SFTD -Chapter 22 Giant Cadaveric Swelling (Part 2)

Before the words had even finished, the screech of brakes sounded nearby. Zhou Hai knew the divers had arrived.

“Captain Huang, you go ahead with your work. I’ll take a look at the victim first.”

Carrying the heavy investigation case, Zhou Hai walked down the stone steps.

From here to the edge of the pond was roughly eight meters deep. The closer they got to the water, the stronger the stench of decomposition became.

Xu Biao suffered from chronic pharyngitis, and the smell made him gag repeatedly.

Even with mint ginger candy in his mouth, it was still hard to endure, but he stubbornly followed Zhou Hai down.

When they reached the water’s edge, Zhou Hai lifted a torn corner of the silver waterproof wrapping. The rope tied around it had been fastened to the water pump to prevent it from drifting away.

The waterproof cloth had at least two layers and was made of sturdy material. The ropes binding it were red-and-blue outdoor safety ropes, with a heart-shaped loop at the end.

It was an extremely durable rope, highly resistant to wear.

However, the end that had floated up from the water gradually surfaced completely. Zhou Hai reached down and pulled it up. It was an empty loop, with nothing attached beneath it.

“There should’ve been a stone or some other heavy object attached below. But during the pumping process, the pulling force separated the rope from the weight. That’s why the body floated up.”

The victim’s feet had already formed “drowning slippers.”

Zhou Hai had only lifted the waterproof cloth slightly, yet the corpse odor intensified dramatically. After checking the binding condition of the ropes, he stopped moving.

“Xu Biao, have them transport it back before we perform the autopsy. If we open it here, there’ll be no way to transport it afterward.”

Xu Biao had worked for three years and seen countless “river floaters,” “sea floaters,” and roadside corpses.

After all, Southeast City was a coastal city. Many people who lost hope chose to jump into rivers or the sea to end their lives.

If possible, he truly wanted to educate the public: when bodies recovered from water are finally discovered, they are usually horrifying beyond imagination, so never choose this way to die.

Still, a severely decomposed “giant-view” corpse like this was extremely rare.

Even if Zhou Hai hadn’t said it, Xu Biao knew this definitely was not the primary crime scene.

Everything now depended on what the divers could find underwater.

Suppressing the urge to vomit at any moment, Xu Biao nodded forcefully.

“I’ll go find people. Oh right, Captain Huang, I’ll send two photos of tire tracks to your phone later. We found them in the grass beside the pond just now. They look about five to seven days old.”

Captain Huang waved his hand, stopping him.

He had already contacted the funeral home’s corpse transport vehicle. After all, nobody wanted this kind of job. No matter how thoroughly the vehicle was cleaned afterward, it would be unusable for at least a week.

That corpse odor seeped into everything, impossible to escape.

Without wasting words, Zhou Hai spoke directly to Captain Huang.

“This should be the dumping site. There probably won’t be much evidence here. Let me know once the divers have results. As for the photos, we’ll both compare them separately.”

Captain Huang stopped Zhou Hai.

“I’ll go with you and observe the autopsy. As soon as anything comes up here, I’ll be informed immediately.”

The group rushed back to the center and changed into professional protective gear.

Zhou Hai contributed a bottle of high-purity peppermint oil he had brought back from overseas.

Everyone smeared some beneath their noses. The icy, piercing sensation wasn’t exactly pleasant, but compared to the corpse stench, it felt practically heavenly.

The body had already been transported over.

The smell carried hundreds of meters against the wind, enough to make anyone’s scalp go numb.

The transport workers unloaded the corpse in under a minute and sent it directly into Autopsy Room Four, which was specially designated for highly decomposed bodies.

Staff in the main hall opened both the front and rear doors, fanning cardboard sheets desperately in hopes of dispersing the smell faster.

Even though the autopsy room’s deodorizing ventilation system was extremely advanced, the odor was still unbearable.

Holding a DSLR camera, Xu Biao photographed the body’s external wrapping and rope knots from beginning to end, while Xiao Liang helped attach measurement markers beside him.

