National Forensic Doctor-Chapter 1079 - 1010: Minor Flaws

Huang Qiangmin used his superior technique to temporarily evade the blockade of several Criminal Police Brigade officers from Qingshi Municipal Bureau and approached Jiang Yuan, asking, "What’s the situation?"

"Hmm... From the looks of it now, it’s a straightforward dismemberment case," Jiang Yuan replied as he quickly scrolled through photos of the body on his PAD. "There should be quite a lot of clues."

"How difficult is it?"

"A weak LV3, maybe." After all, it was a dismemberment case. While the degree of "dismemberment" wasn’t extensive, it still qualified. Giving it an LV3 rating was a gesture of respect toward this type of case.

"That’s not too bad then," Huang Qiangmin heaved a sigh of relief. He occasionally heard Jiang Yuan use terms like LV1 or LV3 and had come to grasp their meanings. He even found this classification system quite handy—it made understanding the situation clear and provided direct guidance for discussions.

Otherwise, simply saying "difficult," "very difficult," or "tricky" meant little—who could tell which version was truly difficult?

Jiang Yuan nodded faintly. "It’s not exactly hard. If we follow standard procedures, we’ll probably be able to complete the case, though there’s a chance we might not. If we fail, then the difficulty level increases."

A task that can be completed step by step isn’t considered particularly challenging.

From another perspective, individuals and teams capable of executing tasks through rote procedures are scarce. For example, among the 150 points on the math section of the college entrance exam, roughly 90 points can be attributed to rote memorization. Yet, historically, less than 60% of exam-takers achieve this level.

Therefore, a majority of people in this world lack even basic procedural competence—whether it’s the incompetent workers at the office, reckless drivers on the road, or nonsensical comments online, they are all evidence of a society sliding toward the lower end of capability.

"Commissioner Huang whispering secrets with Captain Jiang?"

The Criminal Police Brigade chief of Qingshi City Bureau, Fang Gang, approached with a jovial smile.

"Your case is too complex. Jiang Yuan was just discussing with me how best to explain matters to you. We absolutely need guaranteed support from your side; otherwise, even setting aside whether the case can be solved, it’s bound to drag on indefinitely," Huang Qiangmin said. Of course, nearly every word he uttered was false, but police work allows for a little bluffing, and that much is true.

Fang Gang’s face grew solemn. Mentally, he chided himself: You’ve already been collecting membership fees for two years—now you start talking difficulty?

Fang Gang responded, "We’ll certainly ensure the necessary support is provided. However, our budget is limited; it’s not as though funds are infinite—"

"Old Fang, no one’s asking you to increase funding," Huang Qiangmin interrupted, waving his hand dismissively. "We’re simply asking that you guarantee investigative resources. Did you watch the news broadcast a few days ago?"

"I did, I did. When Jiang Yuan’s face appeared, I even pointed it out to my family."

"Exactly. Our Jiang Yuan’s reputation isn’t just for show." At this, Huang Qiangmin’s expression shifted. "It’s also a form of assurance. Tell me, where else can you find someone like Jiang Yuan—a true criminal investigation expert?"

In the past, Huang Qiangmin wouldn’t have phrased it this way. He might have mentioned fingerprint experts or forensic doctors. Now, he confidently declared "criminal investigation expert" without hesitation.

And everyone present, especially the Criminal Police Brigade officers from Qingshi City Bureau, naturally accepted this characterization.

Fang Gang’s expression turned into one of admiration and approval as he nodded. "If Jiang Yuan, as an expert, deems it necessary, we’ll cooperate fully, no questions asked."

If one were to consider a criminal investigation expert as a weapon, then Jiang Yuan would undoubtedly rank as the Qinglong Yan Yue Dao—a legendary tool. If you have access to it, why be stingy?

"Take water samples upstream. Every 50 meters for 20 kilometers. Send the collected samples to the lab for diatom analysis. Also..." Jiang Yuan turned to Wang Chuanxing and instructed, "Invite Professor Su Lei and her team over and let them know I have a project here. It’s akin to constructing a 20-kilometer diatom profile of the Taihe River’s upstream area."

The Taihe Working Group had only been recognized by a handful of cities so far, largely because membership fees had only been collected from these few. Nevertheless, the foundation was established.

In cases involving drowning victims, using diatoms to determine the entry point of the body into the water proved effective. Not every case yielded results, but roughly 30% did.

This number was relatively conservative. Often, when high-cost methods like diatom analysis weren’t deemed essential, police wouldn’t readily employ them.

The primary reason diatom testing wasn’t widely used in determining forensic diagnoses of drowning deaths lay in the necessity of having diatom databases for comparison. This aspect was akin to DNA testing, although dissimilar in that diatoms aren’t persistent, making comprehensive DNA profiling of national water bodies prohibitively expensive.

