Chapter 126: With The Nation So Weak, What Crime Have The People Committed?
Cao Weida circled the corpse once, then carefully examined the surroundings again, ultimately reaching the same conclusion as An Zong: this was not the first scene of the crime.
He propped his chin, looking at the corpse that was stripped naked as if in humiliation, frowning in thought.
Duomen set down the powder and soft brush in his hand, stood up and said, “This killer has some anti-detection ability. Like the previous corpse, no fingerprints or other clues were left behind.”
“I can understand the killer murdering and dumping the body; he doesn’t want us to find the first murder scene. But why pose the deceased in this kneeling and kowtowing position? What is his purpose?”
Zong Xiangfang walked up and said, “I’ve looked at the case file. In both cases, the deceased were posed in this way, and the fatal wounds are in the same spot. Clearly the work of the same killer.
Placing the deceased in public view, is he trying to intimidate us patrolmen, or to make a statement to this society?”
Although Zong Xiangfang’s true identity was a special agent, he had graduated from the police academy and still had skills in criminal investigation.
Cao Weida inwardly despised the killer’s actions. If the killer was truly dissatisfied with this society, why not go kill little devils and traitors? Killing his own compatriots—what kind of skill was that?
If it was just random killing, with so many little devils and traitors in Beiping, why always target ordinary people?
Isn’t that just cowardice?
He said nothing, propping his chin as he circled the corpse once more.
The killer stripped the corpse and posed it like this—there must be a purpose.
When he reached the front of the corpse, his footsteps stopped.
He then looked back, thoughtfully walking to a stone not far in front of the corpse and sitting down.
Zong Xiangfang happened to see this and was stunned, surprised by Cao Weida’s behavior. “Wait, what is Cao’er doing?”
In front of the corpse, Cao Weida looked left and right, then took out cigarettes from his pocket and lit one.
Duomen walked over. “Cao’er, did you find something?”
“Indeed I did.” Cao Weida tossed the cigarette butt underfoot and stamped it out, pointing to a spot nearby. “Master Duo, what do you see here?”
“This is… cigarette ash from a burned cigarette?” Duomen’s expression tightened as he squatted down and brushed the cigarette ash into a pile with his brush.
With insufficient manpower before and so many onlookers around, he truly hadn’t noticed this cigarette ash.
His case-solving ability was not poor. He glanced back at the direction the corpse faced and had some guesses in mind.
“Cao’er, you just put yourself in the killer’s position to experience how the killer felt?”
“Something like that.” Cao Weida stood up. “I was wondering earlier why the killer posed the corpse this way. There are too many ways to humiliate; why choose this specific method? What was his purpose?”
“Then, from the killer’s perspective, I accidentally spotted this bit of cigarette ash.”
“I suspect this cigarette ash was left by the killer, so I wondered why, after dumping the body, he didn’t hurry away but instead sat leisurely on the stone smoking?”
“With such strict martial law now, the killer took such a huge risk to do this. I don’t think he had no ulterior motive.”
Duomen looked thoughtful. He didn’t ask or refute with nonsense like whether it could have been someone else smoking.
With martial law this strict, who would be idiot enough to come here late at night to smoke?
If not the killer’s, whose could it be?
“I just observed: Master Duo, look—the exact direction the corpse is kneeling toward is where I’m sitting. And to maintain that direction, the killer moved the corpse several times.”
Duomen immediately looked at the corpse and the stone, realizing the corpse was precisely facing the stone in its kneeling position.
“There are a few bloody handprints around the corpse. At first I thought they were from the killer adjusting the body for balance after posing it on its knees, but I didn’t expect the killer’s true purpose to be this.” Duomen nodded, then his face grew cold as he said:
“The killer did this deliberately to humiliate the deceased!”
Cao Weida added, “And to enjoy the pleasure of the deceased kowtowing to him.”
The surrounding patrolmen felt a chill upon hearing this. This killer was truly vicious—humiliating the dead to this extreme was even crueler than stripping the corpse naked!
Killing the body and the spirit—truly killing the body and the spirit!
Duomen coldly stared at the cigarette ash he’d collected. The killer’s extreme humiliation was a major provocation to them as patrolmen!
Most people looked down on the police station, and the station in this era wasn’t living up to expectations either.
“The cigarette ash is quite fine, grayish-white in color. This is from high-end cigarettes!”
