The autopsy report came out quickly, and Mu Mian reported at the morning meeting:
"Based on the decomposition characteristics of the bodies, we estimate the time of death to be about 2-3 days ago, between October 27th and October 28th.
We found electric current marks and skin metallization on the arms of both victims, indicating their deaths were related to electrocution, but the exact causes differ.
The male victim died from cardiac arrest. The strong electric current passing through his heart disrupted its normal rhythm, leading to sudden cardiac arrest. The female victim died from organ failure. As the current passed through her body, it damaged her internal tissues and organs, resulting in pulmonary edema and pulmonary hemorrhage.
We found abrasions on both victims' wrists and ankles, likely caused by rope bindings. It's reasonable to assume that the killer tied up the victims' hands and feet before electrocuting them.
The skin around the electric current marks is yellowish-brown, indicating that the electrodes in contact with the skin were made of copper."
After hearing Mu Mian's report, everyone fell into a brief silence.
"My God, was this killer really torturing this couple? Electrocuting people to death, how deranged!" someone exclaimed.
Fang Rui then briefed everyone on a case that occurred in Linzhou City: "A similar case happened in our neighboring city. The killer also specifically targeted couples, but was never caught."
After reviewing the case files, everyone drew a sharp breath.
"Captain Fang, the wasteland where the bodies were found is right on the edge of our city, very close. Could that killer have already fled to our Jiangzhou City?" an older officer asked.
Mu Mian looked at the case file. Because the bodies were severely decomposed when discovered, the forensic pathologist at the time only left a vague autopsy report, and the cause of death wasn't determined.
Mu Mian noticed that the victim named Tian Xin was special, as her autopsy report mentioned her cause of death: multiple stab wounds to the chest and abdomen, suspected to have died from massive bleeding due to aortic rupture; while the causes of death for the other three victims were unclear.
"But this victim named Tian Xin has a different cause of death," Mu Mian raised her question, "She didn't die from electrocution. She was stabbed multiple times and died from massive blood loss."
"Could the killers in these two cases be different people?" Zhang questioned, "Otherwise, why would he change his killing method?"
"It's possible that something unexpected happened during the crime," Mu Mian added, "For example, he might have lost control of this victim, or some other reason."
Fang Rui thought for a moment and said, "Let's not combine these two cases for now. We'll investigate the case of Wang Jie and Zhang Shuochen independently."
Mu Mian was very interested in the bodies from the Linzhou case. She kept pestering Fang Rui to take her to the neighboring city to examine those bodies.
"Fang Rui, hurry up and drive me to Linzhou. I've checked the map, it only takes three hours to get there."
"Mu Mian, you probably won't be able to autopsy those bodies anymore."
"Why not? The case hasn't been solved, and the killer hasn't been caught. Haven't they kept the bodies frozen?" Mu Mian felt very disappointed, thinking there should have been many clues on those bodies.
"The bodies have already been claimed by their families and cremated."
"They're so unprofessional!"
Mu Mian was upset about this all day. At lunch, she ate with Chen Xue in the cafeteria, and Zhang also came over with his tray.
"Dr. Mu, what's wrong with you today? Why are you so unhappy?"
Mu Mian kept her head down, eating. She didn't want to socialize right now.
"Someone cremated the bodies she wanted to examine, so she's very upset!" Chen Xue shrugged and explained helplessly.
"Oh, don't worry, I've already come up with a great plan that will definitely make the killer turn himself in!" Zhang said mysteriously.
Chen Xue interrupted him disapprovingly, "Zhang, although I don't know what your plan is, I can already tell from your sleazy expression that it's probably a bad idea."
"Chen Xue..." Zhang looked at her pitifully, with an expression that said "let me speak quickly."
Chen Xue sighed, "Fine, go ahead. I promise I won't criticize you!"
"This killer must be a psychopath who hates seeing couples show affection, right?"
"Isn't that obvious? Get to the point!"
Zhang put down his chopsticks and said seriously, "We can find a very loving couple to show affection on TV, every day. This way, the killer will definitely be unable to resist coming out to kill that couple. We just need to wait for him to take the bait!"
"This idea is actually not bad."
