Life in North America, you call this an autopsy officer?!
Chapter 92 - 84: The Campus Body Dumping Case

Chapter 92: Chapter 84: The Campus Body Dumping Case

Back to the still disheveled, chaotic office.

The newcomer Edna couldn’t help but mention the send-off scene they had just witnessed.

It was her first time seeing so many heavy weapons and missiles directly appearing on city streets, and she was somewhat astounded, "Do we really need to make such a big scene? I even saw media helicopters following them."

As she spoke, there was a hint of worry in her eyes.

The object of her concern was obviously not Ivan, but Glenn.

That boy, capitalizing on his performance during the attack, had completely captured the heart of this female newcomer, not missing any opportunity to uproot the carrot.

Old Hardenn laughed and enlightened the newbie,

"Don’t worry, in front of an Apache, those monkeys from Africa would turn into a pile of rotten meat if they dared to show their faces.

The reason for such a big scene with even TV helicopters following is all part of a scripted play.

We can’t casually report police being attacked; it would damage the LAPD’s dignity.

But ’innocent civilians’ being attacked by extremist groups, not only can it be reported, but it can also be covered with high intensity by the media, maybe even featuring ’victims’ up-close shots."

Seeing Edna looking somewhat confused, Old Hardenn shrugged and added, "Without blood and gore in front of their eyes, how else can we highlight the role of us government employees? What do you think those taxpayers willingly pay taxes for us?"

Edna’s eyes widened, "But, their willingness to pay taxes isn’t because if they don’t, the IRS’s armed teams would send tanks to their doorstep, right?"

Old Hardenn: Er...

Faced with Edna’s words, he found himself unable to retort.

There was a joke (for some laughs) that once circulated about the United States armed forces’ internal rankings.

First place goes to the United States military, also known as the United States Armed Forces, with fully-equipped army, navy, and air force.

They have military bases in most regions across the globe, and in times of crisis, they have the capability and confidence to simultaneously launch a global "OL special edition" and reboot the "S3 season," being the sole guarantee for the United States Federation to exert influence worldwide.

Second place is the National Guard Coast Guard, also called the Federation National Militia, belonging to the direct armed forces of each state, with both equipment and armed strength that are not inferior to some small and medium-sized countries’ militaries.

In many Hollywood monster invasion war scenes, the most deployed cannon fodder troops are basically them.

Third place belongs to the direct armed forces of the IRS.

Their level of weapon equipment is on par with the U.S. Army, with over ten thousand armed personnel, and a very simple slogan: In the life of an American citizen, only death and taxes are inevitable.

Whether you are a prostitute or a gang boss, or someone amidst the capital.

Regardless if your money comes from soliciting or drugs, or rewards from zero-dollar purchases.

As long as it’s within the scope allowed by tax law and the IRS finds out, if you dare to refuse to pay taxes, they will truly go after you.

Of course, the tax laws are also tailored by the wealthy.

These people have their own ways to legally evade taxes.

So, in truth, IRS’s deterrence is more towards the American lower class.

Old Hardenn thought for a while, then spread his hands, "Alright, the IRS is indeed formidable, but this time NW and FBI are probably preparing to use the farm massacre case as an annual case study and achievement. This kind of thing has happened many times; that butcher is as good as dead."

Brian, who was playing with the dog next to him, grew increasingly anxious as he listened.

He couldn’t help but interrupt, "But what if they can’t find the butcher?"

Old Hardenn shrugged, "A pig head mask + a dirty leather apron doesn’t cost much, and with the FBI having quite a few tall, dumb giants facing charges and about to be sentenced for hundreds of years, how could they not find one to play the butcher?"

Brian: ...Okay, Old Hardenn really sees through it all.

Susan, who was looking at the butcher’s crime scene videos on the computer next to him, also nodded,

"I don’t like to pay attention to these things, but Old Hardenn is right.

The media reports what the public needs to hear, and likewise, whatever the news reports is what the public will believe.

They just need a channel to vent the frustrations of life.

In reality, nobody cares what the truth is."

...

B6 group already had few hands, and now with one dead, two temporarily absent, plus Old Hardenn and two newcomers in logistics, the only ones left who could actually work were Susan and Brian.

Additionally, with other groups experiencing casualties to varying degrees due to sudden attacks and having staff reassigned, there was a shortage of personnel.

All morning, new cases kept getting reported to the B6 team.

...

As Brian drove to the crime scene in the investigation car, out of curiosity he asked Susan who was intently staring at the specialized tablet, "Susan, are you really interested in this butcher?"

Susan didn’t even look up and nodded, "I quite like his style."

"Ah?"

"I feel his style is reminiscent of the old Western vigilantes, and he’s extremely confident, especially with the large-caliber shotguns those guys were holding — those are exactly my cup of tea."

Susan was blunt, "He’s doing what I’ve always wanted to do."

Brian felt comforted by these words.

Even though his motive for executing criminals was for the sake of the dead’s "obsession gift," the process also gave him great psychological satisfaction.

Especially each time he saw the death memories of the victims.

Brian increasingly understood why people around the world, no matter the country, like to watch movies about heroes punishing criminals.

It really has nothing to do with good and evil.

At its core, it’s because no matter the place, the law can’t cover everything.

Everybody’s lives are filled with too much darkness and far too much injustice.

Everyone needs a vent, a kind of "imagination," to take the place of the ordinary person to do some things they wish to do but are powerless to do.

