Chapter 254: Rarity

The small building of the Changyang City Criminal Science and Technology Center is newly constructed, steel-framed, with large glass panels, an attractive exterior, and excellent lighting.

In the wide, spacious corridor, technicians occasionally passed by, or sometimes curious people strolled through.

Wan Baoming ignored the technicians' curiosity, sat upright, displayed the crime scene map of Case 513 for Jiang Yuan, and added:

"Initially, we considered revenge as a motive. But the victim's children all lived out of town, and he lived alone—so there were few signs of personal enmity; thus, we eventually abandoned this investigative direction."

"Second, we considered financial gain. But there were no signs of burglary; from the traces, the perpetrator likely never entered the victim's home."

"The most likely—but least acceptable—motive was random murder... This caused the municipal bureau to be on high alert for a while, fearing more similar cases, but none occurred."

"But the case dragged on for days, and we never identified a suspect."

Jiang Yuan listened to Wan Baoming while studying the crime scene photos, one by one, without responding immediately.

Wei Zhenguo's eyebrows were furrowed so tightly they seemed ready to split, also staring at the images: "If this was a random killing, the case is hopeless. The evidence was already weak, then trampled over and over again—there's nothing left. This case can't be solved."

He was helping Jiang Yuan out, and his reasoning was sound.

While waiting for Wei Zhenguo, Mu Zhi and Wang Zhong were brought in.

Wang Chuanxing asked: "Random killing?"

"No," Mu Hangshi shook his head. "Local traffic is simple. Behind Shunling Township, there's a seasonal flood river—it's navigable for half the year, with some large boats. Also, local township enterprises mainly process timber; there's no major logistics park. Walking from the logistics park to the victim's home takes about seventy to eighty minutes—you've walked it yourself."

"Someone may have suggested that at first. But the special task force judged from several angles that this wasn't a random killing," Wei Zhenguo glanced at Wang Chuanxing. "First, the location: Shunling Township has simple traffic—it's a large township, and locals rarely go anywhere else. The killer specifically came here to commit the crime; that alone isn't random behavior."

"Enough," Mu Hangshi, after studying nearly all the photos, finally spoke heavily: "All basic requirements are met."

Like Wang Chuanxing, Jiang Yuan didn't find the case extremely difficult.

But from Wang Chuanxing's perspective, the bloodstains were simply too numerous. The pool of blood was large, yet beyond that, only a few spray patterns and mostly drip stains remained—compared to Jiang Yuan's later crime scene reconstruction, the quantity was still significantly less.

Mu Zhi and Wang Zhong sat quietly like startled chicks.

Mu Hangshi paused, then continued: "Meter reading is also relatively common. Changyang City stopped manual meter reading years ago. The killer shouted it out, meaning he at least understood the situation—possibly even scouted the location."

"No issue," Wei Zhenguo placed the cardboard box on the table. "I brought some case materials... Hmm, are we reopening this case?"

Crime scene work, especially fingerprint or trace analysis, can't be done sitting in an office. At minimum, you must return to the scene and re-examine it one or two times. These tasks were all handled by Jiang Yuan and Wang Zhong together.

"Hmm, no results," Wei Zhenguo didn't hide it. "We also screened local violent criminals and property offenders—no results."

If a screening is too thorough or poorly designed, it effectively eliminates a string of leads.

Wan smiled, gestured for them to sit, briefly introduced Jiang Yuan and others, then said: "The forensic pathologist has a few questions about Case 513. See if you're familiar."

"Regarding the judgment of burglary or robbery," Mu Hangshi immediately asked, "is there any evidence?"

Having spent three years on the case, Wei Zhenguo hoped it could be solved—to honor the fallen and bring closure.

Including the forensic pathologist's work, this chapter is not finished!

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Looking at photos, examining the corpse, then checking under the microscope—roughly speaking, you could get 80% right.

