Free Web NovelChapter 229: Chapter 226 What are you talking about?_1
Mr. Zhao hurriedly plastered a smile across his face.
"No problem at all, I’m just surprised for a moment. However, based on Zhou Xiaozhou’s deduction, the person has been dead for about a month. Even if there’re no family members, wouldn’t their workplace have contacted them? Didn’t they realize she was missing?"
"Alright, send the information to Xu Da, we will begin the autopsy. It’s better for the leaders to wait in the lab, where Mr. Zhao can proceed to demonstrate our real-case application of the software we previously discussed."
Liu Yongxin glanced over, and Zhou Ning walked over to Mr. Liu with a smile.
"My apprentice will start with the autopsy, and we won’t stay here to smell this any longer. The identity of the deceased has been confirmed. We’ll wait for news from the criminal police team to verify the information searched by the software for accuracy."
At these words, everyone seemed enlightened.
After all, they were too familiar with autopsies, and one by one, they followed Liu Yongxin and Doctor Lu upstairs, leaving the spacious autopsy room number two suddenly quiet.
Zhu Xingxing let out a sigh and fanned the air vigorously.
"Sun Gaotie, turn up that ventilation system a bit. These people have finally left. I was more nervous than during an exam, my gloves are full of sweat. Chief, let me change my gloves before we continue."
Sun Gaotie went to comply immediately, and Mr. Zhao clicked his tongue.
"Tsk, get a move on! Stop dallying and help Zhou Xiaozhou as an assistant to get started on the autopsy."
Yang Xuetong also very much approved. He carefully inspected the deceased’s clothing on a nearby counter, took photographs, and after examination, placed them into evidence bags to be sent for analysis later.
Mr. Zhao went straight to the autopsy table, holding a camera, and looked at the silent Zhou Ning.
"Zhou Xiaozhou, do you want me to record and introduce, or shall Zhu Xingxing do it?"
Zhu Xingxing, whose name had been called, looked nervous and quickly waved his hands.
"No, I can’t do it." ƒrēewebnovel.com
Zhou Ning glanced at Mr. Zhao and, not seeing any teasing in his eyes, knew he was hoping to give Zhu Xingxing an opportunity to practice. Naturally, he had no objections and nodded slightly.
"Let Zhu Xingxing do it. Think it over and press the record button yourself."
Zhu Xingxing was extremely nervous, glancing chaotically at Mr. Zhao, who seriously helped her sort through everything once.
The location where the body was found, the informant, police station information, the condition of the scene, the age and identity of the deceased, and various other details.
Having straightened it all out, Zhu Xingxing was no longer nervous; she pressed the record button and began the introduction. After finishing the last word, Zhou Ning began to confirm the depth of each wound with a probe, and Zhu Xingxing came over to measure the width of the cuts.
Zhou Ning then looked up at Zhao Xinli.
"Didn’t someone deliver a silicone solution that can be used for the wounds’ reverse molding? Bring me some; I’m going to make a reverse mold of the wounds."
Mr. Zhao quickly left and soon returned with a tray containing several bottles and jars. He mixed a beaker of silicone liquid and, following Zhou Ning’s instructions, poured the silicone liquid into the wounds on the deceased’s chest, abdomen, and thigh.
"Done, the injection is complete, but now we need to blow hot air into the wounds to speed up the solidification with heat, otherwise the autopsy will be done and this still won’t have set."
Yang Xuetong had already sent the clothing for analysis. He and Sun Gaotie squeezed in next to Zhou Ning. Each wielding a blow dryer, they started to blow hot air on those two spots, but this action led to a rise in the room’s stench.
By this time, Zhou Ning had finished the external examination of the body and, with Zhu Xingxing’s help, laid down the legs of the deceased. He tossed the speculum to Zhu Xingxing and a sample bottle to Mr. Zhao.
"Label it. Sampling from the deceased’s vaginal cavity, beginning the autopsy."
Without further ado, Zhou Ning held up a scalpel and began dissecting the body, from the neck to the lower abdomen. Each organ and the digestive system were carefully examined and sampled to assess the extent of the stab damages. The autopsy proceeded second by second, and by the time Mr. Zhao told the others to stop blowing, Zhou Ning had also finished the dissection."
Zhu Xingxing took over, beginning to suture the dissected wounds on the chest and abdomen without further treatment.
Mr. Zhao cautiously extracted the two silicone molds. Although they were somewhat soft, they had preserved their shape very well, exciting Mr. Zhao.
"There we go, it’s done! Hey, doesn’t this shape look like a dagger?"
At his exclamation, everyone looked over, and indeed the shape of the mold was peculiar, with a triangular tip at the front, a wide backside, a sharp edge with a curve, and a rather alarming length, considering the stabbing injury in the root of the deceased’s thigh had penetrated, leaving two traces on the skin.
Mr. Zhao leaned in for a closer look and then called Zhou Ning over.
"Zhou Xiaozhou, look here. Could this indent have been made by the dagger’s handguard?"
Zhou Ning glanced briefly and nodded slightly.
"The edge of the dagger’s handguard is semi-circular. Swab here and there for samples to see if the assailant’s DNA is still present."
At this point, Zhou Ning sighed softly. In fact, he had already carefully observed that the tips of the deceased’s hair were tied up, with the upper portion loose. This indicated that someone had grabbed the hair and pulled it hard, controlling the deceased’s movement.
This part had been cut off and sent for analysis, but Zhou Ning felt that the physical strength and height of the assailant were greater than that of an average person, being able to lift the deceased by her hair alone.
Of course, such actions suggest that the killer was very adept at committing murder, preventing the victim from touching him and thus making it difficult to leave any trace. As for the hair bun... a glove could easily solve that.
