Chapter 52

"Human Bone Jigsaw 2, The Manipulated Bones"

"Anger!" Oss's voice continued from downstairs, "Hurry up, I have something interesting to show you."

Mofei, still embracing Anger and kissing his neck, frowned slightly.

Anger looked at him, "Aren’t you going to stop? Oss will probably be up here in three minutes."

Mofei tightened his embrace around Anger, whispering in his ear, "I want to kill Oss."

Downstairs, the sound of Oss knocking persisted, "Anger, your car's here, you must be home. Open up or I'll break the door down!"

Mofei sighed, "Anger, let's have Ace bite him to death."

Anger burst into laughter, then turned back and said, "If you want, you can continue, don’t mind Oss."

"But he really ruins the mood!" Mofei, taking his clothes reluctantly, looked at Anger, "And you're obviously interested in whatever great thing he’s talking about."

Anger slightly curled his lips in amusement.

"Then... how about we postpone it?" Mofei shrugged. "We can continue later when it’s quiet at night?"

Anger rubbed his chin thoughtfully and said, "But I might not be in the mood then."

"Anger," Mofei embraced him, pleading, "Stop tormenting me, will you?"

Anger took the clothes Mofei handed over, getting dressed while leisurely saying, "Then admit you love me first."

Mofei lunged at him, declaring, "I won’t admit it!"

The two rolled around on the bed for a while until they heard the front door click open downstairs. Ace ran to the door, barking twice, but stopped upon recognizing the visitor. Oss's voice came from downstairs, "Hey, I'm a police officer. Breaking in like this could get you sued."

"Hmm," Jiyi's voice came leisurely, "Doesn’t matter. We can just say Ace let us in."

……

Mofei, resigned, stood up and got dressed, and also helped Anger with his clothes, just as footsteps were heard coming from downstairs.

Mo Fei carefully arranged Anger's clothes, pressed him onto the bed, and leaned down for another kiss.

Tilting his head, Anger asked in confusion, "Why are you kissing me again? Didn’t you want to avoid being seen?"

Unconcerned, Mo Fei continued kissing and said, "It doesn't matter. Every time he comes, it's always R-rated anyway."

Soon after, as expected, the door opened. Jiu Yi entered first, followed by Os, and Es, who had been locked downstairs, squeezed in discontentedly, eager for a morning moment of affection with Anger.

“Uh...” Jiu Yi and Os simultaneously saw the two on the bed, disheveled, and looked awkwardly...

“Ahem.” Clearing his throat, Jiu Yi pointed at Os and said, “I told you not to disturb others this early, but Os insisted on coming. I warned that it might be R-rated, and he said he didn’t care.”

“Hey, hey!” Os widened his eyes in disbelief, glaring at Jiu Yi for falsely accusing him.

Jiu Yi, with a hand over his face, looked at Elisa and said, "Elisa, let's leave. What’s not ours to see, we shall not watch." While speaking, he moved to close the door for the two, signaling them to continue.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Os blocked the door and addressed Anger, “Anger, you'll definitely be interested in what we have this time!”

Anger and Mo Fei lost their earlier enthusiasm and lounged on the bed. Anger, in a lazy tone, asked, "What is it?"

Os entered, giving Mo Fei an awkward chuckle. Mo Fei, resigned, tried to get up but was pulled back by Anger.

Anger leaned against Mo Fei, finding a comfortable position, and glanced at the document bag Os handed over, inquiringly.

"It was left at the police station last night," Os explained. "The work of a supremely audacious criminal!"

“Oh?” Anger, intrigued, took the bag, pulled out a photograph, and both he and Mo Fei's eyes widened in shock.

The photo showed a complexly structured cathedral, but it was constructed from something unusual. Upon closer inspection, Anger and Mo Fei realized it was made of bones – human bones, identifiable by their unique pelvic structures.

"Did you bring the actual thing?" Anger asked, sitting up with evident interest.

"It's at the police station," Os replied. "But that's not the most shocking part! A forensic analysis of the bone cathedral revealed the bones, belonging to a mother and child, had been deceased for no more than three days... They were reported missing five days ago."

“Five days?” Mo Fei expressed his surprise, “I thought they’d been decomposing for years.”

Anger seemed puzzled too and asked, "How can a body be so clean after five days?"

"The forensic team said the flesh was meticulously removed," Os explained. "Using teeth."

Anger raised an eyebrow, scrutinizing the detailed enlargements of the photos, and asked, "Was it gnawed off by rats?"

"Exactly," Os nodded. "According to the forensic analysis, after the victims' death, someone employed thousands of rats to clean their bodies. The rodents were efficient, stripping the flesh to the bone in less than half a day."

Anger nodded thoughtfully, staring at the photograph for a long while, murmuring, "Fascinating, indeed."

"Anger, show some sympathy, will you? The mother and child were young; the child was only five," Os said.

“Uh... I didn't mean the incident itself was interesting; it's a horrific thing,” Anger clarified, waving his hand and stroking his chin, “I was just remarking on the uniqueness of the perpetrator in this case.”