Jiang Yuan glanced at Wan Baoming. Wei Zhenguo's description had some discrepancies with Wan Baoming's initial account.

Paperwork was the preferred method for technicians.

Mu Hangshi continued: "Shunling Township connects to expressways and national roads, has county and provincial roads, a transit station, long-distance bus stops to Changyang City, and local white and white motorcycle taxis—surveillance is mostly useless..."

That person wasn't just responsible for meetings, but also answering calls, managing information flow, organizing documents, handling paperwork, and receiving the victim's family.

"But you believe it was a random killing?" Mu Hangshi asked.

The drawback of this approach is that the person remains continuously informed about the case. When the case is reopened, the officers handling cold cases can understand the details most quickly and efficiently—usually, such details aren't recorded in the case files.

It's like a standard procedure in solving equations.

Jiang Yuan smiled again at Wan Baoming: "Let's first look at this case, but don't yet confirm it's this one—I'll finish examining the scene, then speak."

"According to your interviews, the victim had military service experience, and his personality was relatively reserved. Perhaps this caused the robbery to go wrong, prompting the two suspects to abandon their plan!"

"First, the timing of contact: the victim opened the door and was likely killed immediately. The killer was clean—he carried the weapon, but left too much evidence. No fingerprints, probably no DNA either. The victim was elderly, unlikely to have reacted in time, and no defensive wounds..."

Because passion killings involve no preparation, most modern passion killings can't be tracked via surveillance or personnel screening.

If the case is solved, it's naturally a great relief. If unsolved, the number of cases keeps growing, but eventually, only one or two officers end up handling them part-time.

"The killer also had bad luck. The neighbors weren't people who knew how to preserve the scene—before the police arrived, the ground was trampled into chaos."

After Wan Baoming left, he asked Mu Hangshi: "Looks like he's thinking."

"About seven or eight people heard it."

Of course, the objective situation was the same. But Wan Baoming's account offered more certainty.

But when Jiang Yuan truly takes on a case, he often needs coordination with screening and image investigation teams. Without established trust, whether Changyang City's Criminal Investigation Brigade will cooperate—and how well—is unclear.

Wang Chuanxing now understood Jiang Yuan's ability in bloodstain analysis and guessed why he wanted bloodstains, footprints, and comprehensive photos.

If passion killings are traceable, then random murder is nearly the perfect crime.

Wan Baoming patted his head and smiled: "I just remembered this case—it's still fairly well-known in the Changyang City Bureau. But if it doesn't meet requirements, we'll find another case..."

In reality, special officers solve cases not primarily through surveillance or mobile data, but through interpersonal networks.

After mutual introductions, they were told to wait aside.

"Then..." Wang Chuanxing knew Jiang Yuan wasn't impulsive, blinked, and decided to wait and see.

Homicide task forces aren't dissolved lightly. Unlike regular cases, during active investigation, task force resources are fully allocated and cannot be diverted for other cases or demands.

"So they think the killer was a truck driver? That should've been checked."

This method isn't without precedent—it's a common approach.

"This blood—is it the same as the blood used for bloodstain analysis?"

Wei Zhenguo cleared his throat twice: "Jiang, let's first pick a suitable case and score an opening win, then move forward."

Mu Hangshi glanced at Wang Chuanxing and smiled: "The case is already here—we've come this far, let's start."

This chapter is not finished!

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"Alright, fix a time and notify me," Mu Hangshi smiled, then stood and left.

Whether it's a truck or a boat, their problem is the lack of records. Not even surveillance, let alone ticketing points—vehicles and boats aren't fixed.

"Homicide triggered by burglary or robbery," Mu Hangshi said.

Wan Baoming nodded: "Reopening is premature. First, let's understand the case—if we find new critical leads, then we discuss reopening. Oh, Jiang the forensic pathologist just asked you: did we ever find the killer's vehicle?"

With a logistics park, there are trucks that sometimes carry passengers—especially those with cargo, who might offer rides.

