[{"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-233":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},2326928,4551,"Chapter 233","the-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-chapter-233",233,"\u003Cp>The smell came from decaying waste materials.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike a normal reservoir, which teems with fish, shrimp, algae, and various microorganisms, this coal seepage tunnel contained very few living things, and those few were exceptionally uniform.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Occasionally, there might be fish or similar creatures, but they barely survived and could never form an ecosystem like a reservoir.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Garbage dumped here decomposed at an especially slow rate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When heavy machinery began operating, some exposed decaying matter, baked by the sun, started emitting odors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The mine bureau officials’ faces grew even darker.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Landfilling isn’t forbidden, but it must follow strict regulations. This mine beneath the hill—the Unity Coal Mine—was a shallow open-pit mine founded by several communes, quickly exhausted, and eventually became the Zifeng Town landfill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was an officially approved landfill site, requiring payment, responsibility, and proper waterproofing beneath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The requirements for filling this mine shaft were far stricter; not just any household waste could be dumped here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The mine bureau’s violations would inevitably be dragged out and used against them later…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Taining and the others couldn’t concern themselves with all that; they merely stretched their necks, waiting for the heavy machinery to clear away the upper layer of concrete, then ordered: “The forensic team goes down first. The police dogs wait.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Police dogs’ paws are delicate; if there’s too much broken concrete, stones, frayed cables, or rebar below, they’re easily injured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Forensic officers don’t have that problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan said nothing, dressed fully, and descended via a basket lowered from the nearby rock wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The mine bureau’s warehouse had plenty of such equipment, but it had long been neglected—no one knew if it might kill someone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The mine shaft was about fifty meters deep—equivalent to a thirteen-story building—and looking down from above, it still carried a certain level of dread.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, the terror at the bottom was greater: sludge that squelched underfoot, sticky and thick, with rebar, wire, discarded equipment, and lumps of coal surfacing intermittently…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And massive concrete blocks stood upright beside them, their stability uncertain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I hate scenes like this,” muttered Wang Lan, wrapped tightly in her gear. “We haven’t even seen the body yet—shouldn’t the crime scene team have gone down first?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan had already greeted her earlier, along with the other forensic officer beside her—both had just arrived today as reinforcements.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The case occurred in Qinghe Town; although the provincial bureau sent many personnel, the core team remained Qinghe City’s own police.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The several forensic officers checked each other’s gear and got to work.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Complaints aside, Wang Lan worked efficiently: she cautiously stepped only on solid ground, gradually expanding her search area, marking deeper zones with flags, and using her hands when necessary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, everyone’s legs sank into the sludge, immobilized. The shorter Ni Fa Yi’s thighs were buried deep, making movement even harder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Should we use machinery to dig?” Wang Lan moved closer to Ni Fa Yi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ni Fa Yi hesitated, then said: “Better not. I smell something off.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You sense corpse odor?” Wang Lan confirmed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I think so,” Ni Fa Yi said, unfastening her mask to inhale twice, then nodded firmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For forensic officers, smell is a crucial judgment criterion. For instance, a sweet, cloying note in corpse odor suggests poisoning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But because TV dramas struggle to convey smell, and ordinary people fear corpse odor, descriptions of scent are rare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In reality, humans are born with a natural sensitivity to corpse odor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The biggest obstacle in body dumping is always the smell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many people who die at home or are dumped beside roads are discovered most easily because of the odor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sludge underwater originally had no smell, but under the sun’s scorching heat, it gradually emitted all kinds of odors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan and the two younger forensic officers wore activated carbon masks, filtering out most of the stench, and paid no special attention to the conversation between Wang and Ni.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan had Level 4 Crime Scene Investigation; for him, observational data yielded more insight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Any additional benefits from smell could be fully compensated by other means.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example… touch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan bent down, reached out, and slowly pulled up a… arm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crime scene investigation often reveals unique insights precisely at moments like this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Human,” Jiang Yuan glanced and called out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only did the forensic officers below stir, but the crowd above the shaft erupted in commotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Confirmed human remains,” Wang Lan hurried over, inspected, and gave her affirmation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finding remains wasn’t good news, but at least it proved this prolonged operation wasn’t a farce.