SFTD -Chapter 384 White Spots Reappear (Part 25)

On the drive back to the center, Zhou Hai thought about many things.

His father had always been busy every day and never seemed to pay much attention to the exact nature of his work. It was only after his father passed away that Zhou Hai read through his work notes and discovered parts of his past through those records.

But there was barely any mention of those five years his father spent as a criminal investigator.

Could it be that his father had made a mistake in this case?

That kind of situation—with no evidence left to verify anything—was the most unsettling. Zhou Hai forcefully shook his head. Just then the vehicle jolted to a stop. Looking out the window, he saw the large red characters of the center illuminated under dim lights.

Taking a deep breath, he jumped out of the car. Xu Biao was already carrying two boxes upstairs.

The moment Zhou Hai entered the lobby, he saw Fengzi and Xiao Liang in protective suits peeking out from one side of the hallway. The instant they spotted him, they waved urgently.

“Chief, we’re all ready. We can begin the autopsy anytime.”

Zhou Hai glanced at his watch.

“Let Xu Biao go eat first. We’ll start now.”

The three headed toward Autopsy Room No. 1. Halfway down the second-floor stairs, Xu Biao came rushing down two steps at a time, having heard everything clearly. He waved quickly.

“My fat reserves are thick enough—I’m fine. Besides, I just ate a Snickers.”

Zhou Hai looked at Xu Biao. He knew everyone wanted to help him. At a moment like this, saying thank you would feel too insignificant. He simply patted Xu Biao on the shoulder, and the four of them walked together toward Autopsy Room No. 1.

Fengzi and Xiao Liang had already finished preparing everything. The victim’s clothes had been cut off and placed neatly on the cart nearby, reconstructed as closely as possible to their original appearance. Xu Biao stood beside them taking photos nonstop.

On the cart lay a white dress shirt. The inside of the collar had yellowed from repeated washing, and now it was stained dark purple with blood. The front was smeared with black oil stains and mud.

Those were probably caused by the impact. There were even traces of paint visible on it.

The gray trousers below were also covered in dirt and mud, likewise soaked red with blood. Fengzi reached into the pockets, turning the linings inside out before gesturing to Zhou Hai.

“We already checked earlier. Aside from the clothes, the victim wasn’t carrying anything.”

Zhou Hai said nothing. His gaze moved downward until it landed on the victim’s shoes.

Yang Duxiu was wearing a pair of black cloth shoes with layered soles. Judging from the workmanship, they appeared hand-sewn. Very few people still wore this kind of shoe nowadays—especially someone with a disabled right hand. To put it bluntly, even putting them on would be difficult for him.

Yet Yang Duxiu had chosen to wear such a pair.

Could it be because he spent long hours standing every day?

Zhou Hai gestured toward Xiao Liang.

“Did you measure the shoes and feet?”

“We did. Size forty-two feet, but the shoes are size forty-two and a half. They were probably custom-made for him—not something bought in regular stores.”

Xu Biao flipped the shoe over for a look and shook his head.

“These days, if you want anything, you can get it online with a few taps. Don’t be too surprised. These shoes look handmade, but they might actually be mass-produced on Taobao.”

As he spoke, he snapped photos of the shoes and immediately opened a Taobao search engine. Moments later, more than a hundred results popped up. He opened the top-selling listing.

Sure enough, it was identical to the pair on Yang Duxiu’s feet.

Xiao Liang instantly sighed and shot Xu Biao a resentful look.

“Brother Xu, your ability to crush people’s spirits has improved. Couldn’t you let me feel happy for once?”

“Better to discover problems early than late. We almost got blown to the sky by a bomb just now.”

Zhou Hai raised his head and shot him a glare.

“Enough joking around. Begin the autopsy.”

Xu Biao shrugged and hurried over with the camera to the autopsy table. The moment he saw the mangled pile on the table, his stomach churned. The Snickers he had scarfed down earlier seemed to roll violently inside his gut.

He quickly turned around and took several deep breaths before suppressing the nausea.

Zhou Hai, however, paid no attention to Xu Biao’s reaction. He had already begun carefully examining Yang Duxiu’s body.

The victim’s right arm had been completely severed. The three skeletal fingers that had once been little more than skin and bone were now mutilated beyond recognition.

