freenovelworld Chapter 1013 Identity Unconfirmed
Chapter 1013 Identity Unconfirmed
"The current autopsy results show that the deceased died of mechanical asphyxiation, and no other fatal injuries were found. Apart from ligature marks on the neck and a broken right fingernail, there were no obvious signs of struggle." He looked at the re-stitched body on the autopsy table. "Although no direct evidence pointing to the murderer has been found, these test results provide an important foundation for subsequent investigations. We must send all samples to the laboratory and look for a breakthrough at the microscopic level."
The door to the autopsy room opened, and Li Ming and the others walked in. "What did you find?" Li Ming asked. Zhang Lin shook his head: "There are no direct leads yet, but we've determined the cause of death and the deceased's approximate age, and we also found that the deceased had old fractures. This information might come in handy when investigating missing persons cases or investigating the deceased's social relationships."
As dusk deepened, the lights in the autopsy room remained bright. Zhang Lin and his assistant began organizing samples and records. They knew that although this dialogue with death had temporarily come to an end, the journey to find the truth had only just begun. Every piece of test data, every sample, carried the hope of unraveling the mystery of the case, waiting to shine with crucial light in subsequent analysis.
Xiao Wang began visiting and investigating some villages around the discovered entity.
Xiao Wang first led three team members to Xiangyang Village at the foot of Qinglan Mountain. Under the old locust tree at the village entrance, several villagers were sitting around a stone table drinking tea. Bamboo chairs and stools were casually placed, and a faint aroma of tea wafted from the purple clay teapot.
"Excuse me, fellow villager," Xiao Wang said, flashing his police badge as he sat down on a stone bench. "We're from the criminal investigation team. We'd like to ask you guys about something. Has anyone in this village recently suddenly disappeared?"
Grandpa Li, puffing on his pipe, frowned and thought for a moment: "I haven't heard of it. There are only so many people in the village, and everyone knows who's gone and who's gone. If we're talking about strange things..." He suddenly lowered his voice, "I haven't seen the son of Widow Zhang in the back hill for a long time, but that kid is working in the city, so he's probably busy."
Xiao Wang's eyes lit up, and he quickly asked, "How old is Widow Zhang's son? What's his name? When did he pass away?"
"His name is Zhou Qiang, he's 38 years old, and he left right after the New Year." Old Li tapped his pipe. "He said he was going to the provincial capital to deliver packages. He promised to send money home every month, but we haven't heard from him for the past two months. But that kid has always been wild since he was a kid, maybe he's doing well in the city and has forgotten about his mother."
Xiao Wang carefully recorded the information and then asked, "Has anyone seen a black SUV that was driving around the area about three days ago? The windows were tinted dark, so you couldn't see the people inside."
The villagers looked at each other and shook their heads. Aunt Wang, who was knitting a sweater nearby, spoke up: "Never seen one before. In our small village, we usually only have tricycles and tractors coming and going. We don't have any SUVs. Besides, if we had such a rare thing, everyone would have heard about it by now."
After thanking the villagers, Xiao Wang and his group arrived at Widow Zhang's house. In front of the dilapidated mud-brick house, several faded clothes hung on a clothesline, swaying gently in the wind. Widow Zhang was squatting in the yard picking vegetables; seeing them arrive, she hurriedly stood up, her apron still covered in mud.
"Aunt Zhou, we are police officers," Xiao Wang said, trying to sound gentle. "We'd like to ask you about Qiangzi. Has he contacted you recently?"
Widow Zhang's hands suddenly trembled, and vegetable leaves fell to the ground. "Officer, has something happened to Qiangzi? He hasn't called me for two months. He usually lets me know he's safe every week..." Her eyes instantly reddened. "When I call him, either no one answers or he hangs up immediately. He doesn't reply to my messages either. I thought he was busy, so I didn't dare to bother him too much..."
"Don't worry, we're just checking the leads," Xiao Wang reassured him. "What kind of work does Qiangzi do in the city? Has he mentioned having any conflicts with anyone?"
“He said he worked as a courier for a delivery company, and I’ve never heard him mention having any disagreements with anyone.” Widow Zhang wiped away her tears. “This child has had a hard life. His father passed away early, and I raised him all by myself. After he finished junior high school, he went out to work and never let me worry about him…”
Leaving Widow Zhang's house, Xiao Wang felt somewhat heavy-hearted. But when the team compared Zhou Qiang's photo with the deceased, they discovered that the facial features didn't match. The trail went cold again, and they had no choice but to continue their search to the next village.
In the neighboring village of Yushu, Xiao Wang encountered an even more difficult situation. Most of the young people in the village had gone out to work, leaving behind elderly people who were either hard of hearing or unable to speak clearly. At the village store, Xiao Wang asked the owner, "Brother, have any unfamiliar faces been wandering around the village lately? Or have you seen the black SUV?"
The shop owner shook his head as he wiped the shelves: "I don't remember. But a few days ago a man from out of town came by buying mountain products. He drove a small truck and went door to door buying walnuts and chestnuts."
"What did that person look like? Did they have any distinctive features?"
"He looked to be in his forties, wearing a baseball cap, and spoke with a regional accent," the shop owner recalled. "Nothing else particularly special about him, except that he was a fierce bargainer when buying things, and he could haggle for ages over just a few dollars."
Xiao Wang hears countless pieces of such useless information every day. In each village he visits, he repeats the same questions, patiently communicating with the villagers and carefully recording every potentially useful detail. But as his visits deepen, his hope grows increasingly faint.
During the investigation of the black SUV, Xiao Wang and his team reviewed almost all the surveillance footage in the surrounding area. But the car seemed to have vanished into thin air; apart from the clues provided by the complainant, there was no other trace. They visited nearby gas stations and auto repair shops, asking if anyone had seen the car refueling or being repaired, but the answers were all negative.
“Team Leader Wang, this can’t go on.” Team member Xiao Chen wiped the sweat from his forehead. “We’ve searched all the surrounding dozen or so villages, and we’ve verified all the missing persons, but that SUV is acting like it never existed.”
Xiao Wang gazed at the distant, rolling mountains, his brow furrowed. "Expand the search area further. Investigate the villages in the neighboring county. Since the murderer chose to dump the body in Qinglan Mountain, they must be familiar with this area. We can't let go of even the slightest clue."
As the sun set, police cars sped along country roads, kicking up clouds of dust. Watching the scenery rushing past the window, Xiao Wang silently vowed: no matter how difficult, he would find the truth and give the deceased justice. And now, night was about to fall; new challenges and unknowns awaited them ahead.
While Xiao Wang hadn't discovered any major clues, Xiao Zhou was also searching for relevant information to confirm the deceased's identity.