As everyone from the forensics department and the medical examiner’s office gradually returned to Team B’s office, a tacit silence fell over the room.
Yi Jiayi, as usual amidst her busy schedule, called her elder brother. Not in the mood to cross the street for food, everyone stayed in the office to eat roasted meats from Yi Ji.
The mood was unusually subdued; even Liu Jia Ming, usually quite the talker, ate in silence without saying a word.
Everyone’s mood was heavy, and even discussing the case felt overwhelmingly complex and difficult to start.
“Sick and twisted,” Sanfu was the first to speak after putting down his chopsticks.
One by one, everyone began to stand and collect their meal boxes, finally opening up the conversation:
“A serial killer, what bad luck to encounter this in our year.”
“Maybe the heat fried his brain.”
“The lab technician found traces of s*men on several body parts, attacking first, then killing and dismembering. And so many victims, truly deranged.”
“The victims’ ages, blood types, and heights all vary. Random killings, especially problematic if it targets women.”
“And we absolutely must keep the media from finding out; broadcasting this information would definitely cause public panic and have a terrible impact.”
“Things are already bad enough. Who knows what tomorrow’s papers will say—these newspapers and magazines love sensational stories.”
“They’re just trying to grab attention.”
“If the murder weapon was a cleaver, almost every household has one. The forensic department said they would check the residues on the wounds, but it’s mostly likely rust…”
“Which means nothing.”
Fang Zhenyue walked up to the whiteboard, erased the previous marks, and scribbly wrote down [5 victims] [cleaver] [dismemberment and chopping ‘to vent’ ‘to release’] [Cherry Street Park south, Ferry Street west grassy slope] and other details.
After a moment, he added: [Many limbs still undiscovered].
“Where could these limbs be?” He held the pen, posing the question to the Team B detectives as well as to himself.
“Still at the scene of the dismemberment? Not yet disposed of?” Gary, standing behind Fang Zhenyue, asked uncertainly.
“Right, Gary, go to the public relations department and see Inspector Guo. Try to keep this case under wraps as much as possible. If it can’t be contained, let the newspapers encourage citizens to report if they notice neighbors, or anyone in their rooms with a foul smell, strange odor, or suspicious behavior,” Fang Zhenyue immediately ordered.
“Okay, Brother Yue.” Gary took his leave.
“If not at the scene of the dismemberment, then it must have been discarded,” Lin Wang Jiu continued the discussion as Gary left.
“It wouldn’t be taken to a butcher, would it?” Liu Jiaming’s face twisted grotesquely.
“Let’s not consider extreme cases for now.” Fang Zhenyue urged Liu Jiaming to think broadly, bringing the conversation back to ‘general conditions,’ “Why would the killer choose the bottom of the ferry street slope?”
“Living nearby?” Sanfu shrugged, his already splayed eyebrows turning his face into a bewildered expression.
“What places are across the street from where the body was dumped?” Fang Zhenyue asked.
Sanfu quickly looked up the map and responded, “The Ferry Street fruit wholesale market, two primary schools, Junfa Garden residential area, and further south is our police station, with a large residential area to the north…”
“Alright, Sanfu, take two uniformed officers, head across the street and do a sweep. Ask the fruit market, schools, residential area guards, and some early risers to see if they’ve noticed anything,” Fang Zhenyue instructed as he motioned with his hand, sending another officer out.
“If it wasn’t someone living nearby who dumped the body close by, who else could roam around, dump bodies without looking suspicious or easily getting noticed for specifically going roadside to throw things?”
“TAXI drivers.” This time, Yi Jiayi answered quickly. In various novels and TV dramas featuring serial murders, many perpetrators were taxi drivers or delivery workers who could move widely without raising suspicion. “Plus, TAXI drivers know the city’s routes well and know where bodies can be dumped without getting suspected.”
“If it wasn’t for the first piece of the corpse not rolling down to the bottom of the slope, it might have taken a long time for someone to discover the garbage bag covered by weeds and rocks at the bottom of the slope, with the body pieces inside.”
“The killer had obviously surveyed that wasteland when dumping the body.”
“Ah, then if there were multiple body dumpings, perhaps there could have been others along the northern and southern sections of the Ferry Road too,” Liu Jiaming said, picking up the map Sanfu had dropped, noting that the entire west side of Ferry Road was covered with green areas and weedy slopes.
Suddenly, Fang Zhenyue clapped his hands, “Jiaming, go borrow a few more police dogs. We’ll head to the upper and lower stretches of Ferry Road to spread out and search, see if we can find more body pieces.”
“Yes, sir,” Liu Jiaming slapped his hand on the door frame and ran out.
Lin Wangjiu looked at the big sun outside the window, already feeling overwhelmed without even stepping out.
