Harry's cry of alarm drew everyone's attention.

Then, everyone witnessed an incredibly bizarre sight: a pair of eyes on springs popped out from the little boy's darkened sockets, dangling and quivering in an arc, like some grotesque toy. Flesh and gore clung to the underside of the eyeballs, and the dark red, oscillating bloodstains told everyone present one undeniable fact: these were real human eyeballs!

Dean had seen a photo of Sarah's brother, which Sarah had shown him.

Unfortunately.

The boy on the ground, turned into a horrifying 'toy,' was indeed Sarah's brother, Henry.

He was dead.

Holz was mentally resilient. Watching the dangling eyeballs, he licked his lips. "This looks like some Cthulhu mythos cosplay. I'm curious how the killer kept the eyeballs intact and full."

"The eyeballs have been preserved with resin," someone else commented.

"Looks like we've encountered another psychopathic killer."

Dean silently put on gloves, pushed the stunned Harry aside, and turned the boy's body over to face the pitch-black sky, allowing the spring-mounted 'eyeballs' to present an even more direct image to the onlookers.

"There are no messy bloodstains around, so this probably isn't the primary crime scene. The body is soft, and the blood is viscous. I estimate the time of death to be about three to four hours ago. Additionally, there are horizontal tears around the victim's eyes. These weren't caused by external force but by muscle tearing due to intense eye movement from extreme pain before death. The killer gouged out the boy's eyeballs while he was still alive, installed springs, then pressed them back in. He even thoughtfully placed the boy facedown, turning him into a flesh-and-blood toy. He probably wanted to give us a 'surprise.' This is a psychopath who treats killing as a game. I suspect there are records of similar murder cases in the police archives."

After his brief analysis, Dean gently palpated the victim's body to determine the cause of death.

"There are no obvious external injuries on the body, but the abdomen is distended and has a fluid-like feel. He likely died from internal bleeding. These symptoms are common in falls from a height, with significant signs usually appearing on the surface about twelve hours after death. But there's one thing I don't understand."

"I'm glad there's still something that can confuse you," Holz said, approaching with a specialized thermometer and a long needle. He grumbled, "I feel like you don't need us at all."

The other forensic team members nearby nodded in agreement. Dean's analysis had been so precise and professional that it genuinely made these experts feel like their jobs were on the line.

Dean ignored Holz's grumbling. He pinched the wobbling spring-mounted eyeballs and held them in front of Holz. "Holz, in a typical fall from a height, fragile areas like the eyes and ears would show clear signs of bleeding. Especially since his eyeballs were removed; the pressurized blood should have gushed out from those openings like a breached dam. But I haven't found any such signs. This doesn't match his internal symptoms."

A fall from a height doesn't always cause external injuries, but it almost invariably results in internal injuries, whether minor or severe. The boy had no obvious external wounds, but there was internal bruising, likely meaning his organs were damaged by the impact and shock of a fall, leading to internal bleeding. However, if that were the case, the body should also show signs of 'bleeding from all seven orifices.' Henry's body didn't show this. It was contradictory.

Hearing Dean's analysis, Holz shrugged. "Dean, your knowledge is astounding, but when it comes to autopsies, you're missing some basic habits."

"Such as?"

Holz displayed the tools in his hand. "We're human; we can use professional equipment. There's no need to get bogged down with a simple physical examination."

Dean was speechless.

Seeing Holz was about to show off, Dean quietly stepped aside.

Holz chuckled, picked up the specialized thin needle, palpated an area on Henry's body, and then inserted it directly. This was to measure the liver temperature. After death, the body cools in stages. Provided there's no external interference before the internal body temperature drops to ambient temperature, the difference between internal and external temperatures can help pinpoint the time of death to a specific hour. For convenience, liver or rectal temperature is usually checked. Of course, some more meticulous medical examiners check both.

Harry, who had just regained his composure, frowned at the sight. "Buddy, this is an acquaintance's younger brother. If possible, try not to mutilate his body any further."

Holz didn't even look up as he retorted, "Harry, I'm surprised to hear such a foolish thing from you. You should know I'm helping him!"

As he spoke, he pulled down Henry's pants, took out the thermometer, and prepared to insert it into the boy's 'chrysanthemum,' so to speak—an area the boy had presumably kept untouched for his twelve years—to measure his rectal temperature.

But when he pulled the pants down, Holz froze. Underneath was a diaper completely soaked with dark red blood.

As an experienced medical examiner, Holz immediately understood the situation in the area covered by the diaper.

He looked at Dean. "Buddy, it seems your question has been answered."

Dean nodded. "I think I understand."

"Understand what?" Harry asked, looking at them in confusion.

Dean glanced at him and explained, "Harry, have you ever eaten roasted suckling pig on a skewer?"

An image of an iron rod piercing a piglet's rear flashed through Harry's mind. He looked at Henry's blood-soaked diaper, and a wave of revulsion washed over him. "Are you saying someone... impaled him from behind?"

"Yes," Holz said, gesturing. "Look at this poor child's eyes. I suspect the killer treated him like a 'specimen' toy. First, he immobilized him alive on something like a steel pipe, causing massive internal bleeding, and then he worked on the eyeballs... Back in the day, prisoners were often skewered like this, then their lower orifices plugged, to disguise the murder as suicide. Without an autopsy, the true cause of death would be very difficult to discover."

"Fuck!" Harry exclaimed, his gluteal muscles instinctively clenching. "Why are there always perverts who like to mess with people down there!"

And Henry was only twelve. It's horrifying to imagine the kind of tragedy and suffering he endured before his death.

After a more detailed and professional examination by Holz, the preliminary findings were: Young Henry died around one o'clock this afternoon. The cause of death was massive internal bleeding from being impaled in the lower body by a sharp object similar to a rebar. Henry's eyes were gouged out while he was alive, likely more than ten hours before his death. The killer's technique was skilled; he didn't damage the eyeballs at all. After some treatment, he attached delicate springs to them and then 'reinstalled' them into Henry's sockets.

Beyond that, Holz noted some details Dean had missed. There was fine lint in Henry's hair, attracted by static electricity and caught in his thick locks, suggesting he had spent a considerable time in a lint-filled environment. Another point: there were faint bloodstains under Henry's fingernails. While this might seem normal, Holz recognized at a glance that the color of these stains was off; it was likely old blood, possibly scraped under his nails as Henry struggled in terror on the 'toy-making' table. This detail was crucial because it strongly indicated that Henry's killer was not a first-time offender but very likely a serial killer with a distinct MO.

So, the team split into two. Holz and the forensics personnel took Henry's body back to the forensics lab for a more detailed autopsy. Dean, accompanied by Harry, went to a café downtown.

Harry had little interest in coffee; he was still trying to figure out the best way to break the news of Henry's death.

Dean, meanwhile, approached the counter and showed his NSA credentials. "I'm here for a pickup."

The attendant glanced at Dean, retrieved a piece of paper from the side, and handed it to him.

Dean took it and looked. The first line read: The Toy Murderer - Sein!

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