Zhou Hai picked up a magnifying glass and examined them carefully. Only a thin layer of skin remained on the fingers, and grafting marks could still be seen on the surface. The healing pattern of the scars was exactly the same as when he had first seen Yang Duxiu.

The tiny spark of hope in Zhou Hai’s heart instantly died by half.

All this time, he had refused to believe Yang Duxiu would commit suicide. How could someone so calculating choose death so easily?

But the scars on those fingers were identical to before. Burns caused by sulfuric acid healed differently on every individual, producing unique scar tissue and healing patterns impossible to imitate.

Zhou Hai suppressed the disappointment in his chest and continued.

Looking up at the X-rays, he saw fractures throughout the victim’s legs, skull, and both arms. Nearly every rib had been broken, and several had already pierced through the chest wall.

It appeared Yang Duxiu had been struck and thrown before ever hitting the ground. Then, after being flung upward again, he had been pinned against the guardrail by the oncoming concrete mixer truck.

There was practically no intact bone left in his body. Even the skull had completely deformed. The bumper had crushed both temples inward, distorting the head so severely that it looked noticeably elongated. The temple regions had entirely caved in.

“Fengzi, collect the victim’s fingernails.”

Fengzi acknowledged and began working. The nails on the left hand were fairly short. After separating them carefully, he removed an entire nail plate for a more accurate sample.

But when he saw the fingernails on the right hand, even he struggled to maintain composure. He turned away for a moment to steady himself before quickly clipping a section off.

After all, while the right hand lacked flesh, the shriveled fingers still bore long fingernails—like chicken claws.

Combined with the uneven scar tissue, the visual impact was horrifying. It felt like nails scraping across glass, making the hairs on one’s body stand on end.

By the time Fengzi finished collecting both nail samples, his back was already soaked with sweat. Seeing Zhou Hai still occupied, he tried drawing intracardiac blood. After two attempts, he actually succeeded. He hurriedly handed the samples to Xiao Liang, who immediately rushed out carrying them without needing further instructions.

Meanwhile, Zhou Hai had already finished checking the fracture patterns against the X-rays. Every fracture had clearly been caused by this traffic accident. There were no old injuries and no signs of secondary trauma.

Without pausing, Zhou Hai extended his hand toward Fengzi. A scalpel was placed into his palm.

Using the standard Y-incision autopsy method, he began the deeper examination.

The thoracic and abdominal cavities had suffered severe compression injuries from the crash, along with open trauma. The ribs had punctured the lungs, leaving large amounts of clotted blood inside the chest and abdomen.

After clearing the blood away, Zhou Hai began separating the digestive tract and organs one by one starting from the esophagus. Even the sections of intestine torn free during impact were carefully sorted into separate trays.

Only then did he begin a thorough inspection.

The more he looked, the tighter his brows furrowed.

When dissecting Dong Bin earlier, he had already thought the man’s body was riddled with illness. But Yang Duxiu was in even worse condition.

From the stomach and intestines to the liver, gallbladder, lungs, and heart—everything was diseased.

Zhou Hai glanced at Fengzi.

“Record this. The victim’s lungs contain a mass with smooth borders, uneven density, and calcification visible inside. This is a tuberculoma. For a doctor to have this kind of tuberculoma suggests he had poor health as a child.

Severe liver cirrhosis. There’s a tumor with indistinct boundaries, splenomegaly, duodenal polyps, ulcers, extensive enlargement of thoracic and abdominal lymph nodes, and abnormal growths inside the intestines.

This indicates he was either undergoing treatment or self-medicating to control tumor progression.

Looks like he knew he didn’t have much time left.”

At that point, Zhou Hai’s fingers suddenly paused.

Where was Yang Duxiu’s gallbladder?

There hadn’t been any large surgical scar visible on the chest or abdomen earlier. He quickly restored the skin over the torso and abdomen to its original position.

Sure enough, on the right side of the abdomen he found two pale crescent-shaped scars. Another one had been hidden beneath the protruding rib.

Instantly, Zhou Hai fell into deep thought.

He vaguely remembered that they had brought the victim’s medical records back with them.

Lifting his eyes, he looked through the gap in his goggles toward Fengzi and Xu Biao beside him.

“Fengzi, where are Yang Duxiu’s medical records? Let me see them.”