Chapter 129 129 It seems that the bodies buried in this area are really...

The physical evidence they found was handed over. There were just two criminal police officers left from the support team to be used for the newly discovered case. Guan Xia and her team were also an even number, so they followed the previous configuration in Jianyang City, with Guan Xia still in the same group with Xu Nian.

Through the various details discovered, they can infer that this is indeed a criminal organization that has been active in the local area for quite some time, even longer than they had previously speculated.

Following the clearly differentiated traces of vegetation all the way deeper into the mountains, Guan Xia walked seriously with her head down, while also trying to control her breathing to conserve her energy as much as possible. Then she saw Xu Nian, who was walking in front of her, suddenly stopped. Guan Xia didn't notice and almost bumped into his back.

Xu Nian reflexively helped Guan Xia up, and after she stood firmly, he took out an evidence bag from his pocket and picked up a cigarette butt he had found.

Guan Xia easily followed his train of thought. "Do you suspect it was left there by members of that criminal organization? Would they be so careless as to leave such obvious evidence on the path leading into the mountain?"

Perhaps because she had watched too many crime dramas, Guan Xia had a stereotype that the longer a criminal organization existed, the more cautious it was. After all, if they did a lot of bad things, they would most likely be sentenced to death if they were caught.

Xu Nian glanced back in the direction they had come from, then looked at Guan Xia and said, "I calculated that we've followed the trail for over two kilometers. Even local villagers wouldn't have come this far without special circumstances. Furthermore, they most likely took the wrong path and left such obvious evidence in a fit of rage."

"Wrong way?" Guan Xia asked in confusion.

Xu Nian took a few steps aside with great effort, then said, "Look."

Guan Xia searched carefully for a while and found that there were indeed a series of fallen bushes and vines along the way, and the traces of vines being chopped had disappeared. There was no trace of human beings in front of them, and it had become a real primeval forest.

"No wonder this road is so tiring." Guan Xia breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his face.

Although they were in the deep mountains and forests, the sun was not too strong because of the shade of the trees, but it was still stuffy and hot. Guan Xia felt that her inner clothes were almost wet. Looking at Xu Nian's condition, it was not much different from hers.

He casually handed over a tissue and motioned Xu Nian to wipe his sweat. Guan Xia then used the hiking pole in his hand to search through the bushes.

As Guan Xia expected, it didn't take long for Guan Xia to find a second cigarette butt near the one Xu Nian found.

Pulling gloves from his pocket and putting them on, Guan Xia picked up the cigarette butt and said, "It seems this criminal organization also practices working in pairs. I just don't know when these two cigarette butts were left behind. It's been so long, and I'm not sure if we can still extract biological samples."

Xu Nian tacitly took out another evidence bag and put the second cigarette butt in it, then asked with a smile, "How did you deduce that?"

Guan Xia thought for a moment and said, "I got the idea from the two middle-aged men we hunted before. I saw them winking at each other and coordinating with each other, so I guessed it wasn't the first time they'd come out together to bury a body. So, if they took the wrong path, one person might have been influenced by the other and started smoking together."

Guan Xia watched Xu Nian put the two evidence bags into his backpack and said with genuine anticipation, "I hope the cigarette butts don't stay there for too long, otherwise if they get contaminated multiple times, all our efforts will be in vain."

Xu Nian said in a low voice, "No, because of their special structure and material, cigarette butts can preserve the user's biological samples more easily and longer than ordinary physical evidence. Even if they have been soaked in rainwater, they are still valuable for extraction."

This was the first time Guan Xia had heard of this. After the surprise, she was pleasantly surprised. "Then our two kilometers of walking were really worthwhile."

Guan Xia glanced back at the road they had come from, then looked at Xu Nian, "So, should we go back? And then follow other traces to chase Wang Yu and the others?"

Xu Nian took off his gloves and said, "Let's go back the way we came. If we're fast, we might be able to catch up with them before we find the burial site."

So for the rest of the time, Guan Xia and Xu Nian just kept on walking, without having to carefully observe the intermittent traces, and their speed was much faster than before.

They were so tired from walking that they found a slightly flat place to rest for a while, eating compressed biscuits with water. They didn't taste very good, but they were really full.

To replenish their energy, the two shared a piece of chocolate. As they stuffed it into their mouths, Guan Xia muttered vaguely, "You guys are really well prepared, even including compressed biscuits."

