SFTD -Chapter 249 Rabies Virus (Part 4)

Following Zhou Hai’s finger, Xu Biao quickly photographed the deceased’s eyes and enlarged the image. Since he didn’t have a magnifying glass, he zoomed in several times but still couldn’t spot anything unusual. Frowning, he looked at Zhou Hai.

“There’s nothing there?”

Zhou Hai pointed out a ring-shaped trace around the deceased’s cornea.

“Look here. The deceased underwent a corneal transplant. The healing is extremely good, so the boundary is almost invisible and could easily be mistaken for traumatic damage.

In the photo sent from Yantai earlier, that victim also had a corneal transplant.

However, his surgery was likely performed because of corneal squamous epithelial cell carcinoma with infiltration into the cornea. His postoperative healing wasn’t good, and the donor cornea was smaller than the required area.

That’s why there are infiltrated areas along the scleral edge. After cleanup, the resulting defects are easy to identify.

Right now, we need to extract this cornea and perform DNA analysis on it. We should also suggest that the Yantai team conduct DNA testing on their victim as well. Two unexplained deaths caused by rabies within such a short time span—and both involving corneal transplants—this can’t be a coincidence.”

Xu Biao grew excited listening to him.

“Huh? Shouldn’t we check their medical records for the transplants? That’s not the kind of surgery ordinary hospitals can perform, right?”

Zhou Hai looked up at him.

“Judging from the surgical technique and Ye Xiuyuan’s identity, this probably wasn’t done in a regular hospital. If he’d actually waited for a legal donor cornea, the wait would’ve been several years at minimum. Go upstairs and notify them. I’ll extract the cornea here.”

Xu Biao nodded and ran upstairs carrying the camera.

Zhou Hai returned to the autopsy room, found a scalpel, carefully removed the cornea from the victim’s right eye, and placed it into a small vial. After securing the body, he hurried upstairs with the sample.

The moment he entered the second-floor laboratory, Sister Zeng was eating buns. Seeing Zhou Hai holding up the vial, she swallowed the remaining bun in three bites, nearly choking herself in the process.

Noticing the pink, cutesy water cup on her desk, Zhou Hai quickly handed it over.

“Drink some water before you choke. Take your time, I’m not in a hurry.”

Things would’ve been fine if he hadn’t said that. Sister Zeng immediately rolled her eyes at him, gulped down several mouthfuls of water, and only then recovered. After washing her hands, she returned and clicked her tongue at him.

“You, ah… whenever you show up, nothing good ever follows. I figured I’d better finish my buns quickly, since who knows when the next meal interruption will happen. Alright, stop being polite. Your politeness gives people chills down their spine.”

Looking at the dissatisfied expression on her face, Zhou Hai sighed slightly.

“Can’t help it. I’d rather ask someone else, but your skills are unmatched.”

Sister Zeng froze mid-sip and turned to stare at him.

“Heh, is this really Fahai speaking? But that flattery felt pretty good. Alright then, what is it?”

Zhou Hai handed her the small box.

“This contains a transplanted cornea extracted from Ye Xiuyuan. Run a DNA analysis on it. Later I’ll compare it with Yantai’s results to see whether they came from the same donor.”

Her eyes instantly lit up.

“A transplanted cornea? That’s rare. Wait a moment. The newest equipment was just installed. We should have results in a little over three hours. Once it’s done, I’ll send you the electronic report so you can compare it yourself—or have them send theirs over and I’ll do the comparison.”

Zhou Hai nodded.

“Alright, I won’t stand on ceremony then. I’ll contact Yantai about the comparison.”

Sister Zeng waved him away from behind.

“Go, go! This is my first time extracting DNA from a cornea. Don’t delay my work.”

The corner of Zhou Hai’s mouth twitched. Turning around, he left the lab and returned to his new office.

Xu Biao was there furiously typing away on the keyboard. Hearing the door open, he immediately waved Zhou Hai over.

“Haizi, hurry up and save me!”

Zhou Hai quickly strode over. Had something gone wrong with the Yantai side?

“What happened? They refuse to cooperate with the DNA testing?”

Xu Biao immediately stood up, pulled Zhou Hai into the chair, and pointed at the computer.

“That issue was settled ages ago. The Yantai side got all excited after hearing the cornea was transplanted and rushed off to run the tests. They said they’d send the results shortly. If the comparison matches ours, they don’t mind merging the cases.”

Zhou Hai looked confused.

“Then what’s the problem?”

“Just read the chat log. Did you offend someone before or something? This guy barged in and immediately started attacking us. He says that Fe304—magnetic iron oxide—appearing in graphite grease is completely normal. In actual work environments, workers’ hands and tools often get contaminated with magnetic iron oxide powder. So isn’t it too arbitrary to use that as a lead for the investigation?”

Hearing this, Zhou Hai frowned deeply. He immediately sat down and read through the entire chat history.

The other party used a map-shaped avatar that looked like Hunan Province. Honestly, it was pretty amusing. The username was “Provincial Department Hu.”

But after seeing the sharp tone of the man’s comments, Zhou Hai lost all interest in joking around and began typing.

Provincial Department Hu: The concentration of this magnetic iron oxide powder isn’t accurate anyway. What if it entered the graphite grease in clumps? Isn’t this line of deduction lacking rigor?

Dongnan Zhou: You have a point. The magnetic iron oxide powder could indeed have mixed into the graphite grease in clumps. But what I’m discussing now is the graphite grease residue found under the victim’s fingernails. Judging from its blackened, hardened appearance, it’s clearly weathered grease transferred from clothing. So how did the victim get this grease under his nails? There’s only one explanation—he struggled and resisted. And as a man, in a critical moment, he’s less likely to scratch wildly and more likely to use stronger forms of resistance. Therefore, the victim must have already been physically or mentally incapable of effectively fighting back before making such movements. Either he was being strangled, had his head forced underwater, or was pinned down and beaten. In those situations, the areas most easily reached are the outside of the attacker’s arms or the shoulder and neck area. Grease stains found on clothing in those positions are generally passively transferred through contact. Therefore, the killer is someone who frequently replaces parts, performs repairs, and works on the front lines of maintenance. Only such working conditions fit all these circumstances.”

Zhou Hai typed out all of his thoughts and deductions in one breath.

The other side remained silent for a long time.

Xu Biao shrugged. The guy was obviously bullying the weak and fearing the strong. Earlier he’d been aggressively attacking Xu Biao, but now that Zhou Hai responded, he suddenly played mute.

The two of them stared at the screen for ages. Zhou Hai shook his head. Whether the other party understood or not, he still had to say what needed to be said. After all, if the investigative direction was wrong, they’d never find a breakthrough in the case.

Just as Zhou Hai was about to close the window, the other side suddenly replied with a single sentence.

Provincial Department Hu: You’re Zhou Hai, the forensic doctor from Dongnan City, right? Nicknamed Fahai?