National Forensic Doctor-Chapter 967 - 903

Noon.

The scorching sun shone down, making the floor-to-ceiling windows gleam with clarity.

Miao Ruixiang ordered burgers, pasta, barbecue, curry crab, and mango rice from the hotel, offering them in front of the Jigong Bodhisattva statue, lit three incense sticks, stuffed a burger for himself, and then video-called his master.

Wu Jun answered the call instantly: "Ruixiang."

"Master, were you waiting by the phone?" Miao Ruixiang chuckled.

"Timing it right, why didn’t you call a few minutes earlier? Are the offerings set?" Wu Jun’s video background was deeply black, creating quite the atmosphere.

Miao Ruixiang replied, "All set. Look."

Miao Ruixiang showed the offerings he prepared, and continued, "This is what the hotels here in Dama offer, no whole roast chickens or ducks..."

"Supplement with some fruits, and get some liquor for the Bodhisattva," Wu Jun, making requests, said, "Among the Bodhisattvas, Jigong is the most easy-going; doesn’t fuss about food, can eat good or bad, when broke a simple bun suffices him, if you have money, offering wine and meat also pleases Jigong Bodhisattva. ’Through the intestines, wine and meat pass; in the heart of the Buddha they remain.’"

"Right." Miao Ruixiang hurriedly rummaged through the mini-fridge, adding the remaining welcome fruits.

Wu Jun appeared somewhat satisfied, and continued, "That’s why I had you bring the Jigong Bodhisattva abroad, knowing the conditions overseas can’t match those at home. Here domestically, even common folks can afford proper offerings, but that’s hard to find overseas. The food and drink here don’t even suit the palate – this burger and clump of rice, I don’t like either."

"Curry rice," Miao Ruixiang mumbled softly, "might as well be Buddha’s hometown dish."

"Jigong Bodhisattva didn’t grow up eating curry rice. Jigong was from Taizhou, born near Mount Tiantai, a holy Buddhist site and the southern sect of the Quanzhen School’s ancestral home. Thus although Jigong took vows at Guoqing Temple and became a living Buddha, he practiced both Buddhism and Taoism," Wu Jun explained, and added, "Dama differs from home. We’re unaware of the situation there; Jigong has a wide acquaintance and likes involving in worldly affairs to help people, you can’t go wrong asking for his help."

Miao Ruixiang looked at the burning incense sticks, "So, how do we make our request now?"

Wu Jun instructed, "First kneel and bow, introduce your identity to Jigong, and explain you’re requesting on behalf of your senior brother Jiang Yuan..."

...

Dama Police Station Forensic Lab.

Rows of computers set up, the monitor’s height perfectly tailored for standing observation. All connected to a unified software system, each operated by one or two staff members, identical to how Jiang Yuan worked back home.

This arrangement was overseen by Wang Chuanxing and Tang Jia, adjusted to Jiang Yuan’s demands and habits, from equipment use to system tuning, including purchasing new hardware or modifying existing software where drilling was required.

Ni Cha and his colleagues were also very cooperative. Just like in domestic police stations, regular cases are assessed for cost-effectiveness, and less promising ones don’t receive much attention. However, for major or crucial cases, resources and police efforts are massively deployed.

Even if Jiang Yuan merely requested a familiar studio, let alone recreating his favored workspace from home, Ni Cha would have consented, though reluctantly.

All for solving the case. To solve the case, he would arrange a government plane to transport Jiang Yuan; so adjusting a workspace was really no big deal.

The selected officers to work in this setup were both excited and nervous.

Jiang Yuan had not only demonstrated his technical prowess at the police station but also on Dama’s television, where the Dama Police officers, well aware and mostly viewers of the program, faced him as a renowned foreign expert. Nobody wanted to drop the ball at this moment.

Director Zhong Renlong stepped forward and asked, "God, shall we begin now?"

"Let’s start. Videoplay one PC at a time," Jiang Yuan positioned himself at the first computer, signaling to start.