"Wang Yu prepared it," Xu Nian said. "She's always very meticulous. If she doesn't prepare anything, it's fine. But when she does, she'll be very thorough. Besides compressed biscuits, there are also energy bars. Would you like to try some?"

Guan Xia immediately shook her head. "I'm already full. I stuffed myself with half a chocolate bar, which is enough to keep me busy until the evening. You should keep the energy bar for yourself."

After eating the chocolate, the two sat for a few more minutes before getting up and continuing on their way.

As Guan Xia walked, she thought of something. "Come to think of it, when Pang Le and the others came back, I forgot to ask the two middle-aged men what was in their backpacks. They must have brought essential items to bury the body, especially since they came so far away. Maybe they could even find other members of this criminal organization through fingerprints or something."

Xu Nian glanced at the time and said, "We've been chasing them for almost three hours. It's almost dark. We're almost catching up. We'll ask them when the time comes."

Guan Xia also glanced at the increasingly dark forest and tried to quicken her pace. Thanks to her persistent morning jogging, her physical fitness was much stronger than before. Of course, she couldn't compare with Pang Le and the others, but at this moment, she wasn't such a drag.

After following the trail for more than half an hour, Guan Xia and the others finally heard Zhong Xiaoyu's voice through the hanging messy vines before the sun set. It seemed that she had discovered something, and Zhong Xiaoyu's voice suddenly became much louder and a little excited.

Guan Xia and Xu Nian exchanged a glance, then struggled to squeeze through the bushes while shouting, "Zhong Xiaoyu."

As if he heard Guan Xia's shout, Zhong Xiaoyu, who was originally discussing enthusiastically, suddenly stopped talking, shouted in some confusion, "Guan Xia?", and then started to walk back.

Zhong Xiaoyu was really agile. Guan Xia felt like only a few minutes had passed before Zhong Xiaoyu's voice came closer and closer.

Soon, a figure emerged from the bushes not far in front of Guan Xia. He looked at Guan Xia and Xu Nian in surprise and asked, "You guys are here? We're here just in time. Wang Yu has made a discovery. We should have found the burial site."

Finally found them, Guan Xia couldn't help but smile excitedly, "Where are Pang Le and the others? Did you run into them again?"

Zhong Xiaoyu shook her head. "At first, I could hear some noises, but then I couldn't hear anything at all. But it's okay. Wang Yu said that the members of that criminal organization are most likely going to this burial ground. Of course, there are other burial grounds out there, but they can't be too far away. As long as we don't take the wrong path, we'll all be able to reunite in the end."

Zhong Xiaoyu realized something and looked at Xu Nian with some surprise. Then he looked at Guan Xia and asked, "By the way, why did you come from this direction? It feels like we took the same road. Could it be that the traces you followed led to the same destination as us?"

Guan Xia spread his hands helplessly and said, "Unfortunately, the trace we were following was the wrong way you just mentioned. Xu Nian and I had walked for two kilometers when we found that the trace in front of us had disappeared. After studying it for a while, we concluded that the criminal suspect who came here to bury the body had taken the wrong road. We had no choice but to return the way we came and follow the trace all the way here."

"Then we really are destined to meet." After a day of running around, Zhong Xiaoyu was still full of energy. She pulled Guan Xia and said, "Hurry up, hurry up, it's getting dark soon, so hurry up while there's still some light."

With Zhong Xiaoyu leading the way, Guan Xia and Xu Nian felt much more relaxed. They met up with Wang Yu who was studying something without much effort.

Guan Xia noticed some faint movement coming from the right front of them, and guessed that other people were about to arrive.

Without waiting for them, Guan Xia walked over to Wang Yu, squatted down, and asked her, "What did you find?"

Wang Yu turned and greeted Xu Nian, then picked up a handful of soil with his gloved right hand and said, "Look, it's rotten soil. Although they carefully brought some rotten soil from elsewhere and covered it with fallen leaves to hide it from view, the footprints weren't cleaned up. I guess they've been burying bodies here for several years without any problems, so they felt too safe and relaxed, which is why these clues were revealed."

Zhong Xiaoyu stood behind the two men, his eyes lighting up as he listened. He rubbed his hands eagerly and said, "So what do we do now? Start digging?"

Xu Nian also squatted down to study for a while, then stood up and looked around. He said, "Don't worry, make a mark first, and then look around. If you find any vegetation that is different from other areas, make a mark. When more people come and we have tools, we can start digging."

