Chapter 423: Chapter 400 Computer Expert_1
Mr. Qu had already started working and after a quick glance, he quickly handed over the report to Zhou Ning and the others, blinking with confusion on his face. Zhou Ning gave him a glance.
"What’s the matter?"
Mr. Qu hastily handed the report to Zhou Ning.
"You should look at it yourself. I just flipped through it. I don’t understand most of it, but what does it mean when they say there’s no effective complete DNA found on the weapon? I didn’t quite get that."
Zhou Ning took it and read it over. The report was very lengthy, but the most important points stood out immediately.
DNA from Zhang Hongwei was extracted from a comb found in Fu Chunyu’s home, along with his fingerprints. Incomplete fingerprints and DNA from Yang Liang were found on the iron wire in the cellar, which was quite direct.
Samples collected from Yang Liang’s tricycle tested positive for Fu Chunyu’s DNA. Mr. Zhao did mention that the dirt tray was filthy, with black crevices clearly showing bloodstains that hadn’t been washed away at all.
The report matched the grease collected on the Menqiao Bridge with samples taken from the rear wheel of Yang Liang’s tricycle. This fact could demonstrate that the vehicle used to transport the body parts to the moat was this tricycle.
The body in the cellar had been confirmed as Feng Shujuan, and the DNA collected from the skeleton in the septic tank matched Fu Chunyu’s. As for the part that puzzled Mr. Qu, Zhou Ning looked it over carefully.
As for the blood found in the greenhouse, it was consistent with Fu Chunyu’s DNA.
This was the weapon found in the septic tank, an axe and two kitchen knives, all with notches on their blade edges. If one had sufficient arm strength, indeed, the process of dismemberment could be completed.
Fu Chunyu’s DNA was found on all three weapons, but the contamination was so severe that no other information could be retrieved. Zhou Ning frowned as he finished reading.
He was now confused. The evidence and analysis turned on their heads. With Fu Chunyu’s blood found on Yang Liang’s vehicle, and the tricycle used for dumping the body, this differed from yesterday’s analysis. Could his analysis have been wrong?
Additionally, his worst fear had come true. Had it not been for the notches in the blade edges of the knives and axe, it would have been impossible to obtain the victim’s DNA after being soaked in the septic tank for so long.
Thinking this, Zhou Ning dialed Cui Lili’s number, and the phone was answered after just one ring.
"I knew it. As soon as you got the email, you’d call right away. Don’t panic, but listen to me. These were the earliest samples collected last night. Given the severe contamination, I didn’t trust their reliability.
Around dawn, the weapons had been disassembled by me. I washed all the connecting gaps of the three weapons, and also vibrated the fillers. The results of this batch of samples will come out in two to three hours; I’ll send them to you once they’re available," Cui Lili said.
Zhou Ning chuckled.
"Thanks a lot, sis. It’s been crazy busy here, and if we had sent the samples to the province for examination, it would have taken too long, plus they wouldn’t understand what we need as well as you do. Communication alone could drive a person insane. But I do appreciate your hard work!" ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
"Stop blabbering useless words. I’m still monitoring the equipment. Hang up now!"
Zhou Ning rubbed his nose and hung up the phone as Cao Pingzhang looked on enviously and nudged Liu Yongxin.
"Look at your apprentice, that’s no ordinary leader. He’s created such an enviable work atmosphere. You know forensic departments are usually not easy to deal with. If you ask them for a test, they’ll do it, no more no less. But your forensics department is actually proactive in finding solutions, impressive!"
Liu Yongxin gave him a glance.
"Less of your sour grapes. My apprentice genuinely cares for each and every one, doing his utmost to help everyone gain benefits. The forensic department’s new equipment, which is internationally top-notch, was all thanks to my apprentice lobbying the leaders for it. He even managed to expand the budget, because seeing the effects of technology on aiding investigation work, it’s clear they complement each other, you know?!"
Cao Pingzhang raised both hands in a gesture of surrender.
"I was wrong, just humiliating myself. We here are short on funds and personnel. Being able to persist in autopsy work is already my limit. It’s no use asking any more, as I would get no answer anyway. Since we have to wait a few more hours, I might as well get to work. I’ve ordered the body to be brought over."
With that, Cao Pingzhang left. Shortly after, the body arrived, indeed after being frozen overnight, the smell had diminished significantly, especially compared to sifting through the septic tank yesterday, this was much more bearable.
Properly attired, Zhou Ning started a meticulous external examination of the body. He had already taken a general look yesterday, but today he needed a detailed autopsy.
The deceased had been positioned in a supine posture, arms not changed in direction, still raised high. The decay was most severe in the hands, feet, abdomen, and face, with some parts already showing bone. But the upper arms and legs were quite intact, and even partially dehydrated and dried, somewhat resembling a cured duck.
To have reached this state, it indicated the deceased naturally had a low content of body water and fat, was thin, and coupled with the lack of rain in late August, this partial skeletonization, partial mummification could have occurred.
After the examination, no additional injuries were found. Zhou Ning then cleared the highly decayed tissue in the abdomen and proceeded to inspect the deceased’s fingers, this time finding a phalanx in the soil, bearing a cut mark.
