National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 1071 - 1004: AF Lacks Freshwater

Chapter 1071: Chapter 1004: AF Lacks Freshwater

"Got it. They must have collected it. Otherwise, they would have interrogated Zhang Xiaoming instead of killing him outright."

Liu Jinghui used straightforward reasoning to resolve a complex issue upfront.

Qi Changye nodded in agreement: "Makes sense. If they couldn’t find it, they might as well have set fire to the room to destroy it."

At this moment, Qi Changye could fully appreciate the value of deductive reasoning. Cases spanning 20 years are unbelievably hard to disprove with evidence alone, but a single effective inference can directly address the problem.

Liu Jinghui’s face showed no trace of pride; such reasoning came too easily to him. After commenting briefly on the case, Liu Jinghui adjusted his expression slightly, appearing more serious as he said, "The key question now is whether you’ve made any progress dismantling this espionage network, or if there are relevant discoveries."

Qi Changye hesitated for a moment before replying, "I’ve already assigned people to investigate, but so far, there haven’t been any findings. By logic... hmm, it seems the network hasn’t been dismantled. Otherwise, given the Zhang Family and the Jianmen Court case connections, there would have been some feedback."

"So the spy network is still operational?"

"Well, that... that might not necessarily be the case." Qi Changye paused before continuing, "We shouldn’t assume such networks are too mysterious. Spy networks unnoticed for 20 years are exceedingly rare, of course. What we hear about are the ones that get caught. Under normal circumstances, if an intelligence cell survives for 20 years, it’s most likely because it remains in its dormant phase, not yet activated."

"So you’re saying Zhang Xiaoming uncovered a dormant intelligence cell?"

"That possibility is pretty slim too. If they’re dormant... but who knows? Maybe there was some kind of coincidental trigger." Qi Changye shrugged. "Isn’t it commonly said these days that reality is stranger than fiction? Espionage certainly follows those rules. Plenty of high-profile operatives have been captured simply due to bad luck."

Qi Changye wasn’t ordinarily this talkative, but since he was asked to share information, he took a moment and added: "There’s another possibility to consider. Perhaps Zhang Xiaoming discovered a network that was actively operational or had just begun its dormant phase. Once their intelligence officer noticed this, they might have worked to address the situation by transitioning the intelligence cell back into dormancy—or withdrawing completely."

"If they’ve withdrawn, doesn’t that mean the case hits a dead end?" Huang Qiangmin interjected.

Qi Changye sighed helplessly, "There are plenty of unresolved cases. But if we’re looking on the bright side, most spy networks are made up of locally recruited personnel. So full withdrawal scenarios remain relatively rare. Reactivation of dormancy, however, is much more common."

"20 years... and still no withdrawal?"

"It’s possible, but unnecessary. Local recruits are valuable assets. If they withdraw, they’re reduced to liabilities—they end up being a purely maintained resource, turning into ’negative assets.’"

"I see..." Liu Jinghui pondered this thoughtfully.

Qi Changye continued, "Most ordinary spy networks, even sophisticated ones, might only have one or two intelligence officers embedded from their own side—in many cases, not even that. These intelligence officers primarily handle communication and coordination, and sometimes they even operate under diplomatic cover. As for this case, there’s currently no sign of any high-value intelligence potential."

Sending overseas intelligence officers to execute covert operations in foreign countries belongs to elite levels of espionage—similar to law enforcement planting undercover cops inside criminal organizations. Such enormous risk demands proportional rewards. And in the case of a regular criminal organization, does it really warrant risking an officer? And even if an officer goes undercover, will the gains outweigh the risks?

Similarly, when an organization invests heavily in training and dispatching highly skilled intelligence officers, is it guaranteed to yield substantial intelligence gains? Furthermore, if one of these officers were captured, could the information compromised outweigh what they had gathered?

So even in Qi Changye’s experience, most spy networks he encountered were predominantly composed of locally recruited members.

"Given this, we’ve got to revisit Zhang Xiaoming’s tasks leading up to his death. I recall someone had conducted such work before." Liu Jinghui mentioned as he picked up the phone to request data.

Soon after, Wang Chuanxing entered with some materials.

The previous task force had already mapped out Zhang Xiaoming’s activities during the three days leading up to his death, corroborated via testimonies and interviews in the surrounding area.

The heavily annotated timeline in the notebook demonstrated meticulous work.

But it had proven useless.

That’s the plight of criminal investigation: if you can’t solve the case, all effort is in vain.

The painstaking labor of criminal investigation stands in stark contrast to the ease of bureaucratic work.

Jiang Yuan took the timeline and flipped through it carefully.

Liu Jinghui and Qi Changye were still discussing the case, beginning to move evidence back and forth relentlessly.

