SFTD -Chapter 238 Clues Left by the Killer

Zhou Hai immediately dismissed his own speculation. He had been standing right outside the door and hadn’t heard Lu Xi’s cries for help or any running footsteps. Even if she had fallen, there should have been some sound. Could it be…

Wait.

Earlier, while he was sitting on the sofa, he had seen Lu Xi and the female attendant enter the fitting room. After the attendant came out, he had paused briefly before approaching and waiting outside the fitting room door.

Could Lu Xi have been attacked at the exact moment the attendant closed the door—so that the sound of the door shutting covered everything?

Zhou Hai clenched the edge of the dissection table, his self-blame deepening. If only he had discovered it earlier… maybe Lu Xi could have been saved.

Seeing his expression, Xu Biao immediately understood what was going on and bumped him with his shoulder.

“Zhou Hai, focus on the wound analysis right now. Don’t waste time.”

Zhou Hai looked at Xu Biao, then quickly nodded and placed the probe aside.

“Zhao Xinli and Fengzi, you handle it. Just open the center of the back and check whether the internal wound tract of the knife has a curve. Also, based on the order of the wound channels, take three samples and see if we can determine whether the dagger had any packaging before use or was stored with anything else.”

Zhao Xinli and Fengzi immediately got to work.

Zhou Hai continued gripping the table tightly. After about half an hour, the examination was complete—confirming his initial judgment.

After the dagger entered the body, it curved slightly toward the right in an arc shape. Zhou Hai then sent the two men off and personally sutured the wound.

He took cotton swabs handed over by Fengzi and carefully wiped Lu Xi’s mouth, nose, and neck area. He even meticulously examined every fingernail, stripping away all residues. Although nothing visible could be seen—no even mild subcutaneous bleeding—Zhou Hai refused to miss a single detail.

Finally, he changed Lu Xi out of the wedding dress alone, cleaned the blood from her body, and wrapped her carefully in a white cloth. Xiao Liang then transported the body away.

Zhou Hai let out a long breath, removed his protective suit and all equipment, and went upstairs with the others.

Liu Da and the Huang team leader were already waiting in the fourth-floor conference room. When Zhou Hai entered, all eyes focused on him.

“How is it? Any findings?” Liu Da asked.

“All necessary samples have been taken. I’ll summarize the current analysis.”

Zhou Hai looked at everyone, pulled a whiteboard over, and without waiting for instructions, began writing. Liu Da frowned with concern, glancing at Huang Zhongsheng. Huang Zhongsheng shook his head and wrote a few words on a note, passing it over.

“This might be good. At least he won’t spiral alone. With something occupying his mind, he won’t break down. But we must handle Director Pang carefully—don’t let him question Zhou Hai’s involvement or risk avoidance. At this stage, he might do anything.”

Liu Da shot him a look but said nothing. He understood all this. What worried him was something deeper: Zhou Hai’s outward calm might already be hiding complete emotional collapse. Once the case ended, Zhou Hai might be finished as a person.

He had seen it before—one colleague whose wife and child were murdered by drug traffickers. After completing the mission and wiping out the entire criminal group, the man appeared completely normal… until he shot himself in his office thirty minutes before the award ceremony.

His state then was too similar to Zhou Hai now.

Liu Da snapped back to the present and decided that regardless of the case outcome, they needed to arrange psychological intervention for Zhou Hai as soon as possible.

Zhou Hai distributed printed images of the dagger and pointed at the diagram on the whiteboard.

“The dagger was custom-made from a steel tube that was ground down. The design seems to have gone through multiple iterations. Luo Yunfeng and others believe it resembles a bayonet, and I agree. This further supports my earlier hypothesis.”

“The killer is physically weak, relying on arm swing acceleration to penetrate the body. He has deep knowledge of human anatomy—possibly extremely familiar with it.”

“He was able to strike between the third and fourth ribs. Although the entry angle was slightly off, he could adjust direction during motion, completing the stab and then adding a twisting motion to accelerate blood loss.”

“He is highly familiar with our schedule, and also with this wedding shop. He likely scouted the location in advance and disabled the electrical system. He has strong anti-investigation awareness.”

“Therefore, my conclusions are:”

Male offender

Left-handed

Over 45 years old

Height under 175 cm

Access to laboratories

Medical professional familiar with human anatomy

Besides the lab results, I strongly suspect this is connected to the Migao mass poisoning case. The mastermind behind that case matches all these characteristics.”

Liu Da stared at Zhou Hai. “So you still think this is a continuation of the Migao case?”

Huang Zhongsheng looked confused. “Migao case?”

Xu Biao, sitting beside him, quickly explained the entire background. After listening, Huang Zhongsheng frowned deeply. If this really was connected, then the case might truly be unsolvable.

At that moment, the conference room door opened. Xiao Liang rushed in holding several reports, repeatedly apologizing as he entered.

“Sorry to interrupt—lab results are out!”

Xu Biao immediately straightened up. The speed of the testing meant Dr. Zeng had clearly prioritized this case.

Right behind Xiao Liang, a stout woman rushed in, pushed him aside, and looked at Zhou Hai with red eyes and a frown.

“The test was rushed, but we ran each sample twice for safety. The data is reliable. Especially the sample from the inner part of the knife handle—we detected cyanide compounds.”

“The report isn’t fully matched yet, so I’ll explain directly.”

This was Dr. Zeng, who placed two toxicology reports on the table along with Zhou Hai’s documents. Everyone leaned in.

“The concentration can’t be compared directly to blood levels because the sample hadn’t entered circulation. But this report shows the potassium cyanide content from the two bottles you brought back earlier. Even though they were in two containers, the values are identical.”

“And the sample you submitted today matches that exactly. Even the impurities are the same.”

“I also asked Xiao Liang to bring me the dagger. Look here.”

Xiao Liang placed the dagger in a sealed bag on the table and illuminated the handle with a strong flashlight. Everyone followed Dr. Zeng’s finger.

On the inner side of the handle, there was a small defect in the steel tube—a tiny recessed pit. Under the light, faint powder-like residue flickered inside it.

Zhou Hai took the flashlight. Xu Biao leaned in closer.

“Could it be… something the killer accidentally rubbed onto it?”