SFTD -Chapter 349 Rooftop Human Skin (Part 8)

Early morning on August 8, Zhou Hai arrived at the center.

As soon as he got out of the car, he saw Xu Biao stepping out of his brand-new bright green Alto.

The contrast between his 220+ jin body and the tiny car was visually striking. After locking the car, he even took the time to straighten the red silk ribbon tied into a bow on the side mirror.

Zhou Hai shook his head and walked toward the lobby. Xu Biao shouted and panted as he chased after him, finally grabbing Zhou Hai.

“Hey, Hai, the more I call you, the faster you walk. What’s wrong with you?”

Zhou Hai glanced back at the nearly empty parking lot—only a few vehicles were there—and nodded toward Xu Biao’s ride with his chin.

“Your car is too eye-catching. I’d better keep my distance.”

His expression was dead serious while saying this. Xu Biao felt something was off—either Zhou Hai was greeting him in the wrong way today, or Zhou Hai himself was not normal. It was honestly a bit hurtful.

Zhou Hai tugged at the still-panting Xu Biao.

“Let’s go. The hydrotherapy one is due. We still have an autopsy to do.”

Hearing this, Xu Biao immediately felt that familiar smell in his nose again. Thinking about the disgusted look his mother gave him when he got home last night, then glancing back at his new car, he sighed.

“Let’s go. Let’s get this done in one shot. I’ll shower before washing the car. That smell from yesterday still hasn’t gone away.”

The two of them went straight to Autopsy Room No. 1 on the first floor. Xiao Liang was already examining the body. Zhou Hai walked over quickly.

Thanks to a night of “hydrotherapy,” the corpse had regained about 80% of its moisture. It now looked much more like a human again.

Zhao Xinli and Da Liu had already been standing inside the autopsy room, both wearing protective suits. Zhou Hai was very satisfied with their attitude. He pressed on the deceased’s arm.

“Xiao Liang’s Lufer reagent is even more precise than what I prepare. The hydrotherapy worked well. Lift it out. I’ll prepare, and we’ll start the autopsy in ten minutes.”

Xu Biao ran even faster than Zhou Hai, heading straight for the changing room. Zhou Hai suppressed a smile and didn’t expose him—Xu Biao was the most sensitive to bad smells. They quickly changed and returned to the room, where the others were already ready.

Zhou Hai lifted his gaze, pulled his mask down slightly, and signaled Da Liu to turn the ventilation to maximum. Then he looked at Xiao Liang.

“Xiao Liang, are you going to observe the autopsy or go rest? You’ve been up all night.”

Xiao Liang smiled and shook his head.

“I’m not tired. I’ll just observe and record for you, Brother Hai.”

Zhou Hai nodded.

“Alright, then let’s begin. Zhao Xinli, you take the lead.”

Zhao Xinli shrank his neck in disbelief and quickly waved his hands.

“Let’s not. I really don’t know where to start. Boss, spare me!”

Xiao Liang and the others laughed. That was the honest truth.

Zhao Xinli lacked confidence the most. His ability was not much worse than Fengzi, but when it came to working independently, he was still missing a bit of decisiveness.

Zhou Hai stepped aside and gestured at him.

“You do it. I’ll assist from the side. Everyone has a first time. You wouldn’t say ‘no’ on your wedding night and ask us to help, right?”

Zhao Xinli stared wide-eyed at Zhou Hai. Hearing such words from Zhou Hai’s mouth left him utterly stunned.

“Boss… you’ve got jokes. Alright, I’ll try!”

He knew Zhou Hai was trying to relax him. Taking a deep breath, he picked up the scalpel—then immediately put it down again, looking embarrassed.

“I’m nervous. Let me check the external condition first.”

Xiao Liang, holding the record book, was already laughing so hard he nearly squatted on the ground.

After calming down, Zhao Xinli finally began his inspection.

The body continuously dripped water. The skin elasticity had recovered quite well, but the corpse had become much thinner, appearing flattened overall.

It lay supine on the autopsy table. The entire face was deformed, the right side almost completely collapsed inward, with twisted features—visually very disturbing.

The right arm and leg bones, as shown by X-ray comparison, were completely fractured and partially missing. From the surface, all injuries appeared consistent with a single fall trauma. However, the exposed abdominal cavity and right thoracic cavity made Zhao Xinli puzzled.

He looked up at Zhou Hai.

“Boss, the external injuries don’t show anything else. All wounds seem consistent with a single fall. Nothing difficult to interpret. But why are there missing bones? And based on skin tension and pre-death photos, the body seems much thinner.”

Zhou Hai nodded, fully agreeing with his observations.

“Remember the grease flowing down from the rooftop at the scene?”

“At the time, even the ground on the first floor was stained black.”

Zhao Xinli thought for a moment and nodded.

“I remember. You said stray dogs kept coming because they were attracted by it. So you mean the internal organs and some bones slid out from there?”

“Yes.”

Zhao Xinli frowned even more.

“I still don’t understand. In such hot weather, decomposition can happen in seconds. And this is on the second floor—flies can still get in. So why wasn’t the body highly decomposed? Instead, it became a mummified corpse, and so much internal tissue and bone is missing?”

Zhou Hai looked at him, then waved Da Liu over to bring the whiteboard. He drew a diagram.

“You’ve finally asked the key question. Why didn’t the body get decomposed by insects like others? Why did it directly dry into a mummy? I studied many foreign cases last night and summarized a few points. First—the weather. Xu Biao, tell him the weather conditions over the past half month.”

Xu Biao pulled up a screenshot.

“The entire southeast region was in deep red on the map. No rain for twenty consecutive days. Surrounding counties had very little rainfall. Continuous high temperatures. Even the lowest temperatures were above 28°C. This was one of the hottest and driest years in the city’s history.”

Zhao Xinli suddenly realized.

“So temperature and humidity are key factors?”

Zhou Hai nodded.

“That’s only one reason.

Second—the deceased had high body fat. She weighed over 200 jin, was under 160 cm tall, extremely obese, and rarely exercised. Her body fat percentage likely exceeded 60%.

After death, with open wounds but no rapid decomposition, the body fat melted under direct sunlight and flowed out as oil. And body fat itself has preservative effects.

In other words, under sun exposure, it was like roasting meat—fat continuously melted and drained out, causing the body to shrink.

Internal organs and fractured bones also moved within the body during this process and eventually leaked out through the open abdominal and chest wounds.

Third—and finally—the platform had a slope. If the body had been on flat ground, the melted fat would have pooled and preserved the body shape, preventing mummification.

Because of the slope, the internal organs were pushed out and excess fat drained away. The skin quickly became leathery.

This also prevented insect activity. The expelled organs still decomposed, and the melted corpse oil was extremely pungent.”

After this explanation, everyone finally understood.

Then Xu Biao suddenly gagged and glared at Zhou Hai resentfully.

“Hai… are you ruining barbecue for me?”