At three in the morning, the entire city had quieted down, but the office of the Second Criminal Investigation Team in Pingjiang District’s Public Security Bureau remained brightly lit.
After pulling several all-nighters, everyone had dark circles under their eyes and sallow complexions. Some sprawled across chairs, others slumped over desks, and a few even dozed on the conference table, their snores loud enough to shake the heavens.
Xu Nian was also catching some sleep, half-reclined in his chair, when hurried footsteps suddenly echoed down the hallway. A uniformed technician rushed into the office like a gust of wind.
"Captain Xu," the technician exclaimed excitedly, "the test results are in. The two deceased have been confirmed as Pang Zhiye and Pang Wenze, the father and son who went missing on May 2nd."
The commotion woke the sleeping team. Xu Nian opened his eyes, swiftly took the documents from the technician, skimmed through them, and stood up. "Have we located the last known whereabouts of the victims before they disappeared?"
Qi Bai, rubbing his eyes, replied, "Yes. About five kilometers further in from the second dump site we found at Cuiping Mountain, near a small river. I spoke with the victims' relatives and also retrieved chat records from Pang Zhiye’s colleague’s phone. The messages included photos and location data, confirming it as their last known location before they vanished."
"Then let’s move out," Xu Nian said, already heading for the door.
The others scrambled to follow. As Qi Bai passed Wang Yu’s desk, he casually swiped the half-eaten bag of crackers lying there.
Wang Yu caught the motion out of the corner of his eye and deliberately boarded the same car as Qi Bai. Without a word, he reached into Qi Bai’s pocket, retrieved the crackers, and split them, stuffing half into his own mouth.
Qi Bai pouted. "You’re really going to fight me over half a bag of crackers? All those steamed buns I treated you to were clearly wasted."
Wang Yu ignored him but did break off a piece of his chocolate bar and handed it over.
Qi Bai immediately brightened, shamelessly asking, "Got any more? We’re heading into the mountains at this hour—who knows when we’ll be back tomorrow afternoon."
"None left," Wang Yu said. "That was my last stash. Why do you think I chased you down for half the crackers?"
Qi Bai groaned. "I should’ve eaten more at dinner. I regret not finishing that soup—beef bone broth, pure energy. At least it’s warm now, so we won’t freeze, even if we starve."
Xu Nian, who had been sitting in the passenger seat with his eyes closed, massaged his temples in exasperation. "Focus on driving. I’ve already messaged Director Ren. You won’t go hungry tomorrow morning."
Qi Bai instantly grinned. "Knew I could count on you, Captain. Go ahead and sleep—I’ll keep the ride smooth."
Wang Yu, sitting in the back, turned his head away, unable to bear the sight.
They returned to the temporary parking lot they’d visited earlier. After exiting the car, Qi Bai took the lead, soon stopping in front of a grimy, rundown minivan that looked like it had seen better days.
"This is the vehicle," Qi Bai said. "Pang Zhiye was driving this on May 2nd when he and Pang Wenze went fishing."
Rain from the past couple of nights had left the van’s windows too filthy to see through. Wang Yu cleverly pulled out a wet wipe and cleared a small patch.
Xu Nian pressed his face close to the cleaned spot, scrutinizing the interior, while Qi Bai mouthed "suck-up" at Wang Yu from the side.
Wang Yu tilted his head and smirked triumphantly.
After several minutes, Xu Nian straightened up. "Check the engine. See if it failed to start due to a malfunction."
The team gathered around the front of the van. After a while, someone reported, "Captain Xu, the fuel filter’s clogged. Can’t tell if it was tampered with—we’d need to tow it back for a thorough inspection."
"Then tow it," Xu Nian said before stepping aside to call Jiang Yingyao.
"Jiang, how’s it going on your end?" Xu Nian got straight to the point.