After steadying his mind, Zhou Ning said quickly:
"According to the autopsy, the victim had one stab wound to the neck, which severed the carotid artery and was fatal. There were six stab wounds to the chest and abdomen—one piercing the left lung lobe, another the liver, with the remaining four stabs all concentrated in the victim’s intestines in a stirring motion, appearing as a single entrance wound.
The neck stab was accompanied by a subcutaneous hematoma on the top of the skull, clearly caused by the murderer yanking the victim’s hair, creating the hematoma before slitting the neck. However, the victim did struggle—hence the arm and finger defensive wounds.
There was another stab wound at the base of the victim’s thigh, just below the groin, avoiding the femur and penetrating straight through to the ground. Based on the shape of the wound, all stab wounds were made with the same dagger, and from the direction of the stabs, it can be inferred that the killer was left-handed.
The victim’s face was smashed three to four times with bricks, fracturing facial bones into 112 pieces, and there was a countercoup injury at the back of the head. The cause of death was excessive blood loss. According to the splash pattern of the blood at the scene, the killer purposely avoided it and then pushed the victim down as he withdrew the dagger from the victim’s neck."
Having said this, Zhou Ning nodded toward Mr. Zhao and the video was turned off. The concern on Zhou Ning’s face had not dissipated. Sun Gaotie quickly went to submit the evidence for testing, Zhu Xingxing called someone to move the body, and Yang Xuetong began cleaning the autopsy table and ventilating the room.
Only Mr. Zhao took off his gloves and moved closer to Zhou Ning.’
"What’s up, Zhou Xiaozhou?"
Zhou Ning lifted his eyes to look at Mr. Zhao.
"I just feel the killer is very unusual—every stab was stable, accurate, and ruthless. Those four stabs to the abdomen, he grasped the victim, stabbed and partially withdrew the knife repeatedly four times, facing the victim directly, which is quite cold-blooded.
As for the wound on the victim’s neck, that’s even stranger. The killer stabbed the victim’s neck on the left side and quickly moved to the right side upon withdrawing the dagger, avoiding the spattering blood. Look at the splatter marks on the ceiling and walls of the scene.
Typically, at a murder scene, there will be blank areas where no blood spatter is found, which can be used to deduce the victim’s position and height. But at this scene, there were no such markings, and not even any useful footprints were found at the primary crime scene."
Mr. Zhao’s face grew more serious, nodding continuously.
"Indeed, it’s easy to distinguish footprints at a crime scene. Excluding the four that entered, not even the victim’s footprints were found. I think the killer cleaned up the scene, or perhaps laid something down on the floor before the murder occurred, otherwise bloody footprints would have remained."
Zhou Ning was somewhat surprised, not expecting Mr. Zhao to have thought of that, but he had made the same deduction.
"Yes, after the victim fell, the killer cleaned the debris from the floor. The last stab into the victim’s thigh was after the killing was done, merely an act of venting anger, and the killer seems very professional."
Mr. Zhao shuddered.
"You’re saying the killer is a professional hitman?"
Zhou Ning shook his head; he didn’t know that for certain, but the killer’s knife skills were very proficient, and the method of murder quite professional—as if it was something he did frequently. Perhaps a special forces solider? A bodyguard?
"No idea. Let’s leave those questions for Xu Da to puzzle over. We’ve completed our autopsy and evidence submission here. Let’s just wait for the results. I’m going upstairs now, considering the time."
Mr. Zhao glanced at the wall clock; indeed, it was almost two in the afternoon. He hadn’t realized their autopsy took so long, and suddenly felt a cramp in his stomach.
"My goodness, no wonder my stomach is upset; it’s gotten so late. I need to change and get some food. I can’t believe I forgot to eat with all this work. I’m too engrossed."
Zhou Ning: ...
After freshening up and changing clothes, Zhou Ning could still smell a faint odor.
Mr. Zhao, with a grim face, followed Zhou Ning back to the office. Several lunch boxes were on the table, making Mr. Zhao’s eyes light up. He lunged for a box and, seeing nothing too greasy inside, grabbed one and went back to his desk to eat furiously.
Zhou Ning stood in front of the whiteboard and wrote down the autopsy results.
Zhu Xingxing glanced at it and couldn’t help but ask:
"Aren’t you going to eat, Chief?"
Mr. Zhao, with his mouth full, waved Zhu Xingxing off.
"Quit the chatter and eat. Someone’s bound to come chasing us soon, can’t you tell? Xu Da’s on his second day of marriage and he’s in a rush to become a dad; he’s quite impatient." fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
At that moment, the office door was pushed open and a cool breeze drifted in.
"What were you saying about me?"
Mr. Zhao, startled, quickly plastered on a grin and approached with a lunch box in hand.
"What could we say about you? Just that Xu Da’s so busy, he probably hasn’t had a chance to eat. Look at Sun Gaotie, so thoughtful, even got two extra lunch boxes. Sit down and eat first. Zhou Xiaozhou is organizing the autopsy findings; let’s keep it down and not disturb his thoughts."
Xu Dayuan gave Mr. Zhao a glance, saw no sign of guilt on his face, and hummed twice before accepting the lunch box.
But he decided to wash his hands and freshen up first; then he returned, opened the lunch box and started devouring his food, his speed matching that of Mr. Zhao—a clear sign of extreme hunger.
Upon seeing this, Mr. Zhao quickly turned to his own lunch box, finished it in a few bites, and then picked up another. He tried a bite of each dish, then as if just realizing something, looked at Xu Dayuan with a puzzled expression.
"What’s up, boss? Are you not getting enough? How about I share some of mine with you?"
