National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 784 - 727: The Trace of Passing Geese

Chapter 784: Chapter 727: The Trace of Passing Geese

Jiang Yuan parked the Coaster in the designated parking lot, got out of the vehicle to stretch his legs, and had someone take out the equipment ahead of time to set up a makeshift stand in front of the car.

The location of this parking lot was negotiated by Xu Taining; it had been decided in advance to serve as the command center.

Soon, Tao Lu and the others also arrived at the scene, each getting out of their cars and swinging their arms and legs.

The older ones couldn’t help but complain, "Beijing’s traffic is so good, yet they could find such a remote place for the command center, what were they thinking?"

"It’s mainly for the convenience of flying drones. I hear that the area here is quite large; they want to build a centralized drone maintenance base, as well as a separate runway for medium to large drones, to fly a second time for easy inspection," someone who knew the situation stepped forward to explain.

Right now, it served no purpose to undermine Xu Taining, as he was essentially a mercenary—once the job was done, he would leave, and if this job was completed well, it would benefit everyone.

The knowledgeable nodded slightly, "Still, it’s quite cautious."

The biggest fear in carrying out searches is overlooking something, and the problem is the same with satellites or drones. It’s like coming home and realizing you’ve lost your ID in your pocket; when you go back to look for it, are you afraid that the walk back is too tiring? The main fear is missing something.

It’s the same principle with drones; flying them once is easy, but if you overlook something, that’s a grave mistake.

Some people asked, "How can a house so big be missed?" It’s like looking for an ID on the sidewalk—a very large ID card may just be lying there on the ground. If you’re unlucky and can’t find it, then you just can’t find it.

Running the search twice is somewhat better, at least it’s less worrying. To take it a step further, mindset can also affect performance.

The capabilities of the criminal investigators were there for all to see; they were not for Xu Taining to judge, nor for him to train. His role lay in how to best use his people.

Helping to adjust the attitude of those involved in the operation was part of Xu Taining’s job.

Often, a single act of diligence or negligence by an ordinary search officer could determine the outcome of a search.

Although variables cannot be completely controlled, being able to control some of them is also a sign of command abilities.

Xu Taining, this time, had brushed up on his energy, applying all he had learned, and even more—such as the new technology of drone searches. Although Xu Taining had used drones in the past, it was on a small scale. The vast area and scope of this drone search was new to him, which included a period of learning.

And for the Beijing Bureau, they were also observing Xu Taining.

The center of power often sees mighty dragons from the local forces, whose capabilities are without question; it’s just a matter of whether they can adapt to this environment. Those who do adapt become powerful dragons and following a term of service with them is all benefits and no downsides.

People like Tao Lu shared a similar mentality.

Coming to this somewhat abandoned parking lot, a few people initially deducted points from Xu Taining’s score. However, as reports from all directions converged, revealing that search operations had begun in many places, those people added points back to Xu Taining’s score.

Just starting work on time and normally is not very easy to accomplish.

Take for an example a school’s athletics meeting—it requires a long time to prepare. If there were no rehearsals, or rather, considering how much time is wasted on the first rehearsal, one can estimate how a large event can squeeze time.

Thousands of police officers getting their proper equipment, arriving at the correct locations, and searching through the right areas is already a very troublesome matter.

Especially the last aspect—you can draw lines on a map easily, but how do you ensure everyone understands the map, doesn’t misread it, and strictly follows it to conduct their searches?

It’s nearly impossible to guarantee that. What you can do is to keep checking repeatedly, and to have some people’s search areas overlap, or mark out areas that are hard to define, or divide them among the stronger team members.

In short, making mistakes is inevitable; how to adjust in the shortest time to compensate for errors and minimize everyone’s redundant workload is the task of the commander.

As for the more detailed aspects, many of them required improvement as the work progressed. For instance, how to store the footage shot by drones, how to promptly transfer it into compliant storage devices. Or how to organize personnel specifically for watching and examining the footage—these were all unprecedented tasks.

So, for those like Tao Lu who had experienced massive investigations before, watching the situation gradually unfold without collapsing on the spot was already a testament to Xu Taining’s remarkable ability.

"Shannan Province is truly a place of hidden talents." Tao Lu made a few calls, felt somewhat reassured, and then joined Jiang Yuan and Huang Qiangmin, smiling as he spoke.

Huang Qiangmin chuckled and said, "Shan Nan is a poor province. With not enough resources, they can only rely on people."

"Shan Nan isn’t considered poor anymore." Tao Lu added only this before saying, "Director Xu’s performance here is impressive. As long as the search can be carried out, there’s no need to worry for the time being."

In reality, this respite might only last two or three days, but for someone like Tao Lu, the chief of the criminal police squad, two or three days felt almost like a summer vacation.

Huang Qiangmin had served as the head of a criminal police team and understood Tao Lu’s mindset all too well. Taking delight in others’ troubles, he said, "Director Xu’s approach does seek perfection and thoroughness. If today’s investigation is successful, tomorrow’s will certainly be stricter and broader."

Tao Lu was startled and then waved a hand dismissively, "Let the chiefs worry about that; I can’t manage so much."

Turning around, Tao Lu looked at the various instruments and equipment cases that Jiang Yuan had packed in the vehicle and asked, "You seem to be over-prepared on your end. It will probably take several more days to confirm the location. Are you that confident in Director Xu?"

"These aren’t prepared for them." replied Jiang Yuan calmly.

"Not for them?"

"Mm-hmm." Jiang Yuan nodded, then spoke with experienced authority, "Such a large-scale search, such a detailed hunt, is unlikely to yield only a single target."

Tao Lu was a bit puzzled at first, but after a moment, he was startled, "You think we might find other bodies?"

Jiang Yuan spoke as if it were a given, "Not necessarily bodies, but after sweeping such a large area, we are bound to find something."

Huang Qiangmin coughed twice on the side, saying, "What Jiang Yuan means is that if there are unexpected findings, we should confirm them as soon as possible. This way, we can grasp the situation at the earliest opportunity and aim to solve the case quickly."

"This..." For a moment, Tao Lu didn’t know whether to praise Jiang Yuan for his thorough preparations or to suspect that he had fallen into one of Huang Qiangmin’s traps.

Fortunately, with his years of experience as a criminal policeman, Tao Lu quickly adjusted his mindset, chuckling, "It would be good to make some discoveries. However, bodies are not so easy to find."

"Right, for now we’ll just deal with the bodies found on-site. In cases of buried bodies, we’ll analyze the footage later," Jiang Yuan replied, clearly having thought it through.

Speaking in a softer tone, Tao Lu asked, "Analyze the footage, can we still find buried bodies that way?"

"Of course. We’ve done similar work before, with excellent results. There are several approaches, such as using ’Decomposition Island,’ a botanical concept. There’s also drone remote sensing technology. The drones we’re using this time carry certain specific sensors; if I remember correctly, we have drones with biochemical sensors, thermal infrared sensors, and hyperspectral sensors..." Jiang Yuan broadly explained before adding, "Although Director Xu did say that the primary goal this time is to locate the residence, if it proves elusive, we will have no choice but to shift to searching for bodies."

Hearing all this, Tao Lu was somewhat stunned, unsure whether to admire the Shannan people for their thorough preparation or for being too comprehensive!

Meanwhile, Jiang Yuan’s side also started popping up tasks:

Task: Traces Left by Geese

Task Content: Crimes cannot vanish without a trace; nor can bodies be easily buried. Find the hidden bodies, deliver justice for them and bring peace to their families.

Task Progress: (0/X)