Chapter 53: Chapter 52: A Hellishly Brutal Scene
Meanwhile, at the Criminal Investigation Detachment in Linlan City, Hanhai Province.
At the curb by the entrance.
"No... Ugh... that’s not right... Wait, wait, I’m thinking."
Wang Chao stood at the entrance of the Criminal Investigation Detachment, rubbing his temples. He looked at the familiar person beside him, then at his surroundings, and was lost in thought.
After a long while, he voiced a question that came from the depths of his soul.
"Seriously, is this right?"
After saying this, Wang Chao fell silent.
Xu Huo was beside him. He glanced at Wang Chao but said nothing.
This case involved an explosion, which changed its entire nature.
The police immediately adopted the most rudimentary method: searching all passersby who were near the scene at the time of the incident, in case the killer was disguised among them.
This was standard procedure. In one past bombing case, the police had to investigate a staggering 51,000 people before finally catching the perpetrator.
Most of the people had been searched and released last night.
It was only just now their turn, and after giving their statements, they were cleared.
"Alright, go home and get some sleep."
Wang Chao’s mouth twitched.
’Sleep?’
’How could I possibly sleep!?’
Last night, he was just eating skewers when BOOM, a bomb went off. A bloody, severed finger nearly flew into his mouth.
’How could anyone sleep after that?’
"What kind of bomb was that thing?"
Wang Chao, dying of curiosity, couldn’t help but ask.
"After the fire department put out the fire last night, they found an alarm clock at the scene. The back casing was modified. Barring any surprises, it should be part of the bomb."
Xu Huo said casually. After the explosion, the fire department was ordered to have everyone at the scene stay put.
"It was a time bomb."
He had been sitting nearby, eating, and just happened to watch everything unfold.
"A time bomb?"
Wang Chao paused, scratching his head. "Heh, did the victim not try to cut a wire?"
"Cut a wire? You’ve seen too many movies."
Xu Huo chuckled. He thought for a moment, then his expression turned serious as he said:
"When most people think of a time bomb, the stereotype that comes to mind is a countdown timer and two wires, one red and one blue."
In reality, those things aren’t even necessary. After all, if you’re going to blow someone up, why would you be kind enough to give them a timer showing when it’s going to explode?
That’s just wishful thinking.
As for cutting wires like in the movies... that’s another misconception.
If the goal is really to kill someone, and the alarm clock is just a delay-detonation device rather than a tool for intimidation, then chances are, cutting any wire will make it explode.
"But this alarm clock wasn’t like that. From what I observed, the clock was purely for displaying the countdown," Xu Huo suddenly added.
’The alarm clock wasn’t necessary, but the killer included one anyway...’
"Then its only purpose was for someone to see it. At the crime scene, the car windows were sealed shut, and they’d been tampered with so no one outside could see in."
"Only the victim could see it."
"Working backward from that, the victim was most likely conscious before death; otherwise, the clock would be meaningless. The killer likely used the alarm clock to exert psychological pressure on the victim."
Xu Huo explained slowly, "In a way, this was murder by torture."
To watch the countdown finish with your own eyes, completely helpless, able only to approach death step by step...
This is a form of psychological terror.
It’s like a death row inmate the night before their execution, legs shaking like a leaf, sometimes even vomiting for no reason.
’Viewed this way, the tangled history between the killer and the victim... must be far more complicated!’
"Murder by torture... ruling out a psychopath, this kind of thing only happens when there’s deep-seated hatred."
As he said this, Xu Huo clicked his tongue, as if he had thought of something.
"So, if I were the police..."
Before he could finish, a clear, authoritative voice suddenly spoke up beside him.
"You’d quickly find a way to access the victim’s file and confirm whether that hatred was directed solely at the deceased."
"If it was, you could breathe a sigh of relief. If it wasn’t..."
Xu Huo froze. The voice had spoken his exact thoughts.
He turned to see an official car. A Police Chief sat in the front passenger seat, now looking Xu Huo up and down with a hint of surprise, his eyes on him as he spoke.
CLICK!
The door opened. Wang Hu himself stepped out and extended a hand.
"Wang Hu, Captain of the Hanhai Province, Linlan City Criminal Investigation Detachment."
Xu Huo paused for a second, then shook it. "Xu Huo, from Jiangsan City."
"Captain Wang, what can I do for you?"
Wang Hu hesitated, then relayed Zhang Jian’s intentions.
To be honest, Wang Hu hadn’t wanted to come looking for him, but what he’d just overheard had changed his mind.
’This kid... could he be just as good as me!?’
’If he joins the task force... maybe we can actually crack this case!’
So Wang Hu thought, but of course, he didn’t neglect the business at hand.
"Don’t worry, whether the case is solved or not, Linlan City will pay you a consulting fee!"
Wang Hu saw the other man’s brow furrow and quickly added.
’A fee?’
