Chapter 300: The Ultimate Move

The multi-function hall was packed; the deep blue police uniforms filled the seats, and the star emblems on the shoulder boards reflected a cold, hard light.

The appraisal persons in charge from the four detachments—First Detachment (kidnapping, homicide), Second Detachment (theft, robbery, fraud), Fifth Detachment (Cultural Relics), and Ninth Detachment (trace evidence)—as well as the team members from each team's testing center, had all come.

The training instructor had not yet arrived, and with over ten minutes left before the meeting, the conference room was filled with whispering and murmuring.

In the third row, Tang Nan Yan looked around: "Sister Xu, with everyone here today, they must have invited a top-tier expert, right? Who is it from? The National Jewelry Appraisal Center, the Geological University, or perhaps Peking University or the Forbidden City?"

"Peking University? The Forbidden City?" Xu Qin let out a "heh": "Why don't you go and invite them?"

Tang Nan Yan shook her head vigorously: "I can't invite them!"

Xu Qin couldn't help but laugh: "So you do know you can't invite them?"

The institutions Tang Nan Yan mentioned were the most authoritative, nationally recognized organizations for jade and jewelry appraisal. Among these places, anyone who could even be associated with the word "expert" had several teams under them; weren't their research tasks piled higher than mountains?

If going through official channels, let alone top-tier ones, you wouldn't even get an authoritative expert; at most, they would send an assistant or an ordinary appraiser to provide training.

If inviting them privately, an expert charges at least tens of thousands for a single appraisal; how would you invite them?

Of course, you could certainly invite them, and you wouldn't have to pay those kinds of fees, but you would owe them a favor.

It wasn't that the team hadn't invited them before, and the results were indeed good, but it was a bit hard on the leadership: the favors owed from one invitation would take several times to repay...

Xu Qin whispered instructions: "Today's training expert was invited by Deputy Branch Captain Yan of the Fifth Detachment through personal connections. I heard the General Team leaders will also attend, which means even if it's not one of those four, they are certainly authoritative enough. Listen carefully later and take notes..."

The nearby team members nodded solemnly, while Tang Nan Yan continued to look around: Deputy Branch Captain Yan, Yan Wenjing?

Where could he possibly invite an expert from?

Just as she was thinking this, the heavy soundproof door slid open silently, and a group of people walked in.

The Deputy General Detachment Leader, several branch captains and deputy branch captains, and a few young people.

There were only three or four who weren't wearing police uniforms, and they were quite young, only in their twenties. They didn't look much like experts; they looked more like university students.

But looking further back: the staff had already closed the door, which meant today's expert was among these few.

This isn't right, where is the expert?

Just as she was suspicious, the Deputy General Team Leader tapped the microphone: "Everyone, today we are honored to invite Director Lin from the Northwest University Cultural Relics Research Center to train us on Eye-Learning Appraisal Techniques for jade, jewelry, and jade cultural relics. Let us welcome him..."

"Clap, clap, clap, clap..." Following the applause, Lin Sicheng stepped onto the stage and bowed slightly.

He wore a dark gray cashmere suit, his figure as upright as a bamboo. His hair was not long, his features were handsome, and he wore a faint smile on his face.

Tang Nan Yan widened her eyes: He looked quite spirited, but too young, at most just over twenty. And he was devilishly handsome; standing among a group of leaders, he stood out like a crane in a flock of chickens.

With these features, this look, and this spirit, Tang Nan Yan would believe it if someone said he was a celebrity. But to say he was an expert... are they joking?

It wasn't just her who thought this; everyone thought the same, and hundreds of eyes pierced straight into Lin Sicheng's face.

Seeing the atmosphere was off, the Deputy General Team Leader stiffened his face: "Although Director Lin is young, he is a renowned appraisal expert in the industry. Everyone listen carefully..."

As he spoke, he looked back at the Division Chief of the Education and Training Division: "There will be an assessment afterward!"

"Understood, Captain!"

Upon hearing "assessment," the venue suddenly went silent, and everyone's heart couldn't help but shrink:

Let alone a university student, even if a baby sucking on a pacifier were standing on stage today, they would have to take notes without missing a single word.

After giving simple instructions, the leaders sat in the first row, and the venue, which had just quieted down a little, became restless again.

