Criminal Investigation: After Dawn - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Red and blue police lights flashed as the sound of sirens echoed across the entire Nanjinguan Bridge. The long road was completely jammed, blocked water-tight.

The detachment’s internal line issued continuous requests for assistance in investigation: “The Lanhu Landfill has intercepted three packages of suspected human tissue from a dismembered corpse. The scene has been cordoned off; the Municipal Bureau is requested to dispatch officers immediately.“

In criminal case scene investigation, every second counts during the golden window. Not a single moment of delay could be afforded.

Fang Xiting rolled down his car window. Before his eyes was a dense mass of red tail lights. He stared outside anxiously, his shoe sole tapping and pressing against the accelerator repeatedly, truly unable to sit or stand at peace.

Half an hour ago, they had already contacted the traffic police detachment to assist in clearing the bridge congestion. But the accident ahead was a four-car pileup, and the entrances and exits were almost entirely blocked dead.

The time since receiving the alarm slipped away minute by minute. Fang Xiting was burning with impatience as he looked toward the front passenger seat. Yet he saw the culprit who had caused him to get stuck in this traffic flow biting a cigarette between his teeth, unhurriedly messing around with his phone…

The man in the passenger seat had a tall and straight build, wearing a pure black stand-collar storm jacket paired with black cargo pants. His long legs were stuffed into the front legroom which lacked sufficient space. The seat adjustments and everything else were unsuitable, yet he didn’t display the awkwardness of a first-time occupant. A bit of his forehead hair fell down, the bridge of his nose rising in a high, arched curve. Under the light and shadow of the phone screen, his profile contour revealed an even more superior bone structure.

If it weren’t for a wager made with someone three days ago, where he himself had incorrectly guessed which foot the security guard uncle would step out with first, Xie Xuning—this bastard son of a gun—could absolutely never have appeared in his car in this lifetime.

Fang Xiting worried about the investigation delay, his patience thoroughly exhausted: “A jinx born to clash with me, nothing good ever happens when I encounter you.“

Xie Xuning was focusing intently on replying to messages. Hearing him displeased at that moment, he raised his eyes with a half-smile: “This is blamed on me too?“

The man’s well-proportioned finger lightly tapped the dial on his wrist: “Look for yourself at what time it is now. The traffic jam is because of a car accident. What does it have to do with me?“

“How does it have nothing to do with you?” Fang Xiting flipped open the phone news, pulling up the time nodes to confront him. “The detachment finished work at 19:00 to go home and rest for the night. At 21:00, you came knocking on my door, pestering me relentlessly to make me drive you to the Qingjiang Reservoir to go fishing. At 22:00, the alarm was received, and it wasn’t until 22:58 that the car accident happened at Nanjinguan.” He was so angry his breathing was uneven: “If it weren’t because of carrying you on a detour, we would have driven past long ago, a full ten minutes before the traffic accident occurred.“

Though that was the case and the reasoning held ground, but…

“Accept a wager and admit defeat.” The man extended his fingers out the window, shaking off the cigarette ash, and spoke every word clearly. “You must be my chauffeur for a month, at my beck and call. Not to mention, the person who absolutely insisted on guessing that the guy would step out with his left foot first back then… was you.“

Right, it was him; he was guilty!

Fang Xiting held the steering wheel with both hands, his eyes tightly closed, using deep breaths to calm his state of mind, trying hard to control himself from making the move to kick him out of the car. Because of being provoked by Xie Xuning, his gambling cessation failed. Not only was he on call all day to act as a chauffeur, but after being shaken awake in the middle of the night, he still had to uncomplainingly help him attach bait to the fishing line.

Originally, it was a rare early shift off. He had finished washing up and gone to sleep early. In the end, Xie Xuning pinched the time perfectly, strapped on his fishing gear, and came to his house, banging loudly on the door with bursting energy. It just so happened that the detachment chief went to the provincial department for a meeting, and before leaving, entrusted the detachment’s affairs to the two of them to manage. As a result, on the first day of acting management, a brutal criminal case suddenly erupted. When the phone call from the colleague on duty came in, he was still holding a fish basket, accompanying Xie Xuning to scoop up fish in the reservoir…

“Don’t worry.” In the middle of the bridge, the mottled, bright yellow light and shadow fell on the back of the man’s hand. Xie Xuning stubbed out the cigarette, wrapping the discarded butt in a tissue and stuffing it into the pocket of his black jacket: “Aren’t I currently thinking of a way?“

But what kind of way could he think of?

