Chapter 293: The Conqueror

"Come on, let's raise a glass to Jiang Yuan! Even though there's no wine in our cups, our feelings and our admiration for Comrade Jiang Yuan remain unchanged. By the way, after this meal, I'll treat Jiang the forensic expert to a drink myself—with my own wine—and I'll arrange a driver…"

Yu Wenshu stood in the middle of the cafeteria, raising his cup, his emotions full and vibrant.

His mood was genuinely good; sure, Jiang Yuan charged high fees, but it was the municipal bureau that paid, not his criminal investigation brigade.

As for the results, solving a string of cold homicide cases wasn't just about the number or difficulty of cases anymore—Yu Wenshu felt a door had opened before him, a door leading almost anywhere.

Praise from superiors, media coverage, commendations from ministries, compliments from colleagues—all of it was practically within his grasp.

Yu Wenshu had once risen rapidly in rank, but he never imagined that after hitting a career plateau, he'd get another chance like this.

The only thing that made him slightly uneasy was Jiang Yuan's low rank.

So low that promotion was nearly impossible—and utterly meaningless.

Most importantly, Jiang Yuan was still on Ningtai County's payroll, a native of Ningtai County, and from Jiang Village—Yu Wenshu had zero leverage over him.

At this moment, Yu Wenshu recalled his own youth.

Back then, people didn't care much about perks. The director and the specialists lived in the same building, their rooms nearly identical in size and layout, and the whole building had only two toilets.

But to say there was no distinction among people, or that there was no soil to spur progress, wasn't entirely true.

Compared to a few hundred yuan in bonus money, gaining even half a rank, or receiving spiritual praise, spiritual stimulation, spiritual admiration—that was the highest form of recognition.

If a student was constantly held in the teacher's palm, praised in class, and lauded by the principal in front of the entire school at morning assembly—would anyone care if they paid three or five yuan more or less in class fees?

Possessing a photographic memory, Yu Wenshu's student years were exactly like this… You mention school bullying?

Back then, a kid tripped Yu Wenshu, and the principal went straight to his house, making his father kneel before the ancestral altar and cry for two hours.

Because the principal had once been that father's teacher.

Later… after a week or two, Yu Wenshu saw that classmate again—he looked physically recovered, but he never dared come near Yu Wenshu again.

Now, Yu Wenshu desperately wished someone would step forward and trip Jiang Yuan.

Too bad today's young people are too shrewd. Especially those who got in through exams—not one of them had a single reckless bone in their body.

Jiang Yuan clinked his cup against Yu Wenshu's, his mood good, his expression humble.

Yu Wenshu smiled: "Everyone, sit down, sit down. Jiang Yuan, sit and eat some dishes. Let's celebrate here in the cafeteria today—I'm just too happy. Also, big gatherings aren't allowed anymore. Later, I'll gather the captains of the major teams, find a place, and drink based on cases—hey, whoever gets Jiang Yuan drunk, we'll take on their case."

"That's a great idea!" Wan Baoming, not a team captain himself, immediately agreed.

The other team captains agreed too—drinking, for middle-aged men, was inherently exciting.

Especially after they'd completely lost their potency, they no longer worried about alcohol clashing with medication, making drinking even more enjoyable.

"I can't drink much," Jiang Yuan laughed, politely declining—but not firmly.

His mood was good too.

Aside from the joy of solving cases, after everyone had spoken, Jiang Yuan's task was officially completed.

Task: Conqueror. Objective: Solve cases, conquer the Changyang City Criminal Investigation Brigade. Push yourself to solve cases.

Task progress: 6/6. Reward: Death Time Identification (Lv6). Since arriving in Changyang, Jiang Yuan had solved four cold homicide cases and two current homicide cases, starting with the 513 ambush.

Six homicide cases—frankly speaking, even if they were all current cases, that would equal an entire criminal investigation team's annual workload.

And not just any workload—this was the workload of a team doing nothing else all year, and even then, they couldn't guarantee solving them all.

As for solving primarily cold homicide cases, like Jiang Yuan did, no one would attempt it at the scale of an entire criminal investigation team.

Too difficult. If one case stalled, it could cripple an entire team. Nationwide, police per ten thousand people has never been abundant.

Those who specialize in cold homicide cases usually operate in small groups—just a few people—until they find a lead, then manpower and resources are allocated.

But Jiang Yuan's level of attention in Changyang has already exceeded norms—the daily part-time staff assigned to the cold case unit has exceeded ten, a level reserved in Changyang only for major fraud cases or large-scale serial crimes.

For Jiang Yuan, the newly acquired Death Time Identification (Lv6) was an unexpected windfall.

Though he earned the reward after solving six cases, the Lv6 level…

Thinking of Lv5's combat power, Jiang Yuan's anticipation for Lv6 instantly soared to its peak.

