National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 840 - 781: The Divine Detectives

Chapter 840: Chapter 781: The Divine Detectives

A group of people huddled in an apartment of mere tens of square meters, smoking cigarettes. The smoke visibly rose at a great speed, even as the range hood buzzed into action, but the smoke showed no sign of decreasing.

Clack.

A key was inserted into the door lock.

The police officers smoking inside didn’t even bother to lift their heads, mostly absorbed in silently scrolling through their phones.

The entrance was packed with people, so if the petty thief lured back here managed to escape—that would be an incredible stroke of luck no one dared to dream of. He must be involved in some major cases behind the scenes, otherwise who with extraordinary skills would conceal their identity and content themselves with being a petty thief in a Beijing apartment?

Thump thump.

Someone let out a heavy sigh.

The sound of the thief being pinned against the wall indicated that this "blind box" was no prize.

"Bring him over," Huang Qiangmin said, his voice dripping with indolence.

He hadn’t been in charge of a large team for over a year and hadn’t dealt with such a grassroots case in a while.

The newly caught thief walked through the apartment he rented, only finding the floors and ceilings familiar, while the surrounding police uniforms seemed like a scene out of an apocalypse. Seeing so many police uniforms in a dream would probably scare anyone awake.

Upon arrival, the thief easily pinpointed Huang Qiangmin and Jiang Yuan amidst the smoky environment. It was simple, just like in the slammer, the ones sitting in the spot with the best ventilation were the bosses.

"Your brother ratted you out, you probably guessed that already," Liu Wenkai said with a languid air. "So, what’s your story?"

"I... what story do I need?" the newly caught thief whimpered.

Liu Wenkai curled his lips, "Be honest. You are the last one, you know? There are four of you, and three have pointed fingers at you. For instance, last night at 10 o’clock, what were you doing?"

"I was... visiting prostitutes," the thief lowered his guilty head.

"Fifteen days, right? Where did the money come from?"

"I picked up a few batteries."

"How did you pick them up? Come on, details."

"Stole... stole..." the thief admitted the time, location, and methods. He had been to jail before, so since he was pointed out, he had nothing to hide and just spilled it all.

Liu Wenkai took notes and then asked, "You’re a professional battery thief, right? What other cases have you done?"

"Who... who is a professional battery thief!" the thief protested. "I... I’m an actor."

"What do you act in?"

With handcuffs on, he said, "I’ll act in anything. I used to hang around Hengdian, and then someone brought me to Beijing. But the cost of living here is too high, I have a criminal record, so I can’t deliver food or anything. I have to live, don’t I? But I’m telling you, one day, I will star in a blockbuster that thousands will admire..."

"You’re 25 already."

"So what if I’m 25!"

"At 25, if you go to prison, and after 15 years, you’ll be 40. Will that leave you enough time to star in a blockbuster admired by thousands?" Liu Wenkai asked sincerely.

"Fifteen years..." The thief number four was visibly shaken, his voice turning hoarse, "Why fifteen years..."

"You’ve committed burglary, right? Your accomplices have confessed, saying you were also carrying a knife, which means you were armed. You’ve burglarized multiple times, haven’t you? And the stuff you got wasn’t insignificant. You sold them for quite a sum, didn’t you? That’s a grand amount! You are a repeat offender with a prior record..." Liu Wenkai had plenty of experience interrogating petty thieves like this one, spouting a mix of true and false allegations that few could face without fear.

The aspiring actor-thief slumped completely, unable to hold back, "Those corrupt officials embezzle billions and they don’t get 15 years, so why should I?"

"Just because the crimes of the corrupt officials are more egregious doesn’t mean your misdeeds aren’t serious. You sneak into people’s houses with a knife in the dead of night... Giving you 15 years is not unfair, is it? Do good people have to wait for you to kill a corrupt official before they can seek justice? Of course, there’s also a chance you won’t have to serve 15 years." Liu Wenkai smiled slightly.

The thief was stunned for a moment, his gaze alternating between the slightly familiar, sleazy smile of Liu Wenkai and the crowd filling the room. A frown formed as his mind involuntarily flashed with legends from the entertainment industry.

...

Afternoon.

Jiang Yuan hummed a tune as he walked away with two boxes full of evidence.

