National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 695 - 638: Results Coming Soon

Chapter 695: Chapter 638: Results Coming Soon

Jiang Yuan’s voice nearly caused Qian Tongyi to black out, his heart pounding rapidly.

Qian Tongyi was the captain of the detective squad responsible for Shang Geyong’s case. The psychological pressure was intense, and the responsibility even greater. He had just glimpsed the light of victory and slept less during the day than Jiang Yuan, fighting hard for success.

But all that was predicated on the assumption that Shang Geyong had been found, the murderer identified, and the case had moved from the investigation phase to the pursuit phase...

Then Jiang Yuan said, "The victim is not Shang Geyong," and everything went dark before Qian Tongyi’s eyes.

In this day and age, how could they possibly get the wrong person?

"Are you still there?" Qian Tongyi, leaning against the wall with the look of a middle-aged man reaching the endpoint of a urination, asked, "Is it confirmed? Do you know who the victim is?"

"The age and bone marks don’t match, and the DNA lab hasn’t released results yet, but it’s unlikely that they’ll support the body being that of Shang Geyong," Jiang Yuan paused, then continued, "We still haven’t confirmed whose body it is."

"This Shang Geyong...he does a house renovation and it turns up a body? Now we have to start all over again!" Qian Tongyi was exasperated.

"It’s not that recent. Shang Geyong truly disappeared, and the phone number of the wall plasterer is indeed out of reach, the person has vanished," Jiang Yuan explained the facts he had, trying to provide some solace to Qian Tongyi.

In terms of the number of homicide and major cases handled, Jiang Yuan might have even dealt with more than Qian Tongyi at the moment, and moreover, being technically skilled, he solved cases with more stability.

Qian Tongyi took a deep breath. After pondering a bit more, he said, "Let it go, then. So, this wall plasterer still has a strong suspicion. As for Shang Geyong... If he’s not an accomplice, why didn’t the murderer kill him too? Therefore, Shang Geyong might also be a prime suspect."

"On that matter, I have a different opinion," Jiang Yuan was direct with his views, with no need for tact while on a 1V1 call. He immediately continued, "Firstly, the killer might have thought about it but failed to follow through. It was already the wee hours by then, and we don’t know how long Shang Geyong was on the move, but it should not have been long before the workday started. It’s very likely that people would have come to start their shifts soon."

"Moreover, after killing someone, the murderer took the trouble to get a large amount of quicklime, then had to remove the internal organs, smear the abdominal cavity, and then build the wall, and transport, etc. It’s quite possible that he didn’t have the time or energy to repeat such a process."

Jiang Yuan added, "Secondly, the level of wall-building by the murderer is quite skilled; he’s definitely at an LV2 level. To put it simply, the culprit must have at least three to five years of experience, and that, in the context of someone skilled. You should go back and look at the walls this person has built and make a comparison."

Qian Tongyi felt more confused as he listened, "You can make comparisons with wall-building?"

"Of course, the tools used for wall-building leave marks that can be compared. Basic scratches on the wall can indicate the tools used. The angle of the wall, the ratio of the cement, and so on..." Jiang Yuan didn’t bother to elaborate further for a non-expert, knowing that it was indeed possible.

He had previously acquired an LV4 skill in wall-building, and although he seldom used it, it was enough to examine the quality of the finished work and guess the level of the wall plasterer’s skills.

Qian Tongyi gave a couple of "hmm" sounds, though finding Jiang Yuan’s words unbelievable. If the rumors he had heard about Jiang Yuan were to be believed, even such an obscure field as Legal Botany seemed to exist, so wall-building was nothing much.

"So you’re saying, the wall plasterer is still the mastermind. He didn’t have the time to deal with Shang Geyong and took him away?" Qian Tongyi attempted to reason.

"It’s possible. Are all the surveillance cameras in the residential area disabled? Look for more nearby surveillance footage," Jiang Yuan replied, not sure enough to speculate further and simply making inferences based on the state of the body and such.

Qian Tongyi felt better now and said, "I’ll get Image Investigation to work on it a bit more. Right, the identity of this body hasn’t been confirmed yet, has it?"

"Not yet, we’re still waiting on a confirmation from the DNA lab," replied Jiang Yuan.

Actually, Jiang Yuan could imagine the frenzy inside the DNA lab not long ago, as the technicians were manically comparing the DNA test results.

