Chapter 118

The lawyer said, "Pretty much the same as our lawyers — there are tons of small-time lawyers everywhere, but the big ones are all forged through cases, and where do that many cases come from?"

Qin Ming said, "The hardest hurdle for us isn't actually the so-called dissection — it's seeing so much of the world's suffering. How you adjust your mindset is what matters most. That's why Old Liu always stresses you can't empathize too much. Empathize too much, and a person sinks into depression, trapped in a whole vicious cycle."

Sister Jing Tian said, "Isn't that pretty much the same as those so-called depression articles online?"

"Exactly. See too much of it, and you just shut down. That's why you'll notice these forensic examiners sometimes act like children — actually, acting like a child is a way of hiding the deepest thing inside their heart."

Hu Ge said, "These trainees really are working hard, but I can clearly see Xu Xintong is barely holding on."

"Mm, I saw it too. Old Liu knows it too. All we can say is, this step depends on Xu Xintong crossing it herself. If she gets past it, she can get things done. If she can't, she can only move into other forensic work, or academic research."

Sister Jing Tian said, "I'm optimistic about Qu Yiling."

Qu Yiling?

Qin Ming said, "Let me tell you something — say it upfront, this isn't a sob story, and it isn't a show. The case Qu Yiling cares about most is actually kidnapping and trafficking — human trafficking."

?????

Holy shit.

Everyone looked at Qin Ming.

The director was dumbfounded. Oh my God.

"Then her purpose in coming on the show is—?"

"Exactly. To find her parents — the ones who abandoned and sold her. She said her memory only holds so much; the image of her parents in her mind has already blurred. So she can only rely on the forensic path to find people. But at the same time, she worries she might not have been trafficked."

"But only sold."

???

Everyone sighed endlessly.

Qin Ming said, "Actually, the one I'm most pessimistic about is Qu Yiling. This kid — if she really finds her parents and learns the truth, do you think Qu Yiling, having lost her goal, would have much meaning left to keep living?"

Sister Jing Tian said, "That can't be, right?"

"She grew up in an orphanage. She was one of a group of children rescued at the time. When they caught the trafficker, the guy was hit and killed by a car during the pursuit, and just like that, the trail to those children's parents vanished."

"All these years, going round and round, some have searched, some have found their families, some haven't — some were adopted, some weren't."

Gao Ye said, "Then I understand why this kid is willing to put on a mask. Abandoned as a child, abandoned again when adopted — all she can do is disguise herself, make herself perfect in every way. What she hates most is not being needed."

Some people's childhoods can heal the rest of their lives, while some people's lives can only heal their childhood.

In the office, the bell rang once more, reminding everyone — another case had been matched.

Li Tian leaned over, took a look, and said, "This guy's a repeat thief."

"Mm, repeat thief. This fingerprint was found in a home… mm, oh, I get it. This kid went to steal something himself and left his fingerprint, but the family was murdered, and he doesn't dare speak up."

"You're that sure?"

"Mm, we've basically finished the criminal profile on the killer's side and have a general direction pinned down. The location where this fingerprint appeared is very strange — we only suspected it was planted by someone, but we didn't expect it was actually a thief. Hopefully it'll give us a lead."

One after another, the sounds made Li Tian overjoyed.

In just one morning, they'd directly matched fifteen cases.

This made everyone present happy along with him.

Among them, ten were old homicide cases.

Old Liu clapped his hands and said, "Let's go, everyone eat — the cafeteria has prepared food for us."

Everyone got up and headed to the cafeteria.

Rarely, and suffocatingly, in the cafeteria everyone sat down to eat without a word.

They ate quickly.

After eating, a few of them took a sip of water and went back to their own rooms to rest.

The entire time was silent.

An hour later, every one of them got up right on time, re-entered the office, and continued comparing images.

Good lord — is this some kind of rat race?

Qin Ming said, "It's been set in motion. Actually, this is what forensic examiners are normally like — silent at work, silent while eating. Every one of them is a top-tier big shot in forensics. If they don't match a few cases themselves, they really can't save face."

Teacher He looked at the data card in his hand and said, "If I remember correctly, every year this kind of competition is actually judged on overall data."

"Right — that's how it looks to the outside, but internally, everyone knows how things really work."

At that moment, Chen Fan held a cup of lemon-water milk tea, sipping it with a slurp.

Then he even yawned, took out his phone, and started playing a game.

"What are you doing?"

"I made a little program. The program automatically picks cases for me, auto-compares, auto-filters. I'm sneaking a break."

????????

"No way, big bro — everyone's grinding hard, and you're just lying flat."

"The way you are — what are these people supposed to do?"

"I suddenly feel sorry for these old-timers. The era of the young."

"Damn it, Chen Fan really knows how to put on an act — he got one over on us."

Meanwhile, Qu Yiling was a bit annoyed and asked Chen Fan for the software. Chen Fan said, "Just messing with you — where would there be software? Comparison has to be done manually. This software only automatically pulls up the cases; I still need to click here to switch to the next one."

"I know, but I need it too. My teacher's getting on in years."

"Fine, here, take it."

With the new addition, everyone's speed still picked up.

Li Tian's phone never stopped ringing the entire time.

Not only that — they were so busy that several police officers actually came running over, standing over by the corridor, cigarettes in their mouths, waiting anxiously.

Every time the room bell rang, everyone lifted their heads and looked toward the room. When Li Tian called out a name, the police officer came over, glanced at the photo, took a picture, and left in a flash.

Damn it, you bastard, you let me catch you.

Chen Fan's work state on this side was very intimidating; don't be fooled by Chen Fan playing with his phone, in reality, his eyes had been fixed on the computer the whole time, never looking away.

Sharp, focused gaze.

They all say the most focused man is the most handsome, and at this moment, Chen Fan was that most focused person.

A fresh-faced youngster working seriously — this strong contrast made everyone wonder if they had the wrong person.

Hu Ge said: "And very handsome too, Chen Fan at this moment is genuinely dashing."

Would the livestream be boring?

Naturally not. As these people grew more and more skilled with the techniques, the subsequent speed became so fast it gave people a strong sense of oppression.

Bai Lu complained: "Does someone have to die every single time the phone rings?"

What kind of weird train of thought is that.

But thinking about it this way, it really did seem to be the case — every time the phone rang, someone had to pay the price, had to be held accountable.

And by evening, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and stretched lazily.

Li Tian looked at Old Liu, and Old Liu said helplessly: "Fine, I'll discuss it with the director's side, one more day, but at night, you have to give my students a class."

The few people sighed in admiration — it's still you, Old Liu, never taking the slightest loss.

On this side, Li Tian brought Chen Fan aside and said: "Over here, there's another case, I need you to help me with something."

"Me? I don't even know how to do deductions, what are you looking for me for?"

"It's not deduction. How should I put this case — I took it on some time ago, there was nothing at the scene at all, the fingerprints in the entire room had been wiped clean and neat."

"That's impossible, there's no way to wipe away every fingerprint, even the most careful person couldn't wipe them clean."

"Then what if it's a freshly renovated house?"

"The renovation workers' fingerprints would still be there."

"They are there, but do you think those fingerprints count?"

Chen Fan had nothing to say.

"So, what exactly is there?"

Li Tian gave Chen Fan a photo, Chen Fan took a look, and the whole person shut down.

No way, there really are people like this?

"Human skin?"

"That's right, human skin, and this is the fourth piece of human skin. The earliest one was fifteen years ago, another one ten years ago, another one five years ago, and this one is the most recent. I'm worried that in the future, more human skin will appear."

Chen Fan silently muttered in his heart.

I bet I can find the evidence, I bet on myself to win.