On the desolate coast, a broken foot wearing shoes had suddenly appeared, half buried in the sand … This kind of murder in a secret room in a broad sense should have appeared in the plot of a Grim Reaper primary school student, but it had actually happened in front of Zhang Zian.
There was only one truth, and the murderer was … It couldn't be Zhang Zian.
Ever since the discovery of the broken foot, the atmosphere between the elfins and the wolves had become a little strange. After all, although the elfins here looked down on humans, eating humans was still … unacceptable.
Facio was stuck in the middle, and he felt that it was difficult to handle.
The wolves also felt that the atmosphere was strange, but they didn't understand why.
Zhang Zian tried to smooth things over. "You guys are thinking too much. The owner of the shoe obviously died in the sea and was washed up on the coast. It wasn't done by the wolves."
The elfins were startled. Because they had a certain prejudice and vigilance against ferocious beasts like wolves, they did not think of this. However, it seemed a little presumptuous to say that this person had died in the sea just because his leg was half-buried in the sand. The chances of dying on land were obviously higher than dying in the sea.
This broken foot was wearing a shoe, so it could be a hiker, or at least a traveler. Even if a traveler was fascinated by the sea and wanted to swim in the water, he wouldn't wear shoes in the water, right?
Besides, the Pacific Ocean passed by the coast of California. Even in the middle of summer, not many people were willing to swim in the water. The sea here was really something that could only be seen from afar.
Zhang Zian knew that he couldn't convince the elfins with just a conclusion, so he added, "In fact, finding a broken foot wearing a shoe on the West Coast of the United States is not a new thing. Other than the broken foot in front of us, the last time a broken foot was found was on the beach of Dock Island in Washington State, thousands of kilometers away from here. It happened on New Year's Day in 2019 … We are now in northern California, bordering Oregon. North of Oregon is Washington State."
Before coming to Redwood Forest, he first learned about the dangers of hiking in the forest so that he could be prepared. When he was searching for information, he saw a report about the mystery of the broken foot on the West Coast of the United States.
Over the past decade or so since August 2007, severed human feet wearing shoes had been frequently found near the coast of the United States and Canada. There was even a TV series with this theme. Whether it was the screenwriter of the TV series, scientists, or even police detectives, they all racked their brains to find a reasonable explanation for the origin of these severed feet.
Scientists believed that ocean currents carried the severed foot to the shore. As for the other parts of the body, they were swallowed or decomposed by the sea creatures. The severed foot was not to the liking of the sea creatures because of the existence of the shoes, so it floated on the surface of the sea and eventually washed up on the beach. This was because the shoes were very light and buoyant.
It sounded reasonable, but it still couldn't explain a key question — why did it start in August 2007? Why didn't this happen for so many years before that?
Only a few of these severed feet had been identified. There was a special page on Wikipedia that recorded in detail the time, location, exact coordinates, shoe type, size, characteristics, and so on of these severed feet. It was hoped that one day the owners of these severed feet would be found by their families.
This kind of sensational news always attracted people's attention, and Zhang Zian was no exception. At that time, he had only browsed through the page casually. He didn't expect to see a severed foot on the beach with his own eyes.
Before this, no one had ever found a severed foot so far south, but it wasn't strange. The severed feet had been found on the bustling beach near the city. People often walked their dogs or strolled on the beach, so it was easy for them to find unusual objects. Redwood Forest was too desolate, and it was impossible for a person to walk along the beach alone for several years. Therefore, it was reasonable that the severed feet hadn't been found before.
He took out his phone and took a picture of the severed foot. At the same time, he recorded the coordinates. When he left Redwood Forest and uploaded the picture, the relevant page on Wikipedia would need to be edited again.
As for the origin of the severed feet, no one could give a reasonable explanation. Although there were speculations such as suicide, drowning, plane crash, or shipwreck, if one considered the critical time of August 2007, none of them made sense. Before August 2007, there were also suicides, drownings, plane crashes, and shipwreck victims. Why didn't anyone find the severed feet on the beach?
If one considered the time, the most reasonable explanation would be that a criminal organization established around 2007 dumped the bodies of the victims into the sea to hide their crimes. They dumped the bodies at a fixed location, and the ocean currents just happened to carry the bodies and seawater in a specific direction, such as the beach at the border between the United States and Canada.
Zhang Zian explained these facts and rumors to the elfins. A new idea spontaneously formed in his and the elfins' minds: when was this suspicious organization established?
They knew very little about Peter Lee and his organization. However, during the trip to Egypt, when they were camping at night, he occasionally heard Peter Lee and his team members talking loudly. Perhaps it was deliberately to attract inexperienced girls like He He in the expedition team. One of them mentioned that their organization had been established for more than ten years, so it should be around 2007. Plus, this was their old nest …
If Zhang Zian's guess was correct, the crimes of Peter Lee and his people were not just illegal detention … It could even include murder.
For those who were tricked here but refused to be brainwashed, would Peter Lee keep them and always be on guard against them escaping? For Peter Lee, who found it troublesome to even raise deer, probably not. He might not have killed them directly, but as long as he did not provide them with sufficient food and medicine, and left them to fend for themselves, those people would not live for long.
After those people died of illness, starvation, or other unnatural deaths, Peter Lee ordered people to throw their bodies into the sea to destroy the evidence. This was a good way to cover up, but he did not expect that the ocean currents did not carry the bodies deep into the sea. Instead, they carried them to the border between the United States and Canada.
However, this did not matter. Anyway, it was difficult for people to connect the broken leg with criminal activities thousands of kilometers away. Unfortunately, God's net had a long way to go. Zhang Zian, who came here, found traces of the crime.
As for why the broken leg was here, this could also be explained simply. It was because there was no time to take it away. Perhaps when the next high tide came, the tide would sweep the broken leg back into the sea and wrap it in the ocean currents and take it north.
This was his guess. Although he thought it was reasonable, he still needed evidence to prove it. Otherwise, it could only be called a delusion.
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