The crackdown on organized crime began with the arrest of the mother-in-law.

Just as the tongs picked up a clump of objects wrapped in a plastic bag, he sensed something was off—the object was noticeably heavier than ordinary trash, and its shape was somewhat regular, unlike typical household waste.

"What's so heavy?" Li Xuefeng muttered, placing the object on the ground and trying to untie the plastic bag to see what was inside. He carefully tore open a corner of the bag, and a faint smell of blood wafted out, making him frown. Using the light of the streetlamp, he examined it closely and saw that the plastic bag contained a severed foot, complete with a leather shoe! The cut was a bloody mess, the edges irregular, clearly indicating it had been forcibly severed.

"Oh my god!" Li Xuefeng was terrified. The tongs in his hand clattered to the ground, and he stumbled back several steps, almost sitting on the wet ground. He steadied himself, looked again at the severed foot on the ground, and, confirming he wasn't mistaken, a chill instantly ran through his body. As a veteran sanitation worker, he had seen all kinds of garbage, but this was the first time he had encountered such a horrifying scene.

After a brief moment of panic, Li Xuefeng suddenly realized that something serious had happened! His hands trembled as he pulled his phone from his pocket, his fingers moving erratically from nervousness, dialing the wrong number several times before finally managing to get through to 110 (the police emergency number). "Hello...hello! Officer! Something terrible has happened! I found a severed foot in a trash can on the west side of Heping Road! It's a human foot! Come quickly!" Li Xuefeng's voice trembled as he rapidly explained the situation and location to the operator.

After hanging up the phone, Li Xuefeng was still shaken. He dared not approach the trash can again, nor leave the scene. He could only stand a dozen meters away from the trash can, anxiously waiting for the police to arrive. By this time, there were already a few pedestrians and vehicles on the road. A few people noticed Li Xuefeng's strange expression and curiously looked in his direction, but Li Xuefeng paid no attention to them. His gaze was fixed on the green trash can, as if something terrifying was hidden inside.

When the emergency call rang at the Municipal Criminal Investigation Detachment, Detachment Chief Li Minggang had just arrived at his office and was organizing follow-up materials for the previous day's murder case at the unfinished building in the northern suburbs. Upon learning that a severed human limb had been found on Heping Road, his expression changed drastically. He immediately put down his work, picked up the walkie-talkie, and shouted: "Attention all teams! A heinous crime has occurred on Heping Road, and a severed human limb has been found. Activate the emergency response plan for major cases immediately! Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun, take your crime scene investigation equipment and assemble at the detachment entrance in five minutes. I'm coming to the scene with you!"

"Roger!" came the response from Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun over the walkie-talkie. The two were key members of the Criminal Investigation Detachment's Technical Section, having worked together for many years and possessing extensive experience in crime scene investigation. They had previously been responsible for the crime scene investigation of the unfinished building murder case in the northern suburbs. Upon receiving the order, the two immediately sprang into action, quickly preparing their crime scene investigation kit, camera, measuring tape, tweezers, evidence bags, and other equipment, and rushed to the detachment's entrance as fast as possible.

Five minutes later, Li Ming, along with Xiao Yang, Xiao Sun, and several other investigation team members, sped off in three police cars with sirens blaring towards Heping Road. The streets were relatively quiet in the early morning, and the police cars made their way smoothly, arriving at the crime scene in just ten minutes. Li Xuefeng was still waiting at the scene; seeing the police cars approaching, he quickly went to greet them.

"Officer, it's right there!" Li Xuefeng pointed to the green trash can not far away, his voice still trembling slightly. After getting out of the car, Li Ming first conducted a preliminary observation of the scene, then arranged for two officers to set up a cordon, keeping the small number of onlookers outside and prohibiting anyone from approaching the scene. "Protect the scene, and do not allow anyone to tamper with the evidence!" Li Ming said in a deep voice, his tone carrying an unquestionable authority.

Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun quickly put on their crime scene investigation uniforms, masks, gloves, and goggles, and took out their equipment to begin a preliminary investigation of the crime scene. "Team Leader Li, let's first conduct a detailed examination of the trash can where the severed limb was found, and at the same time, thoroughly search all the surrounding trash cans and piles of garbage to see if there are any other human remains," Xiao Yang reported to Li Ming while preparing his camera.

Li Ming nodded: "Okay! You must be careful and not miss any details. This is very likely a dismemberment murder case. Finding the complete body is the key to identifying the victim and solving the case. In addition, expand the scope of the investigation. Center the investigation on the trash can where the severed limbs were found, and conduct a comprehensive investigation of all areas within a 1-kilometer radius around it to look for clues that may be related to the case, such as the murder weapon, the victim's clothing, personal belongings, etc."

"Understood!" Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun responded in unison. They then divided the work: Xiao Yang was responsible for a detailed examination of the trash can where the severed limb was found, while Xiao Sun checked the other trash cans in the vicinity. Xiao Yang took out his camera and photographed the green trash can from different angles, including its overall appearance, the disposal opening, and the ground around it, ensuring that the original state of the scene was completely recorded.

“Xiao Sun, take a look at the basic condition of this severed foot first. I’ll record the details of the trash can,” Xiao Yang said to Xiao Sun while taking pictures. Xiao Sun walked to the severed foot that Li Xuefeng had placed on the ground, squatted down, and carefully examined it. “This is a man’s right foot, wearing black leather shoes, size 43. There is a small amount of dust and stains on the surface of the shoes. The cut is located in the lower part of the calf. The cut is irregular, with obvious tear marks, and there are several small tissue fragments at the edges. The preliminary judgment is that it was forcibly separated after being cut multiple times with a sharp object.” Xiao Sun described in detail while observing. “The skin of the severed limb is pale, with slight swelling, and the muscle tissue is somewhat stiff. Considering the ambient temperature and humidity, the preliminary judgment is that the time of death may be more than 24 hours.”

After taking the photos, Xiao Yang took out a measuring tape and measured and recorded the size and location of the trash can: "The trash can is located on the west side of the sidewalk on Heping Road, about 300 meters from the intersection of Jianshe Road to the north and about 50 meters from a convenience store to the south. The trash can is 1.2 meters high and 0.8 meters in diameter. There is nothing unusual about the recyclable waste disposal opening, but there is a small amount of bloodstains inside the other waste disposal opening. There is also a large amount of uncleaned household garbage inside the can." Then, Xiao Yang carefully extracted the bloodstain sample from the inside of the trash can's disposal opening with tweezers and put it into an evidence bag labeled "Trash Can Bloodstain-001".

"Xiao Sun, how's the search of the surrounding trash cans going? Have you found any other human remains?" Xiao Yang asked.