Chapter 6: Huntington's Disease

  " Eyebrows. You're sure you didn't see it wrong."

  Liu Chunxiao didn't respond to Wang Yan's question. He continued asking: "Then what did you see next?"

  The drunkard became even more incoherent. He furrowed his brow: "He dragged a woman out... then... knelt down there, still kneeling, holding a long knife in his hand. He started cutting and cutting and cutting..." As he spoke, he mimicked the motion of cutting with a knife.

  "How did you know he was dragging a woman?" Wang Yan couldn't help but ask.

  The drunkard's face revealed a strange smile: "Hair is very long, all the way to the ground. Of course... it's a woman."

  Liu Chunxiao slapped him hard and reminded him: "And then?"

  Then he took a hammer and hit her. Thud after thud after thud... non-stop hitting... just like nailing a wooden board... bang, bang, bang...

  Wang Yanan couldn't hold it in anymore. She pulled Liu Chunxiao to one side and asked seriously in a low voice, "How could he possibly see so clearly? It was at night when the incident occurred."

  Liu Chunxiao pointed silently at a street lamp not far from the scene of the crime: "Last night was the 15th again, and the moon was very big."

  "So is what he's saying now reliable? Is the murderer really dismembering the victim over there? Looking at his drunk appearance, I have some doubts."

  "It should be reliable. A person's memory is tied to a specific location and surroundings. He witnessed the murder while drunk yesterday, so I had him get back into that state of intoxication to recall his memories from then. Besides, he wasn't deeply drunk, just tipsy. His basic consciousness was still there, since he said he walked through half of the city park to get here."

  Wang Yanan was speechless. She quickly called over her subordinates: "Immediately retrieve all the surveillance footage from the exit points. Track down a white van."

  At this moment, the drunkard was still muttering to himself while hugging a wine bottle. Liu Chunxiao smiled slightly and walked up to him, pulling him up while using her eyes to signal to her colleague on the other side to come over and help: "Let's go, we'll treat you to dinner."

  "Good, good, eat." The drunkard swayed and followed Liu Chunxiao and the police from the police station.

  Wang Yanan walked into the thicket where the body was found. Zhang Tong was bent over, carefully examining the surface of the remains.

  "Xiao Tong, is there any clue?"

  "This is the first crime scene. There are a lot of bloodstains, splattered everywhere. The bones inside the body have all been removed. It's exactly the same as the previous victim."

  "Time of death."

  "It can be confirmed that it was between midnight and 2 am yesterday." As he said this, Zhang Tong directed Pan Jian to help put the remains into a body bag while turning his head to say, "Ya Nan, I think this killer is getting more and more impatient."

  "Why say that."

  "It was the first time I saw him directly dismembering the body at the crime scene and taking away the bones. He couldn't care less about the surrounding environment, which might expose himself." Zhang Tong's face turned solemn.

  Wang Yanan thought for a moment and asked: "Xiao Tong, what kind of person has white eyebrows, hair, and face?"

  "It should be albinism patients, that is, a genetic deficiency caused by severe gene mutation. Such patients are afraid of light and cannot open their eyes under sunlight. If the skin is exposed to sunlight for too long, it will be sunburned. Therefore, in order to avoid sunlight, patients generally stay indoors during the day and go out at night."

  "So the murderer from last night is very likely to be an albino patient." Wang Yanan muttered to herself. At this time, a figure flashed through her mind. Wang Yanan involuntarily blurted out, "Is this just a coincidence?"

  "What did you say?" Zhang Tong was somewhat perplexed.

  "It's nothing. I'm saying Liu Chunxiao came just now and helped me a lot."

  "What is he doing here."

  "I don't know how he suddenly appeared either, and it's not good to ask too much. He's now walking with the eyewitnesses. Xiao Tong, honestly, this old classmate of yours is really smart, just like an encyclopedia. We owe him one this time."

  Zhang Tong didn't make a sound, continued to turn around and busy himself, with an air of being completely uninvolved.

  Wang Yanan did not go back to the Public Security Bureau directly. After briefly explaining some things to Zhao Yun, she drove alone to Tianchang University. Since she had just been there yesterday, the security guard at the university gate did not stop her this time. Seeing Wang Yanan sitting in the car, he nodded and let her pass. Wang Yanan drove straight to the building of the Biological Department's faculty dormitory.

  After parking the car, Wang Yan walked quickly towards the door. It was not yet 9 o'clock in the morning. Professor Ding should still be at home. She came to the second floor entrance, thought for a moment, and stretched out her hand to knock on the door.

  The door was opened quickly. The one who answered the door was Professor Ding's housekeeper with a thick face. Wang Yanan was led to the living room and sat down.

  It was still the living room from yesterday, nothing had changed. The only thing missing was that special photo on the piano. Wang Yanan furrowed her brow, she knew clearly in her heart that Professor Ding must have realized something.

  The phone suddenly rang. It was a text message from Zhao Yun. Wang Ya Nan hastily read it and couldn't help but furrow her brow.

  "Officer, you've arrived." Professor Ding's face showed no unusual expression. He walked out of the inner bedroom and stretched out his hand to shake hands with Wang Ya Nan, smiling slightly in a friendly manner.

  After the two sat down again, Wang Yan decided to get straight to the point. She knew that in front of Professor Ding, she didn't need to hide anything. This was a very intelligent old man who seemed to have already guessed why she had suddenly come to visit him today.

  "Professor Ding, I've come this time for your nephew Huang Zhigang. Where is he now? Can you tell me? My colleague went to look for him based on the address you provided, but the neighbors said he had already moved away a long time ago."

