Chapter 1165 - 596: Jiang An’s New Approach

Unlike the bodies they had dealt with before, these three remains had already turned into white bones.

The skeletons were intact, with no traces of decayed flesh left, and no perishable substances, eliminating concerns about odors or contamination during transportation.

Therefore, they didn’t contact the funeral home’s special transport vehicle for transfer; the two young forensic doctors placed the bones in body bags.

According to past practices, whenever forensic doctors finished examining a body from an unnatural death, they would immediately call the funeral home to have a special transport vehicle take the body to the funeral home for cold storage.

As with many forensic autopsy centers in Dragon Country, most are built alongside funeral homes.

The Guangling Forensic Autopsy Center is located right next to the Guangling Funeral Home.

This facilitates the transfer and preservation of bodies, allows for timely cremation after autopsies, and minimizes the impact on the general public.

For this reason, forensic science has become a particularly unique profession.

When others mention this occupation, they invariably speak with some reverence, albeit tinged with a hint of reluctance.

The objects of their work are cold bodies, and their main workplace is perpetually surrounded by the solemn and desolate atmosphere of the funeral home.

Anyone would find it somewhat morbid, a burden not everyone can bear.

When the two young forensic doctors placed the three sets of white bones in the investigation vehicle and left, Vice Director Chen Guan slowly turned around.

"Director Hou, we should proceed with the next steps according to your earlier plan and carry out a comprehensive investigation and missing persons search."

Director Hou nodded slightly, his gaze slowly sweeping across the surroundings, his brows unconsciously furrowing.

In his line of sight, there were endless rolling hills, layer upon layer, lush with greenery.

"This place, it’s all rural countryside in the mountains."

Chen Guan said, "This is one of the most remote county towns in our Guangling jurisdiction, the economy has always been underdeveloped, most of the young people in the villages couldn’t be kept, and there’s a significant number of migrant workers."

"In recent years, with many people leaving, most who remain in the villages are the elderly and unattended left-behind children."

Hearing this, Director Hou nodded gently, his face showing little surprise.

This is not only the situation in Guangling’s mountain villages, but also a true depiction of many rural areas in Dragon Country.

With serious hollowing-out, the young migrate away, leaving only the elderly and children guarding the homestead.

He paused, then slowly spoke, "Given this, the investigation shouldn’t be complex, the scope of screening is relatively concentrated."

"Even so, we must be meticulous and thorough, not a single detail can be overlooked."

"Besides focusing on middle-aged individuals, adolescents must also be included as key investigation subjects."

While speaking, he slowly turned his head, his gaze settling on Jiang An.

Jiang An took a deep breath and said, "In criminology, there is a core principle of ’far disposal and near burial.’"

"Since the killer chose to bury the bodies in this place, they must be very familiar with this area — so familiar that they were confident it’s rarely visited and hard to discover, making it safe enough."

"Otherwise, they wouldn’t have buried the bodies here three times in a row, clearly having conducted thorough geographic selection, it’s by no means a spur-of-the-moment decision."

At this point, he slowly turned his head, his gaze fixed on the messy dirt pit not far away.

Marks of digging were still visible on the pit walls, with scattered dirt and small stones around it.

"If we determine this is a serial murder case, then we must question—did the killer really only kill three people?"

"Or have we yet to discover other victims?"

With these words, Vice Director Chen Guan, whose expression was already serious, turned pale instantly.

His lips trembled slightly as he hurriedly asked, "Could there be a fourth body?"

Jiang An shook his head, "I can’t be certain whether the killer has stopped, or if there are other burial sites elsewhere."

"Before, I studied a book published in the Beautiful Country called ’Criminal Psychological Profile,’ which mentioned that psychologically disturbed serial killers often have a fixed interval period after committing a crime."

"By conducting a preliminary analysis of the time of death of these three sets of white bones, we can roughly infer that the killer’s interval period is about one year."

"So the question is—did the killer only plan to kill three people? Or will there be new victims to come?"

Upon hearing this, everyone around grew even more grave.

After a while, Jiang An spoke again, "Which is why, in this case, we must accelerate our pace, every second counts."

"Only by locating the killer as soon as possible can we completely prevent new victims from appearing."

"We’re still unsure of any connection between these three deceased, so we must prepare for the worst."

Jiang An then took two steps forward, his gaze once again settling on the burial pit.

"Based on the criminological principle of ’far disposal and near burial,’ since they chose this place for burial, they’re not only familiar with it, but choosing this specific location must have particular significance—though this significance is something we currently cannot decipher."

"That location is on a slope, the terrain is not flat, why choose to dig and bury bodies there?"

"From my observation of the surrounding environment, there are many places nearby more concealed, with looser soil easier to dig without expending so much effort."

"Yet they specifically chose this spot? This purpose is worth our in-depth exploration."

Saying this, he shifted his tone, his voice growing even more stern.