Moreover, the skill "Death Time Identification" had enormous utility.

To some extent, the most basic requirement a criminal investigation team has of a forensic expert is simply to know when the victim died.

Once the time of death is confirmed, the difficulty of solving the case drops dramatically.

He wondered how precisely Lv6 Death Time Identification could pinpoint the moment.

Jiang Yuan's mind burned with impatience—he longed to test it right now…

Fortunately, the alcohol-free banquet ended quickly. After leaving, Yu Wenshu offered more warm words before seeing Jiang Yuan off to his car.

Just before departure, Yu Wenshu asked quietly: "Will you come to the team tomorrow, or rest a couple more days?"

"I'll rest two days," Jiang Yuan paused, then said directly: "After that, I want to take on a current homicide case, reset my state, and recharge myself."

"Good, good, recharge!" Yu Wenshu nodded vigorously, though on the way back he muttered under his breath: a current homicide case meant another homicide would have to occur for Jiang Yuan to show up.

Though Changyang, as a major provincial capital, had frequent homicides, truly difficult ones were rare.

Yu Wenshu couldn't help feeling a bit reluctant—such a valuable resource, not fully utilized, was a pity.

Still, Yu Wenshu didn't dwell on it. Jiang Yuan had already helped solve so many major cases; adding more now wasn't urgent.

Jiang Yuan packed up and returned to his newly bought house.

The 220-square-meter apartment was cozy and well-decorated.

Living alone, Jiang Yuan found it more than sufficient.

He had no intention of using it to host guests, so he turned the living room into a study, lining one wall with bookshelves filled with forensic texts—he'd flip through them leisurely when alone, thoroughly content.

Jiang Yuan felt he truly needed to recharge; since graduating, what he'd learned in school had grown half-forgotten.

Now, with more cases under his belt, he gradually found himself confirming and deepening his academic knowledge—many things were only learned after starting work.

For instance, after visiting more crime scenes, he noticed dogs were far more loyal than cats. Cats began eating their dead owners soon after death; dogs waited days, only eating when starving.

This proved that Lv5 dog food tasted better than the original ingredients.

Jiang Yuan rested two days, returned to Ningtai to collect gifts and red envelopes from villagers, then came back and rested three more days—finally, the Criminal Investigation Brigade called.

"Brother Jiang, there's an unnatural death—want to take a look?" Tang Jia invited Jiang Yuan in a soft voice.

Her task was to draw Jiang Yuan into team life.

Waiting for a homicide case was unpredictable.

Any unnatural death case would serve as sufficient reason.

Jiang Yuan had been waiting impatiently.

He wanted to test his new skill, but no opportunity had come.

"Unnatural death is fine. I'm leaving now." His enthusiasm was at maximum.

Tang Jia was surprised, quickly replied, then added: "Should I pick you up?"

Sitting together in the car would create a great atmosphere for conversation… Tang Jia thought—Jiang Yuan's immediate acceptance meant she should respond in kind…

"No need, I'll drive myself—it's faster." Jiang Yuan grabbed his keys and headed downstairs. "Send me the location on my phone." He jumped into his G-Wagon and sped to the scene.

It was a new housing complex on the city's outskirts. The victim was a woman who hanged herself in her own bathroom.

Jiang Yuan changed into shoe covers at the door and saw Wan Baoming already inside.

Jiang Yuan blinked in surprise: "Unnatural death—and you're here too?"

Most unnatural deaths were simply assessed by forensic experts for cause of death and then handled. Only about one in ten became homicide cases.

Wan Baoming wasn't a forensic expert—he was deputy director of the Criminal Science Center. He shouldn't need to appear at the first scene.

"I called you," Wan Baoming said gravely, stepping aside to let Jiang Yuan enter. "The victim, Liu Meiyan, 43, was found dead at home by her husband at noon. We spoke with her coworkers—she showed no signs of despair recently. Her home life was normal. Also, she placed an online order last night—there's an uncollected delivery…"

Wan Baoming led Jiang Yuan to the bathroom. "Her husband, He Wensi, came home at noon, found his wife hanging, immediately screamed for help in the hallway. A neighbor heard, came out to ask, and called the police."

"Several neighbors then entered the bathroom with He Wensi and helped take his wife's body down."

Wan Baoming gestured to Jiang Yuan: "Now we're in the evidence-gathering phase."

He didn't say it outright, but from Wan Baoming's description, Jiang Yuan knew the Criminal Investigation Brigade had already treated this as a murder.

Jiang Yuan agreed—it made sense.

This kind of case was simple: suicide or homicide.

If suicide, find the motive. Otherwise, it's homicide.

And if it's homicide, the scene must be staged.

Prove the scene was staged, and the case is essentially solved.

—Proceed to inspection