National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 464 - 464 427 Nameless Corpse 122

464: Chapter 427: Nameless Corpse 122 464: Chapter 427: Nameless Corpse 122 Noon.

The sun was blazing at its peak, the golden sunlight showcasing its power to the fullest.

In three pots as big as osmanthus trees, the sizzling hot stir-fried pork intestines, pork stomach, and chicken glistened with oil, looking like a super unhealthy yet super delicious dish packed with excessive fat, protein, and purines.

“Come, everyone, dig in.

The last time we had this dish together was during the case of the scavenger.

Thinking back, it feels like it’s been a long time…” Hou Lejia said, filled with emotion.

For him, the neighboring Ningtai County had indeed undergone too many changes.

His old rival Huang Qiangmin had been promoted to Deputy Director, which wasn’t too surprising.

Nowadays, many city criminal police captains were being promoted to Deputy Directors; it was just a change in position.

They still dealt with the same matters.

Moreover, there were things like Jiang Yuan’s Cold Case Squad and the arrival of people like Director Chai…

To him, time seemed to accelerate due to the influence of Ningtai County, making the ordinarily mundane months feel fleeting.

In the past, Hou Lejia was such a thrifty man; it was impossible to treat people to a luxurious meal like stir-fried pork intestines and stomach with chicken on a whim.

Instead, he’d start with a simple meal, saving wherever possible, followed by a lavish feast and then another break to save up.

This way, he could save the cost of at least three meals.

But this time it was different.

The Qinghe City Bureau wanted to launch a “Cold Case Breakthrough Year.” In Hou Lejia’s understanding, it meant that each county bureau had to go to Huang Qiangmin or Jiang Yuan to compare notes.

After all, expecting every county and district to solve a homicide cold case was setting the bar too high!

In Hou Lejia’s opinion, the only feasible way was to enlist Jiang Yuan’s help.

Jiang Yuan and his Cold Case Squad solved twenty to thirty homicide cold cases a year.

By allocating just a bit of their time and effort, they could accomplish the entire Qinghe City’s task.

Without a doubt, the leaders of the Qinghe City Bureau must be thinking the same way, although they had seemed particularly democratic when it came to task assignment.

Those who were capable and lucky could solve a homicide cold case on their own.

Those who lacked the skill or luck could just go and ask Huang Qiangmin or Jiang Yuan for help.

Having come to this understanding, Hou Lejia acted accordingly, with smooth motions and a tranquil mind.

In terms of criminal investigations, his Longli County was always ranked at the back, but being at the back is one thing, and being the absolute last is quite another.

With cold case homicides, success means everything, while failure signifies nothing.

The fear was that if others went to ask for help from Jiang Yuan and only Longli County was left with nothing—Hou Lejia was skeptical that if it came to the second half of the year and everyone started to panic, Huang Qiangmin would genuinely put his county last.

“Captain Jiang, I toast to you,” Hou Lejia raised his glass, his attitude nearly reverent.

Jiang Yuan drank with him.

It was the weekend, which could be considered a day off.

Although half of Jiang Yuan’s Cold Case Squad was present.

Even more people came from the Longli County Criminal Police Brigade, everyone eager to put in a great deal of work.

Hou Lejia had already made it clear that for this homicide cold case, no matter who was in command or gave the orders, the call to action was unceasing, and the charge would never stop…

The police officers were genuinely motivated.

Solving cases can be demoralizing if progress is long delayed, but continuous victories in overrunning fortresses can sustain the morale without material rewards.

The sense of honor and other psychological factors are enough to keep everyone going for a long time.

The reputation of Jiang Yuan’s Cold Case Squad was enough motivation for the young detectives to muster their resources and set out.

“Captain Jiang, I’ll make a round, toasting to you first,” Hou Xiaoyong and several leaders lifted their glasses and began their round of toasts.

“Good,” Jiang Yuan drank heartily.

His mindset was exceptionally relaxed.

On one hand, the work in Miao River County had been rather intense.

Not to mention that case 503 was a major one overseen by the department; even searching for Guihua was a race against time, fearing that any delay might lead to misfortune.

However, Jiang Yuan felt relieved when working on cold cases in Longli County.

After all, these were cold cases, and especially before the official start of the cases, these incidents, which had been on hold for three, five, one, or two years, were not in a rush to commence within a few days.

On the other hand, Jiang Yuan was waiting for the equipment to arrive.

The biggest requirement for Skull Restoration Skill is a CT scanner.

Even though work can still proceed with an X-ray machine, a CT scanner would be ideal.

The price of a domestically produced CT scanner is around a six-figure sum.

When you factor in installation and subsequent maintenance costs, it’s not much different from the price of a Passat, depending on the model and options.

This part is up to Captain Hou of Longli County.

