NOS Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Mopan Mountain (4)

Chapter 4: Mopan Mountain (4)

The research and evaluation room was filled with smoke. When Meng Changqing went in to pour tea and fetch water, he almost felt like an immortal riding the clouds.

He coughed twice, pushed the water cup in front of Guan Yao, and then said softly, “Master, I’ll open the window to let some air in.”

Guan Yao waved his hand, signaling him to hurry up. Coincidentally, Yu Chunming, sitting next to him, lit his third cigarette.

The man rustled the documents in his hand, not even raising his head as he asked, “Besides the two locations we found yesterday, have we found any other human tissue or bones on the mountain?”

Han Chen leaned back in his swivel chair and clicked his tongue, saying, “No, but our criminal investigators found some minced meat hidden in the grass and soil while collecting evidence under the Watchtower. Besides that, there’s a ridge in Zone 3, and a small pool of blood was found under the steep cliff on the left side of the ridge. It wasn’t much, and there were no bone or flesh remains around it. After testing, the blood belongs to the victim.”

“Zone 3? That’s not too far away,” Guan Yao said, shaking his head thoughtfully.

Yu Chunming asked again, “What about the animal experts? Have they confirmed what kind of wild animal it was?”

Han Chen wasn’t Wang Zun. He seemed used to Yu Chunming’s tone, which resembled a superior questioning a subordinate, and he replied, “The report was just sent back. They said the bite marks are most likely from a plains wolf, but the cross-section of the severed hand looks like it was torn by a brown bear. Last night, our forensic technicians carefully examined the Watchtower and found traces of blood inside. The wooden door at the bottom of the tower was severely damaged, and there were indeed signs of wild animal activity.”

“Wolves and brown bears are quite common in Jin A Lin,” Guan Yao interjected. “But they’re rare on Mopan Mountain. That place is close to the city, and there’s a lot of people and traffic, so there are no infrared cameras installed, and no protective fences were specifically set up.”

Yu Chunming held his cigarette, and didn’t speak for a long time.

But Han Chen seemed to like soliciting his opinion. Guan Yao saw the man lean forward and ask, “Chunming, you said before that there aren’t many wild animals on Mopan Mountain, so these wolves and brown bears that caused the bites and tears were likely attracted by the bloody smell on the victim. Does that mean the victim was seriously injured before death?”

“Yes,” Yu Chunming replied.

Han Chen was puzzled. “If they were already injured, why didn’t they immediately leave the mountain or call for help?”

Guan Yao was about to explain, but Yu Chunming answered first, “The primeval forests here are continuous. If a person enters the mountains without any positioning tools, they’re likely to experience psychological confusion due to the repetitive scenery and light, or in simpler terms, get lost. As for cell phones… the signal is poor here. If you go a little deeper, you’ll lose contact with the outside world. Only using a wireless radio can guarantee long-term and stable communication. The forest rangers and observers in the Watchtower all use wireless radios. Of course, if the wireless radio fails, a lost person can also light a fire in the forest. If the observers in the tower see it, they’ll immediately contact the forestry department. So, it’s strange that the victim died silently.”

Guan Yao looked at Yu Chunming with some surprise. He hadn’t expected that this policeman from Songlan would know Za Mu Er so well.

Yu Chunming didn’t notice Guan Yao’s gaze. He continued, “Moreover, the most bizarre thing about this case is that if the victim got injured, got lost, attracted wild animals from the deep mountains, and ultimately died, then there should be more human tissue and bones left behind. Most importantly, we can’t forget that wild animals eat human flesh, not the clothes on humans. But so far, have the forensic technicians found any fragments of clothing?”

“That’s right.” Liang Chong, the leader of the task force and the captain of the Criminal Investigation Detachment of the Jin A Lin Regional Public Security Bureau, who had been silent until now, nodded. “Wild animals can’t swallow hard human bones and indigestible clothing materials together. If they were dismembered by wild animals, then the basic skeleton should still be there. But from yesterday afternoon to this morning, we conducted a carpet search of Mopan Mountain for an entire day, and we still haven’t found any clothing remains or other human bones.”

