Chapter 103: Discovery of Criminal Evidence—Clothing from a Victim Twenty Years Ago and a Large Stash of Drugs!

The sight of more than twenty neatly arranged human skeletons.

Even Xu Changsheng, who had seen many homicide scenes and victims’ remains, couldn’t help but feel a shiver run down his spine. A sense of indescribable dread crept over him.

Because—With over ten years in criminal investigation, he only needed a single glance to determine that…

The skeletons before him were not mere models. They were real human remains, stripped of flesh piece by piece, then preserved with formalin and air-dried.

This meant—In this workshop, Zhou Shirui had dissected and processed at least twenty corpses. Or worse—had he murdered over twenty people and turned them into his so-called “artworks”?

At this moment—Xu Changsheng dared not dwell on the thought. He knew very well that if Zhou Shirui had really managed to kill so many people over the years without attracting attention…

Then the question was—should he be horrified by Zhou Shirui’s terrifying criminal intelligence, or should he lament the utter incompetence of the Huaihai Criminal Investigation Team, where every member seemed to be nothing more than a useless drunk?

So many years had passed—Yet they had failed to unearth Zhou Shirui’s crimes, allowing him to continue committing them with impunity.

And if the media ever exposed this case, the resulting public outcry and panic would be unimaginable.

A modern-day Hannibal Lecter—his infamy would become a dark cloud looming over the entire city.

Suppressing all the emotions surging in his heart—Without knowing the internal layout of the hidden chamber, Xu Changsheng did not rush in recklessly. Instead, he adjusted the beam of his high-powered flashlight slightly.

And unexpectedly discovered—At the far left of the twenty skeletons, there was a massive picture frame, nearly as tall as a person.

But inside the frame—there was no painting.

Instead, a set of women’s spring clothing was meticulously displayed.

The upper garment was an old-fashioned, long-sleeved, hoodless white sweatshirt. The lower garment was a pair of faded blue jeans, alongside a pair of dirt-stained cloth shoes.

And—At the very top of the clothing set, an extremely old-fashioned hairpin was clipped in place.

One had to admit—The scene was eerily unsettling.

Who would frame a set of clothing like a piece of art and hang it on the wall?

Moreover, judging from the condition of the garments, they had clearly been worn for quite some time before being preserved.

Goosebumps began to rise on Xu Changsheng’s arms, but he did not retreat an inch. Squinting his eyes, he scrutinized the women’s clothing in the frame.

Because—He had a strange feeling…

A feeling of familiarity.

After a few seconds of searching his memory—Xu Changsheng suddenly recalled a key detail from the case files of the 5.13 Dismemberment Case.

In the witness statements, one of the victim’s roommates had given the following account:

> [The victim left the dormitory early that morning. Only one roommate, who was woken up by the victim’s movements, saw what she was wearing when she left.]

[At that time, the victim had slightly dressed up—wearing a trendy, hoodless sweatshirt that was most likely white, along with a pair of jeans…]

Back when Lin Tian had him review the case files—Xu Changsheng had considered analyzing the victim’s attire to determine her possible movements that day.

He had read that statement dozens of times, to the point that it was etched into his memory.

Now, as he compared the clothing in the frame with his recollection, it was a perfect match.

This set of clothing—Was undoubtedly what the victim of the 5.13 Dismemberment Case had been wearing when she left the dorm that day!

Such an old style of clothing, along with accessories that had long disappeared from the market, matched exactly with the roommate’s description.

This meant—The deranged and depraved Zhou Shirui had preserved not only the victim’s internal organs but also her clothing—framing them like a trophy to commemorate his “perfect artwork.”

And if this framed clothing was placed in the first position on the left—Then the remaining twenty skeletons… Were they arranged according to Zhou Shirui’s sequence of dismemberment? A grotesque memorial?

Had this been discovered twenty years ago, this clothing alone could have been enough to convict Zhou Shirui.

But now—Too much time had passed. The victim’s DNA on the garments had likely degraded beyond detection, making them unusable as forensic evidence.

Xu Changsheng’s expression grew even more serious, but instead of dwelling on the issue, he shifted his flashlight deeper into the room.

At the farthest corner—He spotted a specialized carving workbench, its upper left side lined with an assortment of knives. It was still unclear whether these knives were the very ones used in the dismemberment twenty years ago.

At the center of the workbench—A sealed metal box sat beside a stack of carefully cut aluminum foil sheets and an alcohol burner.

Xu Changsheng immediately recognized these items—They were tools commonly used for heating and inhaling heroin.

A wave of excitement surged in his heart. Now that he had confirmed the hidden chamber was safe, he wasted no time in stepping forward to the metal box.

Taking a pair of rubber gloves from his pocket, he put them on before carefully opening the box.

The lid lifted—Revealing several kilograms of high-purity narcotics.

At that moment—Xu Changsheng exhaled a deep breath, finally releasing some of his tension.

Because—The discovery of such a large quantity of high-purity drugs in Zhou Shirui’s workshop—Even if there was no concrete evidence of homicide, the drug possession charge alone would be enough to ensure Zhou Shirui faced the death penalty. His life would be reset—reincarnating straight into the animal realm.

After completing the search of the hidden chamber—Xu Changsheng immediately pulled out his phone and returned Su Ming’s earlier call.

After a few seconds—When the call connected, Xu Changsheng wasted no time in speaking.

“Xiao Ming, turn on the speaker. Let Director Lin hear this.”

“First—I’ve discovered a concealed hidden chamber in Zhou Shirui’s workshop. Upon breaching it, I found at least five to six kilograms of high-purity drugs.”

“With just this evidence, we no longer need to worry about legal complications or unexpected issues in court.”

“Second—I found the clothing that the victim from the 5.13 Dismemberment Case was wearing on the day of her murder.”

“Zhou Shirui preserved the victim’s clothing and framed it like an art piece, likely to commemorate his so-called ‘perfect work.’”

“I’ve reviewed the case files countless times. I have absolute confidence—there’s a 99% certainty that this is the victim’s clothing.”

At this point—Xu Changsheng paused for a moment, then turned his head toward the twenty skeletons in the hidden chamber, his tone growing even heavier.

“Finally—I haven’t found the statue that might contain the victim’s internal organs yet. But in this hidden chamber, I have found…More than twenty fully stripped human skeletons, neatly arranged—Before Xu Changsheng could finish speaking—Lin Tian’s urgent and incredulous voice erupted through the phone.

“What?!?”

“More than twenty human skeletons?!?”

“Ah Sheng, start a video call immediately—I need to see exactly what’s going on!”