[{"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-258":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},2326953,4551,"Chapter 258: Solve More Cases","the-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-chapter-258",258,"\u003Cp>“I’ll go down and dig, you keep watch.” Wang Chuan drove for two hours, then borrowed a police auxiliary from the local police station and returned to Qi Yongbin’s house to dig up the dry well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was the type of person with an exceptionally sharp mind, always thinking deeply, but he had never gotten any real opportunities. In the provincial capital, there were countless young people just like him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, Wang Chuan feared that if he brought others in, they’d share the credit, so he didn’t even want to borrow anyone officially—just a police auxiliary, no explanation, and came with a shovel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The borrowed auxiliary was in his thirties and didn’t care what he did. Wang Chuan told him to stand guard; he found a shady spot, sat down, and started playing on his phone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Chuan dug downward into the dry well, and the deeper he went, the more uneasy he felt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had come too quickly—he hadn’t prepared anything, just brought a large iron shovel and a flashlight, thinking it would be enough. But what looked fine from above was suffocating down below. The deeper he dug, the farther he got from the well’s mouth; the light dimmed, and a faint sense of dread crept into his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Burying a corpse in such a well was truly convenient.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The well had self-cleaning properties; abundant microbes would decompose the body far more quickly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Burying a corpse in a well also easily masked odors and prevented wild animals from digging it up—the latter being the main reason outdoor burials were discovered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another little-known fact modern people rarely know: if you bury a body more than two meters deep, wild animals almost never dig it up, and the odor won’t escape either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is also a traditional practice in the funeral industry. U.S. law requires corpses to be buried at least six feet deep; in ancient Chinese rituals, the minimum depth was also six feet—suitable for a sixth-rank official. Higher-ranking officials could be buried deeper, but never shallower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another little-known fact modern people rarely know: digging a grave is extremely exhausting. A group of five young men, each with a shovel, aiming for a two-meter depth, would be utterly exhausted after digging—and the hole they dug would barely hold one body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words, if five friends playing a game together decided to kill one of them due to consecutive losses, they’d better have him help dig the grave—especially the final thirty centimeters, which are usually extremely hard. If they kill him early, they’ll likely exhaust themselves at one and a half or one and six meters deep, and end up failing because the depth is insufficient.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Burying is simple: just fill the hole with the freshly dug soil. Whether four or five people do it doesn’t matter—even three or two can handle the workload. In effect, as long as five people dig the hole, burying three bodies is no problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The final core problem is disposing of the excess soil. Ancient people would use it to build a mound, conveniently marking the location of their ancestors’ remains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But for burying a corpse, the excess soil becomes a burden. If the local soil is hard, the volume of extra soil is enormous; simply scattering it won’t clear it away—that’s precisely why Qi Yongbin couldn’t bury anything easily in his own courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A dry well is simple: shove the body or object in, then cover it with soil. Even two meters of soil, if already prepared, can be dumped by one person easily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you’re worried the soil looks too fresh, add water—pour in a few buckets, and no one will notice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Chuan didn’t know how deep to dig, and feared he wasn’t digging carefully enough, so he kept adjusting the flashlight’s position.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this point, he regretted not bringing two more people down with him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if there wasn’t enough space down there, at least they could hold the light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as he thought this, the shovel hit something with a thud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Chuan immediately moved aside slightly, peered into the dim light, and indeed saw a long-handled dagger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Old Li! Old Li!” Wang Chuan shouted twice, then turned on his flashlight again, pulled out his phone, and took two photos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Old Li arrived, Wang Chuan had him turn on his body camera, then slowly extracted the long-handled dagger himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once fully removed, they could see the blood groove on the dagger. Wang Chuan lowered his head, thinking: Could this be why the blood splattered onto the killer?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Near the dagger, the bloodstained clothing had already begun to emerge. Wang Chuan dug even more carefully around it. By the time he finished the entire process, over an hour had passed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Pull me up.” Wang Chuan placed the items directly into an evidence box, slung it over his back, and climbed out of the well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the courtyard, sunlight shone brightly, and a gentle breeze blew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Chuan’s whole body itched, as if the wind had dried it all clean.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But at this moment, Wang Chuan had no time to care about that—he quickly pulled out his phone and reported to his superior:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Found the bloodstained clothing and dagger, recorded the entire process… Yes, the bloodstained clothing hasn’t been washed—it should yield evidence.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, right in the suspect’s courtyard. Yes, Jiang Yuan predicted it—he believed the suspect didn’t have enough time to dispose of the weapon and clothing, so he judged they were likely buried nearby, with high suspicion falling on the victim’s courtyard, especially the dry well.