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墨書 Inktalez
Too many questions filled her mind, making her feel as if she couldn't breathe.
This case, which initially seemed to be a crime of passion, now revealed the Killer's chaotic methods of murder, sending chills down her spine. However, did these two cases really have a connection? Or was it possible that there were two separate Killers at work, who just happened to cross paths and confuse the police?
After finishing breakfast, it was already nine o'clock. Since Captain Xing needed to continue investigating the case, he had to leave. Su Jin'er naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity. Although it seemed somewhat unreasonable for a student to follow the police in their investigation, she insisted on going. Chu Feifan, feeling uneasy, decided to let Zuo Yi accompany her.
As they exited the hospital lobby, Captain Xing suggested they revisit the crime scene. They hadn't found any useful clues last night due to the darkness, so perhaps they would have better luck now.
There weren't many people in the hospital, and students typically didn't come here, so the scene was well-protected. As they approached the small grove, officers were already searching for evidence.
"How's it going?" Captain Xing asked.
A tall, thin officer replied, "We haven't found any useful evidence yet."
Su Jin'er stepped forward. Last night, due to the darkness and her own fear, she hadn't looked closely. Now that she saw it again, she couldn't help but gasp; blood was everywhere on the ground, and droplets splattered on the nearby tree trunk had already dried into black stains. There were clear signs of struggle on the ground, but the area wasn't very large.
Captain Xing bent down to examine a patch of ground that was free of leaves.
After a moment, he said, "I think Mao Qiang was tied up by his limbs and then suspended from the tree trunk because the marks here suggest that only his upper body was on the ground."
Su Jin'er looked at Captain Xing in surprise; how could he deduce that? However, she quickly raised a question.
"But this area is against a wall. Where did he tie his right arm and leg? To the wall?"
She had already examined that wall; since it was made of red bricks, nailing something into it would be quite difficult. Moreover, when someone is in extreme pain and struggles fiercely, they would likely pull out any nails, allowing the victim a chance to escape. So it couldn't have been tied to the wall.
Captain Xing carefully inspected the wall. Some moss had grown on it when he suddenly showed an expression of excitement. "Look, there are marks here; they must have been made by a rope rubbing against it."
Captain Xing pointed to a patch of moss that had obvious signs of friction. The marks started from the top of the wall and were quite large, indicating that the victim had struggled fiercely. Just looking at it sent chills down one's spine.
"It seems our speculation was correct. Mao Qiang was indeed conscious when he was dissected and had his organs removed. If he had been dead or unconscious, he wouldn't have been able to struggle like that."
Su Jin'er nodded. "The killer is truly cruel, but where was the rope tied? The wall is so smooth, and in such a painful situation, he must have struggled a lot, so the rope had to be secured tightly."
"What is on the outside of this wall?"
"Report, Captain, it's a wasteland."
Su Jin'er also nodded. If she remembered correctly, the outside should be the wasteland she escaped to when she was trapped in the Small Dark Room.
"Let's go take a look. Leave a few people here to continue searching for clues. We need to search the entire forest and not overlook anything under the leaves."
"Yes, Captain."
A few people followed Captain Xing toward the Old Laboratory. They planned to reach the back through that small door, but since it was under reconstruction, they weren't sure if the door had been destroyed. Even the small grove that used to be there had been demolished. However, this was somewhat beneficial; Su Jin'er always felt that there were too many trees in the school, which indeed gave criminals a sense of having a place to commit their crimes.
When they arrived, they found that the wall had not been knocked down and the door was still there, saving them from unnecessary detours.
There were six of them in total; five stayed behind to continue searching for clues while the others quickened their pace toward the door. If they delayed too long, evidence might be erased by the killer.
The lock on the door was severely rusted, and since no one usually came here, the school hadn't maintained it. However, it seemed to have become an open-air restroom for workers, with "landmines" left by them along the wall.
The stench made them cover their noses as they passed through.
The tall, thin officer walked to the door and quickly pulled open the rusty lock.
"This lock is really rusty," he said as he brushed off the yellow rust from his hands and opened the door.
She still remembered the discovery of Feng Liang's head here, as if it had happened just yesterday.
