Chen Shi glanced at the wound of the headless deceased and said, “The wound is not too neat. There are some jagged flaps on the edge meaning her head may have been cut off with a saw. There is slight subcutaneous bleeding all around her neck. That means while her head was sawn off, some of the epidermal cells were still alive, so the suspect should have sawed her head off soon after her death.”

He looked around. “There is almost no blood in this area. It is definitely not the first scene of crime, but the scene of the abandonment.”

A police officer who obtained the evidence said, “The place where the indentation was just found, some fibers were extracted. They seem to be a kind of paper with high absorption.”

“It seems that a lot of paper was stuffed in the box to absorb any blood. This would require quite a lot of paper. You can look from here to the roadside to see if there are any footprints or blood.”

The police officer asked Lin Qiupu for permission with his eyes, to which Lin Qiupu nodded.

Chen Shi looked at the nipples of the deceased carefully. Lin Qiupu frowned. “What are you looking at?”

Chen Shi waved him to come over and said, “The left side is darker than the right side. It was bitten by someone. Saliva enzymes need to be tested.”

The police officers came over and collected two cotton swabs, one of which was put in the test chemicals where the reagents reacted. The police officer said, “There is a reaction, meaning there are traces of blood.”

“This blood should be the deceased's own. It seems that the bite was a bit hard. Give me a UV light.”

Chen Shi took the ultraviolet light to check the skin of the deceased and found that some of the sprayed blood droplets appeared on her abdomen. The police officers collected samples of that as well. Chen Shi said, “This looks like droplets that have been sprayed out. Someone must have sneezed on the body… There’s also a heavy disinfectant smell which is used in cars.”

“Found two sets of footprints!” A police officer shouted in the distance.

“Take a mould!” Lin Qiupu said.

Chen Shi signaled Lin Qiupu to come over to help turn the body over. Lin Qiupu said, “Don't rush to turn the body, see if there is anything we missed first.”

“No, rest assured!”

The two laid a layer of tarpaulin on the ground and turned the body over. The rope marks on her back were clearer than the rope marks on her wrist. Chen Shi said, “You can redo the tying using the traces later. My guess is she was tied with all four limbs behind her back.”

“What is the cause of death?”

“One cause may be on the head; another could be postural asphyxia. When a person is restricted to an abnormal position for a long time, it can cause suffocation and lack of blood circulation.”

“I don't need you to explain it!”

“Give me a cotton swab.”

Chen Shi asked for a cotton swab to separate the legs of the deceased. Lin Qiupu slightly frowned, this guy’s ballsy.

Chen Shi put his hand over his mouth and stuffed the cotton swab into the lower body of the deceased. He took it out to discover it had some old blood and some kind of water-based lubricant on it. He deduced, “She was raped, and it was for a very long time. It might have been... Excuse me for a while!”

Chen Shi suddenly ran back to the car, vomited, then unscrewed a bottle of mineral water to swirl around his mouth before spitting it out. Then, he lit a cigarette to clear his throat.

“He deserved it! What a show-off” Lin Qiupu said disdainfully.

After almost completing the forensic work, the police officer said to Lin Qiupu, “Captain, you really have foresight, knowing that the forensic doctor wouldn’t be here and inviting this expert over.”

“It was coincidence.” Lin Qiupu said with annoyance.

When he came to the side of the car, Chen Shi was still exhaling clouds. Lin Qiupu mocked, “Can't stand it? This kind of life is not something that ordinary people can do. Yet you rushed in like that! Right, where did you study forensic science?”

“Self-study, and I especially like to watch Forensic Pioneer.”

Lin Qiupu was still suspicious. “What do you think of this case?”

“Multiple people committed the crime together.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“A feeling. From the various details of the deceased, the murderer is not experienced. However, it’s been handled very cautiously... I mean, from the perspective of a criminal, it would not have been done by one person. Plus there were signs of gang rape. If the autopsy shows that it is death from Postural asphyxia, then it is very likely to be accidental negligence. The murderers are afraid to expose themselves, so took care of the body in a rural area, cutting off her head is also to extend the investigation time. I think we can start from investigating missing persons.”

“I told you to express your opinion, not to tell me what I should do. Otherwise, you might as well handle the case yourself then?”

“No, I don't have the time!”

Lin Qiupu glared at him. “You’re taking this seriously?”

“What is the opinion of Captain Lin then?”

“My opinion is the opposite of yours. The scene is clean and neat, there are no extra traces. It is obviously done by an experienced criminal.”

“Do you want to bet?”

“Again?! Okay, if I am right, you will not be with my sister again...”

“Hey, don't bet using other people’s business, use your own. I really don't understand, why do you want to limit your sister's social freedom, but you’re okay with arranging an unreasonable blind date for her? She was almost sexually harassed last time, you know?”

“What!?” Lin Qiupu’s voice suddenly raised by an octave. “I will find that bastard to settle the bill one day!”

“They only touched. Don't react so intensely. Do you want to abuse your authority? How about this? If I am right, treat me to eat some mutton stew and if you’re right, I’ll treat you.”

Lin Qiupu barely glanced at him. “I’ll let you know the difference between professionals and so-called master civilians!” After he said that, he walked toward the police cars. However, all the cars drove away together. Lin Qiupu complained, “Hey, why can’t any of you see that I didn't drive!”

Chen Shi laughed so much he bent over, and then said, “Come on in.”

Shortly after the car started, Lin Qiupu received a call from Xu Xiaodong. He said that he found a bag in the wanted criminal’s car, which had a key to a motel and told the address to him. Additionally, it seemed the surname of the wanted criminal was Jia.

Lin Qiupu said, “Turn around! Turn around!”

“Where to?”

“Here!” He pointed to the navigation, “Ke Lai Motel.”[1]

The motel was just two kilometres away. It mainly hosted passing drivers. When the two went in, they saw a woman with a heavy makeup about to go upstairs. Chen Shi stared at her back. Lin Qiupu scorned and said, “You can’t even peel your eyes away from her, huh?”

“Don't expose your identity yet. There may be illegal prostitute activity hidden here.”

“Wow, you’re so experienced in this!” Lin Qiupu mocked.

The owner asked if the two were here to open a room. Chen Shi replied, “Just one room.” Then he lowered his voice, “Do you have special services?”

The owner shook her head again and again. “No! No! You two big men are opening a room together? Do you want to open one more, it is not expensive anyway.”

“You don't have to open it!” Lin Qiupu issued a police officer's identification. “Police. We came to investigate.”

The owner opened her mouth in surprise. “Police? Who are you looking for?”

Lin Qiupu brought up the wanted order on his mobile phone and handed it to the owner to identify it. The owner put on reading glasses and looked at it for a long time. She said with surprise, “Oh Lord! This guy turned out to be a wanted criminal. I knew that he didn’t look like a good man! Officers, I really didn't know. If I did, I would have been sure to report the case. Will I get a reward now if I provide clues?”

“No, he has already been caught. We just came over to investigate a little.”

“It's a pity... No, I mean, that's great.”

“Take us to see his room.”

“Okay, I will take you there now.”

The owner took them to a room on the third floor. Lin Qiupu asked her to leave first. Chen Shi said, “You shouldn't expose your identity so early. These places are very treacherous. They won't tell you if they have prostitutes instantly.”

“Why do you care so much about this?”

“I have always had a great sense of justice.”

“Psh, who would believe that!”

1. Can be literally translated to Guests/Customers Come! Motel.