National Forensic Doctor-Chapter 1101 - 1033: Building 9

Click.

As the photographer pressed the shutter, beneath the white-and-black signboard reading "Taihe Working Group," leaders at all levels showed sincere smiles.

"I hereby announce, the Taihe Working Group is officially established!"

The voice came through the microphone, and the applause was solemn yet enthusiastic.

On the nearby training field, Dazhuang barked a timely "woof."

Li Li lightly smacked him, curled her lips, and said, "Barking again? If you keep barking, I’ll take away the other half of your training field."

The Taihe Working Group’s office building was newly constructed, taking up half of the police canine unit’s training field. Of course, this plot of land had originally been set aside for future development and was only being temporarily used by the canine unit. The canine unit, which once consisted of only one dog, couldn’t even manage the cleanup of such a large training field.

"Looks like we’ll have to relocate to the suburbs soon," another trainer said, glancing at the smiling leaders. "Actually, moving to the suburbs isn’t so bad—an extra five-minute drive and it’s quieter. You don’t have so many leaders staring at you all day long."

"You’re not wrong about that last part," Li Li nodded, stretching lazily, showing off her elegant curves. The bulky police uniform, the monotone colors, and the unsuitable surroundings couldn’t hinder her charm. Except for her face.

Her teammate silently took a big step back. As the saying goes, one step back is paradise, one step forward is hell—Lu Xun didn’t lie to us.

"Let’s go. They’re heading upstairs."

Huang Qiangmin stood at the foot of the building labeled "Block 9" where the Taihe Working Group was located, feeling a little emotional.

The one who had worked tirelessly to secure the land back then was Huang Qiangmin himself. However, he had prepared it for his successor, never expecting such rapid development—and that it would be used for a newly established parallel agency.

"Huang, why don’t you go in together with Jiang Yuan," the Bureau Chief said, stepping aside to show some courtesy.

The Taihe Working Group could be said to be built entirely around Jiang Yuan. Naturally, this moment was meant to highlight both Jiang Yuan and Huang Qiangmin.

After a few polite words, Huang Qiangmin linked arms with Jiang Yuan and entered the hall of Block 9 together.

The hall was about 100–200 square meters in area and two stories high. It felt a little cramped—when dozens of people entered simultaneously, it even seemed a bit crowded.

The provincial bureau leader frowned and said, "You build a building for Jiang Yuan, yet it’s so stingy. If funding’s an issue, the bureau can always provide support. Huang, you’re such a resourceful person..."

"It was our design request," Jiang Yuan intervened to shield Huang Qiangmin from criticism.

The tone softened immediately: "In that case, I have to criticize Xiao Jiang. Buildings are supposed to last a century—why not design something more elegant for future use?"

"Its design concept is actually based on a kill box," Jiang Yuan explained, pointing to the second floor. "The tiled walls over there—if you tap twice, you’ll find shooting apertures. From any two adjacent sides, you can target everyone inside the kill box."

"Oh, that’s rather interesting," said the provincial bureau leader, glancing at Jiang Yuan. "How did you come up with this?"

Everyone raised their heads to glance at the second floor, then looked down at themselves, and finally turned their eyes to Jiang Yuan.

"Mu Zhiyang, you explain," Jiang Yuan directly called him out.

In front of the provincial leadership, Huang Qiangmin could easily become the target of criticism, but Mu Zhiyang was in a safer position.

Mu Zhiyang squeezed through the crowd and wiped his forehead. "It was based on some of our past experiences and inspired by several old cases I’ve studied. Many of the cases we handle involve significant danger. In case of an ambush by desperate criminals... I shared my concerns with the designer, and after some discussions, the architect proposed incorporating defensive elements into the structure—it was the most cost-effective approach."

"How did you convince the designer?" The leader caught onto the key point.

Mu Zhiyang replied, "Initially, the designer thought, ’Society is stable and peaceful, so this isn’t necessary.’ So, I explained to him—it’s precisely because the city is stable that we have city walls in history. Later on... I showed him my scars."

