SFTD -Chapter 193 A Severed Thumb (Part 23)

When Zhou Hai and the others arrived, everyone cast curious glances toward them. Chu Menghan looked at Zhou Hai, and he immediately gave a firm nod.

“Bring the principal over to help verify identities. Let’s begin.”

Without another word, the screening started. Chu Menghan pulled the principal aside.

“You don’t need to be checked. Your body type doesn’t match. Let’s start with the female staff first, then the male teachers, and finally the logistics workers.”

The principal patted his large stomach awkwardly.

“Alright.”

The investigation officially began. One by one, the female teachers left their classrooms and were brought into a small office on the north side of the lecture hall. Xu Biao inspected fingernails, Fengzi measured height and shoulder width, while Xiao Liang recorded everything and compared it against the roster.

As the number of people remaining in the lecture hall steadily decreased, fewer than fifty male teachers and staff members were left.

At that moment, the next group of four male teachers lined up outside the small office for inspection. Zhou Hai swept his gaze across each of them. All four were short and thin, all apparently under thirty.

Standing nearby with the roster, the principal pointed out each person’s name while Xu Biao and the others began taking measurements. At the same time, Xiao Hu’s voice came through Zhou Hai’s earpiece.

“Forensic Doctor Zhou, all four match our conditions. Their walking habits are a bit different though. You should observe them more carefully. From my side, I can only tell that their gait patterns differ.”

Zhou Hai responded with a quiet “Mm,” his eyes moving over the four men one by one.

They seemed close in age and apparently got along well. None of them looked nervous. They simply stood calmly in a row, all wearing matching blue work suits with school badges pinned to them.

However, Zhou Hai’s gaze paused briefly on the third man.

He was under 170 centimeters tall, with a thin face and slightly long middle-parted hair. His face was exceptionally clean—no acne marks, no stubble—and even his shoes were spotless.

Zhou Hai suddenly grabbed a box of chalk from beside Xu Biao. Crushing the chalk in his palm into powder and fragments, he flung it toward the feet of the four men.

Other than the third man, the remaining three all instinctively stepped backward to avoid the chalk dust.

After noticing the others’ reactions, the third man merely stomped his feet lightly to shake the chalk dust off his clothes.

In that instant, Chu Menghan understood Zhou Hai’s intention.

A germaphobe could not tolerate dirt. Yet in order to avoid appearing suspicious, he had deliberately forced himself to act tolerant of it. But Zhou Hai’s sudden move triggered a natural human instinct—anyone hit by the chalk would subconsciously dodge.

This man, however, had already realized Zhou Hai’s intentions and deliberately refused to react the way Zhou Hai expected.

Thinking of this, Chu Menghan stepped toward him.

“What’s your name?”

The man glanced around at the principal and everyone else in the room. He froze briefly before stammering: “M-my name is Zhu Mingtao. Y-you’re not suspecting me, are you?”

“Answer my questions. Between 6:00 and 7:40 this morning, where were you? What were you doing? Who can verify it?”

Zhu Mingtao quickly took out his phone, opened his alarm settings, and showed them to Chu Menghan.

“I woke up at 7:00. Then I went to the street corner and had a stuffed egg pancake and millet porridge for breakfast before coming to school. I didn’t pay attention to exactly what time I arrived… probably around 7:30. I had just reached the third floor when I heard screaming, and after that I stayed in the classroom.”

At that moment, Xu Biao walked over beside Zhou Hai. Holding the roster from the principal’s hands, he whispered into Zhou Hai’s ear:

“No way… this guy is Mu Ya’s counselor. We were chatting with him for quite a while earlier!”

Zhou Hai narrowed his eyes but didn’t answer. After Zhu Mingtao finished replying to Chu Menghan, Zhou Hai continued questioning him.

“Where do you live?”

Zhu Mingtao stared silently at Zhou Hai, who was dressed in a full protective suit. Before he could answer, the principal beside him pointed at the roster and replied: “It says here: Building 5, Unit 1, Apartment 502, Xiguozhuang Residential Complex, Changhe District.”

The Agricultural University was located right between Xiguozhuang Residential Complex and the market, forming a perfect triangle between the three locations.

Zhou Hai glanced at the time. It was already close to noon. The breakfast stall Zhu Mingtao mentioned had probably already closed by now.

“Captain Chu, have Teacher Zhu wait next door for now. We’ll visit his apartment shortly. Continue the screening.”

No one objected. Xiao Zeng arrived with several officers and escorted Zhu Mingtao to the neighboring room. Since he wasn’t officially detained, they didn’t handcuff him.

The remaining people in the room were temporarily asked to leave as well. Chu Menghan looked nervously at Zhou Hai.

“You suspect him?”

Zhou Hai nodded, lowering his voice as much as possible.

“Based on the current evidence, he’s the person we’re looking for. He’s deliberately concealing his germaphobia. Even after getting hit by chalk dust, he tried his best to stay calm. But his hands were clenched tightly, and even the hair on his arms and face stood up. His height and body shape all match perfectly. But we have no evidence. No fingerprints, no DNA, nothing. That’s why he’s fearless. Urge Xiao Hu to speed things up. Didn’t he say he could trace the exact location of the WeChat signal? Have him hurry. Also, send someone to verify the breakfast stall Zhu Mingtao mentioned and confirm the timing. I think he intentionally left that trail behind as evidence. The surveillance camera from the hair salon across the street probably captured him.”

Chu Menghan frowned.

“You’re really that certain Zhu Mingtao is the mastermind?”

“I never said he’s definitely the killer, nor can I confirm he’s the one behind everything. But every known clue points toward him. Right now, our job is to find evidence that the law will recognize. Oh, and also investigate that elderly landlady. Check Zhu Mingtao’s relationship with everyone in her family. Since they live in the same neighborhood, there may be some connection there. After all, Xiguozhuang used to be a village before redevelopment.”

As Zhou Hai finished speaking, Chu Menghan and Wang Man immediately left. Fengzi and Xiao Liang stayed behind to finish screening the remaining people—after all, the suspect next door could still overhear everything.

Zhou Hai and Xu Biao walked out of the room. Liu Da had already heard the results.

“How should we cooperate with you next?”

Seeing the trust in Liu Da’s eyes moved Zhou Hai deeply. After all, he still had no concrete evidence whatsoever. Receiving this level of trust was not easy.

“Have Captain Huang bring a locksmith and come with us. I want to enter the apartment first and take a look around.

Only after finding evidence can we officially classify him as a suspect. Otherwise, there’s nothing solid enough to submit to the procuratorate.

Judging from Zhu Mingtao’s current condition, he’s in the intermittent phase of his manic disorder, so he has excellent control over his emotions right now.

Do your best to stall things at the school. Keep everyone in screening status. Even after they finish, nobody is allowed to move around.

As for the rest… we’ll wait until after the crime scene investigation.”

Liu Da patted Zhou Hai on the shoulder.

“Go on then. Be careful.”

Ten minutes later, Zhou Hai and the others arrived at Xiguozhuang Residential Complex and went straight to Apartment 501, Unit 2, Building 3.

The fact that Zhu Mingtao had calmly given the police this address meant he had likely cleaned the apartment thoroughly.

The locksmith opened the door without damaging the lock in less than a minute.

Zhou Hai and Xu Biao entered first while two officers stayed outside as backup. The rest, led by Captain Huang, went to investigate the elderly landlady’s apartment.

After putting on their protective gear, Xu Biao’s expression grew unusually serious as he looked at Zhou Hai.

“Haizi… where do we start?”