"Actually, I’m a very warm-hearted person."
A smile spread across Xu Huo’s face as he shook the captain’s hand.
"Fee, no fee, what does it matter... How much is it?"
"One hundred thousand, with a separate bonus if the case is solved!" Wang Hu blurted out instinctively.
"Captain Wang, do we have a lock on the victim’s file yet!?"
Xu Huo immediately changed the subject back to the case. The sudden shift left Wang Hu stunned. He was now starting to doubt his earlier assessment...
But it wasn’t a big deal. He thought for a moment, then said in a low voice:
"The killer removed the license plate, and the engine and tire serial numbers were obscured. Last night, the detachment ordered a search of surveillance footage and started interviewing residents to trace the car’s origin. Barring any setbacks, we just need to wait a little..."
Wang Hu had just started to speak when a voice suddenly crackled from his radio.
"Chief, we found him. The deceased is the owner of the Lin Yu Biological Factory, Zhou Dapeng, thirty—"
An excited voice from the dispatch team came over the walkie-talkie.
The two men paused, glanced at each other, and had the exact same thought.
"Looks like the wait is over."
...
...
Zhang Jian had deployed nearly all available police forces in Linlan City to conduct a grid search.
The method was crude, but at least it was effective.
The victim’s information came in.
The deceased was named Zhou Dapeng, owner of the Lin Yu Chemical Factory. He was thirty-two years old, married with a three-year-old child.
He lived in a detached villa in an affluent community in the coastal area.
"Zhou Dapeng’s death was a psychological execution. And this kind of sadistic murder, aside from being the work of a psychopath, is inseparable from one thing: hatred."
"A hatred that drives one to kill..."
"On the night of the incident, the victim was tied up inside the car, which then drove out of the residential complex. It started from his home, yet during this period, his family showed no signs of reporting it to the police. There’s still no record of a report even now."
Xu Huo and Wang Hu walked slowly through the affluent neighborhood.
Wang Hu nodded along as Xu Huo spoke. They were walking purposefully toward a specific area.
He hadn’t gone to the crime scene first, nor to the Chemical Factory. Instead, he had gone straight to the residential address...
Why?
During the ’Modern Jesus’ case, Xu Huo had once shared a piece of wisdom with Zhao Shui and the others.
Hatred blinds a person.
And a person blinded by hatred... is no different from a wild beast!
So, let’s assume you have someone blinded by fury, someone who wants to eat your flesh and drink your blood. Would such a person come only after you, the sole target of their grievance?
"Number 307..."
With heavy hearts, the police stood before the villa’s entrance, staring at the imposing front door.
Wang Hu took a deep breath, then placed his hand on it and slowly pushed...
"CREAK~"
The next moment...
A foul, overwhelming stench of blood, so strong it could make one faint, rushed out from the doorway like a savage beast, enveloping everyone!
The faces of most of the officers on site changed instantly; some of the interns nearly threw up.
Xu Huo put on a mask, lifted his foot, and slowly stepped inside.
The moment they crossed the threshold, they saw the scene within.
Blood...
It was all blood!
The floor, the ceiling, the walls—all were splattered with brownish blood, reeking of a metallic stench!
Countless fragments of flesh were stuck to the surfaces where the blood had dried. The carpet was saturated, and its coagulated state was utterly nauseating.
Swarms of buzzing flies filled the air before them.
The bodies of two elderly people lay there, their faces frozen in terror. Their arms and legs had been removed, the cuts clean and clear, exposing the surface of the skin, the contours of the muscle, the thigh bones... all clearly visible!
Xu Huo stepped forward, crouched down, and lifted a piece of clothing.
A dense swarm of maggots came into view.
Zhou Dapeng’s son was also dead, with clear strangulation marks on his tender, pale neck.
The other one had suffered the most gruesome fate.
Xu Huo paused. He turned his head and looked at the woman who had been strangled to death nearby.
This was Zhou Dapeng’s wife. She had been strangled by the killer.
What was used to strangle her wasn’t a rope.
It was her own intestines.
Her expression was one of contorted agony, revealing immense suffering.
The killer had forcibly pulled out her intestines while she was still alive and used them to strangle her.
The entire magnificent villa...
...but inside, it was a scene straight out of Hell!
Faced with such a horrific scene, even Xu Huo was rendered silent.
’The killer hated Zhou Dapeng... hated him enough to want to tear him to pieces.’
’And that’s literally what was done here!!!’
"In this world, people with clear and logical minds don’t tend to hate without reason."
"The emergence of a conflict requires a process of interaction between two parties and an event that embodies that conflict."
"So, that brings us to the question."
He looked at the surroundings, at the splattered blood, at the police officers vomiting in the distance.
A question formed in Xu Huo’s mind.
He recalled the victim’s file.
"The victim..."
"What did he do to the killer!?"
"To provoke such an overwhelming, monstrous hatred!"