The Division Chief of the Education and Training Division was about to restore order, but the Deputy General Team Leader shook his head: Once an expert makes a move, you know if they have the goods. If they don't listen well now, they'll regret it later.

Only with a profound lesson can one remember firmly and learn solidly...

People nearby whispered from time to time, all discussing this "expert" who was impossibly young and handsome as hell.

Tang Nan Yan watched for a while, pursed her lips toward the stage, and blinked her eyes.

Xu Qin knew what she wanted to say as soon as she saw it: Sister Xu, have you ever seen such a young expert?

To tell the truth, she really hadn't. Let alone experts, none of the assistants to the experts invited in the past were under thirty.

But since the General Team leaders could attend and even endorse him, he must have some ability. Setting that aside, at least his mental fortitude was good enough.

Because no matter what, the public security organ is a judicial agency, and from the ministry to the county, every level has specialized appraisal and trace evidence institutions, so their professional ability is beyond doubt.

Especially in Beijing, and this is the Municipal Bureau; who among those present isn't professional?

Yet this person was methodical, unhurried...

Thinking secretly, seeing Tang Nan Yan staring at the stage without blinking, Xu Qin said half-jokingly: "Quite handsome, right?"

Tang Nan Yan nodded: "It's alright!"

"How about it, do you want me to introduce you? Anyway, your family and Branch Captain Yan are quite familiar..."

"Sigh~ Sister Xu, did my mom whisper in your ear again?" Tang Nan Yan looked disgusted, "Didn't you hear the leader's introduction: he's in Xi'an?"

"Then why do you keep staring?"

"What's wrong with looking? It won't cost me a piece of flesh..."

The two were joking; on stage, Fang Jin opened the laptop and placed it on the lectern. Jing Zeyang had nothing to do and stood by the side of the podium like a wooden stake.

Lin Sicheng hadn't intended to let him come at all; it was he who was thick-skinned, pestering and insisting on following along.

He even had a high-sounding excuse: he had made a promise to Ye Anning to protect Lin Sicheng well. Furthermore, the Cultural Relics Research Institute had even issued him an assistant's badge.

Even if it was a temporary assistant, it was still an assistant...

Fearing Lin Sicheng wouldn't relent, Jing Zeyang made a guarantee: he would never join in the fun, never speak nonsense, never be a hindrance, and he would do whatever Lin Sicheng and Fang Jin told him to do. If they didn't let him do anything, he would stand there obediently.

One more wasn't too many, so Lin Sicheng brought him along...

Opening the PPT, Lin Sicheng adjusted the microphone: "Hello, teachers. My name is Lin Sicheng. I am very honored to be here to share some shallow experience with you all. There will inevitably be shortcomings, so please bear with me..."

Applause broke out below.

It was alright, quite enthusiastic; after all, the leaders took the lead in clapping, so they had to give some face.

Tang Nan Yan clapped listlessly, listening to her colleagues discuss:

"Tsk, quite humble, and quite polite."

"He speaks quite nicely, and he looks even better when he smiles."

"Indeed, the voice matches the person."

Tang Nan Yan cursed inwardly: A bunch of repressed perverts.

But it wasn't strange: places with many women were like this, not to mention that quite a few of them were single.

They knew a lot, and many of them dealt with corpses day in and day out, so they had long since become immune.

This was just because it was a meeting; in private, they were all obscenely vulgar...

In a flash, Tang Nan Yan narrowed her eyes again: Huh, who is this, Jing Zeyang?

He must have come in together with the person on stage, but she had been too busy being shocked and only looking at the person on stage, so she hadn't noticed the two people beside him.

The other person wearing glasses should be the assistant to the one on stage, but what about Jing Zeyang standing on the side like a post?

Besides, he worked at the song and dance troupe; when did he ever know any appraisal experts?

Just as she was wondering, there was a "hiss" sound from the side, as if someone had gasped.

Tang Nan Yan turned her head and was stunned again: right next to her, Xu Qin had an expression like she had seen a ghost, eyes wide and mouth agape, as if frozen.

And it wasn't just her: all around, several Persons in Charge from the Appraisal Center, just like Xu Qin, mostly had similar expressions.

Especially two male directors, whose faces revealed an excited look, their eyes shining straight ahead.

