Chapter 1

Zheng Guang District Sub-bureau.

Following Liu Cheng, Jiang Yuan received countless gazes from the moment he stepped through the door.

He was tall and broad-shouldered, standing out from the crowd—a very obvious characteristic. Following Liu Cheng, almost everyone inside and outside the sub-bureau, whether on the official roster or not, recognized him.

"Ningtai's Jiang Yuan, with a reputation for fierce cases."

Thanks to Liu Cheng's spreading the word, this phrase was being whispered everywhere, at least within the Zheng Guang Bureau.

No one doubted it, though. The Divine Land is vast, filled with brilliant people and endless geniuses. The people in the capital are well-informed and have seen so many young talents that they were simply too busy to be shocked.

Still, when a genius comes to one's own sub-bureau, people can't help but secretly speculate on the "purity" of their talent—much like how people tirelessly compare the wealth of billionaires on the Forbes list: "This lord is comparable to that lord, yet that lord is wealthier."

Everyone peered through the windows, watching Jiang Yuan and whispering among themselves:

"Solving cases isn't something you can just accumulate experience in. Even if Sherlock Holmes came here and encountered a headless case like this, he'd probably be stumped."

"With insufficient evidence, even Conan would have to lower his head and pretend to be a primary school student."

"Forget about evidence; there aren't even any clues. Ningtai's Jiang Yuan... he's probably just here to take a look. The population density and mobility in the capital—a single neighborhood committee manages more people than their entire county."

"That might not be the case. Maybe he has some tricks up his sleeve."

Conference room.

Liu Cheng's direct superior, Criminal Investigation Detachment Captain Tao Lu, had arrived early, also wanting to see what Jiang Yuan had to say.

The principle that "every homicide must be solved" is slightly different in a county versus a capital sub-bureau. Simply put, the homicide rate in big cities is higher, so there are always cases that can't be solved, and superiors have a higher tolerance. In a county, the homicide rate is low; if you can't solve a case, your superiors won't coddle you.

Of course, for those in charge of operations, like Criminal Investigation Brigade Captain Liu Cheng or Detachment Captain Tao Lu, failing to solve a homicide is always distressing. If you view criminal investigation as project-based, this is equivalent to failing to complete the biggest project of all.

Tao Lu looked Jiang Yuan up and down, feeling that he was even younger than the interns under his own command.

Many interns at the capital sub-bureau only arrive after earning their master's degrees, so they are indeed a bit older.

However, Tao Lu had plenty of patience. He sat calmly, drinking tea, prepared to listen carefully to Jiang Yuan's investigative approach.

At the conference table, the other criminal investigation brigade captains who had come along held similar thoughts.

Then, they heard Jiang Yuan speak:

"Forensic botany..."

"Tool mark examination..."

"Wulalalala..."

"Forensic evidence science..."

Tao Lu's feeling was like a rush of heat to the brain; it was as if knowledge had knocked on his door, a donkey had plowed his field, a technician had broken his vows, and a key had been inserted into a lock...

Jiang Yuan rattled off his analysis, taking only a quarter of an hour to complete the case breakdown.

When Jiang Yuan stopped, the conference room, which should have been buzzing with discussion, fell into absolute silence.

Everyone was busy processing the information; their mouths were temporarily forgotten.

Jiang Yuan picked up his teacup to drink. It was ordinary tea, but in the unit, it would be considered good tea. It had no astringency and a slight lingering sweetness. Most importantly, it wasn't jasmine tea.

After a good while, Tao Lu finally came to his senses and gave a look to his subordinates, signaling them to speak.

The captain of the Third Brigade, a man with squinting eyes, coughed twice and said, "Wu Wu Fa Yi Jiang's plan is mainly technology-oriented. This... I don't know much about technology, but regarding this forensic botany stuff, can it really find an accurate location?"

Jiang Yuan, being away from home, maintained at least thirty percent of his emotional intelligence. At this moment, he didn't get entangled in any causality, saying, "I conduct forensic botany mainly in the laboratory. I have brought my own personnel, and the equipment is very simple. Whether we do it here or I take it back, it's no problem. If you have other investigative leads, don't let this delay you; just continue with those."

The pollen and spores on the clothing were what they were. Although Jiang Yuan hadn't seen them yet, as he said, the other actions of the criminal investigation detachment here wouldn't affect the evidence. Since that was the case, they were simply two parallel lines.

