Ma Jinhuo

That cement pipe was placed vertically on the ground. There was some garbage inside it, as well as a few pieces of tattered clothing, probably left behind by vagrants. I poked half my body in and rummaged around with my hand, finally locating the source of the odor.

I took a pair of rubber gloves out of my pocket, pinched that thing out, and it was a used napkin. It had the smell of medicinal alcohol on it.

It looks like my guess was right - Xiao Zhang must have been abducted by the murderer!

This napkin was probably used by the murderer to wipe his hands after accidentally spilling nitrous oxide on them. It seems the murderer had been watching Xiao Zhang for a while.

Huang Xiaotao leaned over to sniff it and said, "Song Yang, you have the nose of a dog, being able to smell such a faint odor."

"This wasn't something I was born with, but acquired through training afterwards."

"How did you train it? Teach me, please. Having a nose like this would make investigating cases so much more convenient in the future." Huang Xiaotao said excitedly.

"This kind of olfactory training requires quite a bit of suffering. You have to get acupuncture on your nasal acupoints with silver needles every day. I estimate ordinary people would have a hard time enduring it." I explained.

"Let's talk about it later! By the way, did you bring an evidence bag?"

"I did." Huang Xiaotao nodded.

I put the napkin in the evidence bag and sealed it. Then I waved my hand, "There's nothing else worth investigating here. Let's go to the next place."

"Okay!"

The situation with the second missing person, Xiao Li, was similar. He had disappeared half a month ago, also leaving without a word. Xiao Li was a car wash worker. He lived in an apartment with two colleagues.

According to Xiao Li's roommates, half a month ago, Xiao Li went downstairs to throw out trash, and never came back. His phone couldn't be reached either, so they reported him missing.

I asked, "Did Xiao Li's family come looking for him?"

His roommate answered, "They did. His mother cried like a fountain. I think one of his uncles is a lawyer and is preparing to sue the property management company. The property management said they're only responsible for security within the neighborhood and have nothing to do with people going missing."

I asked, "What was Xiao Li's personality like?"

"He was a pretty good guy, very hygienic too. Because the three of us lived together, he often took care of most of the cleaning chores. He was someone we kind of miss," the roommate said nostalgically.

The other roommate chimed in, "Oh right, Xiao Li was especially introverted and shy. He rarely talked at home or at work, just kept his head down working! His hobby was gardening. See the flowers on the balcony over there? They were all grown by Xiao Li."

I smiled and asked, "Did he ever have a girlfriend?"

"Never had one. He was a confirmed bachelor like us," the roommate shot back.

"You're the confirmed bachelor, don't compare me with you!" The other roommate retorted.

"I'll be damned if you actually think your Xiaoli likes you! She's just keeping you around as a backup. You've been together so long, how many dinners have you had, how many times have you gotten a room?"

"Piss off! Xiaoli has real feelings for me!"

"Yeah, so much feelings that she goes to shower after barely talking to you for a couple sentences. Your Xiaoli really loves cleanliness."

The two argued until their faces turned red. Afraid they might come to blows, I threw in a "Thanks for your cooperation" and hurried off with Huang Xiaotao.

After leaving the neighborhood, I summarized, "One and a half months ago, twenty-seven days ago, half a month ago. Judging by the timeline, I'm afraid Xiao Li has also been murdered."

"So the murderer kills someone every fifteen days!" Huang Xiaotao gasped.

"Do you cook at home?" I asked her.

"Not really, what's up?" Huang Xiaotao replied.

"The optimal shelf life of meat is half a month. This murderer really treats people like livestock for slaughter." I clicked my tongue.

"So we have half a month before the next victim appears to catch him?" Huang Xiaotao asked.

"No. Xiao Li disappeared half a month ago. I estimate the fourth victim will show up in the next couple of days. It depends on whether we can catch the murderer before he strikes again."

Huang Xiaotao sighed, "Time is so tight!"

Just then, her phone rang. After picking up, she told me, "Song Yang, your prediction came true again. Ma Yaozu is Jin Huo Ma's official name."

