Novice Forensic Doctor

Chapter 82: 82 Chapter Are you kidding, is this the conclusion?_1

The body was carried away.

Zhou Ning still squatted at the edge of the pool of blood, trying his best to collect blood samples, and it wasn’t until a wave splashed onto the pool that he grabbed Mr. Zhao’s hand and leapt to higher ground.

"Zhou Xiaozhou, do you have a death wish? This isn’t the beach. When a wave comes in, it smashes onto the rocks; we wouldn’t be able to save you. The retreating surge is very powerful," said Mr. Zhao.

Zhou Ning nodded. The convenient route they had previously surveyed was now impassable. However, getting to shore from their position wasn’t too difficult. When they leapt onto the curbstone by the road, Liu Yongxin approached them with an uncontrollable look of concern on his face.

"What took so long? Is there a problem with the scene?" he asked.

Zhou Ning shook his head.

"Right after I went down, I noticed something off about the waves - they seemed to be rising. I asked my uncle, and he said that in the Qindao Area, we have a semidiurnal tide. Today is the sixth, and the last high tide peak was at 20:20 last night, while the next high tide peak is at 9:00 this morning.

So we didn’t have much time. After all, once the waves come up, the location where the body was found would be submerged, so I did everything I could to take photos and collect samples. As for the victim, I did not change her position. If there’s anything particularly notable so far, it’s that there was a knife stuck directly between the victim’s legs."

Liu Yongxin was taken aback and looked towards the body, which hadn’t yet been brought ashore. Since they were carrying a person, they were being careful not to shake too much, so they moved slowly.

"Among the previous eleven cases of the Bowstring Female Torture Murder Case, not a single victim had a knife left in them, and no weapon was found at any of the scenes. Could I be overthinking this? Could it be that this isn’t the Red-Dress Serial Murder Case?" he wondered aloud.

"Let’s hope not," Zhou Ning replied.

"Did you find anything that could identify the victim?" asked Liu Yongxin.

"No wallet, no phone, no jewelry. Other than bloodied clothes and a red down jacket which were both extremely wet, there was nothing else on the victim; even the fingertips had been sliced off.

The victim’s face was severely damaged, the cuts and burns were all antemortem injuries, and more than one-third of the facial skin was missing; what was left was wrinkled and contracted."

Zhou Ning shook his head and sighed. The woman’s death was extremely tragic.

But whether or not she was the twelfth victim of the Red-Dress Serial Murder Case, he couldn’t determine; after all, he had only heard about the previous cases from Liu Yongxin in the morning. He hadn’t expected to encounter a red-dressed female corpse just after mentioning it.

He hadn’t even touched the body yet because if he did, the system would issue a mission. If this was the Red-Dress Serial Murder Case, wouldn’t it be expecting him to solve this series of murders? That would be like asking for death.

In his heart, Zhou Ning prayed he wouldn’t have to face that serial case.

By now, He Chunyang and the others had managed to bring the body to the roadside with the help of a crane.

Everyone stepped forward to help, and each person carrying the body was exhausted, for climbing these boulders alone was taxing, let alone carrying a body, which required even more effort.

The body was loaded onto the big van, and He Chunyang and the others lay on the roadside, panting like corpses, each soaked with sweat. Liu Yongxin approached the back of the van, opened the body bag to take a peek, and kept making tsking noises.

Xu Dayuan also came over, looking frighteningly somber.

"How’s it looking?" he asked.

"What do you mean how’s it looking? I’m not a fortune teller who can tell if it’s a serial case with one glance. Everything has to wait for the autopsy. The victim’s face is covered in injuries, I can’t make out her original appearance, which makes identifying the victim difficult.

But according to Zhou Ning’s tidal theory, the victim and the murderer arrived at this spot after 20:20 last night, and the murderer is obviously very knowledgeable about the tides. In fact, if we had received the report just one hour later today, both the body and the scene would have already been submerged," Liu Yongxin explained.

"Tides?" Xu Dayuan tilted his head, and Zhou Ning quickly explained. Xu Dayuan then nodded his understanding.

"This is really beyond me. But who would understand all this?" Xu Dayuan wondered.

"Fishermen, sea fishing enthusiasts, people who live by the sea all year round, people who make a living by breeding near the sea. In short, anyone who knows a lot about the sea. Otherwise, who can remember these timings with all the spring tides, neap tides, high tides, and long tides? It’s all confusing," said Liu Yongxin rapidly, finishing his speech with his gaze fixed on Xu Dayuan, shaking his head and saying:

"Xu Da, something’s off with you. On any other day, you’d be urging us to go back for the autopsy by now, but today you’re so calm. Could it be that the city bureau knows about this case and wants someone from the city bureau’s forensic department to come for this autopsy?"

Zhou Ning looked at Liu Yongxin, thinking that this conjecture seemed far-fetched.

You have to know, when Zhou Ning mentioned getting someone from the city bureau’s forensic department to help with the autopsy, Xu Dayuan said it would already be quick to expect someone within three to five days, and more often than not, they’d encounter all kinds of delays. Could it be that this time...

Xu Dayuan fell silent, a silence that made Zhou Ning and Liu Yongxin exchange glances, both knowing what his gesture implied. Zhou Ning felt a wave of relief in his heart.

It wasn’t that he lacked sympathy; he wanted to solve the case, but the time frame set by the system was maddening, typically no longer than ten days.

