The eting room was quiet, and the presentation began.
Holding the microphone, Mr. Zhao couldn’t help but feel nervous for no particular reason, but upon seeing the materials and photos on the computer, it seed to imdiately pull him back into those endless days and nights.
After a brief mont of contemplation, he began to narrate.
Of course, he omitted the part about Cui Haibin and the others’ assessnt of the scene and rely shared the notification at the ti. As the explanations of the two cases concluded, particularly with the demonstration of relevant animation simulations and the search feature using the facial reconstruction from a skull, the conference room buzzed with discussion, and naturally, there were even more questions.
Zhou Ning, Xia Momo, and Doctor Lu were responsible for answering the inquiries. After two hours, the eyes of everyone from Huining appeared sowhat red, except for Director Yu, who remained unphased.
"It sounds really impressive, "If only we had a real case to try it on!"
The phone started vibrating with a buzz on the table, spinning in place; everyone in this line of work knew that even during a eting, one couldn’t turn off their phone because an ergency case could arise at any ti. Glancing at the number, Zhou Ning nodded slightly towards the others.
"Excuse , I need to take a call... Hello, what’s the matter with Xu Da?"
"Call the second team to co downstairs, let’s check out a scene, and fast!"
Without waiting for Zhou Ning to ask for details, the call had already ended, clearly indicating Xu Dayuan’s extre urgency.
Zhou Ning looked up at the people in the eting room, uncertain of what to say. Mr. Hu was situated quite close to Zhou Ning, with Mr. Pang in between. Given that Xu Dayuan’s voice on the phone was not soft, Mr. Hu obviously heard the call as well.
"Is there a case?"
Zhou Ning nodded, thinking whether to leave Mr. Zhao behind, so it wouldn’t be too awkward when they left, considering these were all people from the Huining Provincial Departnt who had co specifically for the software.
Director Yu, however, was refreshingly direct.
"Cases take precedence. Team Leader Zhou, go check the scene first, and let Doctor Lu continue to provide an introduction for us. Actually, having a case is a good thing, as we can see firsthand how your software is applied in an actual investigation, which is better than any presentation, isn’t it?"
Hearing this, Zhou Ning also smiled.
"Alright then, no need for formalities. Xu Da is impatient, so I’ll take the team to see the scene first, and we’ll discuss everything once we return."
With that, he gestured with his hand, and Mr. Zhao, along with a few others, stood up to leave.
Once they reached downstairs, Xu Dayuan’s vehicles were already parked below, with two cigarette butts on the ground, betraying his restlessness. As he saw Zhou Ning open his mouth to speak, Mr. Zhao promptly approached.
"Leader, we weren’t slow on purpose. Mr. Hu brought the technical division of the Huining Provincial Public Security Departnt over, and they were sharing case information and introducing the software’s functions. We left behind a whole host of officials and ca down at the first opportunity, so even if we’re a bit slow, please don’t be angry!"
Xu Dayuan nodded and gestured broadly.
"Hurry up and get in the car, we’ll talk on the way."
Mr. Zhao scrambled into the Iveco, started the vehicle, and followed the car ahead as they quickly drove out of the compound.
Xu Dayuan sat alongside Zhou Ning and then began:
"The command center received reports from two n who claid to have found a female corpse in an old house partially demolished for urban renewal in Tongshan District. The body was stark naked and had severely decomposed."
Zhou Ning nodded. Although the Spring Festival had passed, the temperature at night was still very cold, so a body to have severely decomposed ant that the deceased had likely been dead for quite so ti.
From the front, Mr. Zhao joined in:
"Hey, an old house slated for demolition. Could it be related to disputes over the compensation?"
This ti, Xu Dayuan nodded in agreent. Hiding a body in an abandoned house awaiting demolition suggested intimate knowledge of the local area, knowing that no one would co by for a while, and being aware that the body wouldn’t be discovered in the short term—otherwise, the murderer or one who dumped the body wouldn’t have chosen such a place.
"There’s so truth to that. The two who reported the case said they were scrap collectors who thought to scavenge for old doors, windows, or tal scrap left in abandoned houses, and that’s how they stumbled upon the corpse."
Before Zhou Ning could respond, Mr. Zhao continued:
"I heard from Mr. Qu that their family’s old house was demolished at the beginning of last year, and it caused quite an uproar in the village. A family nad Zhang, with just an elderly couple and a pair of middle-aged spouses, with their grandchildren—a twin boy and girl—attending high school, received a substantial compensation.
Because their family owned a small handicraft jewelry workshop, including their residence, they were compensated with more than six million yuan in total. It was supposed to be good fortune since the elderly couple had just one son and didn’t have to worry about inheritance disputes.
However, after the demolition, the elderly couple announced they would manage the money on behalf of the younger couple. They didn’t need to worry about housing as they owned two apartnts in the city, and they rented a new factory space for the workshop, thinking to help their children manage their finances. The Zhang family’s son had no objections, as he was known to have a gambling problem back in the day.
Yet, his wife beca depressed over the matter, not causing any argunts, but rather turning the struggle inward. She sought dical treatnt everywhere for months until ultimately, she committed suicide by overdosing on dication. Recently, the son remarried a college graduate, and their workshop’s business is flourishing more than ever.
