SFTD -Chapter 309 Missing Memories (Part 1)

That evening, the case involving Huang Zhongsheng and the others was finally concluded just in time for them to return and attend Director Liu’s banquet. Everyone knew Director Liu was famously stingy, so an opportunity like this was not to be missed.

After dinner at the restaurant, the group headed to the Lao Bing KTV.

Zhou Hai did not drink, and Chu Menghan was someone no one dared to provoke—she had a domineering presence that made everyone keep their distance. Among the group, aside from Hu Xiangqian from Licang District, Zhou Hai was familiar with everyone else. Hu, however, turned out to be quite honest and got along well with Wang Xuchao. The two drank heavily and sang for a long time.

By a little past eleven, everyone still didn’t seem satisfied, but most of them had already drunk quite a lot. Besides Zhou Hai, the clearest-headed person was Chu Menghan.

Some called for designated drivers, others got into Liu Yong’s and Zhou Hai’s cars.

Chu Menghan saw that arrangements were made and drove off first.

Zhou Hai sat in the car for a long time, but Wang Xuchao—who had promised to ride with him—still hadn’t come down.

Helpless, Zhou Hai told Wang Man and the others to wait a bit and quickly rushed back into the deafening Lao Bing KTV.

On the second floor, before even reaching their private room, he saw a woman talking to Wang Xuchao. They seemed quite familiar. Wang Xuchao had sobered up a bit and kept nodding while listening, even laughing with her.

Zhou Hai slowed his steps, hesitating whether to go forward. Thinking Wang Xuchao had already drunk quite a bit, he still felt uneasy.

He walked up and patted Wang Xuchao’s shoulder.

“How are you? Are you leaving with me now?”

Wang Xuchao waved his hand and pointed at the woman.

“She’s a friend. She was just in the room across from us. You go first, I’ll take a taxi home later.”

Seeing that he answered clearly, Zhou Hai still felt a bit uneasy but nodded anyway. He glanced at the woman in red opposite him.

“Alright, don’t drink anymore. Send me a message no matter what time you get home.”

Wang Xuchao raised two fingers in a salute, grinning.

“Yes, sir!”

Zhou Hai couldn’t help but smile. Since Wang Man was still waiting in the car—and already vomiting twice—he didn’t stay any longer and quickly went back downstairs.

At 7:10 the next morning, July 23rd, Zhou Hai was drinking oatmeal porridge and about to bite into a croissant when his phone on the table started buzzing.

It was the command center.

He was slightly surprised—normally only their four specialized teams handled scene responses. A call to him meant a major case.

He immediately put down the croissant and answered.

“Hello, Deputy Director Zhou. This is the command center. A case was not assigned to any forensic doctor, so we had to contact you.”

“Skip the formalities. Just tell me the case.”

Zhou Hai wiped his fingers with a napkin and rushed upstairs while holding the phone between his shoulder and ear.

The female officer paused for a moment, then continued: “Understood. This morning, the 110 hotline received a report. A female corpse was found in the Huangjin Haian Community in the western district. We need you to take a look.”

Zhou Hai was already changing clothes as she spoke and grabbed his car keys.

“Send me the address. I’m heading there now. Notify Xu Biao to come with me.”

Before the officer could respond, Zhou Hai had already hung up.

A little girl ran out holding a paper bag and stuffed it into his hands.

“Milk and croissant. Zhou Zhou, eat after checking the scene. Don’t operate on an empty stomach!”

Zhou Hai smiled at her.

“Have fun at home. I’m heading out!”

The car engine roared to life and he sped away.

The little girl watched his car disappear, shaking her head slightly. Too bad she wasn’t old enough—if she could, she really wanted to learn driving. With that thought, she skipped back inside to act spoiled toward Uncle Lu in the kitchen.

Twenty minutes later, Zhou Hai arrived at the Huangjin Haian Community following navigation.

As soon as he entered through the east gate, he saw Xu Biao standing by the roadside carrying a forensic kit, panting heavily. Even early in the morning, the weather was already stiflingly hot.

Zhou Hai honked, and Xu Biao ran over, tossing his kit into the back seat and jumping into the passenger seat, immediately pulling out tissues to wipe his sweat.

“What kind of hellish weather is this? It’s only morning and it’s already this hot. Feels like it’s about to rain.”

“Maybe,” Zhou Hai replied. “You’ve all worked hard these past few days. I saw the Jinzhou case files—good job.”

Xu Biao grinned proudly.

“Yeah, I think we did pretty well too. Even Zhao Xinli and the others improved a lot. Even Da Liu is like a different person now—more active than me at scenes. He even said he wants to join future operations like this again. It’s really good training.”

Zhou Hai nodded with a smile. Rapid field case handling indeed helped people mature quickly.

He drove toward the western main road. The community was large—high-rises in the north, villas in the south, separated by a small park.

Soon, several police cars came into view.

At the villa entrance, Zhou Hai saw Xiao Liu and frowned slightly.

“Where is Wang Xuchao? This is the first major case in your district this year. Why isn’t he here?”

Xiao Liu looked helpless and pulled Zhou Hai aside.

“We’ve been trying to contact him since this morning. Either no answer or unreachable. I don’t know what’s going on. Didn’t he go out with you guys last night?”

Zhou Hai nodded.

“Yes. Director Liu treated us to dinner. We were all together, but we left first. He stayed behind to meet a friend.”

He waved his hand.

“Forget it. Start without him. I’ll check the scene first.”

Xiao Liu had no choice but to agree.

After changing into protective gear, Zhou Hai entered the villa. Xu Biao had already set up a path and walked into the first-floor guest bedroom.

A woman lay face-up on the messy bed, wearing only underwear and a revealing outfit that barely covered key areas—clearly intimate clothing.

Xu Biao crouched near the victim’s head taking photos.

“The scene is very messy. There are signs of dragging, but not much resistance. There’s hair on the bed. The victim has ligature marks on her neck—consistent with a belt. I’ve collected everything I could. I’ll check around the villa.”

“Hair? Can you determine the origin?”

Xu Biao raised an evidence bag.

“That’s your specialty. But I don’t even need to guess where it’s from.”

He wiggled his eyebrows and pointed at the chaotic bed.

“Look at this mess—obviously something happened here. A mixed-gender struggle, but the ending wasn’t great.”

Zhou Hai’s expression darkened.

“Be serious. Don’t draw conclusions before finishing the examination. Go check the surroundings for more evidence.”

Xu Biao shrank his neck and quickly left.

Zhou Hai checked the victim’s elbow joints—rigor mortis had already begun.

“Time of death: around midnight last night.”

He moved to the head of the body, gently lifting the hair covering the face.

At that moment, he sucked in a sharp breath.

It’s her?