National Forensic Doctor-Chapter 1103 - 1034: Piecing Together

[Holy crap, you stitched together an epidermal glove yourself? That skin was shattered, it must’ve been incredibly thin. How did you even piece it together?]

[Just right—it’s not possible to make an epidermal glove, yet the epidermis is still intact? No wonder Jiang Yuan wanted to perform this demonstration for you all. I’d love to see this demonstration too.]

[It should be possible to extract seven or eight characteristic points, but whether or not there’s a match depends on the fingerprint database.]

[Holy shit, holy crap, oh my god, take a closer photo!]

The experts consulted were varied depending on the individual, but the responses they received were somewhat similar.

Especially the representatives from various cities and counties—starting at the level of brigade chiefs or deputy directors—who consulted highly competent experts.

Everyone here was a seasoned fox, yet encountering a Nine-Tailed Fox still left them speechless, even the word "holy" written four times felt insufficient.

"So what you’re saying is, this is the most difficult method of fingerprint extraction, right?" Wu Zhisu asked for clarification, while giving Jiang Yuan a bit of praise.

"To be precise, the fourth-level epidermal glove method is already the most difficult. The method Director Jiang employed is even harder and more advanced; it’s experimental in nature," Wan Baoming added, providing a more professional and purposeful endorsement.

A few non-professionals picked up the topic of fingerprint extraction and started chatting about it—not particularly professionally, mostly to heap praise on Jiang Yuan.

The journalists eagerly took notes.

Jiang Yuan displayed the reconstructed fingerprint image on the screen and began marking it.

Extracting fingerprints is the first step; marking them is the second. Matching and verifying them is the third.

For a police officer, these three steps can be relatively simple, but they can also be extremely challenging.

Every year, the fingerprint battles focus primarily on the latter two steps, though there are also experts who excel at the first step and come forward for challenges.

Recovering evidence previously retrieved, extracting fingerprints anew, marking them afresh, matching them again, and hoping the fingerprint database contains records...

This whole process was something Jiang Yuan was extraordinarily skilled at, though it had been a while since he had tried it.

Jiang Yuan marked the fingerprints directly on the computer and conducted comparisons using the software.

The operation itself was quite ordinary; those familiar with criminal investigation had witnessed it numerous times. The onlookers spoke casually around him.

Someone like Wan Baoming, who "knew his stuff," specifically pointed out that the success of the comparison relied heavily on the records in the database. The fact that Jiang Yuan could extract fingerprints from this corpse was already an impressive achievement, irrespective of whether the match was successful.

The reporters at the scene were even more attuned to the implications. A female journalist with large eyes and gray contact lenses stepped forward and asked, "Can we consider the Taihe Working Group’s fingerprint extraction capability to be at a nationally first-rate level?"

"It’s at the national top level. Actually, it’s at the world-class level," Wan Baoming confidently replied.

The gray-eyed female journalist exclaimed in awe, "That’s incredible!"

Tang Jia, who was assisting nearby, glanced at the female journalist out of the corner of her eye, pursed her lips, and threw her a disdainful look.

"I have a question," a policeman in a white shirt said aloud. "Did you prepare the corpse and fingerprint extraction beforehand?"

The question split those present into two groups—one looking at Jiang Yuan, the other at Huang Qiangmin.

The demonstration had been executed so flawlessly that it felt orchestrated, raising suspicions it might even be pre-scripted, which wasn’t unheard of.

Huang Qiangmin frowned. "There’s no way we prepared it in advance."

Jiang Yuan nodded in agreement.

The policeman in the white shirt chuckled twice and said, "Good to know it wasn’t prepared in advance—there are many considerations we need to account for."

For inherently suspicious detectives, it wasn’t just about questioning whether it was scripted; it was also about the choices they’d need to make in future investigations.

When dealing with a corpse where fingerprint extraction is particularly critical, should it be sent to Ningtai, consulted with experts from Changyang City, or specialists from Beijing? These options conflicted with one another. Considering how corpses decay quickly and experts are busy, booked, and expensive, most detective teams typically only opt for one of the three.

Though Jiang Yuan’s reputation was already considerable, his sudden display of top-tier skills made the detective in the white shirt even more guarded.

Jiang Yuan, however, was indifferent to all of this; after answering the question, he focused solely on matching fingerprints.

Seeing this, Huang Qiangmin quickly adjusted his own thoughts as well. With the Taihe Working Group established, there was no need to tread so carefully anymore.

"Make a call to this person," Jiang Yuan spoke again and stood up.

The murmurs in the room halted abruptly as everyone turned to look.

"Was there a match?" Wan Baoming asked.

"Yes, a match with a 43-year-old male, a self-employed individual... Look into his phone’s call records," Jiang Yuan instructed Wang Chuanxing as he spoke.

Wang Chuanxing quickly nodded and replied soon, "The phone is switched off. For the past 21 days, there have been no call records or messages—it’s been in an off-state."

"21 days without using a phone? That’s worse than being dead," a nearby officer commented with a click of his tongue.

"Then he’s probably dead," someone concluded carelessly, earning widespread agreement.

In modern-day case handling, investigators often don’t bother formulating rigorous hypotheses, instead just going with the evidence and unraveling the case along those lines. Over time, such habits eroded deductive, puzzle-solving approaches.

For instance, at present, Jiang Yuan didn’t even attempt to refute this conclusion. He simply stated, "Send someone to verify. The victim’s registered address is in Changyang City..."

Jiang Yuan turned to look at Huang Qiangmin.

Huang Qiangmin gave a slight nod and went to call Yu Wenshu.

Small cases warranted calls, bigger cases merited in-person visits—this was an informal but widely-followed rule.

If discoveries could be made during the visit, that was ideal—at the very least, avoid letting a phone call tip someone off prematurely.

With that, the demonstration process reached its end. Huang Qiangmin invited everyone to head out for a meal, signaling the conclusion of the visit.

At this point, the atmosphere relaxed considerably.

As the group walked out together, a few individuals deliberately stayed behind to wait for Jiang Yuan, hoping to chat with him privately.

The large-eyed female journalist even squeezed closer, waiting for Jiang Yuan to approach.

Then, Jiang Yuan looked up briefly at the departing crowd, before picking up a scalpel from the brightly-lit tray.

Slash...

With a single cut, Jiang Yuan split the torso of the corpse into two parts, exposing the yellowish-orange fat beneath.

"Ugh..." The large-eyed female journalist quickly covered her mouth, staring at the scene in shock. She turned away, waited about ten seconds until her breathing steadied, and asked, "Director Jiang, aren’t you going to join us for dinner?"

"Oh, I won’t go. I’ll finish the autopsy and eat something casually afterward," Jiang Yuan replied in an entirely matter-of-fact tone.

"Ugh..." The female journalist sprinted out of the room.