SFTD -Chapter 98 Man in the Wall (Part 8)

Chu Menghan looked at Zhou Hai in confusion, even with a hint of anger.

“What exactly are you trying to say after all that? Whether there’s rebar inside the wall—what does that have to do with Song Guangjun’s death?”

After saying this, Chu Menghan froze. For such a large construction project, if the poured concrete wall truly had no steel reinforcement inside, that wasn’t just a matter of whether it met standards or not.

It meant cutting corners—and deliberately concealing it would require a far more complicated chain of procedures. Was this what Zhou Hai was implying?

Seeing that she was no longer simply venting her anger, Zhou Hai knew she had started to see the problem.

“Figured it out?” he asked.

“Dongjian Group is a leading construction company in Dongnan City. That kind of reputation doesn’t come overnight. In turn, many suppliers rely on their projects as credentials, even using them in future bidding documents as proof of excellent performance. Song Guangjun worked his way up from the grassroots level, so he would naturally value such an opportunity. But on the other hand, if there were quality issues with the project, the suppliers involved would also suffer reputational damage—and might even find it hard to survive in the industry.”

Chu Menghan processed Zhou Hai’s words carefully, her thoughts gradually becoming clearer.

“You mean Song Guangjun discovered something—or refused to go along with the corruption—and was killed because of it?”

Zhou Hai opened the documents Chu Menghan had brought and flipped through them briefly. They only contained supplier information, with no details on supply volume or delivery periods.

“It seems we’ll need to start investigating from inside Dongjian Group,” he said.

“We?” she asked.

“Yes, we.”

“Of course, if we can get Liu Da to coordinate in advance, things will go much smoother.”

The next morning, outside Dongjian Group’s headquarters.

Zhou Hai drove Chu Menghan and parked in the lot. Xiao Liang and Chu Menghan’s subordinate were in another van.

After waiting for more than ten minutes, a police car pulled up beside Zhou Hai’s vehicle.

Liu Da got out of the driver’s seat. Zhou Hai glanced into the car—there was no one else, only him.

Liu Da looked confused.

“What are you looking for? Waiting for someone? Am I not your backup team?”

Zhou Hai was speechless. Liu Da was surprisingly informal—he even knew what “backup team” meant. Very in touch with the times.

“I was just seeing who was lucky enough to make Director Liu the driver,” Zhou Hai said.

“Heh! Didn’t expect our forensic doctor Zhou to joke around. I came alone, no one else. Investigating Dongjian doesn’t require numbers—results matter. Don’t worry, I’ve already arranged everything.”

Chu Menghan walked over and stood beside Liu Da.

“Leader, we’ve been standing here in the cold for half an hour waiting for you.”

Liu Da stopped, coughed twice. Zhou Hai instinctively stepped back.

“Hey, you little brat, show some respect. You still need me.”

He then walked forward and casually draped an arm over Zhou Hai’s shoulder as they headed toward the office building.

“Dr. Zhou, are you sure there’s a problem with this project?”

“Not sure.”

Liu Da waited, but that was all Zhou Hai said.

“That’s it? Give me some confidence. On what basis do you think there’s a problem? Chu Menghan just rushed in headfirst—you’re not usually like this.”

Zhou Hai patted his computer bag.

“All the supporting evidence is in here. Since it involves a lot of technical details, and someone was willing to kill to cover it up, there must be a secret. That alone is the best evidence.”

Liu Da nodded. Zhou Hai’s credibility was much higher than Chu Menghan’s. That girl’s background was special—intimidation or persuasion wouldn’t work on her anyway.

At the front desk, the same receptionist who had stopped Chu Menghan the day before quickly approached upon seeing the officers.

“May I ask who you are…?”

“I’m Liu Yong. Your Mr. Shao should have informed you.”

The receptionist smiled warmly and bowed slightly, a complete contrast to her attitude from yesterday. She guided them to the elevator and even called it for them.

“Mr. Shao is already waiting on the 8th floor. The first office on the right after exiting the elevator is his.”

Inside the elevator, Chu Menghan curled her lips slightly.

“Nice to come with leadership. Yesterday we waited in the lobby for an hour before anyone even came to question us.”

Liu Da straightened his collar and glanced at her.

“One-track mind.”

Chu Menghan opened her mouth to retort, but restrained herself when she noticed Zhou Hai beside her.

Zhou Hai understood. Given Chu Menghan’s age, her family likely had some connection with Liu Da—otherwise she wouldn’t speak so casually, especially in front of him. She wasn’t trying to hide anything from Zhou Hai either.

Soon they arrived at the office. The door was open. Liu Da knocked lightly, and a warm voice immediately came from inside.

“Director Liu, what brings you here personally? Come in, come in!”

A gray-haired man quickly stepped forward and shook Liu Da’s hand warmly.

“Mr. Shao, no need to rush. Let me introduce you to two of my people: Chu Menghan, captain of the Chenghe District Criminal Police Team, and Zhou Hai, forensic doctor from our forensic center, Group Two.”

“This is Shao Guohui, executive vice president of Dongjian Group.”

After exchanging handshakes, everyone took their seats.

“I came today because a ‘man-in-the-wall’ case was discovered on the night of January 1st. It involves some of your group’s projects, so we need to verify some issues,” Liu Da said.

Shao Guohui spread his hands and smiled calmly.

“I thought it was something serious. You didn’t need to come personally. Just send them to me. Which project are we talking about?”

Liu Da nodded toward Chu Menghan. She immediately placed a stack of photos on the table.

“At around midnight on January 1st, 2015, at A8 Bar on the 6th floor of the Sofia Hotel, a fire extinguisher exploded and struck the wall, breaking it open and creating a hole over 60 centimeters wide. A male corpse was exposed inside. After autopsy and comparison, the deceased was identified as Song Guangjun, who previously supplied concrete for your Sofia project.”

Shao Guohui flipped through the photos—chaotic bar scenes, a damaged fire extinguisher, debris, and the mummified body wrapped in plastic. The reactions of people in the scene alone suggested how horrific the smell must have been.

“Cheng Ming reported a minor issue at Sofia and said the leased bar would handle it themselves. I didn’t know it was this serious.”

Chu Menghan nodded.

“Today we mainly need you to help verify some construction details regarding the Sofia Hotel.”

“Construction issues?”

Chu Menghan looked at Zhou Hai. He had already opened his tablet, showing magnified images and concrete test comparison reports.

“Please take a look. This is the site photo. The fire extinguisher smashed directly into the wall. I’ve examined the site—it’s a shear wall poured during construction, not a later partition. But there is no rebar inside. During the entire process of extracting the body from the wall, we didn’t find a single steel bar.”

Shao Guohui froze. Clearly shocked, he took the tablet and examined it carefully. Zhou Hai was right—there was not a single piece of rebar in any of the cut sections.

Something like this had never happened in a project under his management.

Was this a construction mistake?

Or intentional sabotage?