SFTD -Chapter 82 Don’t Insult Beasts (Part 3)

Before Zhou Hai could respond, Xu Biao waved his hand first.

“This isn’t natural gas. Liquefied gas has a strong odor.”

“It’s a kind of added xylene used to prevent leaks. What concentration is needed to reach an explosion?”

“At that concentration, if you still don’t notice a gas leak, then either you’re dead, unconscious, or just an idiot.”

Captain Huang found it reasonable and nodded.

“I’ve already arranged for the corpse transport vehicle.”

Zhou Hai raised his hand and stopped Captain Huang, who was about to leave.

“Wait, there’s something else.”

Captain Huang paused.

“Go ahead.”

“We need to find the ignition source, but given the current condition of the scene, it’s impossible to investigate properly. However, I have a crude method.”

“Take all the ash from each room, divide it into nine equal portions, and put them into separate bags. Label each bag, following a south-to-north, east-to-west sequence. For example, the living room would be K-1…K-9, the master bedroom Z-1…Z-9. And so on for every room.”

“I need all the rooms done this way. It’s a very heavy workload, and we’re already in a hurry to get back for autopsies…”

“Enough, stop talking.”

“I’ll arrange people to collect the ash immediately. The autopsy can be done tomorrow. It’s already past midnight. If we finish two autopsies now, it’ll be dawn before we’re done.”

“Besides, the bodies are still too hot right now and can’t be dissected properly. Wait until tomorrow.”

Zhou Hai thought for a moment and nodded.

“Alright, we’ll pull back first. Start autopsies tomorrow morning, and do the sieving work then as well.”

“Good. Don’t worry. Tomorrow we can investigate the perimeter, look for the victims’ relatives. Also, those two children need care arranged, and once their condition stabilizes, we’ll take statements.”

Zhou Hai led the group away. It was already midnight; even if they kept working overtime, efficiency would be low since everyone was exhausted.

More importantly, Zhou Hai’s mind was in chaos. That fleeting flash of insight earlier—he hadn’t caught it. He needed time to think it through.

November 4th, 2014

In the early morning, thick fog blanketed Dongnan City, turning the entire city into a white haze. As a coastal city, it often experienced heavy advection fog during winter and spring.

This weather posed a severe challenge to Zhou Hai’s vision and driving skills. By the time he arrived at the center, it was already 8:30 a.m.

The three others were already prepared, occupying the first autopsy room early.

Zhou Hai took the isolation suit handed over by Xiao Liang, putting it on while fastening his gloves, then looked at the three of them in confusion.

“With this kind of fog, you actually managed to arrive early without any trouble?”

Xu Biao bumped him with his shoulder and said with a grin:

“Your driving skills, Hai, really need some training. Dongnan City has this kind of fog for a long time every year. We’re used to it.”

Xiao Liang covered his mouth and snickered. Zhou Hai immediately felt he was being looked down upon.

He raised his gloved hands slightly, thought for a moment, then tilted his chin at Xiao Liang and Xu Biao.

“Has Captain Huang sent over the ash from the scene?”

Xu Biao nodded.

“It’s here. I signed for it. The smell is pretty intense. It’s all stored in the second-floor analysis room.”

“Good.”

“Then I’ll perform the autopsies on these two bodies with Fengzi. Xu Biao, you take Xiao Liang and sift through the ash. That’s your area of expertise anyway.”

Xu Biao’s expression instantly froze. He widened his small eyes as if wanting to object, but after thinking for a while, he couldn’t find a rebuttal. This was indeed his specialty. He snorted and dragged the confused Xiao Liang away.

Zhou Hai and Fengzi began the autopsy on the first body.

This was the male victim. His head, face, and limbs were completely charred, and the front of his chest had formed a hard crust.

When Zhou Hai’s scalpel cut into the chest, a series of cracking sounds rang out—like nails scraping glass, making one’s hair stand on end.

Fengzi tightened his grip on the record book, fighting an uncontrollable shiver.

“Record: severe carbonization of the body. The body is in a pugilistic posture, with both hands and feet destroyed by burning.”

“Severe adhesion between limbs, chest, abdomen, and plastic beads, all contact surfaces carbonized.”

“Ash present in the nostrils. A small amount of rope-like ash in the trachea, limited only to the larynx. Below the throat and into the bronchi, everything is clean—no significant inhalation.”

“Tongue retracted and carbonized. Thyroid cartilage intact, no damage.”

“Internal organs show contraction. The stomach shrank to the size of a fist. Contents unidentifiable. Chest wall tissue completely carbonized. Lungs dark and coagulated. Heart dull in appearance with reduced luster and a reddish tint.”

After several attempts, they extracted a small amount of cardiac blood and placed it into a vial.

“This needs toxicology testing.”

Other organs were all contracted, not swollen. Only the brain showed slight edema.

After finishing the autopsy, Zhou Hai sutured the internal tissue and began examining the second body.

This body had milder carbonization in the chest and abdomen, but the findings were largely consistent with the male victim, except that the chest tissue was not fully charred.

They then covered the body.

Fengzi went upstairs to submit the samples, since the toxicology test of cardiac blood was the most urgent.

Zhou Hai changed into a new set of protective clothing and gloves and went upstairs to the analysis room. Xu Biao and Xiao Liang were already sifting through the ash. The room was filled with black dust.

Their exposed skin outside the masks had turned completely black.

“How’s it going? Any findings?”

Xu Biao shook his head.

“We’ll keep going after lunch. We’ve been at it for hours and still haven’t found anything useful.”

“Zhou Hai, what exactly are we supposed to find?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

Xu Biao’s voice rose an octave, and his hands froze mid-motion. Was Zhou Hai really not just messing with them?

Zhou Hai glanced at him and seemed to understand his thoughts. He sighed.

“I really don’t know what kind of ignition device the killer used, so I don’t know what trace it would leave. If it was something like a candle, then there might be no trace at all.”

“So I need you to find the answer.”

After this explanation, Xu Biao felt slightly better.

“Then go wait for the lab results. We’ve eaten enough—we might as well get some exercise. Xiao Liang can gain weight while I lose weight. Different goals, same method.”

Zhou Hai’s face twitched. Such a difficult task, yet they could still find enjoyment in it—this kind of mentality was rare. Still, Xu Biao’s optimism suited this kind of exhausting work.

“Thanks for your hard work.”

Encouraged by Zhou Hai—even such a rare thing—Xu Biao and Xiao Liang worked even more energetically.

Just as Zhou Hai was about to leave, his phone suddenly rang. It was Captain Huang.

“Are you done?”

“Yeah.”

“Then come downstairs. I’m already at the entrance of your center. Come with me to the hospital.”

Zhou Hai knew something must have come up. He quickly went downstairs, where Captain Huang was already waiting. They got into the car and sped off.

“How’s the autopsy? Can you determine the nature of the case?”

“Yes. It can be classified as homicide. The inhaled substances in the victims’ respiratory tracts only reached the throat. It wasn’t suicide or an accidental gas explosion ignition, because they were already in a dying state before the explosion.”

Captain Huang looked relieved and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“That’s good.”

Seeing his anxious expression, Zhou Hai felt puzzled. Was the bureau putting pressure on him?

Impossible.

“Why are you in such a rush calling me down? What exactly happened?”