[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner":3,"chapter-the-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-the-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-chapter-69":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Nation's Forensic Medical Examiner",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2326764,4551,"Chapter 69: Searching for a Person","the-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-chapter-69",69,"\u003Cp>The rain outside the window continued to pour down with a roaring sound, and multiple teams of criminal investigators had already driven off to various hospitals under the surveillance of cameras.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gloomy sky and torrential rain, along with the resolute backs of the officers, greatly satisfied the photographer, who took photos while telling Huang Qiangmin, waiting in the lobby: “This set of photos—give it a catchy name later, and the publicity effect will be perfect.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Qiangmin twisted his neck, glanced at the photographer’s profile, and said slowly: “Surveillance filming would be better.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh? That… the photos we’ve taken are already enough…” The photographer, listening to the drumming rain outside, quickly forced a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go on—take more photos like the team did in Qinghe City; only then can we promote it properly.” Huang Qiangmin handed him a raincoat and watched him step out the door into the downpour.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Updates from the front lines kept arriving, bringing mixed feelings of hope and concern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The good news was that laser tattoo removal records at all hospitals were documented; with careful searching, most tattoo locations could be confirmed. The bad news was that no record matching the victim had yet been found in any hospital.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Wenkai, captain of the Second Detachment, was searching through records in the office of Qinghe City First People’s Hospital.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qinghe City was the administrative seat of the Qinghe region; residents of Ningtai County with serious medical issues typically came to Qinghe City first for treatment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The distance between the two places was not far—roughly dozens of kilometers—and those with cars could arrive quickly, while public transit routes were plentiful. Qinghe City also had the Taihe River flowing through it, making it an upstream city of the Taihe River.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, many people from Ningtai County also went to Changyang City for treatment, but Changyang had too many hospitals, making searches difficult. Liu Wenkai shared Huang Qiangmin’s view: first check hospitals in Qinghe City and Ningtai County itself; only if nothing turned up would they consider Changyang or even more upstream cities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Wenkai sat beside the computer, watching the doctor scroll backward through medical records—all the way to the year before last—and still found nothing, making him fidget anxiously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Can’t you search for keywords like ‘leg’ or ‘Fengshi point’? Pull up all previous treatments?” Liu Wenkai offered suggestions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The doctor glanced at him and said: “Why don’t you just build us a software like that?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your software’s way behind the times,” Liu Wenkai retorted, then added: “But don’t miss anything—take your time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not in a hurry anymore?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course I’m in a hurry—how far back have you gone?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Almost to the year before last. Tattoo removal spikes around the New Year.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Wenkai’s expression grew heavier. The forensic examiner estimated the victim’s age at 23–25, meaning three years back would place him at 20–22. The likelihood of tattoo removal decreased sharply the further back you went. Having worked as a detective for so long, he knew what kind of tattoos minors typically got. A single fist-sized tattoo on a man’s thigh was clearly not the style of a teenager.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Maybe it wasn’t done at our hospital. There are many tattoo removal places now—even beauty salons offer it…” The doctor said while continuing his search.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Wenkai said: “The forensic examiner said the removal was very clean.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, then it might have been done at a hospital. But not necessarily ours.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We’re checking all hospitals—please look carefully. If you really can’t find it, we’ll deal with it later,” Liu Wenkai said, restraining his temper. He knew full well it might be impossible to find anything—indeed, they weren’t even sure the victim had died in Ningtai County.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But for them, there was no gambling—only systematic elimination, one hospital at a time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The doctor, growing tired, muttered as he searched: “Actually, some beauty salons now do decent removal work. Mostly, how clean the removal is depends heavily on the ink used for the tattoo—black and dark blue inks usually come off cleanly; mixed-color inks are much harder to remove. Also, individual body chemistry matters—I’ve seen people clear it in one session, others who tried ten or twenty times and still couldn’t, eventually giving up, and some with keloid-prone skin—tattoo gone, but scars remained…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the doctor spoke, his pace slowed, then stopped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Wenkai immediately stood up and walked over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Take a look—does this look like him?” The doctor opened the photo in the file.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Wenkai had not told him the body was only half-complete; he said nothing, only: “First, look at the tattoo.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The doctor then pulled up another photo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, on the right side of the thigh, there was a string of English letters in cursive script, clustered together, dark and blurred.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just by location, it was clearly a human.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The doctor studied it closely and read aloud: “I-believe. ‘I believe’?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Believe what?” Liu Wenkai asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who knows what it means. If this was removed, it was done the year before last.” The doctor pulled up the file, printed it out, and handed it to Liu Wenkai: “This was probably done at some roadside tattoo parlor—low quality.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was someone who frequently examined tattoos—his opinion carried weight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Wenkai nodded slowly, then pulled out his phone: “I’ll call now. Thank you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, he dialed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well?” Huang Qiangmin answered the call instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Found him. Victim’s name is Zhou Lei, 24 years old, has an ID number—I haven’t checked the details yet, I’ll send them to you shortly…” Liu Wenkai sounded energized.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a case like this, identifying the victim’s identity was a major, milestone breakthrough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In most similar cases, tracing the victim’s network of relationships greatly increased the chances of solving the crime.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elaborately planned crimes were rare. Even if the perpetrator designed a sophisticated method, very few could execute it flawlessly. Even fewer avoided unexpected complications.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Liu Wenkai’s experience, it was the habitual criminals, the old troublemakers who frequently visited the police station, who could barely control their emotions and expressions when facing officers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most killers simply didn’t know how to interact with police.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s why officers often had to visit homes for investigations and interviews.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Calling someone in or asking them to come to the station made it easier for them to mentally prepare, increasing the difficulty of interrogation or questioning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, I’m leaving. Keep this confidential—don’t tell anyone else. If anyone asks, just tell them to contact me, okay?” Liu Wenkai gave two quick reminders and hurried off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the other side, the entire criminal investigation team became energized. The officers stationed in Qinghe gathered together, voluntarily working overtime, assigning themselves tasks, and rushing into action.\u003C\u002Fp>",1115,"2026-06-20T18:55:00.150Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","8e661d91d010ebf5585371d3621cc363c0913557424a79c9da9464e3de7a0866","the-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-chapter-70","the-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-chapter-68",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-cover.jpg"]