National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 724 - 667 Pry Up

Chapter 724: Chapter 667 Pry Up

Returning to the icy office of the Criminal Investigation Division, Cui Qishan enjoyed the pleasant breeze from the air conditioning while somewhat disdainfully fanning in front of his nose, "If you’re going to keep the doors and windows shut so tight, stop eating instant noodles and takeout, the smell is too strong, can you all stand it?"

"Captain Cui, are you not feeling great inside?" Xiao Si held a cigarette in his hand, sniffing it while casting a sidelong glance at Cui Qishan.

Cui Qishan now understood why the Second Division had let go of such a useful officer as Xiao Si so readily. The heart condition of the head of the Second Division wasn’t that great, probably unable to withstand Xiao Si’s relentless pushing.

Cui Qishan even figured out the reason for the Second Division leader’s poor heart condition.

Unable to muster a pleasant demeanor toward Xiao Si anymore, Cui Qishan said, "It’s not easy living a life despised by everyone, is it?"

Xiao Si was stunned, "Captain Cui, are you talking about me, or..."

"I’m talking about myself." Cui Qishan curled his lips and said, "We have found four bodies in one go, involving a foreign national, the pressure from the bureau is huge, and so is the pressure on everyone. How can we avoid disdainful looks? Oh, by the way, overtime today."

"Oh." Xiao Si didn’t care whether Cui Qishan was implying something, simply saying, "Finding the bodies is a great achievement, they are just jealous."

"Finding bodies, if we can crack the case afterward, it will be a great achievement for us, otherwise, we’ll be no better than pieces of shit stuck to a stick," Cui Qishan said, his expression and tone becoming much more serious as he spoke.

It’s easy to be branded with a nickname in the workplace, especially one as evocative as this.

Considered for a moment by Li Jiang, he said, "A shit stick does have its uses, can’t go without one when taking a dump, but nobody likes it; they disdain it when they need to use it, heh, quite an apt metaphor."

Cui Qishan couldn’t even be bothered to glare at him; speaking such blatant truth, Li Jiang was at the level of a second-rate shit stick himself.

"What’s our task now? Is the special investigation team no longer independent?" Xiao Si poked at Cui Qishan’s sore spot with another question.

Cui Qishan sighed heavily and said, "With four bodies found consecutively, the pressure is immense. It’s only right that the division has called us for support. At a time like this, everyone must focus their full effort."

The veteran smooth operators in the task force all seemed to have been dunked in hot and spicy soup, black wrinkles of laughter forming on their faces.

Seeing their reaction, Cui Qishan knew his words were no longer effective.

There is a reason why commercial enterprises lay off employees over the age of 35; these guys, having stayed in the department for so long, are like bears that worked in a zoo for too long. They know which visitors will throw food and which ones are annoying pests; they can’t treat every visitor uniformly. Wouldn’t that be a disrespect to God?

Cui Qishan casually assigned a few tasks and then left confidently to report to the chief. He wasn’t worried about these guys’ capability to work, which was the only piece of good news.

Chief Tao was also in his office, fraught with anxiety.

When Cui Qishan walked in, he saw Chief Tao massaging his temples, the way a significant figure exteriorly expresses, "Although I’ve been sitting in my office today, not having shifted my rear once, the pressure is immense, and I’m performing extremely well at work."

Immediately, Cui Qishan said, "Chief Tao, you’ve been working hard. My special investigation group has been nothing but a hinderance all day..."

Taking a step back himself, Chief Tao indeed found it difficult to pursue the matter further and sighed, "It’s not exactly a hinderance. Finding the bodies is a step forward. It would be nice if the killer were found along the way... Besides, this isn’t your first time."

Cui Qishan tactically touched his head and smiled, "All said and done, at least we’ve determined one body’s origin, and the other two are nearly figured out."

"The other three." Chief Tao looked at Cui Qishan, who had unearthed four bodies in one fell swoop, truly a talent, far superior to an average cadaver dog.

Rushing to speak, Cui Qishan said, "From the perspective of solving the case, the more bodies, the more clues we have."

"The logic is sound," Tao Lu paused before continuing, "You’ll come with me to meet the victim’s family shortly."

Cui Qishan’s face turned pale instantly. It was easy to make thoughtless remarks, but actually meeting the victim’s family, for him, was tougher than meeting the parents before getting engaged. The promises made during an engagement, even if boastful, carried at least some confidence. But meeting the family of an unsolved case, what could he offer besides overconfident boasting?

Cui Qishan asked in a low voice, "Can we not meet them?"

"The victim was a top executive of a Fortune 500 company, a foreign national, and died in our Beijing. A request passed through intermediaries directly from the chief, and we don’t even meet face to face? Is that reasonable?" Tao Lu countered.

"Unreasonable," Cui Qishan started rubbing his temples. Unlike Tao Lu, his headache was real.

Li Mai’s parents came with the media.

Seeing his colleagues from the media, Tao Lu’s brow involuntarily furrowed.

Li Mai’s mother, Wang Mei, spoke softly, "Chief Tao, please understand. As parents, if we once harbored illusions, hoping Mike was just being mischievous and playing a disappearing game with us... Now that the final outcome is known, our only, urgent, most important demand is to bring the murderer to justice."

"I’m afraid the media cannot achieve that," Tao Lu spoke calmly and reasonably.

"Of course, but we believe now is precisely the time for the media to play a supervisory role. Moreover, we also hope to leverage the media’s power to inform relatives and friends concerned about the incident through filming, and if necessary, even produce it into a documentary," Li Mai’s father said, wielding a heavy statement; not only did they intend to film, but they might also make it into a documentary.

Cui Qishan couldn’t help but glance at Tao Lu, noticing that the latter did not object vehemently, he realized the matter must have the higher-ups’ approval.

"Before the case is solved, all case information is confidential!" Tao Lu emphasized, then instructed Cui Qishan, saying, "Captain Cui will explain the specific precautions to you. Also, he will be the contact for the next few days."

Cui Qishan felt that Tao Lu was retaliating against him, but could only nod in agreement.

"Mike... was Li Mai in pain when he passed?" Li Mai’s mother, Wang Mei, asked again, her voice trembling slightly.

Tao Lu shook his head slightly, telling a kind lie, "Not very painful."

"That’s good, that’s good..." Wang Mei seemed somewhat reassured.

Her husband wrapped an arm around Wang Mei; he was Portuguese with high arching brows and deep-set eyes, dark brown hair, and features that were well apart. His years of experience as a senior executive enabled him to stay composed as he said in Chinese, "Chief Tao, my friends and I are willing to offer all the help we can. If you encounter any difficulties while investigating the case, you can tell me, and even if it’s outside my field, I will try to find a way."

"Alright, I understand," Tao Lu felt somewhat better.

At that moment, a reporter sitting nearby said, "As far as I know, several foreign social media influencers have already posted the news about Mike’s body being found on TikTok."

Tao Lu was taken aback, "What do you mean?"

"Mike was a popular student leader, and his classmates and friends abroad are all very concerned about him. In fact, there were spontaneous fundraising and information-providing activities when Mike first went missing. Now that Mike’s... final outcome has been confirmed, there are many people who want to know..." The reporter paused, then continued, "Of course, those spreading the news are all social media influencers. We, as the traditional media, still hope to get a response from you."

"I..." Tao Lu opened his mouth, wanting to bite into the recorder thrust before him.

Wang Mei’s low cries filled the room, pulling the atmosphere back to a state of shared animosity.

Tao Lu looked involuntarily at Cui Qishan; this screw-up had really unearthed a major case.