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The white-shirted officials above also exhaled in relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Taining immediately pulled out his phone and started dialing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though thousands had been deployed and immense resources consumed, solving a murder case was still justifiable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, finding the living Liu Jinghui remained vital—if he was still alive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Taining whispered two sentences to someone beside him; then, a voice crackled over the radio: “How long has the body been dead? More than a week?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was how they indirectly asked whether it was Liu Jinghui.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Lan jabbed the radio: “There’s adipocere—this body’s been dead at least ten months.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Adipocere is a rare postmortem phenomenon, forming only in water or damp soil when body fat undergoes saponification.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bodies that form adipocere are called “preserved corpses.” Similar well-known examples include mummies or the Loulan Lady.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Forming a preserved corpse requires stringent conditions and takes a long time, but once formed, it can last for extended periods. Like the mummies and Loulan Lady, they’ve endured for over a thousand years without decomposing or turning to bone like ordinary corpses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But determining the exact duration is another complex task.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Taining, knowing this wasn’t Liu Jinghui’s body, ordered: “Continue searching.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he began discussing further steps with the white-shirted officials above.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The atmosphere around the mine clearly improved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The police dogs felt it most clearly: Hei Zi and Da Zhuang sat calmly, utterly composed, like steady township clerks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More technicians were lowered into the shaft via baskets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Office workers who normally sat at desks now had to bend down and dig through mud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone gathered around the spot where Jiang Yuan found the arm, expanding the search downward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now there was no need to feel blindly; in the sludge up to their knees, each person carried an iron tray—used in the canteen for serving rice and dishes—to hold the scooped sludge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The iron trays were over a meter long and half a meter wide, capable of holding large amounts of sludge; once full, they were pushed to the edge and dumped into buckets to be hauled out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, a small Komatsu mini-excavator joined the excavation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its half-meter-wide bucket looked like a toy, but it worked tirelessly—and it was a legitimate tool of production.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Leg.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone else hit pay dirt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon after, other body parts began appearing one after another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But no head was found.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If unseen, keep searching; those exhausted were hoisted up by basket to rest, then lowered again once recovered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one mentioned overtime pay—there was none anyway—only relentless digging downward and outward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was precisely this meticulous work that allowed them to find the other hand and toes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As more items were pulled up, the mine shaft grew noisy with voices.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan was hoisted up again, utterly drained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sludge below wasn’t like flat ground—walking required pulling each leg free, greatly increasing fatigue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Retrieving items required bending over, and constant heavy lifting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Plus, they had to keep identifying what was pulled up… frankly, some of the trash looked genuinely disgusting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan rested for a long while, then washed his clothes and limbs with water before heading over a hundred meters to the RV for a shower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The RV had been dispatched by Xu Taining, specifically for personnel to bathe and change clothes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be honest, the logistical support this time was truly excellent; thus, despite exhaustion, few complained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After washing clean and coming out, Jiang Yuan sat down, drank tea, and only then did his nose properly register the stench again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this point, a faint sense of relief emerged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After resting about two hours, Jiang Yuan opened his phone and saw the small work group already discussing the body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The body was sawn apart—likely with a chainsaw. Similar to the last reservoir case.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The dismemberment was probably for easier transport; looks like the perpetrator doesn’t understand anatomy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Maybe he’s faking it. Cut up enough bodies, even the ignorant learn.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as the scene threatened to turn into a large-scale crime scene training session, another burst of commotion rose from below.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several forensic officers resting nearby all sprinted out from their hiding spots.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Down in the mine shaft, another uproar erupted, accompanied by rapid commands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan went to the shaft’s edge and saw a gray travel bag being dug up from below.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Second body,” came the muffled voice from below.\u003C\u002Fp>",1478,"2026-06-20T18:55:02.212Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","0d781942238fd540e00b9366f699fbaa921d8ee6618cdfe9045299977be5f776","the-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-chapter-234","the-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-chapter-232",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-cover.jpg"]