Chapter 34

The moment the door was opened, Ren Xian and his team saw Liang Sheng’s back.

Just as in the livestream, Liang Sheng was tied to the chair with his arms bound behind him, head drooping. The trembling that had once shaken his body was now completely gone.

A wave of dread immediately surged through everyone’s hearts.

Beside the chair was a sizeable pool of blood. Judging from the amount on the floor, the situation was extremely dangerous.

The phone used for the livestream was set up near the window, not far from him. As they entered the room, the phone captured their arrival and broadcasted it live.

The livestream chat scrolled rapidly. Many viewers, who had stayed up late watching, breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the police appear.

But there were also voices of criticism, accusing them of arriving too late, making the public watch for so long, and questioning the efficiency of the police.

Only the members of the task force knew how much pressure they had endured these past days, working nonstop under immense stress. They truly had already given everything they had.

Ren Xian noticed a thin layer of dust on the floor, with faint shoeprints visible.

It was impossible to determine whether the prints belonged to the kidnappers. Entering recklessly would risk destroying the scene.

Ren Xian immediately ordered planks to be laid down, then led two officers into the room as quickly as possible.

Approaching Liang Sheng, Ren Xian saw the constantly refreshing livestream chat and quickly shut it down.

At the same time, one officer swiftly took photographs, while another worked to untie him.

When Liang Sheng was lowered from the chair, his eyes were tightly shut. His body was cold as ice, tense and rigid—almost stiff.

One officer reached out to check his breath. Feeling no airflow against his hand, his heart clenched instantly.

“No breath… could he be dead?”

Another officer felt his scalp go numb and immediately checked for a pulse.

“It… it really seems like there’s no movement.”

“Check his pupils and carotid artery. The feeling in the hand can be misleading—when breathing and pulse are weak, you might not detect them.”

The doctor, who had rushed up seven flights of stairs, reminded them while still catching his breath.

Hearing the murmurs behind him, Ren Xian was startled. After sealing the livestream phone into an evidence bag, he quickly stepped forward.

“I’ll do it.”

When Ruan Mingxi and the others entered, they saw Ren Xian examining Liang Sheng’s eyelid conjunctiva, pupils, and corneal response.

“The pupils seem a little dilated.” Ren Xian admitted he wasn’t a medical professional, and delaying like this wasn’t helping.

Ruan Mingxi immediately spoke up, “Move him out. Let the doctor check. Don’t waste time—quickly!”

The three officers quickly carried him out of the room. As long as there were signs of life, the first priority was rescue.

Rescue efforts might damage the crime scene, making evidence collection harder.

Ren Xian’s immediate check for survival was crucial in deciding the next steps.

If Liang Sheng was alive, saving him came first. If he was dead, preserving the scene would be vital for finding the killer.

Once Liang Sheng was moved out, the doctor examined him—but found his body unusually stiff.

“Could this be rigor mortis?”

Ruan Mingxi: “Don’t jump to conclusions.”

The room fell silent. Jiang Xuzhou’s gaze stayed fixed on Liang Sheng’s wrists.

The cuts were shocking—skin and flesh peeled back, the wounds making everyone’s scalp prickle.

Through the blurred mess of blood and tissue, it was clear the cuts weren’t just one line. They were multiple, far more terrifying than what they had seen through the phone.

No matter what the doctor tried, Liang Sheng showed no reaction. Even the doctor began to think there was no hope.

“Captain Ruan, he’s not responding, he—”

Before the words finished, a sudden gasp broke the silence—abrupt and eerie.

“Holy—!”

The doctor, about to declare him gone, turned pale with shock and cursed instinctively.

Jiang Xuzhou, who had been staring at Liang Sheng’s wounds, suddenly saw his fingers twitch. His mind froze, blank for two whole seconds.

Everyone around was startled. From within the crowd, someone’s trembling voice muttered: “He… he’s resurrected like a corpse.”

Snapping out of the brief shock, Ruan Mingxi immediately raised his voice: “Resurrected nothing! He’s not dead—save him, quickly!”

With that shout, everyone came back to their senses and hurried to assist the doctor in getting him onto the ambulance for emergency treatment.

The white ambulance and blue police cars sped off like lightning, racing down the road.