Mr. Qu told that so people are just not destined for wealth. They can’t enjoy such windfalls because when they do, they can’t handle it, and it may have been better sticking with their plain, ordinary life. Now, look at her; she’s got none of the money, her children, or her husband—everything belongs to soone else. Apparently, her family is suing the Zhang’s son for alimony."
Yang Xuetong also turned his head to join the conversation.
"Demolition tests people’s character more than anything else. You see husbands and wives at each other’s throats, siblings taking each other to court—such things are common. For so, familial affection ans nothing when faced with profit. Of course, there are also those who turn bad overnight after striking it rich."
"Last year when they were repairing roads and demolishing buildings in my grandpa’s village, there was this seventy-year-old mother with her sowhat simple-minded forty-year-old bachelor son. Their dilapidated house was demolished for eight hundred thousand. With the money, they bought a Humr, spending almost all of it."
"The village committee and the demolition office were shocked when they found out. Without a house, were the mother and son going to have to sleep on the streets? They tried to persuade the guy to return the car, but the 4S store didn’t care about their problems. In the end, they were able to negotiate a refund of six hundred and fifty thousand, after all, they couldn’t get back what they spent on insurance and such."
Xu Dayuan coughed.
"I’ve gotten off track, talking as if this is a case triggered by the benefits of demolition. What’s the aning of this, can you all calculate and guess, or are you like Zhou Xiaozhou, able to summon spirits?"
Zhou Ning frowned.
"Don’t bring into your chatter. Just let know when we arrive."
With that, he pulled his hat down over his face and closed his eyes to rest.
No one else spoke, and after almost an hour, the vehicle stopped. Mr. Zhao pulled the handbrake, and Zhou Ning opened his eyes.
The narrow road was flanked by partially demolished buildings that resembled ruins. One side was blocked by billboards, and the other had traces of rebar on the ground, indicating that the billboards had probably been stolen.
Considering what Xu Dayuan had ntioned earlier, Zhou Ning realized that those who collected scrap tal were looking to pick up or steal things, choosing long-abandoned spots like this one. It was just their bad luck this ti.
However, looking further down the road, the houses on the north side of the village entrance were still intact.
Only the doors and courtyard walls were partly dismantled, and a few hundred ters away was sothing like a snack vending trailer with its wheels chocked with bricks, the tires already punctured, and rust on the wheels. The windows were boarded up, and a sign hanging there read, "Buying Old Doors and Windows," with the door locked.
Clearly, that trailer had been there for a while. Zhou Ning called out to Sun Gaotie, pointing at the scrap vehicle:
"Go check if anyone’s inside, and if not, see if there are any surveillance caras around it."
Sun Gaotie got into a car and drove towards the scrap vehicle.
Zhou Ning shifted his gaze as several police officers waved at Xu Dayuan, one of them about his age and clearly the leader, who quickly approached Xu Dayuan.
"Mr. Xu, I’m Liu Yonggui from Beizhai Police Station. Watch your step here; there’s a wooden plank with nails sticking out. One of our guys just stepped on it."
Xu Dayuan wasn’t the squeamish type and shook his hand directly.
"Mr. Liu, nice to et you, no worries. You guys lead the way. How far is the scene from the roadside?"
The young man nodded, leading the crowd over a low wall while explaining.
"It’s five hundred ters straight from the roadside. There used to be another road on the east side, but it’s been dug up to the south. The road you ca on has quite a few vehicles passing by, but they usually don’t stop.
"If it weren’t for the scrap collectors scavenging, we might not have discovered the body. Our police car took a detour from the north, and the informant is in the car. You can speak to them in a while if you want to get more information."
As he spoke, they arrived in front of a two-story building that was beyond recognition from the demolition.
The southern side of the building, including all walls and doors, had disappeared, and part of the western wall on the second floor was also gone. The roof and north side were still intact, but even from here, the sll of putrefaction was discernible.
Liu Yonggui held up a laser pointer, directing it towards the room on the most eastern side of the second floor. The red light flickered there.
"The body is in the room on the east side of the second floor. The deceased is completely naked and highly decomposed, but what’s most peculiar is that the dead person’s clothes, trousers, and shoes were neatly folded and placed on the floor. Seeing this, we contacted Mr. Hu imdiately, but his phone was busy, so we reached out to you through Mr. Tao afterward.
"As for the scene, four of us went up there—two informants, myself, and a police officer from our station. We’ve collected the footprints already. You can take a look to see if they are acceptable. If not, we are all here to redo them."
The level of cooperation impressed Zhou Ning enough to give a thumbs up. The awareness was just different—people from the port police station would all rush into the scene upon hearing of an incident, and then they would be so resistant to having their footprints taken. Without comparison, there is no harm.
Mr. Yang had already walked over to check the collected footprints, nodding continuously.
"Not just acceptable—this is extrely professional."
Clearly influenced by Mr. Zhao, the people from the second group were very good at speaking, especially since such cooperation ant less work for them.
Xu Dayuan rolled his eyes and said to Liu Yonggui:
"Mr. Liu is a trace evidence specialist. Don’t show off the master at his own ga. Let’s get to work."
Mr. Zhao had already changed into his work clothes and gave Xu Dayuan an ’OK’ gesture.
"Don’t worry, boss, I won’t let you down. Mr. Yang, let’s get to work."
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