Chapter 122: The Steed

The victim appeared to be in her early thirties, with a sweet face and well-fitted clothing; the exposed half of her arms were pale and smooth, like peeled radishes.

Jiang Yuan noticed her anxious expression and guessed her case probably wasn't serious.

He had seen many victims by now; when it came to homicide cases, their expressions were always grief-stricken, numb, and hopeless—punishing the criminal was merely an attempt to alleviate that sorrow.

Conversely, victims who seemed overly anxious were often involved in cases the detectives weren't in much of a hurry to solve.

Of course, the two colleagues handling the video footage also looked frantic; if they hadn't just acquired a new skill, Jiang Yuan would've just dropped off the eggs and left.

"Have a red egg, have a cigarette," Jiang Yuan said cheerfully, stepping forward with the basket.

"Oh, Dr. Jiang. We heard you were back, but we've been too busy to reach out." The video office had three people total—more than the fingerprint unit—and all were young, wearing glasses. The speaker was Zhuang Wei, the original "Four Eyes," who had joined the county bureau over a decade ago; back then, no detective wore glasses, so he earned the nickname.

Now, after all these years, Zhuang Wei was still one of the younger officers in the detective squad, but the nickname "Four Eyes" had been diluted and no longer belonged solely to him.

"I've been involved in several homicide cases on this trip. My master told me to bring red eggs to everyone on the first floor. I also wrapped the cigarettes in yellow paper and burned them." Jiang Yuan handed out cigarettes as he spoke.

All three in the video office came over to take one; the two senior officers lit up, then noticed the woman beside them frowning and quickly put them out.

The youngest officer, Gao Jiansheng, the third-generation "Four Eyes," slowly lit his cigarette. Though young, he was a local, already married, well-traveled, and least easily rattled.

Unlike the two unmarried old bachelors in the office, who dared not even smoke in front of a woman their own age who was so attractive.

"What do you mean, 'wrapped in yellow paper'?" the woman asked, curious now that the video had paused and urgency wouldn't help.

"Just roll the cigarette over yellow paper," Jiang Yuan said, taking out the pack, placing it on the desk, flipping it over, flipping it again, and rolling it.

The woman understood a little, but not quite.

"You want to enhance the image to get a clearer face?" Jiang Yuan nodded toward the screen and asked again.

In the coming days, if he wanted easy access to video work, he'd need to maintain good relations with the video office staff.

Original Four Eyes Zhuang Wei grunted, "This guy's probably a repeat offender—his theft technique is polished, and he knows how to avoid cameras. We're trying to get a clearer photo to show around nearby police stations; maybe someone will recognize him."

"There aren't many thieves still stealing on the streets these days," Jiang Yuan remarked.

Zhuang Wei nodded in agreement, then sighed, "They're like the elderly left behind in the countryside. The younger ones with learning ability either turn to telecom fraud or quit crime altogether. These remaining ones? They don't want to learn new skills, can't learn them, can't make money, won't get proper jobs, and won't even go to big cities."

"Makes sense. Older people don't even like traveling anymore, let alone stealing in other towns," said Third-Generation Four Eyes Gao Jiansheng, now speaking with life experience.

"I can do image enhancement—I'll sharpen the picture for you?" Jiang Yuan said this directly after a few polite phrases.

Original Four Eyes Zhuang Wei frowned slightly; he'd been doing video work for over ten years and rarely had outsiders intrude into his professional domain. He looked at Jiang Yuan and asked, "Do forensic doctors study video work too?"

"I picked it up while working on fingerprints," Jiang Yuan replied without hesitation, revealing the trick: "Using image enhancement on fingerprint images improves both efficiency and accuracy when processing them."

"Really? " Zhuang Wei said, then stepped aside and offered his seat.

He wanted to see what the newly famous rookie forensic doctor, Jiang Yuan, intended to do.

Jiang Yuan sat down without protest, studied the surveillance footage, and asked, "Any image will do? As long as the face is visible?"

"As long as we can recognize the face. We've been tracking by clothing so far." In truth, tracking via surveillance wasn't simple at all.

First, surveillance footage is never omnidirectional or flawless. Most art galleries and museums can't achieve full coverage, let alone city streets.

Of course, some city streets might have full coverage—but in those places, theft rarely occurs.

Second, people walking on streets are always partially obscured—by tree branches, vehicles, crowds, or because the target is too short. Add in entering buildings or vehicles, and following someone through surveillance footage becomes exhausting.

