Criminal Investigation: After Dawn - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Fang Xiting’s blood pressure soared, and even after lying down back in his office, he still had to press hard on his philtrum. It took him a great deal of effort to finally catch his breath.

At that time, Xie Xuning was still unaware, focusing his research on the source of the dismembered body pieces. After returning to his seat, he handed him a bag of breakfast.

Who would have thought that it would crash right into the muzzle of a gun; the thoughtful gesture almost ended up in the trash can.

Merely worried about wasting it, Fang Xiting didn’t throw it out but instead handed the food bag to the newly arrived young colleague next door to express his attitude.

Xie Xuning glanced over unhappily: “…”

Seeing that he wouldn’t eat it and had smoothly given it to someone else, the man emphasized: “It’s a red bean bun the cafeteria auntie specifically kept for you, the very last one, I personally went to fetch it.”

Yo, yo, yo, he even personally went to fetch it, condescending himself, right!

From where did this emperor’s hand extend out, being this noble, inlaid with gold?

Fang Xiting sneered, rolling his eyes at him again: “Who wants you to care? Hands that have dug through trash, dead smelly.”

“You…” Good intentions taken as malice, Xie Xuning was disliked by someone and choked by the sentence.

Did he know how difficult a matter it was to manage a good relationship with the cafeteria auntie and get someone to keep a white, plump, sweet, and soft red bean bun in the Municipal Bureau’s cafeteria, which wasn’t open all day?

How many fervent matchmaking attacks had he endured because of this?

Under the circumstances of being repeatedly questioned: “Xiao Xie, our family’s Wenwen said you always don’t reply to her messages, what’s going on with that?”

He still had to squeeze out time during the intervals of wrapping up the squad’s work to go to a shop and select a few silk scarves as gifts to be qualified to obtain the honor of having a single red bean bun independently reserved as breakfast.

In the end, Fang Xiting treated him like this?

Xie Xuning was furious to the limit, yet before he could flare up…

He saw Fang Xiting stand up again, completely ignoring him as he used the document bag in his hand to pat the tabletop: “Meeting.”

The man hard-swallowed a belly full of words back down, nearly swallowing himself into an internal injury.

He looked down at his own hand, then brought his nose close to sniff it… When cleaning the filth off his body just now, he had clearly scrubbed it with soap more than ten times, how could it still be smelly?

Fang Xiting, this sharp-tongued, bite-loving cat, if he didn’t anger him for one day, his whole body would feel uncomfortable, right!

The purple sweet potato pastry clutched in the man’s hand was still emitting hot vapor, but as Xie Xuning brought his mouth over, he lost his appetite instead. He didn’t bother to eat anymore, simply squeezing hard to crumple that breakfast into a ball, throwing it onto the tabletop with a sound, standing up to grab the data bag and quickly keeping up.

Inside the briefing room toward the back of the office area, the members of the two groups sat clustered around, the atmosphere grave.

Because the point of discovery for the dismembered body was damp in environment and mixed with filth, the bags had already been contaminated long ago, making it very difficult to extract any useful physical evidence information.

And though the case had already been locked down, the sorting yard was filled with a mixed crowd of people, so some subtle rumors had probably already spread out long ago.

The citizens were in a panic, and the accompanying pressure of handling the case also silently surrounded the entire criminal investigation detachment.

“The dismembered pieces have already been sent to the forensics room for testing. The culprit’s crime execution methods are skilled, and their psychological quality is exceptionally strong.”

“After committing the murder, they used a highly professional, sharp cutting tool to decompose the corpse into meat chunks of consistent size, and boned and skinned it, the methods brutal.”

“According to criminal psychology analysis, to be able to reach this degree of body dismemberment, there is a high probability that this is not the first time committing a crime.”

“And under the premise of having only shredded meat, if it weren’t for a severed finger being mixed in by accident, we might find it very difficult to even distinguish the victim’s gender and age.”