Jiang Yuan was merely providing a new investigative path, one with a better chance and possibility of completion.

In a game, Jiang Yuan's approach was equivalent to adding a piece of equipment rather than replacing one; at the very least, it was an enchantment effect.

As leaders, there was no one who didn't like Jiang Yuan's way of doing things.

The actual results weren't clear yet, but the results on paper had truly improved significantly.

Detachment Captain Tao Lu immediately said, "We will fully support the technical conditions, equipment, and so on that Wu Wu Fa Yi Jiang needs. The specific experimental plan and the execution will be handled by Wu Wu Fa Yi Jiang... How should we cooperate here?"

"Let's first look at the conclusions from forensic botany," Jiang Yuan introduced again. "Through forensic botany, we can see the relationship between the location and the personnel."

"This... alright, having a range is better than nothing." In Tao Lu's mind, even if you knew the relationship between the location and the personnel, there were so many types of flowers, and the capital was so big; it was still equivalent to looking for a needle in a haystack.

He, however, didn't understand the meaning of a pollen map.

Jiang Yuan couldn't possibly provide him with an education, so he just smiled politely, looking like a mother hen hatching eggs, dotingly watching a century egg. Huang Qiangmin had said that the Capital Bureau was a wealthy government office. Just the Zheng Guang District Sub-bureau alone had an annual budget of 2.2 billion, not counting the fixed assets and intellectual property accumulated over the years.

It could be said that for such a large government office of nearly ten thousand people, just a little bit leaking through their fingers would be enough for the Ningtai County Bureau to live on for a lifetime. Moreover, the cold cases they had accumulated over the years would only be more; they were truly excellent... partners.

Tao Lu didn't even read Jiang Yuan's expression, smiled reluctantly, and said, "Fine. I'm at ease with Wu Wu Fa Yi Jiang's side. Let each brigade report in turn, and let Wu Wu Fa Yi Jiang understand the latest case situation."

Actually, there wasn't much to understand. Although Tao Lu had sent out a team of over a hundred people with a wave of his hand—more than the authorized strength of the Ningtai County Criminal Investigation Brigade—in such a large city, with only two blood-stained garments, it was truly too difficult to make a breakthrough.

Several brigades of police officers explained their search work separately. Theoretically speaking, although they hadn't found clues or the correct answer, they had at least excluded some possibilities.

Jiang Yuan took brief notes. After the meeting ended, he followed Liu Cheng to the laboratory.

Along the way, Liu Cheng felt a bit embarrassed and said, "Actually, it's almost time for dinner. We could eat first and then come back to slowly familiarize ourselves with the equipment here."

"Forensic botany doesn't require any special equipment; a suitable microscope will do." Jiang Yuan paused and then said, "Collecting pollen requires full concentration. If the laboratory conditions are okay, I won't go out to eat."

Liu Cheng hurriedly said, "There's no need to push yourself so hard."

Jiang Yuan waved his hand. Forensic botany was inherently a bitter task, but it was also good to show it to the colleagues at the Zheng Guang District Sub-bureau. After all, it was a large bureau with a 2.2 billion budget; one had to show respect.

Forensic laboratory.

Under the fluorescent lights, three rows of tables were arranged in parallel, with seven or eight sets of long cabinets behind them.

Although the layout was different and the area was much larger, overall, the forensic laboratory of the Capital Bureau wasn't too different from that of Ningtai County.

Laboratories located within the bureau don't perform autopsies; the main work is using microscopes to examine samples.

In fact, in the process of investigating most cases, if there is a need for multiple forensic participations, it is mainly for examining specimens. And the secondary or even tertiary autopsies often requested by victims' families have a very low proportion.

Because of the destructive nature of forensic autopsies themselves, the most valuable evidence should theoretically be extracted during the first autopsy. Parts like internal organs and the brain can be cut into strips, soaked in paraffin, and made into slices using a microtome, thereby preserving them.

Therefore, in the forensic laboratory at this time, most of the items in those cabinets, which were on the scale of twenty or thirty sets of clothing racks, were specimens made from slices.

If a special task force wants to trace a certain old case, they find the specimens from these cabinets and then perform examinations.

Just in terms of scientificity, this method is more effective and cheaper than preserving the corpse.

However, as far as this case is concerned, without a corpse, there is naturally no slicing. What Jiang Yuan needs is just a microscope, as well as evidence and a large amount of time.