National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 777 - 720

Chapter 777: 720

Liu Cheng first had the drone return in order not to spook the quarry, then took out his phone and called Tao.

After he finished the call and returned, Qiao Shengli couldn’t help but ask curiously, "Aren’t you afraid of hitting a snag?"

"What snag?" Liu Cheng feigned ignorance.

"In such a secluded place, secretly building such high walls can’t be the work of just anyone," Qiao Shengli raised her eyebrows and said, "Could it be someone formidable?"

Liu Cheng curled his lips, "I’m handling a case in a fair and open manner, it’s all the same no matter who I encounter."

After finishing his confident statement, Liu Cheng lowered his posture a bit and said, "Moreover, my thoughts are quite the opposite of yours. A courtyard built in such a remote place isn’t likely to be the formidable kind you mentioned. It just shows that they have something to hide. So, the solution is to expose it to the light."

After taking a deep breath, Liu Cheng turned to look at Jiang Yuan, Sulei, and the others and said, "So, I’ll send a few people with the drone around the back to make sure no one escapes, while the rest of us watch the front and wait for reinforcements before moving forward."

Jiang Yuan and the others had no objections.

Only Mu Zhiyang said softly, "Let’s distribute the equipment to everyone. Can the reinforcements bring me a shield? A gun would be even better."

"I’ll ask, but forget about the gun," Liu Cheng said and then looked toward Jiang Yuan and the others, saying, "Captain Jiang, do you want to head back first?"

"No need, I’ll wait to sweep the scene." Jiang Yuan usually took good self-protection measures, such as never being involved when two forensic doctors went to the scene. But self-protection is one thing; fear and retreat are another.

Fear only leads to mistakes.

Without further ado, Liu Cheng put on handcuffs, a baton, and a stun gun, and specially checked his body camera before quickly and briefly assigning tasks.

The mountain path seemed near, but walking it was far, and the group had to move as covertly as possible, making the detour no easy task. Fortunately, the drone’s performance was solid, not only able to remotely monitor the courtyard but also to help guide the way.

Jiang Yuan stayed with Zhan Kan, Sulei, Qiao Shengli, Liu Jinghui, and others as the technician.

Mu Zhiyang, uneasy, paced back and forth with a baton in hand.

Sulei, growing weary from watching, called to Mu Zhiyang to come and rest.

Mu Zhiyang shook his head, holding the baton and said, "I can’t sit still right now. We are understaffed; if real criminals come, Pang Da and I would have a hard time protecting everyone."

"You’re in a police uniform, what criminal would target a cop?"

"That’s why it’s dangerous. What if they’re extremely vicious?"

Sulei said helplessly, "If criminals really come, we just run. You saw how Captain Liu and the others moved; they can’t get far in an hour. If we spot someone coming, we can definitely run away."

"We’ll run even slower," Mu Zhiyang said, then turned his head to glance at Jiang Yuan and whispered, "I might be able to escape, but not necessarily you all. If I ended up escaping alone, Commissioner Huang would skin me alive."

Hearing this, Qiao Shengli rolled her eyes and said, "Alright then, if criminals come chasing us, you just guard under that pine tree up front and let us run first."

"What if they bypass me?"

"They won’t. That’s the only path up the mountain. Just hold that position," Qiao Shengli swept her hand to the left and right, "We’ll run up the mountain and then down again. There should be a highway in front. If you’re worried, then cover our retreat. As long as you hold your ground and don’t surrender that critical spot, everyone else will be safe."

Mu Zhiyang listened with alarm bells ringing in his ears—this person wasn’t joking; she was seriously suggesting a deadly standoff.

Luckily, the criminals never really came up the mountain.

The backup forces arrived before evening at the scene of the crime.

In total, over a dozen police cars loaded with Zhengguang Bureau detectives, as well as officers borrowed by Tao Lu from other brigades, came to the site. Accompanying them was a small armed police squad, weapons at the ready.

Jiang Yuan and his team were at the closest and best observation spot, so Tao set up the command center there and then sent people out to search the courtyard at the front.

Mu Zhiyang instantly relaxed, unable to resist saying, "Next time we go on such a field task, I really should be equipped with a gun."

