North American Detective: I am Proficient in All Kinds of Gun Quick Draws

"Holz, are you trying to say that guy is immortal, just like the mummies in the movies?"

Harry looked at Holz, his expression clearly saying, 'You think we're idiots?'

Holz shrugged. "Forensic experts generally consider untreated wounds that are sufficiently severe to be fatal. What I mean is, Mike Smith might have had a masochistic streak!"

He led everyone to a projector and displayed several images of old scars.

"See these puncture wounds?" Holz continued. "I've seen them before. They were caused by an ancient European torture instrument known as the Bone Nail, which appeared during the Middle Ages and was a favorite during religious inquisitions. And these serrated wounds? They latch onto flesh like a shark's teeth, and with blood grooves, they let you feel your blood draining away bit by bit, leaving you weaker.

"Mike Smith has over four hundred similar old scars on his body, nearly three hundred of which were almost fatal. Apart from his exposed neck and head, his body is almost entirely covered in scars. Even with modern medical support, it would have taken years to accumulate these and still be alive. Otherwise, no one could have survived this."

Holz then presented some images that were incomprehensible to the others.

"I performed a comprehensive autopsy on Mike Smith," he explained. "His bodily functions were very poor. He had a lot of antibiotics and hormones in his system, and various parts of his skeleton showed calluses—traces of repeated bone fractures and healing. This guy was living in a body that was practically eighteenth-hand wreckage, and he was constantly enduring the torment that followed such extensive injuries. If it weren't for his excessively horrific death, I would have almost thought he killed himself because he couldn't endure the pain."

Dean shifted his gaze from the projection and asked directly, "Are all these old wounds, and the new ones on Mike Smith's body, caused by ancient European torture instruments?"

Holz nodded. "I sent out emails and asked quite a few people. I can basically confirm that all of them are ancient torture instruments. However, the new wounds on Mike Smith's body do show some innovation."

He opened another folder. Hundreds of photos formed a massive square photo wall before them.

Holz took out a laser pointer and circled several areas. "Mike Smith's time of death can be roughly determined to be between two and four o'clock last night. The new wounds on his body total one hundred twenty-one, including punctures, contusions, lacerations, stabbings, burns, frostbite, and electric shocks...

"If we count the old wounds, you can find traces of almost every ancient European torture instrument on Mike Smith's body. I estimate that not even the most hated heretics in the Middle Ages received this kind of treatment, because almost no one could survive so many tortures. It's difficult even in modern times. This means the torturer's knowledge of these instruments and the human body is definitely on par with that of a professional doctor."

Holz caught his breath, downed two cups of coffee, and then continued, "Additionally, there are traces of drug injections in Mike Smith's body. I haven't found a match for this drug type yet; it's very likely a private concoction. But based on the components, I can roughly guess its effects: a cardiac stimulant plus a sedative!"

Excitement flickered in Holz's eyes. "Humans have a self-protection mechanism. Once pain or emotions reach an unbearable threshold, a person will be forced into unconsciousness. To keep Mike Smith conscious, the killer injected him with this drug. Besides acting as a cardiac stimulant to prevent him from passing out, the drug could also heighten his senses, allowing him to feel every type of torture more acutely. Now, consider that his eyes were fixed open, unable to close. Guess what other cruel things the killer did?"

Everyone had already immersed themselves in the harrowing state of Mike Smith as described by Holz. Hearing Holz's question, they shivered and shook their heads.

It was already a fate worse than death; what could be more cruel?

They didn't dare to ponder any further.

Holz glanced disdainfully at the group of weaklings and looked expectantly at Dean, hoping the other man's thoughts were in sync with his own. At least this could make it seem like his thinking wasn't so twisted.

Dean didn't disappoint him. He lit a cigarette and said indifferently, "Physical pain, after a certain point, can actually make a person numb. But the anguish of the soul becomes unprecedentedly clear because of the physical pain! So, while torturing Mike Smith, the murderer placed a mirror in front of him, making him watch firsthand how he was being dismembered in such an unconventional way, bit by bit!"

"Yes! That's the same conclusion I reached after analyzing these scars!" Holz was thrilled that someone's thinking was in sync with his. This meant it wasn't that his own thoughts were perverse, but that this was simply the truth!

He displayed the final photograph—a high-definition close-up of an eye. In the dilated, hazy black pupil, minute burn marks were interspersed with tiny, star-like specks of blood. The intermingling of brown and red created a surprisingly sinister beauty.

"This is a typical symptom of death by asphyxiation," Holz stated. "Mike Smith died of suffocation. He reached the ultimate threshold of death—either he asphyxiated from the pain, or perhaps he actively chose to stop breathing and suffocated himself."

Everyone: "..."

A body with over a hundred wounds of varying severity, and the cause of death was asphyxiation—quite possibly by his own choice to stop breathing, suffocating himself to death...