Chapter 45: Meeting Goodness with Goodness
"Based on the information we have now, it is highly likely that Wei Youfu went to the ecological conservation forest in the outskirts of Xinhu because he obtained some information from Jiang. That forest could even be the black forest depicted in Jiang's drawings."
"The eighth victim left no trace on the internet from birth to death, completely disconnected from the technological world, as if confined in an isolated place. Perhaps the home of the eighth victim, or rather the home of the killer, is within that ecological conservation forest!"
Upon hearing Li Xue's words, Han Fei couldn't help but feel excited.
The case had reached a crucial point, and they now had a clear direction.
"That ecological forest is connected to the Yangu Cemetery in Xinhu. It would be difficult to enter and conduct a search without more compelling evidence to persuade the higher-ups. Fortunately, my mentor and I made a more significant discovery during our further investigation." Li Xue's voice was filled with excitement.
"What did you discover?"
"The killer underestimated Wei Youfu and Jiang!" Li Xue stated with certainty. "The ecological forest is vast, and finding a black house inside it would be like finding a needle in a haystack. Only Jiang, who could draw the black forest, the black house, and the group of headless figures, likely knew the exact location of the black house. The killer, with a mocking attitude, would deliberately lead this kind-hearted homeless man to visit the human flesh factory, continuously provoking him and driving him to madness. Wei Youfu, an ordinary office worker with no jungle exploration experience, created a miracle."
"Jiang, with low intelligence and the inability to form complete sentences, successfully conveyed the location of the black house to Wei Youfu, who surprisingly believed the words of a roadside lunatic and went to investigate twice."
"Goodness encountered goodness, fulfilling each other's goodwill and providing us with the most crucial clue in solving the case!"
"Wei Youfu didn't find anything on his first visit to the ecological forest, but on the day before his death, he went there again, and this time he was likely very close to the black house! It was because of this that the killer, who had always held a contemptuous attitude, decided to take direct action!" Li Xue's voice slowed down. "Han Fei, is there anyone around you right now?"
Han Fei looked around. "No, I'm alone here."
"Good. What I'm about to tell you, you must not disclose to anyone until we catch the killer."
"Understood."
"We examined the case files, and when Wei Youfu was killed, everything in his computer and phone was wiped clean. Since the computers and phones of the other victims were also wiped, the police didn't find it suspicious at the time. They had the technicians recover the information from the devices, but they didn't discover anything."
"However, later on, when the police were sorting through Wei Youfu's belongings, they found a piece of clothing fragment covered in mud inside his second-hand car."
"At the time, the police didn't pay much attention to it and just took it back as a suspicious item."
"My mentor and I retrieved the photos of the evidence at that time and used computer enhancement to restore the fuzzy pattern on the cloth fragment. Then we used the latest data instruments to compare the pattern with the images in the online database. Finally, we discovered that the pattern was from a children's clothing brand from ten years ago."
"When it was complete, it looked like this." Li Xue sent Han Fei a photo of a knockoff brand of children's clothing.
"Just with this children's clothing, you believe you can persuade the higher-ups to reopen the investigation into the human puzzle case and mobilize a large number of police forces to search the ecological conservation forest in Xinhu?" Han Fei was somewhat sceptical.
"Take another look at this picture. It's the last image of the missing child from the welfare institute captured on the surveillance footage." Li Xue sent another photo to Han Fei, and after seeing it, Han Fei took in a breath.
The child who always claimed to see ghosts at night was wearing the exact same children's clothing as in the photo!
"The clothing worn by the missing child from the welfare institute was found in Wei Youfu's car, and Wei Youfu had just returned from the ecological forest. The fragment covered in mud should have been brought back by him from the forest. Shortly afterward, he was brutally murdered by the killer."
"Everything forms a closed loop, and the clothing fragment found in Wei Youfu's car is concrete evidence! We have reason to believe that there is a connection between the killer and that ecological forest."
Relying solely on reasoning wouldn't be enough to reopen the investigation. Li Xue and her mentor needed a compelling reason to persuade the higher-ups. "I won't tell you the specific action time now. What you need to do is ensure your own safety and patiently wait for good news at home."
"Li Xue, I have a small question to ask you." After listening to Li Xue's words, Han Fei thought of something. "If the killer of the human puzzle case lives in the ecological conservation forest, which is likely the case, then the death of the missing child from the welfare institute should also be related to him. After all, Wei Youfu discovered the clothing fragment of the child in the ecological forest."
"That makes sense. Please continue."
"Do you think that the missing child from the welfare institute, the one who always claimed to see ghosts at night, saw the killer as the ghost?" Han Fei stood in the shadow, his mind racing. "The killer of the human puzzle case adopted the eighth victim, and Jiang's drawing also shows many headless figures in the black forest. If all those figures are children, who do you think can obtain so many orphans and abandoned infants?"
"The director of the welfare institute?" Li Xue felt a sense of astonishment upon hearing Han Fei's words.
In fact, Han Fei also recalled the short song sung by the eighth victim: "Brothers and sisters sent far away, fewer and fewer brothers and sisters." He realized that the place where the eighth victim lived was not just for one child. Taking care of these children would be very troublesome and require a certain level of experience.
"Furthermore, Jiang was employed because he found the director of the welfare institute's wallet. As you mentioned earlier, the killer enjoys the pleasure of having goodwill betrayed, despised, and detested. The director of the welfare institute happened to know that Jiang was an extremely kind-hearted person." Han Fei's thoughts were spinning faster and faster. "Do you think the director saw Jiang as the embodiment of his ideal of goodwill—ugly, low intelligence, emitting an unpleasant smell—and that's why he arranged for Jiang to work at the welfare institute? Did he want to treat Jiang as his plaything?"
"It's possible. I'm going to call my mentor now and investigate some things."
