SFTD -Chapter 152 Ghosts Beneath the Bridge (Part 7)

“Hello everyone.

I am Sun Guoqing, director of the Yong’an Municipal Public Security Bureau. If there’s anything, you can tell me directly.”

Hearing this, Zhou Hai turned around. A middle-aged man with a square face was standing behind them. Zhou Hai pulled Xu Biao up from the ground.

“My colleague needs to wash his face. Also, Director Xiao should stay here.”

The man waved behind him. A female officer quickly ran in and handed Xu Biao a warm towel. Xu Biao stared at her without blinking, wiped the blood from his nose, and quietly sat down beside Zhou Hai.

By this point, Zhou Hai had already explained the documents and everything related to Zeng Zhiqiang in detail. Director Sun frowned deeply, occasionally casting a cold glance at Director Xiao behind him.

“This is my management oversight. We will deal seriously with all involved personnel. Comrade Zeng Zhiqiang was a good officer. Whatever cooperation you need from Yong’an, just say it. You can call me directly. Also, rest assured, I will immediately arrange for the location of the body storage to be checked.”

Less than three minutes later, a male officer returned and whispered a few words into Director Sun’s ear. Sun’s expression grew darker and darker. He turned back to look at Director Xiao.

“Take these comrades from the municipal bureau to the Yong’an Funeral Home morgue. The body was temporarily stored there!”

Zhou Hai paused. “Thank you for your cooperation, Director Sun. We’ll head out now. Please have a copy of the case file sent to our colleagues who came with us.”

He waved, leaving one officer from the West District behind. The group followed the escorting officer to the funeral home.

Over half an hour later, they arrived. A burly West District detective glanced at his watch.

“Dr. Zhou, once we take the body, let’s go grab something to eat. It’s almost one o’clock.”

Xu Biao turned around immediately.

“Hold it. At a time like this, say anything you want—just don’t mention food. Not when you’re in a morgue.”

The man grinned widely.

“No problem. When I’m starving, I could even eat in the restroom!”

Xu Biao snorted and followed Zhou Hai.

After some time, the staff finally located the record. But when the officer saw the storage information, his hand froze.

“You didn’t put the body in a refrigerated cabinet?”

The funeral home worker looked up.

“The municipal bureau called and said the remaining storage fees had to be covered by the family. Our refrigerated cabinets are limited—only a dozen or so. So there was no choice. It was moved to the non-refrigerated storage room in November. Luckily, it was already getting cold outside.”

Zhou Hai stopped the officer who was about to argue.

“Let’s go to the non-refrigerated storage room.”

Led by a staff member carrying a large ring of keys, they passed through the ornate funeral hall and headed toward a row of low buildings at the far north side. The door of a drafty room was opened, and dim lights flickered on as they entered.

The staff checked a chart on the wall, walked to the northernmost trolley, and verified the tag on the body bag.

“This is it. Take it away. As for the fee…”

One of the Yong’an officers grabbed him.

“I’ll sign it. The bureau will cover all expenses.”

The man sighed.

“Alright. Come with me to complete the paperwork.”

The West District officers were about to lift the body bag, but Zhou Hai immediately stopped them.

“Push the trolley out first, then transfer the body bag into our transport container. Do not touch the zipper. It wasn’t stored in low temperature. In this kind of environment, bacterial growth is likely. If you’re unlucky, a fungal layer can form.”

The group complied and moved out. On the way, they met the officer carrying the case files and together headed back toward Dongnan City.

Two hours later, Central No. 1 Autopsy Room.

After eating, Zhou Hai once again reviewed the original autopsy report and case file. The body bag had already been brought in.

Xu Biao’s nose was now slightly swollen and bruised. As Wang Xuchao, Fengzi, and Xiao Liang entered the room one after another, they all looked at Xu Biao in shock.

“Brother Xu (Xu Biao), what happened to you?”

Xu Biao looked bitterly at Wang Xuchao.

“I got hit in the face by Director Xiao from Yong’an while trying to protect Zhou Hai. You should report this to Liu Da. It looks like the Yong’an Public Security Bureau is no longer under Dongnan’s jurisdiction. We just wanted to retrieve Xu Miaochi’s body, but they delayed us at every step. Then, out of anger, they even hit people. At this rate, they don’t need our forensic center anymore. They can handle everything themselves!”

Xu Biao’s complaint was very skillfully delivered. Wang Xuchao’s face darkened. He took a photo of Xu Biao and sent it to Liu Da.

Zhou Hai ignored them. He asked Xiao Liang to turn on the video recorder and began documenting the corpse examination details and personnel information.

He stepped up to the autopsy table and slowly opened the body bag.

Xu Miaochi’s corpse appeared abruptly before everyone.

Zhou Hai’s hands paused slightly.

The deceased’s face, neck, and torso were covered in a gray-white fungal layer. Her eyes, nose, and mouth were completely obscured by mycelium, like spider webs.

Carefully, the four of them removed the body bag. The vest and jeans on the corpse were also covered in mold.

“In countries like ours where bodies are usually cremated, it’s rare to see this. This is a molded cadaver.”

“The body was first stored in a freezer for a period, then moved to room-temperature conditions. In humid environments and temperatures between about 0 to 10°C, fungal hyphae and spores proliferate massively, covering the entire surface of the body. This condition also somewhat slows decomposition.”

“Wow… this is something new!”

While explaining, Zhou Hai examined the fungal growth carefully. When he reached the top of the head, he noticed a strip-like fungal pattern on the shoulder blade area.

He gestured to Xu Biao, who immediately handed him a spray bottle of reagent.

“What is this? Why do the fungal strands have trench-like breaks?”

Zhou Hai did not answer Fengzi’s question. Instead, he repositioned the body into a lateral posture and sprayed the back of the neck area.

As the pungent smell faded, the mold-covered area became clearer.

Four parallel strip-like blank zones appeared, and slightly to the left was another shorter, thicker blank mark. As the pattern became clearer, Xu Biao suddenly shouted:

“A hand! Is that a palm print?”

Zhou Hai nodded and glanced at Fengzi.

“It is a palm print—and it belongs to the killer. Fungal growth wouldn’t naturally break like this. That means the person’s entire hand must have been coated with something that inhibits fungal growth.”

Rubbing his swollen nose, Xu Biao spoke in a muffled voice.

“Wait… Zhou Hai, are you saying the killer’s hand was coated with something like Daktarin?”