No... what is going on?

Just as she was about to ask, Xu Qin's eyes lit up: "Lin Sicheng? Yan Wenjing is impressive, where did she invite this person from?"

Tang Nan Yan glanced at the stage, looking blank: "Huh?"

"Don't 'huh', this is a real Expert: no worse than the experts from the Forbidden City or Peking University you mentioned. The opportunity is rare, listen well, and take notes well."

Tang Nan Yan was even more bewildered: No... how old is he?

Xu Qin had no time to explain to her and hurriedly opened her notebook.

The Education and Training Division held regular training sessions, and all the cases analyzed were key cases; coincidentally, the three cases Lin Sicheng participated in were all included.

The first was the "Nuclear Material Manufacturing Imitating the Ancients Porcelain Case": the first of its kind in the country, and even the first in the world. When it was first reported below, the leaders all acted as if they were listening to a myth.

Subsequently, they were shocked into a cold sweat: for this type of substance, airport security was actually as good as non-existent; they could come and go as they pleased?

Manufacturing imitating the ancients porcelain was nothing; if someone wanted to use this to do something, it would cause an epic safety accident...

Investigate, it must be investigated; mobilize all police forces to investigate.

Learn, it must be learned; work overtime, work overtime, study day and night.

During that time, which Person in Charge of the appraisal units of the public security departments at all levels in Beijing hadn't aged several years and lost at least half a jin of hair?

Naturally, the name Lin Sicheng was like it had been carved into their brains.

The second time was the Zhang Anshi Tomb Robbery Case: this time, the Persons in Charge of the various Evidence Centers didn't suffer much, they just did some internal study.

But the various Branch Captains were miserable, being chased and scolded by leaders every day.

Because besides smuggling abroad, Beijing was the largest domestic distribution center for the "Yu Dahai gang" to sell stolen goods, and many stolen Cultural Relics flowed into the black market from Beijing.

This was one point; the second: more than eighty percent of the funds involved in the case were laundered in Beijing.

The third, and most important point: the command center for the Zhang Anshi Tomb Robbery Case was in Beijing.

It was the international broker that Lin Sicheng had deduced: acting as a middleman to pass messages for Yu Dahai and his subordinates, responsible for organizing tomb raiders, designing smuggling routes, transferring the gang's Startup Capital from abroad into the country, and contacting the purchase of firearms... and so on and so forth.

During that time, the Captains and Deputy Detachment Leaders of these branches lived like they were in hell, feeling ashamed, guilty, and mortified:

New organizational methods, new modes of operation, new channels for selling stolen goods... it could be said that from planning and organization to selling and laundering, except for the digging and transporting in the middle, more than seventy percent of the crime scenes and clues were concentrated in Beijing.

In the end, it was the counterparts in Xijing who solved most of the case, and only when they traced most of the clues back to Beijing did they realize what had happened.

Fortunately, Xijing's actions were fast enough, not only steady, accurate, and ruthless, but also secretive enough. Otherwise, they would have been just a hair's breadth away from the money and the person (the broker) escaping abroad.

Being a bit bitter was fine, and being scolded a few times didn't matter; at least it was better than the person escaping, which would require the leaders to take responsibility.

Logically, the name Lin Sicheng was also carved into the brains of the leaders of the various branches and the General Team.

The third time was the Fake Jade Case; this time, it was the turn of the Persons in Charge of the various appraisal centers to suffer.

Because the case was relatively typical, but what was even more typical was the fake Jadeite.

Compared to Xijing, Beijing was the hardest-hit area. The quantity of Wei Material flowing into Beijing through various channels and sold as Burmese Material was ten thousand times that of Xijing.

What was even more typical was: neither the National Jewelry and Jade Quality Supervision and Inspection Center, nor the Peking University Jade Appraisal Center, nor the Ministry of Public Security Anti-Counterfeiting Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Center had systematic appraisal technology and quality standards.

Leaders predicted that such cases would inevitably increase in the future, so to prevent trouble before it happened, they required the General Team to focus on training.

But even the ministry didn't have relevant data, so even if they wanted to train, there was nowhere to start. Then the leaders instructed: first trial it in the appraisal centers of various institutions, and summarize experience from work.

And then, the various appraisal units went crazy, working day and night, with hair falling out in large clumps.