“Choosing to dump the body between 14:00 in the afternoon and 20:00 in the evening, and even throwing the three bags of dismembered remains in close positions or inside the exact same trash can.”

“Under the prerequisite that the head and limbs have not yet been discovered, a deliberate act by the culprit to provoke the police cannot be ruled out…”

The newly joined team member whom Fang Xiting focused on cultivating went up to the stage to summarize the case information. Because it was their first time participating in an investigation, their emotions were tense, to the extent that both hands holding the folder were shaking slightly.

Before the opponent could finish speaking, Xie Xuning lazily raised his hand: “I have an objection.”

He deliberately dragged his tone very long: “Deputy Chief Fang, regarding your group’s case presentation just now, I have an objection.”

“…” Fang Xiting’s gaze looked over, clenching his teeth to hold back from cursing.

His team member was a newcomer who had just joined the workforce, whom he was personally guiding. The opponent lacked experience but needed space and a platform to accumulate it, so today he had intentionally pushed him onto the stage. He didn’t expect Xie Xuning, this bastard son of a gun, to not even spare the people around him, bullying even a newcomer.

Snatching someone’s front passenger seat, being displeased at someone eating the red bean bun he fetched, and now wanting to point out the mistakes in the opponent’s summary in public to crush someone else’s self-confidence?

Fang Xiting slowly exhaled a long breath, trying hard to suppress his annoyance as he politely extended his hand to signal: “Deputy Chief Xie’s insightful view, we are all ears.”

Xie Xuning stuffed both hands into his pockets, slowly standing up from the clustered crowd. His height of 192cm stood out like a crane among chickens, his long legs inside the black cargo pants able to stride to the front of Fang Xiting’s eyes in half a step.

The height difference between the two wasn’t much, but Fang Xiting had been half a head shorter than Xie Xuning since childhood. At the exact moment when the two were of the same age and their awareness of a man’s dignity awakened, he began to make efforts to eat, exercise, and drink milk… It was with great difficulty that his height shot up to 182cm before stopping growth, yet he was still 10cm short of that jinx.

Especially during the process of sorting out case details, Xie Xuning questioning anything related to Fang Xiting was common practice. The colleagues were long accustomed to it, only listening seriously to their respective lines of thought and insights on handling the case.

Xie Xuning stepped forward, pressing close abruptly. When his head lowered, his nose was almost about to press against Fang Xiting’s forehead. The suddenly pulled-close distance was like they were about to kiss.

Fang Xiting was startled. At the same time that his cheeks suddenly grew burning hot and his heart rate sped up, he was just about to dodge away. But who would have thought, Xie Xuning merely bent down to take a black marker pen tightly clutched in his own hand.

“First of all, according to the skillfulness of the dismemberment, the body-dumping time, and the body-dumping location…”

“That the culprit is not committing a crime for the first time is nailed to the board.”

“Secondly, the victim’s finger bone could be shredded until only half a section remained, yet during the dumping of the body, it was so carelessly mixed into the shredded trunk meat that had been boned and skinned.”

“How much probability is there for this?”

“Furthermore, assuming the head and limbs, which are the most difficult to shred, have already been disposed of by the culprit…”

“Then for just these three bags of shredded meat, would it still be necessary for him to specially carry them out and throw them into a trash can where they might be discovered?”

“And if the head and limbs have not yet been disposed of, then does the opponent need to be this anxious that they absolutely must throw away these three bags of shredded meat first?”

Therefore, the time and location of the appearance of these three bags of shredded meat were both very strange. There was a highly massive probability that it was intentionally done by the culprit to cause the police to discover it, using it to provoke them further. He specially threw out three bags of shredded meat, yet feared the garbage sorting station would handle it as pork, so he intentionally mixed in half a human finger. The purpose was exactly to enjoy this kind of pleasure where the police knew someone was murdered, yet because of insufficient clues, were consistently unable to capture and bring the culprit to justice.