Jiang Yingyao yawned loudly, exhaustion evident in his voice. "That car’s covered in biological traces. The forensics team’s been working around the clock. The hairs we found on the driver’s seat, suspected to be the killer’s, turned out to be synthetic fibers from a wig. We tried tracing the manufacturer, but the material’s too generic—no leads. That trail’s dead. But we did match the blood in the trunk to the victims, including cases 1129, 725, and these two. There’s a problem, though. The team found traces of a fifth person’s blood—no match in the database. No prior records, no criminal history."
"So there’s another victim?" Xu Nian felt his scalp prickle. "At least we found parts of the other four. This fifth one just appeared out of thin air—zero clues."
Jiang Yingyao was silent for a moment. "What worries me is whether there’s a sixth or seventh victim we don’t even know about."
Xu Nian fell quiet too, his mind racing. After a pause, he said, "Judging by the condition of the remains in the 1129 case seven years ago, it didn’t seem like the killer’s first time. Director Ren, who handled that case, told me they suspected there were earlier victims. They tried finding them, hoping for more traces of the killer, but turned up nothing."
Jiang Yingyao sighed. "This bastard’s good at hiding. I still can’t believe it—the team scrubbed that car inside and out, especially the driver’s seat where the killer spent the most time, and not a single usable fingerprint. I’m starting to think he wore gloves the entire time. Otherwise, how could a car that hasn’t been washed in years have no prints?"
"And he definitely has more than one vehicle," Jiang Yingyao added. "I checked the parking site—middle of nowhere. The closest thing is an abandoned factory. Roads branch out in all directions, leading to four villages and two provincial highways. We checked all the surveillance footage—nothing."
He paused, then continued, "But Captain Xu, those four villages are remote, yet there’s a well-maintained road straight into the city. It passes by your neighborhood—the first small commercial area those villages reach. There’s a mall, supermarkets, a hospital within three kilometers. If the killer parked there, he must know the area well, maybe even live nearby. Could he be active in that commercial zone? Should we pull the surveillance footage?"
Xu Nian pondered for a moment before dismissing the idea. "We only know the approximate physique of the killer. Young and middle-aged men like that are everywhere. Even if he did appear on surveillance footage, we might not recognize him. Unless we hit a dead end, there's no need to waste energy on such laborious work. Have you checked those four villages yet?"
Jiang Yingyao replied, "Yes. The four villages combined have around 3,000 residents. More than half work in vegetable greenhouses—apparently with government support—supplying produce to the city for markets, supermarkets, and street vendors. The rest mostly work in the city. Since there are direct roads to the city, transportation is convenient, so they still live in the villages."
Xu Nian immediately felt a headache coming on. "Seems like unless we’re forced into a dead end, we can’t easily conduct a sweeping investigation. But we’re still far from hitting that point."
Jiang Yingyao perked up. "Captain Xu, did you find something?"
Xu Nian gave a confirming hum. "We just verified the identities of the two latest victims tonight. Pang Zhiye, male, 43, and Pang Wenze, male, 16. The father and son went out fishing on the morning of May 2nd and went missing. We’ve now reached their last known location and found their car. Initial inspection shows the vehicle wouldn’t start due to a clogged fuel filter. More importantly, Pang Zhiye had a long history of domestic violence against his wife, and Pang Wenze had also assaulted his mother before disappearing."
Jiang Yingyao’s voice rose in excitement. "So you suspect the killer targets victims with domestic violence as a common thread? If we cross-reference this with the timeline of disappearances, we might be able to identify the victims from the 1129 and 725 cases!"
Xu Nian added, "Though Pang Zhiye had a history of domestic violence, there are no police or hospital records. I suspect the same applies to the two victims from the 1129 and 725 cases."
"Got it, got it!" Jiang Yingyao said eagerly. "I’ll take the team to investigate right away. Once we confirm their identities, we can pinpoint the killer’s activity zone. Then we’ll be one step closer to catching that bastard."
With that, Jiang Yingyao hung up.
---
Concerned about grocery shopping, Guan Xia woke up early the next day. After reconfirming the scheduled time with the housekeeping service, she hastily ate some bread, changed her shoes, and headed out.
