Criminal Investigation Notes

All creatures will kill, there seems to be no exception, but of all creatures, only humans kill for pleasure—Mark Twain.

During July, the weather was very hot in Huadu, especially toward noon.

The blazing sun was shining, while the tarmac was burning, accompanied by the distorted air.

It was lunch break, and the open space next to the sand factory was a bit calm.
Occasionally, only the cicadas chirping in the trees could be heard.
The insects seemed to be tired which made the sound not too loud.

Five vigorous children brought the football and occupied the open space, driving the tranquility away.

Those children had just finished their final exams.
They were like prisoners waiting for the judgment while having the party before the result was out.

They were undergoing exuberance, thus regardless of how hot the weather was, they simply took off their shirt after running sweaty, venting all their nervousness and depression caused by the exam.

The tallest one among the children passed the ball with a little force, making the spinning football hit the scrap car parking beside them with a bang, followed by some noise.

The front windshield of the car had long been cracked.
Such a blow made the tempered glass shatter, and the glass shards fell onto the front seat.

The children were stunned for a moment.

“Brother Xuan…what now?” A skinny guy realized that they were in trouble, thus he looked back at the tall boy who had caused this with fear.

The tall boy was the oldest among them.
His name was Yang Zixuan, and he was also the leader of this group of children.

Yang Zixuan glanced around, there were no others here except for the few of them.

He was no different from an adolescent boy.
However, he wasn’t yet aware of how complicated things were at this age.
Yang Zixuan calmed down, and said to the other children, “Don’t be afraid, it’s just a scrap car.
The owner of the car is long gone, so we’ll pick up the ball and go play elsewhere.” After thinking about it, he added, “You must not tell anyone about this!”

The children quickly reached a tacit agreement and walked to the front of the car.
This car was indeed old and worn out, layer after layer was covered with dust, and there was also a trace of it used to be drenched by the rain.
The original color of the car had already faded away.
The tender grass had even grown in some crevices, which added a little life to the old abandoned car.

The broken windshield allowed the children to see the inner part of the car.
Although the inside was obsolete, it was far less messy than the outside.
Several seats were still clean.
Yang Zixuan pointed to the thinnest kid.
“Grasshopper, we will carry you up, and you go inside to pick the ball.”

The thinnest kid called Grasshopper nodded.

They quickly took advantage of the fact that the adults weren’t here and immediately began to take action.
Grasshopper was carried by several older children onto the front cover of the car and then he climbed neatly to the inside.

“Be careful not to get scratched by the glass.” Yang Zhixuan reminded him.
The other children were a little nervous.
If Grasshopper was injured, they might have to be responsible for this matter.

Grasshopper responded with a low voice.
He lowered his body cautiously, and soon found the ball in the back seat.

Grasshopper’s surprised voice could be heard from the car.
“Hey, there is a wooden box under the back seat of this car.”

“What box?”

“How can such an old car still have a wooden box?”

“What’s in the box?”

The children began a lively discussion.

Grasshopper approached the box, his noise moved.
“This box is slightly big, and it smells…a bit strange…” He couldn’t tell what it smelled like, it was fetid but not so.
It had a strange moldy smell.
Yet again, it was covered by an unpleasant fragrance similar to the mothballs that his mother put in the wardrobe.

Grasshopper wanted to open the box.
However, after shaking a few times, it couldn’t be opened.
“This box is locked…”

The scene in front of them greatly aroused the children’s curiosity.
They felt as if they had discovered a treasure left by the owner.

Yang Zixuan made a quick decision.
“Let’s take the box out and have a look.”

The skinny guy beside him hesitated a little.
“This…isn’t good, right?”

“It’s a scrap car without an owner anyway.
I remember that this car has been placed here for several years already.
Even if we take something away, no one will know.” Yang Zixuan said, “Besides, what’s there to be afraid of, we only check it and put it back later.”

Grasshopper wavered for a while.
He first threw the football out before taking the box. 

Yang Zixuan took the box.
The skinny guy and the others pulled Grasshopper out again.

As his name suggested, Grasshopper was like a flexible insect.
He jumped off the front cover of the car lightly.

Yang Zixuan looked down at the thing in his hand.
It was a heavy wooden box.
It appeared larger than the wooden box that contained top-grade red wine, and there was a small lock on it as well.