The name Lin Sicheng was once again carved into their brains.

And it once again gave the Persons in Charge of the various appraisal centers a further understanding of Lin Sicheng: not only professional, but also comprehensive.

For example, Xu Qin.

And for the moment, she couldn't easily explain to her capable Assistant Tang Nan Yan: why the ones most excited and agitated upon seeing Lin Sicheng were all the Persons in Charge of the Evidence Centers of various units.

Because he had formulated the quality standards for jade handicrafts and Cultural Relics.

Although it was currently only being trialed within the Xijing Public Security, it was the first set of quality manuals in the country "based on the origin of the jade and the analysis of the microstructure to distinguish jade grading standards."

And why were the more authoritative the institution, the more professional the appraisal department, and the more top-tier the expert, the harder they were to invite?

Because the country had not introduced relevant legal provisions, let alone relevant quality standards; one bad appraisal could lead to a lawsuit.

Conversely, such fraud cases occurred from time to time, and more and more frequently. Taking a piece of Russian jade worth a few dozen yuan and selling it as Hetian Jade worth tens of thousands, or taking a piece of Wei Material worth a few hundred yuan and selling it as Burmese Material worth hundreds of thousands—Beijing could have hundreds or thousands of such cases a day.

After the victims discovered it and reported it to the police, the public security organs could only say: there are no such provisions in the law, and the country has not issued relevant grading standards, so we will not accept the case.

Are you kidding?

Therefore, even if they had to rack their brains, they had to come up with a measurement standard and value range.

But then the problem arose: the Public Security Bureau is a law enforcement agency, not a research institution.

And don't even talk about formulating quality data; even if it were just to serve as an internal distinction standard, the number of experiments required would be in the "tens of thousands" to possibly obtain relatively accurate difference data.

Compared to this, what is more urgent is an effective method for visual appraisal. That is, how to effectively secure evidence in the shortest possible time and use legal and reasonable control measures on suspects.

To put it bluntly: the victim says it is fake, but the suspect says it is real. The Police must judge at the very first moment: is it actually real or fake?

What, find an Expert?

Experts are not that free; it is impossible to summon them at will or dismiss them at a wave. Besides, by the time you find one, the person would have long since run away.

If there is someone knowledgeable internally, this situation can be avoided to a great extent. If there were a set of effective appraisal methods, or even better, a set of standard reference data, that would be perfect.

Peers in Xijing do exactly this: by partnering with the Xida Cultural Relics and Museology College, the Experts are basically on call.

Moreover, they have Xida professors provide training every few days, and several Group Leaders at the Appraisal Center have almost become half-Experts themselves.

Among them, the most popular one who goes there the most is Lin Sicheng; he explains things in a way that is easy to understand and never keeps his knowledge to himself.

Furthermore, he specifically formulated a set of internal quality standards for the Xijing Appraisal Center; more than one Xijing colleague who came to Beijing on business has confirmed: it is both good and fast.

And all of this is based on the excellent personal friendship between Lin Sicheng, Director Li Chunnan, and Deputy Bureau Chief Chen Peng; those of us in Beijing can only look on with envy.

Never thought that a colleague could contact Lin Sicheng, and even manage to invite him over?

A rare opportunity...

"Don't just stand there, take notes!" Xu Qin picked up her pen, "If you miss this, you'll regret it for a year!"

Tang Nan Yan looked toward the stage again, half-surprised, half-skeptical: could it really be that exaggerated?

While she was secretly pondering, Lin Sicheng tapped the microphone, and the electronic screen lit up: in the image, three pieces of uncarved raw jade stone emitted a warm and restrained luster.

His voice was not loud, yet exceptionally clear: "Hetian Jade, Qinghai Jade, and Russian Jade; the main component of all three is Tremolite Jade, so they are uniformly classified under the 'Hetian Jade' category in the national standard. But the value, origin, and social recognition of the three are worlds apart."

"I won't go into exactly how much they differ; today I will mainly talk about the subjective differences between these three types of jade, the differences in microscopic data, and effective methods under the condition of visual appraisal..."

"Because time is limited, I will try to be as brief as possible. I will distribute materials later, and you teachers can look at them in conjunction with this..."