“Eleven, go see Sister Yin for a hat, a fan, or something like that. Otherwise, this wide-range search for bodies will have you sunburned and darkened in just one day.”
“Okay,” Yi Jiayi nodded and also left the office.
Half an hour later, everyone was fully equipped, those who got hats wore hats, those who got masks wore masks, and those who got nothing used a wet towel draped over their neck, fully prepared for the task ahead.
During the search process, if anyone experiences dizziness or difficulty breathing, report it immediately and return to the police car to cool off, understood?” Today, Madam had some free time and was dragged out by Fang Zhenyue to join everyone on a mission. Before getting off the car, she clapped her hands and admonished everyone like a kindergarten teacher leading a class outing.
“Yes, Madam,” everyone responded in turn and gradually got off the car, splitting into two groups—one led by Madam and the other by Fang Zhenyue.
One group headed north, and the other south.
As the teams set off, the K-9 unit was also in position.
Yi Jiayi noticed that the dog handler had ice water, towels, and sprays, which were even more equipped than what the agents had. Finding it amusing, she approached a particularly majestic German Shepherd, following it during the search and asked its handler,
“He’s so handsome, what’s his name?”
Liu Jiaming also leaned in to look, noticing the German Shepherd’s strong limbs and agile movement while running—it indeed looked impressive.
The handler, leading the German Shepherd briskly forward, turned back with a smile and said,
“Eleven.”
“Huh?” Yi Jiayi didn’t catch on at first and thought the handler was calling her.
“He’s a German Shepherd, and his name is Eleven,” the handler explained with a smile.
“…” Yi Jiayi.
“Hahahaha…” Liu Jiaming, walking behind her, burst into laughter upon hearing this.
Laughing so hard he slapped his thigh.
With Liu Jiaming hearing it, it was as if the entire police force had heard it.
Sure enough, it wasn’t long before everyone deployed knew about the formidable police dog that shared Yi Jiayi’s name—they were both called Eleven.
“He’s way more impressive than you. Look, leading the way, wow, what a presence!” Sanfu also couldn’t resist teasing Yi Jiayi.
After searching up and down the grassy slopes for over ten minutes, Fang Zhenyue walked up from the bottom of the slope, gesturing and calling out:
“Eleven~”
“Here!” Yi Jiayi turned back immediately.
“Woof!” Police dog Eleven, hearing his name, also stopped and responded.
“…” Yi Jiayi glared at the police dog and walked toward the snickering Sir Fang.
“Tired? You’re not very strong; maybe walk under the trees by the roadside.” Fang Zhenyue pointed to the tree-lined road beside the road.
“It’s okay, I can manage, Sir Fang.” Yi Jiayi adjusted her hat and wiped her sweat.
“Hmm.” Fang Zhenyue acknowledged, then headed back down the slope.
After taking a few steps, Fang Zhenyue suddenly turned back:
“Eleven?”
“Here!” Yi Jiayi turned around again, raising her hand in response.
“Woof woof!” The police dog named Eleven, running ahead, also stopped in his tracks and looked back, barking loudly twice.
Fang Zhenyue’s face lit up with a smile, and only then did he walk briskly towards the bottom of the slope.
“…” Yi Jiayi.
“…” German Shepherd Eleven.
The atmosphere of the search team gradually became lighter through the process of teasing Yi Jiayi.
The young policewoman sighed, took a swig of mineral water to drown her sorrows, and wiped the sweat off her face.
Well, if they want to play, let them be happy.
Her tolerance and ignoring them emboldened everyone.
When tired, they would shout ‘Eleven’; when it was unbearably hot, they would shout ‘Eleven’, as if calling out ‘Eleven’ was an essential comfort during their missions.
After more than forty minutes, having found nothing, they gathered in a shaded spot to rehydrate and cool off. Leaning against a tree trunk, Fang Zhenyue turned to her and asked:
“Are you upset?”
“Not upset,” Yi Jiayi replied without hesitation. There was nothing to be upset about, she just ignored them.
“Really?”
“Of course, I’m not that petty.”
“Good girl.” Fang Zhenyue nodded and patted her head.
He then whistled loudly, signaling everyone to move on.
Back to work.
As he passed another shaded area and saw the police dog Eleven, he also bent down to talk to him for a moment. Before leaving, he patted the dog on the head, just like he did earlier.
The dog happily rubbed his mouth against Fang Zhenyue’s hand and wagged his tail vigorously.
Fang Zhenyue looked very happy as he walked away with a lighter step.
“…” Yi Jiayi suddenly felt a bit unhappy and petty.
…
The detectives and dogs struggled through the scorching heat, but the search was not very fruitful.
Qiu Sushan also doubted whether Fang Zhenyue’s judgment was off, but with limited clues available, they couldn’t afford to give up. They had to endure the torment of the late summer heat and keep working.
