I went to the kitchen to find Chef Liu, and with the help of the manager, we found him.
After asking around, we learned that Chef Liu was the head chef here.
He had been working here for 10 years and was extremely experienced. When asked about the braised fish dish, he said, "I don't know. I did make that dish, but I didn't tamper with it!"
"Are you sure? We saw the explosion in the hall right after the child touched that braised fish!" I said. Chef Liu immediately became agitated, "No way? I think this must be a coincidence, and it has nothing to do with me!"
"We are not suspecting you, we just want to understand the situation in the kitchen!" I replied.
"We cook the guests' meals with the utmost care, there should be absolutely no problem. If you don't believe me, ask the other chefs!"
I asked Gao Mingqiang to call some police officers and question everyone in the kitchen, but none of them showed any unusual behavior.
Chef Liu was also remarkably calm and natural, not like someone who had done something wrong.
But it was also possible that his psychological fortitude was extremely strong, and he could hide it well even if he had made a mistake.
I had seen people like this before, in fact, quite a lot. I thought I should still find someone to keep an eye on Chef Liu.
When I left the kitchen, I explained the situation to Liu Yuning. As she was arranging personnel, Xie Chuchu came to find me, saying she had collected a repeater at the scene.
At first, I didn't understand what a repeater was, but when she mentioned the camera, I knew.
It was used for live streaming.
"Live streaming? That's too strange. Could the killer's real purpose not be murder, but to broadcast this murder process live?" I guessed at the time.
Liu Yuning was immediately stimulated by my words, "How could that be? Live streaming the victim being blown to death? That thought is too terrifying!"
"It's not entirely impossible. I once heard abroad about some rich people with a morbid taste who enjoyed watching these gruesome and bloody live streams," I replied. As I spoke, Xiao Yuande nodded and said, "When I worked at the provincial department before, I had heard of such things."
"I really don't understand what those rich people are thinking! Alright! If everyone has finished their checks, let's withdraw!" Liu Yuning said. Everyone had collected everything, taken pictures, and was ready to leave.
There were a lot of photos taken at the scene, over a hundred in total, recording everything from the bloodstains to the shattered parts and the cracks on the ground.
The hotel was temporarily closed. We had also notified the owner, and Gao Mingqiang would meet him.
Our attention returned to the bodies. After all, there were four of them this time, and the forensic department had a lot of work to do. Xie Chuchu deployed all the forensic doctors to help with the autopsies.
Even with only a thigh, it was still possible to draw blood for DNA extraction and fiber analysis.
We put on sterile suits and compared the DNA of the internal organs and bodies at the scene. We then reassembled the corresponding body parts to the designated victims. The most complete part was the man of this family.
His upper body, at least up to the abdomen, remained. The others were basically blown to pieces.
I also found a male canine tooth. Judging by its wear and tear, and based on the healing of the pubic symphysis, appearance of ossification points, and closure of epiphyses, the deceased's accurate age was determined to be 36.
Using the same method, the female corpse was determined to be 32, the young boy 11, and the old man 72. Comparing this with the population data from the household registration department, we found it to be entirely correct.
The information for these individuals was immediately locked down, and Liu Yuning began to arrange for people to interview their relatives, friends, and colleagues.
The man was named Qian Yanbin, a director at a company called Kangtai Property in Fuming City. His wife was a clerk here. The old man was retired and had served in the army. The child was studying at Huarong Primary School in Fuming City.
This family seemed quite ordinary, and we couldn't understand why they were targeted by the killer.
The repeater and camera had been handed over to He Xin, who, along with Yuan Hezhi, was carefully examining them.
From these two pieces of evidence, video data was quickly extracted. He Xin said, "These files were originally deleted. Fortunately, I managed to restore them using technology. There's about one gigabyte of video, mostly from just before and shortly after the explosion. The video cuts off after that."
"Well done. It looks like these two items are quite severely damaged, yet you were able to extract so much data. That's not something ordinary people can do!" I praised her. He Xin then played the hotel footage from that time for me.
It was similar to the hotel surveillance at the time, except that the camera angle was from below the table.
We could only see feet moving around, and the scene of the little boy kicking the table. However, later on, I actually saw the woman secretly kicking the old man's heel!
Seeing this scene, both He Xin and I were a bit surprised.
He Xin, perhaps not understanding the content, curiously asked me, "Is there something wrong with that woman's head?"
"No, she has an unspeakable secret with that old man! But why would the killer deliberately film this?" I questioned. Yuan Hezhi nearby said, "Does he want to deliberately expose the darkness behind this family to us?"
"Yes, it seems there's a possibility. The killer knew long ago that the woman was having an affair with her father-in-law. He deliberately exposed this misbehavior and wanted to broadcast it to others," I analyzed.
He Xin said, "What does this mean? Does the killer think he's great, exposing the dark side of society?"
"People with this kind of psychology always consider themselves righteous and are doing something fearless. Criminal psychology says these people believe their perverted criminal behavior is correct, that they are gods, the judges of this world, punishing those they deem guilty." Liu Yuning, who was present, summarized.
I nodded intently at her, "I'll give this profile an 80!"
"Uh, what about the remaining 20 points?"
"Besides this, we can't get any information about the killer. If that's the case, the profile is meaningless. Besides, what you just said, I've seen it in some film and television works, like 'Detective Chinatown 3'."
"Uh, I haven't even had time to watch the first part of that movie. I'll go with you to watch it when I have time!"
He Xin complained, "You don't need to talk about your date during work hours, really!"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I got excited for a moment. Ah! When did I say it was a date? We're just friends!"