That’s why people like the idea of a jianghu, like superheroes.

With this in mind.

Brian petted the curious Shi San, who was examining the car’s parts, and smiled at Susan, "Then you must like watching Hollywood superhero movies."

"No, those are just dumb.

Especially those superheroes, who after catching the criminals, don’t just kill them directly but lock them up instead — then wait for them to escape and continue to commit crimes...

Every time I see that kind of plot, It gets me so mad I want to shoot the movie screen!

So, I prefer watching old revenge movies.

I’ve been watching them since I was little, and I still dig them out to watch now."

Susan dropped her tablet and forcibly hugged the sullen but silent Shi San to her chest:

"There are just too many rules and restrictions in reality.

But in the world of movies, seeing the protagonist abandon all rationality and restraint, and just beat the crap out of those bastards, stepping on their heads, cussing, watching the blood of villains splatter...

I absolutely love it!"

Okay.

Now Brian knew why Susan acted the way she did.

This set of values...

He absolutely loved it!

Seeing that Brian focused on driving without speaking,

Susan wrinkled her eyebrows: "Brian, do you think I’m too violent usually?"

Brian hastened to shake his head: "No, no, no, only criminals would find you violent. We subordinates feel secure working with you."

"That’s good," Susan pinched Shi San’s cheek, pulling it to both sides: "I asked my father who works on the front line how to make criminals scared, and he told me to be more restrained. It seems I’m doing pretty well."

"Wuwuwu~"

Shi San, unable to bear the insult, released pheromones of distress towards Brian.

Brian didn’t glance aside, pretending not to notice.

Joking.

He was driving; could he afford to be distracted?

Shi San resentfully glanced at Brian, playing dead, and had no choice but to turn to Susan, sticking out her little tongue, taking initiative in a submissive situation, licking Susan until she laughed heartily, promising on the spot to bring some top-grade steak from home for Shi San tomorrow.

Half an hour later.

Brian and the others drove to the first crime scene.

It was a campus body disposal case.

The crime scene was at a run-down community college, where students doing outdoor activities discovered a small pit in a weed-covered corner of the wall, and at the bottom was a hand gnawed down to the bone, prompting the school to immediately report to the police.

Arriving at the scene,

Brian glanced at the traces around the hole and directly said to Susan, "Such a stupid method to hide a corpse. Judging by the size of the bones, the body should be that of a teenage girl around eighteen or nineteen years old. It’s very likely that the killer was her classmate or teacher."

Susan widened her adorable, foolish eyes, blinked and remained silent, but her expression clearly meant, "Don’t beat around the bush, I don’t understand your highfalutin talk!"

Brian shrugged his shoulders, pointing to the traces around the hole:

"This pit was dug up by wild dogs. They smelled the putrefaction in the soil and took the body for food buried by their own kind, which led to the body’s exposure.

That’s the drawback of shallow burial without any treatment.

Moreover, the soil around the bones is pressed tightly.

That’s also very foolish.

As the body decays and produces putrefactive gases, it not only creates a strong stench that attracts scavengers to dig it up, but also gradually pushes the soil up, forming mounds.

In other words,

even if this victim wasn’t dug up by wild dogs, the putrefactive gases leaked during body decomposition would expose her location.

The correct method is to dig the hole a bit deeper, cover it with looser soil, and leave space for the gases to escape.

If you could treat the body with fire initially, that would work even better. Planting some plants with deep roots would also be effective."

Brian shared his experience on murdering and burial with Susan.

To her, as someone only responsible for the ’killing’ and not the ’burying,’ this knowledge was fresh and intriguing.

Brian changed into his work clothes and, while digging, continued to enlighten Susan:

"As for distinguishing the gender of the skeleton, one must mainly observe the skull, pelvis, torso, and limb bones, with the pelvis being the easiest to differentiate.

However, for experienced Autopsy Officers and forensic doctors, even looking at the phalanges can give an idea of the victim’s approximate age and gender."

The last statement was pure nonsense.

Old forensic doctors might be able to discern gender from phalanges, but for a full-grown adult’s skeleton, it’s very difficult for the naked eye to determine age based on just the phalanges.

Brian was sure; it was purely by recognizing the pheromones remaining on the bones.

He continued:

"Typically, inexperienced killers will subconsciously hide the body in an area they are familiar with.

Familiar areas, in their subconscious, represent a sense of security. This is also why I think the killer is likely a student or teacher at the school...

But that’s actually quite stupid.

Burying the body isn’t difficult at the time, but once the killer regains composure and realizes the burial site isn’t safe, wanting to change places will be many times harder.

People are averse to hassle.

At that time, they’ll become complacent, thinking the body won’t be found.

In truth, they’re just fooling themselves."

While working at the Forensic Bureau, Brian might have been slacking off.

But as his spirit grew stronger, the knowledge once casually shared during his forensic work started being absorbed by Brian again, becoming his own expertise.

That’s the power of professionalism.

Susan listened thoughtfully.

She wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but every time Brian shared his insights, and the subsequent foolishness commentary, she felt Brian was looking down on those clumsy killers from a criminal perspective...

As she hesitated to ask Brian about it,

Brian suddenly stopped digging, and picked up a yellow, adult palm-sized wooden lid adorned with mummy patterns, dusted off the clinging soil, and examined it closely.

"What’s this?"

"The killer’s confession!" Brian said earnestly.