Chapter 359: Chase and Escape

"Jiang Team."

"Expert Jiang has arrived."

At the hideout where the trio had been hiding, the Ciyong City police officers who had gathered to meet them all greeted Jiang Yuan.

People are this way—police especially.

When faced with someone incapable, everyone looks at him with the eyes of "someone incapable"; but when faced with a truly capable detective, their attitude and posture naturally soften.

The stronger the case-solving ability, the harder the skills, the softer everyone becomes.

The brigade commander quickly stepped out of the room, his face beaming like a tangerine, extending his hand from afar to shake Jiang Yuan's: "Expert Jiang, this should be the hideout of the three suspects. We've done our best to preserve the scene…"

"Then I'll examine the scene first?" Jiang Yuan said, beginning to put on gloves.

"Yes, yes, yes!" the brigade commander replied at once.

Liu Jinghui, standing nearby, also put on gloves, shoe covers, head covers, and a mask—the so-called "three covers and one mask"—and asked: "Have the suspects' identities been confirmed?"

"Confirmed. We owe this to the tips you two provided." The brigade commander readily acknowledged their help, then added: "The ringleader is most likely a man 1. meters tall named Xu Yang. We found packaging from Ma Zhongli's belongings, leftover ropes, and several blood-stained undergarments in the room."

"Didn't you find the weapon or the coat?" These two items would carry far stronger evidentiary weight.

The brigade commander shook his head: "No sign of them inside yet—they must have disposed of them."

"What's the relationship between this Xu Yang and Ma Zhongli?"

"None." The brigade commander answered firmly.

At this, Jiang Yuan and Mu Zhiyang and the others turned to look.

The brigade commander spread his hands, slightly embarrassed: "So we're grateful for your tip about the safe. From the interpersonal angle, these three had little to no connection with Ma Zhongli. If anything, the second suspect—the knife-wielding man, Fan Peng—is a local who, through a convoluted chain, can somehow be linked to Ma Zhongli…"

"Then it must be him," Liu Jinghui guessed outright.

The brigade commander, mid-explanation, paused and asked: "Why?"

"Because he has the strongest motive to eliminate witnesses. Of the four people in Ma Zhongli's home, two had their throats slit, and the female head of the household was slashed multiple times. Sure, you could say they saw his face or said something—but now that this interpersonal link exists, Fan Peng's suspicion increases dramatically."

The brigade commander nodded silently. He could have reached the same reasoning himself—but he wouldn't dare state it with such certainty like Liu Jinghui.

Now that case-solving success backs him up, it's clear that Liu Jinghui's confident deduction must have eliminated many unreliable theories along the way.

Overall, Jiang Yuan and Liu Jinghui have already proven their ability—anything they do now carries a halo.

Jiang Yuan stepped into the trio's hideout first.

It was a second-floor unit in an old residential building, at least thirty years old, with plain cement walls, dull gray and speckled with black stains—no one knew what they were or how they got there.

The hallway was also entirely encased in cement, cluttered with miscellaneous items, making it cramped and dim.

Jiang Yuan immediately had someone hold up inspection lamps to examine the door's traces first.

Inside, it was a one-room, one-living-area apartment—everything visible, including the bed, was dirty and disordered.

Not just the kitchen near the entrance, but the floor vinyl everywhere was peeling up—obviously, the rental deposit would never be returned.

Mu Zhiyang and the others entered, expertly turning on inspection lamps, footprint lamps, fingerprint lamps, and more.

The inspection equipment was mostly provided by Ciyong City; they themselves merely waited nearby, effectively yielding the first round of inspection to Jiang Yuan.

This was a stark contrast to their initial treatment.

Jiang Yuan briefly surveyed the interior, then began laying down "quick-path stepping boards," officially called "rapid passage stepping plates."

Ciyong City used foldable metal plates—perfectly matching the term "stepping board." They lacked the flash of acrylic boards but were sturdy and durable, making them very middle-class inspection gear.

In fact, a region's police equipment reveals much about its local economy and how much the police system is valued. Units like Shanghai's 803 don't even consider cost-effectiveness—they just use the best, newest gear. If something wears out, they replace or donate it without hesitation.

Units like Ciyong City are like middle-class households: everything must be cost-effective, buying only essentials, and preferably durable ones that last longer to save on replacement and maintenance costs.

Units like Ningtai County are the impoverished families of the police system—everything is lacking, everything is poor. They scrape together money to buy only the most urgent necessities, even if they know a better product exists—when they see the price, they still choose the cheaper one.

Only after Jiang Yuan left and began working outside did Ningtai County's finances improve. So even though Huang Qiangmin wanted to keep Jiang Yuan, he still had to send him out to solve cases.

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Several Ciyong City trace technicians followed Jiang Yuan's steps, observing his methods closely.

Like forensic pathologist Qiu Xing, Ciyong City's top two trace technicians also reached Level 2. This was honed through experience—in a prefecture-level city, if no trace technician reaches Level 2, the case-solving rate will collapse within two years.

But if none exist, a few clever young technicians, through one case after another, might reach Level 2 in one or two years. Of course, only possibly—like old Yan from Ningtai County, who trained his entire life and remained a strong Level 1.

Jiang Yuan walked slowly along the stepping boards, observing as he went. When he spotted nearby traces, he didn't rush to clean them—he first placed a yellow marker down.

Jiang Yuan walked all the way to the back of the room—the bed—before beginning his formal trace search.

Most trace technicians scan for traces using various lights—only after spotting something do they begin detailed scanning.

Only in rare cases do technicians scan inch by inch, as Jiang Yuan did during his secondary inspection.

Of course, most minor criminals don't warrant such treatment.

This time, Jiang Yuan didn't plan to scan so meticulously. The main reason: the suspects' identities were confirmed, so their fingerprints and footprints held little value.

The core now was to find other clues to aid the upcoming manhunt.

The Ciyong City trace technicians gradually spread out, collecting traces behind Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan observed more than he acted.

Level 4 crime scene investigation in this indoor environment was overkill.

To fully utilize Level 4 crime scene investigation, you'd need at least the scale of the earlier "Door Stabbing Case"—an outdoor scene with constant foot traffic, repeatedly disturbed, where traces became uncollectible or indistinguishable.

In this home invasion case, the three suspects were somewhat cautious at the crime scene—but after returning to this temporary hideout, their caution dropped sharply.

In fact, most criminals are like this. Many carefully analyze the situation and plan their crimes beforehand—but once successful, they immediately relax and end up leaving traces.

Those who can maintain focus, sustain high-intensity attention, self-control, emotional stability, and perfectly execute their pre-planned actions—even if criminal—are rarely involved in such low-level property crimes.

With little concealment, most traces didn't even need collection—Jiang Yuan could reconstruct the scene just by observing.

He watched for a long time—at least twenty minutes—then, upon entering the bathroom, he slowly crouched down.

"How old are the three suspects again?" Jiang Yuan suddenly asked.

"In their twenties. Suspect one is the oldest, about 28, then 26, then 24," Liu Jinghui replied, standing nearby watching. "Does age relate to the traces?"

"The urine around the toilet is splattered everywhere. If these were three young men in their twenties, it wouldn't be this bad," Jiang Yuan pointed to the area around the toilet.

The urine stains were faint but spread across nearly all three front sides of the toilet—clearly from urine scattering as it was released.

Middle-aged Liu Jinghui recognized the scene immediately: "True. This guy clearly has kidney deficiency. Three young, strong suspects wouldn't produce this kind of splatter."

"Give me cotton swabs." Jiang Yuan adjusted his crouch and began carefully collecting the urine traces around the toilet.