"Right? I think it's best to collaborate with internet celebrities. They can ride the wave of popularity, and we can catch the killer. It's a win-win situation," Zhang added.
Mu Mian thought they were too noisy. She couldn't help but pour cold water on their idea: "What if they die?"
"..."
Zhang quickly modified his strategy: "What if people from our department pretend to be a couple? This way, if the killer targets us, we'll have the ability to fight back."
"But who should we choose?"
Mu Mian looked at Chen Xue, then at Zhang. She felt that Chen Xue had been acting strange lately, like now, playing along with Zhang, and earlier when Chen Xue was smiling stupidly at the corpse for no reason—Chen Xue had been very abnormal recently!
Zhang saw Mu Mian looking at them with a deep expression and thought she was recommending him and Chen Xue. He said reluctantly, "You want me and Chen Xue to show affection?"
Chen Xue blushed, "We might not be suitable, right? If we show affection, the killer probably won't get angry, but might find it funny instead?"
"We can use fewer words and more eye contact. Maybe we can really provoke the killer that way," Zhang said seriously, "We can learn from Wang Jie and see how she shows affection."
"But how can we make sure the killer sees us showing affection?"
"We can also open an account like Wang Jie and her boyfriend did. We'll call it 'The Beautiful Life of the Little Forensic Pathologist and the Little Police Officer'."
"Great idea!" Chen Xue nodded in agreement, and then they started enthusiastically discussing the details of their plan.
Mu Mian suddenly realized she had been isolated by the two of them.
She wanted to say something to increase her participation, but was interrupted each time. She could only stare blankly as they shamelessly planned their so-called killer-baiting scheme, which actually had no practical value.
"Mu Mian, why did you stop eating?" Chen Xue noticed Mu Mian leaving glumly with her tray and asked.
"I'm full!"
Chen Xue wanted to say something more to Mu Mian, but was quickly pulled back into discussing their plan with Zhang.
Mu Mian returned to her office, feeling dejected. She had lost the bodies she really wanted to examine, and Chen Xue not only didn't comfort her but also isolated her along with Zhang. She was very unhappy now!
"This is for you!" Fang Rui handed Mu Mian a USB drive, "It contains autopsy photos and videos of the four victims. I had a hard time getting it from our colleagues in the neighboring city."
"Fang Rui, thank you!" Mu Mian suddenly cheered up and immediately opened her computer to look at the photos.
"Where's Chen Xue?" Fang Rui found it strange. Chen Xue used to stick close to Mu Mian, but lately she had been disappearing every day.
"She's with Zhang," Mu Mian answered distractedly, "They're discussing the details of their killer-baiting plan. It's boring. I didn't want to listen, so I came back."
"You mean you didn't understand it, right?"
Mu Mian turned to look at Fang Rui, her expression a bit unhappy, but she nodded: "Yes! They want to lure out the killer by showing affection. This plan is too impractical."
"Why do you think it's impractical?" Fang Rui also thought Zhang's idea was quite far-fetched.
"They're not a real couple, how could they possibly fool the killer?" Mu Mian explained while watching the autopsy video, "The killer is after real couples, so he must be able to tell what kind of couple is genuine. Fake couples like Zhang and Chen Xue would be exposed immediately!"
"Haven't you noticed that Zhang and Chen Xue are secretly dating?"
Mu Mian paused the video and looked at Fang Rui in confusion: "Impossible!"
"Why?"
"If they're dating, why didn't they tell me?" Mu Mian was a bit upset. "I can keep a secret, I wouldn't tell anyone else."
"Maybe they think some things don't need to be said out loud because everyone can see it."
"I didn't see it!"
"That's a good thing. This way, you don't have to endure their public displays of affection every day," Fang Rui consoled her. "I'm already fed up with Zhang. Last weekend, he called me in the middle of the night asking what clothes he should wear. How would I know about that? See, you don't have to deal with these kinds of troubles."
"Then I'll just keep pretending I don't know."
Mu Mian's words suddenly reminded Fang Rui of something. If the killer was indeed specifically targeting couples, what criteria did they use to select these couples? And how did they learn about these couples in the first place?
"Fang Rui, look at the teeth of these three victims. They're rose-colored."
