Chapter 134

2:00 AM.

There were no streetlights. On the road, a car would pass by from time to time, its headlights blinding and its sound harsh.

The sky was dotted with stars, the total number of which was about a few more than what could be seen in the city. It's just that very few people would look up, and those with the leisure to count stars were even fewer. Even the children were buried in front of their desks, with no more heart for it.

A sultry atmosphere still came from all around, not the real temperature, but more of a restless atmosphere.

It was as if those workers who had finished the late shift were mostly exhausted.

The faces of those doing late-night snack business on the roadside were also stiff. After soliciting people a few times in a perfunctory manner, they retracted their arms.

The stray dogs wandering around, looking at the passersby coming and going, were too lazy to beg for food. Those getting off work at this time didn't have enough enthusiasm or initiative to feed dogs, and they weren't willing to risk selling cuteness.

Among the passersby, many were looking at their mobile phone screens. Some were riding electric scooters while still holding their phones to watch, their handlebars swaying left and right, not caring. From time to time, when they couldn't maintain balance, they would stop on the roadside, look at their phones for a while, and then leave.

In the scavenger's courtyard, the blinding white lights were turned on, which should have attracted many eyeballs, but most people just took a photo and left, not even having the interest to watch.

There were too many hot topics and too many melons; everyone was too busy to eat them.

When something happens in the urban village, the locals themselves are not too concerned. Those who like to post on WeChat Moments and videos online are also not very willing to locate themselves in the urban village.

The passing of a scavenger did not cause any ripples.

Jiang Yuan couldn't help but recall his life before the demolition of Jiang Village. At that time, although everyone was poor, they really had a lot of time.

Being lazy and poor, there was instead a leisurely and happy atmosphere.

But life in the urban village of Longli County was different. The people here were not only poor but also had no time.

The entire urban village was in a state left over from demolition.

There was no hope.

The air was filled with exhaustion and helplessness.

The young people who returned to their hometowns to start businesses didn't get anything extra besides being close to home.

Jiang Yuan sat under a tree, drank a bottle of water, and still felt exhausted all over.

However, he was young and didn't feel like he was going to die suddenly; he should still be able to work through the night.

Jiang Yuan looked at the technicians of the Criminal Science and Technology Squadron of Longli County not far away, feeling very helpless. They were conscientious and busy like worker ants in an ant nest, but their work had no end in sight.

Jiang Yuan couldn't help but sigh.

The technology of these technicians might only be at lv0.8 at most.

If they were serious enough, the probability of finding the killer's DNA in a limited area would still be very high, assuming the killer did indeed leave DNA.

But human energy is limited, especially when focusing on doing detailed and subtle things for a long time, which is still very difficult.

The difficulty of the scavenger's small courtyard was almost like being cubed.

If it were another case, it might not have been so obvious.

An ordinary husband in an ordinary family, beating an ordinary wife to death, the ordinary home environment is usually at a 2D level.

If the whole house was customized, and the murder happened in a customized room, that would at most be equivalent to a 3D level.

Assuming the whole house customization cost 150,000, then killing someone in a customized room would only waste 50,000 in case-handling funds for the police station, at most.

But what is the structure of the scavenger's small courtyard?

It's 4D!

Not only are there planes and height, but there is also information such as bloodstains and DNA between objects.

In other words, when wiping for evidence in the scavenger's small courtyard, you not only have to wipe the surface, but you also have to pick up those complex objects and wipe the parts inside.

Where the scavenger was beaten, objects were repeatedly impacted, repeatedly covering previous evidence, stacking up astonishing complexity.

If one wants to be more meticulous, one must also consider the time factor, because the time each object fell was different, and there was a sequence, so different evidence would be stained at different times.

Finally, and most importantly. Even if these lv0.8 technicians on-site could wipe the killer's DNA, how to prove it was stained on the day of the incident, or stained beforehand?

If it were Jiang Yuan's lv4 crime scene investigation, he might have some ways to distinguish it, but for technicians below lv1, thinking about these things is just wishful thinking.

Moreover, even if Jiang Yuan had lv4 crime scene investigation, he wouldn't want to use it to make similar distinctions.

It's too complicated; how to explain it to judges and prosecutors during the litigation stage?

Therefore, Jiang Yuan felt that the best way to prove it was still to focus on bloodstains and the murder weapon.