A stab wound was also found on the ribs—in between the second and third ribs. Such a location, while not having pierced the heart, would have rendered the victim immobile in an instant.
This outcome did not surprise Zhou Ning. It was likely the victim had been stabbed. As she tried to fight back, her finger was almost cut off. Then the killer strangled her with the iron wire and left her in the cellar. Perhaps out of panic or lack of strength, the iron wire wasn’t twisted tight. When buried, the victim regained consciousness and broke free from the wire but was unable to climb out.
After concluding the autopsy, Zhou Ning exhaled a sigh of relief, removed his gear, and the body was taken away. After washing his hands, he then took out his phone and dialed Mr. Zhao’s number.
"How’s it going?"
"They’re still cleaning up. The cellar doesn’t seem big, but there’s a lot of sand and soil below. Why, has the autopsy finished?"
"Yes, look carefully. I feel there should be a knife in the cellar. Judging from the shape of the wound, it’s a double-edged dagger, about 2.8 centimeters wide. I believe it should be located beneath the body."
Mr. Zhao was momentarily speechless, not knowing what Zhou Ning had seen during the autopsy to provide such accurate information.
"Alright, I’ll have a thorough look now."
After hanging up, Zhou Ning turned to Mr. Qu.
"You sniff around here; does the work progress faster?"
Mr. Qu looked at Zhou Ning’s relaxed face—he rarely joked like this. It seemed like there was good progress, so Mr. Qu also smiled.
"No kidding, working with you guys here, it seems like we’re moving quickly. I’ve actually made a discovery."
What began as a joke turned out to be true; Mr. Qu did have a finding, which surprised Zhou Ning. Opening a window, he walked over to Mr. Qu, staring at a row of laptops in front of him.
"What did you find? Tell us quickly."
Liu Yongxin also came over, and Mr. Qu hurriedly opened the video he had just clipped to show both of them.
"Look at this black sedan, the license plate and emblem are covered in mud, I can’t tell what car it is, so the software overlooked it during the search. But I found out that on October 20, at 10:22 a.m., this car came to the textile community, although it stopped at the shopfront here.
Look, a person got out of the car, wearing a hoodie with a cap and a mask, carrying a bag from this side passage, directly entering the residential building behind it. I checked the map, and it leads to Building No. 7.
At 11:02 he returned the same way, but this time the mask was gone. Right here, he turned his head towards the east side, and I was able to match his face. Then I quickly searched for videos after 16:00 based on the information of this car.
Indeed, in the two minutes the car was blocking, I tracked it at an intersection on the east side. I followed it through the intersections it passed and finally it circled to the outskirts on the west of the city and disappeared."
Moreover, after October 20, I haven’t seen this car at any of the intersections in Dayao City. Of course, it could have been washed, after all, I don’t know the license number. I searched for Zhang Hongwei’s name, and the only car left under his name is a white Wuling Hongguang."
As he spoke, Mr. Qu opened an electronic map, showing where the car was found and the intersections it had passed, all marked with a red line, ending where the car had last vanished.
What surprised Zhou Ning was that this spot was precisely the intersection heading north of Guanzhuang Elementary School.
Could it be, he drove Fu Chunyu to Yang Liang’s house, then did something there?
Wait a minute...
Zhou Ning let out a hiss, and Liu Yongxin glanced up at Zhou Ning. Seeing that Mr. Qu seemed about to speak, Liu Yongxin covered Mr. Qu’s mouth with his hand, fearing that Mr. Qu’s words would interrupt Zhou Ning’s train of thought.
After a moment of thought, Zhou Ning, staring at the computer, said seriously:
"Check Zhang Hongwei’s address, and of course his original home address. Didn’t he used to study at Guanzhuang Elementary School, supposedly called Longwang Guanzhuang Village? Right, doesn’t their bureau have anyone from the technical department?"
Mr. Qu smiled.
"They do, but there’s been a series of car accidents, and everyone has gone to support that. Since you brought a computer expert, they left quite reassured. This time I’m acting as the expert."
Liu Yongxin gave Mr. Qu an annoyed look, a slap landing on Mr. Qu’s head.
"Are you silly? Just the words ’computer expert’ and you’re grinning like this? But honestly, their skills really aren’t as good as yours. Get to work, Comrade Expert."
Mr. Qu nodded and quickly began sorting through data on the computers, the constant switching between screens, and in a short while, many surveillance images appeared. They seemed to all be of roads and looked quite similar.
Zhou Ning blinked; this was clearly the traffic police system. At Qindao City Bureau, Xu Dayuan had given Mr. Qu access, but it was only the third day in Dayao City. Could it be that Huang Youdao also granted him access?
"Did you hack your way in, or were you given access?"
Mr. Qu hurriedly waved his hands.
"Director Zhou, don’t say that. Mr. Huang of the brigade specifically authorized me. Otherwise, I wouldn’t dare. If this were traced back, it would be a criminal liability. We really can’t joke about this."
Liu Yongxin glared, and Mr. Qu quickly moved aside a bit.
"Mr. Liu, don’t rush. I’ve found it. Look at this black car; overall, it looks very similar."