Downstage in Xie Xuning’s group, a teammate chimed in: “So as long as a human finger is mixed in, then this bag of shredded meat, whether it is picked up by an elderly scavenger or enters the garbage sorting station, will be discovered by someone.”

“And at the beginning of this year, Yunjing City just released a news item expecting to introduce automated sorting high-precision instruments to the Lanhu Landfill in July. For the culprit to choose to commit the crime at this juncture, is it random or…”

“Regardless of a random crime or a premeditated crime, at least thank him for giving us half a severed finger.” Xie Xuning laughed. “If it weren’t for this half a severed finger, taking just a mass of shredded meat that has lost its skin and bone, I’m afraid it would be very difficult for us to even want to measure and calculate some basic information of the victim through bone age.”

Fang Xiting pursed his lips. Listening to his analysis, he agreed in his heart, yet was unwilling to admit defeat with his mouth.

At that time, after the man finished showing off, he lowered his head to press close to his ear, his voice deep as he said: “How about it?”

Xie Xuning had been good at studying since childhood, never burying his head in bitter study, yet able to place first every single time. Meanwhile, Fang Xiting was a clumsy bird flying early, always diligent, with a large schoolbag that consistently contained a few more exercise books than others. But he had no choice but to admit that Xie Xuning’s thinking and comprehension abilities in certain aspects were indeed more rigorous than his own. If the accidental mixing and deliberate action regarding the severed finger were confused by them, then the subsequent depiction of the culprit’s behavioral profile would also display a relatively large error.

The newcomer realized their own mistake, stepping back timidly. Standing at the rear end of the whiteboard, they yielded the position to Xie Xuning: “De… Deputy Chief Xie, you come.”

Xie Xuning opened his peacock feathers, pulling the person over: “First time on stage, the courage is commendable, the mistake analysis isn’t much, worthy of encouragement.” Though he spoke that way, his gaze was fixed tightly on Fang Xiting, the provocative outer corners of his eyes tilting up a bit: “It’s just that I don’t know how your Deputy Chief Fang taught you.”

“Under the premise that eyewitnesses, physical evidence, and various clues are all insufficient, spending time analyzing these things that may or may not be there doesn’t have much effect.”

“No… it’s not like that!” The newcomer grew anxious, stammering an explanation: “Deputy Chief Fang taught very well, it is I who am unskilled.”

“Is that so?” Xie Xuning pinched that fellow’s shoulder.

This turn, to an outsider looking on, was clearly a vertical and horizontal chess match between the two of them. But what was strange was that the gaze of himself and Fang Xiting looking at each other was almost about to spray out high-temperature sparks.

“Then tell us about your Deputy Chief Fang’s teaching results.”

“Right now, compared to the culprit’s motive for committing the crime, what exactly is the core point we most urgently need to confirm?”

Under the premise where even the source of the corpse could not be confirmed, the most important matter was of course to confirm the source of the corpse. Starting from social relations and the trajectory of activity prior to victimization with the victim as the center to screen and sort—this was of course a very simple question. Fang Xiting was not worried that the newcomer he brought wouldn’t be able to answer.

But it was unknown whether it was because the psychological pressure Xie Xuning gave people was too strong, to the extent that it caused the person to self-doubt, feeling that saying anything at this time was wrong. Under the premise that “the opponent couldn’t possibly raise such a simple question to test me,” they didn’t dare to answer at will even more.

Fang Xiting was suppressed by this kind of psychological tactic from Xie Xuning year-round. Unable to watch any longer, he stepped forward to protect that child behind himself.

The man’s madly approaching gaze came to an abrupt halt the instant it captured his own. Xie Xuning’s eye color was clear and bright, his eyelashes almost about to stick to one spot with Fang Xiting’s. The breath of both sides was warm, their deep and shallow breathing exchanging tightly and closely…

Seeing Fang Xiting finally unable to hold back, the smile on Xie Xuning’s face grew deeper: “Deputy Chief Fang wants to stand out?”