Li Xue quickly hung up the phone, while Han Fei remained standing in the shadow of the street, with various case-related information flashing through his mind.
"The eighth victim left no trace on the internet from birth to death, completely disconnected from the technological world, as if confined in an isolated place. Perhaps the home of the eighth victim, or rather the home of the killer, is within that ecological conservation forest!"
Upon hearing Li Xue's words, Han Fei couldn't help but feel excited.
The case had reached a crucial point, and they now had a clear direction.
"That ecological forest is connected to the Yangu Cemetery in Xinhu. It would be difficult to enter and conduct a search without more compelling evidence to persuade the higher-ups. Fortunately, my mentor and I made a more significant discovery during our further investigation." Li Xue's voice was filled with excitement.
"What did you discover?"
"The killer underestimated Wei Youfu and Jiang!" Li Xue stated with certainty. "The ecological forest is vast, and finding a black house inside it would be like finding a needle in a haystack. Only Jiang, who could draw the black forest, the black house, and the group of headless figures, likely knew the exact location of the black house. The killer, with a mocking attitude, would deliberately lead this kind-hearted homeless man to visit the human flesh factory, continuously provoking him and driving him to madness. Wei Youfu, an ordinary office worker with no jungle exploration experience, created a miracle."
"Jiang, with low intelligence and the inability to form complete sentences, successfully conveyed the location of the black house to Wei Youfu, who surprisingly believed the words of a roadside lunatic and went to investigate twice."
"Goodness encountered goodness, fulfilling each other's goodwill and providing us with the most crucial clue in solving the case!"
"Wei Youfu didn't find anything on his first visit to the ecological forest, but on the day before his death, he went there again, and this time he was likely very close to the black house! It was because of this that the killer, who had always held a contemptuous attitude, decided to take direct action!" Li Xue's voice slowed down. "Han Fei, is there anyone around you right now?"
Han Fei looked around. "No, I'm alone here."
"Good. What I'm about to tell you, you must not disclose to anyone until we catch the killer."
"Understood."
"We examined the case files, and when Wei Youfu was killed, everything in his computer and phone was wiped clean. Since the computers and phones of the other victims were also wiped, the police didn't find it suspicious at the time. They had the technicians recover the information from the devices, but they didn't discover anything."
"However, later on, when the police were sorting through Wei Youfu's belongings, they found a piece of clothing fragment covered in mud inside his second-hand car."
"At the time, the police didn't pay much attention to it and just took it back as a suspicious item."
"My mentor and I retrieved the photos of the evidence at that time and used computer enhancement to restore the fuzzy pattern on the cloth fragment. Then we used the latest data instruments to compare the pattern with the images in the online database. Finally, we discovered that the pattern was from a children's clothing brand from ten years ago."
"When it was complete, it looked like this." Li Xue sent Han Fei a photo of a knockoff brand of children's clothing.
"Just with this children's clothing, you believe you can persuade the higher-ups to reopen the investigation into the human puzzle case and mobilize a large number of police forces to search the ecological conservation forest in Xinhu?" Han Fei was somewhat sceptical.
"Take another look at this picture. It's the last image of the missing child from the welfare institute captured on the surveillance footage." Li Xue sent another photo to Han Fei, and after seeing it, Han Fei took in a breath.
The child who always claimed to see ghosts at night was wearing the exact same children's clothing as in the photo!
"The clothing worn by the missing child from the welfare institute was found in Wei Youfu's car, and Wei Youfu had just returned from the ecological forest. The fragment covered in mud should have been brought back by him from the forest. Shortly afterward, he was brutally murdered by the killer."
"Everything forms a closed loop, and the clothing fragment found in Wei Youfu's car is concrete evidence! We have reason to believe that there is a connection between the killer and that ecological forest."
Relying solely on reasoning wouldn't be enough to reopen the investigation. Li Xue and her mentor needed a compelling reason to persuade the higher-ups. "I won't tell you the specific action time now. What you need to do is ensure your own safety and patiently wait for good news at home."
"Li Xue, I have a small question to ask you." After listening to Li Xue's words, Han Fei thought of something. "If the killer of the human puzzle case lives in the ecological conservation forest, which is likely the case, then the death of the missing child from the welfare institute should also be related to him. After all, Wei Youfu discovered the clothing fragment of the child in the ecological forest."
"That makes sense. Please continue."
"Do you think that the missing child from the welfare institute, the one who always claimed to see ghosts at night, saw the killer as the ghost?" Han Fei stood in the shadow, his mind racing. "The killer of the human puzzle case adopted the eighth victim, and Jiang's drawing also shows many headless figures in the black forest. If all those figures are children, who do you think can obtain so many orphans and abandoned infants?"
"The director of the welfare institute?" Li Xue felt a sense of astonishment upon hearing Han Fei's words.
In fact, Han Fei also recalled the short song sung by the eighth victim: "Brothers and sisters sent far away, fewer and fewer brothers and sisters." He realized that the place where the eighth victim lived was not just for one child. Taking care of these children would be very troublesome and require a certain level of experience.
"Furthermore, Jiang was employed because he found the director of the welfare institute's wallet. As you mentioned earlier, the killer enjoys the pleasure of having goodwill betrayed, despised, and detested. The director of the welfare institute happened to know that Jiang was an extremely kind-hearted person." Han Fei's thoughts were spinning faster and faster. "Do you think the director saw Jiang as the embodiment of his ideal of goodwill—ugly, low intelligence, emitting an unpleasant smell—and that's why he arranged for Jiang to work at the welfare institute? Did he want to treat Jiang as his plaything?"
"It's possible. I'm going to call my mentor now and investigate some things."
Li Xue quickly hung up the phone, while Han Fei remained standing in the shadow of the street, with various case-related information flashing through his mind.
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