SFTD -Chapter 218 The Incomplete Password (Part 2)

Zhou Hai also looked toward Captain Hu. Xu Biao’s question was very important, because an abandoned small factory like this—hidden and remote—would naturally raise suspicion if someone had entered it.

“This factory is abandoned, but it still has someone managing it. It’s state-owned land with a property certificate. It’s basically just waiting to be included in a demolition plan with the village.

However, the old man guarding the place doesn’t actually live here. He just comes by once in the morning and once in the afternoon to take a look. The place isn’t even locked—just a metal latch. There’s nothing inside anyway; it’s mainly to stop kids from coming in and using it as a restroom.

Forensic Chu already checked the outside perimeter and courtyard—nothing useful was found. Inside the workshop, she only stepped in briefly on an evidence mat to take a few photos and then came out. You’d better take a look yourselves.”

Zhou Hai glanced at the old man standing among a group of police officers. His clothes were so worn their original color couldn’t be recognized, and he wore a flat cap. The hand holding his cigarette trembled involuntarily.

“Have your people pull out. We’ll go in and take a look first.”

Captain Hu had no objections and immediately ordered his men to withdraw from the yard. Forensic Chu, seeing Zhou Hai and his team, reacted as if she had seen a mouse and didn’t come over to greet them. She followed the others out and stood outside the courtyard. It seemed she had finally learned her lesson this time and didn’t interfere with the scene.

Zhou Hai and the others carried their forensic kits and stood at the entrance of the workshop. Xu Biao squatted down, examining the floor inside and the body not far away. He marked several relatively intact footprints and took photos. After finishing, he walked to Zhou Hai’s side. The workshop was quite empty, and every word echoed loudly.

“There’s a lot of dust on the ground. I can identify three sets of footprints.

One person didn’t even approach the body closely—the sole pattern is almost nonexistent. It looks like the old watchman’s cloth shoes. He entered, saw the person lying on the ground, then immediately turned and ran, nearly slipping here; there are signs of stumbling.

The high-heeled footprints belong to the deceased. The other athletic shoe print might belong to the killer.

Hai-zi, these two sets of footprints are strange. They’re separated by about three or four meters. They walked in one after the other—no sign of restraint or struggle.”

Zhou Hai and the others walked around the marked footprints and approached the body from the north side. The footprints indeed matched Xu Biao’s analysis: the athletic shoe prints never approached the deceased closely, not even to check whether she was dead.

Could it be that the poison was really taken by the victim herself?

Staring for a long time at the glass bottle beside the corpse, Fengzi took a sharp breath and looked at Zhou Hai.

“Boss, did Yu Lele really take the poison herself?”

Zhou Hai nodded. “Based on the scene, it does look like it. Stop thinking for now—start the investigation.”

With that, Zhou Hai put on his gloves and squatted beside the body.

The victim was lying face down, her face oriented toward the entrance. Her left hand was placed parallel to her shoulder, while her right hand had scratched out some letters and numbers on the cement floor in front of her.

She was wearing a sapphire-blue fitted dress, tailored to her body, with slightly thicker flesh-colored stockings. On her feet were sapphire-blue satin high heels studded with crystals. For such a spring night, her outfit was still far too thin.

Picking up the glass bottle from the ground, Xiao Liang handed over an evidence bag. After sealing it, Xiao Liang looked like he wanted to say something but hesitated.

“What is it?”

“Brother Hai… even if there was a second person present, isn’t this still suicide? If she wanted to resist or run, she could have done it, right?”

Zhou Hai smiled faintly. “Good question.”

“From the scene, it does look like Yu Lele took the poison herself. But if she truly wanted to commit suicide, she wouldn’t have left that string of passwords for us.”

Zhou Hai knelt on one knee near the victim’s head, observing from Yu Lele’s perspective. Indeed, only from this angle could one continuously see the entrance.

“If it were suicide, she wouldn’t keep staring at the killer, watching him leave, and then leave behind a password. Even though I still don’t know what it means, it must hold the key to her death.”

He reached out and touched the victim’s coat. The side of the sleeve that had contacted the ground was covered in dust that had already dried and adhered to the fabric. He lightly scraped it—hard to brush off.

Could it be…

“Xu Biao, check Migao’s weather from last night. I want an accurate 24-hour report.”

Xu Biao quickly went online to check.

Zhou Hai removed his gloves and lightly touched the back of the victim’s shoulder. It felt slightly damp. He lifted the collar of the suit—inside was even wetter.

The victim’s pocket seemed to contain something. Reaching in, he pulled out a hard rectangular object: a business card holder. Inside were Yu Lele’s business cards, with clear details including phone number, email, and workplace.

Around her neck was a platinum necklace shaped like a vine. With Xiao Liang’s magnifying glass, Zhou Hai clearly saw the engraving on the heart-shaped clasp: “Chow Sang Sang 950pt” on one side, and “Athens II” on the other.

He unfastened the clasp and pulled out the pendant—indeed revealing a hidden mechanism: a large heart-shaped diamond.

Fengzi, somewhat knowledgeable about jewelry, leaned over and took the necklace from Zhou Hai, placing it in an evidence bag for closer inspection.

“This is impressive… such a diamond necklace, and such a large carat weight. Easily worth over a hundred thousand.”

He searched it online and suddenly gasped. Zhou Hai looked over. Fengzi handed him the phone.

The necklace was a 2015 spring new release from Chow Sang Sang, and the price had so many zeros it took several checks to confirm—232,600.00 yuan.

“My God… a necklace worth 230,000! 230,000!”

“It’s brand new, no discounts yet. Isn’t that insane? That’s like wearing a car around your neck!”

Xu Biao bumped Fengzi lightly, almost making him lose balance as he struck a stylish pose. Fengzi got annoyed instantly.

“What’s your problem?”

“You’re the idiot. People who can spend 230,000 on a necklace don’t care about discounts. They want the price. It’s status—that’s an investment to attract women. Look at Yu Lele’s looks—she’s clearly a goddess-level woman. There are plenty of men willing to throw money at her!”

Fengzi didn’t argue further and instead handed the phone to Zhou Hai.

“The weather in Migao yesterday has been checked. It was cloudy and overcast in the afternoon, then around 8 p.m. it started drizzling. It stopped around 10 p.m., but fog persisted and highways were even closed.”

Zhou Hai nodded without speaking.

He then looked at the victim’s left hand. On her ring finger were two rings: a large ornate sapphire ring with embedded stones, and beneath it a simple diamond ring, likely under 40 points.

Could this be a wedding ring?