National Forensic Doctor-Chapter 904 - 842: Anticorrosion

Liu Jinghui, using his wit, accompanied Jiang Yuan to the Image Reconnaissance Brigade. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

In the command center of the Image Reconnaissance Brigade in Changyang City, there were screens of various types filled the room. Whether they were all necessary was uncertain, but they certainly conveyed a high-tech feeling. The detectives there seemed well-educated, and some could change camera angles simply by using keyboards.

Liu Jinghui stood in the back, watching Jiang Yuan direct the detectives through the surveillance footage. His eyes were fixed on the screens ahead, but his mind had already started to wander.

Handling numerous cases could sometimes be a burden. For Liu Jinghui, he had worked on simple and intricate minor cases, cruel and bloody major cases, high-profile cases of concern to leadership, and profound espionage cases; any and all seemed potentially applicable to today’s case.

Concerning the identity of the perpetrator, it could be an ignorant crime of passion or a premeditated murder, and the possibility of a professional using expert methods couldn’t be ruled out either.

If this were an American blockbuster, Liu Jinghui would now consider suspects like former CIA agents or KGB spies, or perhaps advanced terrorists who could concoct a drug in a lab that confuses the time of death.

Of course, if this were merely a detective novel, Liu Jinghui would consider more common methods available to the average person. For example, lowering the temperature of the air conditioning to delay the decay of the body, similar to refrigerating food, which is a mild method and hard to detect unless one is looking.

With a thought, Liu Jinghui’s brow furrowed even deeper.

The perpetrator painstakingly altered the time of death surely with a purpose in mind, typically this indicates an acquaintance involved to manufacture an alibi.

In popular Japanese detective dramas, scenes where the murderer frantically works to establish an alibi, followed by the protagonist rushing to prove the murderer had the opportunity to commit the crime by ruling out their alibi, often occur. They run tirelessly towards the sunlight, towards their dreams, their striving a representation of the Heisei era’s spirit... father.

"Has the victim’s father passed away? Are there any close relatives remaining?" Liu Jinghui brought his thoughts back.

A detective beside him quickly flipped through the files and said, "There are no immediate family members left."

"List the victim’s most frequent contacts in a chart and arrange them," Liu Jinghui said to Wang Chuanxing. This task wasn’t as simple as it sounded, and he wasn’t confident letting an unfamiliar young detective handle it.

Wang Chuanxing acknowledged and asked, "Do you think it was still done by someone familiar?"

"It’s hard to say," sighed Liu Jinghui, sharing his recent conjectures. "If the perpetrator’s goal was to create an alibi, then it suggests it might be someone familiar..."

Liu Jinghui paused then added, "At the moment, we can’t ascertain how it was done, but logically, the chances of it being someone familiar are fairly high."

"I’ll relay this to Captain Ma, their initial plan probably was to start with the victim’s acquaintances," Wang Chuanxing pulled out his phone.

Liu Jinghui nodded, his brow still deeply furrowed.

If the case could be solved this easily, it wouldn’t be deserving. And if investigating the circle of acquaintances yields no results, where would this case head next?

Liu Jinghui stood in the hall, wracking his brain, pondering intensely.

Jiang Yuan also directed his team, constantly reviewing surveillance footage from a few days prior.

Evening.

The night grew denser, and Jiang Yuan finally released the mouse, saying, "This position, it’s really difficult to identify any suspicious vehicles."

Jiang Yuan’s tone had a touch of disappointment. With his expertise, as long as something was captured by the surveillance, even if slightly blurry, he could enhance the image and restore it.

In addition, the Level 3 Technical Defense Monitoring system entails skills to build an entire surveillance system from the ground up, thus using it comes naturally.

However, all these skills are very useful, but without suspicious vehicles, even the best skills cannot be utilized.

"Looking at it this way, the murderer might be quite familiar with the nearby environment, at least to the extent of avoiding monitored intersections," Liu Jinghui said, frowning again.

Mu Zhiyang whispered, "Wasn’t it mentioned earlier that it was an inside job?"

"An inside job is deduced using common sense and doesn’t have any evidence to support it," Liu Jinghui shook his head.

Mu Zhiyang’s frown deepened: "Isn’t reasoning not supposed to require evidence?"

"Who said reasoning doesn’t need evidence!" Liu Jinghui burst out upon hearing this, rolling up his sleeves and said, "Wait a minute, I’ll explain this to you properly..."

"Director Liu..." Jiang Yuan quickly interjected, "It’s time to go back for dinner."

"We can’t sit down and have a proper meal if the case remains unsolved," Liu Jinghui sighed, "Let’s just go back and have some instant noodles."

"No, there are plenty of opportunities to eat instant noodles, if you want noodles... I’ll make a call." Jiang Yuan, still seemingly calm, quickly made a call before continuing, "I’ve asked for a pot of noodles to be delivered to the police station, let’s eat together. By the way, Director Liu, are you going home for dinner?"

Liu Jinghui twitched the corners of his mouth and glanced outside at the time, "At this hour, what kind of dinner can I have at home? Let’s just treat it as if I’m on a business trip."

Jiang Yuan and the others were indeed on a business trip and had nowhere else to go. They gathered in the cafeteria of the criminal investigation brigade, waiting for the chef to cook the noodles.

What Jiang Yuan had delivered was beef soup and beef already cooked. The chef simply ran noodles through a noodle press, boiled them in hot water, poured over the soup, added beef, and sprinkled some green onions and coriander, thus completing this bowl of beef noodles.

The key point of this dinner was the soup, a thick broth made from a large amount of beef and beef bones, and then extra beef was added.

A bowl of noodles, half a bowl of soup, and one-third bowl of beef; how the noodles taste, how they are seasoned, and how the side dishes are prepared are of no great consequence.

Most officers in the special case squad are young and strong, devouring bowl after bowl of noodles, with three chefs in the cafeteria—one to press noodles and two others to cook and serve noodles—barely managing to keep up.

Jiang Yuan joyously consumed three bowls of noodles before pushing his bowl aside and taking a break.

At that moment, Wan Baoming rushed over with a file folder.

"A new report from the Physical and Chemical Laboratory, take a look," Wan Baoming said, devoid of any jest, meaning it was serious business.

"Let’s move to another table." Jiang Yuan stood up, moved to a clean table nearby, and began reading the file.

The Physical and Chemical Laboratory mainly performs physical and chemical analyses, which sounds prestigious but, like the Toxicology Laboratory, can only identify or recognize familiar chemical compounds. Therefore, if it’s a regular case, the laboratory would perform routine tests and then draw a conclusion.

But in major cases, or ones involving senior officers like Jiang Yuan, the laboratory’s testing scope is forced to expand. After testing common compounds, uncommon ones also need continuous testing, keeping the technicians busy till evening.

The report Wan Baoming brought was the fruit of this busy day.

The first page inside the folder, highlighted by the main achievement of the Physical and Chemical Laboratory with a red line, illustrates the hardships self-reported by the laboratory.

"Cefoperazone sodium and sulbactam sodium?" Jiang Yuan read out loud, quickly realizing the significance. This substance is used for injections, highly effective in treatment, and the bacteria it can kill are useful not only in living bodies but also in deceased ones. If injected in sufficient quantity, it can significantly reduce decay after death and act as a preservative.