My chat group members are all legendary criminals.

Chapter 15 Clues

"Send a car immediately to clear the way! With sirens and flashing lights! Take them to Santa Maria Center! Hurry!"

Marcus was in a hurry to give orders, and several officers picked up a stretcher and rushed out.

If this woman survives, the case will achieve a crucial breakthrough.

After the stretcher was carried away, Marcus walked over to Lu Yiming and gave him a big bear hug, his face full of excitement:

"Damn it, kid! I knew bringing you in was the right thing to do!"

"Boss, I want to see the first body, right now," Lu Yiming said urgently.

During the rescue just now, we used Hannibal's ability to "analyze the soul".

At a glance, it was clear that the black woman's stitched legs and right arm had dark green lividity, but her left arm had bright red blood clots.

Only the left arm of this "assembled corpse" was recently amputated while the body was still alive.

Perfect for freezing and storing as food, oops, no, that's not right.

This suggests that at least one victim is still alive, but has been anesthetized and is waiting to become the next piece of art.

time is life.

"No problem, I'll have Mia take you right away!"

Marcus now sees Lu Yiming and feels a sense of hope for keeping his job.

Just then, a policewoman ran back in a panic:

"Boss! There are reporters everywhere outside! The exits are blocked!"

Lu Yiming's heart sank.

If the stretcher can't get out, the woman won't survive, and the case will lack a crucial breakthrough.

"Everyone to the main exit! Form a human wall and clear a path!" Marcus yelled into the walkie-talkie.

The crowd rushed to the subway entrance, where dozens of reporters with their cameras and microphones surrounded the exit.

The two police officers carrying the stretcher were stuck in place, unable to move an inch.

"Make way! She's still alive! Let us through!"

But the reporters didn't care at all; their flashes went off wildly, and some even tried to lift the white sheet to photograph the body directly.

In their eyes, news coverage is far more important than a human life.

He's a Black man, and if they bring up race issues, Pritzker might have a chance this year.

"Does the Fremont police's inability to solve the case for so long indicate incompetence on the part of the police department?"

Will the Chinese-American police chief resign because of this?

"I heard there was another serial murder last night. Can the police still protect taxpayers' lives?"

"I heard that a police auxiliary officer rescued the victim. Where is he?"

Lu Yiming was blinded by the glaring flash of the camera.

That's it, there's no way to get them out of here.

Just now.

boom--

A gunshot rang out, drowning out all the noise.

Everyone froze, looking in alarm toward the sound.

An elderly white man in a police uniform fired a shot into the air, then pressed the muzzle of the gun against the forehead of a female reporter who was at the forefront.

He roared very seriously, "Back off, you bitch!"

The entire room fell silent instantly.

Under the dark muzzle of a gun, the crowd instinctively retreated.

Mike waved behind him, and the officers carrying the stretcher took the opportunity to break through the encirclement and put the victim into the police car.

Mike only slowly put away his gun after the police car left.

Lu Yiming was dumbfounded.

Is this still the same sly old fox he knew who was always joking around and greedy for easy gains?

This is a big problem.

Publicly threatening a reporter with a gun will likely result in him taking a paid leave.

The reporters, still shaken, heard someone shout, "There he is! The Asian auxiliary police officer! The one who saved people!"

They instantly turned their cameras around and surrounded Lu Yiming.

"Officer, what's your name?"

"Were you also the one who solved the 'Smiling Murder' case last night?"

"Were you the one who just saved that person?"

"How do you feel about being such an outstanding officer yet still only a police auxiliary? Doesn't this prove the corruption and incompetence of the police department?"

Problems came crashing down like cannonballs.

Lu Yiming looked to Mike for help, only to see the old man put away his gun, grin at him, mouth "good luck," and then turn and slip away.

Holy crap, that's so unfair!

Lu Yiming pushed through the crowd and squeezed into the police SUV.

Now is not the time to show off. Solving the case a second earlier could save a life.

In the car, Mia deliberately sat in the front row, keeping the furthest distance from him.

With a cold expression, she tossed a document onto the back seat without saying a word.

This is the autopsy report for the first body.

Lu Yiming quickly flipped through the pages, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

The report confirmed his suspicions:

This body was also pieced together from limbs that were both old and new.

The left arm belongs to a Black woman, the right arm to a white man, the left leg to an Asian man, and the right leg to a Black man.

Five victims, the same as the second corpse.

However, the forensic examiner did not detect any anesthetic in the deceased's body.

The initial victims had their limbs amputated posthumously.

The most crucial difference is that both newly discovered "corpses" had heads and were still alive when they were found.

The first body was headless.

Lu Yiming closed the report and took a deep breath.

What exactly does the killer want?

Kidnapping marginalized people, dismembering and piecing them back together while they're still alive, dumping the bodies in public, yet deliberately leaving survivors...

All the victims' identities have been completely erased. What is the killer hiding?

What were the killer's methods for disposing of the body?

Are there any survivors?

What was the killer's motive for piecing together the body?

With many questions in mind, Lu Yiming, led by Mia, arrived at the city police station morgue and saw the headless corpse.

Although it has no head, it is still clear that it is a woman of East Asian descent.

More than a week had passed since it was discovered, and the body was already showing severe signs of decomposition.

The skin had a chilling, corpse-green color and marble-like patterns.

"It's too rotten to be used as food, what a pity."

Pshaw, what weird things are you thinking about again?

He had hoped that the "Soul Analysis" technique would uncover details overlooked by the forensic pathologist, but after careful examination, he was disappointed.

The report was very detailed; what he could see, the forensic doctor could also see.

The only additional information is that the torso of this corpse and the left leg of the second corpse belong to the same person.

An Asian woman wearing orthotics.

"Looks like the police station isn't all useless, right, Detective Lu?"

Mia leaned against the wall with her arms crossed: "With all that cleverness in your head, couldn't you see anything different?"

"Hey you..."

Wait, the head?

These words struck Lu Yiming like a bolt of lightning.

The most unusual thing about this corpse is that its head has been cut off.

The two bodies that were later found were only disfigured with sulfuric acid, suggesting that the killer's purpose was likely to conceal the victims' identities.

But why behead the first corpse?

Unless... this head itself is different.

"Is it possible that the killer just found beheading too troublesome and switched to sulfuric acid?" Mia said dismissively.

Lu Yiming did not answer, but that was indeed a possibility.

He bent down to carefully examine the broken neck.

The neck was cut off roughly and messily, as if it had been deliberately damaged.

But... he discovered some scars with deeper pigmentation.

Is it possible that...?

The victim had suffered severe burns to his face before the incident, which extended to his neck.

"Mia!"

Lu Yiming suddenly turned around. "Do me a favor."

"Search the database for a female of Asian descent with severe facial burns and a minor physical disability! Quickly!"

Mia was taken aback: "How did you figure that out?"

Lu Yiming didn't have time to explain: "You're too stupid, you wouldn't understand even if I explained. Go now!"

Mia snorted angrily, but still turned around and ran out to look up the data.

Lu Yiming was the only one left in the morgue.

He wasn't sure if this conclusion was right or wrong. Anyway, he needed to get Mia away so he could proceed with his next steps.

He breathed a sigh of relief. All three bodies had been examined, but there were still no obvious clues.

It seems that some help is needed to solve the mystery.

He took out his phone and opened the "Legendary Criminals Chat Group"...