The lower half of a female corpse was firmly sealed in white sculpting clay, with both arms missing from the shoulders down, leaving a hideous look on the severed ends, as if chopped off by someone.
The entire scene was deliberately arranged, and at first glance it seemed to be a strange tribute to the famous Venus de Milo statue.
Xia Zhining's stomach churned at the tragic scene before her. She suppressed the discomfort in her throat, quickly looked away, and began to carefully observe the details around her.
Outside the window, several tall camphor trees stood silently, their dense branches and leaves almost reaching into the corridor.
At this moment, Xuetuan, who was squatting on her shoulder, suddenly stretched out his soft little paws and gently cupped her cheeks, his black pearl-like eyes filled with worry: "Don't be afraid, sister, Xuetuan is here with you."
The furry touch and the little guy's clumsy yet sincere comfort were like a warm current that instantly dispelled the haze in Xia Zhining's heart.
She couldn't help but curl the corners of her mouth, gently rubbed Xuetuan's little head with her fingertips, and whispered: "Well, with you around, sister feels much more at ease."
At this time, Ji Shuyun also put on shoe covers and protective clothing and walked to her side.
He patted Xia Zhining's back soothingly and explained the situation: "The deceased was Han Ruoyan, a 22-year-old female, a senior in the Sculpture Department of the School of Art at Jiangcheng University, who was preparing for her graduation project."
"She applied for this Art Room 01 as her personal studio."
Ji Shuyun paused for a moment. "Han Ruoyan was usually cheerful and easygoing, and I haven't heard of him having any grudges against anyone. When he was found this morning, he had been dead for more than 48 hours."
Xia Zhining stared at the dazzling white and dark red and nodded slightly.
Xia Zhining frowned and asked, "Han Ruoyan has been missing for over 48 hours, and no one noticed anything unusual?"
Ji Shuyun explained solemnly, "According to feedback from her roommates and instructor, Han Ruoyan mentioned recently that she wanted to 'go out and relax'. She said she planned to take a short trip and gather inspiration before school started."
"She usually writes alone outside, and it's not uncommon for her to stay out all night. So, when she hasn't been around these past few days, everyone just assumed she was out collecting materials."
He paused and added, "Plus, it's the eve of the start of school recently, and the flow of people on campus is complicated. Everyone is busy. It wasn't until the cleaner came in to clean this morning that they discovered..."
Xia Zhining sighed softly. The murderer's methods were extremely cruel, but since she wasn't a professional criminal investigator, it was difficult for her to extract any useful clues from the scene. She turned to her brother and asked, "Brother, have you found anything?"
Ji Shuyun's gaze calmly scanned the scene, finally stopping at the body sealed in white sculpting clay. He slowly spoke, "Judging from the sculpting technique of this 'sculpture,' the murderer's workmanship was extremely careless."
"The clay is uneven in thickness, the surface treatment is rough, and there are even obvious fingerprints and scratches on the seams."
"This means he doesn't have professional sculpture skills and most likely hasn't received systematic training."
Ji Shuyun paused slightly and continued, "However, although the technique is amateurish, the murderer clearly possesses a certain artistic talent and aesthetic awareness."
"The posture of the corpse, especially the lower body, clearly mimics the classic silhouette of the Venus de Milo. It's not something anyone could have conceived."
Xia Zhining looked at her brother's profile, her eyes already turning into stars: "Brother, you are really amazing."
Upon hearing this, several young police officers at the scene couldn't help but move closer, with admiration in their eyes.
One of them couldn't help but whisper, "Officer Ji, how can you even tell if a sculpture is professional?"
Ji Shuyun's expression changed, and he explained calmly, "When I was in college, in order to more accurately judge trauma marks and human anatomy, I took a few weeks of human sculpture classes at the Academy of Fine Arts."
He glanced at the clay sculpture and said in a steady voice, "Although it's just the surface, at least you can tell the difference between the sculpting techniques of systematic training and amateur groping."
Ji Shuyun leaned slightly to the side and pointed to several obvious joint defects and rough scratches on the surface of the clay. "The treatment in these places is rough and uneven, which is obviously the work of a slacker."
As soon as he finished speaking, several young detectives around him were stunned. One of them sighed quietly, "So that's how it is... Officer Ji even understands this."
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