SFTD -Chapter 72 Who’s Next? (Part 10)

Before Chu Menghan could speak, Zhou Hai waved his hand at the others.

“Get your gear and get in the car. Head to the scene.”

The group quickly ran downstairs and rushed to the pedestrian street, changing into forensic inspection suits on the way.

As soon as they got out of the vehicle, Wang Man walked over.

“Chief, Dr. Zhou!”

“When was the bloodstain discovered?”

“At 7:10, right after we arrived. We were about to go to the district to check surveillance when Xiao Liu, with his sharp eyes, noticed bloodstains next to Manhole Cover No. 2.”

Zhou Hai looked around. This was the westernmost side of the pedestrian street, and not far away, fixed stalls had already started operating, with many people lining up.

Seeing the stalls, Xu Biao instinctively held his stomach.

“They’re already open this early! And there are so many people. What a business!”

One officer curled his lips.

“Don’t underestimate these street vendors. They may look shabby, but they’re all skilled. That guy selling liangpi alone sells six to seven thousand portions a day, making nearly twenty thousand in daily income. Even though he’s from out of town, he’s already bought a house here.”

Fengzi took a sharp breath.

“Damn… he makes in a day what I make in a month!”

Xu Biao patted his shoulder.

“Don’t be jealous. You can’t do that kind of work. They’re craftsmen. Even on bad weather days when business is down, they still have to take the loss.”

At that moment, Chu Menghan had several police cars arrive and cordon off the area.

Whether it was the killer or passersby, this kind of investigation needed to be kept out of public view. With mobile communication so developed now, once images got online, the pressure on them would only increase.

Zhou Hai put on his mask, carrying the forensic kit as he led the way. Xu Biao and the others immediately quieted down and followed.

“Xu Biao, take a look at this bloodstain.”

Xu Biao put away his usual grin, opened the kit, and sprayed a reagent over the stain. After a moment, the color changed. His expression grew serious.

“Human blood. We’ll need lab analysis for specifics.”

Xiao Liang didn’t need instructions and began photographing everything from afar to close range. The blood droplets were oval-shaped, with fine edge spatter around them—indicating cast-off blood, suggesting a stronger force than simple dripping.

The ground here was rough asphalt, making it impossible to collect footprints.

Zhou Hai crouched beside the manhole cover and gestured to Xu Biao.

“Check the rope and see if we can extract DNA.”

Xu Biao carefully swabbed the area while Fengzi sniffed the air.

“Do you smell something?”

Xiao Liang shook his head.

“I’ve got rhinitis, I can’t smell anything.”

“What smell?”

“Onion.”

Chu Menghan removed her mask and took a deep breath, then nodded.

“Yes. There is an onion smell. You can only notice it when you crouch down.”

Xu Biao had already finished collecting samples. Wang Man stood opposite him, and together they lifted the manhole cover.

A dark, heavy object dangled beneath it.

“Damn—it’s another human head!”

Xu Biao nearly lost his grip on the cover, but Fengzi quickly steadied it.

“You’re too weak, man.”

They flipped the cover over and placed it aside. Xiao Liang handed the camera to Xu Biao, who quickly documented everything.

Fengzi crouched opposite Zhou Hai and gently parted the hair on the head. A young female face appeared.

“It’s her!”

Both Zhou Hai and Chu Menghan exclaimed at the same time.

The victim was none other than the girl they had questioned at the hair salon during their investigation the previous afternoon—Wang Hong.

She had said she would leave soon… yet now she had appeared before them in this manner.

Zhou Hai carefully parted her hair. The upper portion showed strands tied with a rope-like binding made from her own long hair—just like the knot used on victim B, Liu Wen.

This time, however, Zhou Hai did not cut the hair. Instead, he used a cotton swab to collect traces from the knot area.

Xu Biao understood his intent: if they could obtain the killer’s DNA here and match it with the other unknown DNA from victim A’s apartment, they could confirm the same perpetrator.

After Zhou Hai finished, Fengzi carefully began loosening the hair knot. Human hair is not like rope; it has elasticity, so it took several attempts to fully untie.

“Does this knot look familiar to you?”

Fengzi’s words drew everyone’s attention. Xiao Liang looked and suddenly understood.

“This is the way people tie plastic bags when shopping for groceries. Like this!”

He demonstrated the motion. Several investigators around him nodded.

But Xu Biao wasn’t excited.

“Ninety percent of people here know how to do this. It doesn’t narrow anything down.”

Zhou Hai shook his head slightly, pulled down his mask, and crouched to sniff the victim’s hair. His action made the investigators behind him shiver. Then he looked up.

“Not necessarily. The onion smell you mentioned is even stronger on victim C’s hair. It must have been left very recently. What kind of person needs a large amount of onions so early in the morning? Are you sure it’s ninety percent?”

Fengzi pondered Zhou Hai’s words. Looking at his watch, it was not even eight o’clock yet. The bloodstain had been discovered at 7:10, meaning the killer had been here before that time.

“Anyone who was at the pedestrian street before 7:00—breakfast vendors or kitchen workers—could be suspects.”

Chu Menghan frowned.

“We can’t bring everyone in for interrogation.”

“Who’s going down with me?”

Zhou Hai’s single sentence made the discussion fall silent.

Xu Biao patted his stomach.

“I’ll go with you. Fengzi, you stay up here and guard Victim C’s head.”

Fengzi shot him a look, but since he was afraid of heights, he reluctantly stayed above. They placed the head into a large insulated box. Xiao Liang raised his hand.

“I’ll go first! I’m not afraid of the smell!”

Xu Biao smacked him on the head.

“Get out of here, kid. Stop thinking nonsense. The body was just dumped—how could it already smell? Stay up here.”

Zhou Hai had already put on his rubber boots and headlamp. Xu Biao quickly followed suit. The two of them climbed down the simple iron ladder at the side of the shaft.

The rotting stench unique to sewers instantly filled their noses—something even gas masks could not block.

Above, investigators shone multiple flashlights down, illuminating the darkness and making their vision clearer.

As soon as Zhou Hai stepped into the sludge, he saw, just a step away, two pale flesh chunks lying in the water, along with a pile of exposed white bones.

Xu Biao gasped heavily, his body trembling as he looked at the remains, then shouted upward:

“Send the rope down and bring the box! We’ve found the rest of Victim C Wang Hong!”

Zhou Hai crouched and examined the remains carefully. The method was the same as Victim B Liu Wen—circumferential cutting below the ribs. The knife marks were smooth, without hesitation or drag. The skin and tissue around the neck were slightly retracted and curled inward—injuries inflicted while still alive.

So the cause of death was still decapitation.

Most of the remains were submerged, but the exposed parts above the water were extremely clean—not cleaned by water flow, but originally clean.

When Zhou Hai touched the remains, the parts above the water were dry.

His finger paused.

Why were they dry?