SFTD -Chapter 148 Ghosts Beneath the Bridge (Part 3)

Zhou Hai said nothing. He turned back, opened the box containing the deceased’s gastric contents, took out some of the liquid and sealed it, then covered the petri dish and handed it all to Wang, the task force leader.

“Send this to Sister Zeng. Have her find specialists to analyze the contents. I need to know exactly what drugs the deceased ingested, and also carry out a full toxicology screening.”

Captain Wang went out to make arrangements. Xu Biao looked puzzled.

“How could a capsule end up in the heart?”

Xiao Liang also looked up at Zhou Hai. This point genuinely confused both of them.

“Vehicular impact caused rib fractures that were driven outward to both sides. One fragment pierced out through the right lower rib area, while the other was driven toward the stomach, passed through it, and finally pierced into the heart.”

While speaking, Zhou Hai’s hands didn’t stop moving. He was methodically placing all of the deceased’s organs into separate containers. Almost every organ showed some degree of abnormality—put simply, the entire body was riddled with illness.

“The deceased had multiple oral ulcers;

The gastric mucosa showed erosion, with thinning and flattening of the folds. Because the mucosa was so thin, the underlying blue-purple submucosal blood vessels were visible;

The liver showed cirrhosis;

The spleen was enlarged;

In the brain tissue sections, there was a star-shaped abnormal tumor in the medulla region of the brainstem. It hadn’t ruptured, but its location was extremely concealed. Without slicing the brain tissue, it would have been very difficult to detect in a routine examination.

As for the nature of the tumor, we’ll need a professional pathological analysis to determine that. Fengzi, contact Dr. Nan Wudao—he has extensive research on brain tumors.”

After hearing Zhou Hai list all these conditions, Xu Biao became even more confused.

“Hey, Hai-zi, I’m even more lost now. What exactly was the cause of death?”

Zhou Hai shook his head.

“I don’t know. We’ll have to wait for lab results. Toxic poisoning is highly suspected, but we still don’t know what toxin caused it.”

He then handed a set of tissue samples to Xiao Liang. Xiao Liang understood their importance and carefully carried the containers out. At the door, he ran into Director Pang walking in wearing a white coat.

“D-Director Pang…”

Director Pang blocked the doorway and glanced at the samples in Xiao Liang’s hands.

“These are going for testing?”

“Yes.”

“Hurry up, don’t delay. I’ve already spoken with Xiao Zeng—everyone is on standby.”

He stepped aside and walked toward Zhou Hai’s autopsy table. Seeing the autopsy already completed, he frowned and stared at Zhou Hai, his tone somewhat irritated.

“Dr. Zhou, such a big case and you didn’t report it?”

Zhou Hai paused, then handed the suturing needle to Fengzi, who immediately took over the remaining work.

“What do you mean, Director Pang? I don’t understand.”

Director Pang sighed.

“I mean you took over such a major case and didn’t report it to me. This month your group wasn’t even assigned criminal cases. I only heard about it from the news—just now a group of reporters blocked the hospital entrance and put me in a very passive position.”

Zhou Hai raised his brows. Only then did he understand what he meant, and his expression darkened. He removed his gloves, cap, and mask.

“For me, I was just doing my job. I received Chief Liu’s call and immediately went to the scene with the team. Should I call Chief Liu right now and have him give you an explanation?”

Director Pang looked awkward, his brows tightly furrowed as he waved his sleeve.

“So what you’re saying is you report directly to Director Liu, and I’m not your direct supervisor anymore?”

“No matter what, you are still part of the forensic identification center. I never asked you to do anything excessive. I’m only asking that when you receive temporary assignments, you report them to me. Otherwise, how am I supposed to manage my work? When others ask me where you are, I can’t even answer. What is this supposed to be?!”

At that moment, the door suddenly slammed open.

Wang Xuchao stormed in with a dark, furious expression, leading his men. His bulky frame quickly reached Zhou Hai’s side. In one motion, he grabbed Director Pang by the collar and dragged him against the wall, lifting him up.

