SFTD -Chapter 147 Ghosts Beneath the Bridge (Part 2)

As the transport vehicle arrived, Zhou Hai asked Fengzi to help him straighten the police officer’s coat. Together with the staff, they placed the body into a body bag. All they could do was ensure the deceased’s final journey carried a little more dignity.

Fengzi stood beside Zhou Hai and checked the surroundings once more.

In a low voice, he said, “Captain Wang is still over there feeling awful. The victim only had a wallet—just over a hundred yuan in cash and a few cards. Apart from tire tracks, there’s almost no clue. This case is going to be difficult.”

Zhou Hai knew that very well, but there was no room for hesitation now. He had to act with a clear conscience.

“Xu Biao and the others are done. They probably didn’t find anything useful. Let’s go back to the center for the autopsy.”

Wang Xuchao put on his cap and walked up, giving Zhou Hai a salute.

“Please!”

“I’ve already called the Yong’an Municipal Bureau. Their criminal investigation team is on the way. I’ll follow this case from start to finish. Just tell me if you need anything.”

Zhou Hai waved his hand, signaling Fengzi and the others to get ready to leave. Then he removed his gloves and mask and walked a few steps to the roadside with Wang Xuchao.

“He was your…?” Zhou Hai asked.

Wang Xuchao took a deep breath, forcing himself to steady his emotions.

“He was my master. But he didn’t let me call him that—said I should call him Brother Zeng instead, or he’d feel old. I was transferred to Yong’an Public Security Bureau. I knew nothing back then. It was Brother Zeng who taught me everything. Later I was transferred to Dongnan City, and we were separated.”

Zhou Hai nodded in understanding.

Life and death separations, especially between colleagues who had faced danger together, always cut deeper.

But then Zhou Hai’s brow furrowed as he thought about the reporters from earlier.

“What about those reporters just now? Should we tell Director Liu to temporarily hold back the news broadcast?”

Wang Xuchao sniffed. “Yeah. I’ll arrange it. If it’s the city TV station, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Just then, one of Wang’s team members ran over. Zhou Hai vaguely recognized him but couldn’t recall the name. The man nodded at Zhou Hai and handed a phone to Wang Xuchao.

“Captain Wang, look! What happened here has already gone viral on WeChat!”

Both of them froze.

They quickly opened the video.

A bold scrolling headline appeared:

“Police take revenge—body left on the street!”

Then came footage from the hillside above the bridge. It captured multiple police cars and officers below. The victim lay in a pool of blood, while officers were seen shouting at bystanders to stay back.

Wang Xuchao threw his cap in anger.

“What the hell are you all doing?! There were only a few of them—why didn’t you smash their equipment? I’ll pay for it myself if needed!”

Zhou Hai grabbed him before his emotions spiraled further.

“Calm down! Getting angry won’t change the fact that it’s already been uploaded. Judging by the upload status, they probably sent it the moment they were caught. Right now, the best move is to have official media issue a proper statement immediately, or we’ll lose control of the narrative.”

Wang Xuchao understood Zhou Hai was right and nodded.

“Let’s go. I’ll go with you to the center. We’ll inform Director Liu on the way. He’s good at public communication—he’s best suited for press briefings.”

“Xiao Liu, send a few people to secure the scene. Set up cordon tape, keep guards on site, and allow one-lane traffic control for the road.”

“Also, has the surveillance at the incident location been retrieved?”

Wang’s expression darkened.

“The traffic police checked. The camera there is broken. The next nearest camera is a kilometer away—nothing useful was captured.”

One bad piece of news followed another. Zhou Hai had no room to complain.

“Alright. We still have the autopsy to do. Let’s go.”

Several police cars roared toward the center.

On the way, Wang told Director Liu about the viral video. Director Liu immediately agreed to hold a press briefing and release an official statement, and also suggested offering a reward for witnesses. But this also meant their pressure would only increase.

Wang Xuchao hung up the phone and said nothing, staring out the window.

It was close to the New Year. Despite the cold weather, the streets were crowded, and traffic was completely jammed. It took over an hour to reach the center.

After preparations were complete, Xiao Liang started the recording equipment. Zhou Hai registered the participants and the preliminary information of the deceased. The body was undressed, and Xiao Liang took X-ray images.

Zhou Hai looked at the screen.

“The tibia and fibula of both legs are completely fractured just above the ankle, with highly irregular stepped fracture surfaces. However, there is no vital reaction around the fracture sites.”

“There is a skull fracture on the occipital region, an inward depression injury. This also shows no vital reaction.”

After hearing this, Wang Xuchao grew even more confused.

“What does that mean?”

Luo Yunfeng pointed at the scan.

“It means these fractures occurred after death. They are consistent with injuries from a fall from height or being thrown off a height—very typical.”

“The imaging evidence also indirectly proves that the victim was thrown off the bridge—but at that time, he was already dead.”

Zhou Hai adjusted the X-ray to the chest area.

There were fractures in eight ribs caused by impact and crushing. Several ribs had pierced into the chest cavity at irregular angles, and one had punctured the chest wall under the ribs, creating an open wound. Most of the blood loss came from here.

He turned off the monitor and carefully examined the victim’s hands. Earlier he hadn’t checked closely at the scene, but under the surgical lights he lifted the hands and examined the finger bones.

“There are bruises on the knuckle joints of the right hand. Based on the distribution, it looks like injuries from punching. Some of them show signs of healing—so he may have been involved in a physical altercation in the past few days.”

“A fight? Punching someone?” Wang Xuchao frowned.

“Don’t joke around. With Brother Zeng’s personality, would he hit someone? His interrogation skills were exceptional, and his investigative and analytical abilities were strong. He even self-studied trace evidence examination. He was a true all-rounder. Do you know why Yong’an rarely requests assistance? It’s because of Brother Zeng!”

As he spoke, Wang Xuchao turned toward the door and let out a long sigh, nearly breaking down.

Zhou Hai said nothing and continued the autopsy quickly.

Seeing a familiar friend’s body on the table was mentally taxing, so the procedure had to be done efficiently.

He opened the victim’s chest and abdomen and examined each organ systematically. Aside from crush injuries and fractures from the legs and skull, there was no clear fatal injury. The cause of death remained uncertain.

Helplessly, Zhou Hai began removing organs one by one.

Following the open wound in the heart area, he carefully dissected further—and something faint green caught his attention.

Using forceps, he carefully extracted it.

“What is this?”

Zhou Hai shook his head and quickly moved to the microscope, placing the small green object into a dish for closer examination.

It looked like a flattened capsule, partially folded.

“A capsule!”

“It’s half a capsule—but there’s no marking or identification on it. It looks like a capsule used for homemade traditional medicine!”

Xu Biao squeezed over, leaning into the microscope to look.

“A capsule? Could the deceased have been sick?”