Fang Xiting rolled his eyes until his eyes pained: “Is bullying a newcomer fun?”

The passenger seat was clearly given up to you, and although the red bean bun was given to him, the person didn’t even have time to eat it. Xie Xuning, you are narrow-minded, relying on power to bully people; even if you are petty and calculating, don’t target it this obviously.

“Hmm… it’s actually not that fun.” The man took a light breath, commenting seriously: “But the focus of the analysis was indeed wrong. I also only specially pointed it out and corrected it for the sake of our many years of friendship.” The man said slickly: “You know I usually don’t like to care about these matters.”

Fang Xiting wished he could beat him: “Do you want me to answer your question for him?”

“If it is Deputy Chief Fang answering, then I have to change to a different question.” Xie Xuning didn’t refuse, instead saying thoughtfully: “But I can’t use my brains for nothing, do you want to wager?”

Wager again?

Fang Xiting nearly laughed out loud: “State your question first.”

Xie Xuning absolutely refused to back down: “Are you afraid of losing, not daring to wager?”

At that time, clearly knowing it was a trap, the two gamblers nevertheless refused to bow their heads to each other, placing mad bets. Fang Xiting seemed to have forgotten the matter of himself just losing a wager to Xie Xuning and still having to be his chauffeur for a month. Currently being roasted on the fire by someone, his blood surged up as he patted the table and accepted: “Wager.”

Xie Xuning took advantage of the opening to enter: “We’ll just wager the usage rights of your car. If you can’t answer, within half a year, when your car drives, when it stops, who can ride, and who can’t ride, will all entirely be my say.”

That passenger seat position, Xie Xuning was bound to have it.

The momentum of both sides was aggressive, sparks flying from flint; if it weren’t for people being present at the scene, they would probably be able to directly start moving their hands. And as for questions such as the core focus and order during the case investigation process, they were a piece of cake to Fang Xiting. Xie Xuning naturally wouldn’t mention them.

The man was prepared long ago: “Since everyone knows the dismembered remains were discovered from the Lanhu Landfill…”

“And at the Lanhu Landfill, garbage trucks will set off right on time at 20:00 in the evening, collecting domestic waste to carry back according to different city-circling routes.”

“Then may I ask, according to the known conditions, how should we be able to calculate which returned vehicle dumped the garbage truck carrying the dismembered remains?”

Sure enough, it was this question. Fang Xiting just knew it!

Just now on the return trip road, he saw Xie Xuning calculating the whole way. Could it be that that smelly dog had already calculated the result?

If they could learn which returning vehicle dropped the garbage, confirming the vehicle’s walking path, they would be able to immediately narrow down the general scope of the culprit’s body-dumping. In the present moment where the Skynet coverage was complete, three bags of black heavy objects were not easy to hide from public view; perhaps they could even directly lock down the residential area of the culprit’s address.

But this question was fundamentally not that easy to calculate. Especially since there were many objective variables. Whether it was the garbage sorting progress of that day, the weight, and so on, they would all lead to deviations appearing in the calculation results. If it were Fang Xiting himself, he would probably adopt the method of scene experiments to lock down the vehicle. Even if the result wasn’t precise, it could still carve out a general scope before and after.

It was just that under Xie Xuning’s entire set of precise calculation formulas, if he said something like a scene experiment, it would inevitably be a bit laughable. After all, that was an extremely time-consuming, manpower-and-material-consuming tedious project with a large amount of experimental comparison data.

While Fang Xiting was hesitating, the expression on his face turned complex.

Xie Xuning held victory in his grasp, beginning to countdown: “Five, four, three…”

Taking a pen now was also too late, and from the very beginning, he didn’t have any line of thought for calculation. According to the operation rate of the conveyor belt, the hand speed of the auntie when sorting, the dumping time of the garbage trucks on that day, the thickness of the collection pool, and various aspects of factors, it was very difficult to obtain a completely precise answer. Even if in his heart he only recognized the experimental data results of checking surveillance and field garbage dumping, Fang Xiting, beneath that large page of calculation data on Xie Xuning’s scratch paper, had no way to say this sentence with peace of mind.

