[{"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-240":6,"glossary-terms-4551":23},{"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},2326935,4551,"Chapter 240: Corpse Source","the-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-chapter-240",240,"\u003Cp>Windy day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wind howled down the cemetery’s tree-lined path, making a rustling sound that lasted all night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan and several other forensic doctors remained in the autopsy room boiling bones, but when the wind grew fierce, they exchanged silent glances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone was tired, yet there was no time to sleep; by this hour, even the energy to chat was gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fourth corpse currently being boiled had been discovered and delivered in the evening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like the second and third corpses, this one was also packed in a gray travel bag, inside which was a red-and-blue snake-skin sack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both the gray travel bag and the red-and-blue snake-skin sack bore signs of heat scorching.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crime scene technicians collected further evidence from this, prompting Xu Taining to pull large numbers of personnel from Zifengshan Coal Mine and deploy them to several northern townships.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finding Liu Jinghui remained the top priority and an urgent matter, but without leads, solving the serial murders in order to locate Liu Jinghui had become more feasible and more likely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Taining didn’t care about post-operation criticism or potential side effects—he gritted his teeth and redirected the search teams to conduct door-to-door investigations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan sat beside Corpse Source Three, scrolling on his phone while waiting for the pressure cooker to finish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boiling a corpse required a level of tenderness beyond that of home-cooked meat; in kitchen terms, it had to be cooked until the flesh fell completely off the bones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most corpses needing boiling were already somewhat decayed or decomposed, so the total boiling time might not be very long—only areas with excessive flesh required extended cooking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan’s phone now had over a dozen new work groups.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most were related to Zifengshan; others had just been added.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Zifengshan group, everyone was mobilizing teams, searching for vehicles, storing supplies, and so on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deploying over a thousand people at once to different locations made coordination and logistics extremely difficult—even the local gas stations ran out of fuel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Xu Taining excelled at this: though unfamiliar with his personnel and forced to assemble units on the spot, he arranged everything orderly, and by five or six in the morning, all teams were in position.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【It has been eight days since Comrade Liu Jinghui went missing; no more time can be wasted. Once all teams are in place, begin work immediately and proceed with meticulous care.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Taining issued orders to all team leaders and @ed everyone in the main group.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan watched listlessly. He could picture how each team was now knocking on doors, explaining while enduring curses, with insults and tips flying back and forth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they were only questioning the families of the missing, the situation would be very different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But whether junior detectives or senior officers, all knew well that victims’ families weren’t necessarily truthful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Questioning neighbors and taking statements from the missing person’s friends, relatives, and coworkers could yield more accurate information indirectly and also deter potential perjurers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Number Four is almost done,” the young forensic doctor tending the stove announced, as his alarm rang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s summarize Corpse Source Three then—any other thoughts?” Forensic Doctor Zhai called out responsibly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike previous autopsies, Forensic Doctor Zhai demanded collective input: everyone was to fully express opinions, and he required each person to write their own autopsy report.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Corpse Source One and Two had already been processed; Corpse Source Three followed the same pattern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan silently handed in his autopsy conclusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Corpse Source Three, age 30. Female… height 163 cm, cervical spondylosis, lumbar disc herniation, old ankle fracture (likely treated)… eyelids with suture threads… time of death, three years ago.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Forensic Doctor Zhai collected all the autopsy conclusions and reviewed them one by one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he saw Jiang Yuan’s, he stared at it longer than the others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There are slight discrepancies in time of death estimates and minor differences in age, but otherwise the assessments are largely consistent—though each varies a bit.” Zhai summarized the key points.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone remained silent, silently looking at Jiang Yuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Forensic Doctor Zhai wasn't just a provincial forensic expert; his track record was impressive—he was among the most capable hands-on forensic doctors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among those present, the strongest, Wang Lan, was a diluted version of Zhai’s level; Niu’s strength was even lower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All were average-level grassroots forensic doctors—sometimes making mistakes, sometimes performing above par, mostly diligent and steady. For time of death, age estimation, and similar judgments, they all gave broad conclusions—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A forensic doctor’s competence could be roughly judged by the precision of their final conclusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For time of death, Jiang Yuan gave a precise 30 years; others, to avoid error, gave ranges like 25–30.