SFTD -Chapter 104 Where Did the Tadpoles Go? (Part 1)

Liu’s mouth twitched slightly. This guy was beyond help—why did he get so excited the moment he heard there was a case?

This morning, Director Pang had not assigned Case Group Two any work, and Xu Biao had actually gone to file a complaint with him. That reaction was exactly the same as Zhou Hai’s. What kind of people were in Group Two?

Liu put on his cap and placed a bag on Zhou Hai’s bed.

“Alright, I’m leaving.”

Zhou Hai reached out and stopped him. He was still in a hospital gown, with no phone or car keys. There was no way he could leave like this. Was Liu messing with him?

“Liu, how am I supposed to discharge like this? You’re not even taking me with you?”

Liu glared.

“This is the price of leaving early. Figure it out yourself. I’m gone.”

Without another word, he turned and walked off.

Zhou Hai grew anxious. He jumped up and put on his slippers, rushing toward the door. He moved too quickly and his vision darkened—he immediately squatted down to steady himself.

At that moment, the ward door opened again, and Xu Biao walked in carrying bags.

“Huh? Why are you squatting here, Hai? Don’t tell me you’ve got a fever again?”

“I’m fine. I was just seeing Liu off. Didn’t you see him?”

Xu Biao shook his head innocently, his round face bouncing as he raised his chin proudly, eyes gleaming.

“Didn’t see him! But I went to complain to him today. Director Pang actually wouldn’t let our Group Two take cases—how can that be? Do they think we’ve got no one in our team? Liu checked with your attending doctor and department head. They said you’ve recovered well enough to be discharged.”

“Put on your clothes, we’re heading back.”

Zhou Hai looked at his clothes in the dry-cleaning bag and nodded gratefully at Xu Biao.

“Thanks. I’ll pay you back for the cleaning later.”

Xu Biao curled his lips.

“So you’re only thanking me for that? There’s a lot more you should thank me for. You can’t measure it in money.”

“But I wouldn’t mind if you treated me to a meal. Or… how about writing off your New Year’s debt?”

Zhou Hai slapped his chubby face away, already changing into his clothes. The comfort of his own outfit was indescribable. He took the phone Xu Biao handed him.

“The debt must be repaid. Let’s go.”

An hour later, the two arrived at the East City Forensic Identification Center.

As soon as they entered, they saw a crowd gathered outside the autopsy room.

Fengzi and Xiao Liang were blocking the entrance of Autopsy Room No. 1. Ding Zhiming, a newly promoted assistant under Dr. Liu’s team, and several unfamiliar faces stood opposite them, arguing with a couple in their fifties.

Xiao Liang was pulling hard on the door, holding an unopened protective suit in his hand, using his body to block the entrance. Ding Zhiming reached out to shove him aside, but Fengzi slapped his hand away, furious.

“You’re going too far! This case belongs to Group Two—are you trying to steal the body now?”

“The family doesn’t understand, and we’re trying to explain. Dr. Ding, what exactly are you doing? Trying to use force?”

“Has the East City Forensic Center become your one-man show? Do you think you can represent Group Leader Liu or Director Pang and just snatch our case?”

Xu Biao saw that Fengzi’s protective suit had been torn and immediately wanted to rush forward. Zhou Hai grabbed him by the collar.

Zhou Hai strode forward.

The people in the standoff turned around at the sound of footsteps. Seeing Zhou Hai and Xu Biao’s dark expressions, the Group One members instinctively stepped back. Ding Zhiming also released Fengzi’s sleeve.

The elderly couple, upon seeing more officers arrive, quickly moved to Zhou Hai’s side. Tears streamed down their faces as the woman choked out:

“Officer… we don’t want an autopsy!”

“She’s our only precious daughter… now that she’s gone, why do we still need the truth?”

“Please give our daughter back to us… let her leave peacefully… don’t let her end up without a complete body!”

They were about to kneel.

Their heartbreaking sobs made everyone feel heavy.

