Chapter 454

Breakfast.

After eating two pancakes with red eggs, Jiang Yuan washed his hands clean, changed clothes in the changing room, entered the autopsy room where incense was lit, bowed to Director Guan Director Guan Erye, and began his day's work.

Working away with Master Wu Jun was always so dull and tedious, yet somehow pleasant.

Master Wu Jun's insistence on ritual felt somewhat bothersome, but on the other hand, the forensic autopsy room with him in it felt warmer.

The boiled red eggs were perfectly cooked, each with a runny yolk. The handmade pancakes were thin and glossy—so thin you could see a hint of red through them when rolled around Bai Liu Jian—and there were also the pickles Master Wu Jun made himself, flavorful and satisfying.

After eating his fill, touching the bones made Jiang Yuan's stomach feel warm and comfortable.

Today's main task was examining bones.

Forensic anthropology, in theory, requires more thinking than physical work. There are only so many human bones, and normally they all look quite similar; ultimately, forensic anthropology is about explaining why they're different.

Sometimes, there's a standard answer to that explanation; most of the time, there isn't.

Humans understand far less about themselves than they think they do.

So, when forensic anthropologists stand before the autopsy table, their most common question is always this: How the hell did this happen?

Even with his Level 3 forensic anthropology skill, Jiang Yuan's progress remained minimal.

Some people's bones grow normally, with no special features—forensic anthropology skills struggle to identify their identities.

Only No. 4 corpse had a broken arm with Kirschner wires and medical records; the first three corpses could only be summarized in broad strokes.

One might say, while alive, it's best for the body to blend in; but after death, if you want a forensic pathologist to notice you, your tissues had better stand out.

Of course, Jiang Yuan could perform cranial reconstruction to identify these three corpses—he'd already started—but the work takes a long time; no results would appear within half a month.

When Wu Jun entered with Wang Zhong, he saw Jiang Yuan hugging a skull, intensely working at the computer.

"You look like someone who wouldn't be the hero in a movie," Wu Jun chuckled, then bowed to Director Guan Director Guan Erye and added three sticks of incense.

"Master's back? You went to help trace evidence?" Jiang Yuan greeted.

"Li Xiang was digging up soil, so I went to take a look. The local villagers were so enthusiastic, they insisted I stay for lunch—I refused, said we'd talk again when we moved the graves…" Wu Jun was cheerful; as a Level 1 forensic technician, he had no real grasp of forensic anthropology, and applying it would just waste time.

But Li Xiang and the villagers genuinely liked Wu Jun—he hadn't felt this needed in a long time.

Jiang Yuan asked: "No findings from Li Xiang's side either?"

"Yeah, he's planning to expand the search area—I don't really understand the details."

"Alright, if all else fails, we'll just wait for my cranial reconstruction." Jiang Yuan preferred cranial reconstruction over forensic anthropology for identifying remains—first and foremost because it saved money.

No matter how sharp Huang Huang Qiang's teeth were, the costs of combining forensic anthropology with background checks added up quickly—within days, it became a huge expense, and it was less reliable than Jiang Yuan's cranial reconstruction technique.

Wu Jun agreed with Jiang Yuan's approach—even as a forensic pathologist, he thought forensic anthropology was too mystical.

It just felt unscientific.

As they spoke, Wang Lan arrived at the autopsy room.

As a forensic pathologist sent from Qinghe City, she had some basic knowledge of forensic anthropology, but no real edge.

Several forensic pathologists arrived one after another, all working methodically.

With Jiang Yuan as the anchor, others no longer needed to strain their minds over bone analysis—they simply followed routine: take samples, perform checks, record data, and hope luck fell on them.

Bai Liu Jian, holding his phone, rushed into the autopsy room right on time.

Wu Jun stared at him in disbelief and warned: "Bai Da, are you planning to move your office into the autopsy room?"

"I was heading to the bureau, but got a call—No. 4 corpse has been identified." Bai Liu Jian's lips were tight, his mood far from good.

Wu Jun frowned. "That's good news—what's the problem?"

Jiang Yuan and the others gathered around.

Bai Liu Jian shook his head slightly. "No. 4 is named Wang Wang Xingzhai, from Changyang City. His phone and other records show his long-term residence was also in Changyang City."

Wu Jun instantly understood Bai Liu Jian—had he not been a professional, he might have laughed out loud.

A man from Changyang City, buried secretly in Shiting County—if viewed from the perspective of a criminal investigation team leader, calling Bai Liu Jian wronged would be an understatement.

It was as if a murder case from Changyang City had been dumped onto Shiting County. For Bai Liu Jian to be happy would be absurd.

"These bastards went all the way out here—didn't they fear getting caught by police on the road?" Wang Zhong couldn't help commenting.

Bai Liu Jian shook his head.

From a criminal psychology standpoint, if the killer chose to bury the body, it meant he still feared consequences.

Transporting a corpse over a hundred kilometers, then, seemed bizarre. As Wang Zhong said, police have checkpoints on highways; even one routine check would destroy the killer.

Why take such a huge risk just to bury a body?

Even if he wanted to bury it in an ancient tomb, didn't Changyang City have ancient tombs?

The thought made Bai Liu Jian furious.

But from another angle, the criminal's method, though unusual, was highly effective: local police had no idea this person even existed; without a body, no case was opened; county-level police departments were strapped for funds and often ignored minor cases.

"Here's Wang Wang Xingzhai's file," Bai Liu Jian handed Jiang Yuan a folder.

Jiang Yuan took off his protective suit, pulled out the documents, flipped through them page by page, and asked: "What's your next move? Hand the case over to Changyang City, or keep pushing it yourselves?"

"Changyang City won't take it," Bai Liu Jian said.

"They should at least send a few more people to help," Wu Jun protested.

Bai Liu Jian nodded. "They said they'd send a team."

Changyang City's investigative capacity was far stronger than the county's, but they had no confidence taking on a four-body case.

If there was hope of solving it, fine—but if they couldn't solve it, they'd only bring trouble on themselves.

"The bodies match." Jiang Yuan set down the documents, thinking aloud: "Then the remaining three corpses—and the grave robbers—could all be from Changyang City?"