National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 459 - 459 422 A Stroke of Luck

459: Chapter 422: A Stroke of Luck 459: Chapter 422: A Stroke of Luck “Tao, we’re having a meeting with minutes being recorded, take a look and see if you want to talk about something more serious,” Feng Qiong said helplessly.

The leaders from the Miaoheshire Bureau beside him smoked, resembling destroyers with smoke generators, just lowering their heads and huddling up, perhaps because they were smoking too vigorously, the smoke created by a row of leaders formed a dense wall of smoke, thick and tangible, slowly drifting upwards, moving gradually with the wind.

When detectives have meetings, there are a lot of nonsensical talks; disputes are endless and best ignored.

Tao, on the other end of the phone, was nonchalant, unaffected by scolding, grunting twice and not taking Feng Qiong’s bait, simply saying, “I can’t give you a definite answer either.

If you want an appraisal report, I can’t provide it just by looking at a photo.

But then again, I don’t object to Forensic Jiang Yuan’s judgment, nor do I have any objections.”

“You…

I would indeed give you the body, but the body has already decomposed to bones,” Feng Qiong complained as he saw Tao being slippery, totally noncommittal, and could only helplessly shake his head.

He knew Tao’s intentions well; the case wasn’t Tao’s but his and Kang Zhichao’s.

Tao was willing to offer suggestions and help, but for such a significant change in the case, Tao was not willing to jump to conclusions easily.

Feng Qiong estimated that the detectives from Anhai City wouldn’t be too pleased upon receiving the news.

From this perspective, one could only say that Jiang Yuan was still young—however, if the case proceeded along Jiang Yuan’s lines, the detectives from Anhai City would probably have to begrudgingly admire his ‘brilliance.’

In the police world, having a good reputation, especially at a young age, was not a bad thing at all.

The main reason Tao was reluctant to take the job was his lack of confidence.

Without the ability to make an appropriate judgment, he naturally dared not come to rash conclusions.

Signing an appraisal report entailed responsibility.

Feng Qiong thought about a lot in a very short time.

In terms of guiding criminal investigation work and organizing frontline forces, Feng Qiong was only at a Level 2.5 level.

But in coordinating various parties, especially in integrating forces and resolving conflicts, he felt quite accomplished.

Even when not exerting much effort, he could easily surpass Level 3.

At this moment, what Feng Qiong was counting on most was Kang Zhichao, so he turned his head and said, “Old Kang, what do you say?

You’re a technician, give us a judgment.”

“I’m engaged in trace examination; forensic science is just a side job.

If there was a body in front of me now, and no forensic doctor had turned up, I wouldn’t have a problem doing an initial external examination of the corpse while it’s still warm, but in this situation, if Tao can’t manage it, then I truly can’t,” Kang Zhichao said as he looked towards Jiang Yuan and asked in a friendly tone, “Doctor Jiang, who was your master?”

“My master is Wu Jun,” Jiang Yuan replied.

“Wu Jun, ah…” Kang Zhichao’s brain scrambled but still couldn’t match the name with any major figures.

Feng Qiong lit a cigarette, burying himself in the smoke as well.

After thinking for a moment, Feng Qiong said, “Let’s leave it at this for now.

I’ll find a few more experts and ponder over this.”

This was the standard answer.

He had originally wanted to crack the case quickly, but it ended up that procedures still had to be followed.

Moreover, the ministry was not like the provincial departments below it; the experts Feng Qiong could invite might be of a higher level, but they were likely busier and often could not coordinate timely with the special project team’s needs.

Feng Qiong hurriedly ended the meeting.

The Miao River side didn’t care much, happily dispersing the remaining smoke.

Bureau Chief Guan Xingfu even picked out two unopened packs of Zhonghua cigarettes, handing them over to Jiang Yuan and said, “Captain Jiang, have these to smoke.

I didn’t know you smoke; I’ll have some sent to you later.”

Previously, Guan had not cared whether Jiang Yuan smoked or not; it was only now that he wanted to show goodwill.

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, “I’m just an occasional smoker, just tasting it.

It’s a waste for me.”

“If you smoke, it’s not a waste,” Guan Xingfu laughed heartily, flattering him further to deepen his impression before reluctantly leaving.

Jiang Yuan also walked out to the entrance, where he saw Kang Zhichao waiting in the corridor.

Kang Zhichao was a middle-aged man with white hair at the temples.

He seemed to be in good physical shape, maintaining a fit body; without considering his hair color, he looked no more than in his early 40s, but with the white hair, one unconsciously added ten years to his age.

Kang Zhichao also held a cigarette, which he barely smoked, letting the wind take it instead, expressing an air of melancholy that seemed even more brooding than the wind itself.

“Mr.

Kang,” Jiang Yuan guessed he was waiting for himself.

Kang Zhichao extinguished his cigarette and said, “Doctor Jiang, do you have some time?

Let’s have a discussion.”

Although he had bounced Feng Qiong off in the conference room, unlike Tao, this case involved him and Feng Qiong; he couldn’t distance himself from it.

So, after leaving the conference room, Kang Zhichao followed Feng Qiong’s suggestion and decided to have a proper talk with Jiang Yuan, dissecting and refining the conversation earnestly to determine the time of death.

After all, this would decide whether they should focus on Liao Baoquan’s recent activities in Miao River County or start the investigation from scratch in Anhai City.

Jiang Yuan said, “Hmm,” and asked, “Then shall we talk while we walk?”

“Alright.

Regarding the use of corneal identification to determine time of death, from what I understand, it’s generally based on the level of opacity, and determining the time of death within 24 hours is relatively accurate, but it’s roughly accurate to within about two hours?

For example, the appearance of white spots on the cornea is after 5 to 6 hours of death, spots expanding to a cloud-like shape might take 10 to 12 hours, and then it becomes foggy, 15 to 24 hours…”

“Generally speaking, that is the case.