It was just past four in the morning. Traffic wasn’t heavy, but there were still some vehicles.

To avoid delays, the sirens of both the police and ambulance blared nonstop. Traffic lights along the route were controlled, giving them green lights all the way to the hospital.

Ren Xian went with the ambulance to the hospital, while Ruan Mingxi called Ying Shi, who had come up empty-handed at Green River Community, back to join him.

Meanwhile, the crime scene investigation continued. Outside the door of Unit 701 in Orange Garden Community, police tape had been set up.

When Jiang Xuzhou turned his head, he saw officers photographing the wide-open freezer.

Even from a distance, with the contents frozen, Jiang Xuzhou could feel it—the air carried an indescribable stench as the freezer was opened.

It was the smell of blood and frozen flesh.

“Lin Ke, the heads are stuck—we can’t get them out.” The investigators immediately called for Lin Peixin.

The condition of the bodies would affect autopsy results. Four heads were frozen inside the freezer, glued firmly to the bottom by blood and ice.

They couldn’t be touched carelessly. Any secondary damage would complicate forensic analysis.

Lin Peixin hurried over, photographing the contents of the freezer with his equipment.

Jiang Xuzhou wanted to leave, but his feet felt nailed to the ground, unable to move.

He watched as they struggled at the freezer for a long while, until Lin Peixin suddenly bent down, half his body inside.

In that instant, Jiang Xuzhou’s breathing slowed, his eyes fixed on Lin Peixin’s movements.

He saw Lin Peixin carefully lift a head—its face blurred, skull fractured and caved in, the white substance at the indentation unclear whether frost or brain matter. His movements were slow, deliberate.

Lin Peixin handled it with extreme care, as though holding fragile glass.

The officer helping to open the body bag didn’t dare look, his head turned aside, trembling uncontrollably.

Finally, once the head was placed inside and the bag sealed, the officer holding it couldn’t bear it anymore. “I’m sorry!”

He shouted, then bolted outside, crouching in a corner to retch.

The sound of vomiting was loud, sending chills through everyone, raising goosebumps and making stomachs churn.

“Don’t look. Wait outside for us, alright?” Ruan Mingxi’s voice sounded close by.

Jiang Xuzhou turned instinctively, his eyes filled with confusion and helplessness.

He knew crime scenes were often bloody and brutal. He had prepared himself mentally before coming but this was beyond what he imagined.

But in the end, he had overestimated his own ability to endure and underestimated the killer’s cruelty.

Jiang Xuzhou’s eyes flickered, his brows tightly furrowed.

“Go outside. We’ll be out soon.” Ruan Mingxi’s voice was gentle, as though afraid of frightening him further.

Jiang Xuzhou’s throat moved as he swallowed. He wanted to say something, but his throat felt blocked, and no words came out.

The officers were still busy investigating the scene. He knew he couldn’t help here, so he nodded and stepped out.

After Jiang Xuzhou left, Ruan Mingxi leaned on his crutch and walked over to Lin Peixin.

The crutch had been brought along with the ambulance. Though it was his first time using it, Ruan Mingxi adapted quickly, moving with surprising agility.

He took the body bag from an officer’s hands. Seeing his serious demeanor, one might have thought he was being sent on a mission of life and death.

“Captain?”

The officer looked puzzled as the body bag was taken from him.

“I’ll do it.” Ruan Mingxi said in a low, steady voice.

At that moment, Chu Liyang also came over, carrying another body bag.

From lifting the severed heads, sealing them in the bags, and placing them into boxes, the three men’s expressions remained unchanged—solemn and composed.

Once the last remains were extracted, Lin Peixin said: “There’s nothing more for me here. I’ll return to conduct the autopsy. Call me if anything comes up.”

Ruan Mingxi nodded: “Alright. Take him with you when you go.”

As he spoke, Ruan Mingxi glanced toward the doorway, where Jiang Xuzhou stood.

Jiang Xuzhou had stayed with them through the night at the bureau, and at dawn, when news broke, he had rushed straight here.

No matter whether it was the sudden situation or the things he saw at the scene, it had clearly frightened him.

Lin Peixin nodded: “Alright, we’re leaving.”

Jiang Xuzhou stared blankly at the stairwell entrance. Hearing footsteps behind him, he turned and saw Lin Peixin struggling to carry a box.

