National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 770 - 713

Chapter 770: 713

"If you’re from Beijing, your family must be quite well-off, right?" Jiang Yuan could tell that Zhan Kan had some interest in learning the Cranial Reconstruction Skill.

Zhan Kan felt the opportunity had come, and while using the deductive abilities honed through his work to figure out Jiang Yuan’s thoughts, he said, "You could say I haven’t had to worry about food and clothing. Both my parents work for state-owned enterprises and they’ve even bought me a house. With my salary, I have enough to spend just by myself."

That could be considered as having a foundation for learning the Cranial Reconstruction Skill.

Jiang Yuan nodded. Only when he had reached his current LV5 status did he fully understand the complexity and the enormous cost involved in cultivating an expert in the field.

Without a substantial family background, one might start learning but then struggle to keep going.

Even aiming for just LV2 in the Skull Restoration Skill required years of study. During this period, it was best to focus solely on learning; otherwise, it would take even longer.

Besides, the materials for the Skull Restoration Skill weren’t cheap either. Sculpture, as an activity, was never intended for the poor.

Even if you typically use the bureau’s resources, from time to time, you need to buy some materials for research. It’s the same principle as art students purchasing paints and paper for drawing.

"You studied sculpture for two years? To what extent can you create?" asked Jiang Yuan.

"Yes, I started with sketching then moved on to sculpture. As for my level, I actually did some sculpture on my own later on, and I can make things like figurines..." Zhan Kan was careful not to overstate his abilities.

Jiang Yuan nodded; this skill was quite rare. Nowadays, most people hadn’t even had exposure to sculpture. Art schools might offer sculpture as a major and after five years of study, it was uncertain how much time was actually spent on practical work.

While Skull Restoration Skill is known as the art within forensic science, if pure art sculptors get involved, forensic doctors might find their work too artistic.

Overall, having studied sculpture is an excellent starting point for the Cranial Reconstruction Skill; it brings about a significantly different mindset. In the practical process, because mainstream cranial reconstruction is done with computers, a foundation in sculpture can be advantageous, making 3D modeling much more efficient.

Jiang Yuan looked Zhan Kan up and down again. They had collaborated many times, and judging from Zhan Kan’s performance when he started as an assistant, his fundamentals and dexterity seemed quite solid.

"How about anthropology? How well have you studied that?" inquired Jiang Yuan while working on the computer.

The Cranial Reconstruction Skill is difficult to learn chiefly because there are too many prerequisites.

Otherwise, in a job like forensic science, which heavily relies on experience, many people could be trained through practice.

Zhan Kan blinked and said, "Anthropology... How should I put it..."

"For this skull, what can you deduce?" Jiang Yuan specified the question.

Zhan Kan was slightly stunned, then stared at the skull next to him for a while, unconsciously walking around it.

Jiang Yuan didn’t bother with niceties and continued with the skull’s 3D modeling.

This step, if placed in internet or game companies, would involve a workload and cost that are not insignificant. It can be said that commercial companies have a much greater ability to monetize their capabilities compared to forensic doctors.

"The eye sockets are nearly round, the brow ridges are not prominent, and the foramen magnum is rather round too, indicating it’s a female skull."

"There are signs of trauma on the skull cap, but based on the abrasions, it should be postmortem damage."

"Age can be determined by the wear on the teeth, and another indicator would be the sutures of the skull. For that area, I’ll need to look up some information."

Zhan Kan looked at the skull while thinking and answering, gradually becoming more proficient.

At that point, Jiang Yuan gave an "hmm" and said, "Go check."

Zhan Kan was startled, then reluctantly washed his hands, took a few pictures, and went off to consult some books.

It’s easy to say but hard to accomplish.

Just like the symptoms of a common cold can be caused by pneumonia or stress—the proverbial can be serious or trivial. Most people who catch a cold their entire lives might not come up with any accurate experiences, just like most doctors.

Anthropology is much the same. Viewpoints are viewpoints, analysis is analysis; written in books with an authoritative tone, data listed in detail and clarity, but when it comes to applying them in real scenes, it’s a completely different matter.

Zhan Kan, who hadn’t done much work in forensic anthropology, found himself at his wit’s end when Jiang Yuan posed a question.

However, he vaguely sensed the intention behind Jiang Yuan’s inquiry.

A big shot wouldn’t spend time and energy just to ask a rookie a question, solely to embarrass him.

And they certainly wouldn’t show off in such a way.

Therefore, Zhan Kan researched very diligently, restraining the urge to secretly ask his senior brothers for help.

The autopsy center at the Beijing Bureau was large and well-equipped, and the competition inside was fierce. If they relied solely on forensic pathology and forensic clinical medicine, like the forensic doctors in ordinary county bureaus, in the end, they would only be left doing the toughest and most exhausting work.

Flip, flip...

Zhan Kan flipped through the book rapidly while simultaneously keeping an eye on the computer screen as he typed.

Judging age based on the wear of teeth seems like a simple concept; due to the non-regenerative nature of permanent teeth, the longer one lives, the more they use their teeth, and naturally, the greater the wear.

But this is akin to the frequently heard saying, "A 20-year-old person with 40-year-old teeth." However, if you, as a forensic doctor, judge a 20-year-old’s age as 40, wouldn’t that warrant a scolding?

How shall a forensic doctor draw a conclusion if the victim has lived a life of affluence from childhood, always eating coarse food, and died young?

"Tooth wear isn’t reliable," Zhan Kan pondered aloud.

"Basing it on tooth wear as a foundation and looking at it comprehensively, the accuracy rate is very high," Zeng Lianrong came by and gave Zhan Kan a piece of advice.

Zhan Kan quickly expressed his gratitude.

Zeng Lianrong grunted an affirmative and walked away a few steps, then turned back and added, "Work hard, opportunities like this are rare."

Zhan Kan hurriedly showed an honest and simple smile, characteristic of a chubby person.

...

On the screen, the outer circle of the skull was being layered and filled in with strokes.

Adhering small white cylinders to the skull, which indicate the thickness of the head’s soft tissue, the height of the small cylinders also represents the same measurement.

If it were the traditional approach, one would have to apply materials like clay in layers until level with each cylinder at every location, thus determining the thickness of the soft tissue.

On reflection, this step isn’t particularly difficult; the key is decomposing the task into sufficiently meticulous elements.

The only problem is, the more meticulously you decompose, the greater the pressure to make judgements.

Just the lips alone can yield four different heights, and the basis for each judgement might be incomplete.

Therefore, to make the final determination, continuous validation and modification are necessary.

This part of the work took Jiang Yuan several days.

During this period, Zhan Kan always followed Jiang Yuan; although he couldn’t do much, he was gaining a clearer understanding.

Task: Mentorship

Task content: Zhan Kan has been following and learning for 48 hours; he can be taught the Skull Restoration Skill to reach LV1 proficiency.

Task reward: Pistol Shooting (LV3)