[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner":3,"chapter-the-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-the-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-chapter-138":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Nation's Forensic Medical Examiner",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2326833,4551,"Chapter 138: Search","the-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-chapter-138",138,"\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan finished dissecting the corpse, cleaned everything up, and placed it in the ice coffin; the three officials had nearly finished their pork intestine, pig stomach, and chicken stew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone worked together to clean the instruments and autopsy table, soaking and scrubbing them with disinfectant, washing their hands, and putting away the pots, bowls, and utensils used for eating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The autopsy room was now spotless, bright, and tidy—far cleaner than a five-star hotel if used for sleeping.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, Jiang Yuan held the clay pot of pork intestine, pig stomach, and chicken stew and asked, “Where should we put this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Store it in the cabinet,” said Doctor Ye, casually deciding to keep the pot for future use in collecting gastric contents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan had ordered the large pot, which contained about ten pounds of food—more than enough to hold a normal person’s gastric contents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a female forensic doctor, Wang Lan strongly disliked this casual attitude toward eating anything without discrimination; she fanned her nose with her hand and said, “Don’t mess around—the words ‘pork intestine, pig stomach, chicken stew’ are still on the pot.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Doctor Ye laughed heartily: “So what?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Lan rolled her eyes: “This is one of Longli County’s famous restaurants—county leaders who come here might eat here. Then, when they come to inspect your autopsy, they find you bringing up a pot of gastric contents… using this exact pot.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Wang Lan finished speaking, everyone burst out laughing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’d be amazing if it actually happened,” said Doctor Ye, sounding genuinely disappointed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone imagined the scene, their minds drifting with longing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If a leader vomited, they’d just clean it up. Among all professions, forensic doctors are surely the least bothered by their workplace getting dirty—if I say we’re number one, no one would dare object.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Lan also laughed, her expression relaxing: “So don’t put the pot in the autopsy room.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, won’t put it,” sighed Doctor Ye. “I just didn’t think of that.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Exactly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Doctor Ye nodded: “The autopsy room is public property. Keeping my personal pot here isn’t appropriate. I’ll wait until the leaders finish eating and leave the pot behind—then I’ll take it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, all four of them burst into laughter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind the deep green path of the funeral home, their laughter echoed repeatedly, boundless and joyful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back at the assigned guesthouse, Jiang Yuan bid farewell to his master, Wu Jun, and each went to their own room to sleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shabby guesthouse of this poor county had one advantage: since it didn’t exceed standards, everyone got their own room—much friendlier for old men who snored, farted, or smoked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On business trips to big cities, criminal investigators had to share rooms—quality of life dropped drastically.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then did you realize how ugly ordinary little leaders and polished young colleagues looked while sleeping—snoring, grinding teeth, all grotesque.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then could you truly understand women’s frustration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan didn’t set an alarm, rinsed with mouthwash, and fell straight to sleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Twenty-four hours of on-site investigation wasn’t just about lack of sleep—maintaining intense focus while making judgments was exhausting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan could afford to be reckless only because he was young. But by this point, once his emotions eased, he couldn’t hold on any longer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, Longde Village was in chaos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Longli County had mobilized nearly 300 personnel and entered Longde Village to begin full-scale DNA sampling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blood scabs yielded DNA results fastest, but if no match was found, it was equally frustrating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hou Lejia acted decisively on this front: he immediately reported to superiors and pulled together the largest possible team to surround Longde Village—the area where the scavenger’s courtyard was located—and begin DNA sampling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Too few people wouldn’t do; Longde Village, as an urban-rural fringe area, was a mix of all kinds, with a large population of young people and industrial workers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>History showed that young people with some organization, accustomed to discipline, sharing a unified goal, yet owning no home, car, savings, or family, were easily incited.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a police officer, Hou Lejia knew better than anyone the power of deterrence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Domestic police force ratios were one to two per ten thousand, meaning police made up roughly 0.02% of the population, with one-third being traffic police and another third armed police.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With such a ratio, deterrence was the only viable strategy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over three hundred officers, mostly concentrated together, did project considerable presence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hou Lejia personally directed and led teams, checking every single point, terrified of missing anyone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter how many suspects there were, only one had left DNA—miss that one, and all work was wasted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The task sounded hard; doing it was even harder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, Hou Lejia had experience and borrowed some local police officers, allowing them to systematically cover the area in sections.