"This doesn't seem like it's for organ trafficking."

After a long pause, Luo Tianhe broke the silence first, his voice somewhat low.

"The time span is too long, the targets are not fixed, and not all the parts taken are valuable or easily transplanted. Especially the hands, feet and head, for the black market, preservation and transportation are major problems and extremely risky. Moreover, if it were organ trafficking, there wouldn't be so many obviously unexplained mysteries left behind."

Luo Tianhe was, after all, a gang leader. Although he hadn't gotten involved in this matter, he had heard about it.

Therefore, his conclusion is pretty much accurate.

"It's more like... collecting!"

As I stared at the screen, a chill ran down my spine when I uttered the word "collect".

“Collecting different human body parts. But why collect them? Is it sorcery? Some kind of evil ritual? Or…”

"It's putting together a puzzle!" Zhang Qiang gritted his teeth and spat out those two words.

"Look, heart, right hand, left leg, right leg, kidney, head, doesn't it look like piecing together the parts of a complete person, or the various parts of something?"

This conjecture is too terrifying, but upon closer examination, it is perfectly reasonable!

After all, aside from piecing together a whole person, we really can't think of any other reason why different organs disappear each time.

"If it's really as you say, it's a battle of one person,"

I forced myself to analyze the situation calmly.

"What's missing? The torso? The left hand? Or other internal organs?"

"And why such a long interval? Is it because a suitable component couldn't be found, or are the triggering conditions too stringent?"

"Triggering conditions..."

Luo Tianhe repeated the word, thinking of the paper cutter I had sealed away in the trunk.

"Zhang Wei's case triggered the collection of heads. The triggering medium might be that eerie paper cutter. What about the previous cases? Did they also have their own triggering mediums? For example, a specific, equally eerie old object?"

"Check if the victims in the previous five cases had any contact with any unusual or old items in the period before their deaths, especially items from libraries, flea markets, antique stalls, or family heirlooms!"

Zhang Qiang shouted coldly.

“Those cases from decades ago are harder to investigate, but these last few cases… I’m contacting my former colleagues who handled those cases back then to retrieve all the on-site investigation records and physical evidence lists, and I’m also sending people to visit the surviving family members!”

Zhang Qiang acted swiftly and decisively, summoning several subordinates and distributing the tasks.

The three of us sat in the office, looking at that list, trying to find more patterns.

"In terms of time, thirty-two years ago, twenty-nine years ago, twenty-four years ago, fifteen years ago, eight years ago,"

I was scribbling on the paper, feeling a bit of a headache.

"The intervals are irregular and there is no fixed cycle."

"Moreover, the victims range in age from young to old, without any specific age group, making it difficult to investigate."

Luo Tianhe added.

"Gender is the same; both men and women exist, and there's no pattern to it. Apart from missing certain body parts, they have absolutely nothing in common."

Zhang Qiang frowned.

"And in terms of professions, it's everywhere: female workers, temporary workers, migrant workers, retired elderly people, freelancers, students," I said somewhat helplessly, unable to find any other pattern.

"The manner of death does have one thing in common: they are all accidental deaths! Murder after going missing, injury after falling into a coma, drowning from a fall, sudden death, car accident."

Zhang Qiang sighed.

The more we analyze it, the more confused and evil the underlying logic seems, or rather, the lack of any logic at all.

He seemed like a mentally deranged madman.

Moreover, it was a crime of passion, and the perpetrator had no prior connection with the victim.

This collection, spanning decades, was undertaken casually, yet with a certain obsession.

Suddenly, Zhang Qiang's computer beeped with a new email notification. He immediately opened it and found a detailed analysis report from the technical department regarding Zhang Wei's computer browsing history in her dormitory, along with some recovered deleted files.

The report shows that Zhang Wei's search history surged in the week before her death, with keywords including, as we previously guessed, "old objects becoming spirits" and "murder weapon possessed," but also more disturbing content:

"Physical worship cult", "Rumors of forced birth and mutilation in the late Qing Dynasty", "Five elements corresponding to human organs", "Legends of human craftsmen in the Republic of China period".

Upon seeing this, Zhang Qiang, Luo Tianhe, and I exchanged bewildered glances.

Zhang Wei, just like us, also uncovered a case from many years ago!

I suddenly remembered that she was a law student, so she had the ability to investigate old case files.

In addition, among the recovered deleted documents was an encrypted note file.

After the password was cracked, the contents were some jumbled thoughts and fragments of investigation that Zhang Wei herself had recorded.

"After the incident at the library on March 15, I always felt like something was following me. It wasn't my imagination; my shadow would sometimes move on its own."

"On March 18th, after checking a lot of information, I realized that the knife was definitely more than just a murder weapon!"

"On March 20th, I had a nightmare. I dreamt of a headless person whose body was pieced together, whose right hand was broken, and whose two legs were of different lengths and thicknesses. He was waving at me, and I woke up in fright."

"On March 22nd, I contacted Yanhehuai Funeral Home, as I'd heard they were quite knowledgeable in this area. But I couldn't get through. Another call went through, and a girl named Bai Yang answered. She seemed to know a little, but I didn't listen very carefully. She only said it might be a common earthbound spirit and told me not to worry and to wait for the boss to return. But how could I not worry!"

"On March 24, I went to the library again, but I came up empty-handed. When I went to sleep that night, I felt a cold hand touching my neck."

"On March 28th, it was no use. It was getting closer and closer. I could see its blurry shadow in the mirror during the day. My shadow was also becoming more and more strange, and it was no longer being concealed... I wanted to go to the funeral home again to see if the owner had returned."

March 28th was the day of the car accident, and the notes end here.

Luo Tianhe, Zhang Qiang, and I couldn't help but hold our breath.

First of all, Zhang Wei is indeed a remarkable person.

It's remarkable that the case has been investigated to this extent without any assistance.

Moreover, despite the threats of death and ghosts, he was still able to write so much with such clarity and coherence.

I am truly inferior to him!

Also, I finally understand why she came to me.

And the moment we met, he acted as if he wanted to kill me.

I feel helpless about this kind of thing. Although I opened this funeral home to deal with this kind of thing, I can't save everyone.

I have a clear conscience about this.