SFTD -Chapter 402 White Spots Reappeared (Part 43)

“I’ve already analyzed it. The time of death is probably around twenty years ago~”

Zhou Hai nodded, his brows tightly furrowed as though he were thinking through something.

Zhao Xinli did not dare disturb him. He guessed Zhou Hai had found some point of doubt and was trying to uncover the answer, so he simply picked up his notebook, preparing to record Zhou Hai’s observations.

Zhou Hai walked to the position above the victim’s head and reached out to touch the victim’s shoulder before slowly closing his eyes.

He remembered the first time they went to the archives room at Third Hospital. Old Yang had led them inside, and at the time his right hand had remained tucked inside his pocket without moving. When Zhou Hai had curiously asked about it, Old Yang had seemed to use his left hand to support the right before pulling it out of the pocket, rather than lifting it with his own strength.

And there had also been the sensation from that hand—cold and stiff. At the time, his attention had been completely fixed on those scars.

Zhou Hai opened his eyes and picked up the severed right arm of the corpse. Although another finger had broken off, the thumb and index finger were still intact. He handed the limb to Hu Nan beside him.

“Help me hold it up, like a handshake.”

Zhao Xinli, standing nearby, shuddered all over. If it were him holding it, he felt like he would be psychologically scarred for life. A whole arm would already be terrifying enough, but this one was covered in scars from top to bottom. Just looking at it was enough to cause nightmares.

Yet his boss had actually handed something so horrifying to a petite young woman. That was way too much… though Zhao Xinli did not dare stop them because he was genuinely terrified himself. His legs had already gone weak.

Hu Nan took the severed limb and examined it, tugging at her mask with slight disgust.

“The skin grafting was done poorly. And these scars look like they were deliberately preserved!”

Zhou Hai paused. “Deliberately?”

He looked from the limb to Hu Nan, then shook his head and continued following his own line of thought. Closing his eyes again, he reached out to touch the fingers of the severed hand.

The sensation was icy and rough, but the scar tissue varied—some nodules were soft while others were hard. The texture was inconsistent. Then he recalled the soft cloth padding on Yang Duxiu’s shoulder.

Zhou Hai’s eyes snapped open as he looked toward Hu Nan.

“I think I understand part of the reason now!”

Hu Nan looked at him in confusion. “What reason?”

“Do you remember all the prosthetic limbs on the shelves in the underground laboratory?”

Hu Nan thought back carefully. There really had been some prosthetic limbs beside those skeletal specimens, though they were covered with various labels and notes. At the time, the impression they gave was that they were being used for research, especially since the entire room had been filled with experimental records and research materials.

“I saw them. I thought they were for pharmaceutical research or surgical analysis. Are you saying Yang Duxiu was making prosthetics to conceal his disability?”

Zhou Hai narrowed his eyes and stared at Hu Nan for a long moment before speaking.

“Do you remember the phone call from Professor Hu before? He said the experimental records were written with the right hand, and that the writer’s right hand showed no disability. It didn’t match the handwriting in the archives or on the blueprints.”

Hu Nan nodded and bit her lower lip thoughtfully. She had never understood that point either. Her grandfather’s judgment should not have been wrong. But in such a secret location, could there really have been a second person entering the place?

If so, it would no longer be considered a secret at all.

But why was Zhou Hai bringing this up?

Could it be…

Realizing the key point, Hu Nan suddenly raised her head and stared at Zhou Hai with wide eyes.

“You mean… he pretended to be disabled? That hand was actually a prosthetic?”

Zhou Hai nodded, his gaze turning even firmer.

“Since Yang Duxiu could find someone to die in his place and escape like a cicada shedding its shell, why couldn’t he also fake a disability? After all, we were already deceived by this man’s appearance!”

Zhou Hai’s words hit like a thunderclap, leaving Hu Nan momentarily unable to refute him. But after thinking it through carefully, it truly did make sense. If that were the case, then nearly everything could finally be explained!

The sound of a door opening interrupted Zhou Hai’s thoughts. Looking up, he saw Xu Biao and the others returning. Their clothes were soaked through and carried a foul odor.

They quickly walked over toward Zhou Hai and Hu Nan. Hu Nan stepped back to stand beside Zhou Hai while Xu Biao spoke with a wronged expression.

“Haizi, we went down and investigated. That tunnel leads directly into the sewer system. But judging from its condition, it wasn’t built recently—it was probably there from the very beginning of construction. As for exits, we found three or four nearby. One of them is just outside the back gate of Third Hospital.”

As he spoke, he stripped off his protective suit and opened his camera, handing it to Zhou Hai. Sure enough, the photo showed a small iron door by the roadside with a German inspection label on it.

Beside it was a Chinese annotation stating it had been built in 1903. The place had practically become a historical relic of the city.

“Where is this door located?”

After asking, Hu Nan looked at Xu Biao. Xu Biao had clearly anticipated the question and immediately flipped to the next photograph, which showed the intersection of Anshan Road and Benxi Road.

“Fifty meters west of this door is the intersection of Anshan Road and Benxi Road.”

Zhou Hai narrowed his eyes slightly. He had no idea where that was, but Zhang Wenqi behind Xu Biao grew anxious and blurted out: “That’s behind the machinery factory!”

Hu Nan had no idea what they were talking about, so Xu Biao hurriedly explained the details of Dong Bin’s case. After all, that case had been the original lead that brought them to Yang Duxiu.

After listening, Hu Nan looked toward Zhou Hai, who was deep in thought.

Zhou Hai glanced at Xu Biao.

“Did the specialists who explored with you have a map of the underground sewer system?”

Xu Biao nodded vigorously.

“When we found that door, we guessed Yang Duxiu must have been using the sewers to move around the city, so we immediately asked them for a map. The results were shocking. There’s also an exit behind the bridal photography studio where Lu Xi’s incident happened.

But many underground passages still haven’t been fully explored, so they aren’t sure whether it connects to the Anshan Road area. After hearing about our case, though, they immediately mobilized more personnel to investigate.

After Southeast City was liberated, very little urban construction data remained. Most of the current tunnel maps were made through manual exploration. Some damaged or sealed-off sections still haven’t been fully identified.”

Zhou Hai slowly nodded. Back then, they had never been able to trace how the killer escaped because they had completely overlooked the underground tunnels. It truly was an incredibly hidden method of escape.

“Have the items from the underground laboratory been transported back yet?”

Xu Biao froze, clearly not expecting the question. He glanced at Zhang Wenqi behind him, who quickly raised his hand and answered:

“All the experimental records and written materials have been sent to Professor Nan’s place. As for the laboratory equipment and specimens, we already brought them back. Sister Zeng and Xiao Liang are outside selecting items that can be sampled.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Hai and Hu Nan exchanged no further words and immediately headed outside.

Xu Biao looked utterly confused and turned toward Zhao Xinli, who was dragging over the X-ray machine.

“What’s going on?”

Zhao Xinli waved his hand dismissively.

“Hurry up and follow them. Boss says they’re looking for prosthetics. Seems like the real Yang Duxiu might not actually be disabled!”

That single sentence stunned Xu Biao and the others. They quickly turned around and rushed after them, leaving the autopsy room door swinging violently behind them.

Zhao Xinli shook his head and hurried to finish the X-ray imaging work in his hands.

The group rushed into the courtyard and immediately saw Sister Zeng directing people unloading the trucks. After all, many of the items held no sampling value, and if this preliminary inspection were left to junior staff, she feared something important might be overlooked. The pressure from such a major case weighed heavily on everyone.

Zhou Hai walked directly to her side.

“Sister, have the prosthetic limbs they brought back been unloaded yet?”