To laypeople, DNA test results appear as a conclusion, typically framed as either "supporting" the claim or not in layman’s terms. However, inside the DNA lab, the instruments actually output what is known as a "wave."

Thus, the original data of DNA identification somewhat resemble an ECG, or to be more precise, data from a mass spectrometer, with the location and height of the peaks and troughs determining whether the same loci match. Multiple loci need to match to confirm an identity.

That the samples from Shang Geyong didn’t match was probably the technicians’ first thought—that the samples were contaminated.

It wasn’t until Jiang Yuan’s call came through that the director of the DNA lab finally took a long breath of relief.

...

In the evening, the DNA lab finally delivered the identification report.

By this time, Jiang Yuan and others had already started having hot pot in the forensic office.

The forensic lab is not an autopsy room; as the name suggests, it mainly consists of office elements. Upon entering, there are desks and other office equipment, along with computers and the like. The facilities in the forensic lab of Changyang City are quite good, with several rows of cabinets that look similar to the iron cabinets of the finance department, also divided into individual compartments, mainly for storing forensic evidence like bone fragments.

Besides this, there are cabinets filled with specimens and other items, mainly used for conducting related experiments and research, while also serving as decorations.

However, despite appearing like an ordinary office, regular colleagues who stroll around or visit are not likely to come over; for any matter, they’d rather make a phone call.

During the daytime, the forensic office tends to be busier. After all, in addition to Shang Geyong’s case, the lab also serves other detective teams and cases. But in the evening, the atmosphere in the office becomes much more relaxed.

Some forensic doctors prefer to spend the quiet night hours examining human tissue slices under a microscope, as this time is quieter, allowing for a more leisurely and less pressured reading of these materials. It has been proven that for tasks lacking definite progress or standards of completion, working without pressure yields the most significant results.

Jiang Yuan likes to have hot pot at such times.

So, that’s what they were doing in the forensic office of Changyang City tonight.

"The intestines are ready."

"Put the brain in the strainer and cook it a bit longer."

"The stomach is ready after a quick dip, quite crunchy."

The steam rose in billows, drifting upwards, while the bright lights became twisted and hazy as a result.

When Yu Wenshu and Huang Qiangmin pushed the door and entered, this was the scene they encountered.

"Chief Yu."

"Director Huang," Jiang Yuan still called Huang Qiangmin by this name.

Huang Qiangmin greeted them with his usual smile, while Yu Wenshu asked with an indescribable expression, "These are bought animal innards, right?"

"Are you asking if they’re bought, or if they’re animal innards?" Wu Jun, who had already been promoted, had become very self-assertive, even daring to joke with Chief Yu, who ranked eighty levels above himself. As the saying goes, as one is about to retire, even meeting an official one rank higher becomes easy.

Yu Wenshu shook his head with a wry smile, "I came to see how you all were doing, but it seems unnecessary."

As he spoke, he had someone place a box of snacks on the table, then turned to Jiang Yuan, "The DNA lab’s identification report is out; have you received the news?"

"I have. The victim was a project manager at a construction company?" Jiang Yuan asked.

"Yes, that’s right. This decoration company is really unlucky; I don’t know how they’re going to compensate for this." Yu Wenshu, who had seen many similar cases, didn’t need to discuss the legalities; he knew the next scenes all too well even with his eyes closed.

Jiang Yuan thought for a moment and said, "The wall builder was a temporary worker hired by the project manager, right? Or was there a longstanding grudge?"

"It’s you, Jiang Yuan, who always gets to the heart of the matter. I came over for this issue." Yu Wenshu sat down and continued, "After inquiries by our officers, it was found that some decoration managers or foremen of this decoration company have a habit of finding temporary workers at the decoration market. I’ve encountered this during my own renovation. There’s no need for contracts, no need for ID cards; it’s just a daily wage settlement, about 400 a day, sometimes up to five or six hundred, and some vary if materials are involved..."

Jiang Yuan gave an "mm-hmm"; he was quite familiar with this part.

Yu Wenshu and Huang Qiangmin exchanged glances and said, "We suspect this worker hasn’t just started working recently, so we checked the project managers from some larger decoration companies in Changyang City and found that at least three project managers are missing."

Jiang Yuan blinked, and recalling the TV wall constructed by the killer, he couldn’t help saying, "There might be more walled in."

"We’ve sent for a portable X-ray machine to get some shots; we should have results soon." Yu Wenshu said as he settled down beside the hot pot, looking ready to wait for the results alongside everyone, sharing in the hardship.