The number of petty thieves who had confessed had reached 20, and both Wu Junhao and Liu Wenkai were becoming overwhelmed, all rushing out to make arrests.

Tao Lu, of course, was pleased with this, as these minor cases were the most time-consuming. The detectives spent most of their days dealing with such cases.

The Ningtai People were willing to help with this work, and Tao Lu was delighted. Moreover, Huang Qiangmin showed no intention of raising the price, which he expressed quite amicably. Tao Lu regarded it as a testament to everyone’s friendship.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yuan also took great care in sorting through the evidence in the thief’s residence.

Such a high-stakes search connected to two suspects with past theft convictions caused Cui Qishan and the others to exclaim in frustration at the waste of resources.

In the jurisdiction of the Zhengguang Bureau, which had a population of over 2 million according to the census, not counting those who come and go daily for shopping and work, the forensic center of Zhengguang Bureau’s criminal department had fewer than 40 people, and none dared say they were on par with Jiang Yuan.

In such circumstances, Jiang Yuan spent an entire afternoon searching through the residences of a thief, to be precise—four thieves. This baffled some people.

Captain Tang of the technical investigation unit playfully stretched until the end of his shift, took a deep breath, and said to Huang Qiangmin, "We should head back now; the technical investigation van also needs to be tidied up."

"Alright then. See you tomorrow." Huang Qiangmin was not stingy with his offerings and handed over another pack of Zhonghua cigarettes. Compared to the technical investigation van, cigarettes were nothing.

Captain Tang declined with a laugh, "I’ll try to make it tomorrow, but whether I can come depends on the leaders’ orders."

Petty cases—those weren’t particularly his favorites. Everyone desired a sense of achievement. Having mastered the skills, one naturally preferred to apply them where they were most needed.

Huang Qiangmin chuckled, sliding the Zhonghua back into his pocket, as he watched Captain Tang depart.

The next day.

Under a brown-red residential building, a technical investigation van awkwardly pulled up.

The one who emerged was still Captain Tang.

"Commissioner Huang," Captain Tang sighed upon seeing him, "You have quite the influence."

"A technical investigation van worth 7 million, they undercharged them by 1 million." Huang Qiangmin said with a laugh, patting Captain Tang’s shoulder, "Besides, it’s not just about one van."

Taking the cigarette that Huang Qiangmin offered, Captain Tang lit it up and chuckled, "It feels wrong to call him Detective Jiang. More like God of Wealth Jiang."

"As long as he solves cases, he’s a god." Huang Qiangmin replied calmly, "When I was young, Changyang City got a new bureau chief who offered a 500,000 reward for solving a cold murder case, with the money divided according to contribution, detailed in the guidelines. There was this one massacre case that we managed to crack. The officer who got the most earned over 200,000."

"That must have been a lot back then."

"If you took that to Beijing, at that time, the price in the central districts of Beijing was about three to four thousand yuan per square meter. You could buy 50 square meters. Know why I remember it so clearly? Old Qian and I actually came to Beijing to look at houses." Huang Qiangmin reflected with emotion.

"Did you buy it?"

"No, we bought in Changyang City. 1,399 yuan per square meter, with a 10% discount, it came to 1,260. Old Qian took his 240,000 and bought a 200 square meter house. It was the largest house we’d ever seen at the time."

"200 square meters, that’s nice. Changyang City’s property prices aren’t low anymore. Your colleague made a killing; got his kids’ house all set up, must’ve had a good life afterward."

"Later on, he made the ultimate sacrifice. When the house prices hit 3,000 per square, his family sold the house, earning a little profit."

Huang Qiangmin held a cigarette, prepared to smoke. He struck his lighter several times, but it wouldn’t light.

With the unlit cigarette between his fingers.

Captain Tang gave Huang Qiangmin a firm pat on the shoulder: "Hey, house prices don’t have much to do with us, it’s good enough just to be alive."

Click.

The lighter finally worked.

The cigarette was lit.

Huang Qiangmin took a heavy drag and exhaled rings of smoke.

As if three people were smoking together.

Old Qian was blowing smoke rings too, cursing, "Damn it, Huang, that son of mine, if he could have waited two more years to sell, it would’ve been 11,000 per square, at least he could have left them a bit more money..."