SFTD -Chapter 407 White Spots Reappeared (Part 48)

Sister Zeng didn’t stop working. She crushed the tartar into powder, tossed it into a test tube, added several reagents, and gave it a quick shake before dripping the liquid into seven or eight small cups from the previous experiment. Then she restarted the machine.

The roar of the machine echoed through the room. Sister Zeng leaned closer for a look, slightly startled. It seemed their toxicology equipment needed updating too—she would have to add another item to future tests.

“Bingo.”

Zhou Hai pursed his lips. “At such a high dosage, he was already near the limit of what the human body can tolerate. He must have been a habitual user to endure it. Otherwise, taking that much at once would’ve already caused hallucinations or severe psychiatric symptoms.”

Sister Zeng nodded. “That man must’ve suffered terribly from pain. Maybe death was a relief for him. But what explains such a high blood lead level?”

“That’s probably related to his living environment. We still don’t know the specifics. But the victim was a chronic alcoholic and also had gallbladder system disease, which triggered liver cancer. Besides, liver cancer metastasizing to the intestines is relatively rare. Perhaps long-term exposure to dark, damp surroundings and food contaminated with excessive aflatoxins were contributing factors.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the testing machine chimed.

Another result printed out. Sister Zeng tore it off and checked it. Sure enough, the values closely matched the previous test, confirming the victim’s method of intake.

“Looks like he mixed it with tobacco and smoked it. Did you examine the victim’s respiratory tract?”

Zhou Hai shook his head. “I didn’t dissect the nasopharyngeal area. There were follicles in the respiratory tract, and I initially assumed they were caused by long-term smoking. Thanks, Sister Zeng. I’ll take the results—you should get some rest.”

Sister Zeng waved him off. “Don’t be polite. Hurry along, there’s still plenty to do!”

Zhou Hai quickly went downstairs and returned to his office.

Hu Nan was reviewing the video files. She had already located the suspicious section, clipped it, sent it to Dr. Nan for enhancement, and received the high-definition version back. When she saw Zhou Hai enter, Hu Nan immediately stood up.

“It looks like we were right. Take a look—these two disguised themselves before going to the hospital for examinations. No wonder Dr. Xu couldn’t identify them from the photos. Unless you’re a professional, it’d be hard to imagine this is Yang Duxiu.”

Following Hu Nan’s finger, Zhou Hai looked toward the screen.

A man wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a small mustache appeared onscreen. His hair was thick and jet black. Despite the sweltering weather, he wore a long-sleeved shirt, with his right hand tucked into his pocket.

Beside him stood a middle-aged man in a black short-sleeved shirt. His hair was graying, and he wore black-framed glasses, giving him an unusually refined appearance.

While Dr. Xu explained the diagnosis, the man kept his head slightly lowered as if listening attentively, but his eyes continuously scanned the surroundings, carrying a strangely knowing look.

As soon as Dr. Xu finished speaking, the man whispered something into the long-sleeved man’s ear. The latter sighed, and the two packed up their belongings and prepared to leave.

The moment he stood up, Zhou Hai spotted a mark behind his ear. He immediately clicked the mouse and froze the frame.

Hu Nan jumped slightly at the sudden movement.

“What is it?”

Zhou Hai took a screenshot and zoomed in repeatedly. The spot behind the short-sleeved man’s ear enlarged more and more. Zhou Hai bit his lip.

He had seen this exact kind of white spot before—behind Dong Bin’s ear. The size and position were almost identical. But this man definitely wasn’t Dong Bin. He was five or six centimeters shorter and noticeably thinner.

But how could two different people have the exact same white patch? Same size, same location, both resembling the imprint of a thumb pressed against the skin.

What relationship did these two men have?

Zhou Hai pulled up the autopsy photos from Dong Bin’s examination and compared them to the image on the screen. The differences were negligible.

He bit down on his lip again. Speculation was useless. He needed to see it for himself.

The two hurried downstairs just as Fengzi walked in. Xiao Liang and the others had already been sent home by him. After several sleepless days in a row, they desperately needed some rest.

Seeing Zhou Hai coming downstairs, Fengzi quickly caught up.

“Boss, we checked the oncology departments of several major hospitals in the city. We only found one case of liver cancer metastasizing to the intestines—it was from this June. I even found the outpatient records. Luckily they had electronic archives. If he hadn’t been hospitalized, it would’ve been impossible to track down.”

Zhou Hai immediately stopped him.

“Confirmed it was Yang Duxiu?”

Fengzi nodded. “The doctor looked at the photo and said two people came together. They looked incredibly alike. Their appearances were somewhat different from the photos we provided, but he was certain one of them was Yang Duxiu.

Then we compared the hospital surveillance footage according to the consultation time and found screenshots. Even from a distance, they looked extremely similar.

One lookalike isn’t strange. But two people looking that similar, entering and leaving together? That makes me even more convinced.”

Zhou Hai took the phone Fengzi handed over. It indeed contained a clipped surveillance video.

The moment they saw the outfits, Hu Nan and Zhou Hai exchanged glances.

It was exactly the same as the footage they had just seen.

Two nearly identical faces. One in long sleeves, one in short sleeves. Both wearing hats and sunglasses.

So these two had first undergone examinations in Dongnan, then gone to the provincial capital for a second diagnosis.

Zhou Hai looked up at Fengzi.

“Did the doctor mention anything unusual about them?”

Fengzi nodded vigorously.

“He did. While the doctor stepped next door to wash his hands and gave them time to discuss whether to be admitted, he overheard their entire conversation.

The man accompanying the patient—the one in short sleeves—seemed to be a doctor himself. He understood all the symptoms and clinical signs the doctor described, and even explained surgical methods and pharmacology to the long-sleeved man.

When the doctor came back, the patient asked him, ‘So after surgery, I’ll be cured?’

The doctor said the surgery could control the disease and prolong survival time.

That man shook his head and refused hospitalization. He took all the scans and diagnoses with him, and the doctor prescribed some painkillers.”

“Which hospital?”

Fengzi’s eyes lit up.

“Very close to Third Hospital—the Municipal Cancer Hospital on Anshan Road.”

Zhou Hai nodded.

“First, let’s go look at Dong Bin’s body. Also, have Captain Huang’s team start investigating drug dealers in Dongnan.”

Fengzi looked utterly confused, but he didn’t stop moving. He quickly went to the freezer drawer and pulled out Dong Bin’s corpse. Moving aside the skin behind Dong Bin’s right ear, the white patch appeared before the three men.

Hu Nan sucked in a sharp breath.

The size and shape of the white spot were almost identical to the one in the surveillance footage.

Zhou Hai picked up a scalpel and carefully excised the patch of tissue behind the dead man’s ear.

Fengzi stared at the two in confusion.

“What’s going on? Why cut off that piece of skin?”

Hu Nan slapped the printed screenshot into Fengzi’s hand.

“This is from surveillance footage at a cancer hospital in the provincial capital. The man highly suspected to be Yang Duxiu also has the same white patch behind his right ear.”

Fengzi froze.

“What? There’s more than one person with that white spot? It’s not like they’re wholesale products!”