SFTD -Chapter 417 White Spots Reappeared (Part 58)

Director Liu was getting irritated. “No matter what, keep your eyes glued to the two people inside that room! With Xu Biao’s size, how could you possibly fail to identify him? Tell the man Xiao Hu sent to transmit the live feed to me immediately. It’d be best if we can mark his exact position. That’ll help with negotiations, cover tactics, and a forced rescue later on. Understood?”

“Understood!”

Wang Xuchao quickly acknowledged the order, then turned around and dragged over the technician Xiao Hu had sent.

“You heard what I said on the phone just now, right? Hurry up and transmit the live footage to them.”

The young man looked nervous. He stammered out “Y-yes” seven or eight times, though his hands moved very quickly.

Wang Xuchao waved his hand, telling Xiao Liu to stay close while the sniper and spotter hid in a room on the north side. The image on the thermal imager wasn’t especially clear and flickered constantly.

Staring at the display, Wang Xuchao suddenly felt something was strange.

One figure’s head barely moved at all, and its color leaned toward blue-green. The other figure paced back and forth constantly, though never outside the first person’s range. The second figure showed much more orange coloration than the first.

He glanced at the sniper, then poked the stuttering technician.

“Explain something to me. Why are the two people showing different colors on the thermal imager?”

Once he realized it was just a technical question, the young man pushed up his glasses and explained:

“Human body temperature varies, so thermal imaging colors vary too. Nervousness or movement raises body temperature, which increases the heat signature.

Emotions and physical condition also affect temperature. Judging from the colors, the person standing in the back is very agitated and keeps moving around, so his color leans orange-red.

As for the person in front, his temperature is lower, and it looks like he’s sitting down.

Huh? That leg…”

The young man suddenly paused and frowned at the thermal display.

That reaction instantly made Wang Xuchao tense up.

From the technician’s description, the person in front sounded more and more like Xu Biao. A hostage would naturally move less, and would likely be forced or tied into sitting in one place.

Wang Xuchao wasn’t in the mood for patience. When the explanation stopped halfway, he instantly got angry and smacked the young man on the back.

“‘Huh’ what? Keep talking! Stopping halfway like that is seriously asking for a beating, you know?”

The young man winced from the hit and hurriedly continued:

“I-I just think it looks strange. Look at the seated person’s legs. One is stretched outward while the other is upright. But temperature-wise, there’s a huge difference between them.

See? The leg stretched outward is almost completely dark blue. But the upright leg has areas of pale yellow and blue-green mixed together, which is normal.

And if you watch carefully, the stretched-out leg barely moves at all. Only the upright leg moves slightly.”

Wang Xuchao spread his hands helplessly. Now wasn’t the time to lose his temper, but what exactly did all that mean?

Was he saying Xu Biao was injured? That the outstretched leg was ruined?

The thought startled him badly. If a man weighing over two hundred pounds became disabled, who would even be able to carry him in the future?

“H-he… you think his leg is crippled?”

The young man had completely stopped stuttering by now. He could see Wang Xuchao was trying hard to restrain himself, and he knew these people were the core figures of Southeast Criminal Investigation. His expression became more resolute.

“I followed Brother Hu during a few related experiments before. I remember one accident where someone’s arm got crushed under a cabinet. By the time we rescued him, he’d barely escaped danger.

Later, when reviewing the thermal imaging footage, we discovered that after the arm was crushed, its color rapidly changed from pale yellow to green, then gradually to blue. It was caused by changes in blood flow and temperature.”

Wang Xuchao stared at him for a long moment, then sighed and patiently asked:

“I just want to know—what could have happened to Xu Biao’s leg?”

“Binding, low temperature, injury, blood loss… basically anything that lowers temperature and restricts blood flow. That’s why that leg’s temperature is much lower than the rest of the body.”

“Got it.”

Wang Xuchao nodded. It was the answer he least wanted to hear. Whether it was injury, blood loss, or something else, it all meant Xu Biao’s life could be in danger at any moment.

Thinking about how Xu Biao had always run himself ragged for everyone else, Wang Xuchao took a deep breath.

He raised his hand and patted the shoulders of the two snipers.

“The interception is in your hands later. Haizi and Captain Huang will handle negotiations and distract him. The assault team upstairs will drop down for the main attack. If you see Yang Duxiu separated from Xu Biao, shoot him immediately.”

The two men nodded.

“Yes, sir!”

Wang Xuchao found a window and raised his binoculars, staring hard toward Building Five on the north side. Apartment 401 remained pitch-black. Even though the moonlight was bright, the curtains were drawn tightly shut.

As he shifted the binoculars, Wang Xuchao spotted movement on the roof of Building Six next door.

Several people moved silently to the eastern edge and finished setting up a ladder bridge. Then they crawled across toward the roof of Building Four.

But the rooftop was cluttered with obstacles and illegally constructed sheds. It was obvious people often came up there. Moving through such a place without making any sound was extremely difficult.

Wang Xuchao suddenly felt his throat tighten.

“Stay alert. The assault team has begun moving!”

The moment he finished speaking, a voice came through the radio in his hand.

“Assault team will be in position in five minutes. Five minutes!”

Director Liu replied: “Good. Stay quiet and await the assault order! Huang Zhongsheng, negotiation team, move in!”

Huang Zhongsheng, who had long been waiting nearby, immediately led his men quickly toward the eastern stairwell to rendezvous with Zhou Hai.

But instead of rushing upstairs, they directly dialed the phone number registered under Pang Yuchang’s name.

On the third ring, the call connected.

The other side didn’t speak immediately. Instead, a laugh came through.

“Heh heh… Forensic Doctor Zhou really is impressive. You actually managed to uncover this identity of mine!”

Zhou Hai clenched the phone tightly and laughed as well.

If Xu Biao were present, he would definitely recognize it immediately—Zhou Hai was furious. Furious to the absolute extreme.

“I’m not sure what I should call you. Su Muge? Professor Pang Yuchang? Or Doctor Yang Duxiu?”

Yang Duxiu burst out laughing. He turned to glance at Xu Biao beside him.

Xu Biao’s head was already drooping, looking half-asleep. Then Yang Duxiu said: “Looks like you really did uncover quite a lot.”

Zhou Hai chuckled coldly.

“You uncovered quite a bit yourself too. But wearing a prosthetic on your right hand all the time really ruined your handwriting. And biting pencils while doing experiments—those habits are very distinctive. But after doing all this, wasn’t your real goal simply to find me before you leave? I’m downstairs right now. Let’s talk.”

Yang Duxiu threw his head back and laughed loudly. He glanced again at Xu Biao, whose eyes were repeatedly closing as he weakly shook his head. Clearly, he was losing control of his consciousness, yet he still forced himself to shout:

“H-Haizi…D-don’t…Don’t come…”