SFTD -Chapter 252 Rabies Virus (Part 8)

Zhou Hai tightened his grip on the mouse. Could the cornea donor have been a minor?

The thought spread instantly through his mind. Otherwise, there was simply no way to explain it. DNA could determine gender, but not age. Everything now depended on the criminal investigators’ findings.

Glancing at the darkening sky outside, he was just about to shut down the computer and leave work when the internal communication software of the special investigation team emitted a series of notification beeps. An avatar shaped like a map of Hunan Province was flashing.

Provincial Department Hu: @Fahai

Zhou Hai froze for a moment at the sudden mention. It was already past six in the evening—why was she looking for him now? Could it be…

Fahai: Something up?

Provincial Department Hu: Thanks for your suggestion. We found the killer.

Fahai: Good. Congratulations, then.

Provincial Department Hu: (-＿—) You’re really that uninterested? If it were me, I’d definitely want to know what kind of person the murderer was.

Zhou Hai frowned slightly. In truth, he had already formed his own conclusions earlier. But when he sent Hu Nan his deductions, he had deliberately held some things back. There was still a great deal of information hidden within the victim’s dismembered remains. Since they had conducted the autopsy themselves, it was not his place to overstep.

Fahai: I more or less guessed some of it already, so as long as the result is found, that’s enough.

The other side paused for several seconds, but instead of getting discouraged, she seemed to have forgotten Zhou Hai’s cold attitude moments earlier.

Provincial Department Hu: Then can you talk about your analysis? I’m still pretty weak when it comes to analytical reasoning. Sometimes the evidence is right in front of me, yet I still overlook it.

Fahai: Don’t think of yourself as a forensic examiner. Think of yourself as the killer. Lay out every known condition, then see whether there’s a reasonable explanation that can connect them all together. After all, our job is to organize scattered fragments and infer the whole picture from tiny clues.

Provincial Department Hu: Forensic Doctor Zhou, I know those theories better than you do. What I don’t know is how to judge things or connect the clues. Can you explain your deductions? I also want to know whether you really can “see the whole leopard from one spot.”

The corner of Zhou Hai’s mouth twitched. So she was trying to test him?

Looks like the provincial department’s forensic examiners really were different—full of confidence in the way they spoke. A trace of irritation entered his expression as he began typing rapidly.

Fahai: The file states that the victim was a technician at a heating company.

Judging from the thickness of the fat layer on the remains and the length of the leg bones, the victim was somewhat overweight.

Age between twenty-eight and thirty-two.
Height between 175 and 178 centimeters.
Weight around 170 jin.
Not athletic; both muscle and fat tissue lacked firmness.

As for the killer:
Probably a boiler maintenance worker.
Age between forty and fifty.
Under 175 centimeters tall.
Lighter than the victim.
Physically sturdy and strong.
Likely extremely honest and taciturn by nature. Divorced or widowed. Financial situation average.

That’s about it.

After Zhou Hai finished, there was no reply for quite some time. He even wondered if the other party had already logged off. Just as he was about to shut down the computer, Hu Nan sent another message.

Provincial Department Hu: If I didn’t know your reasoning process, I’d think you had surveillance cameras installed beside me. Every deduction was correct. I just want to know—how did you arrive at those conclusions?

A flock of imaginary crows flew across Zhou Hai’s head. If they were going to discuss criminal profiling and behavioral analysis, forget a few sentences—they could talk for an entire year. But at this hour, his stomach was already protesting from hunger.

Fahai: It’s late. I need dinner. Can we discuss this another time?

Provincial Department Hu: Don’t brush me off. Today’s the only day I have time.

Zhou Hai’s eyelid twitched. She even knew he was brushing her off!

If she knew, then why keep asking?

Grinding his teeth, Zhou Hai began typing furiously again.

Fahai: These analyses all come from accumulated experience gained through countless autopsies. The victim’s fat layer was loose and thicker than the muscle layer, and the muscle tissue itself lacked firmness. That indicates his exercise level, age, and body type.

As for exact thresholds, I can’t give you a precise scale. That’s personal experience.

An overweight technical worker at that age can basically be labeled as a shut-in, sharp-tongued, tech-obsessed nerd.

People like that cannot tolerate others altering their technical guidance or design plans. So when dealing with experienced old maintenance workers, they become natural enemies—the clash between theory and practice.

The graphite lubricant residue found beneath the victim’s fingernails had already become extremely dry and hardened. That means it was scraped off while the victim struggled and grabbed the killer’s arm. A person whose coat carried that kind of hardened lubricant likely had no one taking care of his work clothes. He was dirty and didn’t care about his appearance. His age and marital status become obvious from that alone.

As for the killer’s personality, I don’t need to explain that. You’ve studied psychological profiling. That analysis shouldn’t be difficult.

Alright, I’m done. I’m logging off now to eat dinner. Goodbye.

Zhou Hai’s outpouring of explanations would take ordinary people quite a while to digest. Yet just as he was about to shut down the computer again, Hu Nan sent another message.

Provincial Department Hu: What about the killer’s physique? You didn’t explain how you determined that.

Zhou Hai was genuinely getting annoyed now. While asking questions without shame was a virtue, there had to be limits. A provincial department forensic examiner constantly consulting him like this was starting to feel rather strange.

In ancient times, this would be akin to a superior official seeking guidance from local authorities.

Fahai: I already implied it earlier. How could a worker constantly exposed to high-temperature environments possibly become fat? Compared to the victim—a bloated steamed bun of a man—the killer’s build had to be smaller. Otherwise, why would he choose to strangle the victim from behind before dismembering the body?

Provincial Department Hu: Strangulation? Just because of that tiny amount of black graphite lubricant under the fingernails?

Fahai: Yes. The lubricant had been completely forced into the victim’s nail beds. For hardened lubricant in that condition to get embedded so deeply, the victim must have struggled violently. Given the disparity in weight and strength, only a chokehold from behind would allow the killer to contend with him.

Also, all the lubricant residue was located along the inner side of the nail beds and beneath the inner edges of the nails.

If the victim had scratched at the attacker face-to-face, the residue would have remained in the middle area instead, which provides better leverage. The victim’s current condition indicates he was clawing at something positioned very high up while unable to exert force properly.

That kind of defensive movement would leave scratch marks along the outer side of the killer’s arms. If the suspect refuses to confess, conduct a physical examination and compare the scratches with the victim’s fingernails.

You can also send the suspect’s work clothes for forensic testing. Extract the dried lubricant from the outer sleeves and conduct laboratory comparisons. You’ll be able to determine whether the composition matches the residue beneath the victim’s nails. That counts as physical evidence.

As for the murder weapon, I suggest checking inside the boiler. It’s not heating season right now, so inspectors can enter it safely.

Provincial Department Hu: Inside the boiler? Wouldn’t burying or destroying the weapon make it harder to find? Why would the killer do that?

Fahai: (-＿—) I seriously doubt your attitude toward studying back in school. Analysis has to be grounded in reality!

His educational level determines the limits of his social world. He wouldn’t read detective novels or study criminal reasoning. From his perspective, the safest place to discard evidence would naturally be the environment he knows best—somewhere capable of burning things completely. Who would casually climb into a boiler to search around?

The moment Zhou Hai typed the final word and hit send, he shut down the computer immediately.

Didn’t matter whether she was a provincial department forensic examiner or not. Nothing was more important than eating. His blood sugar was dropping from hunger, sweat covered his body, and no one could stop his desire for food now.

Grabbing his keys, Zhou Hai strode into the night, ignoring the constant buzzing of his phone inside his pocket.

Whoever it was, forget them. Time to eat.