Fang Xiting sneered, harboring no expectations.

Who would have thought that a moment later, he would be sitting on the backseat of a police motorcycle, wearing a helmet, with the muffled sound of roaring wind in his ears. Xie Xuning liked extreme sports. He took several consecutive turns pressing down hard on the emergency lane, his posture exceptionally standard. They sped away from the congested traffic flow. During this time, because the vehicle speed was too fast—to the point that after bypassing several elevated highway curves—Fang Xiting’s center of gravity became unstable, and he crashed into the man’s solid back muscles several times in a row…

The awkwardness caused by the physical contact made him glance away somewhat uncomfortably. But for safety’s sake, he had no choice but to carefully extend his hand, his fingertips quietly tugging at the hem of the man’s jacket. At that moment, warmth surged from behind as the arm strength tightened. Xie Xuning’s gaze shifted downward, the corners of his lips curling upward as he revved the accelerator even harder: “Hold on tight.“

Their vaguely close silhouettes, the clothes on their backs billowing from the wind, the streetlights above the bridge shifting between bright and dim. The police motorcycle quickly passed through the accident point, taking only fifteen minutes to rush to the crime scene.

Arriving at the Lanhu Landfill collection point, an intensely decayed, sour, and foul odor spread through the air. Xie Xuning made a sharp turn by the curb, the tail of the bike swinging violently as the vehicle body came to a steady halt outside the cordon.

A colleague responsible for the outer perimeter patrol noticed them and waved his hand forcefully, shouting toward him: “Boss, Deputy Chief Fang.“

Xie Xuning sat on the bike, opening his mouth to bite off his glove, then raised his hand to signal: “Arrived.” The man’s right leg was straight and long, diagonally propping against the ground. The posture displayed inadvertently was clean and crisp. He reached out to pull off his helmet, the cold wind brushing away the sweat-dampened hair on his forehead, revealing a highly aggressive, handsome, and striking face.

Fang Xiting’s gaze was drawn over. Coming to his senses the next second, he inwardly complained that the guy actually still had the mood to show off at a time like this. He simply couldn’t stand it even a bit. He rolled his eyes and turned his face away, the word “disgust” practically stamped on his head.

And as for this case, the detachment had dispatched two groups, which happened to be led by Fang Xiting and Xie Xuning. By the time they arrived, the external statements had basically been entirely checked and sorted, leaving only the internal sorting assembly line where the dismembered body was discovered, as well as the external trash storage point waiting for investigation.

Learning the scene information, Xie Xuning appeared quite generous: “The interior belongs to you.” The trash mountain outside feeding into the sorting assembly line was no easy task to gather clues from using manual labor.

Hearing this, a nearby team member nodded in agreement: “The interior is indeed much easier. Let our group do the hard labor.“

Fang Xiting couldn’t stand hearing this: “Our group hasn’t done any less of the hard labor of digging through trash.” Did he need you to yield at a time like this? The protective suits used to safeguard the scene were right by their feet. Biting back a grudge, just as he was about to bend down to put it on, the back of his neck was hoisted up by someone.

Xie Xuning used force with his arm to pull the person over, lowering his voice to remind him quietly: “Just now… I saw the people from your group have already gone inside.” After finishing his sentence, the man also pointed his chin toward the second-floor sorting center where the white lights were on.

“…” Fang Xiting failed to react in time. Looking around, he realized the surroundings were entirely filled with Xie Xuning’s people, his face instantly flushing a deep red. He struggled to break free from the man’s restraint, then saved face by countering: “In front of outsiders, I won’t contradict your courtesy. Count it as me yielding to you this time.“

At that time, the team members had already entered the scene to work, so it would be inappropriate to call them back out abruptly. But if he dared to take the initiative like this to make arrangements for him next time, don’t blame him for turning hostile without regard for past affection. Fang Xiting bared his teeth fiercely, attempting to intimidate, wanting to use this to suppress Xie Xuning’s annoying, provocative, and overbearing arrogance in terms of momentum. He headed to the sorting workshop alone, leaving a vexed silhouette behind. The petulant figure fell into the man’s eyes, an imperceptible smile spreading out.

