Chapter 130 130 How can I kidnap someone at my doorstep?
As the news of a discovery came, everyone except those who were busy working and those who were waiting for the results rushed over.
In order to avoid destroying the physical evidence, everyone consciously stayed away from getting too close. Guan Xia was lucky enough to stand at a relatively inner position and saw the whole picture. It was a palm.
The detective who was digging was very careful. He used his gloved hands to lightly sweep the surrounding soil, completely exposing the pale palm covered with mud. The fingers were fat and short, and the palm was also small. No one expected that the first dead person dug out would be a child.
There were clearly a lot of people, but the atmosphere was silent. I don't know how much time passed before a police officer muttered, "Fuck."
Guan Xia subconsciously looked at the location they had been busy marking for over an hour, and felt as if a huge stone was pressing down on her heart.
There are so many marks. Could it be that there is a child buried under each one of them, just like this one?
Guan Xia was somewhat shocked. Suddenly, she felt her eyes were a little sore and her mind was a little confused.
Guan Xia stared around for a long time, not knowing what she was thinking until Zhong Xiaoyu pulled her and said, "Come on, let's go back."
Guan Xia was a little stunned. "Go back now?"
Wang Yu said, "It's too dark, and the lighting isn't enough. It's easy to miss clues if we dig so hastily. They're here to confirm first, focusing all their lights on one spot to dig carefully. Once we've finished our mission here, we'll naturally go back."
Guan Xia was silent for a moment, glanced at Xu Nian who was communicating with the leading police officer, then looked back at the place they marked, and nodded, "Okay, let's go back."
Guan Xia found the backpack that had been placed aside and was adjusting the straps when the system interface that had been silent for a long time suddenly popped up.
Guan Xia was a little nervous, thinking that she had accidentally discovered some system that provided clues. After taking a closer look, she realized that it was the halo that was recharging.
Guan Xia immediately realized that they were the two middle-aged men who were arrested at noon, but then he felt a little confused.
Eight or nine hours have passed since noon. Normally, she should have been taken back to the police station long ago. Why did she only start to recharge her halo now? And the murderer of the 0217 family massacre case who was discovered last night, although she was shot dead instead of arrested, she must have contributed to it. Could it be that just shooting her dead doesn't count?
Guan Xia's head was full of question marks. She subconsciously followed forward and began to analyze the situation seriously.
Guan Xia recalled carefully for a long time before she realized belatedly that she had indeed heard gunshots last night, but she was not the first one to hear the gunshots or to confirm the sound of the gunshots.
And because of their abilities, there were many of them, but in the end only Zhong Xiaoyu went to investigate with the telescope given by Qi Bai. Although she later discussed with Pang Le that the gunman was likely the murderer of the 0217 family massacre, all the case information she knew was provided by Xu Nian, and they must have thought of it earlier.
In other words, she did not provide any practical help in the case, or the information was unknown to others.
As for the two middle-aged men, Guan Xia seemed to be thinking about something. Based on the charging time of the halo that popped up in the system, Guan Xia guessed that although she did not provide any substantial help at the beginning, she had been tracking the traces in the afternoon and marking the burial site until the body was dug out just now.
This system doesn't look very smart, but it's really strict, Guan Xia muttered to himself, and consciously figured out some rules for charging the halo.
I didn't sleep much last night and I was busy all day today. Guan Xia didn't feel the tension before, but now that he suddenly relaxed, he felt sore all over and was so sleepy that he could hardly open his eyes.
After forcing herself to walk out of the wild mountains, Guan Xia was sent back to their parking spot by the police. She climbed into the car completely mechanically and fell asleep in a daze as soon as she sat down.
She didn't know how many hours she slept until someone pushed her awake. Guan Xia opened her eyes confusedly and looked up to see Pang Le. He rubbed her face a little forcefully and said, "Don't sleep anymore. We're about to enter Yongquan City. Zhong Xiaoyu suggested having a midnight snack and then going back to bed. What do you want to eat?"
Guan Xia hesitated for a few seconds before sitting up a little straighter and said, "I'm fine. Let's see. You're the main force in this mountain journey. You must be starving. I'll eat whatever you eat."
Pang Le nodded, "Okay."
As he spoke, Pang Le took out his cell phone and tapped the screen frantically, probably to send a message in the group.
Guan Xia was still a little dizzy, so she forced herself to rub her face vigorously. After finally sobering up a little, she reacted and asked Pang Le, "By the way, when did you come back? I didn't see you when I got on the car last night."
