The year 3020, the night of September 28th, overcast and rainy.

In the deep autumn of the north, the temperature at night has already dropped below ten degrees Celsius.

In the overcast and rainy weather, the temperature plummeted, the autumn rain pattered against the doors and windows.

In the autopsy room, Lu Chuan was facing a pile of dried bones.

The Skeleton Identification Analysis Report was nearing its end.

Now, Lu Chuan was conducting a cause of death analysis.

"The fracture marks on some of the sternum show signs of shattering, indicating that the deceased suffered significant impact while alive."

Lu Chuan took two ribs, repeatedly compared them, and found some differences.

There were differences in the fracture marks on the two ribs.

One was a crush mark, caused by a heavy object crushing, where the sternum was stressed beyond its limit, leading to a fracture.

But the other mark was not a crush mark, but a shattering mark caused by a violent short-term impact.

The skeletal remains were discovered under the foundation of a highway.

Given this scenario, the crush marks, as analyzed by Li Kai, were likely caused by a road roller compressing the road.

However, the shattering impact marks would not occur under these circumstances.

Unless the deceased had been struck by a high-speed object, like a vehicle, before being buried under the roadbed, and then crushed by a roller.

Only then would there be two different types of bone fracture marks.

However, if it were a vehicle impact, the fracture would most likely be on the leg bone.

In reality, the ribs of the skeletal remains showed impact marks, but the leg bones were intact.

...

Lu Chuan conducted each analysis meticulously.

Every conclusion was supported by data, and only such a Skeleton Identification Analysis Report could be credible and become judicial evidence.

4:30 AM.

Lu Chuan stretched, took the report from the printer, and exhaled a long breath.

He opened the autopsy room window, and the fresh air, carrying the unique scent of rain, rushed in.

Lu Chuan's somewhat muddled mind cleared up, and he felt slightly invigorated.

The Skeleton Identification Analysis was finally complete.

"Finished?"

Outside the autopsy room, Li Kai had already received the news and arrived with Wang Changjiang.

Lu Chuan nodded: "The skeleton was well-preserved, and with the advanced equipment of Tianzhou City's Criminal Investigation Team, the analysis was relatively quick."

"That's great, Officer Lu, thank you so much!"

Li Kai took the report from Lu Chuan's hands, his eyes widening with excitement.

However, as he read the report, Li Kai's expression gradually solidified.

"The deceased... was abused during their lifetime?"

Lu Chuan nodded seriously: "This can be basically confirmed, but whether it was abuse or torture is currently unclear."

"What is certain is that the deceased's sternum was struck by a hammer or other blunt object, leading to fragmentation."

This was Lu Chuan's final conclusion regarding the different fracture marks on the deceased's sternum.

"The deceased's ribs show two different fracture marks, in addition to the crush marks, there are also impact shattering marks."

Lu Chuan took the report, pointing to the reasons for the conclusion: "The possibility of a vehicle collision is minimal, because the deceased's leg bones are intact, which rules out the possibility of a traffic accident causing death and then burying the body."

"I just conducted a bone shattering experiment and found that the shattering marks on the deceased's sternum were likely caused by a hammer-like object being forcefully struck."

"Additionally, there are six such shattering marks on the skeletal remains, indicating that the deceased suffered at least six similar heavy blows during their lifetime."

"Generally speaking, such situations only occur in cases of sadistic killing or interrogation, and from analyzing the severity of bone fractures, two of the six shattering marks are near the heart, two near the lungs, and the rest on the lower ribs."

"The rib near the heart should have pierced the heart, which is the fatal injury."

Hammer or other blunt object striking, causing rib fracture and piercing into the heart, was what Lu Chuan determined as the cause of death.

"And one more thing," Lu Chuan turned to the end of the report: "I conducted a rough analysis of the soil cleaned from the skeletal remains and found both sandy soil and clay."

"This is abnormal because the soil composition at a burial site should be relatively uniform, not showing such a large discrepancy."

"So, I suspect that the skeletal remains might have been relocated or that the burial site was changed."

"Of course, since the skeletal remains were found under the foundation of a highway, it is possible that soil was transported from elsewhere during construction, which could explain the different types of soil."

However, Li Kai shook his head: "I know that highway, it was originally a national highway that was rebuilt, the foundation is very stable, and the possibility of transporting soil from elsewhere is minimal."

Building a highway is different from constructing a building.

Soil is usually sourced locally, which can also create drainage ditches, achieving two goals with one stroke.

"Officer Lu, Old Wang, I need to submit this report to the team leader immediately, I'll arrange for someone to take you to rest first."

Lu Chuan and Wang Changjiang nodded.

They were just there for technical support, not to solve the case.

After staying up half the night, Liu Guodong was relatively better off, having rested a bit while waiting for Lu Chuan to complete the analysis.

Lu Chuan, however, had been working solidly for seven or eight hours.

The intense concentration and complex calculations and analysis left Lu Chuan mentally exhausted.

While Lu Chuan and Wang Changjiang returned to the hotel arranged by the Criminal Investigation Team to rest, Li Kai and his team could not sleep.

In the Tianzhou City's Criminal Investigation Team case analysis meeting room.

The Skeleton Identification Analysis Report had been delivered to Team Leader Wang Chuanmin.

"The deceased, male, height 178 cm, weight 80 kg, age at death approximately forty years, buried for sixteen years."

"Ankle shows gout stones, the tip of the coccyx wear is above the average value, bone density is lower than that of peers, indicating that the deceased had a sedentary job, lacked exercise, and lived a relatively affluent life."

"The ribs of the deceased's chest show six shattering fracture marks, indicating that the deceased was likely abused or tortured before death."

"The cause of death is determined to be a hammer or other blunt object striking the chest, causing rib shattering fractures to pierce the heart, leading to death."

"Different soil compositions, sandy and clay, were found in the bone gaps, suggesting possible relocation of the skeletal remains after fossilization, to be confirmed by on-site soil testing."

Wang Chuanmin carefully examined this extremely detailed Skeleton Identification Analysis Report.

Moments later, he looked incredulously at Li Kai: "Did... did that report really come from little Lu of Haizhou City's Criminal Investigation Team?"

Li Kai smiled wryly and nodded: "I was present the entire time when Officer Lu conducted the skeletal analysis, and I witnessed the creation of this report."

"However, I'm not sure how this report was actually created."

Every step Lu Chuan took, Li Kai could understand.

Spectral analysis for measuring carbon decay, bone density detectors for measuring bone density...

Every step Lu Chuan took, Li Kai could say he understood.

But how these components were brought together to create this report through complex calculations was something Li Kai couldn't understand.

"However, I've read skeletal analysis reports by Senior Zhang Yuanchao before, and Lu Chuan's report, although lacking in some details, should be accurate in its overall findings."

Though Li Kai couldn't produce this report himself, he could discern the quality and authenticity of a report.

It's like those art experts who authenticate paintings, they can't paint it themselves, but they can judge authenticity.

Or like the first combat experience of young boys and girls, even without guidance, they can explore where strengths and weaknesses lie.

Wang Chuanmin marveled, but didn't dwell on it.

No matter how it was done, as long as it was usable!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.