However, the Taihe Working Group was now operational. Given the dense population along the banks of the Taihe River, systematically conducting diatom tests on this river and archiving the results would greatly aid similar cases of drowning deaths in the future.

Although the initial expenditure was high, once the diatom database was constructed, the overall cost would decrease.

Previously, this was impossible for an individual city or county. If a corpse washed ashore locally, it was likely not from that locality, thereby making diatom testing locally an altruistic act benefiting downstream cities—but not the originating location.

Even provincial authorities weren’t inclined toward such measures. Beyond concerns of cost-effectiveness, higher-priority tasks often overshadowed database construction. Database resources were perpetually scarce and offered limited immediate utility.

Except for frontline personnel.

Fang Gang hadn’t expected Jiang Yuan’s first directive to involve such high expenses, but since he’d already committed, he could only steel himself and replied, "We’ll mobilize personnel to carry out sampling and testing promptly. That said, should we explore other methods first?"

Taking samples every 50 meters meant 20 samples per kilometer, doubled for both banks—40 samples. Over 20 kilometers, that totaled 800 samples, costing about the equivalent of a Mercedes-Benz sedan.

Huang Qiangmin interjected, "Diatom analysis is a long-term initiative. Regardless of whether this specific case benefits from it, there will unquestionably be utility down the road. Since Qingshi City has joined the Taihe Working Group, it should commit to projects like this."

"Hmm... Alright," Fang Gang nodded again. His determination to solve the case trumped all other concerns.

Jiang Yuan, satisfied with Fang Gang’s agreement, said, "Judging from the photos of the corpse, the victim likely died within the past three days. We’ll confirm the precise time after examining the body. So overall, this is still an active case. We can analyze based on hydrological conditions. The victim’s severed legs are missing, which might actually be a good sign. If we locate the legs, they might provide clues for further judgment..."

Just as Jiang Yuan finished speaking, an inflatable boat that had been dispatched earlier returned. The officers onboard shouted:

"Legs!"

Several people rushed over, working together to haul down a package wrapped tightly like a rice dumpling.

After cutting open a portion of the wrapping, human tissue inside was immediately visible.

Decomposed, but not excessively.

The familiar smell of forensic work permeated the air.

"I’ll take it back for examination," Jiang Yuan decided not to open it at the scene and instructed the officers to transport the legs while he completed a thorough survey of the crime scene before heading to the morgue.

...

Qingshi City’s morgue.

The smell was almost universally recognizable nationwide, though slightly milder here.

Six large sections of bodily tissue were laid out one by one, all exhibiting abnormal swelling but not yet resembling the Hulk.

Fang Gang, accompanied by several leaders from the Criminal Police Brigade, arrived—this level of attention was a rarity—as they observed Jiang Yuan dissecting the corpse.

The body had been waiting for nearly half a day to avoid requiring a second dissection, giving Jiang Yuan adequate time.

Half a day wasn’t considered lengthy, as forensic doctors transporting the body back, preparing for the examination, and other processes usually took about that much time.

Once Jiang Yuan arrived, all preparatory work was completed. Dressed in appropriate attire, he went straight to work.

After performing a few routine incisions, Jiang Yuan focused his attention on the severed edges of the body parts.

"The perpetrator wasn’t very skilled. They made numerous cuts and switched tools halfway through—likely several times. Let’s count them," Jiang Yuan said as he began tallying. freewёbnoνel.com

The assistant forensic doctor next to him hastily recorded the details.

Soon, Jiang Yuan announced the total count: 87.

"At least 87 cuts," he exhaled, adding, "More than five different tools were used: sharp knives, traditional Chinese cleavers, scissors, serrated knives, and Japanese chef knives... All kitchen utensils."

The findings Jiang Yuan reported didn’t surprise the group.

While chilling to hear, the officers considered it a typical and straightforward dismemberment case.

"Some of the tools show signs of breakage. Conduct tests for trace evidence; we might be able to identify the manufacturers," Jiang Yuan suggested to the forensic team from Qingshi City before turning the corpse’s head upright. After pondering briefly, he added, "Let me sketch an image of the victim."

The corpse exhibited visible swelling, making the head look bloated and discolored. Additionally, the skull bore evidence of blunt force trauma—broken nasal bone, missing teeth, lips and ears absent, fractured brow ridge, sunken eye sockets and forehead—all likely inflicted by a blunt object such as a knife handle. For a living person, this would undoubtedly be a ruined face.

But a corpse wouldn’t complain.

A forensic sketch artist at LV6 skill level wouldn’t mind minor imperfections like these.