Yet if this case really was the Red-Dress Serial Murder Case, let alone ten days, even if he had a year, he wouldn’t be confident in solving it. After all, this was a case that had stumped both the provincial public security department and the Ministry of Public Security. Even with the system providing extra knowledge, solving the case still relied on his own ability.

Xu Dayuan sighed, pulled off his cap, threw it into the vehicle, and rubbed his short hair, his face showing his frustration.

"We’ve just received a call. Nobody knows who reported this case, but when the municipal bureau heard it was a red-clad female corpse, they told us not to disturb the body. Their forensic team is rushing over here immediately,"

Liu Yongxin smiled and glanced at Zhou Ning before speaking.

"Of course, that’s not a problem. We’ll cooperate however necessary. But not moving the body is impossible. You saw it just now—if we had been a few minutes later, the body would have been swept away by the tide. That wouldn’t be an issue, right?"

Once Xu Dayuan understood what Liu Yongxin meant, and having known about Zhou Ning’s previous encounter at the signing ceremony, he glanced at Zhou Ning.

"There’s no need to worry about us. I know how to protect my own people. If they want to come, let them come. A case can’t be combined just because of a red dress. We’ll follow the procedures, transport the body to the autopsy room, and you’ll perform a normal external examination on the body. Don’t perform an autopsy just yet,"

Hearing Xu Dayuan say this, Liu Yongxin finally smiled.

"Alright, let’s head to the Eighth Hospital. Let’s get the body over there,"

Zhou Ning followed Liu Yongxin into the car. The ride was silent, and after more than half an hour, the car swiftly arrived at the autopsy room of the Eighth Hospital.

Everyone got out of the car. The Dajinbei van was late in arriving. Liu Yongxin lit a cigarette, leaned against the door of the autopsy room, and said leisurely,

"I wonder if they were stopped on the road by the municipal bureau."

Such a sudden remark made Zhou Ning startle. He already felt how seriously the municipal bureau was taking this red-clad serial murder case. But surely they wouldn’t stop the body halfway, would they?

Besides, who notified the municipal bureau about the alert today?

This case hadn’t even reached the sub-bureau. Only the 110 and the command center had been informed. Wait, Xu Dayuan had mentioned that the command center had just informed Tieshan Police Station briefly, not requiring their presence, but presumably, the whole process was still reported.

Zhou Ning remembered Mr. Wang, with his silver hair. As soon as they met, he had bluntly claimed it was a case of homemade drugs, looking at Xu Dayuan as if he were viewing a junior.

Previously, Chief Zhu of the harbor police station had fiercely pushed for the case to be transferred to Taidong District. The word "insubordinate" might as well have been written on his face. It seemed Mr. Wang of Tieshan Police Station was also ambitious.

"Did Mr. Wang notify the municipal bureau?" ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

Liu Yongxing hummed in affirmation.

"Our sub-bureau has quite a few issues. Everyone knows about the big Qindao blueprint in the city. The next step is to focus on developing the coastal areas. They also know about the expansion of Taidong District, so they all have some ideas. But let’s forget it; this isn’t something we should worry about. I’m afraid the municipal bureau people will come take the body with them soon,"

Zhou Ning blinked. freewebnσvel.cøm

"Master, why didn’t they just take the body halfway and do the autopsy back at the municipal bureau? At least the equipment is more advanced there, and they are familiar with the procedure. Coming here seems ..."

Liu Yongxin laughed.

"You’re only getting it now, kid. When you’ve seen enough of these cases, you’ll understand. If it’s a red-clad serial murder case at first glance, of course they’d take the body. If it’s not part of the serial cases, they won’t linger a minute longer than necessary,"

Mr. Zhao hurried over and handed them each a cup of warm water. Although spring had arrived, standing by the seaside for so long had left them freezing cold.

"Here, have some warm water to warm up. Nothing is more important than our health,"

After waiting a bit longer, the Dajinbei van finally arrived, and sure enough, it was followed by two police cars. The sound of banging car doors ensued as several people in masks got out, some in plainclothes, some in police coats, but Zhou Ning immediately recognized the younger of the two suited men from before.

Recalling the last encounter, that person seemed to be Cui Haibin, the director of Qindao City’s forensic department. It was unexpected that he personally led the team here. As for why they all entered together, there was no need to elaborate.

"Well, well, if it isn’t Doctor Liu! I heard you’re retiring in a few days. The sub-bureau didn’t let you rest properly, so why are you still here?"

Faced with such a backhanded comment, Liu Yongxin just chuckled and nodded slightly, stepping aside from the door of the autopsy room.

"Mr. Cui is still such a smooth talker. Let’s look at the body first!"

After the body was brought in, Cui Haibin didn’t even glance at Zhou Ning; he had of course seen him at the last signing ceremony. This disregard spoke volumes.

Zhou Ning was not asked to help prepare anything. A group of people rushed in; they took photos and fussed around. Ten minutes later, they peeled off their disposable isolation suits and came out. Was this haste premature?

Liu Yongxin, still showing some respect, walked over and spoke up.

"So you’ve finished looking? What’s the verdict, is this the twelfth case?"

Cui Haibin nodded and then shook his head.

"We’ve examined the body, now you continue with the post-mortem. Apart from a red garment, this case has nothing to do with the previous eleven cases. None of the earlier cases featured a weapon, let alone one inserted between the legs. There’s simply no connection, but we’ve taken samples and will notify you after the comparison. We’ll be leaving now,"

Without much ado, his team got back into their vehicles and drove away. Mr. Zhao looked in the direction the cars had disappeared, then at Zhou Ning and Liu Yongxin.

"What a farce. They’ve concluded that already?"