SFTD -Chapter 392 White Spots Reappear (Part 33)

Could he still be at the Third Hospital?

Beside Zhou Hai, Xu Biao curled his lips. Watching the two of them enthusiastically discussing theories, he noticed both Dr. Nan and Old Hu wearing confused expressions. He lightly coughed twice. Since nobody else intended to explain, he had no choice but to speak up himself.

“So… what exactly is that Locard Exchange Principle thing? Can’t you explain it to us normal people? Look at us three—we didn’t understand a single word.”

Hu Nan turned around and realized that Old Hu and Dr. Nan were indeed staring at her and Zhou Hai with blank expressions. But honestly, she didn’t really know how to explain the principle in simple terms either, so she looked back at Zhou Hai.

“This principle states that whenever a criminal commits a crime, they will inevitably interact, either directly or indirectly, with the victim and the surrounding environment at the crime scene, consciously or unconsciously leaving traces behind.

Forensic Doctor Zhou should explain it. Memorizing the definition is no problem for me, but explaining it clearly is another matter.”

Zhou Hai glanced at Hu Nan and said,

“I remember that forensic scientist Paul L. Kirk once gave a very vivid explanation of Locard’s Exchange Principle.

Wherever he steps, whatever he touches, whatever he leaves behind—even without realizing it—becomes a silent witness against him.

Not only fingerprints and footprints, but also his hair, fibers from his clothing, the glass he breaks, the marks left by his tools, the paint he scrapes away, the blood or semen he leaves behind or takes away.

All of these, and more, are silent testimony against him.

This evidence does not forget the past. It is not confused by excitement in the moment, nor does it disappear like eyewitnesses sometimes do.

It is factual evidence that truly exists.

Physical evidence does not make mistakes. It does not commit perjury, nor does it completely vanish.

Only when people fail to properly search for it, study it, and understand it does it lose its value.”

Hu Nan seemed to recall that her mentor had once told them this very story. She vaguely remembered those words. Thinking of this, her face instantly reddened. Zhou Hai’s memory was actually even better than hers. She had just bragged about being good at memorization, and now she had been thoroughly embarrassed.

Both Old Hu and Dr. Nan suddenly looked enlightened. Xu Biao immediately thought of the phrase carved onto the pen holder on Zhou Hai’s desk. It seemed to mean exactly this.

“Every contact leaves a trace!”

Zhou Hai nodded approvingly at Xu Biao.

“Well said!

What Forensic Doctor Hu meant just now is that Yang Duxiu’s activity range is likely within this area. If the mysterious room used for studying poisons and storing blueprints were hidden somewhere here, it would be both the safest and the most logical choice.

This is the kind of place most people would overlook, and it’s also a favorite hiding place for highly intelligent criminals—unless the person has psychological issues or lacks the financial means and has to settle for another option.”

Looking at the two people analyzing things back and forth, Xu Biao suddenly sprang to his feet.

“All this talking without action is pointless. Instead of sitting here waiting for Captain Huang and the others to free up, why don’t we search ourselves? Yang Duxiu probably isn’t still waiting there anyway, so there’s no real safety risk.”

Before Zhou Hai or Hu Nan could respond, Old Hu behind them could no longer sit still and quickly waved them off.

“Hurry up and go! What are you still hesitating for? Once you leave, us old fellows can finally focus properly on studying these handwriting samples.”

Hu Nan curled her lips. She couldn’t exactly complain about her own grandfather, but honestly, she really didn’t want to spend her vacation working. Still, the thought of Zhou Hai’s books gave her some motivation.

Turning around, Zhou Hai said to Xu Biao,

“Notify Captain Huang. We’re heading directly to the scene for a second inspection. Call Zhang Wenqi and Xiao Liang too. Let Fengzi stay behind and organize the reports.”

Xu Biao naturally had no objections. The three of them headed downstairs, and as they walked, Xu Biao began giving instructions.

Half an hour later, the three arrived at the rear courtyard of the Third Hospital.

As soon as the car stopped, Xu Biao was the first to jump out.

Because of the case, the small two-story administrative building in the back had already been sealed off. There had never been many patients there to begin with, and the hospital had temporarily suspended operations, so only the security guard remained on duty. The enormous empty hospital grounds looked even more desolate.

