SFTD -Chapter 189 A Severed Thumb (Part 19)

Zhou Hai walked at the back of the group, heading down from the rooftop platform toward the fifth floor.

Looking at the half-flight of stairs, he turned back to glance once more at the four enormous cardboard boxes. With his own height and strength, even with an elevator, carrying all four boxes up here would have been exhausting.

Xu Biao had estimated the killer’s height to be about the same as Zhou Hai’s, perhaps slightly heavier. Even if the man was physically strong, that yellow flatbed handcart couldn’t have been hidden very far away.

By the time Zhou Hai finished thinking it through, they had already reached the fifth floor. One team went downstairs toward the fourth floor, while another spread out along the western corridor. The hallways were packed with curious students staring at them.

Beside Zhou Hai, Xu Biao was carrying a box when it suddenly slammed into the wall with a loud bang. The box dropped to the floor.

But a chipped corner of the wall was exposed.

Chu Menghan and Zhou Hai both froze mid-step and moved toward Xu Biao. Only then did they realize that behind the wall leading toward the rooftop was actually a hidden door. It had simply been painted the same color as the wall, making it impossible to notice.

Xu Biao reached out and pulled the door open.

Inside was a dripping wet yellow handcart.

The cramped hidden space reeked heavily of fish.

So the cart had been hidden here all along. Unless someone was an insider—or part of the cleaning staff—there was no way they would know this hidden compartment existed.

Xu Biao was about to inspect it when Zhou Hai shook his head.

“Wang Man already brought the stuff from downstairs. Collect it later. We’ll check this afterward. First, screen the people.”

Just then, the elevator chimed open.

Liu Da arrived with Xiao Hu and a group of officers. Chu Menghan quickly explained the situation, and Liu Da waved his hand.

“Carry out the screening according to plan immediately. Any students downstairs who’ve already been checked can leave at once. Our people will confiscate and inspect all electronic devices. These are teachers and the vice principal from the school. They’ll fully cooperate. Verify every single identity online. I refuse to believe we still can’t catch the turtle in the jar.”

The screening operation began.

Across the five floors, there were forty-eight classrooms in total. Fortunately, there weren’t many students inside each room. One by one, identities and names were checked carefully. A few students couldn’t remember their ID numbers, but fingerprint verification confirmed their identities anyway.

Time ticked by.

All five floors were eventually checked, and every identity matched perfectly.

Xu Biao, meanwhile, had not been idle in an empty classroom. He had lifted fingerprints from the latex gloves, though unfortunately they weren’t complete prints. They couldn’t be searched through the system, but they could still be used as elimination criteria.

Zhou Hai told him to take people outside and collect the scattered body parts from the ground.

Though Xu Biao clearly didn’t want to, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and go.

At this point, the students who had already been verified were becoming restless after waiting so long. Some male students had started protesting loudly, wanting to leave. The fear and tension were spreading, and several girls had already begun crying.

Chu Menghan walked over to Zhou Hai.

“What do we do? Let them go?”

“Has Xiao Hu completed the comparison?”

“Mhm. The person who came out of Xiguozhuang Residential Area, the one from the garbage dump, and the one from the vegetable market are all the same individual. But the person on the school rooftop can’t be confirmed—the surveillance cameras never captured his face.”

Zhou Hai nodded.

“It makes sense there weren’t cameras aimed at the rooftop. Start releasing them in lines. Let them leave one by one through the stairwell. At the same time, have Xiao Hu work with me. Let’s see if we can identify the suspect from his gait and body movements.”

Chu Menghan knew this was the final hurdle. But there was no other option. Keeping the students detained too long would only provoke stronger resistance.

If they still failed to find the suspect, they would become completely passive.

Chu Menghan immediately began giving orders.

Groups of ten students slowly emerged from the classrooms and moved into the hallways. Students from the first and second floors also came up the western staircase to the third floor before circling back down.

Zhou Hai held a walkie-talkie tightly in his hand.

Temporary cameras had been installed in the stairwells, and Xiao Hu, Liu Da, and the others were sitting in a classroom on the first floor comparing footage of every individual.

To avoid mistakes during a single comparison, they prolonged the observation time as much as possible.

Standing at the stairwell exit on the first floor, Zhou Hai watched the students continuously filing downstairs. From time to time, he glanced at the screenshot photo in his hand. Beside him, Chu Menghan stared intensely at each passing face.

Although she couldn’t identify the suspect herself, her instincts told her that guilty people carried fear with them. Very few could look a police officer directly in the eyes without reacting at all.

As time passed and more people walked through, Chu Menghan became increasingly uneasy. She kept shifting her weight from one leg to the other.

Then suddenly, the walkie-talkie crackled.

“Forensic Doctor Zhou, Captain Chu, pay attention. A male student in a short black down jacket just went down. His height and build are very similar, but his walking style is somewhat different. Also, he has permed hair and isn’t wearing glasses.”

“Received!”

The voice from the radio was loud and clear. Chu Menghan immediately focused on the stairwell entrance.

Sure enough, a male student appeared from around the corner.

His movements while descending the stairs were jerky and exaggerated. His arms swung wildly, almost theatrically, and the rhythm and amplitude varied strangely each time.

Zhou Hai narrowed his eyes.

The movements were deliberate.

He lightly slapped Chu Menghan on the arm.

In the next instant, she shot forward like an arrow and performed a powerful shoulder throw, slamming the boy onto the ground and twisting his arm behind his back.

The sudden action froze all the students behind him in place.

Chu Menghan waved a hand.

“Take him downstairs. I want a detailed account of everything he’s done over the past two weeks.”

Her words made Zhou Hai suddenly pause.

That’s right—the timeline.

Why hadn’t he considered it earlier?

The university had only opened four days ago. Even students who arrived early couldn’t have been here for more than a week.

So how could this person know the school layout so well?

And how had he been able to disappear instantly into the crowd?

Zhou Hai grabbed Chu Menghan before she could leave for the interrogation.

“Give me that list from earlier.”

Chu Menghan handed him the compiled registration list.

Squatting beside the boy pinned to the ground, Zhou Hai asked: “Where are you from?”

The boy looked miserable, baring his teeth in pain, almost crying.

“I’m from Fujian! I’m just a freshman this year!”

“When did you arrive at school?”

“February 28th! I even have the train ticket!”

Zhou Hai waved his hand for them to help the boy up.

As he did, he deliberately grabbed the student’s hand.

The palm was smooth and delicate, without a trace of calluses.

If someone had been forcefully chopping and cutting with knives for several consecutive days, their hands would never remain this clean.

“Xiao Liu, take him to Xu Biao. Compare his fingerprints for screening.”

Just as Zhou Hai turned around, two male students walked downstairs.

Their pace wasn’t fast, but neither of them looked toward Zhou Hai or Chu Menghan. Their gazes remained fixed on the ground and the exit.

As Zhou Hai stood up again, he happened to catch sight of one of their backs.

At that moment, the boy reached into his pocket—and a slip of paper fell out.

Almost instinctively, Zhou Hai shouted: “Student in black clothes, stop!”

The boy acted as though he hadn’t heard anything. Instead, he subtly turned sideways as if speaking to the person behind him, cleverly avoiding direct acknowledgment while continuing toward the school entrance.

Seeing Zhou Hai react, Chu Menghan and a police officer by the doorway both moved toward him.

Realizing escape through the door was impossible, the boy suddenly spun around and sprinted upstairs.

Chu Menghan shouted sharply: “Stop right there!”