[{"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-274":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},2326969,4551,"Chapter 274: The Destination","the-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-chapter-274",274,"\u003Cp>Dawan Village in Shahe Town is located west of Changyang City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like other townships in Changyang City, Shahe Town’s main industries had long shifted to real estate and manufacturing; Dawan Village had sprouted factories, dormitories, and rows of self-built houses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There are forty to fifty thousand floating residents, and several vegetable markets,” said the chief of the Shahe Town police station, standing at the scene. “Eleven years is too long. Back then, when factories were just starting to be built, half the workers were local youths. Now, no locals want to work in factories—not even the vendors are locals.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So what do the locals do?” Liu Jinghui asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Become landlords, open supermarkets, run restaurants, set up mahjong parlors,” the police chief said, sounding slightly envious. “Those who built self-built houses had no regulations back then—some families had dozens of rooms. Renting one room for two or three hundred yuan a month? Do the math—some earn more than I do.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Two or three hundred yuan per room is still cheap—the city charges one or two thousand,” said Wang Chuanxing, an outsider who passed the exam to join the city bureau; he found the township’s rents quite attractive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan said: “They charge for water and electricity too. One hundred yuan a month, up to one hundred and fifty or even two hundred—so rent becomes four or five hundred.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Two hundred for rent, two hundred for utilities? That’s brutal,” Wang Chuanxing gasped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The two hundred for utilities includes sanitation fees, management fees, and a shared broadband line—using a single mobile number to register one broadband connection for the entire floor. Tenants usually agree, because running a separate line costs dozens of yuan and is a hassle; self-built houses have no property certificates, so they can’t easily get one anyway,” Jiang Yuan explained in detail.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rome wasn’t built in a day, and Romans didn’t start outsourcing their homes to agencies on day one—just like the comrades in Jiangfu Town, who first became landlords when they were first evicted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Jiang Village residents first rented out rooms, they rented them to workers from nearby factories.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Chuanxing had researched Jiang Yuan’s background; now he recalled it, and his gaze turned slightly sideways.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Jinghui cleared his throat twice and steered the topic back: “In any case, Dawan Village has a huge floating population; a broad-scale investigation now is unnecessary.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Zhenguo, who had been following Jiang Yuan, now joined in: “The taxi was abandoned five kilometers away. Logically, the area between Dawan Village and the abandonment site, and its surroundings, could all have been the killer’s intended destination… but then, how do we find it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Jinghui shook his head: “Based on the crime method, the persistent failure to match the DNA, the fact that the killer has never been caught since, and the screening of released prisoners during the case period—I believe the killer is likely not a repeat offender, possibly even a first-time offender.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Jinghui pointed ahead: “For a first-timer, the first crime scene—the body’s location—is more likely the original destination. The second scene—the car’s location—I think was purely for abandoning the vehicle. Besides, it’s remote countryside with no suitable hiding spots nearby.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Jinghui summed up: “Killing is better done somewhere familiar.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, this is also the result of societal development.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the proliferation of surveillance cameras or changing social norms, private residences have become the modern killer’s preferred murder site.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Put more comfortably: As long as you stay home and don’t visit others’ homes, your chance of being murdered drops dramatically!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words: Staying home makes you more likely to die!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Zhenguo frowned: “If this was their destination and they wanted to avoid discovery… since they were going to abandon the car anyway, why not move the body?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That further proves they’re amateurs. Maybe they didn’t think it through—or the corpse was too disgusting?” Liu Jinghui said. “Robbery doesn’t have to mean murder. If a murder happened during a robbery, a normal robber either leaves the scene untouched or just drives away, fleeing farther before switching vehicles or taking public transport. Abandoning it five kilometers away…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Jinghui shook his head: “It’s just a panicked choice—fleeing in a hurry, driving several kilometers, then realizing it’s too far from the destination, so they ditch the car on the spot and run, likely fleeing afterward.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>。\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The local police chief had been stunned listening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Modern cases are mostly straightforward. Even the convoluted ones are just the criminal’s own convolutions—useless noise for police, like the first time someone showed their butt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Jinghui had seen plenty of butts; now he paused and said: “The household registration records back then were incomplete, right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Plane tickets are real-name, but what about train tickets?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They probably took buses here. Train tickets… checking tickets from eleven years ago might be hard,” Wang Chuanxing said, hearing Liu Jinghui’s words and fearing these tasks would land on him—he quickly preempted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Zhenguo said: “If we could compile a list of people who moved away shortly after the crime, this case would become simple.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Jia asked: “Didn’t the special task force do this back then?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The special task force never clearly determined the suspect’s residence or the taxi’s destination,” Liu Jinghui said. “Also, they weren’t even sure if the killer had fled.