Chapter 316

After the team members were assigned or self-assigned their tasks, Jiang Yuan plunged into the evidence room.

All eighteen members of Jiang Yuan's cold case unit were criminal investigators, so the task of tracing the warehouse owner's social connections naturally had people assigned to it.

Even after eight years, many things had changed drastically, but for a homicide case, most witnesses still cooperated—though it required immense time and manpower.

Some might no longer be in Changyang City, but those who needed to be tracked down or questioned still had to be found.

Evidence was different.

Usable evidence lay quietly in the evidence room; anything not collected that day had vanished into the river of time.

The evidence room custodian spent considerable time retrieving most of the evidence from Case 112, handed it to Jiang Yuan, and said, "Actually, you could see it from the photos—today's photos are all very comprehensive."

"Thanks," Jiang Yuan replied without explanation, picked up three evidence boxes, and went to the next room to examine each item one by one.

For his first-class merit reward opportunity, Jiang Yuan ultimately chose Forensic Tool Mark Analysis (Lv6).

A reward left unclaimed serves no purpose, and after careful consideration, Jiang Yuan believed Tool Mark Analysis was the most suitable for his current stage.

Forensic pathologists have forensic biology, but that mainly deals with biological samples—saliva, blood, semen, and so on. Even fragmented human remains count, like determining whether a bone fragment came from the skull or the knee—if the former, it's definitely another homicide.

Tool Mark Analysis primarily addresses several questions: what tool was used, how it was used, whether this specific tool was responsible, and the offender's occupational identity.

In his daily work, Jiang Yuan felt this area was both the hardest to satisfy and the most essential he needed—so naturally, he turned to the system.

If the first-class merit skill reward were refined further—for instance, if Jiang Yuan chose to specialize in a specific type of tool—it could reach Lv7.

But after a brief, non-torturous thought process, Jiang Yuan still chose Lv6 Tool Mark Analysis, covering a broader range of tools.

Based on his current experience, Lv6 was more than sufficient. By Lv7, even Changyang City's lab might not meet his needs—if it became a dragon-slaying technique, that would be a waste.

Moreover, for Tool Mark Analysis alone, the full spectrum was undeniably useful. But limiting oneself to a specific tool type just to reach Lv7 would impose too many constraints.

After all, police can't control what tools killers choose. Though most murderers in China use knives, Jiang Yuan couldn't accept a scenario where he could read knife marks like a god but saw hammer marks as useless pig dung.

Even Lv6 Tool Mark Analysis felt like using a butcher's knife to kill a chicken.

Lv7 would likely be a star destroyer swatting a mosquito—way too much firepower.

Most importantly, Jiang Yuan still had great confidence in his future. Next time he earned first-class merit—or even a Second-Class Model or First-Class Model—he'd know exactly what Lv7 tasted like.

Sitting in the evidence room, with Lv6 Tool Mark Analysis active, Jiang Yuan saw every piece of evidence as if it were speaking, each one clamoring to report its current state, past history, origin, and background.

The eight-year-old evidence had changed greatly, but no matter how much it had changed, Lv6's skill rendered it all legible.

Jiang Yuan, wearing gloves, went through each item with minimal pauses.

Creak.

Another police officer walked in.

The evidence room custodian immediately stood up and respectfully said, "Chief Zhu."

"Little Li, fetch me an item—I need to re-collect fingerprints," said Zhu Huan, smiling at the custodian. Zhu Huan was a legendary fingerprint expert in Changyang City, having solved countless major cases and consistently among the top recipients of annual commendations.

Within the Changyang City Criminal Investigation Brigade, Zhu Huan held high status. Whenever a difficult fingerprint case arose, officers turned to him—and he always delivered satisfying results.

Even in provincial capitals, experts like Zhu Huan were scarce resources. At every provincial and ministerial fingerprint battle, Zhu Huan was a godlike figure, repeatedly achieving breakthroughs for over a decade. To young custodians like Xiao Li, Zhu Huan was a living legend.

Zhu Huan himself greatly enjoyed the respect he received within the police force.

At middle age, life is seven or eight parts unsatisfying: aging, sick parents; financial crisis; a domineering wife and unruly children; thinning hair; a bloated figure; difficulty with bowel movements—only his work and career lit up the light in Zhu Huan's life.

It allowed him to illuminate himself, others, and even extinguish the light of others.

Occasionally, Zhu Huan relished sitting in his office and snuffing out a murderer's life with a single click.

Zhu Huan waited as Xiao Li retrieved the evidence, casually scanning the room.

Changyang City Police Department's evidence room resembled a small supermarket. Around the perimeter stood attractive all-copper evidence cabinets, divided into many compartments—equipment purchased at the facility's founding.

