Under normal circumstances, a corpse in a natural environment will decompose rapidly due to the combined action of enzymes from the body’s own cells, external bacteria, and bacteria from the intestines.

In a relatively short period of time, the flesh and skin rot away, decompose, and are consumed until only a skeleton remains.

However, in extreme natural environmental conditions, situations such as mummification or freezing of a corpse can also occur.

Mummies formed under natural conditions have very high environmental requirements.

Usually, in desert areas with high temperature, dryness, and excellent ventilation, natural mummies can form. Most mummies discovered domestically are found in places like Lop Nur.

In extremely cold, high-altitude areas, corpses can freeze. For instance, climbers who fail to summit Mount Everest and die leave their bodies permanently on the mountain.

Haizhou City, being coastal with high humidity and not very hot temperatures, does not meet the conditions of high temperature and dryness, so mummies do not form here under normal circumstances.

Crime Scene Investigation laboratory.

Lu Chuan is researching the cause of the mummification of a corpse.

Compared to the action group focusing on clues and targets related to stone sculpture suppliers, Lu Chuan is investigating why the corpse became mummified.

The purpose is quite clear: the perpetrator hid the body inside the stone sculpture to conceal it.

Lu Chuan speculates that the reason to mummify the body before hiding it in the sculpture is to prevent decomposition, which could lead to a stench and easy detection.

Figuring out how the body became mummified and where it happened could very likely lead to the origin of the corpse.

During the fingerprint collection of the corpse in the dissection room, Lu Chuan had already conducted a detailed examination.

Based on the examination at the camping site, Lu Chuan had basically ruled out the possibility of the corpse naturally mummifying in a desert environment.

The reason is simple: there was no sand residue on the body.

Although the body was unclothed, there were many wrinkles on its surface after drying.

If the body had naturally air-dried in the desert, there would certainly be some sand residue in the wrinkles, which the perpetrator could hardly clean completely.

Another angle to consider is that if the body dried in a desert, the perpetrator would have no need to exhume it and entomb it in the sculpture, which would be redundant.

After all, compared to a remote desert, the likelihood of discovery is greater when encased in a sculpture.

Lu Chuan looked up some large drying equipment on the internet and found that various industries use them; however, grain drying equipment is more commonly used.

"Could it be a corn dryer?"

Inside the stone sculpture, Lu Chuan had found a corn kernel, which was sent to the relevant facility capable of testing it.

The results, however, will not be available until tomorrow morning at the earliest.

For the police, a homicide case is crucial, and time is tight, but for other departments, testing a corn kernel is merely testing a corn kernel. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Moreover, when the corn was brought back this evening, it was already after work hours, so testing can only happen tomorrow morning, meaning the earliest results will be tomorrow morning.

Of course, the so-called urgency of time is relative because the body had already been sealed within the sculpture for about one or two years, and the victim had been deceased for so long, making the so-called seventy-two-hour golden window to solve the case moot.

Whether or not the body had been dried using a corn dryer, Lu Chuan just made a conjecture.

"Lu, take a break and continue tomorrow."

Having worked through the evening, it was now midnight.

"Master, are the DNA comparison results in?"

Liu Guodong shook his head: "The database doesn’t have the victim’s DNA info, no match was found."

Although the corpse had dried, there were still active substances in the bone marrow, allowing for DNA testing.

Unfortunately, no successful match was found in the database.

"How about the fingerprints?"

Referring to this, Lu Chuan expressed some frustration.

"The corpse may be desiccated, but the fingerprints were not erased; however, collecting them is difficult, and matching them is too. I’ve tried several methods, but no matches in the database."

"Never been fingerprinted?"

"Most likely, or the prints aren’t in our database."

Haizhou City’s Criminal Investigation Team’s fingerprint database is only connected statewide, not nationwide.

So, Lu Chuan couldn’t be sure the prints were never collected, but certainly not within this statewide range.

"The person might be from out of state or never fingerprinted."

Without matches in both fingerprint and DNA information, the victim’s identity remains unsolved.

"How is the action group’s investigation going?"

Liu Guodong shook his head: "No significant progress, but the stone sculpture supplier has been found, and Zhang Hui will visit tomorrow morning."

Old Bai stretched: "Age really catches up, can’t stay up all night."

"I actually think the action group’s direction isn’t wrong; tampering with such a large and heavy stone sculpture during transport is unlikely."

"The perpetrator should be the one who sculpted it."

Yang Sen disagreed: "I don’t think it’s that absolute; anything is possible."

"Forget it; I’ve completed my work. Let me sleep; call me in the morning."

Too tired to argue with Yang Sen, Old Bai yawned and went upstairs to sleep.

Lu Chuan and the other two packed up and went to rest as well.

Early in the morning,

Zhang Hui and others headed directly to the stone processing zone in West Mountain.

Centennial Stone Carving.

The person in charge, a middle-aged man with a limp, was busy chiseling a statue when he noticed two police cars entering the yard.

"Hello, I’m Zhang Hui, a criminal investigator; are you Zhao Shengli, the person in charge here?"

Zhao Shengli put down his hammer and chisel, nodding inexplicably: "Yes, I’m Zhao Shengli, and this is my Stone Carving Garden. Officer... what brings you here?"

Having run the Stone Carving Garden for over 20 years, it was the first time Zhao Shengli saw police entering the yard.

Zhang Hui glanced around, seeing dozens of statues standing in the yard and some semi-finished stone materials.

"Master Zhao, we wanted to ask if the stone sculpture at the campsite by the East Sea from two years ago was made here."

East Sea?

Campsite?

Without needing to recall much, Zhao Shengli replied directly: "Are you referring to that over three-meter-tall mermaid statue over there?"

Zhang Hui’s gaze sharpened; after over two years, Zhao Shengli remembered so clearly?

What’s going on?

"Master Zhao, your memory is quite impressive, remembering so clearly after so long?"