After he said this, the conference room fell silent. For the task force, this was perhaps the worst-case scenario.

If they could piece together a complete skeleton, find shredded clothing, reconstruct the wild animals’ route, and ultimately find the victim, then this should be a simple case of a wild animal injuring someone.

But what if they couldn’t find a complete skeleton?

“Someone hid the body,” Yu Chunming said faintly.

Guan Yao gasped. He couldn’t help but turn his head to look at Yu Chunming’s profile, which was hidden in the smoke.

“Yes, we can’t rule out that possibility. The victim’s severed hand also verifies that possibility to some extent,” Liang Chong agreed with Yu Chunming’s statement.

Han Chen looked a little impatient. He shook his head and said, “This is just speculation.”

“This isn’t speculation, it’s a fact.” Yu Chunming put out his cigarette and pulled out a field map from a stack of documents. “Can’t you see that this place has obvious signs of being ‘cleaned’?”

“Cleaned?” Han Chen’s eyes twitched.

“Compare it to the Forest Ranger Station.” Yu Chunming raised his hand and pointed to the picture. “Outside the Forest Ranger Station, in the bushes, on the low branches, and between the frosted dead leaves, there are small amounts of human tissue and some tiny bones hanging. These human tissues and bones are irregularly distributed in the forest. But at the bottom of the Watchtower, you only found some minced meat remaining in the grass and soil during the field investigation. The rest of the place was clean. There weren’t even remnants of clothing materials. And…”

Yu Chunming pointed to an inconspicuous corner on the field map. “I asked the forensic technicians you brought, and they said there were signs of soil being disturbed here.”

“Someone tried to destroy the evidence,” Guan Yao immediately interjected.

Han Chen didn’t agree. “Then what about the severed hand? If someone really hid the body, wouldn’t they see such a big severed hand lying on the ground?”

Yu Chunming’s gaze slightly condensed, and he didn’t speak.

At this time, team leader Liang Chong stood up and nodded to everyone. “You guys continue to analyze. There’s an online meeting in Songlan. I’ll be back later.”

He left, and the atmosphere in the conference room immediately relaxed a lot. Yu Chunming immediately lit his fourth cigarette, and Han Chen also leaned back.

“Smoke less,” Guan Yao couldn’t help but say.

Yu Chunming paused with his hand about to press the lighter, and then acted as if he hadn’t heard Guan Yao’s words. With a “pop,” he lit another cigarette.

Han Chen looked at the two men and chuckled softly.

“Is Officer Guan Chunming’s superior?” He asked kindly.

“Sort of,” Guan Yao replied expressionlessly.

The reason it was “sort of” was because from a rank perspective, he was. But from Yu Chunming’s behavior, he completely wasn’t.

Han Chen generously extended his hand to him. “Hello, hello. I’m Chunming’s former classmate, colleague, and partner. I’ll have to trouble Officer Guan to take care of us in the future…”

“Do you remember the dismemberment case at the Songlan Auto Repair Factory last year?” Before the man could finish speaking, Yu Chunming suddenly opened his mouth.

Han Chen paused, his hand froze in mid-air. At the same time, under Guan Yao’s watchful eye, his original amiable and smooth expression instantly turned extremely ugly.

Guan Yao saw the man stiffly turn his head to look at Yu Chunming, and almost gritted his teeth as he asked, “What do you mean?”

Yu Chunming’s face was as usual. He tapped the documents in front of him and replied, “I just think these two cases might be related.”

The Songlan 6.13 Auto Repair Factory dismemberment case started when a resident in South Mansion Neighborhood reported that their upstairs neighbor had been making noise continuously for three days.

The police officers who went to investigate only intended to simply knock on the door to inquire, but unexpectedly, they not only failed to open the door, but also found a lot of blood stains under the door crack.