Later, as space ran out, shelves were added in the center, and evidence was stacked in boxes.

Adjacent to the shelves were rooms with several large tables, allowing officers to examine and photograph evidence. Ceiling cameras recorded the entire process.

Zhu Huan's gaze involuntarily fixed on a tall figure.

Zhu Huan saw this and couldn't help but be drawn to a tall figure.

Zhu Huan recognized him at first glance—but feared he was hallucinating.

Jiang Yuan had made an unforgettable impression on Zhu Huan.

Who had ever seen a fingerprint expert solve double-digit cold homicide cases in a single fingerprint battle?

It wasn't unheard of—every few years, rumors surfaced of some province producing such a genius—but who had the luck to witness one in person?

And who had the misfortune to directly oppose such an expert?

Zhu Huan still remembered the ranking board from the fingerprint battle.

Back then, Zhu Huan saw Jiang Yuan every day—but never truly looked at him.

Now, Zhu Huan noticed Jiang Yuan was examining a metal door lock.

Straightening his clothes, the middle-aged Zhu Huan walked over and greeted, "Forensic Jiang, here to inspect evidence?"

"Yes. A cold case," Jiang Yuan replied, recognizing Zhu Huan. The fingerprint battle lasted over a month, and Zhu Huan was the fingerprint expert Jiang Yuan spent the most time with—they were both buried in the office all year.

Zhu Huan smiled, glanced at the door lock in Jiang Yuan's hands, and kindly advised, "Your fingerprint talent is so exceptional—just focus on fingerprints. Treat every day like a fingerprint battle; it'll better leverage your strengths than randomly handling cases."

"That's true," Jiang Yuan replied, but he couldn't explain to Zhu Huan that his Lv4 Chongqing-style single-fingerprint analysis, combined with Lv4 Qingdao-style single-fingerprint analysis and Lv5 image enhancement, while synergistic, still couldn't match pure Lv6 Tool Mark Analysis in raw capability.

"That's true," Jiang Yuan couldn't explain to Zhu Huan that combining his Level 4 Chongqing-style single-fingerprint analysis, a Level 4 Qingdao-style single-fingerprint analysis, and a Level 5 image enhancement certainly had a synergistic effect, but in pure combat power, it still couldn't match a Level 6 tool mark examination.

"I remember you're especially skilled with blurry fingerprint images—oh right, you also have expertise in imaging," Zhu Huan recalled.

"Yes," Jiang Yuan replied simply.

"Imaging is great—your imaging skills should be fully utilized," Zhu Huan said, growing envious.

Imaging expertise was genuinely profitable. If he had expert-level imaging skills, he wouldn't be short on money.

If he weren't short on money, his wife probably wouldn't be unhappy; his child could afford tutoring; hiring better teachers—though likely useless—would at least show he, as a father, gave it his all.

As Zhu Huan drifted into thought, Jiang Yuan's attention gradually returned to the evidence. After studying the photos, he began disassembling the lock.

The metallic clinking sound jolted Zhu Huan back.

He watched Jiang Yuan dismantle the lock into parts, then casually slipped on a pair of gloves and leaned closer to examine it.

"These are marks from a pick used to manipulate the pins—poor technique. So many scratches on the keyway suggest prolonged picking—not the work of a professional," Zhu Huan said. He wasn't just a fingerprint expert—he was also a master of tool mark analysis.

But since beginning forensic work, Zhu Huan's fingerprint skills stood out more, and he gradually specialized solely in fingerprints.

Yet Zhu Huan believed that if he lacked time to study other forensic skills, Jiang Yuan certainly had even less—how young was he? Even if he'd started training in the womb…

"It's not just the marks from the pick and tension wrench," Jiang Yuan pulled out his phone and began taking photos. "There are also signs of repeated attempts with a newly cut key."

Zhu Huan froze. Could this really be distinguished?

He bent down, scrutinizing the disassembled lock core.

After a long while, he could only make out vague impressions. He asked, "What can you prove with these repeated key insertion marks?"

"It proves someone first tried opening the lock with a newly cut key, but the key didn't fit—or for some other reason—failed to open it, then resorted to picking the lock," Jiang Yuan paused. "This indicates premeditation—the suspect had access to the key."

After a long while, Zhu Huan could only make out something vague, and asked, "What can the multiple puncture marks you mentioned prove?"

"It proves someone tried to open the lock with a newly made key, but the key didn't fit, or for some other reason, they couldn't unlock it, and only then used the pick-tumbler method to open the door," Jiang Yuandun paused, then said, "It shows this was a premeditated crime, and the suspect had access to the key."