Chapter 101: The Art of Shedding One’s Skin, Zhou Shirui’s Past Plastic Surgery!

Although Su Ming had already made a rough deduction about why Zhou Shirui, who had clearly entered Fantawild Amusement Park, disappeared midway without a trace, he remained meticulous and refrained from drawing conclusions too soon.

Instead, he turned to Wang Hu beside him and commanded without question,

“Huzi.”

“Stop reviewing the surveillance footage for now.”

“I think I’ve figured out why we couldn’t find Zhou Shirui at the exit.”

“Right now, I need you to collect all available photos or video records of Zhou Shirui from the past five years. Also, check if there were any long periods when he was absent from the public eye.”

Although Wang Hu was puzzled by Su Ming’s request, his unwavering trust in him left no room for hesitation. Without delay, he even called in two other officers to help gather the materials.

Meanwhile, Su Ming pulled up the surveillance footage from the park entrance and explained in a calm voice to Lin Tian, who was equally puzzled.

“Senior Lin.”

“I reviewed the exit footage from Fantawild multiple times and confirmed that there is indeed no recording of Zhou Shirui leaving the park.”

“However, based on my deduction…”

“Zhou Shirui must have been among the first batch of visitors to leave. There’s no way he would risk staying inside for too long, given the potential lockdown of the entire park.”

“This means that Zhou Shirui did, in fact, leave Fantawild. It’s just that our eyes were deceived by the surveillance footage.”

“In other words—His presence inside the park was the illusion, while his exit revealed his true identity!”

Hearing this, Lin Tian froze for a moment before crossing his arms, stroking his stubbled chin, and contemplating Su Ming’s words. Then, in a flash of realization, he slammed the table and exclaimed in shock.

“I get it now!”

“Xiao Ming, you’re saying—Zhou Shirui exploited our natural assumption that a person’s appearance upon entry is their true self.”

“The reason we couldn’t find him exiting is that he used disguise techniques such as cosmetic alteration.”

“But in reality—The Zhou Shirui who entered Fantawild and lined up for the Ferris wheel was the false identity!”

“And among the people captured in the exit footage, there is someone whose appearance has drastically changed—someone who very likely underwent plastic surgery. That person is Zhou Shirui!”

Su Ming nodded in agreement while scrutinizing Zhou Shirui’s facial expressions in the entrance footage. He then elaborated further.

“That’s right, senior Lin.”

“I believe Zhou Shirui began planning his escape route the moment he joined this drug trafficking organization.”

“Then, five years ago, the unresolved ‘Rose Flower Shop Unmasking Case’ occurred in Liangxi City, which signified that this massive drug ring had recruited a specialist—Someone skilled in making human skin masks!”

“At that moment, Zhou Shirui’s long-planned escape route finally took shape.”

“His plan was simple—If he was ever discovered by the police, he would immediately abandon his identity as Zhou Shirui and assume a new identity, continuing to live freely.”

“So if my deduction is correct—The Zhou Shirui in this footage has likely been wearing a human skin mask for at least the past five years.”

“With modern technological advancements and new synthetic materials, human skin masks no longer require actual human skin.”

“Unlike real human skin, which needs to be soaked daily to maintain elasticity, these masks can be worn long-term without issue.”

“His true face has likely been completely altered through plastic surgery—so much so that no one would recognize him anymore.”

“If we fail to catch him this time—”

“Then—The sculptor and criminal known as Zhou Shirui will vanish forever from this world, replaced by—A fugitive under a new name, be it Zhang San, Li Xi, or Wang Wu.”

At this point, Su Ming abruptly paused the surveillance video, pointing at the screen with absolute confidence.

“I found him.”

“Senior Lin, look closely—From this side profile of Zhou Shirui as he prepared to board the Ferris wheel, we can tell that although the craftsmanship of his human skin mask is impressive and leaves no obvious adhesive marks—If you examine carefully, you’ll notice a distinct color difference at his temples. His facial skin tone is noticeably lighter than the skin behind his temples.”

“The reason is simple—Human skin masks don’t tan, but the natural skin underneath does. The area behind his temples, exposed to the sun’s ultraviolet rays, has darkened over time.”

“This results in an unnatural contrast—”

“Darker temples compared to a lighter face. No normal person would have such a discrepancy. And there’s another critical detail—Even though the weather isn’t particularly hot, anyone standing in line for the Ferris wheel for so long should have at least a few beads of sweat on their face.”

“But Zhou Shirui’s face remains completely dry, while his neck clearly shows signs of slight perspiration.”

“No sweat on the face, but sweat on the neck? That’s highly suspicious.”

Su Ming paused momentarily, looking at Senior Lin, who was nodding repeatedly in agreement. Then, he continued.

“If it were just one anomaly—We could dismiss it as coincidence or an unusual physical trait. But when so many inconsistencies appear together—It’s almost certain—The Zhou Shirui who entered Fantawild was wearing a human skin mask, and he removed it before exiting.”

“That’s why the surveillance footage failed to detect him at the exit—we weren’t looking for a disguised individual or someone wearing a human skin mask.”

“After all—”

“With his altered face, Zhou Shirui only needed to walk out in broad daylight as his true self to effortlessly fool our eyes.”

“Or rather, it wasn’t deception at all—It was Zhou Shirui, a criminal with an exceptionally high IQ, meticulously planning his escape in advance and exploiting the weaknesses of human perception.”

Just as Su Ming finished speaking, Wang Hu, who had been listening to the entire deduction, suddenly called out after retrieving crucial information.

“Ming-ge! Senior Lin!”

“I just checked the flight records and news reports, and—A year and a half ago, Zhou Shirui traveled to Bang Nation(SK) under the pretext of deepening his studies in sculpture for six months.”

“Most importantly, when I compared the photos of Zhou Shirui from five years ago to the footage captured at Fantawild’s entrance yesterday—In five whole years, his appearance has not changed one bit!!!”