[{"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-152":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},2326847,4551,"Chapter 152: Ways of Death","the-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-chapter-152",152,"\u003Cp>Wanghe Building.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These several high-rises in the city center are the most bustling area of Ningtai County, also the county’s CBD, housing branches of all local banks, “headquarters” of various financial firms, real estate companies, hotel chains, some government departments, and subsidiaries of state-owned enterprises.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The high-rise has never been fully rented; rent fluctuated wildly. The worst-managed Wanghe Building attracted cat and dog breeders, who called it “breeding,” turning entire floors reeking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan had once come here with friends to play escape rooms and archery. Compared to those, the county’s escape rooms were crude—he’d crawled through the wall from behind back then, seeing only a dark, unfinished plot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Far more terrifying than the escape room itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first arriving officers cordoned off the fall site. Yellow caution tape, a flat square, natural stone walls with an air of premium elegance—looked like a TV drama set.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside the tape, a group of young urban professionals in business attire frantically filmed videos and photos with their phones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Probably trying to inject a drop of blood into their barren social media feeds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The victim was also a white-collar worker.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, back to the ground, face turned right, already a smeared mess.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, the skull hadn’t burst open—fragments stayed inside. Otherwise, the scene would’ve deterred most white-collar workers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Qiang also arrived in his old Pajero, shouting orders to the newly arrived homicide detectives: “Extend the caution tape further. Clear away the photographers. If they won’t leave, confiscate their phones.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reinforced officers immediately set up a wider cordon, especially evacuating onlookers nearby.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>People upstairs still leaned out with phones filming until pointed at and shooed back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan and Wu Jun carefully observed the corpse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Jun held a ruler, measuring lines on the ground and marking positions; Jiang Yuan, like an assistant, took photos with the camera.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Jun occasionally reminded: “This side, this side…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike previous cases, both were unusually meticulous about photographing and measuring distances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because both knew: in high-fall cases, the first priority is determining suicide, accident, or homicide. Also, dumping the body must be considered separately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So many homicide detectives arriving meant they were treating it as a homicide from the start.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No choice—if they didn’t assume homicide upfront, like foreigners who’d send two regular cops first, wait for clues before calling in help, they’d waste precious hours of the golden 72-hour window.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under the pressure of “every murder must be solved,” the homicide squad couldn’t afford to waste those hours.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the forensic doctor said “self-initiated fall,” the entire homicide team could go home two hours early.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But saying that phrase was anything but easy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Jun and Jiang Yuan understood this perfectly—that’s why they were so solemn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wounds largely match high-fall characteristics,” Wu Jun said only after finishing all photos, then began turning the body to examine surface injuries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>High-fall injuries are easy to understand: the main feature is trauma caused by a single violent impact.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, someone like Jackie Chan, who tumbled and stumbled mid-fall, wouldn’t count—requires re-examination.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But a normal person falling from height? It’s just that one final impact.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if the body has multiple injuries, the direction of force should be consistent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If inconsistent, consider pre-mortem injuries or body dumping—essentially leaning toward homicide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>High-fall injuries have other characteristics, but most are observed during autopsy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Jun only needed to confirm it was indeed a high fall to feel half-relieved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In cities, most high-fall deaths are suicides.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Non-natural death, but not classified as homicide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan took notes and reminded: “Is the arm in a sideways shielding posture?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mm. Means not a body dump,” Wu Jun agreed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Conscious descent means not a body dump.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For some high-fall corpses, judging body dumping on-site is difficult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Body dumping usually means homicide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you didn’t kill him, why dump him?”—in body-dumping context, that logic holds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Also, conscious descent means the victim wasn’t drunk or impaired—bringing it closer to suicide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for distinguishing accident from suicide, forensic doctors find it hard either way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even distinguishing between self-initiated fall and being pushed is difficult from a forensic standpoint.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though distance of fall might offer clues—if the push was weak, or if the victim jumped voluntarily?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The simpler, more accurate way to determine suicide is analyzing the victim’s prior state and the fall scene.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Jun asked nearby officers: “Has the fall origin been confirmed?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not yet. We’re interviewing witnesses and checking surveillance,” came the slightly surprising reply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Jun frowned: “Didn’t he jump from the roof?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wanghe Building is a glass curtain-wall office tower—no balconies like residential buildings. The easiest jump point should be the roof.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most windows are half-open and positioned high up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such cramped window designs are unlikely to be chosen by suicide victims.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The officer grunted: “Witnesses saw someone jump from a high floor, but the exact floor is uncertain.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, we’ll wait until we find it,” Wu Jun muttered, returning to the corpse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His gut feeling was worsening. Most suicides—even those jumping from windows—spend time deliberating. Some wander the fall site for hours, even over ten.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But witnesses couldn’t even identify the floor—meaning the victim spent little time at the window.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone rushing over, climbing straight out without pause? Possible—but rare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words, the case now looked less like suicide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Qiang, who’d received the same report, also looked grim. He walked over: “What can you tell from the body?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If there were defensive wounds or any obvious trauma, they could immediately treat it as homicide—spare everyone from wild speculation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But there weren’t any.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Jun crouched down: “Let’s examine the body surface first. See if we find anything.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Surface examination for high-fall cases is hard to classify—too many accidental variables; the body might bounce on the ground, adding complexity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But forensic doctors do this work. With no better tools, they use the best available.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan remained calm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was a single man with nothing urgent waiting at home—solving a case was just solving a case.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan didn’t join Wu Jun in examining the body surface. Instead, he said: “Master, I’d like to collect surface residues first.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go ahead,” Wu Jun agreed immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan carefully began collecting evidence from the corpse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He mainly wanted to gather trace evidence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the victim struggled or scratched the killer during life, trace exchange was highly probable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if the killer only gave a shove, traces might remain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, it’s unlikely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan bent low, searching for evidence, occasionally tilting his head to catch sunlight—mostly using a horseshoe lens.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This device is called the CSI's miracle tool—used for fingerprints, crime scene investigation, bloodstains, DNA—all of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In essence, it’s a magnifier resistant to lighting interference. But in China’s forensic field, for a long time, this was practically the only tool they had.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Forensic staff had little influence; otherwise, their voices could’ve elevated it to PCR-level status.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Someone filmed a video,” an officer ran up to Huang Qiang, voice loud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan and Wu Jun both looked up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Qiang turned fully, joining others to watch the phone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The video was short—just the filmer aiming at the window, then the person falling out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind the window, no one appeared—could this be an accident?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan frowned: “Keep the phone. Don’t return it to the owner. I’ll review it again later.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Qiang immediately agreed, then reminded those upstairs to preserve the scene.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan added: “After I finish here, I’ll sweep for trace evidence immediately. Keep the caution tape as far out as possible.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Qiang frowned: “You think it’s not suicide? Is someone hidden in the video?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t know. I want to check again.” Jiang Yuan truly didn’t know—he just felt uneasy.\u003C\u002Fp>",1288,"2026-06-20T18:55:00.150Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","27a1c20bf184276b8dbed4de1caeae5db29a1276c9f9ccb9dff2769461f421fb","the-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-chapter-153","the-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-chapter-151",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-cover.jpg"]