Furthermore, don't look at this group of men who are now wiping DNA until their bodies are sore and weak, and their whole bodies have become bent; their results want to play a role, which is harder than wiping DNA.

Jiang Yuan decided to save them... and save himself at the same time.

Jiang Yuan returned to the scavenger's small courtyard, stood at the door, looked at the busy sounds of the technicians, coughed twice, and said: "I have an idea."

A group of technicians who had become numb stared at Jiang Yuan with lifeless eyes.

"I want to prioritize finding bloodstain evidence to see if I can find the bloodstains left by the killer."

Seeing that everyone was looking over, Jiang Yuan continued:

"If that doesn't work, we can also use bloodstain pattern analysis to determine which objects the killer came into contact with at the scene, thereby narrowing the scope of DNA testing."

Bloodstain pattern analysis is equivalent to reconstructing the crime scene.

And by reconstructing the crime scene, one can "see" the killer's route in the scavenger's courtyard, as well as most of his actions.

In this way, those objects closer to the killer have a greater possibility of being stained with the killer's DNA.

The expressions of several technicians went from numb to a bit excited and then a bit numb again.

"This is different from the task assigned to us by our superiors."

A scene investigator named Hou Xiaoyong spoke up first.

Jiang Yuan said unhurriedly:

"The task given to you by the criminal police team couldn't possibly be to wipe DNA in a certain order, right? Doing scene investigation naturally has priorities. How to grasp them shouldn't be the scope of responsibility for scene investigation?"

Several technicians were not very tough, and they didn't expect this young forensic doctor from the neighboring county to be so tough.

One of the older technicians, Old Li, couldn't help but stand up, took the opportunity to stretch his waist, twisted, and said: "Little Jiang, if we follow your method, what if we miss or contaminate the DNA? Who will take responsibility?"

Other young technicians in Longli County were a bit embarrassed to lower their heads. Their technical aspects were already lagging behind. On one hand, their technology was not good, and on the other hand, their ability to pass the buck was too strong.

Now that they actually had to pass the buck to a forensic doctor from another county who was helping, the young technicians still had thin skin, especially since they had just eaten the food Jiang Yuan gave them and smoked his good cigarettes.

"In this environment, which DNA hasn't been contaminated?" Jiang Yuan sneered.

Two technicians also laughed without tact.

Indeed, at this scene, what is there to talk about contamination? The scavenged items are all full of unknown DNA.

So many people...

The tall young Jiang Yuan was still quite conspicuous among the crowd.

He said loudly:

"In this environment, bloodstains are the best way to prove identity. Anyway, it's all a gamble. If I were to choose, I would definitely bet first that there is the killer's blood in the bloodstains. Secondly, betting on bloodstain pattern analysis is also better than betting on this scene."

Other technicians looked at each other, hesitating. They didn't want to wipe DNA like this either; wiping until death might also be a futile effort, and in the end, they would still be scolded.

"And doing bloodstains first now is also to preserve this most important evidence first. Anyone doing scene investigation who makes such a decision is absolutely correct. No matter where it is reviewed, no one can say it's wrong. Or, do you want to call and ask for instructions?"

Although Jiang Yuan was young, he was not a greenhorn. He was here to help, not to take the blame, so he kicked the ball back.

Several technicians also leaned toward Jiang Yuan's words in their hearts.

Having a direction is better than working hard here.

Several people looked at each other.

The young scene investigator Hou Xiaoyong asked again:

"Wu Wu Fa Yi Jiang, do you know how to reconstruct a crime scene?"

"Yes."

Jiang Yuan's answer was short and powerful.

"Reconstructing a crime scene is not simple..." Hou Xiaoyong couldn't help but mutter.

If one were to say who is closest to bloodstain pattern analysis here, it is naturally Hou Xiaoyong, who does scene investigation. However, he only knows some superficial knowledge, and he is far from reconstructing a crime scene.

Those who analyze the scene clearly on TV... in reality, they are actually very rare, and some are nonsense.

The work of reconstructing a crime scene is not just a matter of ability; it also involves face and image, and even status issues.

When solving cases in reality, reconstructing a crime scene is reconstructing the scene where the killer killed or attacked the victim. Although it is cool, scene investigation requires completing the scene reconstruction step by step, and then writing down the process in detail, forming a report of thousands of words.

