Chapter 105: The Dismemberment Memorial Inscription on the Collarbone—Zhou Shirui’s Source of Inspiration!

A somewhat well-known Chinese sculptor in recent years.

This was Su Ming’s deduction regarding Zhou Shirui’s current identity. Lin Tian pondered seriously for two seconds before nodding in agreement.

Because—For Zhou Shirui to employ this kind of “Golden Cicada Shedding Its Shell” method, he must have abandoned his original identity completely and embraced a carefully prepared new identity to be reborn.

However, if this new identity was still established within Dragon Country(Fictional China), it would not hold up under investigation.

Even if things like ID cards could be forged, the social traces accumulated over decades—such as personal records, academic history, transaction records, surveillance footage, and interpersonal relationships—were impossible to fabricate.

In modern society, it is absolutely impossible for a person to leave no trace at all.

For his identity to remain airtight, Zhou Shirui’s best option was to choose a region beyond the jurisdiction of the Dragon Country police—one where they had no authority to investigate.

Thus, creating a fake identity in another country was undoubtedly the simplest and most effective solution.

Besides, Zhou Shirui was not short on money.

It would be no trouble for him to use his wealth to acquire a green card and citizenship in a Western country that idealized freedom.

Then—From the moment he obtained this identity, he would carefully establish a presence in society, leaving behind social traces as much as possible.

By the time he was forced to fully assume this new identity, it would integrate seamlessly, making it difficult for anyone to notice anything amiss.

After all, a Chinese sculptor who had supposedly lived in Dragon Country for decades but had no discernible social history before suddenly appearing out of nowhere—such a person would instantly be flagged as suspicious by the authorities.

…

Now—Since Zhou Shirui had already switched to his meticulously prepared identity, he would not be leaving anytime soon. It was highly likely that he was still in Modu(Magic City).

Lin Tian took a whiff of the tobacco scent lingering on his left index finger, then patted Wang Hu on the shoulder and issued an unquestionable order.

“Huzi.”

“Immediately look up well-known Chinese sculptors who have gained fame in Dragon Country in recent years.”

“Just as Xiao Ming said—since Zhou Shirui is so obsessed with sculpting, to the point of committing murder to gain inspiration—Then his current identity is very likely still that of a sculptor.”

“Moreover—Given Zhou Shirui’s intelligence and audacity as a criminal, it would make perfect sense for him to hide in plain sight.”

Upon hearing Lin Tian’s command, Wang Hu nodded forcefully and immediately began scouring databases using big data analysis.

Since Zhou Shirui had chosen the identity of a sculptor again, and he needed to leave social traces to reduce suspicion, his new identity was most likely that of a relatively well-known Chinese sculptor. Finding him should not be too difficult.

Once they confirmed the identity Zhou Shirui had assumed, they could compare surveillance footage—checking if this identity had exited Fantawild Amusement Park or if there was no record of them entering in the first place.

Then—Zhou Shirui’s new identity would be confirmed, and locating his current hideout would not be nearly as difficult as expected.

Even though they had now uncovered the outline of Zhou Shirui’s new identity, there was still one crucial matter left unresolved—The twenty-plus human skeletons found in the secret chamber by Xu Changsheng.

Were these bodies purchased from deceased individuals, or were they people he had personally murdered?

The difference between these two possibilities carried vastly different social implications.

Without hesitation, Lin Tian leaned closer to the laptop screen and gave a directive.

“A’Sheng.”

“Do as Xiao Ming suggested—check if any important inscriptions or dates are recorded on these skeletons.”

“Oh, and—Start with the most recent skeleton first. The closer the time, the easier it will be to trace.”

Xu Changsheng understood the significance of identifying the origins of these skeletons. Without hesitation, he stepped forward to the skeleton on the far right.

Using a high-powered flashlight, he meticulously examined it, hoping to find the kind of markings Su Ming had described—an artist’s signature or memorial engraving on his work.

During this period, even the usually composed and experienced Lin Tian felt a slight sense of nervousness and apprehension.

Because—The impact and consequences of purchasing cadavers versus committing serial murder were vastly different.

After all, no one wanted to find out that their city harbored a modern-day Hannibal Lecter.

After several tense seconds of careful searching—Xu Changsheng, holding the flashlight, directed the beam toward the left collarbone of the skeleton and spoke excitedly.

“Shifu, I found it!”

“There’s an inscription on the left collarbone. It says—‘This work was completed on 2023.2.5. Many thanks to Miss Zuo Menglian for her body donation.’”

“‘In the future, I will use the inspiration gained from you to create a sculpture themed around speed.’”

Upon receiving this information, Su Ming immediately zoomed in on the video feed and began searching for the name “Zuo Menglian” in the police internal household registry.

The name was not common.

Once the system refreshed, Su Ming saw that since the establishment of the national household registration system, there had only been eighty-seven people named Zuo Menglian across the country.

Rather than sifting through each record manually, he filtered for key information.

First, he excluded those whose household registration was still active, reducing the number from eighty-seven to just fourteen.

Next, he filtered for those whose household registration had been canceled between January 25 and February 15.

From fourteen names, only one remained.

Clicking into the record—

[Name]: Zuo Menglian (Deceased)

[Gender]: Female

[Age]: 26

[Date of Death]: 2023.1.28

[Location]: Modu

[Cause of Death]: Reckless speeding in a tunnel while filming a viral motorcycle video. Wore a substandard helmet that shattered on impact, causing fatal head trauma.

Upon seeing this entry, both Su Ming and Lin Tian breathed a sigh of relief.

Now they could roughly confirm that the skeletons were indeed from bodies Zhou Shirui had purchased rather than victims he had murdered.

Then, Xu Changsheng’s voice rang out again.

“The second-to-last skeleton also has an inscription on the collarbone. The size and orientation seem almost identical to the last one.”

“Zhou Shirui’s OCD is truly extreme.”

“Alright, I’ll read the inscription now—This work was completed on 2022.5.9. Many thanks to Mr. Chen Guoguan for his body donation.’”

“‘In the future, I will use the inspiration gained from you to create a sculpture themed around old age.’”

Without hesitation, Su Ming began searching for the name “Chen Guoguan” in the household registry.

After applying various filters, he finally found a match.

[Name]: Chen Guoguan (Deceased)

[Gender]: Male

[Age]: 86

[Date of Death]: 2022.5.1

[Location]: Modu

[Cause of Death]: Organ failure, natural causes.

At this moment—Looking at the household registration record before him, Su Ming raised an eyebrow slightly, then turned to Lin Tian and remarked—

“Senior Lin.”

“It seems Zhou Shirui really did go out of his way to purchase these bodies.”

“Moreover, his artistic inspiration appears to be closely tied to the causes of death of the original owners of these skeletons—further proving his obsessive tendencies.”

Lin Tian nodded in agreement, exhaling deeply in relief as he was about to speak.

Just then, Wang Hu, who had been working beside them, suddenly shouted in excitement—

“Ming-ge! Senior Lin!”

“I think I’ve found… Zhou Shirui’s most likely new identity!”