“It’s hard for me to move this alone. Everyone else is busy—give me a hand.”

Jiang Xuzhou reacted a little slower than usual, but once he realized, he quickly helped lift the box.

—

It wasn’t until the afternoon that Ruan Mingxi and the others returned.

Lin Peixin had finished the autopsy and was ready to give them the results.

“The body parts and heads have been matched and stitched together. All four victims had skull fractures. From the fracture lines, it can be determined they were caused by blunt force trauma. At the same time, there are marks of sharp weapon cuts at the fracture sites. After death, the killer struck the victims’ heads with a blunt object and then cut them with a single-edged blade. Based on the wounds, the blade was likely a fruit knife.”

Lin Peixin handed over the report: “Both the head injuries and the massive blood loss could have caused death. It’s impossible to determine which was the exact cause. The conclusion is concurrent causes of death."

Hearing this, everyone’s mood was heavy. There was no joy in solving the case.

“Alright, let’s push through a little longer. Organize all the clues. The case will be closed soon.”

Everyone responded immediately. They had been under extreme pressure, working nonstop for days. With the end in sight, they could endure just a little more.

News came from the hospital: Liang Sheng had suffered severe blood loss. Whether he would survive depended on how things went that night.

Ren Xian, worried, decided to stay at the hospital overnight.

Ruan Mingxi also wanted to wait at the hospital, but was stopped by Director Feng, who had rushed back from the provincial department after hearing Liang Sheng was found.

“Enough. I’ll have people watch over the hospital. Tonight I’ll be on duty here at the bureau. You’ve all worked hard for days—go home and rest. This is a police station, not a sweatshop. Don’t you realize how you look right now? Go sleep.”

Ruan Mingxi was still uneasy: “It’s just one more night. If I wait for the news—”

Feng Yuping cut him off: “Wait for what? Are you a doctor? What use is it if you go? I’ll be here on duty—what’s there to worry about? Go home and sleep. That’s an order. Look at yourselves—your dark circles make you look like you’ve been beaten. Whatever needs to be said, we’ll talk tomorrow morning.”

Seeing his firm attitude, Ruan Mingxi said no more: “Yes, sir.”

Only after hearing his agreement did Feng Yuping’s stern expression soften.

“Liyang, thank you for your hard work this time.” Feng Yuping spoke to Chu Liyang with noticeably more courtesy.

After all, his own deputy and someone else’s valued deputy couldn’t be treated the same way.

Chu Liyang, skilled in diplomacy, replied smoothly: “Director Feng, you’re too polite. When our team needed help, you lent people without hesitation. We’re all brothers here—no need to draw lines.”

Under Director Feng’s urging, the task force members, who had been working back-to-back shifts for days, were “driven” home to rest.

It was dinner time, but none of them had food at home, so they decided to eat together at a small restaurant.

“Well, Captain Ruan’s being generous today. Treating us at a proper restaurant—usually it’s just roadside stalls.” Chu Liyang teased with a laugh.

“Shut up. Don’t act like I’ve mistreated you. You never ate less at those stalls.” Ruan Mingxi retorted without hesitation.

The others were clearly used to their banter, a style of conversation where serious talk always turned into playful jabs.

Ying Shi said: “Consultant Jiang, pass me your bowl—I’ll sterilize it together.”

Hearing this, Jiang Xuzhou quickly unwrapped the disposable chopsticks and bowl, handing them over: “Thanks.”

“It’s nothing.” Ying Shi replied casually while sterilizing the bowls.

While waiting for the food, Chu Liyang spoke: “Based on the current situation, the murder case is basically closed. The killer is Liang Sheng. Once the report is organized and handed to the court, your mission will be complete. But the kidnapping case isn’t resolved yet. Those people are unstable—you still have a tough battle ahead.”

When the kidnapping case was mentioned, the smiles on the task force members’ faces vanished instantly.

“We don’t even know who those people are. Kidnapping, livestreaming it, leaving a letter at the scene—they clearly don’t take the police seriously.” Lin Cheng said.

Zhang Shuang took a sip of water: “If they respected the police, they wouldn’t be committing crimes in the first place.”

Jiang Xuzhou immediately caught the key word: “What letter?”