Pang Le typed quickly and said casually, "I came back only half an hour later than you. I came back with Sister Ji. The two local detectives stayed at the scene after the support arrived."
Reminded by Pang Le's words, Guan Xia immediately thought of last night's discovery, and his mood became heavy again.
After Pang Le sent the message, he saw Guan Xia looking listless. After a moment's thought, he knew why. He couldn't help but hug Guan Xia tightly, patting her shoulder and saying, "Don't think too much. You should think of it this way. If it weren't for our coincidental discovery this time, there might be countless more victims. Although we couldn't save the previous victims, we at least prevented the next one from appearing."
Guan Xia felt a little better. After thinking about it carefully, if it weren't for the murderer of the 0217 family murder case, they would have accidentally taken a very hidden but relatively safe path, and coincidentally met two people who had just buried a body. It is unknown when this criminal organization that has been active in the local area for a long time would be discovered.
After rubbing Guan Xia's face again, Pang Le said, "By the way, we just discussed it in the group. Qi Bai was the main one who was clamoring for hot pot. He said that he had been running for two days and his legs were weak, so he wanted to eat meat. Zhong Xiaoyu also wanted to eat, so everyone agreed. Do you want to ask Meng Lan if she can come?"
Guan Xia subconsciously took out her cell phone and was surprised to see the time. It was already past one in the morning. She couldn't help but hesitate. It was so late, maybe Meng Lan was already asleep.
After hesitating for a few seconds, Guan Xia finally sent a message to ask a question. What she didn't expect was that Meng Lan called her the next second after the message was sent.
"Guan Xia? You're finally back?" Meng Lan asked excitedly, "Are you all right? Are you not hurt?"
"We're all fine, don't worry," Guan Xia explained for a few words before asking curiously, "It's already this late, why aren't you asleep yet?"
Meng Lan breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I slept. As soon as I got back to the hotel, I ate something and went to sleep. I slept until almost 11 o'clock in the evening. When I checked my phone and saw that there was no news from you, I got a little worried and kept waiting."
Guan Xia suddenly felt a little embarrassed, "Sorry, Meng Lan, I didn't expect us to come out so late..."
Before Guan Xia finished speaking, Meng Lan said, "Well, this force majeure event wasn't caused by you, so why are you apologizing? It's my fault, actually. I chose this place on a whim. Luckily, we all made it out safely, otherwise I'd have to kowtow and apologize. By the way, you've been busy all day, didn't you get anything out? Don't run for nothing."
Guan Xia said: "I did find something, but because of confidentiality regulations, I don't know much and I can't tell anyone."
Meng Lan said with great understanding: "I understand. At least I have watched criminal investigation dramas and know that no information can be leaked before the murder case is completely closed. I just hope that you can gain something and not be wasted all day."
Guan Xia thought again of the corpse whose only hand was visible, and with some effort, she controlled her emotions and said, "It wasn't all in vain. Don't worry. Since you're not asleep, why don't you come out for a midnight snack?"
"Okay," Meng Lan agreed readily. "Didn't we agree to have a good chat before? Let's talk while we eat. Anyway, your friends seem very reliable, and they are also your own people. Maybe they can help me analyze the situation."
After hanging up the phone, Guan Xia looked at Pang Le and said, "Meng Lan has woken up. We have decided on the location. I will send her the location and she can pack up and come over."
Pang Le twisted his neck and said, "That's perfect. Although it's a little late, it's still going according to plan."
Guan Xia glanced at Ji An, who was driving, and Zhong Xiaoyu, who was playing with her phone, and asked, "By the way, I haven't asked you yet, did you guys get anything out there tonight?"
Before Pang Le could say anything, Zhong Xiaoyu suddenly turned around and said, "Just now, when you were sleeping, we shared some information. They also found a body over there."
Although she had expected this, Guan Xia's heart still skipped a beat as she pressed the issue, "Is it also the child's?"
Pang Le shook his head. "We stayed longer than you did. The forensic doctor performed a preliminary autopsy. The body was already highly decomposed, but judging by the wear marks on the teeth, the body was probably between 15 and 16 years old and was a female."
Guan Xia frowned. "Why is there such a huge age difference between the bodies at the two burial sites? Although the body we found hasn't been fully excavated, it was buried recently and was well preserved when it was excavated. Judging by the skin condition and hand size, the child is very young, under ten years old, probably between six and eight."