I recalled the dossier I had seen earlier: "Oh? Jin Huo Ma has been missing for three months, and he resigned from the meat processing plant three months ago too. That means he was no longer at his company when he disappeared. So who reported him missing to the police?"

"You're right, how did I not think of that? Jin Huo Ma must have family in Nanjiang City!"

Huang Xiaotao immediately called the police station. She was informed that the person who reported Jin Huo Ma missing was an anonymous citizen. After hanging up, Huang Xiaotao cursed, "Damn it, another lead cut off."

I shook my head slightly: "No, the lead hasn't been cut off. Not only has it not been cut off, we've had an important breakthrough."

Huang Xiaotao urged, "What is it? Don't keep me in suspense, I'm dying here!"

"Didn't the soup dumpling shop owner say Jin Huo Ma had been delivering meat to him for half a year? But our information shows Jin Huo Ma has been missing for three months and resigned three months ago. Could it be the shop owner was lying to us?"

Huang Xiaotao had an epiphany: "Let's go find him again!"

We rushed back to the soup dumpling shop. It was noon and the shop was closed. I asked Huang Xiaotao, "Where are the police you had staking out the place?"

Huang Xiaotao jerked her chin, "See that black car over there? There are two people inside. As soon as Jin Huo Ma shows up, they can immediately make the arrest."

"Stakeouts sure are tedious work," I said with a wry smile.

"You bet. You eat, drink, piss and shit all in the car. I did a stakeout mission once that used up a whole pack of adult diapers in a week." Huang Xiaotao joked about herself.

I thought to myself that Huang Xiaotao has quite a candid personality to share things like this. But that didn't detract from the big sister image she held in my eyes.

We went up and knocked on the door. Master Tang responded from inside and opened the door a minute later. I saw he had on a leather apron and his hands were covered in flour. So I asked, "You're making soup dumplings?"

"Yes, please come in and have a seat. Let me pour you some tea." Master Tang greeted us obsequiously.

"No need, we just have a few questions and will be going." I held up my hand.

The shop was pitch black inside. Master Tang was kneading dough on a cutting board. There was a big bowl filled with meat stuffing that gave off a five-spice powder smell. One look at the oily meat stuffing made me think of human flesh dumplings, and I suddenly felt nauseous.

Huang Xiaotao stared wide-eyed at the meat, "This meat..."

"Don't worry, don't worry. I bought high-quality pork leg meat from the supermarket today. It's absolutely fresh. Or should I steam you a basket to eat on the road later?" Master Tang smiled as he wiped his hands on his apron, face glowing healthily.

Huang Xiaotao waved her hands frantically, "No, no need."

I asked Master Tang, "Do you enjoy making soup dumplings?"

"I do!" Master Tang sat in the chair happily. "I don't have any other hobbies. I just love making soup dumplings. Every time I make them, I feel especially energized. I'm always trying to improve the recipe to make them tastier. Seeing customers eat them happily fills my heart with joy! To make an inappropriate analogy, it's like an author writing a book that everyone loves to read."

I thought to myself that it's rare to see someone so passionate about their work these days.

Huang Xiaotao took out a voice recorder and said, "I have some questions for you."

"Go ahead, ask away." Master Tang nodded and fawned over us.

"Have you really seen Jin Huo Ma recently?"

The moment Huang Xiaotao asked the question, I immediately activated my Abyssal Eyes to observe Master Tang's microexpressions.

Master Tang was taken aback for a second. He said, "I have. He came to deliver meat stuffing three days ago. What's the matter?"

"You didn't know Jin Huo Ma has been missing for a while now?" Huang Xiaotao continued asking.

"When did he go missing?"

"Three months ago. He resigned from the meat processing plant three months ago too. Someone reported him missing anonymously." Huang Xiaotao said.

Master Tang looked shocked, his eyeballs practically bulging out. "Impossible. I really saw him three days ago, I swear to heaven!"

Huang Xiaotao looked at me questioningly. I shook my head slightly to indicate Master Tang was indeed not lying.

Yet I felt something was off!