Then he might face the killer's soul strike.

"You're wrong, I didn't do it like that at the time!"

Any scene investigator who receives such feedback from a killer will definitely have a breakdown.

The ridicule in the team doesn't even need to be thought about.

Therefore, scene investigators who are not well-versed in their craft, even if they know a little about reconstructing a crime scene, dare not reconstruct it.

After building it, should one pray to catch the killer, or pray to kill the killer on the spot?

Only a very small number of people can successfully pass the professional awkward period of reconstructing a crime scene.

And when such people become known, they are usually already experts.

Hou Xiaoyong suspected that Jiang Yuan didn't know the various problems he would face in reconstructing a crime scene.

After all, Jiang Yuan was even younger than him.

But on second thought, only if the reconstruction fails or is wrong will these problems be faced, and if the reconstruction is successful, the so-called problems will not be problems.

Considering Wu Wu Fa Yi Jiang's attainments in fingerprint science, Hou Xiaoyong really didn't dare to talk nonsense.

The technicians on-site all knew that the county was taking advantage of Jiang Yuan's youth to borrow him, and they borrowed him in the name of a forensic doctor.

After the person was borrowed, they didn't even let him see the corpse and sent him directly to the crime scene. What the county really wanted to borrow was Jiang Yuan's fingerprint skills.

Hou Xiaoyong thought of this and said: "Wu Wu Fa Yi Jiang, if you say that you need to change the order of scene investigation for collecting fingerprints or something, I think it would be easier for the superiors to agree."

This is equivalent to explicitly telling Jiang Yuan how to apply.

Jiang Yuan just pretended not to understand. At this time, the same sentence could play a role again—he was not from Longli County, so wouldn't it be even more illegitimate for him to find a leader to apply?

"You guys ask the leaders for instructions, or we can just do it like this." Jiang Yuan felt both were fine.

As he said, leaders usually require technicians to find clues, fingerprints, and DNA at the scene. How many leaders would be so meticulous as to arrange the order of scene investigation?

He also has to understand it.

"How long will you need?" Hou Xiaoyong asked.

"By morning, 6 hours should be enough." Jiang Yuan looked at his watch (a simple and unadorned Nautilus), which meant the time was set to after 8:00 AM.

Hou Xiaoyong glanced at it and felt inexplicably close. Young people who still wear watches give people a feeling of being mature and composed.

"I'll call Captain Zheng of the Major Case Squadron and tell him. If he wants to report to the captain, let him report it."

Hou Xiaoyong didn't want to call the captain, Hou Lejia, at two in the morning for such a thing. Although they were relatives, there was no need to disturb people's dreams because of this.

In a while, Hou Xiaoyong returned after finishing the call.

Several people stood there waiting.

"Captain Zheng has no opinion, let's do it." Hou Xiaoyong said.

"Let's try to finish the battle within 5 hours and leave a margin for tidying up." The most senior technician, Old Li, compromised a little.

"Okay." Jiang Yuan agreed immediately.

"What do you want us to do?"

The senior technician, Old Li, was actually giving face to Jiang Yuan because he was a fingerprint master, so he put down his face, which was equivalent to respecting Jiang Yuan, and asked.

Anyone, regardless of what means they use, if they can solve 10 cold homicide cases, they are a badass in the criminal police team.

War merit is something that is fought for in the end.

And in the police force, solving cases is the greatest war merit.

"Start from the door."

Jiang Yuan said decisively.

He returned to the door straightforwardly.

Starting from the beginning, he walked and said step by step:

"The killer followed him in, brought his own murder weapon, and closed the door..."

"Why?" Hou Xiaoyong asked after hearing only the first step.

Like a poor student asking questions actively.

Jiang Yuan put on his gloves, gently closed the door, and said:

"Because there are bloodstains behind the door. If the door hadn't been closed, the outside of the door should have been stained with blood. Of course, this is bloodstain caused later."

Hou Xiaoyong said "Ah!" and then "Oh!".

With such an explanation, he understood clearly, but just now, his brain hadn't thought in this direction at all.

Others also nodded in sudden realization.

"Trace evidence can be collected here later, which helps to analyze the type of murder weapon. However, let's follow the killer's steps first..."

Jiang Yuan pointed forward and said: "The killer kicked the old man to the ground and then swung the murder weapon to strike..."