Heaven's Cycle, Retribution Unavoidable

Sun Zhenbang found it incredibly difficult to accept this fact.

Setting aside how a soft snake body could pierce a person's chest, where would a snake come from with enough power to smash a person's head?

A python might be capable, but the issue was they only suffocated their prey by constricting them; this was not their method of attack at all.

"Forensic Doctor Li, you're not playing a joke on me, are you?"

After reading the report, Sun Zhenbang tried to find any trace of a joke on Forensic Doctor Li's face.

If he really reported this, his superiors would probably think he had some mental issues.

Forensic Doctor Li adjusted his glasses and couldn't help but sigh, "Although I also find this result hard to believe, at present, we simply can't find any other clues."

It wasn't just Sun Zhenbang who couldn't accept it; even they found it unbelievable.

This was the information revealed by the body. If it wasn't a snake, why were snake scales found at the scene? Even snake DNA was detected at the victim's wounds.

Little did they know, the reason these snake scales were left behind was because Ye Qin had been struck by lightning. These snake scale fragments were similar to human keratin; shedding was unavoidable.

Sun Zhenbang stared at the detection report in his hand, the wrinkles on his brow almost enough to trap a mosquito.

"Oh, and the damaged iron cage and the light bulb also had traces of snake crawling detected on them."

Sun Zhenbang's expression was utterly speechless, his tone extremely strange.

"You're not going to say that the snake let all the wild animals escape, and then, to get revenge, killed those two poachers, are you?"

Forensic Doctor Li was silent for a moment, coughed awkwardly, "I don't mean that either, it's just that given the current situation..."

Under Sun Zhenbang's gaze, Forensic Doctor Li's voice grew quieter and quieter.

Although many snake carcasses were indeed found at the scene, this so-called "snake revenge" sounded too absurd.

That snake wasn't a spirit; how could it have done all this?

However, no other fingerprints were found at the scene. No matter how careful they were, they couldn't escape the detection of modern sophisticated instruments.

"There's another point that's very strange."

"Logically speaking, at this time of year, all snakes are hibernating. Their activity and aggression would be greatly reduced. How did this snake appear at the scene?"

If it weren't for the snake hibernation, those two poachers wouldn't have so easily captured so many snakes. They relied on their rich experience to find hibernating snakes at specific locations, catching them with ease.

Sun Zhenbang guessed, "Perhaps it smelled the blood? Or was awakened."

Forensic Doctor Li and the others weren't veterinarians, so they had no idea. After all, they were investigating a case, not studying snakes; this was outside their scope.

Sun Zhenbang asked, "Do you know what kind of snake it was?"

Forensic Doctor Li shook his head.

"I don't know, but it should be a non-venomous snake of medium size."

Even if they didn't know the species, as long as it was non-venomous and not a python or the like, it wouldn't cause much harm, so they let it be.

Sun Zhenbang pondered for a moment, "I think the killer is someone else. They possess extremely high counter-reconnaissance skills and are deliberately creating a diversion to mislead us."

This could be called a perfect murder setup.

To put it bluntly, someone was playing tricks. As for their purpose and motive, it was unknown for now; perhaps it was related to the poachers.

But now that the two poachers were dead, their clues ended here, and they couldn't get any useful information for the time being.

Regardless, Sun Zhenbang refused to believe that a snake was responsible for all this.

Anyone would find it hard to believe.

"It seems we need to continue investigating and digging deeper. There must be something we don't know."

He hadn't expected a simple poaching case to become so complicated, even involving a homicide.

Li Han's true identity was also revealed by the police.

"Good heavens, this guy was actually a wanted fugitive. He didn't look like a good person at all."

Sun Zhenbang took the information his colleague had just investigated. Although the photo was a bit old, it was easy to see that it was the appearance of the second deceased.

"Li Mingguang, from Tianchong County, Hekou City, Nan Province. He mistakenly killed a fellow villager during an argument, then fled, changed his name to Li Han, and has been drifting around, engaging in illegal poaching and trading of wild animals..."

The police officer next to him shook his head while looking at the file, "Even if Li Mingguang were still alive, with so many crimes combined, he would have been sentenced to death by firing squad. Now it seems his death was just brought forward."

"Who would have thought? We also followed the lead and found records of his previous illegal wildlife transactions. The number of wild animals that died by his hand is countless."

"He's truly scum, his hands stained with blood. Indeed, heaven has eyes; retribution may be delayed, but it will come."

"It seems one shouldn't do too many evil deeds, otherwise, disaster might befall them."

Hearing his colleagues' discussions, Sun Zhenbang glanced out the window at the heavy snow, recalling the piles of snake carcasses he had seen in the wooden cabin in the forest.

Could it really be the cycle of heaven and retribution?

Those who do not treat nature well will ultimately meet a bad end.

Sun Zhenbang smiled, thinking he might be overthinking things. He muttered to himself:

"How could that be? That snake probably just crawled over the bodies accidentally, which is why it left those traces. After all, those animals aren't monsters. Snake revenge is simply baseless talk."

Perhaps another possibility was that the killer intentionally brought it here and placed it at the scene, aiming to confuse their perception and divert their attention.

With the deaths of the two poachers, the case was far from over. Neither the killer nor the murder weapon had been found.

There was also one point that Sun Zhenbang still couldn't figure out.

What kind of sharp tool could leave identical marks on the poachers' chests and the wooden boards, with such smooth incisions?

Perhaps all these mysteries could only be unraveled once the killer was caught.

Those buyers also received their due punishment. Those with lighter offenses received verbal warnings, detention, and fines, while those with more serious crimes were sentenced.

It's worth mentioning that one thing led to another.

Following the lead from Li Mingguang, the police continued their investigation and uncovered a wildlife smuggling ring, rescuing many wild animals. This was considered a great achievement.

In order to catch the real murderer, the police set up an ambush at the foot of the mountain, blocking all paths leading down, and set up checkpoints on nearby roads.

Although Li Mingguang deserved to die, the law would punish him accordingly. One matter was separate from another; malicious murder was not permitted.

Therefore, the police had to catch the killer.

Unfortunately, heavy snow began to fall again, causing significant trouble for their operations. They decided to wait for the snow to stop before searching the mountain.

However, before that, the police had already sealed off the mountain and were ready at the foot of the mountain, prepared to depart at any moment.