I See Murders Before They Happen

Chapter 39: Chapter 37: Real Empathy

Municipal Police Department.

"The deceased is a female, between twenty-six and twenty-nine years old. Her eyes were gouged out and her hands were severed. Neither were found at the dump site. Her face is severely damaged, so its rate of decomposition is slightly higher than the rest of the body."

Yan Cheng said, "According to the autopsy results, all of the above were premortem injuries. The victim was brutally tortured before death. There are signs of abuse on her wrists and ankles. Cause of death was hypovolemic shock. Time of death was over a week ago, but the exact time requires further lab analysis. The preliminary suspicion is that the weapon was very sharp. I think it was something like a scalpel."

"Judging from the cross-section of the wrist, the killer likely has sophisticated knowledge of anatomy."

"Because the face is in an advanced state of decomposition, we can’t use facial recognition to find a match in the system. The forensic artist is working on a cranial reconstruction. There are no matching DNA profiles in the system. No identifying information was found at the dump site, so the victim’s identity remains unknown."

"No missing persons reports have been filed in the last week either."

"We’re checking all available surveillance footage from the old district, but nothing yet. The dump site was clean, no physical evidence for now."

"Officers from the local precinct are canvassing the area and interviewing residents."

Zhuang Yanzheng was silent for a moment. "A lot of people in the old district run their own businesses and shops. Many of them would have installed their own security cameras. Check all of those, too."

"Yes, sir."

"Since he has sophisticated anatomical knowledge, should we look into hospitals?"

"Start with a preliminary screening," Zhuang Yanzheng said. "But don’t limit it to just hospitals. There are plenty of people who studied medicine but never went on to work in a hospital. Besides, scalpels can be purchased by anyone."

"Understood."

"Similar homicides occurred in Luo City three years ago and in Xian City one year ago. There were two cases in Luo City, five months apart. In all of them, the victims’ hands were cut off, eyes were gouged out, and faces were slashed. They were tortured and killed." Zhuang Yanzheng looked at the files that had been sent over.

Yan Cheng said, "I’ve reviewed the autopsy reports from the medical examiners in Luo City and Xian City, as well as the photos from the time. Judging by the cut surfaces of the wounds, I’m inclined to believe it’s the same killer. It’s just that his methods have become more refined."

"From a psychological standpoint, considering the torturous nature of the killings, I also lean toward it being the same killer. The higher-ups have recommended we combine the cases," Zhuang Yanzheng said.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Zhuang Yanzheng projected the photos onto the screen. "These are the victims from the three cases. The missing body parts have never been found."

They were all women.

Twenty-three, twenty-seven, and thirty-two years old.

Their occupations included a teacher, a model, and a recent graduate who was job hunting.

Some were single, some were married.

At first glance, there was no obvious commonality among them.

After a moment, a new police intern raised her hand.

It was a woman.

The Municipal Police Department had plenty of female officers.

But there were no women on the field detective team.

There used to be, but not anymore.

Zhuang Yanzheng looked at her. She had just arrived a week ago. Her name was Chu Xingrou.

"Speak."

"They’re all very beautiful," Chu Xingrou said.

"Can you even call that a commonality? Lots of people are beautiful. Why them specifically?" Qi Feng asked.

"No, look. Don’t you think all three of them have similar eyes?" Chu Xingrou said.

Zhuang Yanzheng took a closer look.

In terms of pure eye shape, they weren’t similar.

But now that she’d mentioned it, there was indeed a sense of similarity.

It was like a similarity in their essence.

The photos were still images.

If you saw them in person, in motion, the resemblance would probably be even stronger.

"They actually do look a bit alike," Qi Feng said. "Does the killer hate people with these kinds of eyes? What about their hands? Were they similar too?"

The severed hands had never been found.

And the victims’ photos didn’t have any close-ups of their hands, so it was impossible to say for sure.

"Yan Cheng, Qi Feng, bring a few people and come with me to the dump site for another look," Zhuang Yanzheng ordered.

"Right."

...

Su Miaoyi spent another night in the old district.

「The next day.」

Cheng Yong and Ge Yu still didn’t set up their stall.

They stayed home, watching over her.

They were afraid she might sleepwalk or try to harm herself again.

Since no one was going out,

Su Miaoyi suggested they give the house a deep clean.

So after breakfast,

The three of them started cleaning.

A little after nine, Su Miaoyi was wiping down the kitchen door.

Suddenly, there were three knocks on the door outside.

Su Miaoyi instinctively turned to look at the doorway.

But what she saw wasn’t her own door.

It was a black, metal door in her vision.

The woman in the vision must have just gotten home. She was taking off her bag and slipping out of her high heels.

Hearing the knock, she turned and asked, "Who is it?"

"Delivery," a man’s voice said from outside.

"Just leave it outside."

"The package is damaged. I need you to confirm it in person. Sorry for the trouble."

"Okay, just a second." She hung up her bag, put on her slippers, and opened the door.

There was no peephole on the door, nor a video doorbell.

As soon as she opened it, she saw a man standing outside wearing a hat and a face mask.

The brim of his hat was pulled down low, completely hiding his eyes.

She jumped in fright and instinctively tried to shut the door.

But the man’s hand shot out and blocked the door. He moved quickly, clapping a hand over her mouth before she could scream, pushing her into the room and shutting the door behind them.

She smelled a strange odor on his hand.

Then, her vision went black, and she fell into darkness.

After the darkness, the vision returned.

She was sitting on the bathroom floor, her hands and feet bound.

Her mouth was gagged so tightly that her jaw ached terribly.

It was stuffed, then bound with a strip of cloth.

She couldn’t speak at all, only able to make small noises.

The man stood before her and took out a scalpel.

She watched as the scalpel neared her face.

Before she could react, she felt a cold touch, then pain, then the sensation of liquid running down her skin.

She suddenly screamed.

But all the sound was muffled in her throat.

She could only make whimpering sounds.

The man’s knife fell again and again.

Slicing open the skin on her face.

’It hurts so much. So much.’

All she could feel was the pain.

Blood dripped onto her clothes, quickly staining them red.

It ran into her eyes, mixing with tears and blurring her vision.

She wanted to beg for mercy.

But the man, as if seeing nothing, just kept bringing the knife down.

Slash after slash. She didn’t know how much time had passed. Just as the pain was about to make her lose consciousness, she felt the restraints on her hands loosen.

She leaned against the wall.

Through her blurry vision and fading consciousness, she saw the man stroking her hand.

Stroking it, bit by bit.

Then the scalpel pierced her wrist. It followed the joint, pressing against the bone as it sliced halfway around.

An immense wave of pain washed over her.

Su Miaoyi’s legs suddenly went weak, and she instinctively grabbed the door for support.

She looked at her familiar surroundings.

Outside the door, Cheng Yong was talking.

A neighbor had come over to borrow something.

The two of them were making small talk.

Su Miaoyi looked at the rag in her hand, and her other hand gripping the door.

The familiar environment brought her a small measure of comfort.

But the sensation of pain had been too real.

Su Miaoyi looked at her own hands.

The pain of severed bones and tendons seemed to linger there.

A pain so intense it made her entire body go limp.

She quickly raised a hand to touch her face.

Her palm came away wet.

She had broken out in a cold sweat.

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