“Surname Pang, stop spouting nonsense at a time like this!”

“Don’t interfere with Dr. Zhou’s work and judgment. I’m a rough man—I don’t deal with your bureaucratic twists and turns.”

“The one who died is my master. I don’t care who the hell you are—anyone who tries to stop me from catching the killer, I’ll lock them up myself. Worst case, I’ll rip off this uniform and quit!”

“That’s how I handle things, so don’t push me. Understand me?”

Dangling off the ground, Director Pang—who had always been authoritative and composed—was now nearly fifty years old and used to comfort and respect. Suddenly being treated so roughly left him mentally stunned. The feeling of suffocation filled him with fear.

“You bastard…!”

“Reckless!”

“Put me down!”

But Wang Xuchao did not budge, watching as the director flailed his short arms helplessly.

Zhou Hai frowned deeply. Although Director Pang’s behavior was infuriating, Wang Xuchao’s actions would only give others leverage against them. Thinking of this, he kicked Xu Biao beside him. Only then did Xu Biao realize it was his turn to step in. He hurried over with a smile and patted Wang Xuchao’s arm.

“Captain Wang, say a couple of words to vent and that’s enough. Director Pang can fully understand your feelings.”

“Besides, the Yong’an criminal investigation team will be here soon. We still need to go to Dr. Nan’s place to check the brain tumor information. Don’t delay the work—are you not coming?”

Wang Xuchao froze, then quickly let go and dropped Director Pang.

Sure enough, Zhou Hai and Fengzi had already headed toward the changing room. Fengzi was on the phone arranging for the body to be frozen. Wang Xuchao and his two subordinates hurried after them.

Only then did Xu Biao crouch down and help Director Pang up.

“Director, please don’t take it to heart. The deceased was Captain Wang’s master, and also Chief Liu’s classmate, so the entire task force is emotionally overwhelmed. We’ll go back to work now—you take a rest.”

Director Pang sat on the ground, gasping for breath, unable to speak. He just waved his hand weakly.

Xu Biao suppressed a smile and headed to the changing room as well. When he opened the door, Zhou Hai and the others had already finished dressing. He quickly removed his protective suit and put on his jacket.

“Where are we going next?”

Everyone looked at Zhou Hai. Zhou Hai lifted his chin and pointed at Fengzi.

“Luo Yunfeng and Xiao Liang, go to Dr. Nan’s place. Captain Wang’s team probably didn’t clearly describe all the symptoms. Explain the autopsy findings and the scene situation to him—it might help.”

Fengzi nodded and left with Xiao Liang. Wang Xuchao sent people to follow them, since police vehicles could at least handle traffic better.

Zhou Hai then looked at Wang Xuchao.

“I want to go to the victim’s home. Chief Liu said his wife, Cao Lin, and his son have already returned to Dongnan, and the child is studying there. If it’s hard for you to face it, you don’t have to come in—you can wait in the car.”

Wang Xuchao shook his head.

“It would be worse to wait for someone else to notify them. Let’s go.”

Along the way, Chief Liu made two phone calls—one to Zhou Hai to reassure him to focus on the case, and another to Wang Xuchao. The Yong’an bureau team had already headed to the home of Zeng Zhichang.

Forty minutes later, the car entered an old residential complex from the 1990s. In a place like Dongnan where land was extremely expensive, owning such a property likely meant a lifetime of sacrifice.

The car stopped. Zhou Hai didn’t let the others follow. Only he and Wang Xuchao walked into the stairwell.

Before they could knock, the door opened from inside. A capable-looking middle-aged woman stood there. This must be Cao Lin, the wife of Zeng Zhichang.

She nodded slightly at Wang Xuchao.

“Xuchao is here. Come in.”

Wang Xuchao bowed to her. When he raised his head again, his eyes were already red.

“Sister-in-law… you already know?”