Free Web NovelChapter 32: Chapter 32 Deadlock_1
"What do you want the skull for?"
Zhou Ning found a sketchbook on the table and handed it to Liu Yongxin.
"Master, you know I’ve been learning painting from Mr. Xia, not just to cultivate my interests, but mainly to study the cranial structure and the pattern of the muscles. I’ve read an article before about a really impressive criminal investigator who could reconstruct a victim’s face based on a witness’s description or from the skull."
Liu Yongxin understood and, after falling silent for a long time, just when Zhou Ning thought Liu Yongxin would refuse, he looked up.
"What are you dazing off for? We’ve got nothing better to do; the case is at a standstill. Xu Da wouldn’t be calling again and again if they had found something on their end. Might as well use the dead horse as if it’s a living one – let’s go skeleton stripping."
Zhou Ning shuddered.
"Strip?"
Liu Yongxin chuckled, very satisfied with the reaction.
"Don’t chicken out. Weren’t you just speaking so knowledgeably? You want the skull, but you’re waiting for someone else to do the grunt work? By the way, do you know how to make a mold?"
Zhou Ning honestly shook his head.
"What’s a mold?"
Liu Yongxin rolled his eyes.
"Are you really that naive or just pretending? We can’t just use the real skull for reconstruction before the victim’s identity is confirmed; of course, we must make a 1:1 plaster model."
Zhou Ning rubbed his nose.
"Aren’t you my mentor? When I have a problem, I should turn to you. And if this really works out, wouldn’t it make you proud?"
Liu Yongxin sighed.
"Stop it, I always feel like you’re selling me out and then expect me to count the money for you. Enough talk, let’s move!"
The two headed downstairs, dragging the free chauffeur, Zhao Xinli, and went straight to the county hospital. After busying themselves until past six o’clock, they finally saw the fruits of their labor. Naturally, the victim’s skull and the peeled off skin were also sent back.
Liu Yongxin wiped away sweat and pushed the plaster model toward Zhou Ning.
"You’ve got enough time now, take it."
Zhou Ning gave Liu Yongxin a thumbs up.
"Master, you’re amazing. You can do everything – this was truly unexpected."
Liu Yongxin waved his hand dismissively.
"Enough of that, take it and let me go home."
Zhou Ning pulled Liu Yongxin into a taxi to send him home, then returned to his own place with the plaster model. On the way, he sent a text to Xia Momo, explaining the reason he wanted to learn painting and hoping Xia Momo would help him with the reconstruction, using the model. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
Just as he entered his home, his phone rang; it was Xia Momo.
"Hello, Mr. Xia!"
"Doctor Zhou, I’m at the studio now. Bring the model over; my students have just left, and fortunately, we have the entire weekend ahead of us."
"Great, don’t start dinner without me."
He bought some food and, carrying it along with the plaster model, rushed to the cultural center. As the street lights began to glow and he tread lightly on the thin layer of snow, Zhou Ning headed straight to the studio.
Xia Momo was brewing coffee, holding two cups and smiling at Zhou Ning as he arrived.
"You’re here!"
"I am, and I’ve brought you some work to do today."
Xia Momo simply smiled without a word, handed Zhou Ning a cup of coffee, and Zhou Ning set down the food – and, naturally, the skull model.
"Is this the skull you mentioned?"
With coffee in hand, Zhou Ning began to explain.
"Right, the victim’s face was destroyed, and the demise was horrible so I won’t show you the photos. After our autopsy analysis, we concluded that this is an elderly person around sixty years old. My master thinks he was a construction worker, but I don’t see it that way.
Though the exposed skin is darkened and has liver spots, there are no old wounds on the body, and the bones are healthy compared to others his age, except for some heart issues."
Xia Momo placed the plaster skull on a stand nearby, where there was some clay, and Zhou Ning continued:
"My painting skills from the short time I’ve studied with you are still limited, and sending it to the municipal bureau would mean an unknown waiting period. We have no leads anyway, so I want to give it a shot, which means I’ll be troubling you."
"There’s no need for courtesy, when my student was about to jump off a building, I also looked for you first thing. I even got scolded by my father when I got home. I know this isn’t your department’s responsibility, so I’m truly touched that you came so quickly."
As she said this, Xia Momo paused, her face flushing with embarrassment, feeling that her words carried some ambiguity. She quickly changed the subject.
"As for your drawing ability, in just one month, you’ve gone from zero basic to being able to sketch cranial bones. What more could I ask for in terms of praise?"
