At this moment, everyone turned their gaze towards the projector at the front of the conference room.

Without a doubt, the photo on the projector was all too familiar.

The criminal investigation team had already held no fewer than twenty case discussions over this tricky case.

Yet each time felt like hitting a dead end, never finding a breakthrough.

Everyone present furrowed their brows, sinking into thought, eyes fixed on the photo on the projector.

After observing for a while, the veteran detective Li Jianguo, sitting in the back row, couldn't help but scratch his head.

He spoke in a rough voice: "This photo... isn't it just the original photo from the crime scene?"

"Besides fixing the position at the scene, what's special about it?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the young officer Zhang, sitting nearby, nodded in agreement: "Exactly, Mr. Li."

"We've looked at it no fewer than a hundred times. White Bone, tattered clothes... haven't seen anything amiss."

Right as everyone was discussing heatedly, Jiang An stood up and steadily walked to the projector.

He cleared his throat, his voice not loud but with penetrating power.

"Mr. Wang, colleagues, perhaps my eyes are failing me, but I always felt this photo seems a bit strange."

"Oh? What seems strange?"

Mr. Wang raised his eyelids, his previously weary eyes suddenly brightening.

His fingers lightly tapped on the table, clearly intrigued.

Jiang An raised his hand pointing to the screen: "Everyone look, in the original state of the scene, although most of this White Bone is covered by clothing."

"But upon closer inspection, one can find—the main parts of the torso and limbs are all present, except the head is missing."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the room, "Why is it precisely the head that's missing?"

"Was it carried away by a wild animal, or moved by someone?"

"I think this question is worth delving into."

Upon hearing this, the veteran detective Zhou Mingyuan in the back row snickered, picking up his thermos cup for a sip of tea.

"Mr. Jiang, we in criminal investigation rely on evidence, not guesses."

"Cases of missing heads are too common, what's so special about it?"

Several senior colleagues nodded alongside him, evidently feeling Jiang An was being enigmatic.

Jiang An didn't rush to refute, but continued: "What this gentleman said is correct; we shouldn't rely on guesses."

"But let's look again—the White Bone still has clothing remnants, although the shoes aren't fully visible in the photo, by normal inference, they should be nearby."

"Yet why are the majority of the torso and limbs present, specifically the head vanished?"

"There must be a reason behind this."

At this point, Deputy Team Leader Chen Biao saw the tense atmosphere and quickly intervened: "Brother Jiang An, it's not that we don't believe you, it's just this case has dragged on too long, everyone is anxious."

"Why don't you take a closer look at the case files, and we'll slowly discuss?"

Jiang An waved his hand, his tone sincere: "Brother Biao, I understand everyone's anxiety."

"Though I've had only a short period of exposure to this case, I have some immature ideas."

"Although such cases are rare in Jiangcheng, similar site characteristics can actually provide us many clues."

"What clues?"

Mr. Wang leaned forward, clearly interested.

"Everyone look at this corpse,"

Jiang An's fingertip slid across the screen, "the deceased's hands are missing, but the posture of the lower limbs is very peculiar."

"Could everyone please shift their gaze to the bottom left of the photo—do you see it?"

Then Jiang An spoke, word by word: "The posture of the deceased's lower limbs is very strange."

The technician Li sitting in the front row enlarged the photo, and everyone leaned closer to take a look.

Zhang murmured while frowning: "I don't see anything, isn't it just a normal corpse posture?"

"Wrong!"

Jiang An shook his head, gesturing with his hand, "In normal circumstances."

"Regardless of whether the deceased came here voluntarily, or was passively dumped, it's extremely rare for the lower limbs to be in a kneeling position with a backward lean at the moment of death."

"But, look, the lower limbs of this corpse are bent backwards at the knee joint, forming a V-shaped structure."

"This is absolutely abnormal."

Upon seeing this, the conference room instantaneously fell silent.

Everyone's gaze once again focused on the photo.

After quite a while, Zhou Mingyuan smacked his lips: "That's true... In my thirty years of doing criminal investigation, it's the first time I've seen such a posture."

"Yeah,"

The forensic expert Mr. Wang nodded alongside, "Generally, after death, a corpse either stays straight or bends slightly; this orderly backward bend is indeed unusual."

Mr. Wang's fingers tapped on the table even quicker: "Mr. Jiang, what do you think this posture signifies?"

"Indicating that when this corpse fell here, it was in an abnormal state."

Jiang An spoke with certainty.

"As for whether it formed pre-mortem, or was manipulated post-mortem, that still needs further verification."

As soon as these words came out, the conference room immediately erupted.

"I think it was tampered with post-mortem!"

Zhang quickly spoke, "Maybe the perpetrator intentionally arranged it this way to mislead and confuse."

"Wrong," Mr. Yang retorted.

"After rigor mortis sets in, it's difficult to pose the body like this, unless it was fixed like this right after death."

"Could it be that the deceased knelt here and died?"

Li Jianguo pondered with his chin, analyzing, "For example, suicide?"

"But why would someone suicide and decapitate themselves?"

Someone quickly questioned.

…

The crowd engaged in a back-and-forth discussion, voices growing louder and louder.

Wang Yang and Chen Biao exchanged glances, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes.

These details, they previously hadn't noticed at all.

Chen Biao cleared his throat, signaling everyone to be quiet.

"Brother Jiang An, please continue."

"This discovery is very important."

Jiang An nodded: "For now, I think it's premature to discuss the nature of death. After all, we have only analyzed one photo."