Glancing at the time—just 7 a.m.—she thought she was early, but by the time she reached the gate, the tricycle selling vegetables was already swarmed by elderly shoppers.
Not daring to push through, Guan Xia waited for an opening to slip in. She had listed the groceries she needed in her phone’s notes, so she picked quickly while checking her list.
After about ten minutes, she had nearly everything. Carrying the heavy bags to the weighing station, she noticed a sweet-looking little girl beside the middle-aged man from yesterday.
Around ten years old, she wore two neat braids tied with red ribbons and a matching red dress. She bustled around the man, weighing produce, handing out bags, and even making change for cash-paying customers.
Noticing Guan Xia’s gaze, the girl turned and beamed. "Sister, are you done picking? Let me weigh these for you."
Guan Xia hesitated. "I bought a lot—the bags are heavy. Maybe your dad should handle it."
The girl glanced at the man, who was spinning like a top, and grinned. "It’s okay, sister! I’m really strong. Let me help!"
Seeing the man truly couldn’t spare a hand, Guan Xia reluctantly handed over the bags.
To her surprise, the girl managed, though with some effort, and began weighing each item.
As Guan Xia waited, an elderly woman in line chimed in, "Qianqian, your dad said you were sick yesterday. Why aren’t you resting at home? It’s cool now, but it’ll get hot soon. Don’t risk heatstroke—did your dad bring enough water? Warm water’s better, or you might get a stomachache."
Before the girl could reply, the man chuckled. "She’s just like her mom—can’t stay still. The fever broke two nights ago, and she begged her mom to come help. When her mom refused, she cried, so here we are."
"What a sweet girl," the old woman mused. "You’ve raised her well—pretty, cheerful, and hardworking. She’ll go far."
The man’s grin widened, and the girl’s smile brightened. Between weighing Guan Xia’s items, she piped up, "Thank you, Grandma! My dad’s amazing too—he works so hard!"
"Exactly!" the woman laughed. "Both of you are incredible. Your mom too. No wonder your family’s thriving."
Guan Xia had never seen such a warm, lively scene before. Despite the noise, she didn’t mind, patiently waiting for the girl to finish.
Once everything was weighed, the girl calculated the total. "Sister, that’s 70.3 yuan. Just 70 is fine! Are you having guests today? Here’s some free cilantro—my mom always adds it to cold dishes. Makes them tastier!"
Stunned by the girl’s confidence, Guan Xia took a second to thank her.
The girl cheerfully waved it off and moved to the next customer.
Guan Xia quickly paid and reclaimed her bags.
As she squeezed out of the crowd, she nearly bumped into someone—the woman from yesterday morning, the one slapped by her second husband. The woman held a cloth bag and her daughter’s hand.
The girl wore the same clothes as yesterday, head bowed silently as her mother led her.
Guan Xia apologized and stepped aside. The woman didn’t speak, only smiled and shook her head.
Guan Xia noticed the swelling on her face—not just the side struck yesterday but the other cheek too, faint fingerprints visible.
Clearly, another fight had happened last night. Maybe the woman had sent her daughter out to spare her the sight, explaining why the girl was alone in the grass digging dirt so late.
The memory from last night left Guan Xia with an indescribable heaviness. She silently watched the woman approach the vegetable stand.
Her arrival hushed the crowd briefly before chatter resumed.
Then the vendor’s voice rang out, "Sis, what happened to your face? Did he hit you? What kind of man hits a woman?"
Guan Xia didn’t hear the woman’s voice—perhaps she hadn’t spoken at all. An elderly woman chimed in, "Isn’t that the truth? Who knows what she was thinking, marrying a man like that as a second husband. And it hasn’t even been long since the wedding, yet he’s already laying hands on her. How can she live like this? I’m telling you, girl, the sooner you divorce him, the better. Otherwise, you’ll be suffering for the rest of your life."
Still, Guan Xia caught no reply from the woman. Instead, the vegetable vendor and others nearby joined in, offering scattered words of advice.
Guan Xia waited a few more seconds, but when the woman remained silent, she picked up her two heavy bags of groceries and headed home.