Wei Zhenguo said: "At the time, there were many thefts and robberies in Shunling. One was solved—the perpetrators were two truck drivers. After the logistics park opened, freight rates rose, local drivers' incomes dropped, and with mortgage pressure, they took desperate risks..."

"Some heard a few shouts, others heard screams for minutes," Mu Hangshi said. "They're all elderly—poor hearing."

In fact, historically speaking, cases like the "513 Door-Opening Stabbing" were mainstream major cases in the 1970s and 1980s.

"Did you find the killer's vehicle?" Jiang Yuan asked, staring at the photos.

And standard procedures fear unusual circumstances most.

Jiang Yuan continued studying the photos.

"No need to argue further. Disagreements can't be resolved," Wan Baoming waved his hands. "The task force must solve practical problems—our goal is to solve the case. Even I wouldn't immediately label this a random killing—how could we solve it then, right?"

"Understood," Jiang Yuan replied immediately.

Wan Baoming said: "Probably not. It's a remote township—public transport is scarce, and there are many white cars. That route should've been checked. Should I ask a task force officer?"

"No other households," Wei Zhenguo said. "This is the neighbor's description. The residential area consists of large courtyards, but most people have moved away. The victim's neighbors were a couple over seventy, and it was nap time in the morning—they just complained about the noise and didn't go out to check."

Jiang Yuan nodded quickly, asked a few questions: "Can you check the scene? Is Team Leader Wang free to come along?"

Jiang Yuan nodded and asked Wan Baoming: "It seems you and the task force had some disagreements on this case?"

He was a clean-cut young officer, upright posture, bright eyes—clearly well-trained.

Random murder is inherently an ultra-difficult case.

Wan Baoming went to make a call, returned shortly, and said: "The Case 513 team now has two people—both have followed it from start to finish. The one coming now is Wei Zhenguo—he's in the brigade, will be here in five minutes."

That's also the strategy we designed on the way.

Of course, killing immediately upon opening the door does raise the difficulty slightly, but the essence hasn't changed.

True random murder—especially this kind, with a killer possessing real physical strength—is an extremely difficult case.

A few minutes later, an officer entered carrying a box of documents.

"Fine. No need to fix a specific case," Wan Baoming thought. Although Huang Ruomin isn't paid per case, he charges county-level fees—if it's a homicide, I can accept it.

Wei Zhenguo looked at Wan Baoming again: "Regarding the vehicle, the task force had already checked."

"Partly," Wan Ming's expression changed. He glanced at the door, saw no one, then lowered his voice: "Though this may sound disrespectful to the dead, romantic random killings—I mean the literary kind—are truly rare."

Wang Chuanxing didn't care how Jiang Yuan was thinking—he spoke toward the difficult side first:

"Understood," Mu Hangshi pondered. "So, what was your investigative direction at the time?"

"How long ago?"

He probably also mastered skills covered in this chapter—unfinished!

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Bloodstain analysis isn't the same as trace analysis. When there's little blood, you can't reconstruct the scene with bloodstain analysis; when there's a lot, you still can't extract clues from it.

"Didn't anyone hear the meter reader?"

Mu Hangshi glanced at Wan Baoming—these things were indeed rare. The reputation of Changyang City's police force and the Criminal Science Center had a strong impact on both men. As for "random murder cases," they'd only ever seen them on TV.

He was technically trained—he knew that technicians, lacking strong purpose, would prefer not to go to the scene.

Wei Zhenguo's description seemed to add more certainty, yet upon closer thought, it was mostly speculation.

"The task force believed the killer intended to exploit the fact that the area had many lone elderly residents who were relatively poor, tricking them into opening the door to commit robbery. Given the district's conditions at the time, one or two people could easily control the scene."

"What about eyewitnesses?" Jiang Yuan continued: "Did anyone hear the meter reader? Did anyone come out to check? Did the killer go to other houses to read meters?"

"Director," Officer Wei Zhenguo greeted.

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