National Forensic Doctor-Chapter 1113 - 1044 Fine Bran

Ka. Ka ka. Ka ka.

The rhythmic sound of metal clashing echoed through the corridor of Building No. 9 for quite a while.

When the series of sounds finally stopped, Miao Ruixiang emerged carrying a steaming pot filled to the brim with fried rice. Jiang Yuan followed behind him, wiping his hands with a towel.

The others quickly made space, pulling out the bowls and chopsticks they had prepared in advance, and started dividing up the fried rice.

Tiny cubes of beef, golden yellow rice, soft but not soggy carrots, and various vegetables that were colorful but unidentifiable—all contributed to a complex and sophisticated aroma emanating from the fried rice.

"Ah, it smells amazing... Just for a bowl of fried rice like this, the trip out to Ningtai County was worth it." Li Haochen, who had traveled from Beijing by plane followed by a car ride, eagerly stepped forward to help.

Jiang Yuan’s creation today was an upgraded version of Uncle Seventeen’s egg-fried rice (Level 3), infused with Level 5 cooking techniques (dubbed ’dog-level’). The ingredients were generous and separately stir-fried, a refined fusion of flavors.

The reactions of the group confirmed its excellence, including the two men in white shirts who had come from the state ministry and provincial department. Though their demeanor was reserved, their expressions while eating betrayed clear enjoyment.

Jiang Yuan himself devoured an entire bowl ravenously before slowing down to savor his second serving.

Performing a comprehensive autopsy on corpse number one wasn’t just time-consuming and mentally exhausting—it was also physically draining, making him feel famished.

The group ate while chatting, continuing until the sound of the spatula against the pot signaled that all the food had been finished.

The deputy director from the state ministry, Zheng Chu, remarked with satisfaction, "I find that forensic doctors are often very talented. But to cook this well—this is a first for me. I didn’t expect that God Jiang would have this skill up his sleeve."

"Just call me Jiang Yuan," Jiang Yuan, now full, responded with social grace. Considering that the man was older than Uncle Seventeen, he couldn’t let him address him as ’God Jiang.’

Zheng Chu chuckled and made a few more pleasantries. Once the table had been cleared, he said, "In my impression, typical cases in Ningtai are solved within a few days. But now, it’s been a week since this case began... Strictly speaking, for ordinary homicide cases, a week isn’t considered long yet. Should it really warrant an upgrade to a state-supervised case (部督)?"

"It’s still necessary," Huang Qiangmin quickly replied. State-supervised cases come with funding, and if you set aside the accountability involved, the funding is the main motivator.

As for accountability... Jiang Yuan himself was handling the case. If it couldn’t be solved, it would never be for lack of effort. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

Indeed, Huang Qiangmin hadn’t seriously considered the possibility of the case being unsolvable. In the past two years, he had entertained such thoughts many times. At those times, the circumstances had seemingly supported his reasoning.

But in the end, as long as a case was handed to Jiang Yuan, he always managed to crack it one way or another.

By now, Huang Qiangmin didn’t bother worrying about such issues anymore—there was no point. In a sense, he had grown indifferent to the success or failure of cases.

Huang Qiangmin preferred to place his trust in Jiang Yuan.

Take something like forensic biology—a method which, to an old-school cop like him, borders on the absurd. Yet Jiang Yuan had successfully replicated its application within China. Huang Qiangmin felt his grasp of information was utterly insufficient to predict how cases would turn out anymore.

Still, regardless of the method used to solve a case, resources were indispensable.

Zheng Chu’s question had merely been exploratory. Once he confirmed Huang Qiangmin’s stance, he remarked, "Seeing as even Jiang Yuan finds this case challenging, and given its heinous nature, there should be little issue in submitting a request for state supervision. However, state-supervised cases are subject to tight deadlines for resolution..."

"Understood." Naturally, Huang Qiangmin was aware that these cases essentially involved deadlines set by the state ministry. That said, local law enforcement still actively sought out this designation.

On one hand, while failing to meet the resolution deadline could indeed lead to adverse consequences, it wasn’t catastrophic enough to ruin careers. On the other hand, many people shared Huang Qiangmin’s perspective: for cases this atrocious, the urgency for resolution was imperative irrespective of the designation.

Moreover, for cases that couldn’t be solved quickly during the initial stages, the probability of success later often diminished drastically. Thus, it’s vital to secure as many resources as possible from the outset.

"State supervision" represents the pinnacle of resources accessible to police in smaller cities. Beyond the support from national experts, laboratories, and specialized forces, it also comes with a bonus budget. If the case is solved, this bonus is distributed legally and fairly among the officers involved at all levels.

