I didn't think about it further. Soon, Xiao Yuande returned. I saw that he and several police officers were covered in mud, guessing that running had been difficult for them. I thought Xiao Yuande should be fine, considering he had four detectives with him earlier.
"It seems we won't catch anyone tonight. Let's extract the blood and collect some evidence from the scene," I directed. Everyone began to work, collecting blood samples and photographing the scene. I took out a tape measure to calculate the length, diameter, and other details of the blade marks. Then, I took more photos. After the investigation was complete, we all returned to the provincial department.
The laboratory work started immediately. DNA was extracted from the blood, but no match was found in the archives. While comparing the blade marks, Xiao Dong asked me, "Is this a bone-cutting knife?"
"No, the back of a slicing knife and a cleaver is straight, while the back of a bone-cutting knife is usually curved, meaning the front part of the back is tilted upwards. Bone-cutting knives often have a round hole near the front of the back. The entire blade of a slicing knife is generally of uniform thickness, and usually quite thin; a cleaver is thinner at the front and thicker towards the handle. Given the uniform thickness of this blade, it should be a slicing knife," I analyzed.
The blade marks at the scene were confirmed to be from a slicing knife, the type commonly used for cutting meat. In fact, kitchen knives are divided into several categories, including cleavers and bone-cutting knives, making up the three main types of kitchen knives. Their shapes vary depending on their intended use.
It would be difficult to cut through bone with a slicing knife, but it's no problem to cut through flesh.
"Oh, so there are so many classifications for kitchen knives!"
"You should read more books and stop playing games all the time. If it were Xie Chuchu, she would have recognized it immediately!"
Xie Chuchu has been quite busy lately and couldn't help us with experiments, which is why I brought in Xiao Dong.
When the topic of playing games came up, Xiao Dong seemed embarrassed and then asked me, "How did you know?"
"You have friction marks on your fingers from pressing the keyboard, puffy dark circles under your eyes, and you're not very focused today. The relaxation of the muscles in your mouth, wrists, and thighs indicates you often make involuntary reactions due to excitement. Also, there's a strong smell of coffee coming from your mouth, all signs that you stayed up late playing games last night!"
"Friction marks on my fingers from pressing the keyboard, why don't you say I was researching information? Puffy dark circles under my eyes, why don't you say it's from working late?"
"Heh heh, Xiao Dong, I saw your computer just now. You were browsing some web pages for 'Yellow Springs Road.' If I'm not mistaken, you almost played this game all night yesterday, didn't you?"
Uh...
Having been found out, Xiao Dong became even more awkward. I patted him on the shoulder, "Focus on your work! After this case is over, I'll play with you! I heard that action game is quite brutal!"
"Okay, but don't you need to accompany Liu Yuning, Team Leader He?"
"Are women meant to be accompanied? They are meant to assist. Alright, you continue with the rest, I'm going out!"
After bidding farewell to Xiao Dong, I thought that although this guy's aptitude wasn't as good as Xie Chuchu's, he was still diligent and careful, just a bit too fond of playing sometimes. However, he hadn't made any mistakes in the years he'd been with me.
His full name is actually Dong Qing, and he's just turned 26.
He's always been Xie Chuchu's assistant, following her wherever she went.
Back in my office, He Xin suddenly sent me a message: "I've tracked the escape route of the man from the surveillance footage. He did indeed enter that forest. Based on his physical characteristics, we found him passing through the forest and entering the nearby Hunyuan Town. However, due to the limited distribution of the Sky Eye system, I could only see him appear at the entrance of Hunyuan Town."
"Hunyuan Town? What kind of place is that? Is it for filming? The name is a bit strange!" I replied.
"I checked online. It was used by directors in the past for filming historical dramas."
So that's how it is. As soon as I heard the name, I felt there was something interesting about it. I decided to take some people to check it out.
Upon arriving at Hunyuan Town, I discovered it was deserted, like an empty stage. A film crew was busy here. Liu Yuning, Gao Mingqiang, and Xiao Yuande and I walked over, showing them the surveillance photos and inquiring about the suspect. However, the crew members all claimed they hadn't seen anyone matching the description.
We separately invited the film crew's director to a lounge. I asked, "Hello, Director Huang. We're currently investigating a suspect who entered Hunyuan Town. If you've seen him or know anything, please tell us truthfully. This information is very important to us."
"I've already said, we only arrived here a short while ago. We came here today to film Episode 52 of 'Ancient Martial Heroes,' and now you police officers are disturbing us, causing this scene to be delayed!"
Director Huang seemed completely indifferent to the case, his mind only on his television series. It was evident that he knew nothing about the murderer.
Still, I continued to ask, "Does this film set have any local surveillance?"
"This isn't ours; we're just borrowing it. If you want to know, you'll have to find Mr. Wu. This is his territory!"
"Thank you for your help. But if we just want to get the surveillance footage?"
"Go find the person in charge of the stage, he's in the lounge across the way."
We bid farewell to Director Huang and went over to have the person in charge make arrangements. Soon, we were able to view all the surveillance footage from the stage.
Fortunately, none of the surveillance equipment here was damaged. We checked the footage from last night, after the time of the horrific video, and indeed, we found a man who had been here. He Xin's earlier investigation only showed him lingering outside Hunyuan Town, but after delving deeper, we couldn't see him. We could only rely on local surveillance. Otherwise, police wouldn't need to visit surrounding areas to collect local surveillance. No matter how powerful the Sky Eye is, its coverage cannot reach every area.
The guy was a short-haired male. We saw him linger in the changing room of the stage for a while before coming out. He had changed into a white modern outfit and then headed north of the stage. Liu Yuning and I came to this area and found it to be a barren mountain.
"This guy isn't hiding in the mountains, is he?" Liu Yuning said. I turned to ask a nearby security guard about the situation on the mountain. He told me there was a village on the mountain, but it seemed abandoned.
"Damn it, is he playing hide-and-seek with us? But even if we have to search to the ends of the earth, we'll find this guy!" Liu Yuning said angrily, stamping her feet.
Suddenly, I thought of something: "Something's not right!"