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, Jiang Yuan could have given a range like 28–32, as body conditions vary—but facing the same corpse, a narrower range clearly signaled greater confidence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is the gap large? I mean, in time of death and age?” Jiang Yuan asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm, not really. Everyone has slightly different views.” Forensic Doctor Zhai wasn’t used to Jiang Yuan’s professional confidence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was elderly and always cautious—when possible, he’d widen the range rather than narrow it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his generation, everyone was naturally confident in daily life but meticulous in work.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Exactly the opposite of Jiang Yuan’s generation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, Jiang Yuan’s conclusion fell within Zhai’s own estimated range.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhai’s gaze lingered on the time of death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His own estimate was three to five years, leaning toward four.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan gave three… not far off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Forensic Doctor Zhai said nothing more, nodded, and said: “Let’s clean up and start assembling the fourth corpse.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Duddu dud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pressure cooker released steam.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone waited silently until the steam dissipated, then began removing bones, peeling flesh, and arranging the remains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan continued examining each bone fragment one by one, quickly forming a conclusion and writing it down:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Corpse Source Four, age 32–34. Female… height 160 cm, cause of death: mechanical asphyxia… time of death: four years ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He first confirmed what could be determined, then slowly analyzed the remaining bone fragments.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other forensic doctors operated similarly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anthropology was a painstaking discipline: a single human body, over two hundred bone fragments—if you skimmed through them, you could finish in an afternoon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But extracting meaningful information from them was far harder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You had to examine each piece, slowly, painstakingly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Jiang Yuan worked on the Wang Guoshan reservoir dumping case, he had scoured every detail day and night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this case was different: the evidence provided ample information; repeating the previous approach—visiting every shop one by one—was far too inefficient.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Comrade Liu Jinghui might not hold out much longer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Jiang Yuan thought this, his phone buzzed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He glanced with his elbow, saw it was Huang Qiang, immediately removed his gloves, rinsed his hands roughly under water, put on a fresh pair, and picked up the phone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huang Team, any news?” Jiang Yuan called back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yeah, we found the owner of the jewelry,” Huang Qiang said, his tone heavy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, Huang Qiang stood inside the victim’s home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a three-bedroom, one-living-room apartment in the heart of Fangjin Township, with the township’s only vegetable market visible outside the window.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The house was an old welfare unit apartment, poorly renovated, many areas patched with newspaper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman lay on a hospital bed, watching the police in the room with hopeful eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man sat by the wall smoking; the smoke rings curled around a photo of the missing daughter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did the jewelry match? Any photos?” Jiang Yuan asked, uneasy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since the jewelry was cheap, duplicates were common—he needed corroborating evidence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Qiang merely grunted: “Check the WeChat photos—they’ve got photos.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hold on, I’ll turn on speaker.” Jiang Yuan set the phone down, opened his private WeChat chat, and saw Huang Qiang had sent a series of photos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most were photocopies: the girl in the photos smiled sweetly, long black hair cascading down, clearly visible were the necklace and ring; the last photo was a selfie showing her earrings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though further detailed comparison was still needed, for investigative procedure, this stage was already complete.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan turned to look at the bones of Corpse Source Three—he had sat beside them for a long time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet the stark white bones bore no resemblance to the girl’s sweet smile in the photo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How long has this girl been missing?” Forensic Doctor Zhai walked over and asked through the speaker.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who’s this?” Huang Qiang asked first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m Lao Zhai, the forensic doctor.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah. Forensic Doctor Zhai. The victim has been missing for three years and four months,” Huang Qiang replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Forensic Doctor Zhai exclaimed in surprise: “That’s a short time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The temperature inside the mine,” Jiang Yuan replied offhand, then picked up the phone again: “Huang Team, have other teams found anything?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not yet. We didn’t find this—city detectives did. We’ve started searching for motorcycles locally.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1474,"2026-06-20T18:55:02.212Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","d16ec8d16fea6f1a566bcf8cbbed45c933946c59acf2f70cf0b428e22910619f","the-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-chapter-241","the-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-chapter-239",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-cover.jpg",{"terms":24,"userReplacements":50},[25,30,35,40,45],{"id":26,"raw_term":27,"original_term":28,"translations":29},1803458,"Jiang Yuan","江遠",[],{"id":31,"raw_term":32,"original_term":33,"translations":34},1803459,"Wu Jun","吳軍",[],{"id":36,"raw_term":37,"original_term":38,"translations":39},1803460,"Wang Zhong","王鍾",[],{"id":41,"raw_term":42,"original_term":43,"translations":44},1803461,"Liu Wenkai","劉文凱",[],{"id":46,"raw_term":47,"original_term":48,"translations":49},1803462,"Wu Junhao","伍軍豪",[],{}]