After this case occurred, the reason Huai City police immediately reported it to the provincial authorities was that an almost identical case had taken place last summer.
Zhao Feier, a recent graduate of Huai City University, was 23 years old and from Tong County in the provincial capital of Hunan. Both her parents remained in their hometown, and the family was financially struggling. Zhao Feier had ordinary looks and a cheerful personality. After graduation, she had been unable to find a permanent job and worked part-time at a milk tea shop.
Like Liu Yisha, Zhao Feier also rented a place in the "slum" area near the university. The straight-line distance between their residences was less than 2 kilometers.
On that summer night when Zhao Feier went missing, she was returning home after her late shift at the milk tea shop. Because her workplace was far away, it was already past 1 a.m. when she got off the bus. She needed to walk about 1.5 kilometers to reach home.
The next day, Zhao Feier didn't show up for work. The milk tea shop couldn't reach her.
On the third day, she still hadn't come to work. Her colleagues at the milk tea shop reported her missing to the police.
Three days later, her body was discovered by villagers on a remote hillside in the countryside. Zhao Feier was stuffed inside an identical 20-inch black suitcase, completely naked, with broken joints, folded into the same neat yet deformed shape.
The cause of death was consistent - blunt force trauma to the head, resulting in skull fracture. The severe sexual assault was identical. The method of cleaning the body was the same, extremely thorough and clean, leaving no fingerprints or DNA behind.
However, the perpetrator from a year ago seemed slightly more careless. Forensic technicians managed to extract one usable fingerprint from the inner side of the suitcase handle.
Yet no match was found in the police fingerprint database.
The police believed Zhao Feier was abducted by the killer during that mere 1.5-kilometer walk home. They even possessed a precious fingerprint. But they simply couldn't find the perpetrator. Zhao Feier's phone was eventually located in a trash can in a busy downtown area, making it impossible to determine her exact disappearance location and time.
The Huai City police had been extremely concerned at the time, as they had basically ruled out motives like revenge or love disputes. They had reason to believe the killer was a stranger, and the methods were so cruel and perverted. The police feared a second victim might appear.
However, as time passed, the killer vanished without a trace, and no new victims emerged.
Until today, one year later.
——
Like many third and fourth-tier cities, Huai City's downtown area maintained a glossy, vibrant facade. Commercial housing developments were springing up everywhere, complete with central gardens filled with greenery and square dancing enthusiasts. The streets were lined with promotional slogans about "developing tourism" and "building a civilized city."
But peel back this surface layer and venture deeper, gradually approaching the area where the two victims had rented their homes. The buildings began to grow shorter, older, and dirtier. They crowded together densely, uneven in height, with monotonous and rigid architectural styles reflecting the poverty and haste of that era.
The roads were similarly chaotic - some wide, some narrow, intersecting haphazardly, all equally dirty. Various shops - convenience stores, florists, milk tea shops, fruit stores - mixed indiscriminately with wet markets, residential areas, neighborhood offices, and elementary schools. Scattered throughout were shantytown settlements.
This was the area with the highest population density and most disordered living conditions in the city, yet also the most primitive and vibrant place.
You Mingxu and Xu Mengshan drove to the building where Liu Yisha had lived. Yin Feng, being somewhat of an insider, naturally followed along.This was a five-story building that had once served as a collective dormitory for a certain unit but had now been converted into rental apartments. Each floor was densely lined with windows and doors, and the corridors were cluttered with miscellaneous items and drying laundry. You Mingxu frowned: if the fire department were to inspect this place, it would definitely fail to meet standards. Yet, this was the only way for the city’s "ant-like" residents to survive.
Living in unsafe conditions was far better than having nowhere to live at all.
The three of them ascended a spiral staircase on one side. Standing on the stairs, You Mingxu looked back at the surroundings—too many crowded buildings, too many windows. If there had been a pair of eyes among them secretly watching Liu Yisha, it would be impossible to find them.
The staircase of the old building was narrow, with many damaged steps. Yin Feng, looking around absentmindedly, suddenly stepped into a gap in the stairs and stumbled. You Mingxu, right behind him, reacted quickly and wrapped an arm around his waist. But the guy was too heavy, and the two of them crashed into the railing together. The railing was also dilapidated, sending a chill down You Mingxu’s spine. Yin Feng, reacting instinctively to the loss of balance, pulled You Mingxu into his arms to shield her.
After they collided with the railing, she was holding his waist, and he had her wrapped tightly in his embrace. Both of them froze for a moment. You Mingxu caught the scent of shower gel from his embrace, and the familiar feeling of his tall, sturdy frame suddenly brought back the memory of their passionate kiss from a few days ago.
"A Xu, are you okay?" he asked softly.
"I’m fine," You Mingxu said, pulling away from his embrace and continuing up the stairs with a calm expression. Then she heard him mutter to himself behind her, "Handsome is fine too."
You Mingxu’s face remained expressionless, but she felt inexplicably irritated.
They arrived at Liu Yisha’s door.
It was a corner unit on the fifth floor, likely the cheapest one available. The door was sealed, and a police officer was on duty. The three of them entered and found a room no larger than 15 square meters, including a bathroom. The walls were white, the floor was concrete, and the furnishings consisted of a small bed, a table, a wardrobe, and two chairs.
Despite the simplicity and cheapness of everything in the room, it was tidy and well-organized. Clothes were neatly folded in the wardrobe, and toothbrushes, toothpaste, and towels were arranged in order. On the table were a few books: aside from two romance novels, there were also titles like E-commerce for Beginners, Super Influencers Teach You How to Open an Online Store, and Secrets to Earning Millions on Taobao.
You Mingxu picked up the books, flipped through them, exchanged a glance with Xu Mengshan, and then set them down.
Based on preliminary investigations, they had gained a basic understanding of Liu Yisha. Compared to the first victim, Zhao Feier, Liu Yisha was relatively more attractive in appearance but also more introverted and fragile. According to her teachers and classmates, Liu Yisha was neither outstanding in academic performance nor particularly ambitious. However, she was a decent and honest person. Her family was extremely poor, so her life had always been difficult and frugal.
She had once dated a senior student, but after he graduated and moved to another city, the campus romance fizzled out. After graduation, Liu Yisha had even less contact with her classmates, and almost no one knew about her recent circumstances.
Of course, she had one or two close friends. They mentioned that Liu Yisha had talked about wanting to open an online clothing store. However, the startup capital had always been an issue, so nothing ever materialized.
The tiny room was like Liu Yisha’s short life—it could be fully understood in just a few glances. You Mingxu stepped outside to the railing and lit a cigarette. She was pondering one question: How had Liu Yisha gone missing?According to a close friend, Liu Yisha's last phone call with her was 5 days ago. A neighbor last saw Liu Yisha on the evening 4 days ago. Her time of death has been confirmed to be between 2:00 and 3:00 AM 2 days ago. This means she went missing and was murdered between the evening of 4 days ago—the 7th—and the 9th.
OpenNovel