After Zhang Keying informed me that all the remains' identities had been confirmed and their relatives notified, which was done with He Xin's cooperation in tracing the missing miners, DNA testing would be conducted once the families arrived for more accurate confirmation.
Many families were surprised to learn their loved ones had died while working in the mines. Some had believed their relatives were merely missing, unaware they had perished and turned to bone.
Listening to their tearful cries, I felt immense sadness.
After the families left, our focus returned to the case. With countless victims and increasing instances of eye removal, news of this case spreading would plunge the entire Guangming City into panic.
However, our fears materialized within days. We didn't know who leaked the information, but reporters swarmed the provincial hall, completely surrounding it.
Early that morning, we saw headlines filled with panicked news about the "Guangming City Eyeball Killer" case. The viewership surpassed one hundred million within an hour; it was terrifying. Reporters outside were pressing, demanding Director Zhang's explanation.
Director Zhang first berated us soundly, then personally addressed the reporters. It seemed a press conference was imminent. I was supposed to attend, but Liu Yuning stopped me in the hallway, saying, "He Sheng, I'll handle this. You and Keying go investigate. Don't let this delay your work."
"Thank you. Hang in there, we'll find a breakthrough soon!"
"I'm fine, you can do it!"
Liu Yuning stretched her neck and kissed me on the lips. I smiled slightly, watched Liu Yuning enter the press conference room, and then dashed back to the Punishment Team office.
Gathering everyone, we drove away from the provincial hall through the back door. Truthfully, we didn't know how to proceed with the investigation; we just wanted to escape the chaotic scene.
Outside, we finally dared to breathe. The reporters had pushed our Punishment Team into the spotlight, claiming our actions had angered the "madman who steals eyes."
If we had stayed at the provincial hall, we would have been mobbed.
The deafening noise as we left almost shattered our eardrums. Fortunately, Gao Mingqiang, in his wheelchair, was as capable as ever, speeding us away from the provincial hall. Sitting in the passenger seat, I couldn't help but praise him, "Mingqiang, it seems your leg hasn't affected your driving!"
"Heh, only one of my legs is unusable, alright!"
After we left, Xiahou suggested returning to the riverbank. However, before we could depart, a police officer called me: "Team Leader He, there's been an incident. Guangming City, Guiming East Road, No. 23. We've found another pair of eyes at the Guiming University laboratory here!"
"Alright, I'm on my way!"
Arriving at the university, I recalled it was Guangming's College of Physics. Theoretically, eye experiments wouldn't occur in such a place, unless it was the medical college.
Upon reaching the laboratory floor, I found the crime scene was in a laboratory on the fourth floor. Students typically used this space for dynamics experiments. Unexpectedly, one student discovered a pair of eyes in a flask. The surrounding students were terrified, as the eyes were wide open and seemed to be moving!
I approached the girl who had come into contact with the eyes and asked, "Were you always at this spot?"
"Of course not. These seats are assigned randomly, it's not high school. In university, people sit wherever they want, right?"
"So, you're saying it was random chance that you encountered those eyes?"
"I must have been incredibly unlucky. Otherwise, why would I encounter this situation when others didn't? *sniffle* I probably won't be able to eat fish eyes anymore; they're my favorite!"
The girl's eyes were crystal clear and bright, but at that moment, they were brimming with tears.
I didn't want to dwell on it. Zhang Keying and Xie Chuchu were already examining the flask. There seemed to be fingerprints, but after comparison, they appeared to belong to the girl.
We carefully transferred the eyes into another container. On the surface, not much data could be extracted; after all, it was just a pair of eyes, not a body. Xie Chuchu said, "What we can confirm is that these eyes were removed no more than 24 hours ago!"
"Hmm? Weren't we still in the underground level then?" I asked.
"The guy likely escaped long ago and committed another crime, and we've only just discovered it."
"Damn it, if this continues, public opinion will escalate further!"
"There's no other way. All we can do now is find the killer quickly."
At that moment, Gao Mingqiang pushed his wheelchair over. "Team Leader, I found this on the podium."
I took what he handed me, and to my surprise, it was...
I now felt that some areas from the underground level hadn't been thoroughly searched. Could it be that the killer hadn't found the treasure yet?
Gao Mingqiang had given me a piece of parchment, which bore a line of poetry from the previous treasure discovery.
However, this item seemed to have fallen from someone's person; the killer had been here.
There should have been footprints at the scene, but with so many students present, the footprints were no longer identifiable.
Regarding surveillance, I thought of Xiahou, who arrived and said, "I have to disappoint you this time. All the surveillance in the entire building was completely destroyed and hasn't been repaired yet. However, based on the time the surveillance malfunctioned, it was about 28 hours ago."
"This scoundrel. Based on the time, let's check the roads around the school. We must find this suspicious individual!"
"Understood!" Everyone agreed and got busy. Back at the provincial hall, a colleague from the technical investigation department, while examining the parchment, suddenly discovered something. He summoned me to the technical investigation office.
"Team Leader, this parchment has three layers. Although the middle layer was torn off, some imprints can still be seen on the layer below."
"Why? Could someone have written on it before?"
"No, those traces seem to be imprints from branding."
"So..."
"Team Leader, I've restored some of the text. It appears to be another poem: 'Li Tang's central plains hold gold, blessings bestowed by grace, three turns in the rabbit's burrow, the forest land overturns, pausing at the gap, between the tilting sun, a sword to take the world, vegetation reborn, the nation prospers and thrives.'"