[{"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-263":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},2326958,4551,"Chapter 263","the-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-chapter-263",263,"\u003Cp>The burned bones had become very different from fresh, original bones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan took out the first bone from the evidence box; it had been burned to a porcelain-like state, its original curvature gone, and it was coated with several small bone fragments, many grains of coal residue, and unknown inorganic nodules.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At a glance, this bone looked more like a strange artifact, but upon closer inspection, many bone-specific details remained visible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a forensic expert, Jiang Yuan could see even more: this was a fragment of a skull bone, its white color formed by temperatures exceeding 1000 degrees...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All organic matter on the bone had been completely burned away, meaning standard DNA techniques were useless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan silently took out the second bone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This bone had been burned slightly less, roughly at the stage just past carbonization, but not yet to porcelainization.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, all organic matter had vanished; DNA methods were entirely ineffective.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan examined the remaining dozen or so bones one by one; all were in similar condition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The difficulty level rose sharply: traditional DNA and other techniques were completely useless; the only recourse was classical forensic anthropology.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the bright side, bones from many graves or mass burial sites were also in terrible condition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for difficulty, classical forensic anthropology had always been extremely hard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Too many ambiguous cases, too much reliance on experience, too many regression formulas—many concepts couldn’t be understood from books alone, and even authors often failed to explain them clearly; only master-apprentice transmission could convey them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was like trying to describe the feeling of snot stuck to the back of the hand, the feeling of tears smeared on it, the feeling of rice paste applied to it, the feeling of water shield soup smeared on it, the feeling of beef broth smeared on it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although human vocabulary was rich, accurately describing tactile sensations—and matching them one-to-one—was essentially impossible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Forensic anthropology dealt precisely with these things.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What did fresh bone feel like? What did charred bone feel like? How did a skull bone differ from a facial bone in touch? How did finger bones differ from toe bones?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because forensic anthropology dealt with these seemingly simple yet extremely minute details, without a teacher guiding you step by step, it was extremely difficult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Jiang Yuan knew, there were only two well-known senior forensic experts in Shannan Province, frequently borrowed by ministries, other provincial bureaus, or even traded by local city or county leaderships.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If forensic experts were scarce at the county level, forensic anthropologists were extremely rare nationwide—and even globally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only those who did it well counted; amateurs didn’t.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan unfolded the forensic report from Changyang City’s forensic team, studied it closely, and mentally scored it: he estimated this expert’s forensic anthropology skill level was around 2.8 to 3.2.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His knowledge reserve was roughly equivalent to 320 Wang Zhong-level units.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was already a very strong forensic expert; Jiang Yuan guessed this must be the work of Shannan Province’s top two.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan flipped to the top of the forensic report and indeed saw the name written under the examiner: Zhang Fengtian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan said: “Zhang’s forensic report has already been done; there’s no need for me to look again.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, he picked up the bone and began examining it a second time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Wenshu sensed Jiang Yuan’s insincerity and said: “Zhang did submit a forensic report, but he only confirmed these were human remains. Gender, age, height—all unknown. Our main investigative direction is finding incinerators capable of reaching over 1000 degrees; we’ve visited many places and found no leads...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While cremation destroyed vast amounts of evidence, the cremation process itself created new clues.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, the method, technique, equipment, and fuel used—all were questions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fully porcelainized bone requires temperatures above 1000 degrees; carbonization occurs around 800 degrees; and the gap between 800 and 1000 degrees is a critical threshold that ordinary household furnaces cannot reach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan nodded: “Here we have only skull, sternum, and vertebrae fragments; it’s indeed hard to determine gender, age, or height.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Wenshu looked disappointed and added: “The coal chunks and hardened particles have been sent to the trace lab for extraction, but we’ve had no results yet.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had actually hoped Jiang Yuan could contribute something beyond forensic science.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, most of Jiang Yuan’s case-solving abilities lay outside forensic science.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan roughly sensed Yu Wenshu’s mood but said nothing and showed no reaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Solving cases was unlike many other things: you couldn’t guarantee success just by following your superior’s expectations or public imagination.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That kind of detective who says, “I have an idea, I just need a CSI team,” is still far from solving the case.