But Zhou Hai noticed Xiao Liang’s gas mask hanging around his neck.

“Xiao Liang, why aren’t you wearing your gas mask?”

Xiao Liang looked up awkwardly.

“Brother Hai! I have severe rhinitis. I can’t really smell much, but when I wear the mask, it gets hard to breathe.”

Instantly, Zhou Hai’s expression darkened.

“Do you think I’m joking with you? This is real fieldwork, not some classroom discussion. Whether it smells bad or not is secondary. Corpse odor contains plenty of toxic substances. Wearing the mask provides at least some protection. Do I really need to explain that to you?”

Xiao Liang froze.

Zhou Hai had never been this harsh before, and the shock frightened him into quickly putting the mask on properly.

Only then did Zhou Hai return to the autopsy table. He cut the ropes and carefully removed the outer waterproof wrapping according to its original folded pattern.

When the outermost silver waterproof cloth was finally removed, Zhou Hai discovered something unusual.

“Wait… doesn’t this look like a tent?”

Xu Biao nodded.

“It does. Let me see if there’s any brand marking.”

As he spoke, he spread the waterproof cloth across a nearby operating table and inspected it carefully.

Unfortunately, the edges had all been cut away. The size and shape had been perfectly tailored to wrap the corpse.

Xu Biao frowned, unwilling to give up.

He sprayed reagent onto the inner side of the waterproof cloth. After a moment, several palm prints and partial fingerprints slowly appeared around the edges.

Though not especially clear, they still made Xu Biao visibly excited.

Without wasting time, he quickly collected and photographed them.

By then, Zhou Hai had already removed the second layer of waterproof wrapping.

The moment that layer came off, Captain Huang gagged violently.

Gas masks could block harmful gases, but they couldn’t stop the smell.

No matter how good the ventilation system was, there was only one word for it:

Disgusting.

“Xiao Liang, increase the ventilation system by another level!”

“Got it.”

Xu Biao hurriedly cooperated, taking more photographs of the body.

Only now did everyone notice the victim was wearing a black thermal shirt, a sapphire-blue turtleneck wool sweater, matching thermal pants, and black hiking trousers.

The belt had already snapped, and the upper clothing had bunched up beneath the armpits.

The trousers had slipped down to the hips. The abdomen was swollen like that of a pregnant woman, and a dark green venous network was clearly visible across the lower abdomen.

As if completely unaffected, Zhou Hai worked with Xiao Liang to remove the victim’s clothing.

But the moment Xiao Liang touched the body, he shuddered violently.

The corpse felt as though coated in grease—soft and slippery. With even slight force, patches of skin and flesh peeled away.

Zhou Hai leaned over the body, carefully examining it while dictating for Xiao Liang to record.

“Male victim.

Height: 1.75 meters.

No identification documents or identifying objects found on the body.

No obvious external injuries.

Livor mortis is faint.

However—

A scar was found on the right groin area.

Likely from a hernia surgery performed before the age of five.

There are also tattooed letters above it.

Both eyes protruding and open.

Tongue protruding externally.

Mouth and nasal cavity filled with vomit.

Formation of drowning gloves and drowning slippers obvious.

Also accompanied by rectal prolapse.

Corpse in an advanced state of decomposition.

Current outdoor temperature reaches forty degrees during daytime, while nighttime temperatures do not fall below twenty-nine degrees. Water temperature is slightly lower. Judging from the degree of decomposition—

Estimated time since disposal into the water: five to seven days.”

Xiao Liang’s hand paused slightly.

What Zhou Hai had said was the time the corpse had been dumped, not the time of death.

Without even looking up, Zhou Hai continued:

“Based on Southeast City’s average temperatures and the victim’s clothing, the season of death should have been either late winter to early spring, or late autumn to early winter.”

Captain Huang’s eyes lit up.

“Forensic Doctor Zhou, you mean…the victim had been frozen in storage, and was only dumped into this pond five to seven days ago?”