Chapter 11

“Little Wang is also very fond of tinkering with computer software. In the past, whenever our county got a cooperative case, it was always Little Wang who handled it.” Old Yan vouched for Little Wang, also defending the reputation of the county’s only two fingerprint technicians.

Wang Zhong smiled shyly and humbly said, “What I do can’t compare to what Dr. Jiang does—you’re doing direct fingerprint analysis, while I mainly just run queries through the fingerprint database.”

The fingerprint database is continuously updated, and the primary entities responsible for updates are fingerprint technicians from various regions. They are tasked with photographing collected fingerprints, archiving them, filling out descriptions, and sometimes performing manual processing before adding them to the database. Additionally, fingerprints from old cases collected before computer systems were implemented require manual verification and other operations before they can be entered.

Occasionally pulling out old case fingerprints to run through the database is one form of querying. Suspects who previously didn’t match might suddenly be identified one day due to a DUI or brawl. Even if a suspect obtained a temporary residence permit, it could lead to a match for a lone fingerprint—truly an act of kindness.

Moreover, some individuals commit crimes in other regions and leave no match in the local database, yet their fingerprints may exist in another region’s database. These fingerprints aren’t necessarily complex; often, when fingerprint technicians receive a cooperative inquiry, they simply mark key features using the most traditional method, then run the database—hitting the target even if it’s a long shot.

Running database queries has become routine for most ordinary fingerprint technicians. If Jiang Yuan didn’t have his system, he’d have been lucky just to run queries in his first few years. Thus, he smiled warmly and sincerely: “It doesn’t matter if the cat is white or black—as long as it catches mice.”

Wang Zhong immediately felt Jiang Yuan was a good guy to get along with, and he became even more humble in his analogy: “When it comes to catching mice, you’re a mackerel tabby—I’m at best a Ragdoll.”

Those present glanced at Wang Zhong’s rough, sun-damaged cheeks from years of fieldwork and late nights, then at Jiang Yuan’s clean, scholarly face, falling into polite silence.

“You just mentioned a case?” Wu Jun reminded.

“Yes, yes. It’s an old case from over a decade ago—I remembered it clearly when I ran queries back then. The case is simple: several high school graduates had a farewell drink, got drunk, and got into a conflict with a passing young man. One of them was knocked down with a stool, and unfortunately, the beaten student lost sight in one eye—making it a case of serious bodily injury.”

“You say one eye was blinded—I remember now. Back then, the college entrance exam was still in July, and when scores came out, the weather was scorching hot. Students everywhere were drinking beer and causing trouble. College admission rates were low then, and students who didn’t get in, or were retaking the exam, roamed around looking for fights. This case was the worst: the beaten student was an honor student who’d barely passed into a junior college. He was probably targeted for that reason.” Wu Jun recalled with emotion: “My master conducted the forensic evaluation.”

“That’s the case. At the time, we suspected the suspect might have been a visiting student from elsewhere, or a migrant worker who fled after the incident.” Little Wang nodded.

The incident was somewhat distant for Yan Ge—he’d never reviewed the file—and he asked directly: “Was a special task force formed?”

“The county set up a task force, but it mainly involved door-to-door investigations and ultimately failed to identify the suspect.”

“What about the city?”

“It never reached the city level.”

“Back then, decentralization hadn’t happened yet—Qinghe City Bureau basically didn’t handle cases,” Wu Jun explained. In those early years, provincial and municipal bureaus provided operational guidance rather than direct case handling—in plain terms, they didn’t investigate cases themselves.

For example, the provincial bureau had only a few hundred personnel. Even major cases were beyond their capacity, and they often had to borrow staff from district and county units. It was simpler to leave cases to the districts and counties while they focused on technical and organizational support.

Municipal bureaus had slightly better staffing, and in recent years they’ve been required to decentralize and handle cases directly. But for backward areas like Anping City or even Shan Province, requirements were one thing, reality another.

So, not only did intentional injury cases from over a decade ago never reach the city bureau—even today, serious injury cases only warrant a city-level task force if they have massive public impact. Of course, if it were a homicide, that’s another matter entirely.

“There’s also a problem with the fingerprint evidence,” Little Wang continued. “Fingerprints were lifted from the stool leg used as the weapon, but the stool leg was made of a round steel pipe…”

“Ah…” Yan Ge and Jiang Yuan both nodded in understanding. Photographing and extracting traces from cylindrical surfaces has always been a major challenge in criminal investigations—the curved shape causes severe distortion, and the curved surface creates heavy glare during photography… Although fingerprints can still be retrieved, their completeness and accuracy are greatly compromised.

“Back then, they probably used segmented photography to fix the print—the distortion must have been significant…” Yan Ge speculated, then sighed: “We used to attend training on specialized equipment for capturing cylindrical surfaces—a machine that rotated while photographing. Only the provincial capital had one, and you needed multiple approvals just to use it. Now? Just open your phone, take a panoramic shot—it’s even better!”

Jiang Yuan chuckled silently, then opened software on his computer and pulled up the case.

The four fingerprints left by the suspect appeared on the screen, and everyone leaned in to look.

Within seconds, Yan Ge and Wang Zhong gave up hope.

The image clarity was acceptable, but there were many breaks. Obviously, analysis would be extremely difficult. More importantly, both sides of the fingerprint showed obvious extension—the ridge lines in the distorted areas were clearly wider and thicker. This meant the image had to be corrected for distortion before any ridge marking could begin—definitely an advanced-level task.

In Yan Ge’s judgment, even if sent to the city or province, whether a result could be obtained was uncertain.

Wang Zhong, who had followed this case since he started running queries, said enthusiastically: “The advantage of this case is that all fingerprints on the weapon, except these few consecutive ones, have been eliminated. Also, back then, a sketch artist drew a composite portrait of the suspect. Even after all these years, having both fingerprints and a portrait should make identification easier.”

Those present nodded. This was indeed an advantage: cases solved by fingerprints are inherently rare, and those leading directly to conviction are even rarer. With a portrait, eyewitnesses, and victims, if a fingerprint match were found, they could arrest and close the case immediately.

Of course, all of this depended on finding a match.

Yan Ge, Wang Zhong, and Wu Jun all looked at Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan smiled slightly.

“Looks like Jiang Yuan has confidence,” Wang Zhong suddenly felt a touch of envy toward Jiang Yuan.

“I’ll give it a try,” Jiang Yuan said. His smile stemmed from the fact that the suspect’s fingerprints happened to be arch patterns—if they weren’t, he might have had to decline the case.

As for difficulty, based on his recent experience with fingerprints, it seemed within his reach—though he certainly couldn’t solve it overnight.

Wu Jun laughed heartily: “Solving cases is one thing, rest is another. Don’t rush today—it’s an old case anyway; a day or two won’t matter…”

He deliberately interrupted. After all, Yan Ge and Wang Peng were professional fingerprint technicians on the team, while Jiang Yuan was a forensic doctor—and his own apprentice. Letting two fingerprint technicians watch a young man like Jiang Yuan perform fingerprint analysis just wasn’t right.

“True. You’ve been working on corpses these past two days—you must be exhausted. Take it easy,” Yan Ge laughed, pulling Wang Zhong away.

Wu Jun and the others stepped outside, picked up their teacups, and said to Jiang Yuan: “Don’t rush. Lunch break is coming soon—get ready, eat something. Want to fry some rice today?”

Jiang Yuan wasn’t in a hurry: “Can we fry rice in the team’s cafeteria?”

Wu Jun waved his hand: “No need to ask them—the K-9 unit has its own kitchen.”

Jiang Yuan: .?????.