SFTD -Chapter 348 Rooftop Human Skin (Part 7)

“Didn’t… didn’t see it…”

The woman shook her head quickly when she saw Peng Chunlei’s expression.

Peng Chunlei kept kicking toward Zhou Hai’s direction, but the distance was too far—he couldn’t reach at all. He kept shouting:

“Are you all crazy?! You’re asking a mentally ill woman about that idiot—what could she possibly see?! Her mind isn’t right, she always talks nonsense. Where she went, what she did—how would we know?!”

Zhou Hai raised his eyes at the agitated Peng Chunlei.

“If we don’t ask her, then who do we ask? You? Would you tell us even if you saw it?”

Peng Chunlei opened and closed his mouth a few times, as if he wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words. What Zhou Hai said was true, but his mother’s words had indeed made things easy to imagine.

Wang Man turned slightly and raised both wrists together in a gesture toward Zhou Hai, asking whether to take the person back. Zhou Hai thought for a moment and shook his head. The autopsy hadn’t even been done yet—there was no point deciding anything now.

“Let’s head back first. Once the autopsy and DNA results come out, we can continue the investigation.”

The group left the Peng residence and took the elevator downstairs. Wang Man considered it and left four officers behind—partly to secure the scene in case curious onlookers disturbed it, and partly to keep an eye on Peng Chunlei.

Zhou Hai checked the time and called Xu Biao and Wang Man to leave.

He needed to return to the center. The autopsy couldn’t be done today, but he had to check the soaking process and the DNA comparison results.

At exactly five o’clock, the two arrived at the center. As soon as they entered the lobby on the first floor, they heard noisy shouting coming from upstairs. Zhou Hai quickened his pace toward the second floor.

On the second floor, a crowd was gathered—some from the center, others from Wang Man’s team. Their voices quieted when Zhou Hai arrived. At the center of the crowd stood a man—Peng Chunlin’s father.

He stood stiffly against a doorframe, guarded and wary, muttering something in a local dialect that couldn’t be clearly understood even up close.

“What’s going on?” Zhou Hai asked.

A police officer from Wang Man’s team stepped forward and saluted.

“Deputy Director Zhou, Peng Guoan wants to leave. He says there’s no one at home to take care of things, and he has to go to his night shift.”

Zhou Hai scanned the area but didn’t see Zhao Xinli. Xu Biao immediately understood and called Zhao Xinli. Soon, footsteps and a ringtone came from upstairs as Zhao Xinli appeared, rushing down with a few pages of paper in his hand.

Seeing Zhou Hai, he quickly handed over the report.

“The results are out. The deceased and Peng Guoan are confirmed to have a parent–child genetic relationship.”

Zhou Hai flipped through it briefly, then closed the report and looked at Peng Guoan.

“The report confirms it. The body on the rooftop is your daughter, Peng Chunlin.”

Peng Guoan lifted his eyelids slightly, but showed no reaction—still the same guarded, anxious expression.

“I want to go home. Go to work.”

A young officer nearby lost his temper and pushed him.

“Your daughter is dead, and we’re investigating the cause—and you don’t care at all?!”

Peng Guoan shrank his neck and continued clinging to the doorframe, head lowered and refusing to move. No one knew how to handle a victim’s family member like this—neither scolding nor force seemed appropriate.

Zhou Hai grabbed Xu Biao’s arm and pushed him forward.

“You handle it. Call Wang Man to take over. This is the forensic center, not the criminal police unit. This kind of work is their responsibility.”

Officers from the Changhe task force felt a bit embarrassed, but after thinking about it, it was true. This was indeed the criminal police’s job; the center only assisted. Making a scene here without results was inappropriate.

Xu Biao rolled his eyes at their expressions and walked over to Peng Guoan, adjusting his demeanor.

Zhou Hai pulled Zhao Xinli downstairs, and the two headed straight to the first autopsy room.

Inside, Xiao Liang was fully geared up, standing in front of a large stainless-steel soaking tank beside the autopsy table.

The ventilation was at maximum, but the smell was still extremely strong. Zhao Xinli frowned immediately and pressed the metal strip on his mask to seal it tighter.

Zhou Hai remained calm and walked over.

Inside the tank, the body was fully submerged. Zhou Hai touched the temperature of the tank wall.

Only then did he notice Xiao Liang watching the thermometer carefully. His work was meticulous.

“Xiao Liang, how is the soaking going?”

Xiao Liang turned and smiled.

“The body has completely dehydrated. Luckily it’s summer, so the temperature of the Lefort solution is easier to control. At this rate, it should be restored by tomorrow morning.”

“But I’ve already taken X-rays. There are missing bones in the skeleton—many parts are gone.”

Zhou Hai nodded.

“We already found some at the scene—ribs and teeth. And when we arrived, there were stray dogs downstairs. They probably gathered there because food kept falling from above.”

Hearing this, Xiao Liang felt a chill run down his spine.

“It’s already creepy enough seeing it dried like this… I can’t imagine how long it must’ve been exposed to reach this state.”

Zhao Xinli smirked.

“Drying it like salted fish doesn’t take that long—but only if the internal organs are gone. Otherwise it takes more effort.”

Zhou Hai nodded.

“The family doesn’t even know she was missing. It’s probably been about half a month. The rest will depend on Wang Man’s interrogation.”

“What? The family didn’t even know?” Xiao Liang and Zhao Xinli both froze.

But thinking back to the father’s behavior upstairs, it wasn’t surprising.

Zhou Hai checked the time—nearly six in the evening—and waved his hand.

“Call it a day. No point waiting longer. Autopsy tomorrow morning.”

Zhao Xinli nodded, but Xiao Liang didn’t move and smiled.

“You guys go ahead. I already told Brother Luo—I’ll work overtime tonight and keep an eye on the Lefort solution. I’m more familiar with this water treatment.”

Zhao Xinli patted his arm gratefully.

“Thanks, buddy. I’ll send someone to stay with you so you won’t be alone in the future.”

Xiao Liang didn’t say much. Since officially joining the center, he had changed a lot—everyone could see his growth. Zhou Hai was very satisfied with him; in a way, he was his first student at the center.

“Alright, Zhao Xinli and I are heading out.”

The two left the autopsy room and ran into Xu Biao coming their way. Seeing his smug expression, they both ignored him.

“Huh? Why are you out already? No autopsy?”

“Head said we wait until tomorrow morning—the water treatment isn’t done yet.”

Xu Biao grunted, then couldn’t hold back and asked irritably: “You guys are too much! Don’t you even ask how I handled things?”

Zhou Hai waved him off.

“I’ve got something to do. I’m going to watch a movie with the little girl. See you.”

Behind them came Xu Biao’s complaining voice, but not long after, his chubby figure also came out and sat in Zhou Hai’s car, still looking displeased. He stared seriously at Zhou Hai.

“Hey Hai-zi, can’t you just ask me once? Ask how I handled it?”

Zhou Hai shrugged, unable to hold back a smile.

“Alright then. How did you handle it?”

Xu Biao instantly lit up, forgetting all his earlier frustration, and began gesturing excitedly as he explained…