Chapter 1028

"This is the case Jiang Yuan is currently handling. The killer is suspected to be a serial killer provoking the police."

"Provoking the police in Ningtai—isn't that provoking Jiang Yuan?"

"The specific situation isn't very clear yet..."

"Regardless of who the killer is, just look at the case. The case is being presided over by Jiang Yuan, right? Has he solved it?"

"No. It's been over a week today, and only the identity of one victim has been confirmed; the sources of the other two corpses haven't been determined."

"Oh, let's take a look."

In the Ministry's guesthouse, a group of forensic experts who had come to attend the meeting happened to gather together. The content of their discussion quickly turned to Jiang Yuan, and then to the case Jiang Yuan was currently solving.

In the country, there are over 2,800 districts and counties, containing over 20,000 towns, over 7,000 townships, and over 8,000 streets. In such a vast range, an ordinary person can truly be said to be very ordinary; if one cannot be the best among the people around them, then one cannot speak of a national ranking. But regardless of the ranking, words like "one case, three corpses," "serial killer," and "provoking the police" gathered together were still explosive.

This is a case that an ordinary forensic expert will never encounter in their lifetime.

Diligent working-class forensic experts won't be noticed by criminals to the point of being provoked by murder.

Even if provoked, for such an important case, it's unlikely to be the turn of a diligent-level forensic expert to solve it. They might not even have the qualification to investigate; being able to support the waist on the side would be considered not bad, and what they are supporting is very likely the corpse's waist.

Even forensic experts qualified to come to the Ministry, when talking about Jiang Yuan's case, were still frowning with envy.

"This case is indeed hard to handle. The killer should be in the know; they cleaned the corpses and threw them into the river, plus the decomposition... there definitely aren't many clues left."

"Your use of 'in the know' is very knowledgeable."

"Do you have the data? Take it out and let's see."

There was indeed a forensic expert who took out a notebook and said: "I asked the people from Jiang Yuan's cold case task force for some photos of the scene, as well as photos of the corpses and bones, saying I'd help them take a look. Shall we appreciate them together?"

The oldest forensic expert present pushed the plate in front of him forward, signaling the other party to put the notebook in front.

A group of people gathered around without pretense. To save space, everyone huddled together, either hugging or holding, their eyes fixed on the screen.

The elderly forensic expert clicked the mouse one by one.

He clicked at his own speed. Everyone present today was a national-level expert, their technical strength went without saying, and each was younger than him, so they would only look at the photos faster than him.

There were only a few dozen photos in total. The elderly forensic expert clicked to the end unhurriedly, then started to ponder.

The others were also in a similar state.

After a long time, someone squeezed to the front and started flipping through the photos themselves.

Some photos had scales, so some specific data could be obtained.

And different forensic experts had different needs for data.

Several forensic experts took out notebooks and started taking notes.

At the same time, several other forensic experts silently returned to their seats.

There is no forensic expert who doesn't know forensic anthropology; even the most grassroots forensic expert knows how to judge the gender of bones through the pelvis or pubic bone. But very few forensic experts truly understand forensic anthropology.

Everyone present was a national-level forensic expert. Counting it up, their forensic pathology must be at the LV3 level or above; those with a bit of a name had to start at the LV3 Great Perfection level.

However, forensic anthropology doesn't really follow reason. It's similar to skull reconstruction—half science, half metaphysics, with a hazy veil of art covering it.

Most people who professionally engage in forensic anthropology are anthropologists, including physical anthropologists, and they hold a Bachelor of Laws degree upon graduation. Forensic experts hold a Bachelor of Medicine degree. The two cannot be said to be completely different; they can only be said to be completely unrelated.

Forensic experts who understand and are familiar with forensic anthropology are basically self-taught later on.

What can be taught and will be taught in school only goes as far as the pelvis.

Among the forensic experts present, those who had confidence in forensic anthropology and could reach the LV2 upper-level were only four people.

The four clicked and calculated. After a long time, someone said first: "Looking at the state of these bones, it should be a male, between 21 and 28 years old?"

The elderly forensic expert said "En," and said: "22 to 27 should also be no problem. The height should be 170 to 175."

"The long bones all have signs of trauma; it should have been caused by impact in the river. I think we can judge comprehensively from the vertebrae, and the height can also be from 171 to 174." An expert from the capital was quite confident.

Three people had spoken, and they looked at the fourth person, who was the owner of the laptop.

The fourth person spread his hands: "I agree."

Several people laughed, making the scene much more relaxed.

"How is Jiang Yuan doing over there?" the elderly forensic expert asked.

"I heard it's very unsuccessful." Someone replied.

"Ask specifically about the current progress." The elderly forensic expert paused, then added: "The state of this corpse is indeed quite bad."

Someone went to make the call.

Before long, a report came back, and a slip of paper was handed to the elderly forensic expert, who said: "Team Leader Ding, this is what was sent over by the Ningtai County Bureau, the several judgments Jiang Yuan has made over there."

Several experts curiously gathered around.

"Victim is male, age 24 to 26, height 172 to 174, shoe size 42 to 43... body type is slightly fat, has long-term weight-bearing behavior, but does not belong to heavy manual laborers..."

The reading was slow, and the atmosphere in the room gradually turned cold.

"It has to be the young people." The expert with the longest seniority said with a "ha," "Bold and careful; Jiang Yuan has talent in forensic anthropology."

"That's for sure. Looking back at the several cases he did for the Beijing Bureau, the judgments were extremely accurate."

"He's always like this, leaving no room for error? The age is stuck within three years?"

"Putting it within three years, he should have left room for error."

"Has long-term weight-bearing behavior, but does not belong to heavy manual laborers—how did he calculate this judgment?"

"Perhaps through bone composition?"

Several people entered into a discussion again, but the content of the discussion at this time became a bit different.

At the same time, the work content of Jiang Yuan's cold case task force also began to change.

Following the completion of Qiao Shengli's sampling work, Su Lei brought all her students over. As soon as they got off the bus, they entered the laboratory of the Ningtai County Criminal Police Brigade. The brand-new instruments, some of which had just been installed, were skillfully operated by the students.

This was originally a long process, but under Huang Qiangmin's gentle urging and the professor's personal supervision, and with the students' day-and-night efforts, luck finally arrived.

Less than a quarter of the inspection materials had been processed when there was a match for the diatoms on the first victim.

"The place where the first victim fell into the water is in the Qianjin District. It's the downtown area of Qinghe City!"

Seeing this conclusion, Liu Jinghui was surprised and astonished.

"So bold!" Wu Junhao had long been prepared for the search, and at this time, he just said in a deep voice: "The population of Qianjin District is not small, and the migrant population is especially large. Even if we visit, I'm afraid the effect won't be very good."

Liu Jinghui thought about it and said: "Check companies, especially small companies, or temporary workers in large and medium-sized companies. Ask company by company to see if there are any personnel who have lost contact recently. Also, food delivery riders and couriers. A 25-year-old young man with long-term weight-bearing behavior is more likely to be working."

"Maybe it's from training in the gym?" Wu Junhao thought of this loophole very casually.

Liu Jinghui shook his head: "Gym members can't be checked; if they don't go for a long time, no one remembers."

"Then what if they live in Qianjin District but work elsewhere?"

"Investigating companies is faster. If they are living there, it's harder to visit and investigate. Because if there were cohabitants, they should have been listed as missing persons by now." Liu Jinghui's train of thought was very clear: "In short, first investigate the parts that can best perfect the investigation. If the visit results aren't good, then think of other more expensive methods."