Yang Zixuan also noticed the strange smell of the box.
He shook it, and some white powder leaked out from the crack of the wood.

“It’s not that…thing, is it?” A kid asked timidly.

“It doesn’t look like it…” Yang Zixuan shook his head.
He had seen it on TV, that type of thing was very soft, but the white powder in front of him was a bit rough, reflecting under the sunlight, like some kind of chemical reagent.

“Brother Xuan, just forget it and put the box back.
We should go.” The skinny guy felt that the box was strange, and whispered, “I’m a bit scared.”

“What a coward! There can’t be a ghost inside.
Can it have the ability to eat you?” Yang Zixuan was unwilling to give up.
He picked up the rock from the side and smashed against the lock a few times. 

The wooden box couldn’t withstand the weight, and after a click, it quickly unlocked.
Yang Zixuan hurriedly reached out to open it.
Then, he couldn’t help covering his nose when a stronger smell wafted out.

The other children leaned over and showed some disappointment.
The box was filled with white powder, they didn’t know what chemical product it was.

“I thought it was a valuable thing!” Yang Zixuan felt like he had lost face.
He threw the box onto the ground and kicked it.

The box overturned, revealing something from the white cover.

“There seems to be something inside…” Grasshopper said with a frown.
He stretched out his hand daringly and pulled out a long-shaped thing.
It was long and soft to touch, there was a nail on it as well…

Yang Zixuan also crouched down and pulled the white cover away.
At this moment, all the children finally saw the thing clearly.

Covered by white foam, it was a pair of hands.
To be precise, this was a pair of overlapping pale human hands, which looked like a Halloween horror prop, but no prop could be this real…

Although the cut part no longer bled.
The flesh and bone at the edge of it could still be seen.

Ah, ah, ah!!!!!!!

Oh my God!!!!

The children screamed in horror, they all fled from the scene.

Half a minute later, the pale-faced Yang Zixuan ran back bravely from the other side of the road, stretching out his foot and picking up the forgotten football.

An unexpected discovery broke the calmness of the summer afternoon.

The children’s parents quickly called the police.
Such a case had attracted the attention of the sub-bureau.
Afterward, the captain of the Sub-Bureau led the team to investigate the scene, then they quickly judged that the case was unable to solve and applied for the Major Crime Unit’s assistance as soon as possible.

Several police officers from the Sub-Bureau set up the police cordon and waited for the member from the Major Crime Unit of the General Bureau so they could hand over the case and the hot potatoes could also be thrown out by then.

Under the bright and blistering sun, several scrap cars were singeing without a place to shelter.
If one stayed a little longer, one would probably get heatstroke.

Two police officers were sent to wait at the scene.
There was nothing to see at the scene, the people in the neighborhood felt terrible and unlucky when they heard about the incident.
Not even a person could be seen within a hundred meters, they all hid a hundred thousand miles away.

The two policemen were bored.
They squatted not far away and chatted, one was the young intern police officer that had just graduated, while the other was the grassroots criminal police who had been bold for ten years.
There was a clear generation gap in the gossip.

The old policeman lit a cigarette and opened his mouth first.
“I didn’t expect it’s not peaceful recently.”

The little policeman had never seen much about the world.
“Yes, I don’t know who did it.
I already feel a chill in my heart just by looking at the hands.
Has the forensic doctor of our Sub-Bureau come and check it?”

“Done checking it but didn’t dare to move, saying it’s a woman’s hands.
The physical inspector also came.
Although it’s a scrap car, it’s very clean.
There are few fingerprints, yet it’s later found that the fingerprints are left by the children who found the scene.
I think when the people from the General Bureau arrive, they will have to check everything again.”

The little policeman was stunned.
“It’s a female victim again? Several major cases have been about female victims recently.”

The old policeman was not surprised.
“There are more female victims and more male criminals.
The ratio of male and female is more and more out of balance.”

The little policeman became worried.
“This case is quite difficult then.
There is no name written on the cut hands, and the identity of the victim can’t be confirmed either.
No wonder the captain immediately called the Major Crime Unit to come when he saw the scene.”

The old policeman took a breath of cigarette in his hand.
“I’ve checked this case.
Maybe the Major Crime