Xie Xuning was in a good mood. After confirming Fang Xiting went into the building, he turned around to drape an arm over his team member’s shoulder: “Let’s go, follow big brother to conquer the trash mountain.“

That person obediently kept up: “Boss, how come every time we come out with Deputy Chief Fang, digging through trash and jumping into manure pits are always our jobs?” He appeared puzzled: “Usually when it’s the turn of the other groups, I hear they all scramble to do these hard chores.“

“It’s exactly because they always scramble to do the chores.” Xie Xuning clamored, starting to spout nonsense: “There are only a few manure pits in the entire year of handling cases. Their group jumped into all of them, so what are others supposed to jump into?” The man lowered his head to light a cigarette, wanting to suppress this overwhelming, spreading sour stench. Explaining casually during the interval, he hid away all of his feelings of wanting to ‘let him have it easy,‘ and boastfully said: “Big brother has to let him know that next time there’s a manure pit, he won’t necessarily be able to out-jump me.“

Xie Xuning and Fang Xiting were born with incompatible magnetic fields, their horoscopes clashing. They would start a fight if they couldn’t agree within three sentences. The various departments of the Municipal Bureau had long heard of their reputation. Every time rumors spread that a good show was starting, the entrance of the detachment would be packed with people coming to watch the excitement. Everyone watched that kindergarten-style, yet old-married-couple-like bickering; even if they were exasperated to the limit, they still had to sit orderly next to each other. Their tongues were so agile they could flip flowers, yet they strangely had no intention of actually moving their hands. Various citations of classics and searching for physical evidence were utilized during the debate, settling old scores page by page. Even such things as Xie Xuning climbing a tree when he was little, ripping a huge hole in the seam of his buttocks, and borrowing Fang Xiting’s pants without returning them could be dragged out and argued over. The two sides frequently argued and bickered over small matters, absolutely insisting on demanding fairness. Everyone was long accustomed to it.

A teammate from the same group with zero dating experience, hearing Xie Xuning’s godly maneuver this time, instantly felt enlightened: “Holy cow, no wonder at every big meeting, the detachment chief always praises their group for being able to endure hardship.” So the performance points were entirely earned by them?

Xie Xuning reasonably motivated the team members’ search enthusiasm, leading the team to rummage through the trash collection points that hadn’t been sorted yet.

Fang Xiting hid in the stairwell, secretly spying on him for a good while. Seeing that jinx full of mettle and waving his hands and feet around, he was absolutely certain that the opponent was badmouthing him again. Because their fathers were close friends, the two had grown up together since childhood, being childhood friends. Even if their temperaments were incompatible and they had turned hostile for many years, their level of understanding of each other still covered every aspect of clothing, food, housing, and transportation. That smelly dog Xie Xuning would only reveal such an arrogant, punchable, and bastard-like appearance when mentioning him. And he refused to show weakness, cursing a few words in his mouth as a counterattack, absolutely refusing to suffer a loss.

Heading to the second-floor sorting room at that moment, the cold, bleak, and dismal incandescent light already made one feel physiologically uncomfortable. Fang Xiting handed over with his team members at the entrance, then changed into gloves and shoe covers, seeing that the black conveyor belt for sorting trash had already stopped running. The sour and decayed odor inside the venue was even more severe. To protect the scene, the positions of most objects would not be moved before the gathering of physical evidence was completed.

Upon entering the door, Fang Xiting saw those three black plastic bags that made one’s sensory awareness extremely uncomfortable. The bag bodies were bulging, clearly packed with agricultural and sideline products related to meat that possessed relatively high elasticity and tightness. Two of the bags had traveled to the middle of the sorting line, their seals violently torn open by someone, while the other bag lay scattered on the ground. Cleaned up and cut into chunks, still carrying yellowish grease and fat, as well as half a human finger bone, beneath the red meat that had been drained of blood, it revealed traces of someone being brutally dismembered.

“The first eyewitness who discovered the severed limbs is Auntie Zheng from the sorting assembly line.” “Fifty-three years old this year, she has been engaged in this line of work for over twenty years, and this is her first time experiencing such a terrifying, vicious, and brutal criminal case.” The colleague responsible for tracking down information came forward to report:

“A total of three bags of boned, shredded meat were found at the scene.”

“According to the preliminary examination, except for the head and limbs, the torso portion should all be right here.”

“That half a finger which caused panic in the sorting room was probably mixed in by accident. Before discovering the severed finger, the person who reported the case still thought it was just discarded pork that nobody wanted.“

Fang Xiting put on his mask properly and stepped forward, carefully inspecting the sorting belt that had already stopped operating. Except for the shredded meat that had been knocked to the ground and scattered due to terror, the remaining two bags were still placed neatly on the table. He pointed randomly: “Were these originally placed together?“

The teammate nodded to confirm:

“According to what we gathered, the urban area dispatches dump-style garbage trucks into various communities three times a day—morning, noon, and evening—to perform unified garbage collection and processing.”

