SFTD -Chapter 345 Rooftop Human Skin (Part 4)

Xu Biao pulled off his protective suit.

The thing was even more suffocating than a raincoat, sealing a person inside a completely enclosed space. His body was already soaked in sweat.

At this point, Xu Biao was extremely irritated, and the others seemed to be too shocked by what they were seeing to react at all, which made him even more annoyed.

Once he finally broke free, although the air outside seemed even more foul than inside the suit, the sudden coolness still felt good. He turned to look at the woman in uniform.

“Are you from property management, or from the street office?”

The woman in uniform seemed to snap back to her senses at his question. She looked at the sweaty Xu Biao and instinctively stepped back half a step.

Because as he spoke, the movement made sweat drip and flick off his head.

“I’m a staff member from Lijiahe Street Office. Residents here complained about the smell and called in reports, hoping we could come and handle it. It was actually us who called the police earlier.”

The woman steadied herself and briefly explained the situation. Xu Biao nodded.

“You’d better calm down. Find something large to cover this up. Otherwise, if the residents see it, it’ll really cause panic. And then your street office is going to be swamped.”

The woman immediately became nervous again and nodded hurriedly.

She was about to leave, then hesitated and came back, pulling out her phone. She seemed to want to call for backup and ask for instructions from her superiors on the next step. But after dialing, no one answered.

She was momentarily stunned, unsure what to do next. Xu Biao shook his head helplessly.

At that moment, Wang Man returned with his team. Seeing Xu Biao upstairs, he glanced outside—and after seeing that “thing,” immediately turned back to him.

“We found a homeowner with a missing person. We’ll take them back to the center later for identification.”

He nodded toward the woman in uniform.

“What’s she doing here?”

Xu Biao repeated what he had just said.

“That’s the situation. If it’s not covered up, transporting it anywhere will cause panic.”

Wang Man nodded and waved his hand at both of them.

“No need for them to find anything. I’ll have people prepare it—I think there are tarps on the vehicle. Besides, in this condition it can’t be carried out through the building anyway. It’s better to lower it from the rooftop with ropes. I’ll have Xiao Cen clear the scene.”

After speaking, Wang Man hurried off to make arrangements.

Xu Biao looked at the still-dazed woman in uniform and said: “Sis, you can start your job now. Calm the residents down and get everyone back inside the complex. Don’t let them gather to watch. Keep the situation as contained as possible. Otherwise, I don’t even need to explain what will happen to housing prices here.”

The woman’s expression tightened. Xu Biao’s words hit directly at the core of the issue.

If housing prices in this complex dropped because of this incident, the first person to be blamed would be her. If the residents got angry and started filing complaints and reports against her, her future at work would be ruined just like that. Thinking about it sent a chill down her spine.

Once she understood this, she looked at Xu Biao with sudden gratitude.

“Thank you! I’ll arrange it right away. I guarantee it’ll be done in ten minutes.”

Xu Biao couldn’t help laughing. Hearing hurried footsteps, he guessed Wang Man was about to return, so he quickly put the protective suit back on.

Sure enough, a figure flashed by—Wang Man had returned with people. They were carrying two tarps and walked straight onto the platform.

Da Liu had already carefully taken photos of the “thing,” while Zhou Hai was writing something in a small notebook. Seeing them arrive, he stepped back slightly.

“Make sure the head side is facing up. Otherwise, the melted fat will leak from the damaged areas, and the vehicle won’t be able to transport it.”

The officers doing the work shivered all over and quickly adjusted their handling. Under Zhao Xinli’s guidance, they found the correct orientation and wrapped it in the tarp.

Only then did Zhou Hai turn to Wang Man.

“Have you found the source of the body?”

Wang Man nodded.

“We found a suspected identity—it’s the eldest daughter of Unit 19 in this building, Peng Chunling. Their family members all seem to have some intellectual disabilities. I’ve asked them to wait in the car; we’ll take blood samples back at the center for confirmation later. But aside from her, no other missing persons have been reported in the entire building.”

He then shook a evidence bag in his hand. Inside was an old pink plastic comb.

“This is Peng Chunling’s comb. I think you might need it for comparison.”

Zhou Hai nodded slightly and frowned.

“One person has been missing for so many days, and no one has looked for her? No one reported it?”

Wang Man shook his head.

“The situation with their family is a bit unusual. The couple—the wife has intellectual issues, the husband has a leg disability. They have a normal son who is in high school and lives on campus.

The eldest daughter also has mental issues and doesn’t like wearing clothes regardless of season, so they basically keep her locked at home.

But sometimes when she’s in a normal state, she goes to stay at her uncle’s place for a while, so she often disappears overnight without anyone knowing where she went.

This time it’s been a bit longer, but the family originally planned to ask about it over the weekend. The father has been busy working overtime lately, so he didn’t go looking for her.”

Zhou Hai narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Where does her uncle live?”

Wang Man pointed to the south.

“I actually asked about that. Out the south gate of the complex, go two blocks south—you’ll reach an urban village called Goucha Village.

Her uncle runs a small farmhouse-style restaurant at the entrance of the village. Business is good, and he treats Peng Chunling well. She used to stay there about half the time each month, and she could come and go on her own without any problems, so the family didn’t pay much attention.

I just called her uncle with my phone. He confirmed that Peng Chunling hasn’t been there for half a month.”

Zhou Hai narrowed his eyes further. With a child in such a mental condition, yet left to come and go freely and barely monitored, it felt almost like they were letting her fend for herself.

“Which floor did you say her family is on?”

Wang Man led Zhou Hai out of the unit and onto the platform. Following his finger, Zhou Hai looked in the direction he pointed.

“Nineteenth floor, west unit. You can see it from here, but it doesn’t line up directly with this platform. It’s slightly offset. If it were directly vertical, the body would’ve been discovered much earlier.”

Zhou Hai took a look. Although the nineteenth-floor west unit was visible from here, the distance to the incident platform was still somewhat off.

If calculated vertically, a straight drop from that unit would land near Zhou Hai’s position—but to reach that small platform to the southwest, it would require about a ten-meter lateral shift, which was puzzling.

Zhou Hai motioned behind him. Xu Biao and Da Liu quickly ran over.

“What’s up, Hai Zi?”

Zhou Hai pointed upward.

“Go with Wang Man’s team and check Peng Chunling’s home. If she jumped from the balcony, there should be traces left behind. Also check the surveillance footage to see if there are any records of her coming or going.”

Xu Biao curled his lip.

“How long would it take for a body to dry like this? Ten days? Half a month? After that long, what traces could possibly still be there upstairs?”

Zhou Hai’s expression turned stern. He kicked Xu Biao on the butt.

Xu Biao jumped up immediately, looking unwilling.

“If it were that easy to judge, what would I need you for? Stop talking nonsense and go. According to the family, Peng Chunling has been missing for nearly twenty days. I’m asking you to check the scene to see whether the traces match that timeline. Got it?”