Chapter 302: Ancient Punishments Unleashed

Chapter 302: Ancient Execution Methods

City C, XX District, XX Street, Ronghua Community.

Inside a certain building.

Xiao Yu and Wang Dong squatted at the crime scene, staring at the dried bloodstains on the ground…

“The first victim died from asphyxiation, his neck strangled to death with a steel wire by the killer.”

“The second victim’s throat and arteries were slit open…”

“The cause of death for the third victim…”

Without waiting for more details from the City C police, Xiao Yu stood up and headed outside to the first floor.

The whole building was an old structure, composed of two units.

However, on the ground floor the two units had been merged into one common entrance.

Each apartment’s windows were fitted with protective bars.

Not only could outsiders not get in, but the residents couldn’t leave either.

After entering through the sole door, a single staircase led upstairs – no elevator.

Both the access to the second floor and the entrance to the merged unit were secured with iron gates.

Once these two gates were locked,

neighbors and everyone upstairs would be trapped inside the building.

On the whole…

this old building resembled a small prison!

When the police arrived three days ago, they were stunned by the sight of the building.

Who in their right mind could have imagined such a structure existed in a city?

Is it scientific?

It defies all logic.

And it wasn’t just this one building.

Inside, over thirty Silver-Selling Women were kept under strict guard.

The three victims had been members of the criminal gang tasked with guarding these women.

The police followed the trail.

They arrested six members of the gang involved.

Investigations revealed no trace of the murderer’s presence.

No fingerprints, footprints, or weapon were found… not even a motive could be deduced.

The murder weapon could only be roughly inferred from the injuries on the victims.

Moreover, surveillance footage from the community showed no suspicious individuals entering.

It was as if a ghost had entered the community and claimed three lives.

Everyone knew that such a thing was impossible.

Yet, somehow, someone had managed to do it.

“Is he some kind of spy?”

Wang Dong frowned as he walked over to where Xiao Yu stood outside the community.

“Who knows?”

With a hint of sarcasm, Xiao Yu replied, “Let’s go check out the bodies.”

City C, Forensic Department’s autopsy room.

Inside, three naked victim bodies lay on the autopsy tables.

As Xiao Yu’s eyes scanned the fatal wounds on the three corpses,

his pupils suddenly dilated.

They then quickly contracted twice.

Xiao Yu felt a disturbing sense of familiarity…

He approached one of the bodies.

Bowing his head, he scrutinized the victim’s neck.

What does it feel like to be strangled to death?

Other than the terror experienced in the final moments,

the process involved several additional, agonizing stages.

In the first stage, the throat would tear.

As the strangulation tightened, the arteries would rupture.

Such tearing could allow blood to seep into the arterial walls.

In the second stage, the body would lose all control.

The victim would likely lose control over their bodily functions.

This might trigger bizarre responses, including, but not limited to, involuntary defecation and urination.

In the third stage, it was as if the head was about to explode.

In asphyxiation cases, oxygen supply to the brain is completely cut off.

This reaction, sometimes called a ‘brain seizure,’ is excruciating.

You’d think that would be the end, right?

But even when it seems over, it might not be.

Why say that?

After death by strangulation, symptoms such as eyelid hemorrhaging, bluish lips, internal bleeding, hyoid fractures, and neck marks may appear… though not always uniformly.

Why mention all this?

Because Xiao Yu discovered that the victims had suffered excruciatingly.

It wasn’t as simple as being strangled to death.

They were tortured by death itself in the process.

They were being… executed!

How did Xiao Yu figure it out?

How long does it take to strangle someone?

Strangulation isn’t the same as holding your breath…

When the neck is violently constricted, unconsciousness can occur in about ten seconds.

If it continues for twenty seconds, even if not fatal, it could cause severe brain hypoxia.

Thirty seconds of impaired blood flow and oxygen deprivation might render one mentally impaired even if they survive.

Thus, from the onset of hypoxia, it takes roughly between 30 seconds and five minutes to ensure death.

Even the fittest individuals would lose consciousness completely during this period.

Why five minutes?

Because even if someone enters a state of suspended animation, there’s a one-to-two minute window during which revival might be possible.

But after that period, true cessation of breathing sets in.

Life would be irretrievably ended!

Before him, Xiao Yu noticed a horrifying detail on one victim’s body.

It appeared he had been strangled alive for over ten minutes!

This was evident from his dark, purplish face, the strangulation marks on his neck, and the dark red, streaming appearance of his eyes.

Forensic medicine has a term for this phenomenon.

It’s called dual-phase and multi-phase asphyxiation!

What does that mean?

During asphyxiation, when blood supply and oxygen levels are already compromised,

the victim might, in a fleeting moment, briefly regain blood flow and oxygen,

and then plunge back into asphyxiation…

Xiao Yu recalled an ancient punishment – strangulation by hanging!

This method involved strangling a condemned prisoner three times.

It wasn’t merely about killing someone.

It forced the individual to endure a prolonged and agonizing death!

What a cruel method!

Shifting his gaze, Xiao Yu looked at the other two victims’ bodies.

One had been executed by throat-slitting.

But a plastic tube had been inserted into the cut throat.

This allowed the victim to remain alive, still breathing, delaying death.

Yet every breath would tear open an artery, causing fatal bleeding.

The other victim…

Xiao Yu’s lips twitched.

The victim’s abdomen had been completely ripped open, with organs spilling out…

This was the brutal ancient punishment known as evisceration.

While one might not die immediately when eviscerated,

the agony was unbearable, forcing the victim to watch their own demise!

Of the three victims, two had been executed by these ancient punishments.

The remaining victim also met a gruesome end.

Xiao Yu also noticed that all three had been ambushed and rendered helpless,

only then to be brutally murdered!

…