SFTD -Chapter 317 Missing Memory (Part 9)

Zhou Hai narrowed his eyes.

“No need to rush to copy it for me. Ask Xu Biao to give you an email address. Send this video to Dr. Nan and the others and let them try to enhance it. I think they might be able to clarify part of it.”

“Also, investigate the people who had dinner with Yu Xiuhong at Lao Bing KTV last night.”

Zhou Hai handed the device over to Xu Biao. Xu Biao quickly went to inform Xiao Liu of Dr. Nan’s email and carefully explained how to format the email subject.

Wang Xuchao still looked completely confused. Zhou Hai patted him on the shoulder.

“After watching the second clip, don’t you remember anything?”

Wang Xuchao shook his head.

“No. I only remember walking out after that, and then there’s nothing at all.”

At this point, Wang Xuchao—still wearing a pair of short shorts—squatted down in anger, grabbing his hair tightly.

“Why can’t I remember anything? Why?! I’m really furious right now. I don’t remember a single thing. After seeing those videos… I’m even starting to believe I killed Yu Xiuhong.”

His face was filled with a bitter, exhausted smile.

Zhou Hai pulled up a shirt and draped it over his shoulders.

“Put your clothes on properly. The fact that Xu Biao and I are here today, and even Director Jiang is standing here, means we trust you.

Everyone in the West City Criminal Police Team is working on your case. So you’re the last person who has the right to complain. The more times like this, the more you need to stay calm and think clearly.

Think carefully—who is trying to frame you like this? Or rather, who would want to use your hands to kill Yu Xiuhong?

How do you even know Yu Xiuhong?”

Wang Xuchao released his grip on his hair, put on his pants, and sat down to think. Xu Biao handed him a cigarette. He lit it and took a few deep puffs.

After finishing the cigarette, he seemed to regain some composure and began recalling.

“I’m not very familiar with Yu Xiuhong. Her sister was my high school classmate. We were on good terms. She later married a well-known lawyer in Dongnan City, Wang Shouxin. But last April, Wang Shouxin was murdered.

It was extremely brutal—in an abandoned apartment building. His bones were all shattered by iron rods, and his skull was crushed. The body was completely mutilated.

I was assigned to the scene after the report came in and confirmed his identity through clothing and DNA.

But the case was never solved. No witnesses, no surveillance. The scene had already been destroyed by rats and stray dogs.

His face had even been splashed with concentrated sulfuric acid. From the bone injuries, we could only infer the weapon was likely an iron rod, and the time of death was around April 14th, 2014, early morning.

Wang Shouxin handled economic crime defense cases. He had offended countless people, with a very complicated social network—almost impossible to investigate.

So after five months of work, the case was temporarily shelved.

Yu Xiuli couldn’t see any hope in solving it, so she took her child and went to the UK.

Yu Xiuhong was more persistent. She believed there were still clues that hadn’t been found. She searched online for dashcam footage from vehicles passing nearby at the time of the incident, hoping to find something useful.

She contacted me a few times before, and the information she provided was verified—it was mostly fabricated attempts to scam money. She hasn’t contacted me this year.

When you were reviewing old cases, I submitted this one, but Director Song said to prioritize cold cases from surrounding counties first, so this was put on hold. I was busy with other cases, so it got delayed.”

Zhou Hai looked at the first post.

“Do you think the piece of paper Yu Xiuhong showed you has anything to do with her brother-in-law’s case?”

Wang Xuchao shook his head.

“It was a chance encounter last night, not planned. I don’t think it’s related to the case.”

Zhou Hai nodded and tossed his last pack of cigarettes to Wang Xuchao.

“Calm down and think carefully. As long as I haven’t given up, you don’t have the right to give up either. I’ll keep pushing forward.”

He patted Director Jiang on the shoulder and walked out without looking back.

Wang Xuchao’s eyes immediately turned red.

Xu Biao bumped his shoulder.

“Can you stop being so emotional? I’m leaving with Zhou. Trust the brothers—we’ll find the evidence. You just eat, sleep well, and think about how to explain this to your wife and kid. If you run out of cigarettes, ask Director Jiang—he’s quitting smoking anyway. Help him get rid of them.”

He quickly ran out to catch up with Zhou Hai.

Director Jiang hung up the phone and asked someone to escort them out. Then he opened a cabinet and handed Wang Xuchao a bag filled with food and supplies.

“Alright, you can go back too. It’s been too long—anything can still go wrong.”

Zhou Hai and Xu Biao quickly left the detention center. As their car departed, two police cars drove in from another direction. A pair of eyes watched Zhou Hai’s car disappear, narrowing slightly.

The next morning, before Zhou Hai even got out of bed, Xiao Liu’s call came through.

Zhou Hai immediately answered. A call at this hour meant either new findings from last night—or a new complication with Wang Xuchao. All sleepiness vanished instantly.

“What is it?”

Xiao Liu didn’t waste any greetings.

“Chief Forensic Zhou, Dr. Nan enhanced the video last night. We still can’t see the driver’s face clearly, but we can confirm the driver was not wearing a red coat.”

Zhou Hai turned on speakerphone and got dressed quickly.

“No red coat… meaning the driver wasn’t the deceased?”

“Yes. Also, we found something unexpected. When the car entered the residential area, the footage shows a fresh scratch on the passenger-side door, with some black marks on it. Then Dr. Nan and I traced the timeline backward and followed the route they took. We found another surveillance angle at a junction—they had turned into a different road. The footage is unclear, but we can confirm their exact position.”

Zhou Hai narrowed his eyes.

“Wait—you’re saying they didn’t get into the car at Lao Bing KTV, but somewhere else?”

Xiao Liu responded, “Yes. But it’s not far from Lao Bing KTV—about 200 meters east, there’s a small parking lot. Next to it are three shops. I went there late last night, and they were all closed. Should we check today?”

Zhou Hai glanced at the time.

“You weren’t there late—you were there early in the morning. Shops like that usually close around 2 a.m.”

Xiao Liu laughed awkwardly.

“I just got excited because we finally found a lead…”

“Send me the address. I’ll eat something first. No point going too early—we’ll meet at the parking lot at nine. You bring Xu Biao. Be on time.”

“Got it. I’ll send you the address now, and then go find Forensic Examiner Xu.”

Hearing this, Zhou Hai suddenly interrupted him.

“Wait. Do you know about the murder case of the lawyer Wang Xuchao was tracking last year?”

Xiao Liu replied immediately.

“Yes, I know. I was at the scene with our captain. It was horrific—bones completely smashed, face burned into a skull by acid.”

Zhou Hai narrowed his eyes.

“How did you identify the victim?”