SFTD -Chapter 102 Man in the Wall (Part 12)

Sister Zeng had already left. Zhou Hai stared at the reconstruction on the whiteboard—there were actually two people involved, and one of them was related to Song Guangjun by blood.

He knew very well that the “relationship” Sister Zeng mentioned was definitely not a direct one. It was likely something on the Y-chromosome level—difficult to distinguish, yet genetically similar. This was somewhat beyond Zhou Hai’s expectations. He rubbed his aching head, forcing himself to stay focused.

Xu Biao came over and glanced at him. “Hai Zi, why is your face so red? Still not feeling well?”

Zhou Hai waved it off and turned to look out the window—it was already completely dark outside.

“Fengzi, scan all the reports we just got and send them to Chu Menghan. Then you and Xiao Liang can head back. Let Xu Biao drive me.”

The three of them quickly packed up. Zhou Hai dialed Liu Da.

“Liu Da, any progress?”

Liu Da’s voice carried a hint of excitement. “We’ve already identified all the workers on-site the night of the fifth. Wang Man and the others are interrogating them separately. They’re all fairly honest types and have already confessed. It was Cao Ming who called the foreman and told them to cut twelve steel bars on one side and then construct a fake beam above it. There were a lot of changes made on the fly, but Cao Ming didn’t let them record anything, so they didn’t know what was inside the plastic-wrapped package. Also, Xiao Hu found Song Guangjun’s residence—it’s a repossession house, not within the scope of the court seizure. From the looks of it, someone seems to have lived there recently.”

Zhou Hai shook his aching head and sat down in front of the whiteboard, staring at his reconstruction.

“Someone lived there? Could it be the eldest son? If his father went missing and he did too, then things are likely bad. But why hasn’t he shown up or reported it? Does he have some unspeakable reason?”

“Xiao Hu is staking it out with people. There’s a lot of food inside—maybe they can catch him there,” Liu Da added.

“Has Chu Menghan caught Cao Ming and Cao Wei?”

“We’ve got eyewitnesses saying someone resembling Cao Wei went to a bathhouse in the Korea Town area. Chu Menghan rushed to the scene and just left. What did you find on your end?”

“I’ve sent you the report,” Zhou Hai said. “There’s an injury on Song Guangjun’s cheek. We extracted DNA from suspect A—he likely had physical contact with Song Guangjun. Also, at Maidao we found the primary crime scene. We recovered fingerprints and DNA from suspect B. This suspect B participated in the salting of the body and the wrapping/transport process. The evidence is already very solid. As long as we identify the two DNA sources, the case is solved. However… the DNA of suspect B is similar to Song Guangjun’s. Genetically, they should be relatives. I’m not sure if this can help your direction of investigation. And then…”

As Zhou Hai reached those final words, his head suddenly slammed toward the glass whiteboard. The phone fell to the side of the desk, making a loud crash.

“Hai Zi! What’s wrong with you?” Xu Biao rushed forward and caught him, immediately touching his forehead—only to find his entire body burning hot.

Fengzi and Xiao Liang, who were about to leave, rushed back in. On the other end of the phone, Liu Da shouted anxiously, asking what had happened.

Xiao Liang panicked and grabbed the phone. “Liu Da! The forensic doctor fainted! He’s burning up—we’re taking him to the hospital!”

Without waiting for a response, he hung up.

Liu Da angrily scratched his head. “These kids are picking up Zhou Hai’s habits—how dare they hang up on me! Which hospital are they going to?”

Wang Man quickly looked through the reports Zhou Hai had sent and immediately felt the case becoming much clearer. Seeing Liu Da panic, he tried to calm him.

“Don’t worry, I’ll call the emergency departments of all nearby hospitals in a bit.”

Fengzi and Xu Biao had already carried Zhou Hai into the car. Fengzi turned on the siren and sped toward the nearest East City First People’s Hospital. Xiao Liang sat in the back holding Zhou Hai’s belongings, while Xu Biao supported him.

