Chapter 301: Self-Assignment

The personnel dynamics in a provincial capital are far more complex than in a county town.

To put it plainly, Huang Qiangmin was practically a big shot in Ningtai County. Though he had a superior above him and brothers beside him, in terms of seniority and job responsibilities, he was unquestionably one of the top figures.

Yu Wenshu, the captain of the Criminal Investigation Brigade, was not nearly as happy. Beside him stood the Economic Crimes Brigade, the Public Order Brigade, the Narcotics Unit, the Cybersecurity Unit, the Surveillance Unit, the Internal Security Unit, and the largest of all—the Traffic Police Brigade and the Special Police Brigade. Meanwhile, parallel departments could number over a dozen: Legal Affairs, Household Registration Management, Science and Communications, and so on.

Above him, the number of bosses was several times greater than in a county bureau.

At the same time, every district and county under Changyang City had its own district or county bureau, whose authority might even outweigh Yu Wenshu's.

Moreover, the provincial department, that overarching authority, occasionally made its presence felt.

And this was precisely why Yu Wenshu needed Jiang Yuan so badly.

In a provincial capital, competition is fierce, and standing out is truly difficult. Yu Wenshu's performance as captain of the Criminal Investigation Brigade was neither good nor bad—or perhaps slightly better—but it simply didn't stand out.

But solving four cold homicide cases, plus maintaining a 100% clearance rate on current cases, was undeniably remarkable achievement.

If he could maintain this momentum next year, Yu Wenshu felt his career might still open up significantly.

Jiang Yuan had a rough sense of the provincial capital's complexity. But he had been transferred here—he didn't need to navigate all these personnel relationships. As a Level Three Police Inspector, his rank was technically lower than Wang Chuanxing and Tang Jia's, so he just needed to do his job.

"Case 427: Alcohol-Related Death. Wang Chuanxing, project the details on the screen." Jiang Yuan didn't even pull out a USB drive—he just gave the order.

Fortunately, Wang Chuanxing truly knew how to operate office equipment and software. He immediately connected his laptop to the projector in the new office and quickly pulled up the full case file on Case 427.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yuan didn't wait—he spoke on his own: "The deceased, Wang Jun, 41, died several days before discovery. The case file says eight to ten days, but that's wrong. He'd been dead no more than six days, likely only five and a half."

"In short, after being dead for several days, Wang Jun's body was found in a house on a hillside outside the village, showing signs of having been moved. The deceased had lost bowel control; his anal sphincter was relaxed. Anal swabs and internal shallow and deep swabs tested positive for seminal fluid. DNA analysis detected male DNA not belonging to the victim."

Jiang Yuan described the general case details; Wang Chuanxing's projector was ready, and more information now appeared on the screen.

Some were reading quietly; others couldn't help but begin discussing: "So this is a rape-murder case?"

"The victim was 41, and he wasn't bad-looking for a middle-aged man—but not so attractive as to provoke crime. Was he gay?"

"The victim had only junior high education and lived in the countryside all his life. Is rural life really that wild now?"

Jiang Yuan waited as everyone studied the images and murmured for a moment, then signaled Wang Chuanxing to advance the slide.

When the slide showed a photo of the corpse, Jiang Yuan said: "These photos are very clear. You can plainly see third-instar sarcophagid fly larvae, along with larvae and pupae of the sarcophagid fly species. Judging by the ambient temperature, using the sarcophagid fly as the indicator species, the time of death was most likely between five and a half and six days."

Using forensic entomology to estimate time of death is an extremely effective method when the body has been dead for an extended period.

Moreover, forensic entomology has developed extensively: it can not only determine time of death based on the growth patterns of necrophagous insects, but also advance to analyzing insect community succession, individual development stages, seasonal characteristics, and other biological traits.

Of course, the complexities multiply—just classifying insect species alone is a specialized field.

"The current case's forensic expert estimated eight days—that's a two-day discrepancy?" Wan Baoming, deputy director of the Criminal Science Center, couldn't help but ask on behalf of his own team.

"More like three days. The main difference lies in when necrophagous insects arrived at the body—sarcophagid flies delay their arrival under low temperatures. Also, the body was moved, so its initial covering at the primary scene may have been extensive." Jiang Yuan gave a brief explanation, then added: "This raises a question."

Everyone naturally turned to Jiang Yuan. No one questioned him about forensic entomology—its difficulty rivaled that of forensic anthropology, and most present understood forensics only superficially.

Jiang Yuan flipped through the case file: "The original case lead investigator, based on the victim's estimated time of death, focused the crime window on before April 21, especially the 17th, 18th, and 19th. But with the revised time of death, the victim was still alive then."

"The victim went missing on April 17—that's a crucial point when determining time of death." Wan Baoming sounded like he was defending the previous forensic expert, but in truth, he was backing Jiang Yuan.

The judgment of the victim's time of death was likely based more on the fact of his disappearance than on purely scientific forensic analysis.

Thinking this way, everyone found it easier to accept Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan didn't waste words: "I believe the victim died on April 22."

"Missing on April 17, dead on April 22—where was he during those five days?" Wan Baoming rubbed his head.

Many detectives in the room rubbed their heads too.

"I suggest we follow this direction," Jiang Yuan said. "The victim must have had a place to stay. He only took a small amount of cash and claimed he went out to buy cigarettes—so he was almost certainly taken by someone familiar."

"The original investigation team assumed a stranger committed the crime—similar to a rape-murder. These are two entirely different lines of thought." Yu Wenshu frowned, then relaxed.

If the current investigation team's direction was indeed wrong, the probability of solving this cold case increased dramatically.

Jiang Yuan nodded: "The original theory assumed the victim was raped and then killed. The crime scene was near the dumping site, so the victim wouldn't need money or lodging."

"But if we revise the time of death, the victim couldn't have stayed outside the village for five days without returning home. The reason he left was likely the appearance of someone familiar."

Everyone nodded as they listened, their spirits lifting slightly.

A familiar person—there are only so many possibilities. Re-examining interpersonal connections might yield results.

"The victim left no lodging records—he either stayed with someone he knew, or in a small inn. I suggest we coordinate with the Public Order Brigade to check nearby small inns." A newly assigned officer raised his hand eagerly.

"Agreed," Jiang Yuan said.

"Since he left the village, we should check surveillance footage from before and after his departure. I'll contact the Image Investigation Brigade."

"Agreed."

"Should we re-investigate his interpersonal relationships too?"

"Agreed."

The team members, one after another, assigned themselves tasks without waiting for orders.