Chapter 55: Entering the Dream of Anomalies Ahead of Time

In fact, the forensic pathologist had already noticed this issue the moment Zhuo Yan’s corpse was discovered.
The wound was positioned too squarely.
However, the autopsy at that time was only preliminary, and the pathologist hadn't thought much about it.
It wasn't until Zhuo Yan's body was brought back and subjected to a more detailed autopsy that the pathologist began to feel increasingly that something was amiss.
He had rarely seen such regular wounds.
The angle at which the fruit knife was thrust and the wound on the heart were at an almost perfect ninety-degree vertical alignment.

"A rear attack or a left-handed assailant?"
"Which possibility is higher?"
Wen Ke offered a conjecture, and to get it verified, she needed the pathologist.

The pathologist was direct: "I lean more towards a left-handed person. During the preliminary autopsy earlier, I mentioned that the killer was a novice who couldn't properly gauge the force needed for murder. Since it's a novice, if they used a rear-attack posture, they would easily leave traces on the sofa, such as fingerprints or similar things."

Just like Wen Ke had done a moment ago.
Standing behind the young police officer, she had a subconscious urge to clamp her left hand around his neck or use her left hand to brace against the sofa to provide herself with a point of leverage.
Because the perpetrator was a novice without any experience in murder, the force of the downward stab was extremely heavy. To prevent the sofa from shifting position during the exertion of force, the killer would need their left hand or body for support.
A thorough inspection of the sofa, however, revealed no clues whatsoever.

Such a scenario in the case of a novice killer actually defied logic. If it were a seasoned, experienced madman, the possibility of a rear attack would be very high.
Yet the case of a left-handed person was somewhat different.
First was the issue of positioning.
To hold a knife with the left hand, one needed to stand at the side of the sofa. A downward stab from this position would still carry the possibility of the sofa shifting, but the killer could only use their right hand to steady themselves, with no way to brace using their torso.
Thus, the likelihood of leaving marks on the sofa would be vastly reduced.
Second was the issue of habit.
Being left-handed is a natural habit, essentially no different from a normal person's dominant right hand. To a left-handed individual, they are simply using their dominant hand, without feeling any awkwardness whatsoever.
Under these circumstances, when the killer thrusts the fruit knife forward, it might be an impulsive, habitual action, devoid of any subconscious searching for a point of leverage.
Furthermore, this method of killing is very suitable for a novice.

"Your analysis makes sense."
Wen Ke deeply agreed with the pathologist's deduction.
After thinking carefully, she also felt that the possibility of a left-handed assailant outweighed that of a rear attack—of course, this was based on the premise that the killer was a novice.

"Then let's filter through the population database, and prioritize looking for left-handed individuals among An Shi's list of patients," Wen Ke instructed the colleague beside her.

As soon as her voice trailed off, the pathologist coughed. "That brings me to the next thing I wanted to say: Zhuang Dong was left-handed."

Wen Ke froze.

"I managed to piece together Zhuang Dong's left and right hands from the severed limbs found at the amusement park scene, and I discovered obvious signs of wear and tear, as well as some calluses, on Zhuang Dong's left index and middle fingers, whereas no similar conditions were found on his right hand."
The pathologist was merely presenting facts.
As for what the truth actually was?
That was a matter for Wen Ke and all the police officers.

Everyone in the conference room fell into deep thought. The implication of the pathologist's words was glaringly obvious: he suspected that Zhuang Dong was the murderer who killed Zhuo Yan.
Yet this feeling was bizarre!
Just a second ago, they were discussing how Zhuang Dong had committed suicide out of overwhelming grief over Zhuo Yan's death.
The very next second, Zhuang Dong turned out to be the killer who murdered Zhuo Yan.
It felt as though they had been slapped hard across the face.

Should they still proceed with submitting the death report for Zhuang Dong that they had prepared? If they submitted it, and it turned out that Zhuang Dong really was the murderer of Zhuo Yan, then their report would become a complete joke.
Wen Ke thought of this as well, and an instant headache gripped her.
After pondering for a long time without coming up with a proper handling method, Wen Ke could only wave her hand. "What about An Shi? Were any new clues discovered?"

The pathologist nodded, and the image on the screen changed: "Inside An Shi's stomach, an identity badge was found, though there is no text on it."
"The specifications of this type of identity badge are uncommon, and there is a blurred serial number on the back. It should be quite easy to trace the origin of the badge."

This was a major lead.
Wen Ke let out a sigh of relief inwardly. "Investigate according to this lead first. Send Zhuang Dong's death report to my office; I will submit it personally later."
"Meeting adjourned."

Wen Ke stood up and walked back to her office.
Because of Zhuo Yan's death, failing to submit Zhuang Dong's death report on time was indeed a rather troublesome ordeal.
Back in her office, Wen Ke closed her eyes in deep thought.
In her mind, the private chat interface between Lu Yuan and Zhuang Dong floated up involuntarily, and the character for "ghost" surfaced in her mind once again.

"A ghost..."
"Are there really ghosts in this world?"
Wen Ke massaged her temples.
The answer to this question seemed to require finding Lu Yuan to be resolved.

Involuntarily, Wen Ke glanced at the large group photograph on her desk.
In the group photo, Lu Yuan stood expressionless in the back rows, not looking particularly happy.
Ever since she met Lu Yuan, Wen Ke always felt that this man possessed an inexplicable aura—the kind of feeling that was both dangerous and somewhat mysterious.
Coupled with the fact that Lu Yuan always managed to appear in various special places, this impression of her was only deepened.
For instance, An Shi's villa.
For instance, the school gates of Mingzhi Elementary.
And for instance, the amusement park.
Although Lu Yuan always found seemingly plausible reasons every time, when such coincidences piled up, it was hard not to feel suspicious.

A man like Lu Yuan was dangerous.
Especially since he was himself a psychological counselor.

Wen Ke's eyes flashed slightly, and she decided to go see Lu Yuan once more. Taking advantage of the fact that it was still early, she wanted to probe Lu Yuan's thoughts and see if she could extract anything from him.
Just as Wen Ke was about to stand up and head toward Lu Yuan's psychological clinic, the phone in her pocket rang.
Wen Ke pulled out her phone and glanced at it, a look of helplessness crossing her features. Hesitating for a moment, she chose to hang up the call, directly switched her phone to silent mode, and hurried out of the police station.

...

Lu Yuan was preparing to go to sleep early.
He no longer needed sleeping pills to fall asleep, which could be considered a sort of alternative reward.
Moreover, Lu Yuan had high expectations for the television's reward.
Having completed the task of retrieving his own body this time, the television might perhaps grant some surprising rewards.

Besides wanting to obtain the reward earlier, Lu Yuan also needed to mind the time, since there wasn't much time left before he had to report to Mingzhi Elementary.
"Walking from my psychological clinic to Mingzhi Elementary will take about an hour," Lu Yuan mapped out the route in his mind.
If things went smoothly, he would make it in time.
Yet what Lu Yuan feared most was encountering unexpected accidents along the way.

Lu Yuan washed up simply and prepared to lie in bed and sleep.
He had never tried going to sleep before ten o'clock at night, and he wasn't sure if he would be able to fall asleep.
What Lu Yuan did not know was that Wen Ke was already on her way to the psychological clinic...