National Forensic Doctor-Chapter 1086 - 1017: Project 712

You Lixiang, clutching a file-filled briefcase, hurried into the conference room occupied by "Jiang Yuan’s Accumulated Case Team."

This conference room, located on the top floor, was only used during the formation of major task forces within the Criminal Police Brigade. You Lixiang had participated in several such task forces before, memories that remained vivid.

Inside the conference room, some were on phone calls, others deep in small meetings, typing furiously on keyboards, sipping milk tea, or twirling pens and tapping on desks—a somewhat chaotic atmosphere.

The officer at the door glanced at You Lixiang’s uniform and asked, "Who are you looking for?"

You Lixiang quickly answered, "I’m You Lixiang, from the 712 Task Force, here to find Captain Jiang Yuan."

"All the way inside," the officer gestured before sitting back down at his spot.

The Criminal Police Brigade’s entrance system was already strictly controlled; internally, there weren’t overly complex procedures like verification of credentials. A swipe card was sufficient to grant access.

You Lixiang took a deep breath, stepped forward, and found Jiang Yuan’s desk.

"Captain Jiang!" You Lixiang recognized Jiang Yuan immediately. The man’s reputation was currently at its peak—recent days had seen an explosion of chatter about his ability to tie three investigation threads together simultaneously.

Though Jiang Yuan saw it as simply adhering to standard investigative procedures, methodically advancing the cases, his plain and unembellished style had made him revered among his colleagues.

In reality, it was far more common for investigators to start with multiple threads only for various reasons to fail to fully pursue any of them—that fragmented pattern was the usual investigative mode.

Investigators frequently pulled loose threads, only for them to snap repeatedly—that was the day-to-day reality.

And yet, Jiang Yuan’s investigative methods were so straightforward that they’d become exceptionally easy for others to comprehend.

Take You Lixiang, for example. He could instantly recall Jiang Yuan’s sketches as well as his orchestration of extensive police efforts to identify the location a body entered the water using diatom analysis.

Such operations might technically be achievable if you sought out experts, but the real challenge was performing them so meticulously. Even if you spend heavily on experts, failing to follow through makes the effort hard to justify.

You Lixiang, a relatively young criminal investigator, had just over 10 years of experience since joining the force. In an elite unit like the Criminal Police Brigade, this level of seniority—even with a title of captain—rarely afforded the opportunity to lead a major case.

His leadership of the 712 Task Force stemmed from the team’s original mandate: investigating a single missing child case. During the investigation, You Lixiang uncovered that beyond Cuigang County in Qingshi City, neighboring cities and counties also reported missing children, thereby consolidating multiple cases into the current major task force.

Still, You Lixiang distinctly felt overwhelmed.

Not only were there mounting obstacles in the investigation process, but the extensive personnel management tasks were something he wasn’t skilled at. Beyond that, pressure from the families of the missing children increased his anxiety the most.

For this very reason, You Lixiang began requesting Jiang Yuan’s involvement in the investigation over a week ago.

Now the request had been granted, and You Lixiang couldn’t wait.

"Captain You, have a seat. Let me finish reviewing this fingerprint first—I’ve already agreed to help someone with the analysis. Once we start working on our case, I might not have time, so I’ll settle this first," Jiang Yuan said while tapping away at his computer screen.

"No problem, take your time," You Lixiang replied, glancing over to see Jiang Yuan’s phone lit up, showing an ongoing chat with "Director Wan Baoming."

It struck him immediately that Director Wan Baoming was likely the head of the Criminal Science and Technology Center at the Changyang City Bureau.

For criminal investigators in level-based city units like theirs, having dealings with a provincial-level Criminal Science and Technology Center was common—samples they couldn’t handle or examinations they couldn’t complete were often sent there.

You Lixiang didn’t even need to see Jiang Yuan’s conversation to guess that Director Wan Baoming must have hit a roadblock on his end.

In his mind, You Lixiang began imagining the scenario of solving a case that provincial experts couldn’t crack—he wondered what that feeling of success might be like.

"So, where are we at with this case?" Jiang Yuan, after matching fingerprints, sent the results back to Wan Baoming and wrote a few replies on WeChat before directing his focus on You Lixiang.