If there’s no need for extremely detailed requirements, I also make judgments based on a classification of light, middle, and heavy.” Jiang Yuan first affirmed Kang Zhichao’s words, then continued, “However, looking at the photos of the two deceased, I initially felt that their times of death were very close.

Thus, I became particularly interested in the forensic doctor’s determination of their times of death at the time, and I wanted to know how he had discerned the order in which the two had died.”

Kang Zhichao understood, it was like a top student believing the problem was too difficult, and simply not believing others could solve it.

“Later on, when I looked at the forensic report, the forensic doctor who conducted the autopsy did not actually provide a clear time of death.

This included judgments made with liver and stomach contents, which were inconclusive.” Jiang Yuan paused, then said, “So, the death sequence of number one and number two is actually not judged based on forensic science.”

“But you could infer it from one, no, two photographs?”

“Those two photographs were merely the final comparison.

Other photos, especially the environmental ones, were useful as well.” At this point, Jiang Yuan dispensed with modesty, heightening his tone, “Environmental factors, such as temperature, humidity, and air circulation, affect the time of death.

Self-factors and human factors, such as injuries, diseases, and movement of the body, can also affect the timing and the degree of corneal opacity.

In this respect, actually, it’s not just forensic doctors who are conducting research; ophthalmologists do even more.”

“Huh?”

“The Ophthalmology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association began research in this area many years ago, especially now with the high volume of myopia surgeries, corresponding research in the field of corneal studies naturally has to keep up.” Jiang Yuan said this much and, seeing Kang Zhichao’s level of confusion, then offered, “How about I send you some papers to read later?

Once you’ve read them, and if you still have questions, let’s talk again.”

“Okay.” Kang Zhichao obediently took out his phone and respectfully added Jiang Yuan’s WeChat.

After a while, Kang Zhichao’s phone started to ring incessantly with notification sounds.

Kang Zhichao hurriedly opened his messages, only to see the articles Jiang Yuan sent earlier were rather ordinary, such as “Research on Death Time Inference Based on Corneal Images,” “Forensic Examination Analysis of 136 Cases of Corneal Opacity Degree,” and similar papers, but soon, Jiang Yuan stopped sending content and started sending titles instead, with the style shifting towards an unspeakable severity and never returning—”The Corneal Thickness of Normal Human Eyes in Our Country,” “The Formation Mechanism of Corneal Opacity,” “Ophthalmology Textbook,” “Ophthalmology,” “Forensic Ophthalmology Appraisal,” “Ophthalmological Science”…

Kang Zhichao silently lifted his head to look at Jiang Yuan, who was still typing, and thought to himself, I just wanted to look at the corneas of corpses, there’s no need to become an ophthalmologist.

Of course, Kang Zhichao did not dare to speak so disrespectfully to Jiang Yuan now, so he asked, “Doctor Jiang, have you read all these books?”

“Yes.” Jiang Yuan was quite frank.

His Level 6 skill in determining time of death, too, was earned through hard work, similar to a student who studies day and night.

After all, those who can finish these books rely on talent, whether it’s in the form of intelligence, self-discipline, deep concentration, or a system given to them.

Besides, everyone works hard.

Like Jiang Yuan, who named every dog in the county to master Level 3 Skull Restoration Skill—the dog licenses were proof of his efforts.

Now, sending Kang Zhichao and Feng Qiong off quickly was another form of effort.

However, when faced with Level 6 skills, Kang Zhichao’s talent in forensic science seemed to have reached its limit.

In fact, even for a full-time forensic doctor, possessing just one Level 4 skill was enough to be included in the national ministry’s pool of experts.

This was after the averages had been brought down by big cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.

In more remote provinces like Shan Nan, Level 3 was already top-tier in the provincial bureau’s expert pool—whether the national ministry was impressed or not hinged on Level 3.

As for Level 5 and Level 6, those were regarded as having extraordinarily unique talents.

There might occasionally be some Level 5 experts in more common skills, such as fingerprint identification, but by Level 6, gaps are the norm.

Kang Zhichao didn’t stand a chance of figuring out Jiang Yuan’s real capabilities, and at this point, the only thing he could recall was Tao’s words.

He suddenly realized that, in fact, Tao had said everything that needed to be said; if he and Feng Qiong couldn’t understand it, there was nothing more Tao could have added during the meeting.

…

There wasn’t much more Jiang Yuan could say either.

For a case like this, where no headway could be made, even using his strongest ability, which was far above average, to achieve a breakthrough was already quite difficult, and aiming for another would be unrealistic.

In fact, he hadn’t really invested much effort; it was simply a matter of technology and evidence aligning.

Jiang Yuan was also unlikely to go to Anhai City with Kang Zhichao and Feng Qiong.

He had more important matters to attend to here.

Indeed, Jiang Yuan had figured out that Feng Qiong and Kang Zhichao were going to Anhai City.

If they wanted to solve the case, they could only go back to where it all started.

Having spent an entire day on other people’s cases, Jiang Yuan wasn’t in a hurry to leave.

After all, everyone was still waiting to work on case 503, and before any definitive changes occurred, the officers from Miao He County wouldn’t listen to him.

Jiang Yuan simply found the biggest local restaurant, took a seat in the hall, ordered a few dishes, and asked for a bottle of wine, intending to pour for himself and enjoy his own company.

The food was served quickly.

Just as Jiang Yuan was about to start eating, he saw a procession of people making their way grandly from one side of the main entrance screen.

Leading the group was a pale pink girl with a grey wrinkled pug in her arms.

“Guihua?” Jiang Yuan called out instinctively.

The pug, being sensitive, lifted its head and looked towards Jiang Yuan.