SFTD -Chapter 24 Giant Cadaveric Swelling (Part 4)

Zhou Hai brushed back his still-dripping hair.

He flipped to a photo showing the victim’s groin surgery scar and tattoo, then handed it to Captain Huang.

“The victim’s most distinctive feature is that he underwent a hernia operation before the age of five. The scar is located on the right side of his groin.

Judging from the size of the surgical mesh, I can determine that it was a massive inguinal hernia. The surgery was probably not performed domestically.

Twenty years ago, the suturing techniques used for hernia repair surgeries in China were different from this one.

Moreover, the mesh used in the operation was expanded polytetrafluoroethylene mesh, which was considered top-tier at the time.

Price-wise, it was one of the most expensive materials available back then. That makes it an excellent lead for investigation.

As for this tattoo, ‘Never say die,’ if translated directly, means ‘don’t be discouraged’ or ‘never give up.’

However, the initials are capitalized — ‘Never Say Die.’

If I remember correctly, that should refer to an American film called Never Say Die. The movie wasn’t popular and was only released in Europe, which suggests the victim once lived abroad.

Furthermore, the body had been frozen for a long period before being dumped. That accelerated the rate of decomposition once it entered the water, so the disposal likely occurred around five days ago.

This also tells us something else — the killer probably owns a large freezer.

Housing prices in Southeast City have already exceeded thirty thousand yuan per square meter. There aren’t many ordinary homes spacious enough to accommodate a freezer of that size.

As for the lung tissue samples, they still need analysis. Once the results are ready, I’ll send them to you immediately. Only after conducting a diatom test can we determine the environment the victim was in at the time of death.”

Captain Huang nodded forcefully and glanced at the time on his phone. It was already nine in the evening.

“Alright, leave the rest to us.

I’ll start tracing the victim’s identity and pulling surveillance footage from the surrounding area right away.

Tomorrow morning, come directly to our branch office for the special case meeting. Director Liu specifically requested your presence.”

Zhou Hai nodded.

“Alright.”

Xu Biao was unusually diligent today. Instead of calling it a night, he carried the camera back to the office.

Zhou Hai also wanted to sort through the entire crime scene again, so he returned to the office as well, while Xiao Liang volunteered to order takeout.

The moment the Meituan delivery guy came upstairs, Xu Biao immediately leaned over.

“What delicious thing did you order?”

“Durian pizza!”

Just as Xiao Liang answered, Xu Biao lifted the lid. The rich durian smell hit him so hard that he staggered back two steps.

“Xiao Liang, at a time like this…Your taste really is unique…”

The next morning, downstairs at Xu Biao’s apartment building.

With half an egg-filled pancake hanging from his mouth, Xu Biao excitedly waved two sheets of paper at Zhou Hai.

After opening the car door, he squeezed into the seat behind the passenger seat.

The car instantly tilted downward on Xu Biao’s side.

Suppressing laughter, Xiao Liang buried his face into the seatback.

As a medical professional, Zhou Hai had an extremely severe case of cleanliness obsession.

Just looking at how spotless the car interior was made that obvious. Perhaps it was a special kind of pride unique to people in medicine.

Xiao Liang hurriedly tied up his breakfast bag tightly to keep any smells from escaping.

Meanwhile, Xu Biao swallowed the rest of his pancake in a few bites, casually wiped his mouth, and said eagerly:

“Look! I spent the entire night comparing the evidence, and I finally identified the source of the tire tracks left at the scene. Turns out they perfectly match a Porsche Cayenne Turbo S. The tires on this model all have an ‘N1’ marking on the sidewalls. According to discussions among car enthusiasts, this might be a limited edition or customized 2013 model. If that’s the case, we should be able to make progress through purchase records.”

“Not bad.”

Zhou Hai nodded and glanced at Xu Biao.

He reached over and tugged lightly on his own seatbelt. Xu Biao obediently buckled up, though the grin on his face remained impossible to hide.

As Zhou Hai started the car, he also noticed a trace of green stuck between Xu Biao’s teeth.

The muscles at the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.

“You ate scallions?”

Xu Biao slowly smacked his lips, thinking back.

“Oh! There seemed to be chopped scallions in the pancake. Is there anyone in all of Ludong Province who doesn’t eat scallions?”

“I don’t.”

While driving, Zhou Hai shot him another glance through the rearview mirror, turned off the air conditioner, and cracked the window open slightly.

Xu Biao’s face darkened instantly. His lips trembled for quite a while before he finally spoke.

“What’s wrong with you?! You don’t mind the smell of corpses, but you can’t stand scallions. Can we even continue being partners like this?”

“You can transfer to another team.”

Xu Biao curled his lips, reached into his bag, pulled out a pack of gum, dumped four or five pieces into his palm, and shoved them all into his mouth, chewing fiercely.

“No way. You think I’ll transfer just because you say so? I’m sticking with Team Fahai. Going around with you makes me look impressive and intimidating! A demon-slaying duo — just thinking about it sounds awesome!”

Xiao Liang foolishly nodded enthusiastically as well.

Even though Zhou Hai appeared cold on the surface, he never hesitated to share his knowledge and experience.

As fellow interns, the difference in progress between Xiao Liang and Xiao Meng from Team One had become enormous.

“I think the nickname ‘Fahai’ for Brother Hai is super cool too. It really suits someone who slays demons and monsters!”

Zhou Hai said nothing, which counted as tacit approval.

He didn’t mind nicknames. To him, it was a sign of acceptance. After all, if people truly wanted to isolate someone, they wouldn’t bother giving them one.

Besides, he was genuinely pleased with the recent hardworking attitude Xu Biao and Xiao Liang had shown.

Except for the scallions.

“No problem being on my team. But no eating scallions.”

Xu Biao pursed his lips and secretly glanced at Xiao Liang in the back seat.

“Can you really stop eating scallions?”

“I can! As long as you don’t kick me out, I’d even give up meat!”

Xu Biao rolled his eyes bitterly and instantly deflated.

“Fine. I can do it too.”

With Xu Biao’s reluctant promise, the car had already driven into the East District Criminal Police Division. Deputy Captain Huang Zhongsheng stood by the window waving at the three of them.

Once they reached the second floor, Zhou Hai gestured for Xu Biao to explain his new findings.

Xu Biao placed the two tire-print comparison sheets on the table and laid out his discovery.

“…The limited edition 2013 Porsche Cayenne Turbo S should be a solid lead for investigation.”

Captain Huang was grinning from ear to ear.

“Check it immediately. This is an even better form of verification. Forensic Doctor Zhou, we’ve also made some new discoveries and wanted to update you.”

Captain Huang handed the photos Xu Biao had brought over to two investigators and sent them off for verification.

The three followed Captain Huang into the inner office. An entire wall-sized whiteboard was covered with notes and diagrams related to the case.

“Sit, quickly! The officers reviewing surveillance footage last night also conducted a search around the scene. At the northeast corner of the pond, they found a company whose security camera happened to face that direction, though the image quality isn’t very clear. They reviewed all the footage from the evening of July 22 to the morning of the 24th. They identified eight suspicious vehicles, all of which stopped near the pond at some point. Xiao Xu’s tire-track analysis can serve as a great screening criterion!”

“Among those vehicles, was there a Cayenne?”

Captain Huang nodded.

“The shapes of the other vehicles are hard to identify, but a Cayenne is relatively easy to recognize. I just sent people to pull traffic surveillance footage from nearby roads during the same time period to see if we can trace it further.”

“And what about the victim’s identity? Any leads yet?”