Zong Xiangfang immediately said, “By that logic, the killer should have decent economic conditions, used to being flattered. Most likely he had a dispute with the victim and, even after killing him, wanted the deceased to kowtow to him!”
The surrounding patrolmen couldn’t help nodding, agreeing with this view.
Duomen looked at Cao Weida. “Cao’er, what do you think?”
From that little demonstration just now, Duomen could tell Cao Weida was more than just competent—he was exceptionally meticulous and clearly gifted in criminal investigation, already possessing considerable case-solving ability!
But the kid usually concealed his strength, fooling even him!
Cao Weida thought and said, “I have two guesses. First, contrary to Zong Xiangfang’s judgment, the killer may hold the lowest status in society and be sensitive. He killed the deceased possibly because they provoked or made him feel looked down upon!”
“That’s actually the better scenario—not too hard to investigate. What I’m afraid of is the second.”
He glanced at the surrounding patrolmen and said lowly, “The second possibility is that the killer greatly enjoys this feeling of being worshiped and doesn’t care at all about the lives of ordinary people.”
“From the case file, the female deceased wasn’t violated. Is it possible the killer is a devil with some physical defect he doesn’t want others to know about, with a perverted mind?”
“And bold enough to appear at a crime scene at night—besides Taijun, who else?”
Everyone immediately fell silent.
They naturally understood who Cao Weida meant by the unspoken group. In all of Beiping, besides traitors and sellouts, who else?
If the killer was truly the second type, how could these lowly patrolmen dare investigate?
They’d end up killed before even finding the killer.
Cao Weida keenly sensed the patrolmen’s signs of retreat. He understood—after all, it involved their own safety, and without the honor and duty sense of later generations’ police, the first thought was always to mind their own business and stay safe.
Duomen was silent for a moment, then stood up and called out, “Alright, alright, everyone do another sweep of the scene. Once done, transport the corpse away.”
“Xiao Wang, after the corpse is transported, notify the deceased’s family to come claim it.”
On the way back, Duomen was silent halfway, finally sighing heavily. “The country is so weak—what sin did the people commit?”
Cao Weida patted his shoulder firmly. When Duomen looked up at him, he said resolutely, “Everything will get better. China can’t forever be at a disadvantage. We will have a day when we stand tall. With China’s five thousand years of foundation, no one can defeat us—definitely!”
Duomen was stunned, then suddenly relaxed into a smile, patting him back a few times. “You young people still have that drive. Me? I’m old~~”
“You know you’re old and still haven’t hurried to find a wife and have kids? You really plan to let Master Duo’s line end with you?”
“Hey~~ You done yet, kid? Teasing your Master Duo feels good, huh?”
The two bantered and laughed all the way back to the police station. Distracted by Cao Weida this way, Duomen’s previously low mood gradually brightened.
Once inside the office, Duomen closed the door. “Cao’er, tell me honestly—which of those two guesses do you lean toward?”
His eyes fixed on Cao Weida, waiting for his answer.
Letting a killer roam free could lead to more victims. As a third-generation policeman, Duomen was naturally unwilling.
Cao Weida knew his mind—Duomen wanted to keep investigating and was seeking his agreement.
“I think the first possibility is greatest. After all, if it was a traitor or little devil, there’d be no need to be sneaky.
I suspect the killer has no fixed occupation—likely a vagrant or beggar or similar. You heard what that lady said earlier.
Killed three in one place, then two here. I suggest focusing on screening the types I mentioned above.”
He added inwardly that he actually suspected the second possibility more.
Though traitors and devils could be killed directly, as he suspected, the killer might have a defect—and such a secret was something he absolutely wouldn’t want discovered.
People like that often sought other stimulations for their perverted thrills.
After killing, the killer had the time and guts at night to transport the corpse and waste time posing it. Without some backing, how could he be so bold?
Did he really think the killer had body skills and storage space like Cao Weida?
He figured even if Duomen investigated, it’d end fruitlessly.
But that wasn’t important—what mattered was getting Duomen to investigate. At least then he’d have tried his best and feel better mentally.
A smile tugged at Duomen’s lips as he nodded. “I think so too. I’ll immediately arrange for people to screen vagrants, beggars, and such who’ve moved from near Jinyu Hutong to here recently.”
Watching Duomen hurry out, Cao Weida sighed, his gaze deep as he looked out the window. “If Master Duo finds nothing in a few days, I’ll have to stir up some trouble for the little devils and traitors.”