After all, Guan Xia grew up in an orphanage and had contact with many children since childhood, so she could barely make some inferences based on the existing information.
Ji An, while driving, also paid some attention to their discussion. He said, "We've analyzed it before. Most of the deceased were women and children, especially underage women. This criminal organization is likely committing crimes with human trafficking as its main purpose."
Pang Le touched his chin and said, "That's my analysis, but I still feel something is wrong. After all, the city next door is Yuanshan City, a tourist city with the Cuiping Mountains behind it. If they are really human traffickers, shouldn't they be moving around? How can they kidnap and sell people right next to their doorstep?"
Zhong Xiaoyu said, "Didn't Sister Ji say this before? What we found might not be the base camp. It could be a transit station. People are abducted from other places and transferred here. If anyone dies of illness, they'll be taken into the mountains and buried, and the others can be transported away later."
Guan Xia listened attentively, but soon sensed something was amiss. He hesitantly asked, "Wait, have you determined the cause of death for the fifteen or sixteen-year-old you found? Was it really an illness?"
Ji An said, "Due to limited conditions, the forensic doctor only performed a preliminary autopsy. Scars can be seen through the remaining surface layer of skin. The weapon used to cause the injuries has yet to be determined. However, it is certain that the victim suffered a certain degree of abuse before death. This is consistent with the methods used by criminal organizations primarily engaged in human trafficking."
Guan Xia sighed, "From what we've discovered, there are two burial sites. I don't know how many bodies there are on your side, but we estimate there are at least ten bodies here. With so many dead bodies, I don't know how many have been sold. It's hard for me to imagine that such a large-scale criminal organization exists so close to us."
Pang Le also sighed and said, "It sounds really scary, but think about it from another angle. If it really is a transit station, if we continue to investigate, we might be able to follow the clues and catch many gangs, and rescue many people who have been abducted and sold."
Pang Le was always able to adjust Guan Xia's mood in time. After she said that, her mood did indeed ease a lot.
After sending the location to Meng Lan, we drove for another twenty minutes and finally arrived at our destination.
After getting off the car, Guan Xia took a look at the sign. It was a 24-hour health hotpot restaurant, and the signature dish was various meats.
Qi Bai's eyes lit up when he saw this. He said something casually and rushed in with a few quick steps. Zhong Xiaoyu followed closely behind him. Guan Xia stretched his arms and legs first before slowly following in.
Because there were so many people, they sat in a large private room. As soon as the hot pot came up, Meng Lan hurried over.
It was really hurried. Before he saw anyone, Guan Xia heard a series of footsteps that sounded like jogging.
After greeting everyone, Meng Lan plopped down on the seat next to Guan Xia and said, "I'm really in a hurry. I was afraid I'd keep you waiting anxiously."
Guan Xia took the water cup handed to her by Xu Nian, placed it next to Meng Lan and said, "You arrived quite early. The pot isn't boiled yet. Have some snacks first."
Guan Xia pushed the plate of snacks towards Meng Lan.
Meng Lan casually opened a bag of small fried dough twists and stuffed it into her mouth. She looked up and around and asked hesitantly, "How about I talk to you later? Let's eat first. I'll talk to you after you're full."
"No," before Guan Xia could even speak, Zhong Xiaoyu leaned over and said, "I've been curious all the way here. You can talk, and I'll just listen. It won't affect our meal, so go ahead."
Qi Bai also said: "That's right, we can eat and talk at the same time, it doesn't affect anything, just talk, it's fine."
Guan Xia looked at Zhong Xiaoyu and Qi Bai with amusement. They had different professions and it was their first meeting. They were not familiar with each other yet they had a good understanding.
Pang Le also said: "That's right, we will listen to you and it won't delay our meal, but if you are hungry, eat first."
Meng Lan shook her head and said, "After waking up, I ate some bread that I bought for the climb. I'm not that hungry. So, what should I say?"
Meng Lan looked at Guan Xia inquiringly, and after Guan Xia nodded, she said, "What I'm talking about happened last year. Last year..."
Meng Lan paused, glanced at Guan Xia, and continued, "I met someone last year, a middle-aged woman. She seemed to be religious and was a bit mystical. I was sitting by the lake when she suddenly sat down next to me and said some inexplicable things to me."
Guan Xia felt that it sounded vaguely familiar and quickly remembered: last year, by the lake, and the middle-aged woman. Wasn't this the thing that had been bothering her and she wanted to find out?
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