He couldn’t afford to lose this face.

After “two, one” also finished counting down.

Fang Xiting bit his teeth and admitted defeat. Thinking about it, it was just half a year of vehicle usage rights, nothing more. Compared to this, he was naturally more curious as he asked: “Speak, how did you calculate it?”

Xie Xuning: “Calculate? Calculate what?”

Fang Xiting: “Didn’t you calculate which car it was?”

Xie Xuning: “No, who said I calculated it?”

Fang Xiting: “Then you ask me this question?”

Xie Xuning: “It’s exactly because I can’t calculate it that I’m asking you.” The man said righteously: “If I calculated it and had the answer, what would I still ask you for?”

Fang Xiting’s teeth were nearly broken from biting: “…”

The logic of this sentence was flawless. He opened his mouth and didn’t even know how to refute. If it weren’t for outsiders still being present at the scene, Xie Xuning would have already been beaten up at this time.

Fang Xiting: “So this question has no answer?”

“An answer… well, there actually is one.” Xie Xuning rubbed his chin. He performed sit-ups and repeated horizontal jumps right on Fang Xiting’s minefields: “Although I deduced two results, according to the changes in variables, the differences in the obtained results are too large, feeling not too reliable.”

“So my personal opinion is still, go to the Lanhu Landfill to do a field experiment again.”

What did he say? He still wanted to go do a field experiment?

“…You.” You TM.

Fang Xiting’s biting cheek puffed up with rage; it would be better if Xie Xuning hadn’t spoken this sentence. Both sides seemed to possess an innate advantage in the single point of angering the opponent.

The latter half of the meeting was almost entirely an octagon cage field where the two people fought each other. After arranging the current tasks that each group needed to be responsible for, Fang Xiting dropped back in front of his office desk, catching his breath for another small half of the day. His blood pressure soared to 180, almost fainting right away.

Meanwhile, a portion of the team members were responsible for going to the various sector police stations to fetch the file records of recently missing personnel to carry out comparisons. Any that matched the final autopsy results would uniformly undergo field tracking and visits. Furthermore, according to the conclusion reached that the culprit was not committing a crime for the first time, they needed to search for unsolved cold cases within the public security system to confirm whether similar crime execution methods could be found, combining with the leftover clues of early cases to obtain information and carry out a more detailed character profile depiction of the culprit.

And Fang Xiting, as a core police officer, was naturally divided together with Xie Xuning into the group for simulation experiments to confirm the source of the corpse.

When setting off, Fang Xiting brought the newcomer from the same group, while Xie Xuning was single-handed. The number of police cars in the bureau was tight, so Fang Xiting’s newly bought car smoothly provided a convenience.

Just as he got into the car, before the team member who went to the restroom could keep up, Xie Xuning climbed into the passenger seat holding his own blanket and throw pillow. This turn was different from usual. As soon as he came in, he pushed the seat backward by several degrees. Leaving sufficient space for movement for his two big long legs, he put on that stance of wanting to stay for a long residence. He also padded a throw pillow behind his waist. The blanket was temporarily unneeded, packed nicely in a bag, and tossed randomly toward the back seat.

It wasn’t until he fished out his police academy graduation photo featuring himself in police uniform and was preparing to place it onto the car console that Fang Xiting finally couldn’t resist asking: “What are you doing?”

Xie Xuning glanced at him, placing the ornament of his solo photo onto the front console section of the car body with even more force. He intentionally made it so that Fang Xiting only needed to raise his eyes to be able to see it.

“Half a year plus one month, this car’s… usage rights are with me.”

“From now on, under the premise that except for the front passenger seat being my exclusive seat, no one is allowed to ride, who you want to carry in this car, where you’re going, and how long you’re going for, must also be reported to me in a timely manner.”

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