National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 527 - 527 485 Still a Young Man upon Return

527: Chapter 485: Still a Young Man upon Return 527: Chapter 485: Still a Young Man upon Return In the following days, Changyang City’s Image Reconnaissance Brigade and the technical investigation team both got involved in the case investigation.

The residential district where Wang Xingzhai lived was still in a bustling part of the city, and there were a very large number of cameras, including those inside building elevators.

However, the killer kept his head down the whole time and wore a big mask, which greatly hindered the performance of image investigation.

Some European countries had a ban on masks for a while, precisely to avoid the difficulty in image recognition.

Jiang Yuan also helped look at the gait; he managed to remember the gait, but when trying to match the gait to the person, if it was in real-time it would have been manageable, but with so many days having elapsed, tracking became difficult.

From Renheng’s residential district to the main road, there was a stretch where camera footage had already been overridden.

Jiang Yuan and the Image Reconnaissance Brigade’s team guessed and blundered along, but after the killer took Wang Xingzhai into a car with fake plates, they hit another road with no cameras, and the guessing continued for the better part of a day to no avail.

The two police officers sent from the Image Investigation were still searching for surveillance, but the chances of continuing to pinpoint the culprit had become slim.

At this point, the task force clearly entered a plateau phase.

There were still leads to pursue, but when they would bear fruit was unclear, and whether it was tracking a cell phone or using special circumstances to find people, it wasn’t something that could be achieved simply by throwing more manpower and resources at it.

In Shiting County, Li Xiang continued to lead his team in searching and digging graves, but his resources were already stretched thin, and any further increase would only add to management costs.

Not everyone was Xu Taining, who could keep piling up manpower and resources to speed up progress.

For a young expert like Li Xiang, leading around a hundred people and dispatching another hundred for a single task was already the limit.

However, seasoned criminal investigators have encountered similar situations before.

Dreams and passion are the meat slices in a dish of water-boiled meat—bright red and tempting—but what supports them are the bed of ingredients beneath, those mundane, ordinary, tedious, cheap bean sprouts, cabbage, mustard greens, or cucumbers, anything really, as long as it serves as a foundation.

Delicious slices of meat are common, but flavorful bed ingredients are not.

Most of the time, forensic investigators are the ones laying the foundation.

Those working on fingerprints, DNA, footprints, tool marks…

When these techniques just started to become widespread, they caught some attention, but as they were popularized, their halos faded.

Just like a cotton quilt, the softest, most comfortable time is the first contact; sleep on it too long, and there are only two distinctions—ordinary and uncomfortable.

Jiang Yuan also disappeared from everyone’s sight.

Running gait analysis with the Image Reconnaissance Brigade took Jiang Yuan one or two days.

This process allowed Jiang Yuan to see the cunning and professionalism of the killer.

Wang Xingzhai was a seasoned criminal, though a bit frail from drug use and clubbing, but he didn’t lack resistance techniques or willpower.

By all logic, he should not have been subjugated by the killer for a long time.

Yet the killer managed just that, and regardless of whether he achieved it through verbal trickery, physical force, or details unknown to the police, there was no doubt about the killer’s professionalism.

In most situations, the term “professional hitman” is untenable within the country.

There’s no such environment, not much money to make, and most importantly, most killers evade justice due to luck, investigative oversights, or some natural environmental advantages.

In summary, murdering and escaping punishment is not an easily replicable feat.

Not to mention collecting pay and needing a certain degree of publicity…

But today’s killer made Jiang Yuan see a sliver of possibility.

He had a long-term employer, steady income, a stable way of disposing of bodies, victims who were likely social outcasts not protected by mature systems, without stable long-term intimate relationships, disappearing without anyone caring…

As long as he mastered the criminal techniques, he could commit murders consistently over time and make a living from it—that’s what makes a professional hitman.

Such an individual is, of course, extremely dangerous.

If given the chance, Jiang Yuan felt it was of great necessity to bring him to justice.

And that opportunity was right before Jiang Yuan’s eyes.

He worked on the cranial reconstruction of the second victim at an extremely fast pace, with a stable mindset, working overtime.

The cases involving a professional hitman are difficult to investigate because they lack normal crime motives; there’s often no direct interaction between the killer and the victim, nor any direct financial interest.

Additionally, the crime techniques of a professional hitman are very specialized, leaving little trace.

Thirdly, a professional hitman often knows how to deal with the crime scene and the victim’s body, further complicating the investigation.