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This… When Director Wan called me, I didn’t think much of it—because it was Director Wan calling, I just came right over…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After finishing the call, sweat beaded on Wang Chuan’s forehead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was too nervous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On one hand, Wang Chuan wanted to claim as much credit as possible; on the other, he dared not offend Director Wan or Jiang Yuan, because they surely had more evidence proving their deductions—perhaps even phone recordings or documented records.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, Wang Chuan dared not offend his direct superior. He had to explain clearly that he hadn’t acted on his own, and certainly hadn’t forgotten his old boss for a new one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The auxiliary beside him was much older than Wang Chuan; seeing his expression, he guessed something. After Wang Chuan finished his call, the auxiliary teased: “You college grads—you’ve got twenty pounds of skull, but only two pounds of brain inside, right? What a hassle.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Only two pounds of brain in a twenty-pound skull?” Wang Chuan laughed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Being a cop, having a thicker skull helps.” The auxiliary chuckled, neither envious of Wang Chuan’s bright future nor interested in the evidence he carried.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The auxiliary got five insurances and one fund, looked impressive in uniform, occasionally handled small tasks easily, and though he sometimes met unpleasant people, as long as he stayed within his jurisdiction, happy moments outweighed the annoying ones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for what Wang Chuan pursued—at least for now—he didn’t care.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Changyang City Criminal Investigation Brigade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the large conference room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone was scrambling—some were making PPTs, others had already filled whiteboards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The killer had been caught; the criminal investigation team’s PPTs and whiteboards now focused on fixed evidence: the bloodstained clothing, the weapon, and the confession.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this case, eyewitnesses had become irrelevant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Normally, when the bloodstained clothing or weapon couldn’t be found, making speculative PPTs was standard procedure. If guessed right, they’d make a big deal of it; if wrong, they could just make another PPT to analyze why.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this method had one problem: the weapon and bloodstained clothing couldn’t be found immediately!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the conclusion was already confirmed, then all the current reasoning would be instantly judged and compared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And none of the elite officers in the room had deduced the correct location—otherwise, they’d have just sent someone to search the suspect’s house.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wan Baoming watched coldly, observing these familiar yet alien scenes, and sighed softly: “All this elaborate decoration, all this painstaking embellishment—yet in the end, it’s still a sandcastle. Truly lamentable.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Writing PPTs doesn’t cost much,” Wei Zhenguo also shook his head at the chaos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But if your PPTs are bad, they drain your leader’s approval,” Wan Baoming said. “That’s the highest cost of all.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What the hell is leader approval?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It means different levels of leaders come at different times and frequencies.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As they spoke, two men in white shirts entered, followed by several officers in regular uniforms. The last one was Wang Chuan—chest out, head high, eyes straight ahead, looking quite dashing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Regular uniforms were the kind that looked good but weren’t worn often—frequently seen in movies. For officers with duty or work, wearing them to the office was like wearing a suit to work—more about showing off than actual ability.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So frontline officers wore duty uniforms daily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For them, being able to wash their pants a few times and still look clean was enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But office-bound leaders were different—they only wore duty uniforms when actually going to crime scenes; otherwise, they wore regular uniforms daily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just like now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s Captain Yu,” Wan Baoming reminded Jiang Yuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan had had considerable contact with Yu Wenshu during the Tan Yong case—the one where the man imprisoned women in a basement he dug himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But back then, the main figure in the investigation phase was Liu Jinghui.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan and the others sat up straight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Wenshu entered the conference room, glanced around, then headed straight for Jiang Yuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Captain Yu,” Jiang Yuan and the others stood up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sit, sit, sit,” Yu Wenshu pulled Jiang Yuan’s arm and sat right beside him, then smiled: “I never expected it—after several days apart, Jiang the forensic expert has become even more impressive.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just lucky,” Jiang Yuan replied modestly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This isn’t luck. Last time, when you worked on trace evidence, I said: ‘tiny traces.’ Now they’ve truly become tiny traces. I never imagined you’d get even better.” Yu Wenshu praised repeatedly, then waved: “Wang Chuan, come over here, sit by me—we’ll take a photo together.