Chapter 5 - Case 1: Dismemberment

Warning: Gore and highly descriptive crime scene at the end of chapter. proceed with caution

Chapter 5

The recreation area was located in the center of the community, and the murder scene was in the corner. It would take a few minutes to walk past it. As the group of people walked away, Song Wen and Fu Linjiang fell to the end. It was afternoon. The sun was shining, and the community was surrounded by lots of greenery. There were new buds on the branches of the green trees around, and a lot of flowers bloomed, but thanks to the low occupancy rate, the population was scarce.

The two of them talked all the way as they walked over to the small garden. There were a few stone tables and chairs placed there for the residents of the community to rest. At this time, it was past one o’clock in the afternoon, so everyone was away on lunch break.

Before everyone’s food arrived, Lu Siyu had already started the meal. Several lunch boxes were lined up in front of him. They were neatly arranged from left to right, from meat to vegetables, with all colors, flavors and fragrances. He held a pair of exquisite black chopsticks in his hands as he lowered his head and feasted on a hearty lunch.

Upon seeing this, Song Wen thought, this person really deserves the identity of a rich second generation.

The weather in May was neither cold nor hot, and the small garden was pleasantly accompanied by birdsong and flowers. Everyone discussed the morning’s case openly with each other, and after two minutes, the meal ordered by Song Wen arrived.

As soon as the fast food was brought over, Lu Siyu realized that he had underestimated the economic difference between himself and the ordinary detectives. Everyone only had one rice bowl and the portions were not very big, which made him a little embarrassed. He pushed a few dishes forward and said, “I’ve bought so many dishes. We can eat together if you don’t mind.”

Zhu Xiao and the others had had their eye on it for a while now, and they immediately raised their chopsticks once they heard those words. Especially Old Jia, who had vomited up all his breakfast, was already very hungry at this point and didn’t bother keeping up any formalities with Lu Siyu.

Everyone picked up the dishes and stuffed them in their mouths, and immediately burst into words full of praise.

“It’s delicious. The cooking skill is really good.”

“Ahh, the rib stew is so crispy and flavorful.”

“This shrimp is really fresh. ”

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Song Wen looked at this group of subordinates who were gobbling up food, and said, “Come on you guys, leave some for the others.” However his hands didn’t stop at all. He picked up a piece of rib and placed it on his boxed lunch. The ribs were sweet and sour, using naturally grown black pork, wrapped in a layer of syrup. A sweet and sour taste spread out on his tongue as he tasted it. The bite was full of flavor. This bursting flavor was not like the kind found in fast food, rather, it was the product of using fresh ingredients topped by all kinds of high-grade seasonings, perfected by high level culinary skills.

Song Wen had always felt that food was best when it was freshly cooked and would lose its flavor when reheated overnight, but this piece of rib in his mouth just made people want to eat more. This dish was indeed delicious. It was definitely at a chef’s level, and it was a treat all the way from the tip of his tongue to his taste buds. He tasted a few other dishes, and each of them was more amazing than the other.

The table was full of people. After lunch, the detectives had to go so they could finish their work. For a while, only Lu Siyu and Song Wen were left on the stone table. Lu Siyu bowed his head and re-packed his lunch box.

Song Wen asked him, “Did your family’s chef make this food?”

Lu Siyu, who didn’t guard against this always serious captain, was suddenly asked this. He lowered his head and said, “I made it myself. I like to make my own food when I’m free, since I can’t get used to eating food from outside.”

Song Wen licked his lips, still a little bit unsatisfied, and then asked him, “Are all the records done?”

Lu Siyu said, “Yes, I’ve written it all down. I’ll go back to sort it out tonight. ”

”How was your first day getting adjusted on the team?”

“It’s okay.”

“What do you think of this case so far?”

“I’m leaning towards an acquaintance commiting crime, and the person who cut up the body has some medical basis.” At that point, Lu Siyu’s hand paused slightly, then he spoke up, “I don’t think the killer’s purpose was necessarily to cut the body for the sake of cutting it up.”