"Have they retrieved the newspapers yet?" Jiang Yuan finished reviewing Zhang Xiaoming’s activities without gaining new insights; instead, he focused on requesting further records.

Qi Changye paused his conversation with Liu Jinghui and took a sip of water before replying, "They’re digging through archives in several newspaper offices, mainly to verify the names used in the advertisements. Back then, placing an ad didn’t require much—just paying cash was enough. No ID or verification was needed, and we have no idea how many aliases the suspect might have used."

"Even if it wasn’t at the specified date, it should have followed the prescribed newspaper and designated section, with distinct markers to serve its cryptographic purpose." Jiang Yuan casually reminded.

"Jiang Yuan knows his stuff." Qi Changye straightened, glanced at Jiang Yuan, and chuckled, "That’s essentially how we’re investigating it. So far, we’ve located two newspapers, but haven’t fully examined them yet. Additionally, while translations are underway, the lack of a complete cipher key means the decoded content remains partial."

"Send over what you’ve got so far. I can take a look." Jiang Yuan explained matter-of-factly, "Ever since working on that case with the cryptography expert, I’ve been studying some cryptographic material on my own."

Qi Changye raised a skeptical eyebrow at Jiang Yuan, "You’ve studied cryptography?"

"I’m decent at it."

"Hmm... fine. Should I have someone send over photos?" Qi Changye privately doubted Jiang Yuan’s expertise—could his knowledge surpass that of the agency’s encryption specialists? Still, given the circumstances, this wasn’t a case where evidence could afford to be withheld.

Soon after, Qi Changye brought over a rugged laptop and displayed the images to Jiang Yuan, saying, "Here’s what we’ve uncovered so far. The suspect frequently published ads in two newspapers—’China TV Weekly’ and ’Democracy and Rule of Law.’ Ad placements were within the middle columns, limited to 30 words, and with no specific timetable. The names used for placement consistently revolved around the surnames of ’Liu, Guan, Zhang.’"

"Like the Three Kingdoms." Jiang Yuan commented while examining the ads on the tablet.

The first middle-column ad read: "Currently available: two bulls, three years old, blue coat, shiny fur, healthy physique. Due to production changes, seeking to sell. Interested parties, please call BP number: 126***."

Jiang Yuan pointed to the BP number and asked Qi Changye, "Is this number fake?"

"It’s likely fake. Each ad lists different contact numbers. We haven’t had time to thoroughly investigate them yet." Qi Changye, who had only recently joined the case, replied.

Jiang Yuan nodded slightly and continued flipping through the ads, occasionally jotting down notes.

As he worked on this, Qi Changye gradually diverted attention, resuming his discussions with Liu Jinghui.

Before long, phone calls began pouring in from various parties, and Qi Changye grew increasingly busy, needing to set up an impromptu office to handle everything onsite.

The workload certainly wasn’t light. Soon, Qi Changye began showing signs of strain and resorted to shouting as his stress escalated.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yuan and Liu Jinghui kept their discussion muted, lowering their voices further with each exchange.

Finally, as Qi Changye’s volume peaked, Jiang Yuan gestured for him to come over.

"I’ve found something," Jiang Yuan said.

"From what? The cipher?" Qi Changye asked, surprised. He hadn’t seen Jiang Yuan leave the room, and the only new evidence was the cipher key fragment.

"Yes," Jiang Yuan answered without hesitation.

Qi Changye found it hard to believe, "You’ve deciphered it? But the cipher key we confiscated is incomplete."

He wasn’t skeptical out of mistrust but rather because it defied logic. An incomplete cipher key should inherently limit accurate translations. If Jiang Yuan could pull this off, wouldn’t their cryptography experts have already done so sooner?

Jiang Yuan didn’t care to elaborate. He simply waved his hand dismissively and said, "The suspect’s fragmentary cipher notes are indeed insufficient. But what we should consider is *why* they were noted."

"Why?"

Jiang Yuan unfolded his notebook and explained, "I think the suspect didn’t have the capacity to remember all the codes. Li Dianzhong’s educational level is likely low, and he probably wasn’t interested in memorizing complicated ciphers. Hence, he chose to jot down parts of the code. From the fragments, we can see his focus was on phrases less commonly used, as well as numerical and alphabetical substitutions. Likely, this was for convenience in retrieval."

Jiang Yuan emphasized, "In other words, some of the codes Li Dianzhong already understood wouldn’t be noted. I’ve analyzed these omissions and identified recurring patterns that enable reasonable speculation."

"Midway Island?" Qi Changye immediately connected to the infamous WWII cipher event.

"Exactly." Jiang Yuan traced a line in front and said, "Three symbolizes the oil printing factory."