Chapter 698: Ghost Hunter

And then he found out about Shen Xin.

Then, for some unknown reason, he came over several months later to ask for Shen Xin’s help.

After a moment of thought, Shen Xin asked, “What is Director Xu’s take on this?”

‘He said I could decide whether or not to go, but I can’t take that completely at face value.’

Deng Zhiliang hesitated for a moment before saying, “If you’re not busy, you should try to go if you can.”

He shared some of the inside details.

The ministry’s position was simple: why should they lend out their top criminal investigation expert without getting anything in return?

So, the ministry made a small request: they wanted to extradite several individuals on the red notice list.

And the FBI actually agreed.

So Deng Zhiliang knew that Xu Jinguang definitely hoped this cooperation would be a success.

But considering Shen Xin’s situation, he also said that Shen Xin could decide for himself.

Shen Xin now understood the situation. He thought for a moment and said, “Let’s ask what the case is first.”

The lively gathering lasted until eight or nine in the evening. Since everyone had to work the next day, the crowd finally dispersed.

Shen Xin specifically asked York and Jon to stay behind, then asked York directly what the case was.

York was flushed from the alcohol, his face surprisingly red. Hearing Shen Xin’s question, his smile vanished. He waved his hand, motioning for Jon to step away.

Ding Yuwei stood up to leave but was pulled back down by Shen Xin.

Deng Zhiliang didn’t leave either; he had to report the situation to Xu Jinguang later.

Chugging the rest of his beer in one go, York’s previously frivolous demeanor vanished. His expression turned solemn, his gaze deep and cold. He said slowly, “This is a serial killer we’ve been hunting for seventeen years and still haven’t caught.”

MEOW.

It was Da Mei. She jumped onto Shen Xin’s lap and curled up in his arms.

‘Just as I thought,’ Shen Xin said to himself.

‘From what I remember, serial killers are practically a specialty of the United States.’

Of course, that didn’t mean other countries didn’t have serial killers.

China had them too, and quite a few at that. It was just that they didn’t constantly make movies like *The Texas Chainsaw Massacre* or *Hannibal*, wildly exaggerating that the United States was full of serial killers.

Now that the case was being discussed, York had clearly entered his element. He spoke concisely and to the point.

The location: the Great Basin in the western United States.

It’s an inland plateau basin within the Cordilleran mountain system. The terrain is fragmented, with basins and mountains interspersed. Overall, it’s a massive basin with an area of 520,000 square kilometers, about the size of France.

It roughly spans four states: Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, and Utah.

It’s almost entirely a wasteland, with a population density of less than two people per square kilometer.

Next, the timeline.

“We became aware of this case in ’04. It was because the Wyoming and Utah police departments noticed commonalities between cases and suspected a cross-state perpetrator, so they handed it over to us.”

“We traced it back and discovered the earliest case dates back to ’02.”

“The first victim was named Janelle Johnson. She was twenty-three when she died. Her body was found on the bank of the North Platte River near Casper, Wyoming.”

“Her body was covered in scrapes, bruises, and animal bite marks.”

“We speculate that she fled for a long distance before finally being cornered on the riverbank. There were ligature marks, she was raped, and the cause of death was mechanical asphyxiation.”

After finishing, York pressed his lips together and added, “She was a very beautiful girl. A real shame.”

This case occurred in April of ’02.

On April 18th, Janelle Johnson’s car was found abandoned near a highway, and she was reported missing. After a large-scale search organized by the state police, her body was discovered by the river on the 21st.

The forensic examination estimated she had been dead for at least a week.

“At the time, the body was already decomposed and incomplete. They assumed the bite marks were from animals scavenging post-mortem and didn’t think much of it.”

“Then, a year later, in June of ’03, near Highway 89 in Montpellier, Idaho, it was a similar situation: rape, signs of a beating to the head, but still strangled to death.”

“This time, the victim was quickly discovered by a passing driver, so the body was well-preserved.”

“They again found animal bite marks on the body, and at the time, they still believed it was post-mortem scavenging.”

“It wasn’t until the third case in ’04, when the body also had bite marks, that they finally took notice.”