Zhong Xiaoyu said, "That makes sense. Without professional tools, I'm afraid of damaging the victim's body. Besides, digging without tools would be difficult."

So the four people who had just reunited dispersed again and began to carefully search for clues nearby.

After working for a few minutes, Guan Xia heard some excited shouting again. She looked up and saw Qi Bai waving at them while holding Jiang Yingyao.

Guan Xia also waved as a greeting, then lowered his head and continued to work with the help of the flashlight on his mobile phone. Fortunately, he brought two 20,000 mAh power banks with him just in case, so he didn't end up as embarrassed as last time in Jianyang City.

Six people searched an area together and soon made a discovery. Since many years, there have been intermittent reports of discoveries.

Guan Xia also picked up some branches and stones to mark the area near where she had made the discovery. She originally wanted to mark it on a tree, but she was worried that it might be a protected plant, so she didn't dare to do so.

It was not until it was completely dark and a noisy sound like many people walking together came from afar that Guan Xia straightened up and looked in the direction of the sound.

When they stopped, they realized that the six of them were really scattered too far away. They couldn't see their figures at all. They could only see their lights that were particularly conspicuous in the dark.

Guan Xia hesitated for a moment, then started walking back. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed that the lights nearby were getting closer and closer. It seemed that Xu Nian and the others had also heard the noise coming from afar and were walking back to reunite.

Carefully avoiding any marked areas where bodies might be buried, Guan Xia suddenly remembered something she had forgotten. It wasn't until she saw Zhong Xiaoyu's hazy figure in the darkness that she remembered. As soon as she reunited with her, she couldn't wait to ask, "Oh, I forgot to ask you. After you captured those two middle-aged men, did you find anything in their backpacks?"

Zhong Xiaoyu seemed to have something in his mouth. Guan Xia guessed it was sugar. He said vaguely, "We searched the place as soon as we caught them. There was nothing special, except for some food and water. Oh, and some daily necessities. Then there was an engineer shovel with dirt on it. So we guessed they were here to bury the body. I was going to tell you when I got back, but your theory coincided with ours, so I didn't tell you."

Guan Xia nodded, agreeing with their previous guess. After a moment's thought, she asked again, "Besides the dirt, was there any blood on the shovel that the engineer shoveled?"

Zhong Xiaoyu thought about it for a while longer this time, then shook her head. "No, I didn't notice it myself, and Brother Jiang and the other detectives who came to support me didn't mention it either. I guess there isn't any."

As the two were talking, other people arrived. Xu Nian asked, "How is it? What did everyone find?"

Zhong Xiaoyu was the first to raise her hand and said, "I've found three suspicious spots and have marked them."

Guan Xia said: "I am from two places."

Wang Yu then said, "I have two places too."

Jiang Yingyao looked at Xu Nian and said, “I only have one place.”

Qi Bai scratched his head and said, "I'm from two places."

Xu Nian was the last to say, "I also have two. It seems that there are quite a lot of bodies buried in this area."

Wang Yu couldn't see his expression, but he said in a heavy tone, "If there's one body in each location, then conservatively there are at least ten. We can't rule out a second burial site."

Zhong Xiaoyu then remembered, "Oh, right, Pang Le and the others haven't come here yet. They must have followed the traces and found another place. I just don't know if the rest of the people have found it together. Is there a third burial site?"

No one answered this question. In the limited light, Guan Xia saw that everyone's expressions were the same and very ugly.

The atmosphere was silent for a few seconds. As the sound from the distance got closer, Xu Nian spoke again, "The main force has arrived. With professional tools, we will soon know the specific situation."

After waiting for another five or six minutes, the reinforcements were finally close enough for them to see each other.

It was obvious that the local police station in charge of this area attached great importance to this case. A lot of people came, and it was a dark mass. Guan Xia couldn't count the number of people for a moment. He could only roughly judge that there were at least a dozen or twenty people, and each of them brought a lot of things. Judging from the tools they carried, there were field police, technical team members, and two forensic doctors.

There was no time to talk much. The two parties had a brief communication and then handed over shovels for digging holes. Due to limited tools, Guan Xia and Jiang Yingyao, who were not very strong, did not get any. They could only stand aside and wait for the results of the excavation with the forensic doctor and the technical team.

Less than ten minutes into the excavation, Guan Xia heard an unfamiliar police officer yell, "Captain Hu, I've found something."