Chapter 314

Pre-trial expert Meng Chengbiao ruthlessly tore off a goose leg, grease smeared all over his mouth, yet his eyes never left the charred corpse on the screen.

He truly enjoyed these gatherings Jiang Yuan organized—plenty to eat and drink, and the younger elite cops, suffering from stomach discomfort, barely spoke at all, saving a lot of communication cost.

In Meng Chengbiao's eyes as a veteran detective, young cops hadn't earned the right to speak until they'd been through years of training. Like today—if seeing a corpse made you lose your appetite or even vomit, that wasn't wrong per se, but if you joined the case and started offering opinions, wasn't that ridiculous?

In fact, detectives who'd handled a few homicide cases could usually face corpses without flinching. Demanding they eat roasted goose beside a corpse was admittedly high, but if they couldn't even manage that, it was only fair they spoke less and felt a bit uncomfortable.

Meng Chengbiao couldn't help but admire Jiang Yuan. Look—he said nothing, yet got everything done, expressed everything that needed expressing, and left everyone on the team satisfied in their own way.

Even the few young officers currently feeling sick actually enjoyed this unusual team-building—just couldn't post it on WeChat Moments, which was a bit frustrating.

"The photo album contains about this many images." Jiang Yuan clicked through each photo one by one; everyone had already started eating lamb legs.

A few newcomers who'd initially been unsettled, perhaps due to hunger or desensitization to corpses, now began tearing meat and eating too.

Undeniably, with Jiang's father cooking and a familiar chef assisting, the food far surpassed ordinary standards—no regular restaurant could match this level.

"Next are some photos I took today of the warehouse's current state—take a look." Jiang Yuan held a skewer of lamb, eating as he played the photos.

This team-building was also his experiment: previously, when handling cases, Jiang Yuan had been solitary, relying solely on his own skills to solve them.

Now that he had the cold case unit, merely treating these officers as basic laborers would be wasteful—but exactly how to use them effectively, Jiang Yuan didn't fully understand, so they'd just look at the photos together.

Jiang Yuan still viewed the photos primarily through his own lens, but if others focused closely, they could keep pace with his rhythm.

Those who couldn't keep up could review them later at their own pace.

Later came Jiang Yuan's 360-degree video footage.

In the video, the surroundings were empty; few cars dotted the parking lot. His final sweep revealed nothing unusual.

Jiang Yuan had already carefully watched this video while driving—he watched it again now, still with no clues.

"Why film this video?" Tang Jia had eaten only a few bites of meat and now focused entirely on the projection.

"Because the tires on my car were slashed." Jiang Yuan paused the video, clicked forward, and displayed a photo of his rear tire punctured:

"Same as Director Liu's case?" Tang Jia clearly had studied Jiang Yuan's cases.

Jiang Yuan grunted: "Not exactly the same. Director Liu's vehicle was on mountain roads—accident was almost inevitable. We were on city streets; it was likely a warning about low tire pressure…"

"That's too dangerous. And slashing a cop's car—this guy's got guts. Plus, how did he know you'd go to the warehouse?" Tang Jia fired off several questions, drawing everyone's attention.

Shen Yaowei reevaluated Tang Jia and said: "Actually, your questions are pretty good."

Jiang Yuan nodded slowly. The first few remarks weren't necessary, but the last question was genuinely valid.

He'd only decided on a whim to check the warehouse—he hadn't notified anyone. So how did someone wait there for him?

If this person had been tailing him—or even Shen Yaoguo—that'd be difficult. Cops' vigilance far exceeds ordinary people's; occasional surveillance is possible, but long-term tracking? Extremely hard.

"Is there a mole inside the warehouse?" Wang Chuan blurted out.

"But these are all homicide cases from years ago. Keep watching the warehouse?" Tang Jia added: "Still, we could check."

"You and Wang Chuan investigate the warehouse." Jiang Yuan casually tossed out this lead, then turned to Miao Liyuan: "You check the surveillance around the warehouse—especially road cameras. The compound's large, and most traffic is trucks—there must be vehicles involved."

"You and Wang Chuan check the warehouse." Jiang Yuanshun tossed out this lead, then turned to Miao Liyuan beside him: "You check the surveillance around the warehouse, especially the road cameras—this compound is large, and most traffic consists of trucks; there must be some vehicle records."

"Then… now, everyone speak freely—think of it like a murder mystery game," Jiang Yuan tossed the remote onto the table, picked up another skewer, and ate as he spoke: "The only difference is our script is real—and there's no correct answer."

Everyone chuckled in agreement, then fell into deep thought.

Officers who joined Jiang Yuan's homicide unit either had ambition—or more ambition. Either way, they needed to solve cases to fulfill it.

Besides, young people always crave self-actualization.

"Arson cases are notoriously hard to solve. This one back then took enormous effort just to get anywhere." Meng Chengbiao, besides being a pre-trial expert, was also the oldest detective in Jiang Yuan's team and knew some history.

Jiang Yuan grunted in agreement. Honestly, he had no particularly good plan for arson cases either.

Crime scene investigation for fires is a specialized skill—highly difficult, whether in police or fire departments, with low accuracy.

Jiang Yuan could've taken this skill as an elective, but using such a high-level ability for this felt like a waste.

"I think we should start with interpersonal relationships," Meng Chengbiao continued. "This case is clearly about targeting a person—no theft, no obvious disputes. The female victim's identity was unusual, making it hard to investigate."

"This part's yours," Jiang Yuan handed over another lead.

"I think we should start with interpersonal relationships," Meng Cheng added. "This case is a classic case of targeting a person—no property was stolen, no obvious dispute, and the female victim's identity is unusual, making it hard to investigate."

Others gradually began speaking, soon falling into a turn-based format.

Like a murder mystery game with too many players.

The projector remote was occasionally picked up, bringing up a few images.

Jiang Yuan leaned back on the sofa, listening to the discussions as thoughts swirled in his mind.

He still intended to start from the corpse on this case.

Arson had severely damaged the corpse's expressions, but corpses reveal countless details. The forensic pathologist on this case had also been meticulous—everything needing explanation had been clearly stated.

His only concern: his Forensic Pathology skill was only Level 4—equivalent to a national expert level, far from mastery.

If he could autopsy the actual corpse, Jiang Yuan might extract more information. Without it, relying solely on photos, his Level 4 Forensic Pathology would drop slightly—roughly Level 3. .

Jiang Yuan estimated he'd need to study the photos carefully for a full day to draw conclusions. At Level 4, his Forensic Pathology skill was dominant within Shannan.

If there were a corpse from a current case to autopsy, Jiang Yuan might gain more information. Without one, even a Level 4 forensic pathologist would have to scale back slightly—roughly equivalent to Level 3. .

Jiang Yuan estimated he would need to carefully examine the photos for a full day to reach a conclusion. His Level 4 forensic pathology expertise was more than enough to dominate within Shannan.

Too difficult.