Every time they looked up, it seemed as if the sun was sneering at them: I want you to die.
After several days of searching like this, they might lose quite a bit of weight.
At the end of a whole day without finding even a single bone, Fang Zhenyue was about to give up when police dog Eleven suddenly started barking towards a particular direction.
After responding to the command, Dog Eleven obediently sat down, but its gaze was still fixed on a patch of grass in front, very alert.
Upon leaving the Yau Ma Tei area and entering the Sham Shui Po area, at the intersection of Ferry Street and Cherry Street on the southwest slope, Dog Eleven discovered meat chunks hidden in the tall grass—confirmed by the arriving forensic team to indeed be human remains.
The bag containing the remains had already decomposed significantly, with the remains exposed to the air, their decay extremely severe, some pieces were even reduced to mere bones…
Forensic colleagues conducted a search and recorded the vicinity, returning to Fang Zhenyue’s side, only to respond with silence and head shakes.
After forensic evidence collection was completed, everyone temporarily regrouped and headed back to the police station.
By the time everyone returned to the air-conditioned room, it was nearly dark. Everyone rushed into the restroom first to wash their faces, shower, and clean their bodies.
Sitting back in the office, everyone was exhausted, their gazes blank, appearing especially unintelligent.
Fang Zhenyue, flicking his still-dripping short hair with his hand, glanced around the office and asked, “Where is Eleven?”
“Gone to the forensic lab, said she wanted to watch Sir Xu examine the remains,” Lin Wangjiu replied, then took two big sips from his cup.
“I’ll go take a look.” Fang Zhenyue stood at the office door for a while, then turned and headed towards the forensic lab.
In the cold autopsy room, the young policewoman, once stunned at the sight of a corpse, now stood with her arms crossed beside the autopsy table, intently watching the forensic officer process the remains.
Leaning by the door, Fang Zhenyue felt somewhat inspired.
Such a delicate young girl could set aside her innate fear of dirt, stench, and death, fully immersing herself in the case… Observing Yi Jiayi’s slender but upright back, he couldn’t help but reveal a relieved smile.
Exiting the autopsy room, Fang Zhenyue turned into the forensic office.
Chen Guangyao, having just hung up the phone, walked out from the lab, saw Fang Zhenyue, and immediately raised his hand in greeting, “Sir Fang, there’s a new lead to discuss with you.”
“Uh?” Fang Zhenyue followed Chen Guangyao to a more spacious area by the lab bench, sat down beside him, and reached for the lab report passed to him, reading intently.
“The first discovered remains were in a green food bag. The bag bore the name of a mainland specialty restaurant called ‘Sichuan Spicy.’ The address is in Sham Shui Po. I called the local police station for information. The restaurant was opened by a couple from the mainland, originally from Sichuan, who had stayed in Shenzhen for two years before coming to Hong Kong to make a living. However, the couple died in a car accident more than a month ago. Since the old lady did not die instantly and was hospitalized for a while, their only son sold the restaurant, and all the kitchenware at a low price, nearly spending all their money, yet still couldn’t save her. To make ends meet, the son now steams buns at home daily, pushing a cart around to sell them. The green food bags are leftover from a previous order, now used by the son to package the buns for customers.”
“Did you ask for the address?” Fang Zhenyue listened to Chen Guangyao’s explanation, having also finished reading the report, stood up and asked.
“Yes.” Chen Guangyao pulled out a piece of paper from the side, wrote down the address, thought for a moment, and added the son’s name: 【Sun Xin】
“Thank you.” Fang Zhenyue took the address, immediately knowing the specific location.
“I heard that the pastries Sun Xin makes are very diverse and delicious, such as sugar triangles, rice cakes, date buns, and red bean buns—” Chen Guangyao recalled the food the Sham Shui Po officer had described to him over the phone, and couldn’t help but feel a bit tempted to drive to Sham Shui Po to buy some. Seeing the strange look Fang Zhenyue gave him, he stopped talking with an embarrassed smile.
Yes, talking about this now was inappropriate. Inappropriate.
“Let me know immediately if there are any new clues, thank you for your hard work.” Fang Zhenyue held the address and strode out of the forensic department.
Chen Guangyao watched Sir Fang’s retreating figure in a daze for a while, then suddenly realized that Sir Fang might be going to catch this Sun Xin who sold buns.
If this person were the murderer, once caught, he definitely wouldn’t be making buns anymore.
He looked at his watch, realizing it was time to get off work, quickly took off his lab coat, informed his team, and followed out with big strides.
He had memorized the address in his head. If he got there before Sir Fang, he would buy some food first.
If he arrived after Sir Fang, then it would be Sir Fang arresting the person, and he would help bring back Sun Xin’s cart of pastries to the police station…