Chapter 741: Chapter 398: Three Wounds Penetrating the Chest Cavity

Time seemed to stand still as Director Ma paid special attention to the test results that were crucial to solving the case, not daring to slack off at all.

He took a brisk step forward, quickly sat at the computer, personally grabbed the mouse to retrieve the experimental data, and decisively pressed the print button.

The printer immediately started running at high speed, buzzing loudly, making the quiet laboratory seem exceptionally urgent.

Due to the large number of materials, each sample needed to output its own gas chromatography-mass spectrometry diagram, causing the printer to work almost continuously.

Sheets of paper continuously accumulated, almost forming a small hill, with the machine’s body noticeably heating up.

There was even a faint smell of burning, as if it would start smoking any second.

Only after a full ten minutes did the printer gradually come to a stop, returning to silence.

Director Ma turned to his assistant technician, speaking urgently but steadily: "Has all the data been printed out? Is there anything missing?"

The young lab technician nodded with a smile: "Mr. Ma, everything is printed out, not a single one missing."

"The amount of data is quite considerable; there are nearly two hundred samples."

"No matter," Director Ma waved his hand, his expression solemn, "Let’s make haste, categorize each one, and carefully verify."

"Among so many test materials, any detection of accelerants could provide a breakthrough for the case."

Immediately after, Director Ma led several lab technicians to begin the tense work of data comparison.

They verified every piece of report content line by line according to the inspection standards and lab diagrams, not missing any subtle anomalies.

In less than half an hour, all materials had been fully compared.

The assistant technician extracted four reports, handed them to Director Ma, and reported: "Mr. Ma, after a careful review, we’ve detected mustard oil components at three test locations."

Director Ma’s expression instantly brightened, a sharp and optimistic gleam flashed in his eyes.

Using mustard oil as an accelerant is quite rare in arson cases—most arsonists prefer gasoline, alcohol, and other highly volatile and flammable substances.

A situation like this involving mustard oil indeed took him by surprise.

He took the report, carefully examined each data set, and finally nodded in confirmation: "That’s it, the experimental data is highly consistent with the mustard oil standard chart."

He immediately asked: "What are the original numbers and specific extraction locations of these three materials?"

"18 is on the bed in the bedroom, 28 is at the junction of the coffee table and the sofa in the living room, and 38 is near the windowsill in the second bedroom."

"18, 28, 38..."

Director Ma’s lips twitched slightly, pondering, "The numbering is somewhat interesting."

He then gestured with his hand: "There’s no time to lose; let’s immediately report the results to Mr. Jiang. It’s likely they’ve been waiting anxiously on the criminal investigation side."

With that, Director Ma pushed open the lab door and hurriedly walked out.

He tightly clutched the stack of freshly printed and still warm test reports, even forgetting to take off the conspicuous lab coat.

It wasn’t until he stepped into the elevator and looked down that he noticed, but he simply shook his head with a laugh, murmuring to himself: "Never mind, can’t worry about that now; the priority is to get the results to the leadership."

The distance from the lab to the criminal investigation office usually required at least a 5-minute walk, but they practically sprinted the entire way, arriving at criminal investigation captain Jiang An’s office door in just 2 minutes.

Director Ma raised a hand to knock, his voice slightly hurried and conveying an unyielding urgency.

Jiang An was reviewing other case materials at his desk; upon hearing the knock, he looked up and immediately saw Director Ma standing at the door, still in his lab coat. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

He promptly stood up, speaking urgently: "Director Ma, are the results out?"

Director Ma quickly stepped forward and handed him the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry report.

Jiang An took it, his gaze quickly scanning the handwritten notes and annotations beside the chart, his brow gradually furrowing: "All mustard oil?"

Director Ma nodded seriously, his tone extremely sure: "It’s mustard oil, and from a compound analysis perspective, it’s the kind of oil we typically use for cooking."

Jiang An pondered momentarily, then questioned further: "Mr. Ma, with the type of edible oil we use at home, is the likelihood of rapid combustion high?"

Director Ma’s lips twitched slightly, appearing somewhat resigned yet maintaining professional rigor: "Honestly, using mustard oil as an accelerant is exceedingly rare in our past cases."

"We’ve encountered much more instances of alcohol and gasoline—these volatile substances with low ignition points."

"As for mustard oil, in all my years of experience, this is the first time I’ve come across it."

"It has a relatively high ignition point and is usually not easily ignitable directly unless already in an environment with open flames, and only then would it burn intensely and contribute to spreading the fire."

Jiang An quietly listened, occasionally nodding, as his gaze again fell upon the report—the three sample numbers were 18, 28, and 38.

Although not much time had passed since the sample extraction from the scene, Jiang An relied on his exceptional memory and profound impression of the crime scene.

Suddenly, he raised his head, his tone unwavering and assertive: "One accelerant per room; if this isn’t arson, who would believe it?"

As soon as he finished, he snatched up the report and swiftly walked out, heading straight to Mr. Li’s office, his footsteps echoing down the corridor, resonating with urgency and determination to solve the case.

Five minutes later, Jiang An arrived at Mr. Li’s office door almost running.

He barely had time to catch his breath before pushing the door open, skipping the knocking altogether.

He spoke in an urgent yet remarkably clear voice: "Mr. Li, the identification results are out—it’s arson, no doubt about it."