SFTD -Chapter 408 White Spots Reappeared (Part 49)

Clearly, Fengzi had grasped the essence of the issue. Zhou Hai lifted the piece of tissue, sealed it inside a specimen box, and hurried back to the autopsy room.

Zhou Hai glanced at it while walking. Hu Nan shot him a look.

“What are you planning to do? Aren’t you sending it for testing?”

Zhou Hai shook his head.

“I want to examine a tissue section first. Diseases or other causes can’t create such identical white patches. I think they’re scars.”

“Scars?”

Hu Nan waved dismissively.

“Come on. Scars are even less controllable. Different people heal differently—”

She suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

Ordinary scars were indeed unpredictable. But burns caused by specific objects were another matter entirely—branding irons, hairpins, and similar items. If the edges were sharply defined, they could leave nearly identical scars.

Seeing the realization on her face, Zhou Hai nodded firmly.

“Exactly. I suspect burn marks.”

Hu Nan shrugged.

“But burns should be more severe, shouldn’t they? If this is a burn, it’s too superficial. There are no nodules, no tissue overgrowth. Can this really be a burn scar?”

Zhou Hai smiled faintly, switched on the light, and walked to the microscope. He prepared a section from the freshly removed tissue, cleaned and stained it, then placed it onto the microscope stage and slowly adjusted the magnification while observing carefully.

A moment later, after finishing the adjustments, Fengzi connected the microscope feed to the monitor. An enlarged image appeared before them.

The epidermis in the tissue slice showed no obvious depressions or abnormal growth, but the border was sharply defined. The only major difference was the color—the pale area was frighteningly white.

Hu Nan instantly understood Zhou Hai’s reasoning.

“You mean this isn’t just a burn scar—it was caused when they were very young. It healed well and received proper treatment, so the scar became a superficial scar with only pigment changes remaining?”

Fengzi snapped his fingers.

These two were terrifying. After only a brief exchange, they had already deduced so much.

Zhou Hai nodded.

“Dong Bin originally came from Xinjiang and struggled here alone. In the end, to remain in Dongnan, he married Zhu Xiangtao’s daughter—Zhu Cuiwen, a divorced woman with a child. I don’t need to explain how mismatched they were. Age, appearance, education, personality—nothing fit. What I’m wondering now is: why did Dong Bin marry Zhu Cuiwen? And why, despite not living together, did he care so much for her child?”

Hu Nan reached out and grabbed Zhou Hai’s arm.

“You mean Dong Bin might actually be a child of the Su family? That he’s related by blood to Yang Duxiu and Su Mule? And that the marriage was simply a form of restraint? Or perhaps a way to control Zhu Xiangtao?”

Zhou Hai narrowed his eyes.

“Dong Bin and Zhu Cuiwen were married for ten years, which means they married in 2005. By then, Zhu Xiangtao was already dead, so there was no need to control him anymore. I think Zhu Xiangtao must have told Zhu Cuiwen something. How could secrets and treasures like the underground city be casually revealed to outsiders? Dong Bin was either meant to keep Zhu Cuiwen in check—or he was being trained as an heir.”

Meanwhile, Fengzi had already sent Sister Zeng a WeChat message, asking her to compare Dong Bin’s records with Yang Duxiu’s.

Hearing Zhou Hai’s deductions, he kept scratching his head.

“If he was chosen as the heir, then why would Yang Duxiu kill him?”

Zhou Hai shook his head.

“Maybe Yang Duxiu found a better candidate?

He could casually spend millions on games, so money clearly wasn’t an issue for him.

The underground vault stored large jade artifacts and treasures. Those things were valuable, but impossible to move or sell easily. In practical terms, they were almost worthless.

Judging from the size of that room and the arrangement of the shelves, there used to be far more stored there.

Obviously, all the smaller valuables had already been sold.

And don’t forget—his ex-wife and son went to Germany. Was their departure meant to conceal his secrets, or simply to give them a better life? We still don’t know.”

Hu Nan covered her mouth in shock.

Zhou Hai’s analysis was incredibly bold, yet it connected every thread together.

Su Mule’s obedience and helplessness under drug control.

Dong Bin’s submission, along with the identical white patch behind his ear.

And the mother and son in Germany who had vanished without a trace.

The truth seemed closer and closer.

But Yang Duxiu’s ability to manipulate people—the terrifying control he held over human psychology—was chilling.

Zhang Mingquan, Dong Bin, and Su Mule had all been tightly controlled by him, carrying out his plans without fear of death.

Hu Nan’s face twisted with conflicted emotions. At least now, all the known clues had finally linked together.

She looked toward Zhou Hai, who was deep in thought.

“I also think your reasoning makes sense. But according to your theory… where is Yang Duxiu now?

What identity is he using to live?

Did he really change his appearance and hide somewhere in Dongnan City, watching his masterpiece unfold while enjoying the police’s helplessness, suffering, and fear?

And what does he gain from it? Revenge against society?”

Zhou Hai narrowed his eyes.

“A person like him can’t simply be explained as having multiple personalities. He’s the kind of person who lived his entire life behind several masks.

Perhaps the one splashed with sulfuric acid by Hong Haier back then was actually Su Mule. The two may have relied on their similar appearances to carry out certain plans together.

Everything underground may originally have belonged to both of them. Yang Duxiu merely gained control little by little, like boiling a frog in warm water, until everything fell into his hands and he could begin executing his plans.

But I don’t think he’s reached the point of indiscriminately taking revenge on society.

If he truly wanted that, he could simply plant explosives in the unexplored underground tunnels beneath Dongnan City and destroy half the city.

With the resources under his control, doing something like that would be easy.

As for the skeleton discovered in the underground passage—it died around twenty years ago. The clothes on the body were the most fashionable Soviet military coats from the early 1990s.

Even though we have no way to confirm the identity, we can still guess it was Hong Haier. That’s why I didn’t waste manpower investigating further. Huang Zhongsheng and the others are already stretched thin.

So I think what he wants isn’t simple destruction.

The four victims in Duping seemed more like a display of his abilities. In his eyes, those people deserved to die. The rumors and investigation results only reinforced his belief that he was justified—even Zhang Mingquan thought so.

As for Lu Xi, perhaps that was done to provoke me, and also as punishment connected to the old case involving my father.

And Dong Bin’s case… maybe it was about eliminating the heir with the white mark.

Or perhaps it was about making Su Mule—his substitute—die.

As for leaving behind the remnants of the underground city… maybe he wanted people to uncover those buried secrets.”

Hu Nan looked at Zhou Hai in confusion.

“You’re giving Yang Duxiu far too much credit. A vicious criminal like him—would he really be that benevolent?”