"Don’t you find it troublesome?" Tao Lu was a bit surprised. Scenarios requiring a gun these days are very rare, but once a gun is carried, the reports are inevitable.

Mu Zhiyang sighed, "When it’s needed, it’s needed. Just don’t give me a toy gun."

"I’ll arrange it for next time," Tao Lu said, glancing at Jiang Yuan with a bit of concern.

It was like a newly acquired 27,000-acre paddy field at home that warranted extensive manpower and resources to build dykes for protection.

Up ahead.

Liu Cheng picked up the walkie-talkie and whispered, "All units in position, is the assault team ready?"

"Ready," the assault team, composed of armed police, was armed with rifles and shotguns. In the distance, there were two groups of snipers lying in wait. By domestic standards, this was already top-notch equipment.

It was only because of Tao Lu’s great trust in Jiang Yuan that he could mobilize all these forces immediately.

The one farthest from a police identity on the scene was Qiao Shengli, who regarded the police operation as a rare experience. Her lips parted as she breathed out, her eyes wide while she observed.

Liu Cheng asked Tao Lu for confirmation and after receiving it, he began to count down:

"Three, two, one... go, go go go..."

Liu Cheng’s voice quickly faded, then in the distance with a "thump," the shouting suddenly rose:

"Police! Police!"

Everyone at the scene tensed up.

Even Mu Zhiyang tensed up, the muscles over his ears tight.

Tao Lu also silently clenched his fists, his gaze alternating between the scene in front and the screen of the drone.

In front of him was a vast expanse of greenery, and on the screen, there were only the figures of the police.

Liu Cheng, along with several armed police, rushed into the building and there was a long silence without news.

"No one found. Repeat, no one found!"

When Liu Cheng’s voice came again, Tao Lu and Qiao Shengli both let out a sigh at the same time.

"That’s a relief," Qiao Shengli patted her neckline.

Tao Lu glanced at her and said, "What’s so good about that? If we didn’t find anyone, we still need to continue searching for people."

"I was considering your position, not everyone can be unafraid of retaliation or the like," said Qiao Shengli.

"The more people there are, the less fear there is," Tao Lu replied tersely. Wasn’t this the reason he had brought people from other detachments on this operation? To cast a wider net?

Qiao Shengli paused, then laughed, "Seems like there is some wisdom to that."

"It’s not that complicated," Tao Lu waved his hand dismissively. He had intentionally revealed a bit of his rationale to forestall thoughts similar to those of Qiao Shengli, but he was unwilling to say any more than necessary.

Jiang Yuan waited a moment before saying, "I’ll search the scene."

Mu Zhiyang hurriedly followed.

After traversing the uneven ground for a while, they finally entered into the house.

The residence was quite small for a mansion, with its outer courtyard walls reaching a height of four to five meters, and the building inside standing merely three stories tall, around a dozen meters, backed against a cliff on one side and built along the mountain on the other, jutting out slightly.

Just judging by the area, it was probably around 1000 square meters, much larger than the typical (average?) house, but much smaller in comparison to commercial buildings in the city.

Jiang Yuan first examined the surroundings of the mansion, the overgrown plants blocking paths indicating that for at least the last half a year or even more, no one had traversed inside or out of the mansion.

Even the best houses will run into issues if left unattended for a long time, let alone those hidden deep in the mountains. Naturally, the building materials and construction quality were up to standard, so from a distance, it still looked quite good, but up close it showed signs of neglect.

The reason it hadn’t been spotted earlier was because the drone hadn’t dared to get too close.

Liu Cheng’s expression was clearly filled with disappointment.

If they could have caught someone, the case would’ve made significant progress; now they were left with only an empty nest, increasing the complexity of the situation. In a way, the stench of trouble had begun to seep out before they even saw a trace of it.

"The cost of building this house wasn’t low, and since it’s built against the mountain, it couldn’t possibly have been built by locals," Liu Jinghui followed inside, whispering to Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan nodded.

Liu Jinghui added, "With this sort of case, we need ironclad evidence to proceed."

Jiang Yuan nodded again, simultaneously activating his "Crime Scene Reconstruction" skill (temporary +1). He still had one broad-spectrum temporary +1 skill untouched, and he would decide whether to use it based on the particular details of the scene.