Many of the leaders present were intrigued.

"Show us your scars," Huang Qiangmin chimed in, giving him an assist since the conversation had reached this point.

Mu Zhiyang decisively took off his shirt, revealing his left shoulder.

The bullet-ripped wound had healed long ago, but the blackish scar, resembling pine tree branches, stood out uniquely.

Huang Qiangmin introduced, "This was during the final operation of the Mount Wulong Wildman Case. Mu Zhiyang, Jiang Yuan, and others confronted armed criminals at close range. Mu Zhiyang stepped forward and shielded Jiang Yuan."

"Scars are medals of honor," the provincial bureau leader commented after carefully examining it, nodding slightly. "And what happened next?"

"Afterwards," Mu Zhiyang said, "I showed the scars to the designer, and he changed the design."

The crowd erupted in laughter.

The leaders nodded, "Mu Zhiyang, is it?"

"Yes," Mu Zhiyang replied, standing at attention and saluting.

"Keep up the good work. Protect Jiang Yuan well," the provincial bureau leader said before turning to the Qinghe City Bureau leader. "This young man is impressive—Qinghe produces talent."

"Indeed," the Qinghe City Bureau leader smiled, his expression full of ambition.

Huang Qiangmin led the group on a tour, introducing the Taihe Working Group along the way.

The group listened intently—after all, they had invested real money here.

Compared to the Ningtai County Criminal Police Detachment, the Taihe Working Group had a slightly smaller staff allocation, currently at 40 positions. This was considered a suitable setup for Jiang Yuan. After all, management itself is a skill—progressing from managing fewer people to managing more is a more appropriate path for promotion. In a sense, it’s also a form of protection for cadres.

It wasn’t that people like Huang Qiangmin were afraid to allocate staff to Jiang Yuan—they worried that giving him hundreds or even two or three hundred positions all at once would not only affect his performance but might also drag him into management conflicts.

Thankfully, Jiang Yuan himself didn’t have a strong desire for power. As long as his rank allowed him to leverage his technical expertise, he was largely satisfied.

Next to the Taihe Working Group building, a small annex was specially constructed. With a total area of just over 1,000 square meters, it easily outclassed Changyang City’s facilities, let alone Qinghe City’s, when compared to the funeral home autopsy rooms they used. Even the conditions in just this annex were far superior.

Qinghe City, being a prefectural-level city, still had its autopsy room set up in the basement of a funeral home, relying on the funeral home’s ice coffins and morgue.

Conditions in Changyang City were slightly better, with a dedicated Criminal Science and Technology Center. Though larger than the Taihe Working Group’s annex, it served multiple units such as trace analysis, toxicology, DNA labs, and forensic doctors—all sharing the facility.

Forensic doctors still ended up with barely any space allocated to them.

As for Ningtai County, it was worse off. The Criminal Science and Technology Squadron had only about a dozen staff members, and the few offices on the fourth floor had to make room for basic lab setups. These labs were far from state-of-the-art and didn’t even meet standard requirements—more complex tests and equipment-based examinations were often sent to Qinghe City Bureau or even Changyang City.

Forensic doctors faced similar constraints. The Qinghe City Bureau often had to dispatch forensic experts like Wang Lan to aid in cases arising under such conditions.

The Taihe Working Group essentially aimed to fill this gap. It served as a forensic support institution for the Taihe region and could even be considered a Criminal Science and Technology support center.

At this point, curiosity was piqued among the crowd, and someone couldn’t help but ask, "How are cases assigned here?"

"It mainly depends on Jiang Yuan’s discretion," Huang Qiangmin replied briefly, adding, "Coincidentally, Jiang Yuan has prepared some new techniques to demonstrate for everyone."

With that, Huang Qiangmin led the group into the autopsy room, where a thawing corpse was already laid out.