The corpse of an adult male weighing around 170 pounds is not something one person can easily lift.
When a person is unconscious due to drunkenness or other reasons, their body becomes exceptionally difficult to move, making it impossible for a single individual to transport a corpse.
Moreover, directly moving a corpse is not only exhausting but also carries the risk of being discovered. Therefore, Xu Mo deduced that the murderer was not alone and that they likely had access to a vehicle for the crime.
Xu Mo's analysis aligned closely with Han Fei's thoughts.
However, the primary task at hand was not to analyze the murderer's situation but to first identify the deceased.
The victim's face had been deliberately disfigured, making it impossible to identify him based on appearance.
"The murderer is likely a resident of this area, and the deceased probably lived here as well. We should investigate the residents of this neighborhood to see if any middle-aged men have gone missing recently," said Han Fei, drawing on his extensive experience with homicide cases.
He had handled numerous murder cases and was quite familiar with this type of crime.
Such cases often shared a common trait: the body disposal site was usually not far from the crime scene, as the murderer would follow the principle of proximity when dealing with the corpse, avoiding the risk of traveling too far.
After all, the longer the process, the greater the chance of something going wrong. No one would want to complicate things for themselves, especially if they were to encounter a traffic checkpoint and risk being discovered with a corpse in their vehicle.
After Han Fei issued the order, the officers immediately began investigating recent disappearances of middle-aged men in the area.
The investigation proceeded smoothly, and they soon identified a potential match.
Liang Youping, aged 34, had gone missing three days ago without explanation. His disappearance timeline and age closely matched the estimated time of death provided by Xu Mo.
The police brought the body back to the station. To ensure the accuracy of their investigation, they contacted Liang Youping's family—specifically, his wife—to come and identify the body.
Liang Youping's wife arrived at the station shortly after.
Upon seeing the body, her statement left the police stunned.
"This isn't Liang Youping. He only weighed around 130 pounds and wasn't that muscular. Plus, he didn't have any tattoos."
The police database wasn't detailed enough to include information like a person's weight or whether they had tattoos, which was why they had called in the family for identification to avoid mistakes.
"This isn't your husband?" Han Fei was slightly taken aback.
"No! He didn't have a single tattoo and hated them. There's no way he would have a full sleeve tattoo," the woman replied. "Can I leave now if there's nothing else?"
"Sure, thank you for your cooperation," Han Fei nodded.
However, just as the woman turned to leave, Xu Mo called out to her.
"Wait, don't go yet. You don't seem the least bit concerned about your husband's disappearance."
The woman turned back and sneered.
"Ha! Concerned? That bastard ran off with my sister. I wish he were dead. If he's dead, all the better—the properties here would be mine."
Wow! Running off with his sister-in-law...?
Isn't that something Huang He would do? A familiar tune immediately played in Xu Mo's mind.
No wonder the woman wasn't worried. Xu Mo dismissed his suspicions about her and waved her off.
"Alright, you can go. Thanks for your cooperation."
But now, the woman seemed in no hurry to leave. She pulled out a business card from her bag and handed it to Xu Mo, giving him a flirtatious glance. "Handsome, here's my contact information. If you have any more questions, feel free to reach out—anytime, even at night. I'm available 24/7..."
Earlier, she had been too focused on checking if her husband was dead. If Xu Mo hadn't called out to her, she might not have noticed how handsome he was.
Using this to test a public servant? I'm no Cao Cao! Xu Mo didn't even take the card.
"Please behave yourself!"
Seeing this, the woman shrugged and left the station, feeling she had made a fool of herself.
After the woman left, Han Fei furrowed his brow and muttered to himself,
"If Liang Youping isn't the victim... then who is this corpse?"
Even the experienced Han Fei was stumped.
The worst thing in an investigation is not being able to identify the victim. Without knowing who the deceased is, no matter how skilled you are, you can't proceed with the case. After all, without knowing the victim's identity, there's no starting point.
Meanwhile, Xu Mo stared at the corpse, already forming an idea in his mind.
He had a special skill: reconstructing facial features from bones!
This was one of the advanced techniques in the portrait-drawing skills rewarded to him by the system. Even if the victim's face was severely damaged or only the skull remained, he could reconstruct the deceased's appearance based on the bone structure.
Xu Mo had used this technique before in previous cases.
However, it was time-consuming.
Previously, to save time, he had avoided using this method when the victim's identity could be confirmed through normal means, as it was too time-intensive.
But now, with the police unable to confirm the victim's identity, Xu Mo's skill was the perfect solution.
"Captain Han, I have a way to identify the victim," Xu Mo said after deciding to use this method.
"You do?" Han Fei was taken aback and looked at Xu Mo. "What's your plan?"
"Do you remember the bone-based facial reconstruction?"
Hearing this, Han Fei's eyes lit up.
Of course! How could he have forgotten about Xu Mo's skill? He had used it before in previous investigations.
Han Fei slapped his forehead.
"Right, right! I must be too busy to have forgotten. Can you start now? If so, I'll get you some paper and pens."
Xu Mo nodded and began carefully observing the victim's face, mentally reconstructing the deceased's appearance.
This was a massive task, requiring significant time and meticulous observation.
Soon, Han Fei returned with paper and pens for Xu Mo.
He even thoughtfully brought a small table and chair, put on gloves, and assisted Xu Mo.
"Let me know if you need the body adjusted for a specific angle. I'll help."
Reconstructing facial features from bones required observing the victim's face from multiple angles, which meant frequently adjusting the position of the head.
Xu Mo needed to focus on drawing, and constantly adjusting the body and returning to his seat would waste time.
"Is this angle okay?" Han Fei asked.
"Yes... almost there. Captain Han, tilt it a bit more to the left..."
The two worked together seamlessly.
After about four hours, Xu Mo completed the portrait. "Done!"