"So this block was just left at the police station entrance?" Mo Fei asked.

“Yes, it appeared last night,” replied Os. “The forensics team worked overnight and were quite shocked. The key concern is... there have been several other kidnapping cases recently. We've noticed a mysterious increase in kidnappings and disappearances, so..."

“You're worried the perpetrator might continue to harm others?” Anger inquired.

"We've looked into the background of the mother and child; they were quite innocent, with good social relations, not the kind to make deep enemies... Their misfortune suggests the killer is a psychopath," Os shrugged. "We've seen such psychopaths before. Once they start, they continue, escalating in cruelty with each incident."

“Hmm,” Anger nodded, continuing to scrutinize the photographs.

At that moment, Os’s phone rang. He answered and quickly dashed to the door. Hurrying back, he informed Anger, “Trouble, Anger. Another cathedral has been found.”

“Another cathedral made of human bones like this one?” Anger inquired.

“No,” Os replied, “It’s also made of human bones, but the structure and design are different.”

Anger asked, “Where was it found?”

“It was delivered to the police station in a parcel. It only reached the reception. The security guard received it and, upon scanning it with an X-ray machine, discovered it was a bone cathedral and reported it.”

“What about the person who delivered the package?” Anger pressed.

“Gone,” Os shrugged. “Packages at the station are received collectively…”

“Os,” Anger looked somewhat displeased, “that's some unprofessional security at the police station... Was there any information on the package?”

"The forensic team is still examining the scene," replied Os.

"Alright," sighed Anger, standing up reluctantly. "I'll go check out the police station."

"That's great," Os said as he went downstairs to prepare the car. Mofei quickly made breakfast for Anger. Jiyi, adamant about not seeing such disturbing things and refusing to go to the police station, decided to take Ais home to take care of him. Os drove Anger and Mofei towards the police station.

Mofei sat beside Anger, seemingly uncomfortable. Anger glanced at him and asked, "Mofei, you seem really tense, are you okay?"

"Hmm," Mofei shook his head, without saying much.

Os, glancing through the rearview mirror, chuckled, "You know, Mofei... you used to be a bit of a bad boy."

Mofei raised an eyebrow, but remained silent.

Anger looked at Mofei and said, "Don't worry about it. Os is a bit of a blockhead, yet he still manages to be a cop, a job that requires intelligence."

"Anger," Os said, sounding a bit defeated, "You could encourage Mofei without putting me down, you know?"

"That's true," Anger stroked his chin, "after all, being smarter than you isn't really a compliment for anyone, considering most humans, a few mammals, and all aliens and insects are smarter than you."

Os frowned and asked, "Why insects? Am I not as smart as a fly?"

Anger shook his head and said, "Oss, don’t insult flies. Insects are more adaptable to the environment than mammals. Their organization and intelligence are mysteries humans have yet to unravel. Most humans imagine aliens as some kind of insectoid or fish-like creatures... but rarely mammalian."

The car stopped at the entrance of the police station, and Os led Anger and Mofei inside.

The trio hurried to the morgue in the basement of the police station, where the forensic lab and a temporary morgue for storing bodies were located.

"Dr. Wang," Os entered the forensic lab and saw a middle-aged woman flipping through a file.

"Os... Anger!" Dr. Wang hurried over and hugged Anger, saying, "You're still so adorable."

After a polite hug with her, Anger introduced Mofei to her.

Dr. Wang looked Mofei up and down, nodded, and said to Anger, "I knew you would come. Come, take a look at the real thing." Then, she took two trays and lifted the white cloths covering them, revealing two miniature churches made of human bones, smaller than imagined but more three-dimensional.

"It looks more exquisite in reality," Anger leaned in for a closer look, and Mofei frowned too... It was hard to believe that these artifact-like objects were made from human bones, and more specifically, that these people were alive just five days ago.

"Has the identity of the body been confirmed?" Os asked.

"Yes, it has," replied Dr. Wang, handing him the documents. "It's another missing father and daughter."

"The last pair was a mother and son, and this time a father and daughter?" sighed Os.

"The time of death is the same for both," the forensic expert stated. "The bodies were both cleaned by rats."

"The killer might have processed the bodies at the same time," Anger suggested, focusing on the red cross painted in blood at the top of the church steeple. He asked the forensic expert, "Is this made of finger bones?"

"Right," the forensic expert nodded. "The adult's left ring finger and the child's right index finger."

"Are both churches the same?" inquired Anger.

The expert continued to nod.

"It's truly twisted," Os shook his head and remarked, "Why are people so limitlessly perverse?"

Anger stood up straight, no longer examining the two churches, and asked Os, "Tell me Os, in a pile of scattered bones, could you accurately identify the bones of a ring finger and an index finger?"

"How could I?" Os said, then blinked at Anger, "Anger, do you think the perpetrator is a professional?"

"It doesn't seem like something an ordinary person could do," added Mofei. "To assemble such a church in three days, he must possess extraordinary skills in some area."