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The photographer hurried over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Wenshu sat with Jiang Yuan on his left and Wang Chuan on his right, posing for several photos until satisfied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Wenshu continued: “Jiang Yuan strategizes from afar and wins the battle. Wang Chuan has excellent execution—meticulous, patient, and he recovered the weapon and bloodstained clothing immediately. It’s truly encouraging to have such young people in our police system…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan smiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Chuan tried to look serious, but his grin broke through immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Wenshu turned to Jiang Yuan again: “A few days ago, you cracked a case using fingerprints—I sensed something different. Now, just a few days later, you’ve solved Case 513. You don’t know how, internally, this case had been labeled a random crime. Luckily, I hadn’t signed off yet, or else…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Wenshu glanced at the young officers frantically revising their PPTs and whispered deliberately: “Some wanted to delay the meeting—I denied it. I just wanted to see how fast they’d change it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A soft laugh spread around the room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were more than a few who enjoyed watching the elite team’s failures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Wenshu chuckled a few more times, then took his seat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With several leaders present, the meeting officially began.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan happened to be there, so he sat quietly and listened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Wenshu cleared his throat, picked up the microphone, and said: “Not long ago, our Changyang City Criminal Investigation Brigade officer Wang Chuan—also the regular investigator on Case 513—dug up the bloodstained clothing and weapon from the suspect’s dry well. Rapid DNA testing confirmed the blood belonged to the victim…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Although the case isn’t fully closed, the investigative phase is essentially complete.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Regarding Case 513, I’d like to share some reflections.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“First, there were problems in our case direction decisions. Our focus was skewed due to frequent thefts and robberies nearby… Remember how Old Li earlier suggested we consider the case more comprehensively—he proposed taking detailed statements from everyone in the area. We didn’t adopt that suggestion—and that was a mistake…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Second, our use of technical equipment still has major flaws. Look at Forensic Jiang—he told me this case was primarily solved using bloodstain analysis and footprint identification. These were the techniques used by technicians back when I was young—but now, it’s a young man like Jiang who’s reviving and applying them…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t think old techniques are useless—you’re even worse with new ones.” Yu Wenshu began ticking off points: “When I first worked with Jiang on a case, I said: our brigade’s trace evidence lab… they always report how many detection capabilities they have, how rich their methods are—but they never mention on-site investigation, never mention their own ability to extract trace evidence from crime scenes—our investigators don’t even know…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They don’t understand… In the end, it was Jiang who handled the crime scene and trace evidence…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Yu Wenshu spoke earlier, Jiang Yuan listened quietly. But now, he couldn’t help rising from his seat, and gradually felt this was absurd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What Yu Wenshu had just said sounded exactly like a conversation between the two of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Captain Yu has a phenomenal memory,” a soft female voice whispered beside him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan turned in surprise and saw a female officer in a regular uniform sitting to his right.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her hat rested on her lap; her legs, pressed together, were narrower than the hat. Her upper body was slender and upright, making the uniform look sharp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this sea of men, seeing a girl with an oval face felt like spotting a swan among a flock of ugly ducks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan gave her a polite, slight smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Forensic Jiang, I’m Tang Jia from Criminal Investigation Team Three, Wang Chuan’s colleague. If you need help in Changyang, feel free to call me anytime.” Tang Jia smiled beautifully, then sat up straight, perfectly composed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this point, Yu Wenshu’s speech was nearing its end; he directly named Jiang Yuan and said, “Forensic Jiang, say a few words to us—you can talk about Case 513, or your plans going forward.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, sure.” Jiang Yuan wasn’t fazed; under everyone’s gaze, he stood and said, “Regarding Case 513, my main investigative approach was reconstructing the scene using bloodstain analysis. Although there was little blood, reconstructing the scene doesn’t require a minimum quantity of blood…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After saying these few simple words, Jiang Yuan added, “As for the next steps, I still want to select several cases that involve bloodstain analysis and footprints, handle more cases, and strive for tangible results.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At these words, Yu Wenshu led the applause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone clapped vigorously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Jiang Yuan had launched into a lengthy talk about trace evidence, they might have just listened passively. But he had just solved such a difficult case using bloodstain analysis and footprints, and now he was saying he’d follow the same method—so the “Little Gourds” and their elders naturally cheered him on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, everyone subconsciously held this belief: if Jiang Yuan was given a case involving bloodstain analysis and footprints, he could solve it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As it stood, the internal network didn’t offer direct search functionality; they’d likely have to manually sift through cases meeting these two criteria.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But manual screening, however tedious, was still less troublesome than solving a case.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Jiang Yuan could solve two more similar cases, even if they had to sleep in the garage, their bodies beneath their coats would feel warm.\u003C\u002Fp>",2575,"2026-06-20T18:55:02.212Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","780c961c3ada32d3f08f40953336a5d9e25c4b92aac3c22f53bc39797c711833","the-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-chapter-259","the-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-chapter-257",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-cover.jpg",{"terms":24},[25,29,33,37,41],{"id":26,"raw_term":27,"original_term":28},1803458,"Jiang Yuan","江遠",{"id":30,"raw_term":31,"original_term":32},1803459,"Wu Jun","吳軍",{"id":34,"raw_term":35,"original_term":36},1803460,"Wang Zhong","王鍾",{"id":38,"raw_term":39,"original_term":40},1803461,"Liu Wenkai","劉文凱",{"id":42,"raw_term":43,"original_term":44},1803462,"Wu Junhao","伍軍豪"]