“We believe the killer used some kind of animal to hunt the victims. We brought in animal experts for an assessment, and they thought it might have been a wolf.”

“However, we later came up with a new theory: that it was some kind of large dog.”

“First, there are significant differences between wolf and dog teeth. Even just from the bite marks, it’s possible to tell them apart.”

“The thing is, there was a survivor in one of the cases. After she escaped, she said the killer used a wolf to chase her.”

“But we showed her many photos of wolves to identify, and some of the details didn’t match up. That’s when we speculated it might not be a wolf, but a large dog. She looked at some more pictures, and one breed seemed like a close match.”

“It’s called a Groenendael Dog, which is a type of Belgian Shepherd.”

An image of the animal immediately appeared in Shen Xin’s mind.

Solid black, long-haired, large, and extremely imposing.

‘That thing really does look like a wolf.’

At the same time, as shepherd dogs, while they can be ferocious, they are also very intelligent and can be trained as police dogs.

“That’s not right,” Shen Xin interrupted York. “If there was a survivor, didn’t she see the killer?”

“In this type of case, I’d think the killer would randomly select women traveling alone on the highway, or women whose cars broke down, where he could then approach them feigning kindness, offer to help fix the car, and then wait for an opportunity to strike.”

The Great Basin, spanning four states—a desolate wasteland. It was a natural paradise for crime.

Based on Shen Xin’s experience, or rather, the way American TV shows always portrayed it, a woman would be driving across the United States, her car would break down on a desolate highway…

…then a “kind stranger” would happen by, help fix the car, and only after interacting with him would she realize he was a serial killer who specifically targeted women like her.

“If that’s the scenario, shouldn’t this victim have seen the killer?”

‘If there was a process of him approaching her, she should have been able to see him.’

York shook his head, first complimenting Shen Xin on his quick thinking and accurate assessment.

Shen Xin waved his hand dismissively.

‘You guys have made countless movies and TV shows about this,’ he thought. ‘Even an idiot could guess that much.’

York said, “That attack took place in July of ’13. The victim’s name is Elmerinda Garza. Her car suddenly had a blowout while she was passing through Daggett County, Utah, forcing her to stop.”

“Just as she was trying to find help, this wolf-like dog charged out, attacked her, and chased her.”

“She ran north for nearly two kilometers and was saved only by luckily tumbling down a cliff. According to her, while she was being chased, she noticed someone on a motorcycle following in the distance.”

“But they were too far away for her to see their face clearly.”

“So we theorized that after more than a decade and fourteen crimes, the killer’s methods had evolved. He would now directly use the wolf-dog to attack and chase his victims.”

Shen Xin abruptly cut York off, asking in disbelief, “How many?”

Fourteen.

‘That can’t be right.’

‘One murder a year, minus the survivor from ’13… that should be twelve victims, right?’

And twelve was already an outrageous number.

Unexpectedly, York shook his head and said, “No, Shen Xin. Those are just the cases we’ve found. You have to understand, there are a lot of wild animals out there. We don’t necessarily find all the bodies.”

“Also, in our experience, a serial killer’s crimes continuously escalate. They rarely have stable cool-down periods.”

“At first, we thought he might be committing one crime a year. But in ’09, two victims appeared, and we knew his criminal activity had escalated.”

“By ’14, we had found a total of fourteen victims, but the actual number of cases is probably even higher.”

Shen Xin’s brows furrowed as he listened. This was too brutal.

The key point was, after so many cases, they still hadn’t identified him. It seemed incredible.

The Great Basin was a wasteland, hundreds of thousands of square kilometers with a sparse population, sure. But over a criminal career spanning more than a decade, had he really not made a single mistake? Not left a single piece of physical evidence?

York continued, “After that failure, he vanished. By the way, Shen Xin, do you know what the media calls him? They call him the Ghost Hunter.”

“He’s like a ghost who haunted the Great Basin for over a decade, and then, just like a ghost, he suddenly disappeared.”

“But last year, after three years of silence, he reappeared. And along with him, so did his wolf-dog.”

A determined glint flashed in York’s eyes. He stared intently at Shen Xin and said, “Shen Xin, if you can help us find that wolf-dog, we can find him.”