Zhou Ning smiled. After all, being trained by the system every night, even a worthless person like him would have been honed. However, Xia Momo’s words gave him a bit of confidence.
"Let’s not be polite to each other. I’ve seen part of the deceased’s face. Let’s eat first, and then start the reconstruction."
Xia Momo didn’t add anything more. The two of them ate something and began filling in the cranial model with modeling clay, Zhou Ning continuously sharing his mental impressions. With the transparent screen right before his eyes, they compared, adjusted, and revised without stop.
Time ticked away. Xia Momo yawned, and Zhou Ning knew she was tired. Looking at the finished reconstruction of the victim’s head in front of him, he felt a profound sense of achievement.
He looked at his phone and found it had run out of power and shut down automatically. Raising his head to look at the wall clock, Zhou Ning realized it was almost nine o’clock; they’d been at it for more than ten hours. He looked at Xia Momo apologetically.
"I didn’t expect to keep you up all night with me, but I think this is our victim."
Xia Momo waved her hand dismissively.
"It’s okay. I’m happy to help you. Hurry up with your work."
Zhou Ning stood up and, without another word, took his things and left.
He didn’t go home but headed straight for the criminal police team office. As soon as he arrived, he noticed Liu Yongxin wasn’t there. After a quick wash-up, Liu Yongxin walked in before he even had the chance to dry his face and raised his eyebrows in disbelief at the sight of Zhou Ning’s bloodshot eyes.
"Why is your phone off, you stinker? Don’t tell me you and little Mr. Xia were busy all night!"
Zhou Ning bristled, ruffling his disheveled hair.
"What do you mean ’busy all night’? We were occupied with the reconstruction of the victim’s appearance, and I didn’t notice my phone had shut off."
"You finished?"
Liu Yongxin moved closer to Zhou Ning, who dried his face and walked over to his desk to open his bag.
Looking at the modeling clay model of the victim’s head, Liu Yongxin’s eyes lit up. He had seen the victim’s face after the murder; despite the face being slashed, some features, such as the large eye bags and half an eyebrow, were still recognizable.
"It’s lifelike; this is so accurate. I’ve only seen similar sculptures in journals. I didn’t expect you two would nail it in just one night. Good job, kid!"
Zhou Ning just smiled without saying anything as Liu Yongxin picked up the model.
"No more chit-chat, follow me; I almost forgot with all this commotion. Xu Da is losing it in the conference room. No progress on the case, a day and night of canvassing the vicinity yielded no one moving a body, or even pulling a suitcase, and no discoveries regarding the missing persons or the construction site."
Zhou Ning nodded and followed Liu Yongxin to the conference room. He thought he had entered the wrong room: the conference room was filled with smoke, like a fairyland, making it difficult to keep one’s eyes open.
Liu Yongxin coughed twice and kicked Zhao Xinli’s leg.
"Open a window. You guys smoke too much. Xu Da, take a look at what my apprentice has come up with."
Zhao Xinli hurried to open a window, and all eyes turned to Zhou Ning. Xu Dayuan, after several collaborations, had great confidence in Zhou Ning’s abilities.
Seeing Liu Yongxin so excited, almost strutting around, it was apparent he had some new discovery, which instantly energized him.
"What has Doctor Zhou found? Go on, tell us."
Liu Yongxin placed the bag on the conference table, opened it, and brought out the plaster model from inside, poking Zhou Ning’s arm.
"Alright, it’s your turn to explain, kid. I’m going to find the relevant photos."
With that, Liu Yongxin turned on the computer, enlarged several front-facing photos of the victim, and displayed them on the large screen.
Zhou Ning cleared his throat, not out of nervousness, but because he was genuinely choked up. He then began to narrate.
"Here’s the thing... With the completion of the facial reconstruction, I’ve had some new thoughts. We previously assumed the victim was a construction worker, since his nails were blackened with some black substance, though we hadn’t confirmed it with a lab test.
But after much thought last night, if someone works on a construction site, you’d expect he would have old injuries, cuts and scrapes wouldn’t be uncommon, yet the victim had none. His bones were healthier than those of a typical elderly person.
Then it occurred to me, who else would have such tanned skin and be so robust? I think we should focus our investigation on local retirees who enjoy fishing, flying kites, outdoor biking, etc. Also, they must live alone; otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense that someone could go missing for several days without anyone noticing."
Zhou Ning spoke confidently, but the room went silent after he finished speaking, filling him with a bit of embarrassment. Had he been too talkative?
Or was his analysis off the mark?
