Chapter 4: The First Report!

Over two hundred meters upstream of the reservoir!

“Splash~ splashing~~~”

Shen Ting’s reflection flickered rapidly in the rushing river.

He glanced at the messages from Hannibal and Jigsaw, feeling equally stirred inside.

Because the fishing spot and the reed bed were basically the same place—

Just over eighty meters upstream of the reservoir!

There was a large patch of reeds there, with more than a dozen people casting their lines.

Shen Ting quickly headed back toward that spot!

Whether the riverbank was soft and wet or rugged and jagged, at this moment it all seemed to flatten out.

In the chat group:

Tang Ren: “Why is the reed bed suspicious?”

kikO: “⚆_⚆?

Exactly, it doesn’t look special at all, does it?”

Hannibal: “No, it’s very special.

At least within this two-hundred-meter range, if I were to dispose of a corpse, I would choose that spot.

It’s an intuitive, subconscious choice.”

Jigsaw: “If I have to give a reason… it’s a sense of security!

That place would give a killer disposing of a body a strong sense of safety.

The surrounding mountains and forests can block views from almost every direction at a distance.

Behind, the reed bed can block close-range sightlines.

Moreover!

That stretch of the river is narrow, situated at a bend, with rapid currents and loud water noise, which can mask the sound of a body entering the water.

All these factors contribute to that sense of security.

That’s why Hannibal’s intuition led him there!”

Shen Ting was impressed but unsure.

He had already arrived at the suspicious location!

The towering reeds before him were deeply green and expansive.

Their soft white conical flower clusters formed a swaying mass in the gentle breeze, gently oscillating toward the center of the river.

Shen Ting’s gaze pierced through the floating white silky hairs in the air, settling also on the river.

Some of the slender hairs drifted into the water like eyelashes or eyebrows, shimmering with the sunlight on the ripples, resembling eyes blinking at him continuously.

He immediately recalled those eyes staring at him through the photograph…

“Could the corpse missing its head be right here?”

Calming his nerves, he stepped to the boundary between the reed bed and the river.

Hannibal: “This is the spot!”

Jigsaw: “Standing here, don’t you feel especially safe?”

Safe?

Shen Ting couldn’t quite pinpoint his own state.

But somehow, his heart did feel a bit steadier.

This riverbank jutted slightly into the reeds.

Standing here, the reeds behind blocked his back.

Further beyond lay layers of mountains, which indeed effectively concealed any prying eyes.

These might well be the sources of that sense of security.

However!

Shen Ting still furrowed his brow slightly.

Not because he doubted Hannibal or Jigsaw’s insight, but because of what Qin Feng had said: whether the killer came here to dump a body was still uncertain!

If it was confirmed to be a disposal site, Shen Ting’s next step would be to report it to the police and provide clues in hopes of a reward.

But if the killer hadn’t actually dumped a body here, that would be a huge joke.

He might face penalty himself, but more importantly, it would hinder the official investigation!

“Better to be sure.”

Shen Ting looked to his right, about ten meters upstream, where some anglers were fishing, and walked directly over.

He pulled out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes from his pocket.

He didn’t actually smoke; these cigarettes were for dealing with issues while delivering food—higher-end ones to facilitate negotiations or inquiries.

“Big brother, your fishing skills are really impressive!

You’ve caught four or five fish already, right?

You look like a veteran angler; you’d definitely win a prize in a competition!”

The bald middle-aged man glanced at the cigarette Shen Ting offered, his eyes lighting up as he accepted it and proudly put it in his mouth:

“You’ve got an eye for talent.

At my level, I’m easily top three in Chaoyang, if not first!”

A few other middle-aged men upstream, likely his friends, burst out laughing at this:

“Third? Old Yu, I think you’re just bragging. Third in Chaoyang, huh?”

“No way! I’d say you’re barely a beginner!”

“Hahaha, young man, don’t listen to this old guy’s boasting.

He’s only caught so many fish because this spot is special today.”

Shen Ting’s mind turned.

He handed cigarettes to each of them and helped light them.

After a brief chat, he learned that, according to the professional anglers, this actually wasn’t a very good fishing spot.

Catching fish here was relatively difficult!

Only because the environment was nice did these guys occasionally come here to relax.

But today, for some reason, since morning, fish had been biting nonstop.

They weren’t sure why, but suspected it was because someone had baited the area well.

“If the baiting was good, it probably wasn’t you guys…”

Shen Ting had a hunch, greeted them, and left.

As he returned along the same path toward the reservoir, he first asked kikO for a mini-program that could conceal phone numbers and bank card details.

Only then did he call 110.

“Hello, this is the 110 police emergency center. How may I assist you?”

“Hello, I’m a concerned citizen from Chaoyang.

I want to report someone… dumping a body!”

“Dumping a body?”

The female dispatcher’s voice suddenly rose an octave:

“Sir, are you sure it’s body dumping?

Where are you, and when did you discover this?”

“Well, it’s like this: early this morning, my wife and I couldn’t sleep.

We were bored at home, so we went to the forest to hunt wild roe deer…”

“Huh? You said hunt what?”

The dispatcher’s voice trembled with surprise.

“Wild roe deer! What else would I be hunting, officer?”

“Ahem, I didn’t quite catch that; please continue, sir.”

“Anyway, I was driving on National Highway 245 and randomly turned off at an intersection.

After passing a large reservoir, I stopped the car.

My wife and I took our gear into the mountain.

We walked upstream along the river for less than a hundred meters.

Behind a patch of reeds, we vaguely saw someone throwing something into the river.

It made a loud noise!

But it was still dark, so we didn’t see clearly.

Plus, some roe deer appeared ahead, so we didn’t think much and went hunting.

Just now, my wife and I came out of the mountain and returned to the reed bed spot.

The more we thought about it, the more wrong it felt.

After discussing, we both felt that what that person threw into the river this morning looked very much like… a corpse!

A human corpse!

And it seemed to be a human body without a head.

So after deliberation, we decided to report it!”

At first, the dispatcher treated the call as a prank.

After all, the caller sounded unserious.

And nowadays, it was rare to encounter body dumping.

But as the caller described the scene, her breathing grew rapid with excitement.

She took out pen and paper and began to take notes carefully!

Early morning, National Highway 245, a river bend, a reservoir, a corpse, and a headless one at that…

Putting these together, she subconsciously thought of the head-crushing case from that morning.

The key was:

The investigation team hadn’t yet recovered a body from the reservoir.

Perhaps the dumping site wasn’t the reservoir at all?

The dispatcher’s voice grew more serious:

“Sir, do you remember exactly where the body dumping took place?”

“Yes, right at the uppermost part of the reed bed near the river, where there’s a riverbank jutting into the reeds.

Further upstream, there are several middle-aged men fishing.”

“Understood…”

After asking a few more details, the dispatcher inquired:

“Sir, do you have anything else to add?”

“No, wait, there is one more thing!”

Shen Ting quickly said:

“I want to ask, if you do find a body where I reported, is there a reward?”

“Of course! At least ten thousand yuan, the exact amount depends on the circumstances!”

“That’s good!”

…