The body isn't in the reservoir?
By the reservoir, the bright sunlight shone on Shen Ting's face, warm and cozy, but in his heart, there was great doubt.
He looked at the reservoir!
Perhaps because of its depth and the silt at the bottom, the reservoir appeared dark black overall.
But under the sunlight, the water surface rippled, and the current was gentle and calm, seemingly capable of easily concealing everything.
No matter how Shen Ting thought about it, he felt that this reservoir should be a good place to dispose of a body!
kiko: "⚆_⚆?"
Tang Ren: "Little Hannibal, don't talk nonsense~~
The killer specifically dragged the body to the reservoir; if not to dispose of it here, he couldn't have brought the body for a tour, could he~~~"
Guan Hongfeng: "This indeed needs clarification.
Based on the current case, if I were investigating, I would most likely start by dredging the reservoir."
Qin Ming: "From the intersection, there's the reservoir and the forest!
Burying a body in the forest requires digging a pit, and the killer, after murdering, dismembering, and transporting the body, had been busy all night and likely lacked the strength to bury it.
Directly disposing of the body in the reservoir, logically, is indeed a good choice.
But why do you say the body isn't in the reservoir?
And you seem very certain?"
Almost all members of the Case Solving Group didn't understand Hannibal's conclusion!
"The reason is simple!"
Hannibal: "Because my perspective is precisely the opposite of yours.
If I were the investigator, I would definitely consider the reservoir a key area for dredging.
There's no problem with that!
But if I were the killer, honestly, I would at most glance at this reservoir and then leave.
I would absolutely not dispose of the body here!"
Jigsaw: "Because this reservoir gives people, especially criminals, too weak a sense of security!
The area around the reservoir is too open, with not many hiding spots.
And the roads are easily accessible from all directions.
A hundred meters away, there's a small village!
Downstream is a large village!
Many villagers would use the road beside the reservoir to go to that intersection and enter the national highway for travel.
The human traffic is too heavy, posing a great hidden danger whether during the disposal or afterward."
Hannibal: "Exactly!
However, Jigsaw's analysis leans towards rationality.
A criminal disposing of a body isn't solving a problem; they won't think that much.
At most, they'll glance at the reservoir, feel uncomfortable, and directly look for other places."
Simply put!
Ordinary people, or investigators, feel this reservoir is a good place to dispose of a body.
But criminals subconsciously feel unsafe?
If someone else had said this, Shen Ting might not have taken it seriously.
But Hannibal and Jigsaw are not ordinary criminals.
They are master criminals!
And masters who have developed crime into an art!
Their investigative methods might not be as good as investigators like Guan Hongfeng.
But when it comes to understanding criminal psychology and behavior, Qin Ming and others are definitely not as professional as them!
Shen Ting humbly asked for guidance:
"If not in the reservoir, where do you think the killer would choose to dispose of the body?"
Hannibal: "The upstream river channel!"
Jigsaw: "The upstream river channel!"
The simultaneous messages that appeared in the group made both of them, and other members, pause for a moment.
"You speak first!"
Hannibal was still a gentleman in the group.
Jigsaw also didn't waste words:
"This vicinity can actually be divided into four areas.
Forest, reservoir, upstream river channel of the reservoir, and downstream river channel of the reservoir.
Downstream of the reservoir has a large village, making discovery easy.
Upstream is undeveloped forest, with undulating terrain, clearly more suitable for disposing of a body.
Therefore, in terms of suitability for body disposal:
Upstream > Downstream > Reservoir > Forest!"
Hannibal: "Agreed!"
Shen Ting, by the reservoir, first turned his head to look downstream.
There, smoke curled up from chimneys, and faintly, human voices, dog barks, rooster crows, and children's playful shouts could be heard.
Then he looked upstream of the reservoir!
The river channel emerged from the mountain gorge, dim, deep, and shrouded in mist.
There were also many trees obscuring the view, making it impossible to see the winding course of the river.
Shen Ting didn't hesitate and walked directly upstream along the river channel.
At the same time!
He used his phone to take photos and videos of the river channel along the way and uploaded them to the Case Solving Group.
Group Leader: "Everyone, take a look and see if there are any suspicious locations for body disposal!"
Hannibal: "No problem!"
Jigsaw: "Alright!"
"I... I actually have a question!"
Qin Feng probably used voice input, his stutter was very obvious:
"We've been discussing the location of the disposal site... disposal site.
But, is it possible that the killer turned towards this reservoir not... not to dispose of the body?"
The group instantly fell silent.
Everyone was stunned, quickly realizing that this made sense.
Who stipulated that the killer came here specifically to dispose of the body?
There's a village here; why couldn't the killer live here?
Or, intended to use this road to go to other places!
Or, simply to mislead the police!
Speaking of which!
The killer coming here to dispose of the body was just a conjecture.
Forensic Doctor Qin Ming: "Indeed, there are many possibilities.
However, after the killer murdered and decapitated, he then risked riding an electric bike to transport the body out.
The probability of body disposal is still greater!
And in this vicinity, other places are all farmland and orchards.
This reservoir area is considered the most suitable place for body disposal.
It is very necessary to check upstream."
Guan Hongfeng: "What you all said makes sense!
Let's compromise then; we'll still go check upstream, but try not to get stuck here and waste too much time."
After a pause, he continued his message: "Two hundred meters!
I suggest checking within two hundred meters upstream.
Someone has researched that killers carrying a stiff, complete body for disposal usually walk about a hundred meters.
In this case, the killer was busy all night.
Plus, this area is undulating and covered with branches and leaves, making it difficult to walk.
Even if the body disposed of was a headless one.
The killer probably couldn't walk far!
Two hundred meters, I think, is a very extreme distance."
Shen Ting nodded:
"Okay, it's settled.
If there's no suspicious disposal site within two hundred meters, we'll abandon the search for the body.
Then we'll consider other approaches!"
After leaving the message, Shen Ting continued to observe upstream.
The flowing water was pleasant to hear!
But the cold, damp air of the early winter morning in the forest made his skin feel tight and uncomfortable.
The wide, fallen leaves, either yellow or green, were still covered with dew and very slippery.
Shen Ting was as careful as he could be, but he still had several close encounters with Mother Earth.
"Hoo~~~ Hoo~~~ Hoo~~~"
The deeper he went, the harder the path became!
His breathing also grew more and more rapid!
Two hundred meters, if it were on the national highway below, it wouldn't even take a minute.
But Shen Ting was climbing up and down while taking photos and videos.
He also had to shoot some details according to Hannibal and Jigsaw's requests.
Finally, when he stopped at a riverbank, more than half an hour had passed!
"It should be over two hundred meters.
An ordinary person would feel tired walking here."
Shen Ting left a message in the group:
"Was there any suitable place for body disposal in the river channel I walked through earlier?"
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
Hannibal and Jigsaw messaged almost simultaneously.
However, the content of their subsequent messages was not the same.
Hannibal: "That reed patch!"
Jigsaw: "That fishing spot!"