Song Wen folded his arms. “How so?” This reasoning was a bit convoluted, but when he thought about it, he instantly understood what Lu Siyu was saying.

“In classic cases, dismembering and dumping a body is usually because of the same few reasons. The most common is to prevent people from discovering the identity of the deceased, to make it more difficult to find, to hide the suspect’s trail, or to facilitate the dumping of the body. It could also be related to pleasure. Killing and cutting up a body is a mode of thrill-seeking activity to some people.” Lu Siyu placed his lunch box into his backpack and looked up at Song Wen. “But in this case, I don’t think it’s either of those reasons.”

”Why do you say that?”

Lu Siyu shook his head and bowed his head to close his bag, not wanting to say more.

Newcomers would always make subjective assumptions about some content, and the current criminal police work was very much about reasoning. Each clue must have a solid basis to make a final conclusion. Lu Siyu’s hypothesis was too vague. Song Wen got up to pack up those disposable lunch boxes and said, “Let’s continue to investigate.”

In the afternoon, Lin Xiuran took the corpse back to the police station. A corpse’s condition changed very quickly. The earlier the autopsy, the better it would be for the investigation of the case.

At two o’clock, the police dog was bought over.

There were mainly four police dogs in the South City Bureau, and they were usually kept together with the anti-narcotics team. Fu Linjiang was a happy-go-lucky man. Not only did he get along with people, he also got along very well with the police dogs in the team. Those dogs ran over to him as if they had seen someone extremely familiar. They flew over and licked Fu Linjiang from head to toe.

Today, the police officers were Sanhei and Sihua, both of whom were experienced fighters. Fu Linjiang and Old Jia took the two dogs with them and the forensic assistants looked through several nearby garbage dumps nearby. By five o’clock in the afternoon, several blue bags had been picked up.

Xu Yao rummaged through them, sorting and storing the items found in the bags for further testing after returning to the police station. Due to the May Day holiday, many garbage dumps weren’t cleaned up in time, which led to a good harvest that afternoon.

Not only did the bag contain some of the remains of the body, it also had a knife, and a few pieces of bloody clothes that had been washed and cut up.

At seven o’clock in the evening, Song Wen made one final check to see that they hadn’t missed any evidence and then called it a day. Everyone got into the car, it was now the end of the day. Other than the ones who had to send back the physical evidence, guns and the remaining body parts back to the bureau, others could go straight home.

Lin Xiuran had previously left in a special body truck at the bureau, and three police cars were parked in the garage of the community. Xu Yao, Cheng Xiaobing, Zhu Xiao got in one car, and Lu Siyu followed Fu Linjiang and Old Jia to another car. “Ah, don’t you guys feel it’s too crowded?” Several criminal investigators went to the other two cars, and he was the only one in this one. It was obviously not distributed evenly.

Fu Linjiang touched his nose. “But we’re not going the same way.”

Song Wen said, “How is it not the same way? I’m going to see Doctor Zhou.”

This reply was quite smooth. For a while, the officers bowed their heads, unwilling to submit.

Lu Siyu looked at the situation, and his eyelashes trembled. Finally, he took the initiative to stand up and break the siege. “I’ll go with Captain Song.” He took the first step in a fearless manner and all three other brothers looked at him as if they were greatly moved and eager to hand him a golden flag for saving the world.

Song Wen was a workaholic who liked to talk about work in the car. Who wouldn’t want to relax when they were off-duty? In the past, they had no choice but to go with him, but now that there was a newcomer, they straightforwardly abandoned their captain and left.

Song Wen watched Lu Siyu with narrowed eyes as he walked by, trying to figure out what Lu Siyu was thinking.

Just as he was about to get in the car, Lu Siyu’s footsteps stopped. “…I left my water bottle at the crime scene.”

Song Wen frowned and felt a bit helpless. “Little ancestor, why did you leave something behind again?” At noon it was a water bottle forgotten in the car, and at night it was a water bottle in the crime scene.

Fortunately, the keys on the property side were being used as physical evidence and hadn’t been returned yet. Song Wen handed it to Lu Siyu and opened the door. “I will accompany you.”

