As planned, this drill was scheduled to last for three days. During this time, as long as the new student team managed to obtain the token of the senior student team, they could return.
Therefore, some new student teams returned earlier, while others, having failed to find the token, chose to remain in the woods.
Now, Li Hongjiang had ordered everyone to return to their positions, as the perpetrator was very likely hidden among them.
The recall whistle blew, and those who were outside gradually returned.
However, by noon, one person was still missing. The faces of all the support staff gradually turned grim.
The missing person was Yang Luo, who belonged to the senior student team.
"Could he be the killer?" the trainees began to whisper.
"It seems Captain Hu's meticulous investigation is in vain. The killer has simply fled," Zhou Fengji said with some regret.
"That's not necessarily true," Lu Qingqing replied.
"What? He'll come back?" Zhan Ruoxuan asked in surprise.
"No, I think things might be more complicated," Lu Qingqing said, looking at Hu Jia, whose brows were also furrowed. It seemed he was thinking along the same lines.
If Yang Luo were truly the killer, he shouldn't have fled. After all, no one knew he was the killer. Running would only expose him.
During this time, the camp blew the whistle twice more, but Yang Luo still didn't return.
"Everyone listen up, search the entire area for Yang Luo," Li Hongjiang, being an experienced police officer, issued the command to search, not to apprehend.
Clearly, he too had realized that something was amiss.
Soon, the camp was a flurry of activity.
However, Lu Qingqing was called back by Hu Jia.
Following him, she walked all the way back to the main camp. "Principal Li, I prefer to work with my own people. Is that alright?"
Li Hongjiang looked at Lu Qingqing. "Then let's work together."
Lu Qingqing felt a mix of surprise and excitement. She hadn't expected Hu Jia to involve her in the investigation.
Indeed, this guy always thought of her, no matter what the situation.
"Come, let's examine the bodies," Hu Jia said, pointing to Liang Zhenning's corpse. The deceased was covered in blunt force trauma from being hit, dragged, and rolled, along with sharp force trauma to the neck from a dagger. Li Zhenmi, aside from a clear blow to the head, had no other injuries.
"So, Liang Zhenning wasn't killed by Li Zhenmi," Lu Qingqing quickly deduced. One had signs of a struggle, while the other did not.
"Yes," Hu Jia nodded. "Besides finding Yang Luo, we also need to locate the crime scene and figure out the relationship between these three."
"Leave it to me," Lu Qingqing patted her chest and promised.
...
Everyone was training together. Although many hadn't met or spoken before, it was easy to inquire about someone.
Both Liang Zhenning and Li Zhenmi were trainees in Group 8 of the senior student team. Their personal relationship was average, but there were no reports of any discord between them.
This operation was organized by the support staff, without any personal preference involved.
The missing Yang Luo was a trainee in Group 6 of the senior student team. They were separated by a 20-month difference in enrollment. His peers had never seen any connection between these three, so it was presumed they didn't know each other at all.
Then the situation became strange. With no apparent connection between the three, how could it result in one death, one injury, and one disappearance?
Lu Qingqing, afraid of overlooking anything, even specifically requested Guan Jinsong, Cai Xiaojuan, and others to assist with the investigation.
This was not standard procedure, as logically, anyone present in the forest at the time of the incident was a suspect.
But Lu Qingqing had Hu Jia vouching for her.
And Lu Qingqing knew very well that these individuals had been together and could not possibly be the culprits.
Therefore, naturally, Lu Qingqing's team members joined the investigation.
Of course, this was an internal matter, not to be announced publicly, to avoid causing resentment among others.
Soon, everyone pooled the information they had gathered. From the collected data, there was no discrepancy with what Lu Qingqing had initially inquired about.
"It seems we can only unravel the mystery once we find the crime scene or Yang Luo."
This wait was not long. Soon, someone reported finding Liang Zhenning and Li Zhenmi's rucksacks by a mud puddle in the forest.
