National Forensic Doctor-Chapter 923 - 860: Actions Speak Louder Than Words_2

Song Beishou felt a surge of relief when he saw Jiang Yuan arrive, as if he had donned a pair of reassuring underpants before sleeping at night, spreading his legs and laughing unconsciously.

Song Beishou and Jiang Yuan shook hands tightly.

Song Beishou then said emotionally, "This time, we can say we have joined forces. After saying so much on the conference call, I finally meet Captain Jiang in person."

Jiang Yuan, shaking Song Beishou’s hand, also gave it a firm shake.

Frankly speaking, this time he was truly at the forefront. There had been two shootouts on Su Island, and not just in one city or province, but across the nation, these two incidents had caught the public’s attention.

Now back in Changyang City, Jiang Yuan indeed felt a sense of lightness, as if he had returned from the front lines to the rear.

"We should thank the Chief for his support." Jiang Yuan momentarily turned on his EQ for 30 seconds, then after using it, said, "Give me the collection of fingerprints. And footprints as well."

"They’re ready." Song Beishou hurriedly handed over a USB drive.

"Let’s get a few people to help out, five should do it," said Jiang Yuan.

This batch of fingerprints and footprints, which included those sifted from various places including drug addicts, as well as those from their residences and places of drug use, was huge in quantity but few were useful. Even if Jiang Yuan were to compare them one by one, no matter how fast he worked, the efficiency wouldn’t be high.

Song Beishou, of course, was prepared for a regular trace examination.

Five trace examiners were quickly in place and started sorting through the fingerprints and footprints.

After making a round, Jiang Yuan said, "Please project the screens of the five trace examiners onto the command screen in front."

The Anti-Drug Brigade’s command center conditions were excellent—directly ahead was a movie theater-sized splicing screen, which could be used as a whole or split into multiple screens.

The entire command center resembled a space launch control center, with each workstation in the back rows having a computer, adding to the tension.

For the trace examiners, having the content of their own screens directly projected onto the command screen at the front inevitably added a considerable amount of pressure.

Fortunately, all five were handpicked for the job and focused solely on their work, silently resisting the pressure.

Neither Jiang Yuan nor Song Beishou had any intention of comforting them. The battle against crime is about pressure; a criminal investigator who can’t withstand pressure will collapse. Narcotics officers face even greater pressure, but that’s the nature of the job. Wanting a hug? It’s better to collapse early.

On the 55-inch split screen, Jiang Yuan could not only see the markings of the left-side fingerprints clearly but also the right-side fingerprints used for comparison.

On a 24-inch small screen, these right-side fingerprints might only be thumbnails, and one would need to zoom in to see them clearly.

But on a 55-inch screen, though not crystal clear, the overall pattern and ridges were visible.

If these were complex, problematic fingerprints, even the thumbnails on a 55-inch wouldn’t suffice. Even an expert like Jiang Yuan, when examining difficult prints, would zoom in variously, sometimes displaying only one-fifth of a fingerprint on screen.

However, the difficulty of this batch of fingerprint comparisons was far less. On a 55-inch screen, looking at thumbnails for Jiang Yuan was like perusing a menu.

"Alpha, start with fingerprint number 4," Jiang Yuan said to avoid confusion and directly gave the people numbers.

Trace Examiner Alpha felt slightly upset—he was a 30-something elite officer after all, working in a major unit like the headquarters... but also because it was the headquarters, Alpha naturally suppressed his emotions and clicked on fingerprint number 4 as asked.

So what if I just follow your instructions?

Trace Examiner Alpha opened number 4, and in usual practice, compared it left and right...

After a while, Trace Examiner Alpha silently clicked the "Identify as the Same" button.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yuan’s voice echoed in his ears, "Geng, turn the page... yes, compare to number 13."

Trace Examiner Alpha frowned, doing a quick tally—weren’t there only five people in total?

He turned his head sharply, only to find that a few more colleagues were seated in the back row.

"What’s this..." Trace Examiner Alpha was astonished.

"You’re working too slowly, Captain Jiang called for another five to join," a colleague in the back row shot a glance, sensing what Alpha was thinking.

"This... isn’t that a bit dismissive!" Trace Examiner Alpha couldn’t help but mutter.

"I think so too," Trace Examiner E nodded in agreement and said, "Just focus on the work, the facts speak for themselves."

Trace Examiner Alpha nodded and immediately opened a new fingerprint chart, swiftly marking points of interest.

"Alpha, change this here." Jiang Yuan, standing at the command screen, drew a red circle with an electronic pen, which was reflected back on the operator’s computer.

Trace Examiner Alpha frowned and enlarged the fingerprint on his screen.

The spot circled by Jiang Yuan was a hook shape, a standard point of interest, yet considering the pattern of the surrounding prints...

Trace Examiner Alpha silently removed the mark of that feature point.

After a brief pause, Trace Examiner Alpha resumed marking.

This time, Jiang Yuan’s voice came only after he had completely finished and began comparing: "Alpha, number 6."

Trace Examiner Alpha immediately clicked on the sixth candidate fingerprint...

And sure enough, it was a match.

Trace Examiner Alpha silently continued his work, just like the rest of his colleagues.

As simple and easy fingerprints were continuously matched, various incomplete prints began to emerge, slowing down the pace of several examiners. Thus, Trace Examiners A, B, C, D, and E came online.

The department’s clerical staff even had time to print nameplates for each, placing them behind the monitors to help Jiang Yuan identify the persons.

Trace Examiner Alpha started to feel immense pressure.

Some fingerprints were beyond his capabilities.

From his many years of experience, some prints might take weeks to match and compare.

Yet, Jiang Yuan’s commanding voice never paused.

"Alpha, here, here, here." Jiang Yuan’s speech was terse, his instructions straightforward, almost just a single expression.

But as the red circles appeared on the screen, Trace Examiner Alpha couldn’t help but feel invigorated.

For complex fingerprints, three additional points of interest could significantly reduce the difficulty.

"E, here, here!"

"H, here!"

Although the speed of fingerprint identification inevitably slowed, the overall progress was hardly delayed thanks to the increased number of examiners.

Moreover, as the difficulty increased, nearly half of the trace examiners were effectively being led by Jiang Yuan.

After matching another print, Trace Examiner Alpha, looking at a print that might have taken him weeks to match before, couldn’t help but murmur to himself, "Sometimes, we just think too highly of ourselves."

"I think so too," said Trace Examiner E from behind. "The facts speak louder than words."