Chapter 302: Ancient Execution Methods

C City, XX District, XX Street, Ronghua Residential Complex. Inside one of the buildings.

Xiao Yu and Wang Dong squatted at the crime scene, staring at the dried bloodstains on the floor.

“The cause of death for the first victim was asphyxiation, caused by the killer using steel wire to strangle their neck. The second victim’s cause of death was from having their trachea and arteries slit. As for the third victim’s cause of death…”

Xiao Yu didn’t bother listening further to the police report. He stood up and walked outside to the ground floor.

The building was old, a two-unit type.

However, the two units on the first floor had been merged into a single entry point. Every window of the building was equipped with protective bars. Not only could outsiders not enter, but those inside couldn’t leave either.

Entering through the single doorway, there was only one staircase leading to the upper floors. No elevator.

The entrances leading to the second floor and the adjacent unit were both sealed with iron doors.

Once these two iron doors were locked, neither the neighboring unit’s residents nor those upstairs could leave the building.

From a glance, this old building resembled a miniature prison.

When the police arrived three days ago in response to a report, they were stunned by what they saw.

Who could have imagined that a structure like this would exist within a city?

Was it even logical?

It was then that the illogical began to surface. Not only was there such a building, but it also housed over thirty women engaged in illegal prostitution. The three deceased were members of the criminal gang responsible for overseeing these women.

Following the trail, the police apprehended six other gang members involved.

However, after a thorough investigation, the police found no trace of the murderer. No fingerprints, no footprints, no weapon. There wasn’t even a discernible motive.

The murder weapon could only be speculated based on the injuries of the victims. Furthermore, surveillance in the complex showed no suspicious individuals entering.

It was as if a ghost had entered the complex and killed the three victims.

Everyone knew this was impossible.

Yet, someone had managed to achieve it.

“A trained agent?”

Wang Dong frowned as he walked up to Xiao Yu, who was standing outside the complex.

“Who knows,” Xiao Yu said with a mocking tone, “Let’s check the bodies first.”

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C City, Forensics Division, Autopsy Room.

Inside, three naked bodies lay on three separate autopsy tables.

As Xiao Yu’s eyes scanned the fatal injuries on the three bodies, his pupils suddenly dilated before rapidly contracting twice.

Something about the injuries felt familiar.

Approaching one of the bodies, Xiao Yu bent down and fixed his gaze on the neck.

What does being strangled to death feel like?

Aside from the panic experienced during the process, it involves several torturous stages.

Stage one, the throat tears. The arteries tear under the force of the strangulation, potentially causing blood to seep into the arterial walls.

Stage two, loss of bodily control. The victim may completely lose control over their body functions, resulting in involuntary reactions like defecation or urination.

Stage three, the head feels like it’s about to explode. Oxygen supply to the brain is severed, leading to a condition sometimes referred to as a brain seizure, which is excruciatingly painful.

And you’d think it ends there?

No. Even after death, the ordeal might not be over.

Why?

Signs such as hemorrhaged eyelids, cyanotic lips, visceral congestion, fractured hyoid bones, and strangulation marks on the neck may appear post-mortem—but not always consistently.

Why elaborate on this?

Because Xiao Yu noticed that the victim had died in extreme agony.

This wasn’t just a simple strangulation. The victim had been tortured to death during the process.

Executed.

How did Xiao Yu figure this out?

How long does it take to strangle someone?

Strangulation isn’t mere suffocation.

When the neck is tightly constricted, a person may lose consciousness in about 10 seconds. After 20 seconds, severe oxygen deprivation might occur, potentially causing brain damage. At 30 seconds, due to restricted blood flow and oxygen, the individual might either die or suffer irreversible brain damage.

Even someone in peak physical condition would lose consciousness entirely within this time frame.

Why 5 minutes?

Even in a state of respiratory arrest with complete unconsciousness resembling pseudo-death, resuscitation is possible within 1-2 minutes.

However, beyond that, the individual entered irreversible respiratory failure, leading to death.

The victim before Xiao Yu exhibited terrifying evidence. He had likely been strangled for over 10 minutes.

This was evident from the dark purple discoloration of his face, the strangulation marks on his neck, and the dark red pooling of blood in his eyes.

In forensic terms, this phenomenon was referred to as staged asphyxiation or multi-phase asphyxiation.

What does this mean?

During asphyxiation, while the victim’s blood flow and oxygen levels were critically low, there were brief intervals where blood flow and oxygen were partially restored—only for the asphyxiation process to resume again.

Xiao Yu recalled an ancient method of execution–hanging by strangulation.

This method involved strangling a condemned prisoner three times.

The goal wasn’t merely to kill but to make the individual experience an extended and torturous death.

“What a cruel method.”

Xiao Yu withdrew his gaze and turned to the other two victims.

One had their throat slit, but a plastic tube had been inserted into the wound. This allowed the victim to keep breathing while each breath tore at the arteries, causing blood to spurt out until death.

The other…

Xiao Yu’s mouth twitched.

The victim’s abdomen had been completely sliced open, their internal organs spilling out. This was the most infamous and brutal ancient punishment—disembowelment.

A person disemboweled in such a manner wouldn’t die immediately but would endure excruciating pain, watching their own death unfold.

Of the three victims, two were executed using ancient methods.

The third also met a horrific end.

Xiao Yu also noticed that all three had been ambushed in ways that rendered them incapable of resistance before being subjected to their gruesome deaths.