National Forensic Doctor-Chapter 1107 - 1038: 5 Fingers

Jiang Yuan took the fingerprints, began marking, and then moved on to comparison.

Meanwhile, Miao Ruixiang, acting as the assistant, stared at a pot of used cooking oil and the remaining half-barrel of Golden Dragon Fish oil, lost in thought.

Oil that had been used to deep-fry just one finger actually still looked pretty clean. Other than a bit of white froth at the edge of the pot, which could be skimmed off... frying another hundred or so fingers wouldn’t really be a problem.

"Senior, should we pour out the leftover oil?" Miao Ruixiang asked hesitantly.

Jiang Yuan, engrossed in fingerprint comparison, paused in confusion: "What else? You planning to take it home?"

"No, no, it’s not like it’s rabbit meat." Miao Ruixiang quickly shook his head: "I just thought, in case later you want to fry more fingers—or maybe toes..."

"Pour it out. There aren’t nearly that many fingers to fry. Toes won’t be necessary either." Jiang Yuan waved dismissively.

Finger deep-frying isn’t an obscure fingerprint extraction method. In fact, it can be performed routinely if one has solid Level 2 technical skills. If there are any limitations, it’s mainly that the fingers need to meet specific conditions. Only fingers with the dermis layer intact and the epidermis layer severely damaged warrant the frying process.

Among the ten fingers on the corpse laid out on the autopsy table, only one met the required conditions. However, forensic doctors over different eras have developed various methods to handle different states of fingers. For instance, slightly less decomposed fingerprints can be extracted using skin gloves, and in cases of even lower decomposition, injections can be employed.

In short, forensic science has dedicated tremendous effort over the past century to unravel the mysteries posed by human corpses.

Miao Ruixiang dutifully poured out the oil from the pot, grabbed a cloth and some detergent, and resigned himself to scrubbing the pot clean.

Technically speaking, a pot used to fry just one finger doesn’t really need cleaning, but Miao Ruixiang couldn’t stand the suspicious smell emanating from it.

Jiang Yuan sat at the computer for quite some time.

Fingerprint comparison yielded no results.

Given Jiang Yuan’s current expertise in fingerprint identification, this effectively meant that the fingerprints weren’t in the database.

"Keep the finger intact and preserve the entire thing," Jiang Yuan specifically instructed Miao Ruixiang, before moving on to further autopsy examinations.

The corpse was significantly decayed, missing its head, rendering surface examinations essentially pointless. The focus was now on collecting material evidence or biological samples—like the water plants, fishing lines, hooks, floats, or hemp ropes tangled around the body, as well as any remaining parasites or metabolic matter.

These were tedious tasks, requiring not just Jiang Yuan, Miao Ruixiang, and Wu Jun, but also the help of criminal police officers who came to check out the situation, all of whom were roped in to speed up the process.

Nearly an hour into their work, Jiang Yuan spoke again: "Ruixiang, get the pot going and boil water."

"Huh? Oh, right!" Miao Ruixiang snapped out of it, turning to realize it was time for bone extraction.

The best method for extracting bones from a corpse is boiling them. The bones come out pristine and clean, far better than cutting them out manually with tools.

The Criminal Police Brigade of Ningtai County had long since purchased specialized equipment like pressure cookers and water bath pots. The pressure cooker was better for smaller, disassembled parts, saving time. The water bath pot, resembling a stainless steel tub used for soaking baths, came with built-in electric heating and could process an entire corpse at once—but required heating an entire barrel of water, making it labor-intensive but time-efficient.

Jiang Yuan wasn’t in a hurry, instructing Miao Ruixiang to prepare the water bath pot for the corpse. He turned to Wu Jun and said, "Master, shall we take a break while waiting?"

Boiling water and bone extraction takes significant time. For reference, a typical hot pot kicks off with about 10 liters, and to boil a human being would take at least a dozen pots’ worth. Meanwhile, the electric heating capability of the water bath pot wasn’t substantially stronger than that of a hot pot.

Wu Jun grunted in agreement and, before leaving, glanced at the remaining Golden Dragon Fish oil and told Miao Ruixiang, "When you’re boiling, you can add a bit of oil to the pot—it prevents overflow when it comes to a boil."

"Oh." Miao Ruixiang felt like he learned something new, even if it wasn’t particularly useful knowledge.

Wu Jun lit a stick of incense in the office.

Jiang Yuan continued researching fingerprints for a while longer but to no avail, then switched to analyzing the crime scene footage of the corpse.

Neither of them were in a rush. For cases like this, identifying the corpse was key. If this couldn’t be achieved, solving the case often required a stroke of luck.

"Wang Lan’s here." Wu Jun answered a call, then laid aside the Guan Gong idol he was holding.

"Doctor Wang? Is she here to assist?" Jiang Yuan was somewhat surprised. The forensic team at the Ningtai County Bureau was highly capable, and external support shouldn’t be necessary. Besides, Wang Lan and her colleagues at the Qinghe City Bureau were always busy—the city’s numerous districts kept them traveling almost every month.

"Doesn’t sound like it from her tone." Wu Jun replied, rising to go downstairs to meet her.

Wang Lan entered dressed in uniform, her frail frame seeming almost weightless, as if her head alone was carrying the uniform while floating in the air.

Upon stepping into Building 9, Wang Lan glanced around enviously but wasted no time on small talk. She addressed Jiang Yuan and Wu Jun directly: "We’ve found several fingers over there."

"Fingerprints?" Wu Jun clarified.

Wang Lan shook her head and took out a large lunchbox from her bag.

She opened the lunchbox, removed the ice packs inside, and revealed a bag of fingers.

"Five fingers, no signs of vitality," Wang Lan explained, handing the fingers to Jiang Yuan. "They were found on the roadside in Qianjin District, spotted by someone walking their dog."

Lack of vitality refers to the absence of reactions that indicate life, such as bleeding, congestion, swelling, or thrombosis. Without vitality, it can be concluded that these fingers were severed postmortem.

Therefore, five fingers with no signs of vitality pointed to the existence of a corpse—or at least an arm that had been severed postmortem.

"The fingers are relatively fresh." Jiang Yuan examined them briefly and stood up. "Let’s head to the autopsy room and try to extract fingerprints."

The three of them headed back to the autopsy room together.

Ding.

The elevator doors opened, releasing a strong smell of boiling meat.

The three kept straight faces and said nothing. It’s best not to let thoughts of hunger creep in when you’re in a forensic lab. freewёbnoνel.com

Opening the autopsy room door, they saw Miao Ruixiang wearing a white mask and cap, standing on a stool and vigorously stirring the water bath pot with a large iron ladle.

Steam billowed out toward his face, reddening it from the heat.

"Is it done?" Wu Jun asked as he entered.

"Almost. Nearly there," Miao Ruixiang replied quickly. "Should I pull one out to check?"

"Stop messing around. Scraping meat off bones is a pain—wait until it’s fully de-boned," Jiang Yuan said, not in a rush. He set up another table and began inspecting the five fingers Wang Lan had brought over in the lunchbox.