“The departure times of the garbage trucks are 6:00 in the morning, 14:00 in the afternoon, and 20:00 in the evening respectively.”

“The collection pools within each time slot will be cleared out in a timely manner, entering the recycling or incineration and landfill stage without any remaining surplus.”

“So if the alarm reception time was 22:00 in the evening, then that means the body chunks were only collected after 20:00 in the evening?“

Fang Xiting was somewhat startled: “Then the culprit’s body-dumping time was between 14:00 this afternoon and 20:00 this evening?” What kind of person would dare to be this bold in broad daylight? Moreover, according to past experience, common suspects committing crimes would choose the dead of night to dump bodies to hide from public view. Encountering someone who did the exact opposite, the possibility that their anti-reconnaissance awareness was extremely strong, their methods skilled and ruthless, and that this wasn’t their first time committing a crime couldn’t be ruled out.

“The garbage being dumped and then entering the sorting belt spans a short distance, indicating that when the body was dumped, these three bags of dismembered remains were highly likely dropped into the exact same trash can.”

“Can’t the landfill side confirm the region and direction of the garbage source?” Fang Xiting asked.

Hearing this, the teammate shook his head with difficulty, shifting his gaze out the window to signal him to look: “They said that once the garbage trucks return to the plant, the contents are dumped directly into the collection pool, and then transmitted sequentially from the collection pool into the sorting belt for manual sorting.”

“It can almost be said that once the loading vehicles enter the landfill to unload and the domestic waste is mixed together, even the biological mother wouldn’t be able to distinguish who is who.“

The sorting center was not the primary crime scene, so there wouldn’t be too many clues left behind. Only the valuable three bags of dismembered remains were collected, the collection of trace physical evidence was finished, details were photographed, and after completing the recording of eyewitness statements, Fang Xiting also gave notice to prepare to wrap up.

At that time, someone said casually: “Don’t know if Deputy Chief Xie’s side can find the remaining dismembered remains.” If they couldn’t be found, the corpse would be incomplete, making it difficult to identify the source of the body, which would heavily impact the subsequent investigation of the case.

Fang Xiting stood in the stairwell, currently taking off his gloves. Hearing this remark, his gaze drifted slightly downward. The trash beneath the second-floor window was piled up like a mountain. After simple protection, Xie Xuning led his teammates inside to search and rummage. The soaring stench assaulted the nose, proclaiming that this was by no means a good job. The tall silhouette falling into his eyes through the glass window made Fang Xiting give a cold “humph” at him, not accepting this favor.

At that time, the body pieces were carefully packed away and placed into the car. A fine rain began to fall as the wind picked up in the latter half of the night. After several hours of meticulous tracking and scene investigation, by the time they were about to leave, the sky was already growing slightly bright. Fang Xiting arranged the vehicle turns and counted the team members, glancing to see that Xie Xuning’s group was also wrapping up one after another…

Due to the drizzle, most of the people were drenched all over, water traces hanging from their forehead hair. Reeking of stench all over, they dragged and rubbed the protective suits wrapped around their bodies as they pulled them off, truly looking like refugees.

Fang Xiting peeked secretly, not spotting Xie Xuning, just as someone else urged: “Tingting, the people from our group are all accounted for.” The remaining space in his group’s vehicles still had two empty seats. At that moment, he originally wanted to ask Xie Xuning if their group’s cars were enough? Was there any need to come over and squeeze in for convenience? But he then recalled the last “Criminal Police Grand Competition,” where that smelly dog feigned injury, intentionally luring him into an ambush and causing his miserable defeat… Under the opponent’s glorious title of winning the “Mountain Eagle Group,” their group was mocked as the “Mountain Cannon Group” for nearly half a year.

Fang Xiting couldn’t forgive it even a bit: “Since everyone is here, let’s set off.“

The landfill they were at was located far from the urban area, making the journey quite long. It rained and grew foggy, obstructing the view, so after setting off, Fang Xiting’s driving speed had been consistently steady and slow.