Xiao Liang and Zhang Wenqi had already arrived. The two were especially proactive and had already changed into protective suits to begin searching.

Zhou Hai stopped Xu Biao before he rushed over.

“Don’t hurry. Wait for the blueprints first. I emailed Xiao Hu earlier and asked him to find the Third Hospital’s design plans.”

Xu Biao looked shocked and pointed at the run-down buildings behind them.

“For these broken-down buildings? Those blueprints must be ancient relics by now. How could they still find them?”

Zhou Hai smiled slightly.

“Xiao Hu asked the Land Bureau and Housing Bureau to pull the archived records. No matter how old the buildings are, as long as there’s property ownership, the information can still be found. With that, we can retrieve the planning documents. Even if they’re simple, there will still be blueprints. That’s an indispensable procedure.”

As soon as Zhou Hai finished speaking, his phone vibrated, almost as if to prove his point. The caller was Xiao Hu. Zhou Hai quickly answered.

“Brother Hai, I just emailed you everything. These are all the planning blueprints for the Third Hospital.

And wow, this place really does have a long history. According to the records, two of the buildings were already there before Liberation. The paperwork was only reprocessed after the Cultural Revolution.

I checked the satellite maps too. The layout is basically identical to the current one—even the cafeteria hasn’t changed. Looks like nothing’s been modified since they got the permits in the 1980s.”

“Got it, thanks. I’ll review the blueprints now. If there’s a problem, I’ll call you again.”

After downloading the files, Zhou Hai carefully reviewed them before tossing the tablet to Hu Nan and Xu Biao. Then he stepped onto a protruding stone table in the back courtyard and surveyed the area.

If there was anything unusual about this courtyard, it was the archive room.

The entire rear courtyard was neatly square-shaped. The outpatient building in front was four stories, and the inpatient building behind was also four stories. On the west side stood the cafeteria and meeting hall, while on the east side, the administrative building oddly extended outward with an extra single-story section.

No matter how he looked at it, something felt off about that design.

What was the purpose of it?

If they had simply wanted to expand the space, they could have extended the upper floor as well. The design didn’t exceed floor-area limits, and the load-bearing structure would have been no different from before.

So what exactly was different about this section?

Xiao Liang and Zhang Wenqi had both gone searching, leaving only Xu Biao studying the blueprints. Zhou Hai turned around and called out to him.

“Xu Biao, take a look. Does the Third Hospital blueprint show a basement?”

Xu Biao shook his head.

“No. I was thinking about that too just now. These blueprints are actually easy to understand. Every building’s floor levels are clearly labeled, but none of them show a basement level.”

Zhou Hai jumped down from the stone table and walked a couple of steps toward the archive room before suddenly stopping and turning back toward Xu Biao and Hu Nan.

“What do you think this land was used for before the hospital was built?”

Xu Biao was completely stumped by the question. Looking puzzled, he hurried over toward Zhou Hai.

“Haizi, what are you trying to say? I don’t get it. These permits were processed in the eighties—I checked the dates!”

Hu Nan also walked over and shook her head, disagreeing with Xu Biao.

“The blueprints don’t show it, but the records on the last page mention that two buildings in this courtyard already existed before Liberation. All the paperwork was only redone after the Cultural Revolution during renovation and expansion.”

Xu Biao suddenly understood and nodded.

“So if that’s the case, these buildings are really old. Meaning the structures existed long ago, but all the permits and blueprints were added afterward?”

Zhou Hai looked at Xu Biao and Hu Nan and instantly understood what Xu Biao meant.

“Exactly. The blueprints were recreated afterward. Looks like we’ll need to search very carefully.”

Xu Biao nodded vigorously. The three headed toward the small two-story administrative building, but in order to take a shortcut, Xu Biao didn’t follow Zhou Hai and Hu Nan along the paved pathway. Instead, he cut through beside a decorative pavilion covered in vines.

Just as Xu Biao rounded the vine-covered pavilion and prepared to catch up with Zhou Hai, his foot suddenly snagged on something. With a startled cry, he pitched violently forward.

“Ah—”