The group hurried to the edge of the mud puddle. Lu Qingqing then realized that this location was not far from the wild man's cave.
Judging by the rucksacks, their contents were still there, and the bags were neatly placed. There was no mud on the outside, clearly indicating that Liang Zhenning and Li Zhenmi had taken off their bags and were resting.
Upon inspecting the scene, Hu Jia quickly determined that this was the primary crime scene.
Not only were there signs of a struggle, but a long trail of blood was also discovered.
This blood trail, however, only continued for a little over 200 meters before disappearing.
"Xiaojuan, take a look here." Lu Qingqing thought of Cai Xiaojuan, who was an expert in trace evidence.
Cai Xiaojuan readily agreed. She carefully examined the area around the last drop of blood and soon found something peculiar.
"There's a large patch of fallen leaves here. Whether they are dry leaves or recently fallen ones, they all exhibit the same characteristic: their veins are broken."
Cai Xiaojuan picked up a few leaves. Indeed, their veins were disconnected.
Hu Jia was the first to grasp the implication. "You mean someone lingered here?"
"Yes, only by lying down, sitting, or standing in place for a while would a large area of fallen leaves experience such uniform pressure," Cai Xiaojuan explained.
"But how does that help us?" Zhou Fengji asked, confused.
"We just need to examine the veins of these fallen leaves to see if they were stepped on. If they were, then that indicates the direction the killer fled!" Ye Fengyi immediately provided the explanation.
"Wow! Truly a jungle expert." It was unclear whether Zhou Fengji was genuinely complimenting Ye Fengyi or being sarcastic. Ye Fengyi, however, appeared somewhat embarrassed.
Indeed, after an inspection, Cai Xiaojuan quickly pinpointed the killer's escape route. Following this direction, about 500 meters away, they found a pond. On its bank, the group discovered another male corpse.
There was no doubt that it was Yang Luo.
Hu Jia and Lu Qingqing were not surprised by this discovery. Given Yang Luo's prolonged absence, he was either gone or dead.
The possibility of him having fled was very small, so it was more likely that something had happened to him.
Finally, Lu Qingqing and the others had found the third person involved in the case.
However, the case had also become more perplexing.
Why was Yang Luo found over 600 meters away from the crime scene?
What exactly happened at that time?
What was the cause of Yang Luo's death?
In order to find a breakthrough in the case, Lu Qingqing and the others first examined Yang Luo's body. He was also covered in injuries, including stab wounds, tearing wounds, and drag marks, similar to Liang Zhenning's condition.
"No, there's a difference between them," Lu Qingqing exclaimed after a preliminary examination of the body. "Yang Luo died of drowning!"
"What?"
Everyone was confused. Although the body was found on the bank, his head was still half a body's length away from the water. How could he have drowned?
Did he crawl out of the water after he was already dead?
"Are you saying he drowned just because his body was soaked? What if he fell into the pond after being injured?"
Someone quickly raised a challenge, tinged with a hint of mockery.
Lu Qingqing naturally knew that everyone found this claim unbelievable. She didn't argue, but instead pointed to Yang Luo's body and said, "Look at his lividity."
Lu Qingqing explained that the deceased's lividity was faint, which occurred when a body floats in water, constantly changing position, causing the dependent areas to shift. Furthermore, it was December, and the mountain temperature was even lower, so the cold water caused vasoconstriction, making the lividity form slowly and sometimes be less pronounced.
Additionally, there was bruising under his conjunctiva, even petechiae, and his hands and fingernails showed signs of digging into mud. His lips and fingertips were also cyanotic due to lack of oxygen.
Most strikingly, the deceased's skin was bloated, shriveled, and peeling, a result of immersion.
Everyone present was a police officer and knew some theoretical aspects of forensics. Upon hearing Lu Qingqing's explanation, they quickly agreed with her assessment.
At this point, everyone was baffled.
Three individuals in total: one with his throat slit by a knife, one with his head crushed by a heavy object, and one who died of drowning.
Was this some kind of game?