Chapter 32: Stalemate
"What do you want the skull for?"
Zhou Ning found a picture album on the table and handed it to Liu Yongxin.
"Master, you know, I have been learning painting from Teacher Xia, not for cultivating sentiments or interests. I am mainly studying skulls and muscle directions. I have read a report before that there is a particularly powerful criminal investigation police who can restore the appearance of the deceased through eyewitness descriptions or skulls."
Liu Yongxin understood and looked at Zhou Ning who was silent for a long time. Just when Zhou Ning thought Liu Yongxin would refuse, he raised his head.
"What are you standing there for? You have nothing to do anyway. The case is at a standstill now, otherwise Xu Da wouldn't have called over and over again. They probably haven't found anything yet, so let's go and get rid of the problem."
Zhou Ning shuddered.
"Tick?"
Liu Yongxin chuckled. This reaction made him very satisfied.
"Don't be a wimp. I just made a very clear statement. You want a skull, but are you waiting for someone to help you make one? By the way, do you know how to make a mold?"
Zhou Ning shook his head honestly.
"What is a reverse mold?"
Liu Yongxin rolled his eyes.
"Are you really stupid or are you just pretending to be stupid? The identity of the deceased has not been determined yet. How can you just use the skull to restore the body? Of course, you have to make a 1:1 plaster model."
Zhou Ning rubbed his nose.
"Aren't you my master? If you have any problem, go to the master. There is no choice in this matter. And if it can really work, wouldn't it bring honor to you, the master?"
Liu Yongxin sighed.
"Don't give me that. I always feel like I have to help you count the money after you sell me out. Okay, stop talking nonsense and get started!"
The two of them went downstairs and dragged the free driver Zhao Xinli to the county hospital. They were busy until after six o'clock before they saw the results. Of course, the skull of the deceased and the peeled skin were also sent back.
Liu Yongxin wiped the sweat off his forehead and pushed the plaster model in front of Zhou Ning.
"That's enough time. You can take it."
Zhou Ning gave Liu Yongxin a thumbs up.
"Master, you are amazing. You can do this job. It really surprises me."
Liu Yongxin waved his hand.
"Don't give me that. Take it away and I'm going home first."
Zhou Ning took Liu Yongxin and took a taxi to send him back, and he returned home with the plaster model. On the way, he sent a text message to Xia Momo. He had told Xia Momo before that the reason why he wanted to learn painting was that he had such a model, and he hoped that Xia Momo would help him restore it.
As soon as I entered the house, my cell phone rang. It was Xia Momo calling.
"Hey, Teacher Xia!"
"Forensic Doctor Zhou, I'm in the studio now. Please bring the model to me. My students have just left. It happens to be the weekend tomorrow, so we have plenty of time."
"Okay, don't eat and wait for me."
After buying some food, he ran straight to the Cultural Palace. The lights were just coming on and Zhou Ning walked briskly on the thin layer of snow on the ground and went straight to the studio.
Xia Momo was making coffee, holding two cups and looking at Zhou Ning with a smile.
"You're here!"
"Come on, I'm going to find you a job today."
Xia Momo just smiled and said nothing. She handed the coffee to Zhou Ning. Zhou Ning put down the food and of course the skull model.
“Is this the skull?”
Zhou Ning held the coffee and gave a brief introduction.
"Yes, the deceased's face was disfigured and his death was so tragic that I won't show you the photos. After our autopsy analysis, we found that he was an old man in his sixties. My master thought he was a construction worker, but I don't think so.
Although his exposed skin was dark and had age spots, he did not have any old injuries and his bones were healthy compared to people of his age, except for some heart problems.
Xia Momo placed the plaster skull model on a table next to her, with some clay next to it. Zhou Ning continued:
"I have only been learning painting from you for a short time, so my ability is really limited. If I send it to the city bureau, I don't know how long I will have to wait. Anyway, there are no clues, so I want to give it a try. I'm sorry to bother you."
"No need to be polite. When my student wanted to jump off the building, I came to you right away. My father scolded me when I got home. I know this is not your department's business, but I was very touched that you came right away."
Having said this, Xia Momo paused, her face flushed. She felt that her words were a bit ambiguous, so she quickly changed the subject.
"As for your drawing ability, in just one month, you have gone from zero basic skills to being able to draw a sketch of a skull. How else do you want me to praise you?"
Zhou Ning smiled. After all, he was trained by the system every night. Even though he was a waste, he was trained out of it. However, Xia Momo's words gave him some confidence.