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan nodded slowly. In truth, from the evidence he’d seen, he couldn’t confirm the killer’s residence or the taxi’s destination either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This part had no evidentiary support—it was purely Liu Jinghui’s inference.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a regular special task force, even if someone offered the same reasoning, without sufficient credibility or status, it wouldn’t be seriously considered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Jinghui looked at Jiang Yuan: “Jiang Yuan, what do you think?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The blood footprints at the scene are clear—I can analyze them. But only one blood footprint was left… which overlaps with the DNA evidence,” Jiang Yuan said, voicing one of the key weaknesses of footprint analysis: decades ago, it might have followed the path of fingerprinting, but after DNA technology emerged, all identity identification methods—including fingerprints—were downgraded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Jinghui had asked simply to gauge Jiang Yuan’s thoughts; seeing he had no investigative suggestions, he added: “Given these clues alone, direct investigation seems nearly impossible. Let’s try to lure the killer out—think of a way to draw him out.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not just Jiang Yuan—everyone present frowned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not because they doubted his words, but because they’d heard this exact phrasing not long ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed that when Jiang Yuan was first brought in over the burnt bone fragment case, Liu Jinghui had said nearly the same thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or exactly the same?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone fell silent for a moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>None of their phones rang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Zhenguo glanced at Jiang Yuan, then at Liu Jinghui: “Chief Liu, what exactly do you mean by ‘method’?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Jinghui grunted: “I think the killer is still closely following this case. We can announce the case is reopened, that we’ve found new clues, then use those clues to lure out two people.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What new clues?” Wei Zhenguo asked curiously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well… first, I’ll say this: I believe the killer is most likely a married couple or romantic partners; the chance of three people is very low, and if there are three, two are a couple,” Liu Jinghui’s expression flickered slightly—he usually speculated wildly, but opportunities for such a favorable investigative environment were rare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He spoke seriously: “We can claim the killer had a mistress, who had some kind of relationship with him before the crime—even say the mistress had a child. Then, within the killer’s household, chaos would erupt. Any change… any change makes detection easier.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Maybe one of them would report the other?” Tang Jia quickly thought of one possibility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Jinghui nodded: “Of course, we can’t rely on that—but I believe it will definitely draw the killer’s attention to the case, and he might slip up.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That alone might not be enough,” Jiang Yuan looked skeptical.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Jia immediately switched sides: “Right—maybe they’ve already divorced. Eleven years have passed—they might have left, can’t even find a job…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then add a reward—raise the bounty. Maybe the ex-wife turns in her ex-husband,” Wang Chuanxing slammed his right palm into his left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And get herself jailed too?” Tang Jia looked down on Wang Chuanxing with intellectual disdain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Uh… yeah… thirty thousand isn’t worth a life sentence,” Wang Chuanxing muttered, lowering his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Uh, yeah... thirty thousand isn't worth a life sentence.\" Wang Chuanstar bowed his head silently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Zhenguo noticed their grim expressions and smiled: “At least we’ve already surpassed the special task force. They couldn’t do these things—we can. If all else fails, we can list everyone who left Dawan Village, nearby villages, or even the entire Shahe Town after the crime—compile as many names as possible, then do DNA testing…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Similar screenings were done later,” Liu Jinghui emphasized. “To find the killer through screening, we can’t outdo the original task force. Besides, Jiang Yuan pointed out the killer is lame, right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then just find the lame people. There shouldn’t be many in Shahe Town,” Wang Chuanxing felt his IQ had reclaimed the high ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Jinghui sighed: “I’ve kept saying the taxi’s destination—but have you noticed? I believe the killer’s destination was indeed near Shahe Town, but that doesn’t mean he lived there, or even rented there—he might have just been visiting relatives or staying with family.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Wang Chuanxing, who had just felt he was getting somewhere, suddenly saw black.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a young man who had earned his place in the Changyang City Bureau through his own efforts, Wang Chuanxing had once been quite confident in the detective squad.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But cold cases were truly beyond his scope.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So what do we do now?” Wang Chuanxing looked at the others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If the lame leg assessment is correct…” Liu Jinghui glanced at Jiang Yuan, then at the nearby factory, licked his lips, and said: “Then we start with a covert investigation.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This contradicted his earlier investigative direction; Wang Chuanxing asked: “Why?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If the killer isn’t local, then the only people who know about his limp are likely his relatives or old friends—people with some social connection. A public investigation might make those insiders wary…” Liu Jinghui paused, then added: “But the core is still the limp.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Left leg shorter than right leg, experienced with knives,” Jiang Yuan gave a definitive answer.\u003C\u002Fp>",1728,"2026-06-20T18:55:02.212Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","76df23860362cb91cff33cd8aeb66bbbc5698fc501b63ddae196104902e1ae62","the-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-chapter-275","the-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-chapter-273",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"]