“No, I’ll go by myself.” There was a hint of trepidation in Lu Siyu’s words, like a newcomer who had done something wrong and was eager to make up for his mistakes. Without waiting for Song Wen’s reply, he turned and walked towards the building alone to press the elevator.

Song Wen wasn’t far behind him. He looked at the elevator, and finally decided to not follow after him.

It was already dark outside, and the hallway was dimly lit. Lu Siyu carefully walked past the yellow tape and opened the door, returning to the scene of the corpse when the lights first came on.

It was night now. The living room was dark, and that faint smell of flesh stil permeated the air. He didn’t turn on the light, and taking advantage of the moonlight, he walked into the living room. He picked up the thermos cup on the dining table and put it in his bag. Then he didn’t rush to leave, instead looking around observantly. His eyes held a glint in the dark, like a beast hidden in the dense forest, alert yet composed.

Strange to say, the house looked completely different during the day and at night. Perhaps because of the murder that had occurred, the house had an extra hint of coldness at night. Based on his memory, Lu Siyu walked to the door of the outer guard. The bathtub was still half full with water, but the body was no longer there.

Lu Siyu closed his eyes. He had missed his usual dinner time so his stomach felt empty with a slight tingling sensation. Ever since he was a child, he had always hated this feeling of hunger. It felt like his life was being drawn away from his body.

Lu Siyu couldn’t feel the temperature around him, as if there was a cold splash of icy water on his body, leading him into a dark place. In that moment, he was the man crouched in the bathroom cutting up the body. The hum of the juicer, the ticking of blood and the sizzling of something stewing on the pot converged.

He was wearing gloves and a raincoat. First, he cut off the head. This thing was too troublesome. Those eyes seemed to be staring directly at him. He wrapped the head in plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator. Then he went back to the bathroom, facing the headless male corpse.

The knife in his hand cut through the corpse as if he was dissecting it, blood spattered out following each cut. He was extremely calm, his movements were orderly, and he felt a little relieved. Only in this way could the incisions be so smooth. His speed wasn’t fast. During the cutting of the flesh, there was neither panic nor excitement to be seen on his face. The knife ran along the bones, separated the limbs, cut the flesh, and pried the ribs, as if completing a ritual. It was a long-standing task.

For a long time, he immersed himself in it, using all his senses to focus to dissipate the loneliness and fear. There was a force in his heart that held him through it all.

The juicing started with the heart. He carefully held out the red organ and cut it into a few pieces before putting it into the juicer. As the machine buzzed and sliced, the muscles and nerves inside turned into a puddle of red, sticky juice, like a glass of red soy milk. Then there was the stomach with the undigested chyme trapped inside, the liver connected to the green gallbladder, and finally the intestines. He held them all in his hands after pulling them out of the corpse. In order to facilitate the juice extraction, he cut the organs into small pieces with scissors, no different from how ingredients were usually handled.

Whenever the smell of blood became stronger, he unscrewed the tub’s drain and changed the water. He took ice from the fridge and sprinkled them over the side of the corpse. Then he placed a strip of breastbone and meat into the pots, the pressure cooker, the stew pot, the steamer, and all the containers that he could use. The flame rose up and the water began to gurgle, a layer of bubbles and foam forming on its surface. It also gave off a kind of strong meaty aroma, which smelled like it would be delicious when sprinkled with salt and pepper. He divided the boiled bones into bags.

After all the work was done, he checked carefully, and then turned on the water in the shower head to wash away the blood stains. It was thanks to this action that prevented some of the blood from being washed down the drain, but instead got accumulated in the back of the bathtub and seeped down the cracks in the floorboards.

At both ends of the time, Lu Siyu and the murderer looked at each other from a distance, as if they were communicating silently…

What’s wrong? He seemed to have forgotten something……

Lu Siyu pondered for a moment, and the knife in the hands of the other party slowly cut down…What did this action mean?

Translating team shenanigans

Translating team : Our readers are so calm. Wonder if they have already guessed who the murderer is .