Of course, this requires that Longli County has a suitable body for the Skull Restoration Skill.

Among these, the most promising case is the Longli County John Doe.

I’ll review the case later, and if appropriate, I can suggest to Director Huang to have a chat with Captain Hou.

I just hope Captain Hou isn’t in too bad a mood at that time.

The tripe and chicken soup was still delicious.

The soup was loaded with a hefty amount of pepper.

It tasted hot, salty, and fragrant, the texture soft yet chewy.

A little alcohol warmed the body, as if steam rising off a body just pulled from an ice coffin, almost as though wisps of white air were ascending.

…

When a decaying body is taken out of an ice coffin, not only does white steam rise, but also a wafting stench.

The smell isn’t very volatile, but it is extremely pungent, like taking out a piece of rotten meat from the refrigerator.

You might not smell much holding it in your hand, but lean in close and take a deep sniff, and the concentrated odor will instantly make you regret it.

“John Doe 122.

Found on January 22nd of last year, a little over a year ago.

The time of death was probably two months earlier,” said Ye, the forensic doctor from Longli County, as he pulled the body out of the ice coffin and checked the tag to make sure it was correct.

He knew he was careless and prone to mistakes, so he forced himself to pay attention to certain details, even though the results were so-so.

Jiang Yuan was dressed in a disposable coverall, wearing a 3M mask, and had doubled up on rubber gloves.

He directed Wang Zhong to push the body together into the autopsy room and then positioned it properly.

As an evidence technician, Wang Zhong always had endless work to do, but Jiang Yuan still brought him out.

On one hand, using an evidence technician as an assistant in Skull Restoration Skill could improve the convenience to 0.1.

On the other hand, Wang Zhong’s skills were too poor.

At his LV0.9 level, if he didn’t improve while young, he’d end up like Yan when he gets old.

Yan was close to retirement and still just an advanced LV1 evidence technician.

He neither had the space for advancement nor the motivation to progress.

Considering the manageable workload in Ningtai County, he suited the role of a tool person just fine.

With Wang Zhong’s help, Ye quickly did a check and then said, “The body was discovered in a river bend to the south of Lishou River, among reeds.

The river had frozen over, and a few youngsters went in to play.

In the reeds, they found the body facing upwards, half frozen into the river surface.”

“Half frozen?” Jiang Yuan asked.

“The water in the reeds wasn’t deep enough.

During noon, it would thaw, and then freeze over again at night.

That’s why the upper and lower parts of the body decomposed to different extents.

Officials from the provincial office came to look and also thought it was quite rare, and they planned to use it as a case study.” After explaining, Ye continued, “The body probably floated down from upstream and got stranded in the reeds.

By the time it reached me it had thawed to about seventy percent, most of the flesh rotting into bags.

The face was too decomposed to view, and fingerprints couldn’t be lifted…”

While reminiscing, Ye shook his head and showed Jiang Yuan and Wang Zhong the decayed parts of the body.

Both of them kept their expressions neutral.

The body was in very bad shape, the eyes swollen and protruding, the face no longer recognizable.

Such a body, decayed then carefully preserved and allowed to decay further, is quite rare to encounter outside forensic circles, and it’s somewhat different and more distressing than decomposing bodies sometimes found in the countryside that decay from start to finish.

Jiang Yuan reached out to turn the head of the body and carefully assessed the condition of the skull.

This body had already been autopsied by Ye, with parts likely to decay, such as the internal organs, removed and processed into slides.

Now, to perform a secondary autopsy and search for new clues in the muscles and other tissues would be very difficult.

“No personal clothing was found on the body, right?” Jiang Yuan confirmed.

Some details might not be recorded in the report in unclear situations, but direct questions still could yield some information.

Ye shook his head and said, “When it was found, there wasn’t much clothing left.

The most intact item was the sock on the foot, but it was discolored.

There are photos in the report; you should have seen them.”

“That’s still a clue,” Jiang Yuan sighed and recalled the report, saying, “The female was suffocated, then thrown into the river, most likely by someone she knew.

Alright, let’s boil it.”

Jiang Yuan made his decision.

When the body was found, the face had already decayed beyond recognition.

With no fingerprints and no DNA match, it would only be possible to identify the source of the body through forensic anthropology.

Ye wasn’t surprised; he turned to call Wang Zhong, took out a large iron pot from the cabinet, set it on the stove, then retrieved an electric pressure cooker, filled it with water and plugged it in, and also brought out two ceramic pots, placing them on the induction cooker.

Wang Zhong looked at the ceramic pots, feeling a sense of familiarity.

He took a closer look and saw a line of red characters clearly written on them: “Tripe and Chicken Soup.”

Wang Zhong quietly added water to the ceramic pots, then turned them around, hiding the characters at the back.