This bonus is quite rare; police departments seldom receive monetary rewards for solving cases anymore. The funds typically stem from cases like state-supervised ones, where rewards are issued top-down as incentives or prizes. Such instances are few and far between—maybe once every several years.

On the flip side, though, once a case earns the "state-supervised" label, it garners heightened attention and cooperation from grassroots officers, various units, and leadership alike. This synergy forms a collective effort. The concept of "pulling together as one" requires significant managerial finesse, but with the state-supervised designation, the process becomes much smoother. Even with only moderate leadership, a unified direction naturally emerges.

Clearly, Zheng Chu valued Jiang Yuan’s opinion more. Despite confirming things with Huang Qiangmin, he still turned to Jiang Yuan, asking, "And you, Jiang Yuan? What’s your take?"

"Uh..." Jiang Yuan hesitated briefly but pursued the technical angle. "Over the past few days, I’ve been studying the three corpses. As of now, there aren’t any particularly direct clues. I’m currently attempting identification through forensic anthropology, but it remains highly challenging with no breakthrough progress."

"What about forensic botany? I’ve heard you excel in that—it’s even internationally recognized," Zheng Chu said with keen interest.

Jiang Yuan replied, "The first step is extracting diatoms from the Tai River area to create a database. Only then will we have a baseline for comparison. But whether I’ll manage a match remains uncertain."

Diatoms in water are region-specific; those within a given segment of a river would inhabit that same area for extended periods, much like in human villages. The diatoms in one ’village’ often share similarities or identical genes.

This unique trait makes diatoms the most widely applied forensic botany method in criminal investigations—just as insect-based analysis dominates forensic entomology.

Zheng Chu, having some knowledge on this subject, grew more enthusiastic. "So, in essence, you already have a direction."

"Not enough to pinpoint anything," Jiang Yuan admitted. "Analyzing the bones themselves provides insufficient stability."

Throughout the prior days, Jiang Yuan had focused on the bones, hoping to identify the victims through forensic anthropology. More professionally phrased, he aimed to pursue individual identification via this method.

Yet it had to be said: such an endeavor was incredibly difficult. If it weren’t, forensic experts wouldn’t have needed to invent skull restoration technology, forensic biology, and other methods.

Jiang Yuan’s Level 3 proficiency in forensic anthropology worked perfectly fine—more than adequate in the field. Using rare expertise and expert rankings as benchmarks, his Level 3 skill in forensic anthropology might even rival Level 5 fingerprint specialists.

Still, forensic anthropology is inherently unstable. Determining age, gender, and height is straightforward, but identifying specific individuals often hinges on an element of luck.

With three corpses—or rather, two and some remnants—Jiang Yuan had studied them relentlessly, yet hadn’t reached any conclusions.

Zheng Chu seemed to understand Jiang Yuan’s struggles. He glanced at Huang Qiangmin, then at Jiang Yuan, and said, "The designation of state-supervised cases is akin to a starting gun: once fired, you can’t help but run. I think we should start moving while continuing both the research and investigation."

Huang Qiangmin agreed. "The taskforce has already been established—Wang Chuanxing and the others are on standby."

"The issue is, there’s not even a defined investigation range yet," Jiang Yuan clarified. The Tai River’s length was immense; even with a list of skeletal traits, there wasn’t any real scope for narrowing down the area.

Huang Qiangmin merely waved it off. "Let’s start by examining Qinghe City. You’ve already taken fingerprints from corpse number one, haven’t you? Draw up a range within Qinghe City, then investigate further—whether it’s missing persons or temporarily departed individuals, the pool of suspects shouldn’t be too large."

Zheng Chu concurred. "Even narrowing it down to just an approximate age would drastically reduce the investigation scope. Can the age be determined?"

Jiang Yuan nodded. "The victim is male, aged approximately 25, with a safe range of 24 to 26."

"Great. Can height be confirmed?"

"Between 172 and 174 centimeters." Jiang Yuan paused briefly before adding, "The shoe size should be around 42 to 43."

"Uh..." Zheng Chu faltered slightly. "Isn’t that already quite specific?"

Jiang Yuan shook his head. "Occupation and lifestyle habits, among other factors, remain to be considered."

"Well... haha..." Zheng Chu’s laugh betrayed a touch of discomfort.

The expressions of the other officials from the state ministry and provincial department mirrored his sentiment.

Meanwhile, the officers from Ningtai County Bureau and Qinghe City Bureau quickly lowered their heads, masking their expressions of resigned resolve.