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zhang’s forensic report is actually quite detailed: ‘On specimens 5, 6, and 7, ring-like cortical bone surrounds trabecular bone on both surfaces; both surfaces are relatively flat, with edges slightly higher than the center, judged to be vertebral fragments. On the posterior-lateral side of specimen 6, a residual transverse foramen is visible, judged to be a cervical vertebra, with lip-like marginal proliferation...’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan commented, then added: “If I were to examine this vertebra, that’s all I could determine—the victim had cervical spondylosis, and it was somewhat severe... Kexibugouzuoshaixuande 。”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who among modern people doesn’t have some cervical spondylosis?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But reaching the stage of proliferation suggests the person was relatively old.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wan Baoming said: “Maybe we could set the minimum age at 30?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No.” Yu Wenshu firmly rejected: “We’re not afraid of a wider search range; we’re terrified of missing someone.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan asked: “What kind of investigations are we currently conducting?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“One is missing persons; the other is incinerators. Neither has yielded results.” Yu Wenshu sighed: “We can’t even identify the victim yet.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If we identified the victim, we might solve the case through their social connections, just like the recently solved Case 513.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had the task force not been misled by the apparent random killing pattern and shifted direction, they could have uncovered the killer through the victim’s interpersonal relationships.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, either way, the difficulty was immense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This case was the same: with only these few bone fragments, finding the killer was almost certainly like searching for a needle in a haystack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What Yu Wenshu was asking for was merely defining the search area.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You could make the area larger, but it had to be within human reach—and specifically within the reach of Changyang City’s Criminal Investigation Brigade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I need to study this for several days. I can’t give a conclusion now.” Jiang Yuan’s answer surprised Yu Wenshu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Uh... just these few bone fragments? You need several days?” Yu Wenshu hesitated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The previous forensic expert, Zhang Fengtian, had spent only one or two days on this—how could more time reveal anything new?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan said: “Precisely because the bone fragments are so few, the information they provide is limited, and most conclusions have already been drawn by Zhang. The key now is to decipher the minute details to extract more information...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Wenshu nodded; Jiang Yuan’s thinking was indeed clear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan continued: “With vertebrae and sternum fragments, we should theoretically be able to determine age, height, and gender. But these bones were burned too severely—ultimately, the problem is we don’t know the shrinkage rate, so Zhang couldn’t make any estimates.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan looked at Yu Wenshu: “After burning, bones shrink. How much they shrink is the shrinkage rate. Very few people have researched this. A foreigner named Herman did some work and proposed a shrinkage rate of 8% to 14%, but he only studied up to 700 degrees—he didn’t go higher, and no one else has either.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“With the shrinkage rate, we could calculate the original size of the fresh bone, then estimate height, age, and gender. But it wouldn’t be very accurate. Better to derive a regression equation directly from the burned bone...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, Jiang Yuan’s voice grew quieter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This work was extremely tedious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Wenshu listened, stunned: “Then what do we do?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Can you apply for cadavers? For experimental purposes?” Jiang Yuan asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Wenshu spread his hands: “Not only have I never applied, but such research projects take a very long time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“True.” Jiang Yuan sighed: “Then let me estimate one?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Estimate one?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I can estimate a value, but it’s not reliable—use it or not, you decide.” Jiang Yuan already had a near-correct estimate from his system, but domestic and international research on this was scarce, and everyone’s estimates differed; choosing one or rejecting another all carried problems.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was why forensic anthropology was so hard—even at level 3, disagreements already emerged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words, for this skill alone, forensic experts worldwide had not inherited or advanced it well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By this point in the conversation, the dozens in the meeting room realized Jiang Yuan had an idea—but he wasn’t confident, and it carried risk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And this uncertainty and risk weren’t just about solving the case or funding—they would also involve manpower for the subsequent investigation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Asking hundreds or even thousands of officers to run themselves ragged based on your estimate, only to find it wrong—Jiang Yuan truly couldn’t bear that responsibility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At least Yu Wenshu had to make the call.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Wenshu understood. After brief thought, he decisively said: “Fine. Estimate it. Right now, we can only try desperate measures. What’s your conclusion?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll give you mine by tomorrow. I’ll tell you once I’ve calculated it.” Jiang Yuan said, gathering the evidence box and a laptop, then walking to the corner.\u003C\u002Fp>",1586,"2026-06-20T18:55:02.212Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","dc5b350fd9a6357d8bdb3f467be3e2156ed99868499d97d34e336d6982b6aae5","the-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-chapter-264","the-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-chapter-262",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"]