until several people encircled the boy, asked his name, and then escorted him away, the tranquility was completely shattered.
A ball wobbled where the boy had just been standing, then stilled.
A child ran over, picked up the ball and tucked it under his arm, staring at the back of the boy being taken away and five other men and a woman, his eyes full of confusion, standing motionless for a long time.