SFTD -Chapter 95 Man in the Wall (Part 5)

At the same time, in the No. 1 autopsy room of the forensic center.

Inside a large stainless-steel sink, a male corpse lay submerged face down in water. Zhou Hai leaned forward and pinched the man’s arm—rehydration had worked well. The muscle tissue had regained elasticity, and strands of hair floated freely in the water.

“Chief, is this level of rehydration enough?” Fengzi asked.

Zhou Hai nodded.

Fengzi immediately waved to Xiao Liang and Xu Biao. Xu Biao, who had dozed off on a bench in the changing room, was still groggy when he woke up.

He looked at Zhou Hai, then at the stainless-steel tank, and suddenly darted forward two steps, grabbing Zhou Hai’s protective suit and hiding behind him.

“What the hell? I just took a nap—why is there another river corpse here?”

Zhou Hai’s face darkened. The fat guy never had much strength when working, but his grip on clothes was shockingly strong—enough to make Zhou Hai feel like he couldn’t breathe.

“Let go!”

Fengzi quickly smacked his hand away. “Did you sleep your brain off? This is that SPA-style dried corpse. We rehydrated the head, that’s why it looks like this!”

Xu Biao scratched his head and yawned.

“I was dreaming when you shouted at me… I’m still half asleep.”

The autopsy room door opened. Xiao Liang walked in with a few others. Fengzi patted Xu Biao on the shoulder.

“Stop messing around. Get your mind together—we’re starting work. Let’s pull him out together.”

Seeing the now fully plumped corpse, Xu Biao snapped awake. The group worked together to lift the wet body out of the stainless-steel tank.

After soaking in the chemical solution, not only had the surface regained elasticity, but the skin was no longer that dark, shriveled “dried meat” appearance. After cleaning the tank and floor, the others left the room.

Xu Biao quickly started taking photos. He hadn’t expected Zhou Hai’s “SPA treatment” to be this effective—what had looked like jerky had actually returned almost to normal after ten hours of soaking.

“Turn the body over.”

Xiao Liang and Xu Biao stood on one side, Zhou Hai and Fengzi on the other. Together, they flipped the corpse over completely.

This was Zhou Hai’s first time using this method to rehydrate a severely desiccated body. He had only heard of its effectiveness before, and fortunately he had memorized the preparation ratio of the Löeffer solution.

Now the corpse had regained about 80% hydration. Although the skin tone was still somewhat dark, the facial features were recognizable again.

The body length had increased to about 170 cm. The victim was thin; if the internal organs were intact, the weight would likely not exceed 55 kg. Perhaps it was precisely because of this thinness that the body had been preserved.

“Alright, Xu Biao, take fingerprints and run them through the database—focus on missing persons.”

Xu Biao hung his camera around his neck while Xiao Liang helped him with ink for fingerprint lifting.

Zhou Hai examined the entire body again and signaled Fengzi to record.

“Estimated age: 40 to 50 years old.

Heavy calluses on the soles—long-term standing and walking.

Both hands show old injuries. The left middle finger is slightly deformed and bent outward, with enlarged joints. Dirt is deeply embedded in the palm lines and nail creases. The skin is coarse and heavily calloused—typical of heavy manual labor.

Facial skin is darker than the torso, but the forehead is lighter with a clear boundary—likely from long-term wearing of a hat.

Teeth are sparse with heavy tartar and nicotine stains, and severe occlusal wear.

However, the left teeth show looseness and congestion. There is damage in the corresponding oral area—blunt force trauma. He was punched on the left side of the face.”

Fengzi quickly recorded everything.

Zhou Hai finished the external examination and began clearing sand and salt packed inside the chest and pelvic cavities. After ten hours of soaking, the material had softened, and he scraped it out piece by piece onto a tray.

Unexpectedly, he only removed about five centimeters of sediment before stopping.

“What’s wrong?” someone asked.

Zhou Hai looked up and felt inside the chest cavity again.

“Give me the scalpel. The lungs and heart are still inside.”

This was an unexpected discovery. Zhou Hai quickly rinsed the packed area and opened the chest cavity.

The lungs had shrunk significantly, now less than one quarter of their normal size. The heart had also contracted into a hard ball, stuck close to the left lung.

Zhou Hai separated them and examined them under a magnifier. Although most of the lung tissue was desiccated, traces of decomposition were still visible—though the process had slowed, likely due to the sealed environment.

He called Xiao Liang over and handed him the tray containing the organs.

“Prepare another batch of Löeffer solution. Soak them for about an hour, then proceed with tissue sectioning.”

Zhou Hai then prepared to open the skull. As soon as the cranial cavity was opened, a strong foul odor filled the entire room. They had finally found the source of the smell.

Fengzi rushed over and cranked the ventilation to maximum.

Zhou Hai sped up his work, collecting all decomposed fluid into containers. He removed a nail, flushed the cranial cavity, and quickly sutured and bagged the remains. Fengzi then moved the body away.

After everything was finished, the room gradually returned to normal. Xu Biao took the final photos and staggered out of the room, retching—grateful it was winter. If it had been summer, they would have been in serious trouble.

Zhou Hai returned to the second-floor analysis room, holding the extracted nail for inspection. It was unusual: 175 mm long, 19 mm in diameter, not cylindrical but triangular in cross-section. This shape would cause far more tissue damage than a round nail.

But what was such a nail used for?

“Xu Biao, take photos and search online for its purpose. Send all samples for testing.”

He handed the nail to Xu Biao along with a test tube containing material scraped from its end.

Zhou Hai examined Xiao Liang’s tissue sections under a high-powered microscope. The lung slices were grayish-brown, already suspicious in color.

Under magnification, the problem became clear: numerous fine black particles were embedded throughout the tissue, tightly adhered and extremely abundant.

Fengzi leaned in. “What are you thinking about?”

“I can only confirm pneumoconiosis, but not the exact type yet. We’ll have to wait for lab results.”

Fengzi waved his hand. “I’ve seen this before. It’s cement pneumoconiosis. When I worked in Yushan City, there was a cement plant explosion with many deaths. I saw a lot of this in autopsies. At this severity, the person must have worked with cement for at least twenty years.”

“Cement pneumoconiosis…”

“Sophia Hotel…”

“On-site pouring…”

Zhou Hai murmured the phrases repeatedly, as if something clicked in his mind. He suddenly paused, then quickly took out his phone and called Chu Menghan.

“Hello, how’s the investigation into Dongjian Group going?”

“We’ve found some contractor information, but there’s no standardized list yet, so I’m on my way to your center. Why? Are you done with the autopsy?”