In probably less than ten minutes, he received a phone call from Xie Xuning: “Where did the person go?“

Fang Xiting: “?“

It just so happened that at that moment, the car navigation broadcasted a voice prompt: “In 200 meters ahead, turn left at the end of the road.“

Hearing this, Xie Xuning’s questioning voice instantly raised in pitch: “You drove the car away?“

Fang Xiting couldn’t form a reply: “…” His car, of course he had to drive away after finishing his work! Otherwise what? Did he have to stay behind to have a meal?

Xie Xuning: “I’m still getting rained on at the garbage dump; hurry up and drive the car back to pick me up.“

Fang Xiting blurted out: “I’m only 500 meters away from getting on the elevated highway.” Once entering the elevated bridge, he would still have to run over 30 kilometers to return to the Municipal Bureau. On the moral high ground: “Turn around immediately before getting on the bridge. Do you even have professional literacy as a person? Is there anyone who acts as a chauffeur like you? Caring about sending but not about picking up, do you know how far this place is from the urban area? How do you expect me to get back?“

Fang Xiting: “…Doesn’t your group have cars?“

Xie Xuning outputted madly: “Just four cars, a few young punks got on and packed it full, so could I still make someone else get down?” The man was full of resentment, scolding him: “Can’t you just ask if I have a car to ride before leaving? Hurry up and come back to pick me up.“

Fang Xiting bit his teeth petulantly: “…“

At that time, he originally wanted to contend a few sentences with him, but as a result, before his mouth could open, he heard Xie Xuning sneeze twice consecutively on the other side of the receiver. The rain outside was indeed falling heavily, and the recent weather forecast mentioned a drop in temperature. And he himself had genuinely lost the wager to Xie Xuning, having to be his chauffeur for a month. Fang Xiting tried hard to persuade himself, making a sharp turn right before entering the elevated bridge, turning around to return.

Xie Xuning had been rained on for half the time, breathing out white vapor straight from the cold. The hand pulling a cigarette out of his clothes pocket to light it shook without stopping. Twenty minutes later, Fang Xiting’s car stopped before his eyes. Xie Xuning felt pleased, yet also not too pleased as he gave a “humph” at him.

The man pulled open the passenger door smoothly, cold air rolling in, freezing the newly recruited kid next door into a shiver. Xie Xuning’s gaze slanted slightly, staring at him, then tapped the car door with his finger: “Give up the seat.“

Fang Xiting: “…” The backseat of his car clearly still had two empty spots.

But before he could open his mouth to make arrangements, the man swept a glance over, righteously refusing to allow him to be partial: “I have always been the one sitting in the passenger seat of this car; I’m not used to changing to the back, it’s easy to get motion sickness.“

So when did this smelly dog get motion sickness again? And when did the passenger seat of this car become his exclusive spot?

With a face full of astonishment, Fang Xiting watched his young colleague submissively give up the seat to Xie Xuning. The man stepped his soaked long legs in, taking a seat inside as a matter of course, his state of mind completely full of “this is how it should be,” probably not exceeding three years of age. Fang Xiting stared the whole way, finding it funny, but didn’t make a sound, letting him be.

The inside of the car was quiet, almost no one talking on the return trip. Staying up all night to search consumed mental and physical effort. Everyone seized the opportunity to rest, falling asleep as soon as their heads dropped. Only Xie Xuning bit his cigarette, using a pen on a sheet of paper to calculate something with a rustling sound.

Taking advantage of the gap while waiting for a red light, Fang Xiting caught a glimpse by surprise; he seemed to be analyzing the thickness and height of the garbage dumped inside the collection pool, then based on the transmission sorting belt’s time, loading capacity, and input frequency, attempting to analyze which truckload these dismembered remains were poured from. At that time, he felt curious, wanting to ask him if it could be calculated this way? But he didn’t want to lose ground, so he endured it without making a sound.

As a result, after arriving at the Municipal Bureau, the rain had pretty much stopped. Xie Xuning glanced outside the window, pushing open the car door while holding the paper and pen. A police car driving over slowly from next door, coming level with their car head, also happened to stop: “Boss, what a coincidence?”

That was a team member led by Xie Xuning, holding small steamed buns in his hand as he greeted him: “Haven’t eaten yet, right? We just took a detour to buy breakfast for everyone.”

And then, Fang Xiting watched with wide eyes as unexpectedly, only two people got down from that five-seater sedan…

Two, two people?

Didn’t he say there were no seats left? He…

Fiercely ordering him to turn around, making him drive an extra half an hour of car journey back and forth, it turned out there fundamentally wasn’t?

Ah… Xie Xuning, you smelly dog!!!

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