National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 797 - 740 Suck

Chapter 797: Chapter 740 Suck

The wilderness breeze, blowing gently, penetrated deep into the forest, deep into the air-raid shelters, eliciting their plaintive wails, stirring the trembling leaves, sweeping the dampness in and out of the shelters...

The heavy door of the air-raid shelter was pulled open, and squad after squad of riflemen entered in single file, proceeding to search in turn.

Dogs, life detection devices, and other equipment were also distributed methodically.

This time, too many elements were involved: there were standard-issue rifles, civil defense works, and the potential involvement of fringe sect members. Coupled with insufficient manpower, Director Chu simply called in the riflemen.

Even though the means by which the three teenagers obtained the firearms was questionable and did not necessarily mean that fringe sect members could replicate it, the fact that a gun of considerable size had just been discovered in a solved case, along with over 600 remaining bullets, meant that to say there wasn’t any worry at all would be unconvincing.

Being a bureau chief, even if one can’t provide the same food and clothing as the lowest-ranking soldiers, nor be without ceremonial mats... it is also very necessary to reduce the chances of casualties. In an environment like an air-raid shelter, if a group entered without rifles and then encountered a heavily fanatical member armed with a Type 56 carbine, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Qi Changye waited with Tao Lu at the assembly area for news.

This round of inspections inevitably required his and the headquarters’ involvement; it was just that the murder case that had emerged in the middle had somewhat disrupted the rhythm of Qi Changye and the others.

"Has Captain Jiang arrived?" Qi Changye looked at the moving markers on the map, feeling no sense of relief.

"He’s here, working on the computer in the car, probably comparing fingerprints or something," someone in the know reported.

"Good that Captain Jiang is here," Qi Changye nodded slightly, feeling less anxious.

How difficult a city-wide inspection could be, Qi Changye had more experience than Tao Lu. This thankless task was one that nobody wanted to take on, so when Jiang Yuan suggested getting Xu Taining involved, there was practically no resistance.

The same was true now. In theory, if Xu Taining actually proposed any excessive conditions, the Beijing Bureau had plenty of top figures ready to take over.

But no one stepped up, because having others oversee the inspection would either cost more or carry too high a risk of failure. No one wanted to choose the latter, so greater expense was the only answer.

In comparison, Jiang Yuan’s capabilities were penetrating.

Qi Changye knew many high-level forensic professionals, and the institutes in Beijing were prestigious places with many years of history.

But in terms of trust—Qi Changye trusted Jiang Yuan more, whom he had only known for a short time.

His methods and efficiency in solving cases were things Qi Changye felt he had seen before and yet had not. There’s a saying in the world that the stranger the weapon, the faster the death, and Qi Changye felt that Jiang Yuan’s set of weapons and techniques were truly capable of cleansing the underworld.

Perhaps in a few years, or even just one or two, once people in the underworld became familiar with Jiang Yuan’s new weapons and new methods, his edge might diminish, but until then, Jiang Yuan was definitely the sharp end of a blade.

"I’m going to check on Captain Jiang." After waiting awhile, Qi Changye reported to Tao Lu and then headed toward the Coaster in the corner of the parking lot.

Apart from the vehicle Jiang Yuan was in, there were several cars from the forensic center, capable of performing some simple testing and examinations, mainly for collecting and storing investigative materials, transporting various pieces of evidence, and holding various equipment and devices.

"Captain Jiang?" Qi Changye shouted, pausing to look around.

Squeak.

As a bus door opened, Mu Zhiyang waved and called out, "Captain Qi, over here, need something?"

"Just wanted to have a chat with your Jiang Yuan," Qi Changye responded with a smile.

"Just you?"

"Yeah." Qi Changye was a bit puzzled; did wanting to see Jiang Yuan require registering the number of people now?

At that moment, Mu Zhiyang beckoned and led Qi Changye onto the bus, then immediately closed the door.

Once inside, Qi Changye immediately sensed something was amiss.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh.

The bus was filled with the quiet yet noisy sounds of slurping noodles.

Upon closer inspection, a group of disheveled men surrounded a transport corpse rack, each with a large bowl of noodles in front of them, slurping away so furiously that when someone came in, they just glanced up and continued eating without further attention.

"What is this?" Qi Changye was puzzled.

"We’re just having a meal, the guys who’ve been up all night," explained Zhan Kan, as the others were preoccupied with their bowls: "We don’t need daylight for the air-raid shelter, so it’s a 24-hour search. The boxed meals at night are unappetizing, so everyone turned to Jiang Yuan for food."

Naturally, those who could come to Jiang Yuan for food were largely members of Jiang Yuan’s Accumulated Case Team, plus Zhan Kan’s sort of disciples and followers.

It was only then that Qi Changye completely understood, looking at the transport corpse rack that was typically used for bodies, and asked, "So Captain Jiang has to take care of your midnight snacks too... What’s that you’re eating? It smells quite good?"

