Chapter 772: A Thunderous Strike is Required

If it were a matter of negotiating terms, Jiang Yuan wouldn't pay much attention. Huang Qiangmin handled these things; he didn't understand the market rates or these shrewd people. But the case Lei Xin brought up was truly compelling.

The criminal cases Jiang Yuan had solved in the past two years were likely more than what an average criminal police officer would solve in a lifetime—though there were god-like figures in the Ministry's Criminal Investigation Bureau who had solved thousands of cases, from any angle, Lei Xin still presented a very impressive buff.

First was the possibility of it being "about to happen." Compared to locking the stable door after the horse has bolted, it was clearly more of a priority to prevent heinous crimes.

Secondly, the complexity of the case itself was already very high. Stranger rape cases were actually quite rare now. According to data from the "Big Data Report on Sexual Assault Judicial Cases in China," among the relationships between parties in rape cases, stranger-perpetrated crimes accounted for only 3.77% of the total. Over half were netizens, and the third most common were current partners, accounting for 17.9%.

In other words, most rape cases didn't even need solving; when the victim reported the crime, they could identify the perpetrator. At most, it was a matter of peeling back a layer of "netizen" identity, which, with current real-name internet registration, was just a matter of clicking a mouse in the police system.

But when a case truly needed solving, the difficulty was not small at all.

A covered head meant the suspect's appearance hadn't been seen. Being bound meant the perpetrator likely had no defensive wounds, and DNA might not be retrievable from under the victim's fingernails, or if it was, it might not match...

If it happened in the wilderness without surveillance footage, the case could easily hit a dead end.

Thinking was one thing, but Jiang Yuan asked, "Were any DNA or fingerprints retrieved?"

"No, the perpetrator wore a condom both times. Also, the two victims reported the crimes on the second and third days, respectively; both had changed clothes and showered. The clothes weren't washed, but no usable DNA was found. This happening near the New Year, sigh... the social pressure on the victims is immense. Fortunately, both cooperated with the police in evidence collection," Lei Xin shook his head.

After being raped, one shouldn't shower—most people know this now. But most people, upon returning home, often fall into immense pain and avoidance psychology. Some just want to take a shower to face a new life; their first thought isn't about pursuing justice.

American data shows that 25% of rape victims choose not to report the crime.

However, 75% still call the police, including some victims who have showered. They might regain their judgment by the second or third day and eventually make the decision to report it.

For cases where the suspect's identity is known, whether or not they showered doesn't actually have much impact.

In stranger cases, it naturally increases the intensity of the police investigation.

"The victims' clothing has been preserved, right? And no DNA or fingerprints were found, is that correct?"

"Correct. The clothing was stored according to regulations; some were torn, but no semen or blood was found. Um... is it useful?" Lei Xin knew of Jiang Yuan's remarkable forensic botany skills and couldn't help but ask: "Can that botanical analysis be used?"

Jiang Yuan said, "Using forensic botany, clothing can indicate the location and suggest the specific site where it happened, but... that information is useless now; you already know the specific location of the crime. It could be used as evidence later on, though."

"Alright. So even a god-like skill won't work here," Lei Xin sighed.

"Conventional operations like checking surveillance and mobile phones have all been done, right?" Jiang Yuan confirmed again.

Lei Xin nodded again: "There's no surveillance on the road where the incident occurred, and we checked surveillance further away, but it was too far to be of any use. Same with the phones; the technical investigation team didn't provide any suitable suspects."

Wan Baoming, the deputy director of the Changyang City Criminal Technology Center, was listening to their conversation and couldn't help but say, "In that case, the usual technical means are basically useless. However, this person's technique is quite strong; ropes, head coverings—these aren't things an average person can play with. Was the rope found? Or rope fibers?"

"Rope fibers were found. Before leaving, he would use a knife to cut the rope, and he would also use the knife to threaten the victim. However, there are no results yet from tracking the rope fibers." Lei Xin continued counting on his fingers, "We've also thoroughly checked the motorcycle, and the footprints—we actually asked Team Leader Jiang to look at them before, and he gave his opinion via WeChat."

Wan Baoming raised an eyebrow: "Is this person that cautious? Not leaving a single flaw?"

"There's one important reason: the perpetrator is very likely working or living elsewhere and returned home for the New Year. During the time we've been investigating, there's a high probability the perpetrator wasn't even in the city, which makes our investigation even more difficult."

Hou Lejia said, "Sounds like they have some counter-reconnaissance ability."

"Yes, we've considered that too." Lei Xin lowered his voice slightly as he spoke: "The roads the suspect chose were very particular. All three times, they were remote roads with relatively high terrain. We suspect he might have been hiding at a high vantage point, watching for victims, then riding the motorcycle down... so, we once considered that the suspect might have a military background, like a veteran."