You Lixiang quickly stood and responded formally, "Currently, we’re mainly investigating the suspect’s transportation methods and vehicles."

Jiang Yuan nodded, "Any progress?"

"Not a shred of progress," You Lixiang answered resolutely.

"Hmm..." Jiang Yuan hadn’t expected such a forceful denial.

"All five cases occurred in rural areas without surveillance cameras," You Lixiang explained, standing straight. "The perpetrators targeted children under five years old. Among the five victims, four were left-behind children, and the fifth was usually taken care of by her mother. Unfortunately, when the mother returned to her hometown briefly and left the child in her grandmother’s care, the child was abducted."

"So the suspects specifically screened caretakers? Prioritizing left-behind children or children cared for by elderly relatives?" Jiang Yuan began to immerse himself in profiling.

"Yes, that’s what we believe," You Lixiang agreed. "Given the nature of the villages in question, where caretakers are predominantly elderly, finding eyewitness accounts has proven difficult—the witnesses are elders with impaired vision and slower cognitive processing..."

"What about checkpoints? Any relevant images captured?"

"None," You Lixiang replied after a pause. "From interviews with parents and children in attempted abduction cases, we suspect the perpetrator uses a gray minivan. Likely, the vehicle has two occupants: one driving and another executing the abduction, operating swiftly."

"How did the attempted abduction fail?"

You Lixiang displayed the files he brought to Jiang Yuan and explained, "In that instance, the suspect got out of the vehicle and approached a child playing outside, saying they had chocolate to give away before attempting to hold the child’s hand. Just then, the child’s grandmother emerged and shouted, scaring the suspect off."

"Did the grandmother catch sight of the suspect or their vehicle?"

"She saw them. But with poor eyesight, she only identified it as a gray minivan and didn’t see the suspect’s face clearly," You Lixiang replied, observing Jiang Yuan’s approachable demeanor. He then added, "I believe this failed attempt likely alarmed the suspects. Before the failed event, the frequency of abduction attempts was one or two weeks per incident. They’ve gone silent for over a month since then."

Having reviewed the case files in the system, Jiang Yuan recalled and asked, "The suspects hit-and-run with each incident, targeting one county for one crime?"

"Five cases plus one attempted incident, making six in total. They span six counties, four cities, and two provinces. Additionally, all crime scenes are in highly remote areas," You Lixiang continued, lifting his chin slightly in an assertive gesture. "I uncovered a lead through unrelated investigations: there were rumors of children being sold, prices unusually low, primarily children around three or four years old. Suspicions led to further investigation, revealing parallels between these cases."

Jiang Yuan slowly nodded but then asked, "In your opinion, what kind of support would crack this case?"

"Me?" You Lixiang pointed at himself in surprise.

"Yes."

"I..." While he had pondered this before, after a moment’s hesitation, he conceded in frustration, "I think it’s very difficult for me to solve this case—there are no leads and barely any evidence."

"I see," Jiang Yuan responded, immediately grasping the case’s complexity on a deeper level. A criminal investigator with 10 years of experience, capable of earning recognition as captain of a major team in a significant city like Qinghe—his investigative skills likely surpassed Jiang Yuan’s.

If they were to be analogized as military units, You Lixiang would be akin to elite, battle-tested soldiers from a strong dynasty, such as the Tang Dynasty’s famed Mo Dao Corps, with inherently superior traits. Jiang Yuan, by comparison, wouldn’t stand equal in physical prowess or training but had access to more advanced technical resources—akin to an armored battalion.

Regardless of military type, challenges such as marching, enemy scouting, or adapting to environments posed similar problems.

"If there’s no objection, I’d like to invite criminal investigators from other counties to discuss this case together," Jiang Yuan proposed a slightly ambitious idea.

You Lixiang responded quickly, "No objection whatsoever!"

Given that he simply had no means to achieve this himself previously, rejection was the last thing on his mind.

Jiang Yuan thought for a moment and added, "Since this involves two provinces, it might not be appropriate for me to mediate directly. Let’s request coordination from the provincial department."

With that said, Jiang Yuan started navigating his phone.

Watching this unfold, You Lixiang felt an unexpected pang of self-pity—it was crystal clear that the resources available to them were leagues apart!