Chapter 444: Searching for the Lost Fortune

Chen Fan's words gave these people a new line of thinking; clearly, the Director had thought of something.

"The case was initially judged as murder, and the killer is among them. Who do you think it is?"

Here, Li Tian said, "What I'm concerned about is, this person — how did they fit the escape, how did they manage to kill so many people?"

Kill so many people?

The Director said, "The files are coming. All the people who joined afterward back then are right here."

Li Tian looked at the photos of these people when they first joined and said, "It's among them. What do you think?"

Among them?

Everyone shook their heads. If it were this simple, would this case still be an unsolved one?

A living person can't have vanished for so long. This person joined the job, killed people, and then disappeared. The key thing is, the coal mine side didn't find a single clue.

If the coal mine side had been operating illegally or something, one could still say something, but everything about the coal mine was perfectly legal and above board.

Chen Fan munched on sunflower seeds here, reaching out to grab the fruit on the table.

The Director pushed the fruit plate over.

Li Tian said, "Forget all that. Let's just have the local police investigate — track down each person one by one."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Soon, the police side sent back a reply: no one had gone home.

In other words, among these thirteen people, not a single one went home. Actually, that makes sense — these people had already taken the money back then, so how could they possibly go home?

Wealth was the first thing everyone thought of, and also the closest lead.

"You say, could it be gold?"

Gold?

Everyone looked at Chen Fan.

Chen Fan said, "Right? Generally, when you dig coal, don't you sometimes dig up gold?"

Li Tian said, "I thought you were omniscient. Looks like there's stuff you don't know either. Gold rarely shows up in coal mines. If it really did, why would anyone bother digging coal?"

Fair point.

Chen Fan didn't really care. His specialty was forensic medicine. If you wanted him to handle geological issues, you might as well kill him.

In the observation room, Qin Ming said, "Teacher Luo, what's your take?"

"Sudden wealth afterward does happen, and how to handle that wealth afterward is the tricky part. If there really is some kind of fortune, it's understandable — after all, it's worth killing so many people, isn't it? But I haven't heard of anyone who suddenly got rich."

Qin Ming said, "I'm inclined to think the core of the problem is how this person disappeared, and what identity they used to live on all these years."

Living without an identity would necessarily require a fake one.

But fake identities are very hard to deal with.

In the early years, when things weren't so well-regulated, fake identities popped up everywhere. Trying to dig one out from among them would be harder than reaching the heavens.

Everyone looked at Chen Fan.

Old Liu said, "We're forensic doctors, not gods. Stop looking at us. Chen Fan isn't a crutch — we don't have to cover everything for you."

Li Tian was speechless and said, "Fine, I'll keep investigating on my end."

Old Liu took Chen Fan and left, heading to the cafeteria to eat.

In the cafeteria, Old Liu was getting a bit heated. He said, "Director, if it's going to be like this, next time, don't bother calling our office. We won't come. There are plenty of forensic offices — no need to pick us. And that high-level professional certificate — if you're not giving it, then so be it."

The Director mulled it over, saying nothing.

Here, heads were lowered.

Old Liu wasn't giving an inch — he was completely fired up.

Qu Yiling and Xiang Qinqin didn't dare say a word.

Old Liu continued, "If there's nothing else, we'll head back in a bit. Everything we could do on this case, we've done. You gave us a few scraps of bone and told us to handle it. If you don't want to give it, just say so outright. What — because we're young, you think you can push us around like that?"

The Director stayed silent, saying nothing.

Sitting quietly.

"Solving cases is your job, not us forensic doctors'."

The Director slammed the table and said, "Done?"

Old Liu said, "Not done. What about it? You came begging me for help, and you won't even let me talk? A lousy case, chased for this long?"

"Fine, you do it. You do it… you do it. If you can pull it off, I'll give Chen Fan the high-level professional certificate right here. Your two newcomers — I'll give them mid-level positions too. Go on, you do it."

Old Liu said, "Alright, you said it. No takebacks."

"I won't go back on my word."

Old Liu said, "Let's go, Chen Fan."

Chen Fan stood up and followed Old Liu out. The group re-entered the forensic autopsy room.

Chen Fan gave Old Liu a big thumbs-up. Old Liu said, "You see — you have to play the game. If you don't play the game, you young folks will never get anything done."

Qu Yiling and Xiang Qinqin were stunned. The audience was stunned. Even the few celebrities in the observation room were stunned.

Qin Ming said, "That's just how Old Liu is. You all don't really understand what's going on."

Everyone looked at Qin Ming.

Qin Ming said, "It's actually very simple. Chen Fan and the two Misses are too young. Giving them professional titles at such a young age is very troublesome — there are assessments and all sorts of things, so the higher-ups have to weigh all the factors. But honestly, in terms of actual ability, the two Misses have long since qualified. Old Liu just won't let them go. If he really let them go, Qu Yiling and Xiang Qinqin would have been transferred to provincial-level units long ago."

"Chen Fan can't be poached, but these two treasures — everyone still likes them a lot. You only see Chen Fan as a genius because Chen Fan himself is too much of a genius. Don't forget — Qu Yiling and Xiang Qinqin are geniuses too."

Teacher He said, "Xiang Qinqin as well?"

Qin Ming said, "Of course she is? A young girl, not even from a medical background — she transferred over from the funeral services side — but she just learned it all. Isn't that talent? Please. Back then, people said Xiang Qinqin was slow to react, but that was compared to others. Everyone who participated in the show together back then — weren't they all top-tier academic elites?"