It's not surprising for veterans to commit crimes. The strength of the People's Liberation Army lies more in its organizational power; as for individuals, naturally, one grain of rice feeds a hundred types of people, and there are all sorts.

"Get me two bowls of fried rice, dumped into a basin," Wu Junhao shouted, disrupting the atmosphere of their conversation.

Lei Xin recognized Wu Junhao too, and could only smile, saying, "Since last year, because Jianyuan Pharmaceuticals went under, the public security situation in our Qinghe City has actually declined. Of course, I'm not saying it's bad that the Jianyuan Group was taken down, but on a social level, it's indeed quite unstable, and several cases have occurred in succession. Among them, quite a few are related to veterans."

Lei Xin spread his hands helplessly: "Let's not even talk about the tens of thousands of people at Jianyuan and their families; even the small factories and large suppliers that relied on Jianyuan are the mainstays of employment in our Qinghe City. Now that these enterprises have collapsed, everyone can't find work. What else can they do but wander the streets?"

Wu Junhao frowned: "Old Lei, this case of yours was committed by someone returning home; what does it have to do with employment in Qinghe City?"

"My point is that our Qianjin District has accumulated quite a few cases recently, and many are difficult ones; we are the ones who need Team Leader Jiang the most." Lei Xin had transcended the case itself and continued: "We in criminal investigation all understand that the worse the social economy, the worse the public security, and poor public security drags down economic development. But conversely, even if the social economy is poor, if we work hard to improve public security, it is absolutely conducive to economic development and makes a greater contribution to society!"

"Old Lei is getting philosophical." Huang Qiangmin's voice arrived before he did, and he walked in from the courtyard, though it was unclear if he had been lurking for a while.

"Political Commissar Huang!"

"Old Huang is here!"

The criminal investigation team leaders, who were once his peers, greeted Huang Qiangmin one after another, very politely.

Huang Qiangmin responded to each one, creating a very good atmosphere around the police dogs.

Li Li also served a bowl of fried rice to Huang Qiangmin.

"I want another bowl." Wu Junhao didn't consider himself an outsider and raised his hand on the spot.

"Is it enough to eat? I don't eat much now," Huang Qiangmin said with a chuckle.

"There's more," Li Li said.

"I'll go fry some more." Jiang Yuan stood up and went back into the kitchen; it just so happened that the rice cooker had just finished another 20 servings of rice.

Huang Qiangmin picked up his chopsticks and slurped down a bowl of rice clean.

"I'll go over and take a look." Huang Qiangmin stood up and went into the kitchen, leaving the crowd behind, and asked: "How is it? Do you want to go to Qinghe City?"

"If there are no other circumstances, let's go to Qinghe City first. According to Team Leader Lei, the perpetrator might really commit another crime around the New Year this year." Jiang Yuan said while frying the rice.

"Fine. Then I'll go out and say so. More people will be coming in a while; I expect a few more criminal investigation team leaders. Even if we decide on the location for the first case, we can arrange the others later. You frying the rice yourself makes everyone very happy; there's that feeling of being respected." Huang Qiangmin naively believed that, at the very least, one should give the client a little bit of respect whenever possible.

Jiang Yuan didn't mind and just said: "I don't have a clue about Team Leader Lei's case yet; I'm not sure how long it will take to solve."

Huang Qiangmin frowned and said: "Indeed, they've been working on this case for a while. If there were clues, it should have been solved long ago. Dragging it out until now, do you have no leads either?"

"There are no directly usable technical solutions right now. The crime scene is outdoors, and the clues we can use are footprints and whether the crime scene can be reconstructed. Team Leader Lei just said he showed me the footprints; I checked the records on WeChat, and although I gave a description of the perpetrator—168 cm tall, about 130 jin, around 30 years old... it's still not enough to solve the case through this."

Hearing this, Huang Qiangmin waved his hand and said: "Don't agonize over it. Call Old Liu and Old Xu over, and let's sit down and discuss it properly."

Jiang Yuan was stunned: "We just got back, and you're calling Division Chief Liu and the others?"

Honestly, Jiang Yuan felt a bit like he had returned from his studies.

Compared to when he left the county, he had gained nearly 10 new skills, plus a god-like skill like the temporary +1, and he felt he was in a state of pure crushing power, and then...

Calling for reinforcements right at the start was a bit of a departure from Jiang Yuan's expectations.

Huang Qiangmin didn't care at all and just said: "A thunderous strike, solving the case quickly is the fundamental thing! No one cares how many resources you use, especially for a case like this. As long as you can solve it, you're a master detective!" ===== CHAPTER 773 =====