Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Murderous Joy (09)

Hai Shu stepped into the room and immediately saw the strange stains on the wall near the door.

The walls of the old house were no longer snow-white, but had turned a moldy yellow-gray. The brown streaks on the wall were especially eye-catching. The color wouldn’t easily make one think of blood, but Hai Shu had seen enough to know it was blood someone had smeared with their fingers! Some of the marks were just lines, some were palm prints, and others were strange blotches, as though a bleeding wound had been pressed against the wall.

Who would smear blood on the wall? Yuan Zhong lived here alone. Was this his blood? Did he intentionally smear his blood on the wall? Was he forced to do it by someone else? Or was it someone else’s blood? Did Yuan Zhong force someone else?

“Captain Hai, there’s more strange stuff over here.” Cheng Wei stood in the kitchen, where the space that should have contained kitchen utensils was crowded with more than twenty knives: fruit knives, vegetable knives, boning knives, cleavers, outdoor knives, and four of them were knives used for slaughtering pigs and cows.

How could an ordinary family have so many knives!

A bowl with thin mildew was left in the sink, and two plastic bags containing vegetables were thrown on the ground, with garlic and ginger skins scattered everywhere, foul and smelly. Yuan Zhong was definitely not someone who could live well.

Hai Shu picked up one of the cleavers, her gaze fixed. "Tools for dismemberment..."

Cheng Wei said, “Yes, they could be used for dismemberment, but I roughly checked, and the knives here don’t match the cuts found on the two victims’ bodies.”

Hai Shu’s gaze quickly scanned the kitchen. “But these knives already say a lot. Yuan Zhong is connected to the case.” She quickly walked to the side near the refrigerator, where there was a cabinet. She opened it to reveal a row of knives, but four of the slots were empty.

Cheng Wei crouched down and said, “They’re all cleavers, and these cleavers are missing.”

Hai Shu: “Yuan Zhong disappeared with these cleavers... or did someone else take them?”

Cheng Wei began to collect evidence. “Now we need to check if there are any pieces of evidence here that belong to someone other than Yuan Zhong.”

The investigation process was dull, and the workload was heavy. Although Hai Shu wasn’t from the forensics department, she had worked in the field for a long time and could handle tasks for forensics experts and pathologists. When collecting blood stains from the wall, she found a dagger that had fallen beneath a cabinet. The dagger had a blood groove, with dried blood still inside.

The lines and handprints on the wall gave a calm impression, not like something that had been forcibly pressed during a struggle. Could it be that Yuan Zhong had a self-harming habit? Did he often stab himself in the home and then use his blood to make art?

According to others’ descriptions of Yuan Zhong, it wasn’t impossible.

Cheng Wei originally thought he’d find evidence of a second person in the house, but he couldn’t. There were no hair strands on the floor, which was very abnormal. Perhaps someone had been in the house, but before leaving, they wiped away their traces. Yuan Zhong himself had no reason to do that.

Cheng Wei left first, taking the samples to immediately compare the DNA and fingerprints. Hai Shu stayed behind and saw the woman from earlier loudly telling the neighbors that the police were investigating Yuan Zhong. Hai Shu approached and started chatting with them.

The old house had poor soundproofing. People said that sometimes strange noises could be heard from Yuan Zhong’s house, like something being smashed. But everyone had gotten used to the noisy environment and didn’t pay much attention.

Hai Shu asked about Yuan Zhong’s deceased parents. The neighbors started talking all at once. They said Yuan Zhong’s father had been a model worker in the factory, but he fell ill at a young age and died within less than half a year. Yuan Zhong’s mother, on the other hand, had a strong personality, and people often heard her scolding Yuan Zhong.

But everyone knew that the strictness came from love. She only had one son, and if she didn’t love him, who else could she love?

Yuan Zhong’s mother also passed away from illness. This family was truly unfortunate. Yuan Zhong seemed to have poor health as well, being as thin as a monkey and often coughing in the winter. Fortunately, the glass factory took care of the children of workers, and Yuan Zhong was able to attend a few training courses and smoothly join the factory.

Hai Shu deliberately asked, “Was his father and mother really ill? What kind of illness?”

“Of course, can that be fake? They both died at our factory hospital. One from lung cancer, the other from heart disease!”

Hai Shu took note and asked again, “Did anyone ever come to find Yuan Zhong?”

Everyone shook their heads in unison. They said Yuan Zhong had never had any friends, was too antisocial, and was especially messy. The girls especially disliked him.

Yuan Zhong had now been confirmed missing, and he was very likely connected to Wan Ze Yu’s death. Hai Shu came back to the glass factory and found Yuan Zhong’s department.

Upon hearing that Yuan Zhong was missing, everyone looked at each other, not wanting to be the first to speak. A tall man was pushed forward and unwillingly said, "Yuan Zhong, we’re not familiar with him. We just pretend he doesn’t exist."

Hai Shu: “He didn’t exist? But he came to work, didn’t he?”

"Who knows if he came or not? He was always late or absent without asking for leave, and when there was something, he was hard to find. A few years ago, I even discussed work with him, and he agreed, but the next time we couldn’t find him. Isn’t that just messing with us? Later, we just didn’t care anymore. If he showed up, fine, if not, we didn’t schedule him."

Hai Shu was puzzled. "So that means he took the money but didn’t work?"

"Not that he didn’t work at all. Sometimes he was here, and when asked to work, he did it well. He had the skills and never made a mistake."

