SFTD -Chapter 405 White Spots Reappeared (Part 46)

Xu Biao’s smile faded slightly as he quickly stopped Zhou Hai from continuing his questioning.

“I just retrieved the fingerprints of those two people, along with the prints lifted from the bottles and jars in the basement, and started filtering and comparing them.

What’s interesting is that in both of their records, the right hands were disabled with no fingerprints available. Only the left-hand prints were complete. If we assume the deceased fake Yang Duxiu was Su Mule, then can we temporarily identify the other set as the fingerprints of suspect Yang Duxiu?”

Zhou Hai gave a slight nod.

“You already sent the fingerprints to Huang Zhongsheng?”

Xu Biao sighed. Talking with Zhou Hai was especially frustrating. Before you could even finish speaking, Zhou Hai had already figured out the answer—sometimes even more accurately and effectively than the results you got through painstaking investigation. It was genuinely discouraging.

“I already sent them to Captain Huang. He forwarded them to everyone, and they’re currently screening airports, docks, and other checkpoints. After all, the accuracy rate is much higher now.”

Hu Nan curled her lips.

“If I were the killer, I’d just bandage up my right hand. My left hand isn’t injured anyway. I could still leave the country whenever I wanted. What’s stopping me?”

Xu Biao refused to back down. Hu Nan somehow seemed even more arrogant than Zhou Hai. Although what she said made a tiny bit of sense, he still couldn’t help arguing.

“You need a visa to leave the country, plus medical checks. And to board a plane, you have to pass security inspection. Those prosthetics may look real, but the moment a metal detector scans them, any alloy will be exposed immediately!”

Hu Nan rolled her eyes at him and shook her head slightly before tossing the photos of the prosthetics onto the whiteboard. She was genuinely annoyed now—this guy’s brain simply refused to work.

“Are you actually stupid or pretending to be?

If he truly wanted to escape, would he still wear such an obvious prosthetic hand while running away?

These things were only meant to mislead us. Now the stand-in Yang Duxiu—Su Mule—is dead. We found his secret experimental base, these prosthetics, the large jade artifacts and jewelry too big to transport, the shell casings, experimental data, and everything else.

So that disabled right hand is no longer useful at all.”

Her words left Xu Biao somewhat stunned, but the more he thought about it, the more reasonable it sounded. Zhou Hai also turned to look at Hu Nan. Though she appeared indifferent most of the time, this analysis was exceptionally sharp and precise.

Xu Biao looked at Zhou Hai, then at Hu Nan, spreading his hands helplessly.

“So what are you saying, auntie? We just give up on this lead? Throw out the entire investigation?”

Hu Nan was just about to speak when Xu Biao hurriedly sidestepped in front of Zhou Hai.

“Wait, don’t start scolding me first. Whenever I get yelled at, my brain turns to mush. Explain it properly. With that temper, no man’s ever going to marry you!”

Hu Nan narrowed her eyes.

“Fine then. If you don’t need me, I’ll leave.”

Xu Biao muttered stubbornly in a low voice: “If you leave, there’ll be no books.”

Hu Nan froze instantly.

That really was her weak spot now. After working so hard, if she didn’t get at least one book out of it as consolation, it would feel like a huge loss. A personality that could never tolerate missing out on an advantage simply couldn’t accept that.

“I don’t know how to find him. But he definitely won’t hide far away. He’s probably watching his masterpiece from some corner nearby. Such a grand performance, using his own cousin’s death as the opening act—how could he possibly miss it?”

Xu Biao smacked his lips. Though unwilling to admit it, Hu Nan’s analysis really did make sense.

“Then how are we supposed to find him?”

Hu Nan rolled her eyes again.

“How would I know? I’m not a detective!”

Xu Biao frowned and fell silent. Hu Nan was absolutely right, but what should they do next?

He glanced toward Zhou Hai, who was staring at the whiteboard.

Zhou Hai did not continue analyzing along their line of thought. Instead, he stared fixedly at the whiteboard and projection screen.

If that person really was nearby watching them, then according to the earlier analysis he and Hu Nan had made, the man would not leave this triangular area.

As he reviewed all the information, the phone number sold near the Agricultural College caught his attention. That place happened to lie on the edge of the triangular zone.

Agricultural College—the SIM card—the mysterious teacher!

Zhou Hai suddenly felt as though he had overlooked something.

But no matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t grasp that fleeting idea.

Under the room’s bright lights, Zhou Hai stared at the whiteboard for a long time. Only after pulling out his phone did he realize it was already past six in the evening.

Turning around, he happened to see Hu Nan yawning.

“Xu Biao, call Professor Nan and ask for the address. Then take Dr. Hu to get some rest.”

Hu Nan waved her hand dismissively.

“I just got tired from waking up early and driving. Once my grandfather sees Professor Nan, he won’t have time for me anyway. Let those two chat properly.”

Xu Biao looked at both of them and rubbed his flattened stomach.

“People are made of iron, food is steel. Let’s eat something before continuing to work!”

Zhou Hai nodded. No matter what, he needed the two of them to eat and rest a little. Xu Biao especially had followed him around for days without proper food or sleep.

“Go arrange it. I’ll wait for news from Fengzi and the others.”

Xu Biao knew Zhou Hai had no mood to go out right now, so he grabbed his car keys and left.

Hu Nan narrowed her eyes while looking at Zhou Hai’s thin back. She had more or less known some things about him before, and there was no need to explain what this case meant to him.

She sighed softly and opened WeChat to ask her colleagues about the investigation results in the provincial capital.

Hu Nan: Xiao Qian, how’s the investigation going? Any results?

Xiao Qian: We found several highly suspicious cases. That attending doctor still hasn’t come out of surgery yet. I’m waiting at the oncology hospital for him to identify them.

Hu Nan: Oh. Send me the medical records you found so I can take a look.

Xiao Qian: Hold on, I already photographed them.

A flood of photos immediately appeared on the screen—all medical files from different patients.

Hu Nan opened them one by one. They contained disease progression summaries, consultation results, examinations, and imaging reports. None of that was her specialty, so she quickly called Zhou Hai over.

“Forensic Doctor Zhou, my colleague found several highly suspicious cases. Take a look!”

Her voice interrupted Zhou Hai’s thoughts. He quickly walked over beside her.

The photos looked tiny on the phone screen, so Hu Nan logged into the computer and enlarged them. Zhou Hai carefully reviewed them.

The tumor locations and sizes were extremely similar. The treatment dates were all within 2015, and the patients’ ages ranged between forty-five and fifty-two. Clearly, the people handling the screening had been very thorough.

“These cases are very similar. Did the attending physician mention any characteristics of the patient?”

Hu Nan shook her head.

“We’ll have to wait. The doctor was still in surgery.”

The moment she finished speaking, Hu Nan’s phone rang. Xiao Qian was requesting a video call.

Hu Nan’s eyes lit up and she immediately connected it.

“Xiao Qian!”

“Forensic Doctor Hu, Dr. Xu from the oncology department just came out of surgery. I’ll let him speak with you.”

The camera shifted, revealing a doctor in his forties on screen. He removed his mask and surgical cap while greeting them.

“Hello.”

Hu Nan smiled politely.

“Hello, Dr. Xu. Sorry for interrupting your rest. I wanted to ask—you just looked at the suspect’s photograph on our side. Do you remember anything about him?”