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Jiang Yuan woke up, it was already noon the next day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back in Longde Village, about half the DNA sampling had been completed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan went straight to the crime scene; at the gate, he heard the Criminal Investigation Team Captain, Hou Lejia, on the phone:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We can finish in two days.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If we don’t, I’ll bring my head.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Old boss, in Beijing, police handle cases like this with over a thousand, even two or three thousand officers—it’s routine. How can we compete?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, I’ll try to cut investigation costs.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hanging up, Hou Lejia complained to those nearby:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No one’s given me personnel, no money’s been allocated, yet they keep pushing for results—where am I supposed to find them?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan hurried into the courtyard, still seeing the red, bloodshot eyes of the Criminal Investigation Team Captain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, since being woken, he hadn’t slept or eaten properly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hou Lejia probably knew this would happen, so he’d taken a nap before the major operation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For criminal investigators, encountering a murder case with an unknown suspect meant going seventy-two hours without sleep was common. Though he held the title of Team Captain, Hou Lejia was still a detective.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Hou Lejia like this, Jiang Yuan held him in higher regard—major operations sounded glamorous but were brutally difficult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In cultural events, you could use brilliant writing to paint victory—end it with triumph.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Police operations were different: they began with a clear goal; if the goal wasn’t met, there was no success.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scavenger’s courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fewer items were visible, but likely over a hundred had disappeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan said nothing, changed clothes, put on mask and gloves, and silently joined the team.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The day passed quickly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hou Lejia’s pressure mounted; his eyes visibly reddened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, DNA sampling was finally complete; the team withdrew without incident, giving him slight relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the relief lasted only a few hours.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That evening, Hou Lejia found Jiang Yuan and said: “No DNA matches.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Jun seemed to have anticipated this; he had already been waiting in the courtyard and stepped forward: “No match doesn’t mean the suspect isn’t among the samples.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He spoke gently, but meant: the killer isn’t among those sampled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If no one was missed, it meant the killer didn’t live in Longde Village.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That wasn’t surprising—people’s mobility is high now, and Longli County’s scope was clearly set too late.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But for Hou Lejia, the psychological pressure was immense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We’ll have to adjust our investigation direction,” said Hou Lejia, glancing between Jiang Yuan and Wu Jun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Longli County’s own forensic team had no good ideas; forensic doctor Ye Xiaoqun just kept saying “oh oh oh,” the on-site investigation yielded nothing, and trace evidence officers were pretending to be dead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hou Lejia now looked at Jiang Yuan, hoping he might offer a new lead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he didn’t, the case was in serious trouble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan recalled the bloodstain analysis—he still had no clear direction, but it confirmed his certainty: the bloodstain he’d found that day was very likely the killer’s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I noticed there are surveillance cameras along the road into Longde Village,” Jiang Yuan asked. “Can we check every vehicle and person entering or leaving that day?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If not in the village, then at least they came and went.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hou Lejia hesitated: “We’ve discussed this. Longde Village is a remote area—many people enter or leave by bus or taxi…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The killer likely has his own vehicle,” Jiang Yuan countered. “Most likely a private car.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Because the weapon hasn’t been found. If he’s not from Longde Village, he either discarded it, or took it away—or burned it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hou Lejia suddenly understood: “Right—the weapon’s covered in blood, stinks badly. If he took a taxi, someone would’ve noticed. I’ll send two people to follow this lead.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He meant buses and taxis—any strong smell of blood would draw attention. Asking a few people along the route wouldn’t require many officers and could cover most cases.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for remaining manpower, it would naturally be directed toward searching for vehicles and conducting DNA tests.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you, Forensic Doctor Jiang. You’ve worked hard,” said Hou Lejia, thanking Jiang Yuan and rushing off with his phone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan merely smiled. He knew perfectly well: Hou Lejia’s concern about searching cars was mostly psychological.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the search was based on the bloodstain Jiang Yuan found—if that blood was wrong, pouring massive resources into it would be a joke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he asked Jiang Yuan—to test whether Jiang Yuan was confident.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan gave him a confident answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan himself wasn’t afraid of this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Half of Longli County was turned upside down because of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, a private car driver, while undergoing DNA sampling, provided a crucial clue:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That day, when he picked up his car from a parking lot not far from the crime scene, he smelled a strong stench of blood nearby.\u003C\u002Fp>",1608,"2026-06-20T18:55:00.150Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","2696d27048689cf8278c12908e3a626e0ba87ff1c93d8b821094572986112b4f","the-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-chapter-139","the-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-chapter-137",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-cover.jpg"]