Hai Shu: “But if he was so undisciplined, why wasn’t he fired? The leadership wouldn’t tolerate it, right?”

The tall man scratched his head. “Well, we don’t have any leadership here. I’m just the team leader. I don’t have the authority to fire anyone, and I don’t pay the wages, so I’m not in charge!”

Hai Shu then found the director of personnel and logistics, Xu, whom she had met before. Xu also said Yuan Zhong came to work three days but was absent for two, though he hadn’t received any notice to fire Yuan Zhong. Why would he go out of his way to be the bad guy?

This was interesting. Hai Shu thought. A solitary, odd, and sloppy employee who was always late and absent—why was he allowed to stay on the job year after year? Yuan Zhong had good technical skills, but didn’t everyone else have skills too? Yuan Zhong’s father was a model worker, his parents both died young, and the glass factory had already treated him with special care when he joined.

Chapter 9: Murderous Joy (09)

He might be connected to someone with authority, which is why he was able to stay in his position for so long. And he knows he won’t be fired, so he feels fearless.

Who is this person?

After multiple encounters with the Guang family, Hai Shu couldn’t avoid thinking of them immediately.

The criminal network was growing larger and more complex: Wan Ze Yu, the Guang family, Yuan Zhong.

Hai Shu asked the electricians when the last time they saw Yuan Zhong was. One of them said it was January 4th, when Yuan Zhong had a portion of braised pork at the cafeteria.

The factory had more surveillance cameras than the town, and Hai Shu pulled up the footage. Sure enough, she saw Yuan Zhong appear in the cafeteria at 12:50 PM on the 4th.

That time was already quite late for lunch, and there were very few people in the cafeteria, with little food left. Yuan Zhong took his food and sat at a table near the door. Five minutes later, the electrician who had seen him passed by. Yuan Zhong raised his head and greeted him.

Hai Shu hit pause and asked, “Did he call out to you?”

The electrician froze for a moment, then realized, “Ah, yes, he did call me! I was wondering why he remembered I ate braised pork; I got goosebumps!”

Yuan Zhong never called out to people. Some in other departments didn’t know his personality and greeted him enthusiastically, but he’d only reply with a grunt at most. Why did he call out to his colleague that day?

And why did he choose the seat near the door? Did he want to intentionally stop anyone who passed by?

Hai Shu asked, “What did you two talk about?”

The electrician nervously recalled, “We... we didn’t talk about much!”

Hai Shu let the video continue. The electrician did indeed talk to Yuan Zhong, and it seemed like they exchanged more than just pleasantries. After a quick greeting, they spoke about something else.

The electrician started sweating nervously and couldn’t recall what they said. The tall man patted his back, “What are you panicking about? It’s only been a few days. You’re not senile yet! Just tell the police what you talked about!”

“I really forgot!” The electrician raised his hand, “Officer Hai, please don’t pressure me. Let me think it over, I’m so nervous!”

Hai Shu understood that feeling; some people forget everything when they’re anxious. She gave a gentle smile, “Alright, no rush. There’s no need to hurry. Contact me when you remember.”

Cheng Wei completed the DNA and fingerprint analysis. All the evidence collected from Yuan Zhong’s house matched the limbs found in the smokehouse. The limbs were almost certainly Yuan Zhong’s, and since there were no signs of life reactions on the cut surfaces, it was clear that Yuan Zhong had been dead for some time—unless the samples Cheng Wei collected didn’t belong to Yuan Zhong, but objectively, that was almost impossible.

Furthermore, the DNA from the bloodstains on the wall and the blood on the dagger matched the limbs, and the dagger had fingerprints that matched those on the severed hand. All the knife handles in the kitchen had the same fingerprints.

The identity of the second victim was essentially confirmed, but when the team sat down to analyze, they all felt it was different from what they had expected.

Hai Shu asked, “What do you all think?”

Sui Xing said, “Yuan Zhong is likely the killer, but he’s already dead.”

When the Criminal Investigation Team first learned about Yuan Zhong’s disappearance, they immediately started their investigation. The strange bloodstains in his home, the excessive number of knives, and the descriptions from people around him suggested that he might have an antisocial personality, enjoyed self-harm, and was well-prepared for his crime. His disappearance could be seen as him fleeing in fear of being caught.

However, during the investigation of Wan Ze Yu, the police didn’t find any connection between Wan Ze Yu and Yuan Zhong. If Yuan Zhong was the murderer of Wan Ze Yu, the motive remained a mystery.

The reality was that Wan Ze Yu was dead, and Yuan Zhong was dead too. Wan Ze Yu’s head and limbs were missing, and Yuan Zhong’s limbs were found, one hanging in the smokehouse and the other hidden in the ashes, forming a terrifying and ritualistic scene.

Sui Xing shook his head. “I need to think this through.”

Hai Shu leaned back in her chair, holding the densely written notebook. Yuan Zhong’s “identity card” had shifted from a potential suspect to a victim. He was found dead alongside Wan Ze Yu. They weren’t as unrelated as they seemed on the surface. In fact, their connection ran deeper.

Wan Ze Yu was friendly with everyone, except Yuan Zhong. This in itself was strange. Was Wan Ze Yu intentionally distancing himself from Yuan Zhong? Had they once done something together, something that led to their deaths?

Yuan Zhong, who had never greeted anyone, called out to his colleague because he had a premonition about what was going to happen? Was he trying to leave behind a clue?

“Phew—” Hai Shu exhaled, feeling a trace of exhaustion amid her excitement.