Chapter 181

A 1600-kilometer journey, round-trip over 3000 kilometers, with only one day's stop in between.

Jiang Yuan returned to Ningtai County, dazed and numb.

If someone now asked him what Luojin City was like, Jiang Yuan could only reply slowly: "Naked what?"

Even so, Jiang Yuan still received special treatment.

The other three were driving to escort Liu Yuquan. Similarly, sending only three instead of four was already a consideration for comfort during the long trip.

Huang Qiangmin walked into the forensic office with a fixed 22. -degree smile, saw Jiang Yuan's exhausted face, and chuckled: "Look at you, worn out, didn't I say you shouldn't go on arrests? Let others handle it."

"I thought maybe there'd be cases needing on-site clues or evidence collection," Jiang Yuan said. He'd rested a night but still hadn't recovered, yet out of respect for the team leader, he stood up.

Huang Qiangmin handed Jiang Yuan a cigarette, then passed one to Wu Jun. After Wu Jun lit it, he took a drag and said: "Your idea's good—indeed, when facing cold cases, we should go all out. But…"

Huang Qiangmin paused, then turned and shut the office door.

Behind the door hung Guan Yu, swaying slightly, his phoenix eyes seeming to glance sideways at them.

Clearly, Comrade Wu Jun held some unorthodox views on how returning comrades from other provinces should refresh and improve themselves—and the ritual wasn't over yet.

Huang Qiangmin's lips twitched twice, then pretended not to notice and turned away.

"Let's talk some truths we shouldn't say out loud. Jiang Yuan, clues from arrest scenes? Anyone can collect them. Even if it's tough, just send the samples back—you analyze them later, same result. If absolutely necessary, you can always go on-site later—it's not too late." Huang Qiangmin's voice dropped noticeably.

Wu Jun coughed twice and quickly added a few politically incorrect remarks: "Jiang Yuan, the team leader genuinely cares. I agree—your talent can solve cases. Arrests and evidence-gathering tasks? Leave them to others."

"Right, everyone has their strengths—divide labor, cooperate," Huang Qiangmin felt he'd said enough.

He suddenly felt a strong urge to say these things because Jiang Yuan's demonstrated ability was astonishing.

A 13-year-old murder case? Solved outright—and with pinpoint accuracy.

The suspect revealed details en route; Huang Qiangmin rushed to verify them, and the results spoke for themselves.

Such cases are kept secret—especially crime details: which part of the clothing was torn, what object was moved at the scene, where the weapon was hidden, how the blood-stained clothes were disposed of—all strictly confidential.

Some details weren't even recorded in the case files. Only those who'd been on-site, or even only those present at the scene, could see or hear them.

Once these details were confirmed, the suspect's identity was confirmed.

In today's cases, even thefts require on-site identification—not just to verify the suspect's confession, but to validate its credibility from another angle.

The 611 He Jingqin case was also personally handled by Huang Qiangmin after he became head of the Criminal Investigation Team.

He still recalled how difficult that case had been.

Back then, the investigative direction was wrong: since there was no evidence of rape, and several home burglaries had occurred nearby in the months after, the focus was primarily on murder motivated by theft.

Later, they even considered whether it was a revenge killing linked to He Jingqin's parents, or a botched kidnapping.

The case, occurring in the county's tallest building, drew massive attention, especially from terrified residents inside and nearby. It caused significant social unrest; the special task force worked nonstop, day and night.

Huang Qiangmin slept only four hours a day for two straight weeks—half of it in his car.

Other task force members also showed remarkable dedication and spirit. At its peak, the team exceeded a hundred people; for three full months, thirty to forty were constantly assigned to the case.

But solving cases isn't just about passion or hard work.

If measured by labor hours, the He Jingqin case from 13 years ago consumed at least eighty thousand hours from Ningtai County's police system; later efforts to clear cold cases added hundreds more hours to this case alone.

But how many hours did Jiang Yuan use?

Jiang Yuan restarted the case in just ten hours—perhaps only a few hours of actual work—and the arrest took maybe a few hundred hours total.

A hundredfold efficiency.