With a light click of the mouse, the screen cut to a microscopic close-up. Under several hundred times magnification, the internal structure of the jade material was revealed in minute detail:

"Look at these interwoven structures; a large number of extremely tiny Tremolite-Actinolite mineral micro-crystals (fibrous, needle-like, cryptocrystalline) interweave, entwine, and intersect with each other, forming a non-directional dense arrangement. This structure is extremely dense, with a high degree of interweaving and minimal gaps."

"Specifically at the macroscopic level, that is, the degree visible to the naked eye: the warm and delicate oily luster of Hetian Jade and its relatively good transparency all stem from this ultimate felt-like structure."

Lin Sicheng pointed at the screen, "Highlight this, teachers from the testing group, take note: Hetian Jade, felt-like structure, can also be called Sticky Rice Cake Structure..."

The screen flashed, and two more pictures appeared, one of felt, one of sticky rice cake, both being cross-sections.

It was indeed quite simple: the cause, process, and result were all summarized in just one sentence, but when combined with the pictures, it gave everyone the most intuitive impression.

"Then look at the second piece, Qinghai Jade... during the formation of the jade material, due to stress, the special patterns formed by the directional arrangement of local minerals have higher transparency than the surrounding jade quality."

"The biggest difference from Hetian Jade: the interior reveals a loose granular feel and clear directional textures, leading to higher transparency, presenting a clean 'water-permeable' feel, but the oiliness is low, and the toughness is also low..."

Lin Sicheng pointed at the screen again: "Remember this water-line shape; it is the unique 'Identity Card' of Qinghai material..."

"Finally, Russian Jade, its characteristic is one word: white. But this kind of white, in professional jargon, is called 'dead white' or 'porcelain white', lacking the oiliness of Hetian Jade from the inside out, appearing dry and thin. The luster is closer to glass, a 'brightness' that floats on the surface rather than an 'oiliness' that is contained within."

The big screen switched pictures again: "Look at the structure: the typical massive crystallization structure of Russian Jade, the particles are coarser and more abrupt than Qinghai material, with distinct boundaries. This is the root cause of its coarse quality, poor oiliness, and loose structure..."

Lin Sicheng was methodical, his clear and bright voice echoing in the conference room.

The audience was exceptionally quiet; pen tips sliding across paper sounded like countless silkworms biting mulberry leaves.

These people, basically the Persons in Charge of each Evidence Center, knew Lin Sicheng's background and details, and even more so, they knew how useful what Lin Sicheng was saying was.

There were also those with blank expressions, not knowing why the leaders were all so proactive and so serious.

And there was no lack of those who were slow to react: this kid is actually pretty good?

Logical, progressive, and easy to understand.

Only a very small number of people understood: it was not that Lin Sicheng spoke well, but that his research was thorough enough and his summaries were concise enough.

Was there anyone who had researched more deeply or summarized better than him?

Perhaps, but who wouldn't treat it as a trade secret, and who would be willing to share it selflessly?

For this era, and for every unit and profession related to "appraisal," what Lin Sicheng was saying was no different from a secret manual of true teachings...

Tang Nan Yan didn't take notes at all, but kept looking at the stage, her gaze becoming increasingly confused, her expression increasingly suspicious.

She felt that this person on stage was so strange, giving one a feeling of extremely eerie detachment: this face, and his speech and temperament at this moment, were so far apart?

At least thirty years apart...

Just as she was letting her imagination run wild and guessing randomly, Xu Qin tapped her on the head with a pen: "What are you dazing for? Why aren't you writing?"

Tang Nan Yan curled her lips: "Aren't they going to distribute materials?"

Xu Qin gave a "heh": do you know how thick the materials to be distributed later will be?

If it's less than five centimeters, I'll eat it.

And what Lin Sicheng is talking about now is the essence of the essence within those materials.

It doesn't require understanding it very deeply; as long as one can understand it, the research time saved will be counted in "years" at the very least.

Just as she was about to scold Tang Nan Yan, the space in front of her suddenly darkened.

Huh, why did the screen turn off?

Is he finished?

Just as she was suspicious, Lin Sicheng smiled and pointed to the surveillance camera in the corner: "If possible, please turn this off as well. Then, I will share a few little tricks for identifying jade with you teachers..."

The leaders in the front row were energized...

(End of this chapter)