"Let's not be polite to each other. I have seen part of the deceased's appearance. Let's eat first, and then start the recovery."
Xia Momo didn't say anything else. The two of them ate and began to fill the skull model with soft clay. Zhou Ning kept expressing the impressions in his mind. After all, the large transparent screen was right in front of him, so he kept comparing and making modifications.
Time passed minute by minute, Xia Momo yawned, Zhou Ning knew she was tired, looking at the restored head model of the deceased in front of him, Zhou Ning felt a sense of accomplishment.
Looking at the phone, he found that it had run out of battery and turned off automatically. Looking up at the clock on the wall, Zhou Ning realized that it was almost nine o'clock. They had been struggling for more than ten hours. He looked at Xia Momo with an apologetic look on his face.
"I didn't expect that I would let you mess with me all night, but I think this is the deceased."
Xia Momo waved her hand.
"Okay, go ahead and do your work. I'll be happy if I can help you."
Zhou Ning stood up and left with his things without saying anything else.
Instead of going home, he went straight to the criminal police team. When he arrived at the office, he found that Liu Yongxin was not there. He simply washed up, but before he wiped his face, Liu Yongxin walked in. Seeing Zhou Ning's bloodshot eyes, he raised his eyebrows with an expression of disbelief on his face.
"Why is your phone turned off, brat? Don't tell me you and that teacher Xiao Xia were busy all night!"
Zhou Ning was a little irritated and scratched his messy hair.
"What did you do all night? We were so busy trying to restore the deceased's appearance that I didn't notice my phone turned off automatically."
"done?"
Liu Yongxin came close to Zhou Ning, and Zhou Ning wiped the water stains off his face, then walked to his desk and opened the bag.
Looking at the head model of the deceased made of soft clay, Liu Yongxin's eyes lit up. He had seen the face of the deceased after he was killed. Although the face was chopped up, some parts of his original appearance could still be seen, such as the big bags under the eyes and half of the eyebrows.
"Like, this one is so similar. I only saw a similar sculpture in a journal, but I didn't expect you two to make it. And it only took you one night. You're really good!"
Zhou Ning smiled and said nothing. Liu Yongxin picked up the model directly.
"Don't talk nonsense, just follow me. I forgot about it when you interrupted me. Xu Da was furious in the conference room. There has been no progress in the case. I have been investigating the surrounding area for a day and a night, but no one has seen anyone moving a body or pulling a box. There are no missing persons or construction sites."
Zhou Ning nodded, followed Liu Yongxin's footsteps, and went directly to the conference room. He almost thought he had entered the wrong room. The conference room was filled with smoke, like a fairyland, and it was so choking that people could not open their eyes.
Liu Yongxin coughed twice and kicked Zhao Xinli.
"Open the window. You guys are too good at smoking. Look at what my apprentice has done, Mr. Xu."
Zhao Xinli hurried to open the window, and everyone's eyes fell on Zhou Ning. After several rounds of cooperation, Xu Dayuan recognized Zhou Ning's abilities very much.
Seeing Liu Yongxin so happy that he almost wanted to walk with his neck stiffened, it was obvious that he had made some new discovery, which made him instantly energetic.
" What did Xiao Zhou find? Tell us quickly."
Liu Yongxin placed the bag on the conference table, then opened it, took out the plaster model, and poked Zhou Ning's arm.
"Okay, you introduce it, I'll go find some relevant photos."
As he spoke, Liu Yongxin turned on the computer, enlarged several front-facing photos of the deceased, and displayed them on the big screen.
Zhou Ning cleared his throat. He was not nervous, but was really choked. Then he began to tell the story.
“Here’s what happened…
As the appearance was restored, I had some new ideas. We previously thought that the deceased was a migrant worker at a construction site. After all, his nails were black, and there was black substance between his fingers, but we did not get the test results to confirm it.
But I thought a lot last night. If you work on a construction site, you will have some old injuries, abrasions and cuts on your body, but the deceased did not have any of them. His bones are healthier than those of ordinary old people.
Then I wondered, who else could be so tanned and still be so healthy?
I think the investigation of the deceased can focus on the local retiree who likes fishing, kite flying, and outdoor cycling. One more thing is that he lives alone. Otherwise, it is unreasonable for no one to know that he has been missing for many days. "
Zhou Ning talked a lot, and the conference room fell silent after he finished speaking. He felt a little embarrassed. Did he talk too much?
Or is this analysis off the mark?