  "I haven't heard from him for a long time. I already told you yesterday when you came here with your colleague. It's been a very long time since I last saw him, it should be almost seven or eight months now."

  "Does he have a white van?"

  The old man thought for a moment and nodded: "Yes, he has one. He bought it almost two years ago. Because of his illness, he rarely goes out during the day. Even when he does go out, because many people mock him, almost everyone who sees him stays far away from him. So he never takes the bus. Until there were orders for specimen production online, in order to conveniently deliver goods to customers, he bought this car.

  "Has he ever opened an online store before."

  "Yes, it seems like on some 'same city network'. Because now the demand for specimen production is getting less and less. He sometimes makes specimens for those clients who have lost their pets as a keepsake. Such business is also getting less and less. In a year, he can't even make much money. About half a year ago, I lost contact with him." When mentioning this nephew, Professor Ding seemed to be somewhat heartbroken, his tone full of sympathy. That's the concern that older people usually have for their younger generation.

  "Is he still doing this business now? How can I find him?"

  "I don't know. I'm getting old and my body isn't well either," said Professor Ding, casting his gaze out the window, with a hint of dismissal in his tone.

  "Alright, Professor Ding. You can rest now. I won't disturb you anymore. I'll come visit you again another day."

  The old man nodded and didn't say anything more.

  As soon as Wang Yan left Professor Ding's building, the first thing she did after getting into the car was to dial Zhao Yun's phone number: "I'm heading back to the bureau now. You apply for a summons immediately. Huang Zhi Gang is suspected of major crimes."

  There were six people sitting in the conference room of Tianchang Public Security Bureau, except for Director Li and several bureau leaders, there was only Wang Yanan. This was a daily major case briefing meeting. Everyone's expression on their face was very serious.

  "Four bodies, we've only identified one so far. But based on the clues I got from Professor Ding, I found this store on Tianchang Tongcheng Net." Wang Yanan said, turning her laptop towards everyone. "'Collecting Eternal Life'. This is the only store on Tongcheng Net that specializes in making specimens for deceased pets. And the victim Zhang Ling had a Samoyed dog that died of illness at the beginning of the year. After investigation, it was found that she had ordered goods from this store before. The owner's registration information shows that it is indeed Huang Zhi Gang, Professor Ding's nephew. According to Professor Ding's recollection, his nephew suffered from severe albinism due to genetic reasons and lived a life almost isolated from the world. He is an excellent specimen maker. We found chemical residues at several crime scenes and rivets on the victim's shoulder, which were proven to be tools that a specimen maker must have. The composition table was confirmed by Professor Ding, and it matches the ancestral rivet configuration method of their family. Now, except for him, only Huang Zhi Gang knows the specific configuration method. Finally, according to the eyewitness description at the third crime scene, the killer's hair, eyebrows, and skin showed an unusual pale whiteness, which is consistent with the characteristics of albinism."

  "Then where is he now?" Li Ju frowned and asked.

  "We have issued an arrest warrant and are currently searching everywhere."

  "Have you checked the customer information in the store?"

  Wang Yan nodded: "I have contacted the web editor of Tongcheng Network, and retrieved his business records and all customer information that had interactions with him. Currently, we are intensifying verification. His last login was this morning. The network monitoring team is closely monitoring this account. They will contact me as soon as there is any situation. I hope to catch him before he strikes again."

  "We don't have much time left." Li Ju sighed deeply, his eyes filled with anxiety. "This is a person who takes lives lightly. If we don't catch him soon, he will harm even more people. We won't be able to wear our police uniforms with pride, nor will we be able to face the ordinary citizens around us every day."

  Director Li's words made everyone present feel heavy in their hearts.

  "King's team, Huang Zhigang's account has movement."

  "Great, I'll be right there." Wang Yan handed the report materials in her hand to her subordinate next to her and quickly walked towards the network monitoring department's office upstairs.

  As soon as I arrived at the door, I bumped into Zhang Tong who was delivering a report.

  "You're in such a hurry to go where." Zhang Tong rubbed his sore shoulder, which had been bumped. "Here, this is the autopsy report."

  "Let's just put it this way. I don't have much time. I'm heading to the Internet Monitoring Department anyway. You're going that way too. We can talk while we walk."

  "The deceased is a female, relatively older this time, between 35 to 40 years old. She has a history of childbirth. The modus operandi of the crime is almost identical. It can be confirmed that it was done by the same person."

  Wang Yanan suddenly thought of something and blurted out: "What about her toxicology report?"

  "You didn't mention it, I almost forgot. Shu Anning and **. They are all the same. But this time there is an exception. I actually detected a tiny virus in her blood."

  "Tiny."

  "Correct."

  "What's that thing?" Wang Yan still didn't understand. She stopped at the corner of the stairs and turned to ask.

  "You've never raised a dog, so it's normal that you haven't heard of it. Parvovirus is a common virus in dogs, very stubborn, similar to human gastroenteritis, but more severe. If the golden treatment time of the first 72 hours is missed, the mortality rate of infected dogs will be very high."

  "This virus can infect humans. Right?"

  "Yes, the virus is very stubborn and cannot be completely eliminated by high or low temperatures. Even if disinfection work is done well, it will take at least half a year to eliminate the virus after leaving the host. Dog owners may unknowingly contract this virus through contact with their pets, including saliva and bodily fluids. People in good health may not show any symptoms, but those with poor health may experience vomiting, severe diarrhea, and bloody stools after infection, requiring timely medical attention."

  After hearing Zhang Tong's words, Wang Ya Nan immediately asked: "What about the vitiligo patient? What if he gets infected?"