"Spicy oil, large intestines, lamb, and beef stew noodles," Mu Zhiyang returned, found his bowl, and resumed his vigorous slurping.

Qi Changye was taken aback: "What?"

"Boil the noodles, scoop a few ladles of beef broth, add chunks of beef, slices of lamb, large intestines, then a spoon of spicy oil, and drizzle some vinegar if you like, and you’re done," explained Mu Zhiyang as he took another big slurp.

"Captain Qi, have a bowl," one of the skills Jiang Yuan inherited from his father was the knack for feeding people.

Before Qi Changye could refuse, Shen Yaowei swiftly ladled out a large bowl of noodle soup for him.

The red oil, the reddish-brown meat, the noodles emerging at the surface—the sight caused a ripple, and the steamy heat rushed towards him.

Qi Changye took a deep breath, the rich, fatty aroma of the beef soup tantalizing him into salivation.

"Then I’ll have a bit," Qi Changye’s throat moved as he spoke and, decisively taking the bowl, looked around before placing it on the corpse table.

Actually, when eating noodles, this spot was quite appropriate.

"The table has been cleaned several times; the amount of bacteria is probably only one ten-thousandth of what’s in a restaurant," Shen Yaowei said with a smile, as if lifting a seal for Qi Changye.

Qi Changye looked somewhat reassured. He took a sip of the soup, squinting with delight.

Mu Zhiyang, slurping his noodles, raised his head and said, "Even though there’s only one ten-thousandth of the bacteria, they are descendants of some badass bacteria that have seen and tasted a lot."

"So were our ancestors," Qi Changye was already sipping the soup, undisturbed by Mu Zhiyang, blowing on it a bit then taking another two sips.

The strong beef flavor, with a hint of pepper and a touch of spicy red oil to enhance the taste—there was nothing particularly special about it, it was just the most consistently delicious beef broth. Plainly delicious, but in such a remote and desolate place, having such a bowl of soup brought its own kind of happiness by contrast.

The pork intestines were tender, the lamb was fresh and soft, the beef rich, the noodles chewy...

Qi Changye quickly became engulfed in the world of noodle soup, simply bowing his head and eating vigorously.

Gulping sounds...

All around the corpse table, there was the sound of slurping noodles.

After a while.

Qi Changye put down his empty bowl, wiped his mouth, and upon looking around, noticed that some had already started on their second bowl.

Qi Changye wasn’t that hungry. Unlike the regular police officers who would stay in the mountains all day, he could usually come down and do other things, sneaking in a bit of food here and there was not a problem.

After cleaning his mouth, Qi Changye cleared his throat and said, "Captain Jiang, I heard you were watching the drone footage?"

"Yes, just happen to have some spare time today."

"Since you’re looking at drone videos anyway, how about I give you an area to try watching?" Qi Changye moved closer and whispered.

"You’ll have to ask Commissioner Huang, and besides, it’s not certain yet if we can spare the time from the cases here," Jiang Yuan said, turning to look behind him.

From the shadows, Huang Qiangmin emerged with a 66.6-degree smile on his lips: "What kind of case is it?"

Commissioner Huang’s voice was quite amiable, his teeth shining and pointy.

Licking his lips, Qi Changye chose his words carefully, "Well, actually it’s a simple case. We had a special situation of a missing person back in the day, and I suspect they were buried."

What Qi Changye described as simple sent chills down one’s spine.

Huang Qiangmin’s lips twitched twice. He sighed and said, "Send me some information, and I’ll take a look."

"I’ll show you the dossier later," Qi Changye was eager, and after a pause, added, "Probably in the next couple of days."

"These next few days are going to be busy," Huang Qiangmin said, and then asked, "Do you have any new information?"

Jiang Yuan also looked toward Qi Changye.

"There are only so many bunkers, actually easier to investigate than the mountains. People can’t really live in the darkness, so, the bunkers that are truly habitable are few, maybe with some camouflage at most. If this group really chose such a place to live, a search of this scale will quickly yield results," Qi Changye spoke with earnest assurance.

"Makes sense." Everyone around, having slurped up the noodles, nodded in agreement one after another.

Qi Changye took the opportunity to look around and saw that the faces buried in their bowls just moments ago were all familiar: "Eh, Cui Da, Hu Da? Li... you guys are here too?"

"Just here for a meal," those whose names were called out laughed and casually greeted.

Before Qi Changye could say anything else, his phone rang.

After a few words, Qi Changye put away his phone and said solemnly, "Director Xu is calling up the troops."

"Is there a discovery?" Jiang Yuan knew Xu Taining would not use the standby force lightly.

Qi Changye saw there were many people in the car, cleared his throat twice but didn’t answer, "I’ll go over first, and you also be careful with the secrecy."

With that, Qi Changye got out of the car.

Soon, Jiang Yuan’s phone rang as well.

Xu Taining’s voice came through clearly, "We’ve found a grave pit with at least six bodies. The living have been trapped and are still resisting, fortunately without any casualties. How many people are there exactly, we do not yet know!"