Chapter 41: The Black Flower in the Palm of His Hand!

Any discoveries?
Hearing the technician's exclamation, the police officers all crowded around.
This was a small concrete pool—or rather, a concrete vat!
The technician hastily said:
"I am not sure what this concrete pool was meant for.
It might have been used to store solution, or for some other function, but definitely not for molten copper.
It is too small, only the size of a water vat, and does not meet storage standards.
However, look at the bottom and the walls of the pool; there appears to be copper residue."
Shen Ting stepped closer and indeed spotted green copper patina.
Moreover, it was very uneven.
Just as the technician said, if this had been used to store molten copper, the pool walls should have been completely coated with patina.
Did the murderer pour molten copper into the pool?
And what was the purpose of pouring molten copper into it?
Recalling the accident from years ago where workers were engulfed by molten copper, a frightening hypothesis formed in Shen Ting's mind.
Could the killer truly be a family member of a victim from that past accident?
Did they seize Liu Furen, drag him here, throw him into this concrete pool, and then pour molten copper over him?
As Shen Ting pondered, the numerous technicians thoroughly inspected the concrete pool.
"Hey, look at this, there seems to be something here!"
Under the beam of the flashlight, a technician pointed to an area near the top edge on the inner side of the concrete pool.
There was a black mark the size of a palm!
"It looks somewhat like a handprint?"
"So dark, is it a carbonized handprint?"
"Could it have been left by Liu Furen before his death, when he reached out and grabbed onto this spot?"
Zheng Yuanqiao mused, "See if you can lift any fingerprints or palm prints.
Remove this entire carbonized area as well.
Take it back for laboratory testing to see if there are any residues suitable for identification."
"Understood!"
"No problem!"
The technicians carefully gathered the evidence.
Soon enough, they made a new discovery.
Beneath the surface carbonization layer of the black mark, something else remained.
Clinging tightly to the concrete wall, it was pitch black and evidently carbonized as well.
It looked very much like a tiny, jet-black flower!
It featured ten minuscule black petals!
"Did Liu Furen hold a small flower in his palm and press it against the concrete wall back then?
Is that how this trace was left behind?
Was he trying to leave us a clue?"
Shen Ting observed for a moment. Despite his expertise in palynology, he failed to recognize what kind of flower this was.
Naturally, this made sense, as palynological research primarily focuses on spores and pollen rather than whole flowers.
"Could this flower point to the killer?
Or perhaps point to a specific location?
This Liu Furen was truly a ruthless character!"
If Shen Ting's deduction was correct, this floral imprint was left by Liu Furen directly on the concrete wall while enduring molten copper heated to over a thousand degrees.
All the police officers were immensely excited as well.
"This flower was presumably left by Liu Furen, and it likely conceals information."
"Take it back for analysis, and it might just lead us straight to the killer!"
Everyone could not help but gaze at Shen Ting, their eyes filled with amazement.
"Incredible!"
"Simply miraculous!"
"The criminal's base from all those years ago really is in the old industrial zone.
Doesn't that mean Shen Ting's previous identification results regarding the pollen, the drawn color circles, and the Hummer's trajectory were all entirely correct?"
"Right now, I just want to know how Shen Ting managed to confirm that the base was located in this copper smelting plant!"
"Indeed, how did Shen Ting figure it out?"
"There are several copper smelting plants in this old industrial zone!
How on earth did Shen Ting manage to pinpoint this exact one?"
Aside from pleasant surprise, the officers were now consumed by puzzlement.
In fact, their curiosity was heavier than ever.
They had too many mysteries in this case that required Shen Ting's help to untangle.
If the timing hadn't been so inappropriate, they would have loved to consult Shen Ting right on the spot.
Qin Shan and Zheng Yuanqiao exchanged glances, both reading the awe in each other's eyes.
Shen Ting's three conclusions regarding this case—
The Hummer being at the Sanyapo pond had already been proven correct.
The criminal's base existed within the old industrial zone!
And the base might be located at the Qinghe Copper Smelting Plant!
These two points were now essentially proven correct as well.
In other words!
All three of Shen Ting's conclusions turned out to be entirely correct?
Such accuracy was simply terrifyingly high!
The more the two men looked at Shen Ting, the less they could conceal the fondness in their eyes.
Over the decades, they had witnessed quite a few talented investigators.
Yet currently, compared to Shen Ting, those individuals all fell somewhat short.
A rare talent like this—someone you could search high and low for and still fail to find, someone people would break their necks to poach—was actually found by them with such ease?!
Qin Shan laughed and said, "Yuanqiao, you and I must have been good people in our past lives, doing plenty of good deeds, to be blessed enough to meet Shen Ting in this lifetime."
Since Shen Ting was discovered by Zheng Yuanqiao, he naturally felt the happiest:
"We must have saved the solar system in a past life, hahaha!"
……
Meanwhile!
Inside the crime-solving group chat!
Upon seeing the images of the Qinghe Copper Smelting Plant, especially the concrete pool, the group members also deduced that this was most likely the criminals' base from back then.
It further confirmed their previous hypothesis—
This was never a kidnapping and extortion case!
The criminals' target was never one billion.
It was Liu Furen himself!
To be precise, it was for revenge.
And the source of that hatred most likely stemmed from the copper smelting plant accident of years ago.
Naturally, the culprits were likely the family members of the victims from that disaster.
That narrowed the scope down significantly.
Because how many victims were there in that accident? Exactly forty-five?
Shen Ting's temples throbbed as he suddenly realized the flaw in that train of thought.
"Only" was merely relative to the previous screening data; it didn't sound like a large number.
However, forty-five deaths in a single accident was an absolute catastrophe of terrifying proportions.
Moreover, the workers at the copper smelting plant were all male!
Those forty-five dead were the pillars of forty-five families.
They were the sons of forty-five sets of parents, the fathers of forty-five children, the husbands of forty-five wives……
These represented forty-five shattered families!
Tang Ren: "So basically, all we need to do now is investigate the families of the victims from that year, and we can identify the killer~~"
Guan Hongyu: "That should be the case."
Kiko: "But isn't that a bit cruel? ( •̥́ ˍ •̀ू )"
Guan Hongfeng (Elder Brother): "Actually, I have an idea.
It can help us find the killer faster!
And it won't disturb the innocent families of the victims."
Curious, Shen Ting immediately asked:
"What method?"
Guan Hongfeng: "Has anyone considered where Liu Furen's body is?"