Then, employees of the power supply bureau reported the situation to the local police station, saying that the household’s electricity consumption had increased sharply in the past three days, but the reserved contact phone number could not be reached. In order to investigate hidden dangers and ensure safety, the police opened the closed door and found a freezer and three operating floor-standing air conditioners. The noise was caused by the simultaneous humming of the three air conditioner outdoor units.

In addition, the room looked clean, but testing revealed that there were traces of blood in the freezer, on the floor of the room, and in the sink and bathtub in the bathroom.

“Moreover, the investigating police officers found a finger that was about to rot under the sink in the bathroom,” Yu Chunming said.

Guan Yao frowned tightly. “A finger?”

“Because of this severed finger, the case was reported by the Southern Zhou District to the City Bureau, and finally… it fell into our hands.” Yu Chunming glanced at Han Chen.

Han Chen crossed his arms and looked sullen. He didn’t seem willing for Yu Chunming to mention the case, but because Guan Yao was present, he had to squeeze out a smile. “Yes, it was investigated by Wang Zhen, the captain of the Criminal Investigation Detachment of the Songlan City Bureau, who is also our mentor.”

“Then what does this case have to do with our Mopan Mountain dismemberment case?” Guan Yao asked seriously.

Yu Chunming replied, “This case isn’t related to the Mopan Mountain dismemberment case, but to Za Mu Er.”

“Za Mu Er?” Guan Yao’s gaze slightly condensed.

“That’s right. The head of the household’s name is He Wang. You should have heard of him,” Yu Chunming looked at Guan Yao.

Sure enough, after hearing this name, Guan Yao’s eyes lit up.

According to Yu Chunming and Han Chen, this man named “He Wang” opened a small store on Orchid Hook Street near South Mansion Neighborhood. The area was close to the university, with many people coming and going, and many students knew this Boss He. His neighbors also said that He Wang was kind and warm-hearted, and no one could imagine that someone would harm him. However, at the time of the incident, He Wang’s store had not opened for business for five days, which meant that he had probably been missing for five days.

Moreover, the police found something strange during the investigation. A week before He Wang disappeared, to be exact, on June 1st, he bought a train ticket to Za Mu Er. The train number was K7629, and the departure time was 12:30 noon on June 13th.

Za Mu Er Railway Station only has three incoming and outgoing trains a day, and each one is still a regular fast diesel locomotive. If He Wang boarded this train in Songlan, he would have to wait until seven o’clock the next morning to arrive in Za Mu Er.

“We waited for a long time that day, but according to the information returned by the railway department, He Wang didn’t board the train. He didn’t even go to the station,” Yu Chunming said. “I remember the Songlan City Bureau asked Za Mu Er to cooperate in the investigation last year.”

“There was such a thing,” Guan Yao rubbed his nose. “I handled it at the time.”

Having said that, he couldn’t help but ask, “Then is this He Wang the owner of the severed finger?”

“If the DNA we extracted from He Wang’s bedding belongs to He Wang, then he isn’t the owner of the severed finger, but the bloodstains under the door and on the floor belong to the owner of the severed finger,” Yu Chunming paused. “So, He Wang is likely not the victim, but the suspect.”

“Suspect…” Guan Yao pondered for a moment, and said, “I remember that it was already confirmed on the first floor of the Branch Bureau at the time that He Wang wasn’t from Za Mu Er. His ID issuing agency seemed to be…”

“Sui City,” Yu Chunming added.

“Yes, Sui City,” Guan Yao nodded. “I also remember that He Wang has an account in a Za Mu Er bank… But since he isn’t from Za Mu Er, why would he buy a ticket to Za Mu Er at that time?”

“Maybe because he met someone from Za Mu Er,” Han Chen interjected silently.

