SFTD -Chapter 225 The Incomplete Password (Part 9)

“Talking to you on the phone is exhausting. You start with ‘what is it?’ You make me sound like Huang Shiren. I’ve already signed the resignation paperwork today. Tomorrow I’ll complete the handover with the new team captain, and then I’m done. Where are you? I’ve got something to bring you.”

Zhou Hai relaxed slightly. He suddenly remembered what Chu Menghan had once said—she would be heading back to Beijing around the 10th. It felt a little emotional thinking that someone familiar was about to leave. He glanced back at the task force behind him, then walked to a flower bed by the roadside and sat down, lighting a cigarette.

“I’m in Migao right now. There’s a very tricky case here. How about I wait until I get back?”

Chu Menghan clicked her tongue. “Tch, who doesn’t know you’re in Migao? I’ve already been to your center before. I’m heading back to Beijing tomorrow, so I want to see you today. After all, you and Lu Xi are getting married soon. I might not have time to come later, so consider it an early wedding gift.”

“That good?”

Zhou Hai was a little puzzled. This girl was always impulsive—whatever she wanted done, she had to get it done, otherwise who knew what earth-shaking thing she might do.

“Just hurry up and send the address. I’m already in Migao!”

“Alright, I’ll send it to you now.”

They ended the call, and Zhou Hai sent his current location via WeChat.

At that moment, a call came in on his phone. But when he saw the number, his finger trembled.

It was actually the phone number of the deceased Yu Lele.

He thought back for a moment—he had once dialed this number at the crime scene.

So who was it?

Who was using this number to call him? The killer?

Zhou Hai narrowed his eyes nervously. Could the killer be watching every move the police made nearby?

Answer it or not?

He hesitated—but when the ringtone reached the tenth ring, he still pressed the answer button.

There was no voice on the other end, only faint breathing, along with the sound of car horns. Zhou Hai looked up and scanned the surroundings repeatedly.

The busy street was full of pedestrians. The sky was already dim, but no one stopped, and no one looked at him.

The two sides remained in silence for more than ten seconds.

Then a faint, somewhat familiar laugh came through the phone, mixed with a man’s coughing.

Cough cough…

“Hello.”

“How should I address you?”

“Police officer? No…”

“Not accurate. I should call you… Forensic Doctor, right?”

As the last word fell, a car stopped almost brushing against Zhou Hai’s feet.

He turned abruptly.

A taxi roof light came into view.

As the car stabilized, he stared at the window slowly rolling down.

A man wearing a cap and white gloves, dressed in a taxi company uniform, turned his head toward him and smiled faintly.

Zhou Hai’s pupils instantly contracted.

His heartbeat surged to the extreme.

It was him—he was the taxi driver they had previously cornered on Huizhou Middle Road!

As the car stopped, the man raised the phone again to his mouth. With his other hand, he pulled out a pistol and pointed it at Zhou Hai.

“Zhou Hai, Forensic Doctor, please get in the car.”

“Aren’t you curious how I found you? Or how those victims took medicine on their own?”

“If I can find you, I naturally know you well.”

“Your girlfriend Teacher Lu Xi… she should be picking up your sister at home now, right?”

“Oh, almost forgot—I should take your phone. Otherwise your friends might disturb us.”

He spoke calmly, his tone gentle like a neighborhood uncle chatting about the weather. But the more casual he sounded, the more Zhou Hai felt an underlying terror.

Zhou Hai didn’t move.

At this distance, there was no way to dodge. The police station building was right behind him, but he couldn’t gamble.

If the man was provoked, the first person to suffer would be Lu Xi.

Since he could obtain all his personal information, Zhou Hai also wanted to know why.

He hung up the call and threw his phone toward the police station behind him, then opened the back door and got into the car.

The driver smiled faintly, locked the door, and started the car. The two of them said nothing as the vehicle merged into traffic and disappeared into the night.

……

On the second floor, Xu Biao waited for a long time but still didn’t see Zhou Hai return.

They had already finished organizing all the materials, and the only thread linking everything had been found in Yu Lele’s medical record.

Wang Chunsheng, Liu Yusong, Zhu Leyu, and Yu Lele—all four had undergone surgery or treatment at the Third People’s Hospital of Dongnan City between 2010 and 2012.

Only Zhu Leyu had a cesarean section there; the other three had been hospitalized for conditions like cervical issues and gout. Aside from standard medical insurance, all four had also filed claims through Zhongtai Insurance.

This suddenly narrowed the scope of the investigation.

But after waiting for so long, Zhou Hai still hadn’t come upstairs.

Xu Biao grew puzzled. This wasn’t like Zhou Hai. If it was work-related, unless he was having a headache attack, he would never leave them alone.

He greeted Fengzi and the others and went downstairs. Just then, he ran into Captain Hu and the others coming out from the west office area, already dressed in police uniforms as if preparing to leave.

“Captain Hu, are you going out?”

Captain Hu nodded. “We compared nearby surveillance and found several taxis passing through the crime area at the time of the incident. We contacted the taxi companies and found that some of the plates were fake.”

“We’re taking screenshots of the drivers now and going to have the companies identify them. Plates can be forged, but taxi roof lights can’t. So they might still be company drivers.”

Xu Biao’s smile faded. “Oh… this matches Brother Hai’s earlier deduction. Hurry and go then. I’m going to find him.”

Captain Hu paused when he heard that last sentence.

“Find the forensic doctor? Isn’t he upstairs?”

Xu Biao shook his head. “He answered a call just now and went downstairs. We’ve finished organizing everything and found some leads, but he hasn’t come back up.”

Captain Hu raised his hand, signaling everyone to quiet down.

“Don’t panic. How long has it been? Was he standing in the backyard? I’ll have people search.”

Da Li and the others immediately went to the backyard but quickly returned, shaking their heads.

The backyard was an open parking area with a small cafeteria—everything visible at a glance. There was nowhere to hide.

“No one in the backyard!”

Da Li’s words made everyone tense.

Captain Hu waved his hand.

“Go to the front entrance and search there. Da Li, go to the monitoring room and replay the surveillance. See where the forensic doctor went.”