Xu Biao hurried forward with Zhou Hai to help them up.

“Uncle, Auntie, we understand how you feel. Losing a child at your age is unbearable for anyone.”

“But is this what your daughter would have wanted?”

“Was her death an accident or murder? That’s what we need to determine first. If it really is an accident, you can take her home right away—no need to beg anyone.”

“But if it’s not an accident… do you really want the murderer to go free?”

“Do you want your only daughter to die unjustly?”

“Is that what she would have wanted?”

“I just brought our Group Two leader, Dr. Zhou, here straight from the hospital. He didn’t even go home after discharge—he came immediately after hearing about the case. Can you at least let him take a look, out of respect for the deceased?”

Xu Biao’s words were very effective. The people from Group One felt somewhat ashamed.

After all, their intentions were obvious. Group One rarely got homicide cases, and this time they had been overly eager.

Moreover, Group Leader Liu had only briefly glanced at the scene and said it didn’t look like homicide, more like an accidental death—which is what led to this situation.

Zhou Hai took the protective suit from Xiao Liang and looked at the couple.

“I’ll examine the external body first, then come out and speak with you.”

Zhou Hai and Xu Biao entered Autopsy Room No. 1.

The others dispersed. The elderly couple sat on a bench, holding each other’s hands tightly.

Zhou Hai changed clothes and walked to the autopsy table. Fengzi stood beside him and let out a long breath.

“The deceased is Zhang Miaomiao.”

“Female, 31 years old, unmarried.”

“She was a top lawyer at Dongnan Yunding Law Firm.”

“She was found this morning at 9:10 a.m. by citizens near Baisha River. The caller often saw her jogging there. When he saw the body in the river, he was terrified and immediately reported it.”

“Captain Huang sent us to investigate because, from external appearance alone, we couldn’t determine whether it was an accident or not.”

“Xiao Liang and I went to the scene. There were many onlookers, and we only performed a rough external examination.”

“The back of the skull had a wound—an annular circular impact injury.”

“There was only slight rigor mortis at the fingertips. Combined with body temperature, we estimated the time of death at around two hours prior—around 7:50 a.m.”

“Her clothing was a lightweight moisture-wicking waterproof sports set. She had a waist bag containing a water bottle, phone, and car keys, so we quickly confirmed her identity.”

“As for cause of death, we initially judged drowning. But the occipital injury—we weren’t sure about.”

As Fengzi spoke, Zhou Hai examined the body and the clothing on the adjacent table.

The deceased had long, well-proportioned limbs—not the fragile type. She likely exercised regularly and had professional training. Her muscle lines were smooth, with slight calluses on her feet. There were many old scars around her knees, mostly abrasions.

But what stood out were the bruises around the knees—both old and new. This was unusual.

Was she often kneeling?

Zhou Hai opened the jaw and examined the oral cavity. The tonsils were severely swollen, with white pus spots. The larynx showed mild edema.

He lifted the eyelids—severe subconjunctival hemorrhage.

He examined the occipital injury again. It was indeed a circular ring-shaped impact wound. When pressed, there was slight bone crepitus—skull fracture.

While inspecting the scalp, he noticed a surgical scar on the temporal region.

Earlier, Fengzi had found a fingerprint on the neck. Zhou Hai examined it under the light, then noticed a strand of hair near the neck area that was much shorter than the rest.

He cut a one-centimeter segment and placed it under the microscope.

The cut surface was extremely rough, shaped like a jagged “<” angle.

This hair had been forcibly torn.

“Regular runner. The foot calluses suggest frequent jogging. It’s extremely rare for someone familiar with their environment to drown accidentally.”

“The circular occipital injury is an ante-mortem injury causing subcutaneous hematoma.”

“Also, the knee bruising is abnormal. The deceased had undergone cranial surgery before.”

“The fingerprint on the neck is not her own. And the broken hair indicates external force pulling—possibly a ring, watch, or necklace catching and tearing it.”

“Fengzi, did you take full-body X-rays of the deceased?”