On the day of the incident, the police officers who were checking the building found that the community’s video monitoring system had been upgraded two months ago, but had not been enabled, so the information they found was limited. However, the private surveillance installed in He Wang’s neighbor’s house precisely captured a conversation between a cleaner and the householder He Wang in the corridor. The residential building where He Wang lived had a new cleaner two months ago due to complaints. The new cleaner’s surname was Yi, named Yi Jun, and claimed to be from Za Mu Er. It was this surveillance footage that allowed the police to initially identify the two men.

Although there was only a back view of Yi Jun and half of He Wang’s face, the surveillance audio showed that He Wang was very talkative and repeatedly inquired about Za Mu Er from Yi Jun, expressing his longing for the border city in his words.

However, what was strange was that after the incident, Yi Jun seemed to have evaporated from the world. The police only found the address he registered with the property company. At the same time, because the property company’s recruitment process was not standardized enough, too many people were hired at once, and ID cards were uniformly collected and distributed, which led to even their personnel being unable to clearly state Yi Jun’s specific physical characteristics, and whether the person had actually provided valid identification at the time.

As for the other side, in order to find He Wang’s whereabouts, the police checked his bank statements and found that the person who claimed to never have been to Za Mu Er in front of Yi Jun actually withdrew money regularly on the 15th of every month, ranging from 4,000 to 6,000, and the money was mailed to the Za Mu Er Post Office. Except for the month of the incident, there had never been an interruption.

“Mailed?” Guan Yao was surprised. “Who still uses mailing these days?”

Yu Chunming patiently explained, “Mailing is more discreet than transferring money. And the endpoint he mailed to was the Za Mu Er Post Office, not a specific person, nor a specific address. That is to say, the person receiving the money was in a state of… tacit understanding with him.”

Guan Yao chuckled at Yu Chunming’s statement. “Tacit understanding? I think it’s a smokescreen.”

“You’re right,” Yu Chunming flicked his cigarette ash. “You just said that He Wang also has an account in a Za Mu Er bank. After our investigation, we found that he opened this account more than ten years ago, and stored tens of thousands of yuan in it at once. But this money has never been withdrawn in the past ten years. In addition, He Wang’s assets are not limited to one place. He has an auto repair shop in Songbei, and he used to have a 4S store in Lan County. However, before the incident, the 4S store was sold by him at a low price for some reason, and the small auto repair shop was also in the process of being sold.”

“Auto repair shop…” Guan Yao repeated.

The auto repair shop was where the dismembered body was found.

“When we re-examined the surveillance records, we realized that Yi Jun and He Wang’s body language was very strange. These two people seemed familiar, but at the same time, they were implicitly guarded against each other.” Speaking of this, Yu Chunming paused. “It’s just a pity that this Yi Jun was very cautious, always wearing a mask and hat, and his face was never captured by surveillance. Therefore, we can’t see his facial expressions, we only know that he is a middle-aged man about 185cm tall and relatively strong.”

Han Chen, who had been unwilling to discuss the case in detail, opened his mouth and said, “Coincidentally, when I went to the auto repair shop to investigate and collect evidence, I found the dismembered body in a wastewater pool in the back of the factory area.”

Therefore, a year ago, Yu Chunming and Han Chen split up. One went to find Yi Jun, and the other stayed at the auto repair shop to investigate.

But Yu Chunming failed to catch the man at Yi Jun’s residence. He only found a ticket to Za Mu Er that was also for June 13th, and the train number was also K7629. Moreover, in this small, clean rental house, where the forensic doctor later failed to extract any DNA, Yu Chunming also found traces of chemical experiments. These remaining chemical products were not only related to destroying corpses and eliminating traces, but also likely related to the manufacture of high explosives.

Yi Jun wanted to make explosives. Where was he planning to bomb? Yu Chunming found a map in Yi Jun’s rental house. There was only one mark on the map, and that was He Wang’s auto repair shop.

On the other side, Han Chen discovered an address written in marker on a piece of skin that had been particularly swollen among the small pieces of corpse that had been salvaged.

“The address is Za Mu Er, District 11, Number 35,” Yu Chunming said softly.