SFTD -Chapter 107 Where Did the Tadpoles Go (Part 4)

Zhou Hai nodded. “Xu Biao is right. Women in our country are mostly quite traditional. Things like this are still hard for them to accept.”

As he spoke, he removed the cervical cap and placed it into the container prepared by Xiao Liang. After all, this area comes into contact with the posterior fornix, where sperm are most likely to remain and where DNA can be easily retrieved.

“Alright, last step—craniotomy.”

Zhou Hai cut open the deceased’s scalp. There was a subgaleal hematoma at the injury site, but the bleeding wasn’t severe. The skull fracture showed only slight depression and did not affect the brain tissue beneath. It was not a fatal injury.

However, at the temporal region where a craniotomy had previously been performed, Zhou Hai examined it carefully. There was a skull defect that had been repaired, and the missing portion appeared to be triangular, like an arrowhead.

“Based on the shape of the skull defect, the victim Zhang Miaomiao’s brain injury back then must have been quite serious. Fortunately, it wasn’t in a critical area, but it would still have significantly affected her temperament and some of her behaviors.”

Xu Biao took photos of the wound for documentation and asked in confusion, “Changes in temperament we understand… but what do you mean by other behaviors?”

“Heightened libido. That’s probably why she used a cervical cap,” Zhou Hai said casually.

Xiao Liang quickly lowered his head. Fortunately, they were all men, so it wasn’t too awkward.

Xu Biao shook his head. “Good thing Director Huang is here today. If it were Beauty Chu and the others from Changhe’s case team, that would’ve been really embarrassing.”

No one responded, but they all silently agreed. Meanwhile, Fengzi had already finished suturing the body.

They still needed to wait for lab results. Since the dissection had been urgent earlier, they hadn’t examined the victim’s clothing yet. Zhou Hai now walked to the adjacent table and began sorting through it.

There was a silver-gray athletic suit lined with a thin layer of latex. The material wasn’t thick, but it was highly elastic—somewhat like a wetsuit, just thinner and lighter.

He stretched the tight pants slightly; the elasticity was impressive. It seemed like the kind of clothing that clung tightly to the body, which explained why a large amount of semen could be retained in the victim’s vagina.

A pair of running shoes lay nearby, with some white substance stuck in the soles, completely lodged in the grooves. It looked somewhat like latex paint. Fengzi used the wooden end of a cotton swab to poke it, and the material was still soft enough to lift.

He brought it to his nose. “Paint? Where did she step in paint?”

Captain Huang leaned in. “Paint? It should be the special paint used for road lane markings. Otherwise, it wouldn’t dry properly in this weather. But this is a good clue—we might be able to trace her running route.”

Xiao Liang shook his head. “No need for that. Just find her phone. She was wearing a smart wristband—it records her route. We just check where she stopped.”

Captain Huang froze awkwardly, then punched Xiao Liang on the shoulder. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

“I got distracted by the commotion from Group One and forgot.”

Everyone couldn’t help but laugh. Xiao Liang’s sharp comebacks were improving—he was almost on par with Xu Biao now.

Next to the clothes, a tray held the victim’s car keys, a fitness tracker, and a water bottle. The bottle was attached to a special waist strap system, clearly high-end—fixed at one end to a waist pack and secured at the other to her belt.

Zhou Hai removed a glove, opened the bottle, and sniffed it. It smelled like a sports drink. Nothing unusual about that, but it wouldn’t help her purulent tonsillitis at all.

“Xiao Liang, has the liquid in the bottle been tested?”

Xiao Liang jolted at being called on. “Oh! Yes, it’s been sent for testing along with the water samples. But Director Zeng said Director Pang asked her to pass on a message—that our Second Group is too costly in testing expenses. They say we run too many tests every month.”

Zhou Hai paused, processing it for a moment. “What… does that mean?”

Fengzi understood that Zhou Hai wasn’t familiar with the bureaucratic nuances. Director Pang likely wanted to control the budget, but having Sister Zeng relay it like this was inappropriate. Cutting costs shouldn’t be done this way.

“What he means is to reduce expenses—limit testing and forensic checks when possible. DNA tests are expensive,” Fengzi explained.

Only then did Zhou Hai understand. But these were necessary auxiliary methods—how could they be cut?

Captain Huang waved his hand. “I’ll talk to Director Liu and see if we can get you a special fund. After all, since last June, 80% of the criminal cases we’ve handled involved your Second Group. That alone says enough.”

No one spoke further. They kept working, enduring the fatigue—responsibility belonged to them, credit belonged to others, and even resource control fell on them. Fengzi frowned deeply, clearly irritated by the situation.

Zhou Hai didn’t dwell on it. He didn’t have the mental energy to waste brain cells on Director Pang.

He picked up a slide containing the previously extracted vaginal sample and placed it under a high-power electronic microscope. Since they were being told to save costs, he would handle some of the basic checks himself.

After adjusting the lens, he scanned the field of view—but found no sperm at all.

Zhou Hai frowned. Strange. Was his assessment wrong?

Impossible. Color, texture, smell—everything was correct. So why were there no sperm cells?

Even in cases of azoospermia, there would usually be a few deformed or non-motile sperm present. If there were none at all, then either the man had a congenital vas deferens abnormality, or he had undergone a vasectomy.

The former wouldn’t explain Zhang Miaomiao’s marked behavioral changes. So this man’s identity became even more suspicious.

“The vaginal contents of the deceased do contain semen, but there are no sperm cells. The man must have had a vasectomy. I don’t think an unmarried man would undergo such a procedure.”

“So it looks like we need to investigate Zhang Miaomiao’s mysterious boyfriend.”

“We need to find out where the missing tadpoles went.”

Xu Biao burst out laughing, nearly doubling over. Zhou Hai’s Chinese still needed work.

“Pfft… tadpoles?”

Zhou Hai shot him a glare, and Xu Biao finally restrained himself. Captain Huang patted him on the shoulder, eyes bright.

“Good—at least we have a direction now. I’ll go check the victim’s law firm. Maybe we’ll find something useful.”

Zhou Hai raised a hand. “I’ll go with you. I’ve been in the hospital too long anyway—I should get out for a bit. The test results won’t be ready until this afternoon.”

“The victim’s car will be sent to the center later. Our team will also come over for the on-site inspection.”

Zhou Hai nodded. “Xiao Liang and Fengzi will handle the inspection. Especially the victim’s phone and all personal belongings in the car. They can also check the paint found on her shoes.”

Fengzi smiled faintly. “No problem.”

Captain Huang glanced at Zhou Hai. Seeing how much he trusted his subordinates, he understood why they were so loyal to him. Xu Biao quickly ran over.

“I’ve figured it out—Hai Zi can’t do without me. I’ll drive and provide escort duty. We can’t trouble Captain Huang to take you there and back, and I don’t trust you driving yourself either.”

Xu Biao blocked all other options neatly. Zhou Hai nodded. In truth, he hadn’t assigned Xu Biao any tasks earlier. Going to Zhang Miaomiao’s workplace, it was better to have him along—he handled social interactions well.

Captain Huang laughed loudly. “Xu Biao, I think you’ve got the talent of a nanny!”

Xu Biao and Captain Huang playfully chased each other toward the parking lot.