These videos were intermittent, from various cameras, some official and legally placed on main roads, others pulled from nearby parked vehicles like Teslas, and some from stores or even street photographers.

Ultimately, Jiang Yuan aimed to track local residents in the footage, focusing on the video spillover.

And, while this initial collection of videos was minimal, more would need to be constantly gathered if this strategy were to continue.

Normally, if handled by an Image Reconnaissance Brigade, watching the videos wouldn’t be overwhelming with dozens of technicians across several squads.

But Jiang Yuan was analyzing walking patterns, a skill that, while available back home, was unique in Dama.

Local police officers eagerly huddled around, hoping to learn something, though Jiang Yuan had no time to teach.

"Pause here, enhance the video, this image needs to be clear," Jiang Yuan, after watching for about seven or eight minutes, called a halt.

He had encountered unclear areas before, but those did not affect judgment. However, this case was different and required technical handling.

Despite Jiang Yuan also possessing image enhancement skills, at this point he didn’t need to handle everything himself; the capital’s Dama Police Station was able to maintain such costly technicians. Or rather, it was precisely such universally costly technicians that the Dama Police Station was never short of.

"Continue here." Jiang Yuan moved to the second computer.

The nearby officer immediately started playing the video.

This time, after watching for two or three minutes, Jiang Yuan said, "This can be fast-forwarded."

The officer then played it at 1.5 times the speed.

Jiang Yuan immediately activated Temporary Skill +1, applying it to Footprint Analysis. Upgrading Footprint Analysis from Level 5 to Level 6, the benefits were more than doubled in terms of ease and efficiency.

"Set the speed to 2.5." Jiang Yuan modestly suggested, and with the remainder of his EQ, explained: "We’re looking at the gait, not the footprints, so it’s okay to go a bit faster."

"Okay." The officer then accelerated it to 2.5 times the speed.

After watching one video, Jiang Yuan watched another, took only about ten seconds, and then said, "This is too repetitive, it’s recorded close to the location of the previous video, edit it again."

"Okay." The officer quickly complied.

Jiang Yuan naturally strolled over to the third computer and began watching, the same officer playing the video for Jiang Yuan, as someone else took care of re-editing the previous video.

"This one!"

Twenty minutes from the start, Jiang Yuan finally pinpointed a blurry figure.

The second row technicians immediately got to work, starting to seek other angles or locations or times when the person’s gait was recorded, for Jiang Yuan to verify again.

Half an hour later, the entire trace laboratory was operating in an orderly manner.

At the same time, Miao Ruixiang lit three sticks of incense again, placing them in front of Jigong Bodhisattva.

On the mobile stand in front of him, Wu Jun appeared with a face darkened against a pitch-black background.

"Bow, let’s start folding the joss paper now, you brought joss paper, right? You know how to fold it?" Wu Jun’s voice drifted out.

Miao Ruixiang hesitated: "Joss paper is brought, and... I can fold, but I’m slow."

"Wang Zhong, you tell him." Wu Jun waved his hand for Wang Zhong to explain, while he nestled behind reading scriptures.

Miao Ruixiang was reluctant to learn but had no choice but to follow along, and in a short time, a large amount of joss paper was folded by both sides.

"Go outside and burn it. Hurry, only 6 minutes left to the auspicious hour." Wu Jun, seeing it was almost time, commanded again.

Miao Ruixiang was startled: "Six minutes might not be enough, we can’t light fires in the hotel..."

"Why complain about being slow, run, run... quickly..." Wu Jun urged, watching the time.

Miao Ruixiang, having no choice, grabbed the joss paper and a copper burner, opened the door, and ran outside.

He descended the elevator, exited the hotel, and outside was a wave of heat. Miao Ruixiang randomly picked a desolate direction and started sprinting.

...

Trace laboratory.

The number of backup targets Jiang Yuan accumulated gradually increased to 10.

Although it’s not to say these are suspects already, having a target feels very good.

Ni Cha and others clearly showed smiles on their faces.

"Wait a moment, slow down the speed, play it again." Jiang Yuan commanded, suddenly breaking the routine in the office.