Chapter 199: Back to the Initial Investigation

Peeling the skin off living people… turning them into wax statues… works of art?

This horrifying possibility left everyone in the room feeling deeply unsettled. The once silent conference room finally had some sound—people shifting in their chairs, unable to stay still. The shock was too much to contain.

Naturally, they questioned the reliability of this theory. Could such a grotesque idea really be true?

But then they remembered it was Xiao Yu who proposed it.

The same Xiao Yu who had won four first-class merit awards and held an honorary title, one of the most skilled young detectives in the force. Would someone like him make a joke about something so serious?

“How do we find him?” 

After a long silence, Wang Dong, the lead on this case, calmly asked as he looked at Xiao Yu.

“No idea,” Xiao Yu said as he took a drag from his cigarette, eyes narrowing. “Trying to find someone just based on a photo of a room made from magnesium-aluminum alloy? Nearly impossible. I’ve already analyzed everything in the photos, but chasing down leads from those details is incredibly difficult. If the killer dared to take these pictures, he likely meant them for someone specific to see. Magnesium-aluminum alloy, custom surgical tools, specialized medical knowledge… Any traceable channels would have been wiped clean by the killer. From the photos alone…”

Xiao Yu’s eyes gleamed coldly as he said two words, “No leads.”

The weight of his words pulled everyone into a deep pit of hopelessness.

“But…” Xiao Yu suddenly smiled. “There’s an old saying. Those who play with fire are bound to get burned. And in our line of work, there’s a saying too. If you commit a crime, you’ll leave behind evidence.”

Everyone, “???”

‘What are you talking about?’

“I’m just messing around… kind of.” Ignoring the confused looks, Xiao Yu picked up a tablet. “The photos may not give us a lead, but we do have a clue. The theft.”

Everyone, “???”

It was not that they were trying to be clueless tools. They were discussing the ‘human skin wax statues,’ and Xiao Yu suddenly brought up a theft case. 

How did that connect?

“If we want to find the person behind these skin statues, we need to go back to the beginning,” Xiao Yu explained, looking around at everyone. “Because that’s the only real lead we have, the only trace he left behind.”

“First, the train theft. A family of three reported that their platinum sphere went missing. And yes, the sphere was definitely stolen on the train. But the thief didn’t get what was inside the platinum sphere—a mobile phone memory card. And that card holds the photos of the crime.”

“Three key questions. First, why did the Ji family have these disturbing photos? And why did they specifically store them on a memory card inside a platinum sphere?

“Second, did the Ji family know someone was after the memory card? Is that why they intentionally had the platinum sphere stolen on the train and then reported it? What was their motive?

“Third, the circumstances around the Ji family’s suicide are suspicious. It’s likely not a suicide but a murder. We can find evidence of this from the autopsy. And the fact that the stolen platinum sphere reappeared in their home is another clue.

“Given these three points, we can hypothesize. Could the person who stole the platinum sphere on the train and later returned it, possibly killing the Ji family, also be the same person responsible for creating those human-skin wax figures? If all our assumptions are correct…” Xiao Yu paused. “Then we just need to catch this thief, right?”

It was such a simple idea. The thief’s target was the platinum sphere, or more specifically, the memory card inside. Whether or not the thief was the one who killed the Ji family or the person behind the gruesome photos, they were undeniably involved. Following this lead could unearth something crucial.

As for catching the thief, wasn’t that one of the most basic tasks for the police?

It didn’t matter that the theft happened six years ago. Even if it had been a decade, as long as there were clues, the police force would pursue them relentlessly. Once the police machine kicked into gear, unless the thief had died and turned to dust, where could they run?

***

Bencheng, a Railway Police Station.

Xiao Yu, Wang Dong, Yun Xiangguo, and the head of the provincial department arrived on site.

Imagine how the police officers at the station felt when a group of top-level officers, some in crisp white shirts, showed up.

It was terrifying.

A sudden visit from these high-ranking figures was enough to overwhelm anyone.

What kind of major event had just occurred?!

Twenty minutes later, inside a business van, two police officers sat nervously in front of Xiao Yu, their faces showing fear and confusion.

“Six years ago, there was a theft on a train, someone stole a platinum sphere,” Xiao Yu looked directly at the two officers. “You were in charge of the initial investigation, weren’t you? Liang Du, Wei Xingyuan?”

“Yes, it was us!” 

The two officers nodded.

Crimes happening on a train were rare, so when a passenger lost something as valuable as a platinum ball, it was hard to forget. Later, they had heard that the passengers who lost the item—an entire family of three—had committed suicide, which caused quite a stir. It was impossible to forget.

“May I ask, what’s this all about?”

The one speaking was Liang Du, under forty, medium build, a First-Class Police Inspector.

“Sorry, you’re not authorized to know. This involves confidential information, so you can’t ask.”

Wang Dong spoke politely, flashing his badge—not his police ID, but his special investigator’s badge.

The expressions of the two officers changed immediately.

National Security!

Wang Dong wasn’t trying to intimidate them. The case details were so horrific that if anything leaked, the consequences would be unimaginable. The news was being completely locked down, with only a few people in the know. Even people like Guo Qiang had been ordered to keep quiet, and they weren’t even allowed to participate in the case.

This gave a clear sense of just how serious the situation was.

“Understood!” 

The two officers’ expressions became serious. In their line of work, they were familiar with confidentiality protocols, but inside, their minds were racing. 

If National Security was involved, how serious must this case be?

“Can you still recall the general details from back then?” Xiao Yu asked, not wanting to waste time.

The two officers exchanged a glance before Wei Xingyuan spoke up. “I remember most of it. I was notified by the conductor and took the call to the scene.”

Wei Xingyuan then recounted what he could remember about the case: responding to the call, arriving at the scene, conducting checks, and finding nothing suspicious.

It was pretty much the same as the six-year-old case file—the platinum ball had just disappeared. The only person who seemed like a possible suspect was a female passenger, but she had been ruled out, and the item wasn’t found on her.

After listening, Xiao Yu frowned. Something wasn’t right.

His mind started processing at a speed most people wouldn’t even understand.

After about five minutes, he suddenly looked up sharply and gave a cold order, “Find that female passenger’s personal information.”