This place resembled a trench, and getting up to the overgrown area that was taller than a person might be a bit challenging. Su Jin'er looked at her white sportswear and decided to go take a look anyway.
"Captain Xing, isn't there construction going on over there? We could borrow their tools to get up!" Su Jin'er initially thought of suggesting a human pyramid but then noticed the Construction Worker and came up with this idea.
"Right! How did I not think of that? Xiao Liu, go ask them!" Captain Xing said to the tall, thin officer.
"Yes, Captain."
Xiao Liu walked toward the construction site, initially thinking they wouldn't lend anything, but he quickly returned with a worker carrying a ladder.
Captain Xing was the first to go up because no one knew what the situation was above, and he wouldn't let his subordinates fall into danger—provided he was present at the scene.
After he went up and looked around without noticing anything unusual, he signaled for everyone else to follow.
Zuo Yi was the last to ascend. Once everyone was up, they began to examine the overgrown area, which was quite large, filled with yellow grass mixed with green. Some of it was as tall as a person, making it difficult to hide here without being found.
"The hospital is over there; let's go take a look!" Zuo Yi pointed in the direction of the hospital. The wall there wasn't very high, and with the tall grass, it was almost impossible to see the red wall.
Below the wall, a large patch of grass had been flattened, indicating that something heavy had pressed down here. There were also faint shoe prints that seemed intentionally erased but not completely. However, seeing Captain Xing's tightly furrowed brow indicated that these shoe prints might not be very helpful in solving the case.
"Boss, there's a big rock over there. Do you think it might have been placed here?"
A police officer with dark skin and an average height pointed to a large rock not far away.
The rock was not very far from their location, and it was hidden in the grass, making it difficult to spot unless one looked closely.
Captain Xing roughly measured the size of the flattened grass and then compared it to the size of the rock, realizing that there was more flattened grass than would correspond to the size of the rock.
"It seems this rock is definitely the one."
"Why is that? They are not the same size!"
"Exactly because they are different sizes that I am so sure, Xiao Ba, can you hear us?" Captain Xing shouted towards the wall of the hospital.
"Captain, we can hear you. I will now tell you the location of the body."
Then, there was a sound of knocking on the wall, and soon a head popped up from above but quickly disappeared again.
"Indeed, I think the Killer tied a rope to this rock and then looped it over the top of the wall. Xiao Liu and Xiao Liang, you two go up and check if there are any special marks on top of the wall."
Xiao Liu and Xiao Liang stacked on top of each other to climb up to the wall, and then Xiao Liang exclaimed with surprise and excitement, "Boss, you were right! There are two deep marks from ropes up here, deep enough for a rope to get stuck inside."
"That's right. Next, let's ask those in the hospital if they saw anything unusual!"
Su Jin'er felt a surge of excitement in her heart; it seemed they were getting closer to solving the case. It appeared that the Killer was feeling a bit impatient, which led to revealing clues.
"Let's go! We're heading back."
Another officer had already taken photos of the scene, and Xiao Liang had also captured images of the marks on the wall.
Once they returned to the hospital, Captain Xing called for the director and asked him to gather everyone who was on duty that night.
When everyone had arrived, Captain Xing asked, "Who went outside to the yard the night before last?"
The nurses exchanged glances but shook their heads. Only one frail and petite nurse sitting in the corner spoke up, "I went out. During my shift, I heard a strange noise, so I went to check it out. It was very dark, and I only saw a black shadow on the wall that looked like a person. I called out to see who it was, but then I heard a cat meowing from above, followed by the sound of a cat scratching the wall. That sound terrifies me, so I went back to the duty room."
"Very good! Aside from that strange noise, did you notice anything else unusual?"
One nurse thought for a moment and said, "That night while I was on duty in the lobby, around nine o'clock, Su Jin'er rushed back in looking panicked and seemed very scared."
The nurse was referring to Su Jin'er, who nodded and said, "Yes, that was when I went to the cafeteria to get food. I was panicked because I saw something that frightened me; as for what it was, Captain Xing knows."
After saying this, she stepped back, and the other nurse shot her an annoyed glare.
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