Now, the three sides of this iron triangle have actually been shaken.

The killer in this case was serving a drug trafficking gang, and the motive had already surfaced.

The crime technique, while professional, had been observed by the police, and based on the condition of several bodies, the basic procedure could be inferred.

As for the handling of the bodies, what once seemed clever now appears foolish and inadequate.

However, the crux of the matter lies in the fact that these three advantageous conditions only exist in this particular case.

If we cannot smoothly advance through this case, then the once-loosened iron triangle will once again become stabilized.

The killer will definitely seek new methods for disposing of bodies, and will revise and refine their criminal techniques.

They might even change locations, switch occupations, or even find a new employer…

Jiang Yuan had understood the key points, so he stopped overthinking.

He focused solely on working in the police station office and even skipped going home.

After all, his apartment in Changyang City was tiny, and going home would mean cleaning up, dealing with a cold stove and an empty pot, which was less appealing than staying at the station.

The most important thing was to save time and energy.

Though other clues and targets that other detectives were tracking might also have breakthroughs, within the scope of Jiang Yuan’s reach, Cranial Reconstruction Skill held the most promise.

Without overthinking, if they could confirm just one more source of a corpse, then the leads might double.

Moreover, the mutual corroboration of two bodies could potentially propel the case forward.

This was also one of the reasons why Jiang Yuan stayed at the station.

In TV dramas, if someone could greatly advance a case or even discover the true identity of the killer, then their route home would become particularly dangerous.

Given that the opposition was a cadre of a drug trafficking group and might even have a gun, Jiang Yuan felt it was wise to be more cautious.

Jiang Yuan had been absent for several days.

When Bai Jian lifted his head from the entangled web of clues, he saw that Jiang Yuan had moved his computer back into the conference room.

Bai Jian was also somewhat pleased to see Jiang Yuan and cheerfully said, “I was just saying that Doctor Jiang has been missing for a few days.

Well, our clues are pretty much sorted out now.

With Captain Jiang joining in, let’s strive to push the case forward in the next few days…”

Bai Jian clapped his hands and continued, “Everyone, let’s be a bit more spirited.

As detectives, we need to have a ferocious look in our eyes.

No matter how the case is progressing, we must have confidence in ourselves.”

Bai Jian proclaimed loudly, “Confidence is the best tool for solving cases.

Believe in yourselves.

Temporary setbacks will accumulate greater strength for us!”

“Chief Yu!”

“Chief Yu…”

The greeting at the door drowned out Bai Jian’s speech.

Bai Jian also stood up out of respect.

The head of the criminal police brigade from the provincial capital city deserved some respect.

Yu Wenshu smiled even more warmly as he shook hands with Bai Jian, saying, “Captain Bai has worked hard these past few days.

Don’t just focus on the case, but also take care of your health.”

“After we crack this case, I will definitely rest for a few days,” Bai Jian replied.

“It’ll be good if you really do rest,” Yu Wenshu withdrew his hand and turned his gaze toward Jiang Yuan.

“Chief Yu,” greeted Jiang Yuan.

Yu Wenshu and Jiang Yuan were quite familiar with each other.

The members of Jiang Yuan’s Accumulated Case Team were mostly borrowed from Yu Wenshu.

At this moment, Yu Wenshu nodded and asked directly, “How’s it going?”

He had rushed over immediately after hearing from Wang Chuanxing and the others that Jiang Yuan had returned.

Bai Jian also looked at Jiang Yuan with a slightly belated realization.

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, “I did Cranial Reconstruction Skill on the second victim, and the final facial image I obtained looks like this…”

He signaled for Wang Chuanxing to open the PPT and displayed a photo of a man around 40 years old.

Slightly overweight, with a stubbled chin, messy short hair, uneven teeth, and a bulbous nose…

The man looked quite shabby, but he did not resemble a drug user.

Jiang Yuan continued, “After facial recognition, the second victim has been identified as Chang Jiagui from Qi Province, a professional truck driver.

He owns a Foton medium truck.

He is divorced, with a daughter awarded to the mother.

Chang Jiagui was missing for a month before his ex-wife filed a report.”

If young women who have fallen into misfortune are the most vulnerable female group, then truck drivers are the most likely male group to suffer illegal harm.

However, in comparison to the fourth victim, who was a nightclubber, there are many more leads to investigate regarding the second victim, Chang Jiagui.

The expressions of the detectives in the conference room also came alive, filled with strength, struggle, and anticipation.