SFTD -Chapter 184 A Severed Thumb (Part 14)

Holding two clean pairs of tweezers, Zhou Hai carefully unfolded the slip of paper.

His gloves were contaminated, and besides, he wanted Xu Biao to examine the note later to see whether there were any useful clues.

As the paper opened, several lines of printed text appeared.

Congratulations on finding the second clue. If you managed to find this note, then you must be a very capable police officer.

No… perhaps you’re a forensic examiner.

Otherwise, very few people would have the courage to cut open an intestine like that. Was the green smell enticing enough?

To prepare this gift for you, I even turned the heat up in the room. Thoughtful of me, wasn’t it?

Alright, since you’re so clever, I’ll give you another hint. You might gain something from tomorrow morning’s Southeast City news broadcast.

Just then, the autopsy room door suddenly opened, and Xu Biao hurried back inside.

Zhou Hai glanced at him, then at the clock on the wall. Only then did he realize Xu Biao had been gone for over half an hour. He looked at him in confusion.

“What happened? Did Sister Zeng run into some trouble, or was there some problem?”

Xu Biao grabbed the camera and strode toward the autopsy table.

“Remember that evidence tech from Zhao Xinli’s team when we went to Mocheng City last time? Big Zhao?”

Zhou Hai thought for a moment. He vaguely remembered the man—he’d even scolded him once back then.

“Yeah, what about him?”

Xu Biao rubbed his nose.

“That guy’s gone crazy practicing his ‘mystical arts.’ He’s got full-blown persecution delusions. I ran into him while delivering samples. One of my test tubes brushed past his hand, and he instantly started screaming like crazy and scared the hell out of me.

Then someone from the lab came out, and he immediately demanded disinfectant, insisting I’d poisoned him.

I was completely dumbfounded and didn’t even dare go near him. But after he wiped on the disinfectant, his hand actually swelled up like a giant steamed bun. Then he called Director Pang to complain, saying I poisoned him.

I was furious, but Director Pang still dragged me upstairs and lectured me—saying Second Team shouldn’t get arrogant, and that our achievements were the result of the entire center’s collective effort.

Tell me, is he some stunning beauty or gentle sweetheart? Why the hell would I poison him? The guy’s seriously delusional!”

Zhou Hai knew Director Pang had some issues with him. Especially now that Second Team’s achievements were outstanding, many directives were bypassing Pang entirely and coming directly from headquarters. As director of the center, resentment was understandable.

But this Big Zhao was interesting.

Suddenly, Zhou Hai froze.

“Wait… Xu Biao, did you say persecution delusions?”

“Huh?”

Xu Biao stared blankly at Zhou Hai, whose hand had suddenly gripped his wrist. More importantly, the smell from Zhou Hai’s gloves was horrifyingly pungent.

But Zhou Hai’s narrowed eyes weren’t actually focused on Xu Biao.

“The killer is anxious!

When we discovered the body parts on March 2nd, we couldn’t determine whether it was his first disposal attempt. But that thumb revealed how impatient he was. It was as if his carefully crafted artwork had already gone on stage, yet there was no audience tonight.

That feeling was unbearable for him, so he changed strategies. When disposing of body parts, he added the finger in a conspicuous place. Even ordinary people would recognize something like that and immediately call the police.

Then, on the morning of March 3rd, despite the layers of surveillance around the garbage stations, he still dumped three bags of meat nearby. I’ve already examined them—they likely belong to two different people.

Just like before, every strip of flesh was nearly identical in size. Even packed inside the bags, they were arranged with meticulous neatness. Every moment, he was displaying his work.

Afterward, we used the thumb to locate victim Wang Yanming’s rental apartment. I don’t even need to describe the scene there.

And just now, when I cut open the intestine hanging in the drain, I found a test tube inside containing this note.”

Only then did Zhou Hai release Xu Biao’s hand and point toward the note pinned beneath the tweezers on the worktable.

Xu Biao glanced at it, his expression turning even more tense.

“What are you saying? You think this killer also has delusions?”

Zhou Hai shook his head.

“I already explained it. The killer lacks an audience. He wants to perform. He craves attention to a terrifying degree, so we can’t use the mindset of ordinary people to predict his actions anymore.

As for the killer, I suspect he suffers from mania—though I don’t know how severe it is.

People with this disorder are difficult to judge. Patients usually remain in an abnormally elevated emotional state. A tiny issue or slight dissatisfaction can trigger explosive anger.

Their thoughts race rapidly, they become excessively talkative, maybe even eloquent and endlessly verbose. They feel exceptionally good about themselves, are overflowing with energy, and may even exhibit heightened sexual desire.

People like this are usually extremely intelligent, but also excessively arrogant. They need attention. They need importance. And when they can’t get those things, they’ll resort to anything.

Among normal society, they’re basically ticking time bombs ready to explode at any moment.”

Xu Biao shrank his neck nervously.

But after considering their previous discoveries and Zhou Hai’s analysis, everything suddenly seemed to fit perfectly.

Looking at the note on the operating table, Xu Biao no longer believed the killer was bluffing. Raising the camera, he carefully photographed everything, his expression more serious than ever before.

“Hai-zi, should I send these to Beauty Chu or Captain Huang?”

Zhou Hai nodded.

“Send copies to Chu Menghan, Huang Zhongsheng, and Liu Da as well.

Also, I want to know whether the paper and ink from this note can be traced to a source.

And the test tube, the leather button, and the plastic wrapping—where did they come from?

Hurry and have someone send everything to Dr. Nan’s lab. By the time you finish sending the photos, they should’ve arrived already.”

Xu Biao had already uploaded the photos onto the computer and sent them over. Hearing Zhou Hai’s last sentence, he turned back and sighed.

“Even though we’ve found so many clues, we’re still completely passive. Looks like tomorrow morning’s going to bring some huge news.”

Sure enough, twenty minutes later, exactly at 10:00 PM, every member of the task force had gathered at the forensic center.

Liu Da sat down in Zhou Hai’s office and immediately asked everyone for updates.

Chu Menghan, Huang Zhongsheng, and Zhou Hai each gave their reports one after another. Halfway through, Wang Man pushed open the door and returned.

Liu Da raised a hand.

“Perfect timing. Tell us about the situation around the primary crime scene.”

Wang Man took a drink of water.

“After Captain Chu left, we searched every room and found no signs of struggle or forced entry.

We also verified the old lady and her family members one by one. There are eight people total, and every one of them has alibis for both time periods.

But outside the north wall of the residential complex, we found a large pile of ashes. It had clearly been doused with fuel and burned very thoroughly. We took photos and collected samples.

While canvassing the surrounding area, we discovered a barbershop across from the complex that had a surveillance camera mounted above it. The shop was closed, but we found the owner through the security guard and copied the footage.

So we brought the video directly to Dr. Nan. Comparing it with the garbage station footage from before, Dr. Nan isolated the corresponding time frames and identified three suspicious individuals. These are the reconstructed images.”

Zhou Hai looked at the photos of the ashes and then at the ash samples in the evidence bag.

He knew this clue was effectively dead, but it at least confirmed one thing: this was where the killer had burned the victims’ clothing.

Wang Man pulled several color photographs from another document bag.

After Liu Da looked at them, his brows tightened deeply.

“With image quality like this, how are we supposed to identify anyone?”

Xu Biao stood up and leaned forward to look at the photos. After one glance, he simply walked over.

“I think I know how to compare them!”