Except for stalkers!

You also have to account for the suspect's conscious efforts to evade detection.

For example, a disappearance in a blind spot could cost video officers one or two hours just to locate.

In short, Zhuang Wei and his team's method—following surveillance footage and hunting for high-definition cameras to capture usable images—isn't wrong, but it's wasteful of manpower, time, and energy.

Many people who lose their phones go to the police station hoping to find them via surveillance footage, often overestimating the detectives' capabilities, patience, and determination.

For Jiang Yuan, this entire process was completely unnecessary.

Zhuang Wei and his team simply lacked technical skill and were forced to use a clumsy method.

Jiang Yuan's approach was simple: find a video clip showing the suspect's full face, enhance the entire video, then examine each frame individually, selecting about a dozen usable images, align them, fuse them with super-resolution, and finally remove noise and blur.

In just fifteen minutes, using only the software already on the computer, the suspect's facial features and expression gradually emerged on Photoshop.

The computer's intensive processing took no more than five minutes.

The victim woman clapped happily, nodding repeatedly: "That's exactly how it's shown on TV! I told you they just said they couldn't!"

Zhuang Wei and the others sat there, jaws slack, mouths wide enough to swallow fists.

This kind of story—real on TV but impossible in reality—is like watching the Dakar Rally: you know how they drive, but what does that have to do with your daily commute? Is your car good enough? Your driving skill refined enough? Or is your passenger just obedient enough?

It's even truer for video analysts.

Over the years, image investigation has become a hot field; slightly skilled image analysts can actually solve cases outright.

The last time something like this happened was when DNA technology hadn't yet become widespread.

Even the provincial bureau's image investigation team, when watching Jiang Yuan perform image enhancement during the fingerprint competition, stared at him dumbfounded. At that time, Jiang Yuan only possessed Level 3 image enhancement.

In other words, Level 3 image enhancement could already outperform the provincial team. Level 5 image enhancement… Jiang Yuan hadn't even shown his full capability this time.

This is because image investigation requires skills that are both highly technical and widely applicable.

Highly technical means demanding strong foundational knowledge, which raises educational requirements for practitioners. But with higher education, more career options exist, and those skilled at exams—especially in today's era where every job requires testing—won't necessarily choose police work, even if they like the stability.

On the other hand, if you want to make money, once you master top-tier image technology—even at Level 3—you can earn a hundred times more working for major internet firms or specialized companies than as a police officer.

Even if you're determined to work in forensic science, you'd find it easier and more profitable working for any surveillance equipment company. If your skills are stronger, the potential in big data is even greater. In a small county like Ningtai, surveillance doesn't even cover main streets, and two video staff can manage. But in a city like Changyang or larger, even a full team of image investigators wouldn't be enough.

In many cities, image investigation teams are now organized by district. But ultimately, as surveillance camera numbers grow, human eyes can't possibly monitor them all—whether for data processing or identification, technology is essential.

Under these conditions, Ningtai County Bureau's video studio could never harbor a genius with cutting-edge expertise.

It's like everyone here is a draft animal, and image investigation uses horses.

Other fields use donkeys, mules, or oxen—and even these can produce diligent, hardworking, highly competent individuals.

But horses? If they're fast, beautiful, long-legged, well-chested, long-haired, hairless, or have fat buttocks—no matter what quality stands out, they'll be poached by elsewhere. Even dwarfs can become pet horses.

So, to put it more kindly, whether Zhuang Wei in his thirties or Gao Jiansheng in his twenties, they're both nag horses.

Their age has increased, but their breed hasn't changed.

"Print it out?" Jiang Yuan, the champion long-legged horse, finished the image and turned to ask.

"Oh, yes, print it out," Zhuang Wei said, still dazed.

With a clatter, a photo of the suspect—complete with nose and eyes—emerged from the printer.

The photo itself was only moderately clear, and the printer was mediocre, but the face was still recognizable—sufficient for sharing among colleagues.

Jiang Yuan picked up the remaining eggs and said, "I still have to visit other offices," then went off to work.

The people in the video office exchanged glances, still not fully awake to the fact that they were all nag horses.

The victim woman, however, stood up, revealing her pale yellow pencil skirt and even whiter legs. She beamed and called out, "Officer, can I add you on WeChat?"

"You can contact them if you need help—I'm a forensic doctor," Jiang Yuan replied, handing her a red egg, then walked away.

The woman held the egg, took several seconds to realize what he meant, then dropped it—the egg shattered.