Fengzi blamed himself as he drove. “It’s my fault. When he cut his neck at the scene today, I should’ve insisted he go to the hospital. That environment was damp and dark—perfect for fungi and mold to grow.”

Xu Biao glanced at him. “Do you think you could’ve convinced him? He’s under too much pressure on this case. Even if Liu Da told him to rest, he wouldn’t have been at ease.”

He turned to Xiao Liang. “Quick, tell Liu Da which hospital we’re going to, or every hospital will get flooded with calls. Hai Zi is someone they worked hard to recruit.”

Xiao Liang nodded and used Zhou Hai’s phone to notify Liu Da.

By the time they arrived at the emergency entrance, Fengzi’s classmate had already arranged for doctors and nurses to be waiting. Zhou Hai was rushed inside.

The three of them followed anxiously. Fengzi explained in detail the conditions under which Zhou Hai had cut his neck and his symptoms, and then they were stopped outside the emergency room.

Half an hour later, Liu Da and Wang Man arrived, accompanied by an elderly white-haired man in a white coat. He patted Liu Da on the shoulder, glanced at the people waiting outside, and quickly entered the emergency room.

Liu Da let out a long breath. “Don’t worry. I had Director Song contact Dean Zou. What exactly happened today?”

Xu Biao explained everything that had happened at the scene and how they had rushed through the analysis and reconstruction. The group sat silently waiting.

Soon, the doors of the emergency room opened. The white-haired doctor walked out, cleared his throat, and looked around.

“The patient’s temperature reached 41°C. White blood cell count is 20×10⁹/L, with neutrophils over 80%. He is suffering from acute septicemia.”

“What?!” Fengzi’s eyes widened as he grabbed Xu Biao’s arm tightly. The very thing they feared had happened.

Xu Biao’s heart shot up into his throat. He didn’t fully understand what septicemia was, but seeing Fengzi’s reaction, he knew it was serious.

“How bad is it?” he asked nervously.

The dean flipped through the records and nodded. “Does he have any family members?”

Xu Biao pressed his lips together, forcing himself to stay calm. “No family, no parents, no partner. He’s completely alone.”

Liu Da stepped forward and patted Xu Biao’s shoulder, sensing their bond with Zhou Hai.

“If consent is needed, I’ll sign. We’re his family. Please do everything you can to save him—he’s an outstanding forensic doctor from our bureau. We’re counting on you.”

It wasn’t until half a month later that Zhou Hai’s condition stabilized. However, he was still not allowed to leave his hospital room.

Xu Biao, Fengzi, and Xiao Liang took turns visiting him, and Liu Da came by whenever he could. Only Chu Menghan never showed up.

Zhou Hai knew the wall-hidden-body case still hadn’t been solved, but no one would tell him anything.

Restless, he flipped through TV channels. He was the type who couldn’t tolerate idleness—yet now he had no choice. His phone had been confiscated, leaving only a TV in the room.

Frustrated, he threw the remote aside. His condition had stabilized, and he hadn’t had a fever for three or four days. If he was careful, he should’ve been discharged—but the doctors refused.

Thinking of the unfinished case, he felt increasingly uneasy. He opened the bedside drawer, found paper and pen, and began reconstructing the case again. Since Song Kainian was also missing, he added him as Suspect C.

He temporarily ignored the DNA issue and ran through the reconstruction again—only to find that Suspect C’s potential gains were no less than Suspect A’s. Did that mean Song Kainian might also be involved?

At that moment, he threw off the blanket and got out of bed, heading barefoot toward the doctor’s office.

But just as he opened the door—

Chu Menghan was standing right outside.

Today she wasn’t in uniform. She wore a light blue wool coat tied at the waist, outlining her graceful figure. On her feet were black high-heeled boots, and she was holding a bouquet of flowers.

She looked at him with confusion.

“What are you going to do?”