Most crucially, his method of solving this case differed from his earlier use of fingerprints, DNA, or footprints.

Reconstructing the crime scene wasn't just about providing a direction—it created a platform.

Once Jiang Yuan reconstructed the scene, every task force member could grasp its full picture.

It was like letting everyone watch a blood-stained video recording of the crime scene.

With this foundation, solving future cases became far more effective than relying on a single fingerprint or DNA match by chance.

This guy? He's truly capable of opening new ground!

Huang Qiangmin didn't rush Jiang Yuan—he patted his shoulder and kindly said a few words like "rest well," then opened the door and left.

He didn't even glance at Guan Yu.

Wu Jun stepped forward, took down Guan Yu, and pondered where to hang him next.

Jiang Yuan, still in poor condition, couldn't focus—after reading some novels, he clocked out on time.

The next day, Jiang Yuan arrived slightly late.

Liu Yuquan had been properly detained, and the Procuratorate had already intervened.

Lately, Ningtai County Bureau's string of solved cases had put pressure on upstream and downstream units.

But solving cold murder cases was still a good thing.

Some were already drafting their performance reports.

Jiang Yuan entered the office to find Wu Jun furiously writing.

Jiang Yuan couldn't help but reflect: don't say civil servants have it easy—look at Wu the forensic expert: a cup of tea, a cigarette, a pen, writing all day without pause.

"Master, what are you writing? Can I help?" Jiang Yuan, after his reflection, stepped forward to help.

Wu Jun glanced at him, sighed, and said: "Forget it—I'm used to doing this. If I give it to you, Team Leader Huang will scold me for being irresponsible."

Wu Jun glanced at him, sighed, and said, "Forget it, I'm used to making it myself; if I make it for you, Team Leader Huang will scold me for being irresponsible later."

"Old Crocodile is a pain." Wu Jun shook his head. "The injury assessment you did a few days ago? Done. Go work on cold cases if you have time."

"Can't work on cold cases every day," Jiang Yuan laughed.

Wu Jun didn't smile—he looked up at him and said: "Did you forget what Team Leader Huang told you yesterday?"

Wu Jun didn't smile, looked up at him briefly, and said, "Didn't you forget what Team Leader Huang told you yesterday?"

"Normal cold case teams take two or three months per case. How long did you take? Don't say you're working on cold cases every day. Since you've started, at least produce something." Wu Jun lectured Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan chuckled: "Didn't I just solve one cold case?"

"Time matters too," Wu Jun said solemnly. "Yesterday, Team Leader Huang already started pushing teams to wrap up cases. Can you guess what he's trying to do?"

Jiang Yuan didn't understand, but followed along: "Work on cold cases?"

"Exactly. So, do you really think you have time to waste? Hurry up—Team Leader Huang is ready to support you, and you've spent half the day helping me write reports… He'll tear me apart."

"Exactly, so how much time do you really think you can waste? Hurry up—Team Leader Huang is ready to accommodate you, but you've spent half the day helping me with paperwork… Team Leader Huang will tear me apart."

"How many 'kill the chicken to scare the monkey' stories are there?"

"Am I the monkey?" Jiang Yuan pointed to his nose.

Wu Jun nodded.

"Are you the chicken?"

Wu Jun nodded again.

Jiang Yuan silently returned to his computer.

Wu Jun only realized it much later, smoked half a cigarette, and let Jiang Yuan off the hook—after all, Jiang Yuan had used the respectful "you."

Jiang Yuan flipped backward from the 13-year-old cold case, then reached a 17-year-old case.

A body found beside a country road.

Due to tree cover, the smell of decay only alerted passersby to call the police.

Because the trees blocked the view, the corpse only drew attention after it began to stink, prompting a passerby to call the police.

Jiang Yuan noticed it because the investigating officer had found a third of a bloody fingerprint on the victim's leather jacket.

Seeing that fingerprint, Jiang Yuan felt a strong urge to compare it.

"You're it," Jiang Yuan murmured, adjusted his chair, and stared intently at the screen.

"You then." Jiang Yuan murmured, shifted his chair, and studied the screen closely.