Chapter 323 - 323 291 Top of the List

Words : 2288 Updated : Oct 5th, 2025

323: Chapter 291 Top of the List 323: Chapter 291 Top of the List “Jiang Yuan is back. Oh wow, looking even more handsome.” “Doctor Jiang, back home for a visit, huh?” “Jiang, long time no see!” As Jiang Yuan walked into the courtyard of the Criminal Police Detachment, the sounds of greetings were filled with a hint of surprise. Everyone actually knew that he’d been “sold” off to Changyang City by Captain Huang. No one expected him to return so soon. While greeting everyone, Jiang Yuan made it clear, “I’m just back for a few days’ rest.” “Just came back temporarily.” “Came back to see everyone.” Once he reached the fourth floor, where the Criminal Science and Technology Squadron was located, Jiang Yuan first visited his office to greet his mentor, Wu Jun, exchange a few words, report to the squad leader, and then immediately went to find Huang Qiangmin. Huang Qiangmin was in his office pondering over matters, but upon hearing someone greeting Jiang Yuan in the corridor, he quickly jogged back to his desk, picked up his teacup, and blew on the cool tea as it fizzed like proteinuria. “Captain Huang.” Jiang Yuan knocked and entered. “Jiang Yuan, you’re back.” Huang Qiangmin grinned broadly and set down his teacup without taking a sip, saying, “How was it in Changyang City? Chief Yu didn’t treat you differently, did he?” “There was some special treatment, with all the concern and inquiries. I’ve just finished a new case and thought I’d come back to see how everyone is doing. I have a feeling that the monitoring system back in our county is pretty much up to snuff now.” Huang Qiangmin was nearly moved to tears upon hearing this. The monitoring system of Ningtai County was acquired in exchange for Jiang Yuan’s services. And now Jiang Yuan was back to check on the progress of the very system. Huang Qiangmin suddenly felt like a father who had married off his daughter. Huang Qiangmin: “Ah... ah yes, the monitoring system is indeed doing well... It’s good, it’s good. If you’re not used to living in Changyang, you can come back. I’ll go to the county and explain things to Director Zhang... ” Jiang Yuan quickly waved his hand in dismissal: “That’s not necessary. That’s not what I meant. In fact, seeing the monitoring system coming to life makes me quite happy. Our Jiangcun Residential Area has recently installed surveillance too, and it’s been very effective in catching a couple of thieves.” “Well, the county is financially strapped, so installations are slower, but overall, the progress is satisfactory, and the core parts of the surveillance have been restored, working much better than before.” “Do you have enough hands for the job?” “Still looking for people. We’re using temps for now and might recruit some auxiliary police. The rest will probably have to wait till next year...” Huang Qiangmin said, then laughed a little and added: “We’re planning to establish a Surveillance Analysis Squad. When that happens, we could appoint you as the squad leader...” “No need, no need,” Jiang Yuan said, waving his hand. A squad leader position only counts within the Criminal Police Detachment, equivalent to a section-level cadre. Although it’s true that promotions should proceed step by step, to be frank, if Jiang Yuan wanted to advance his career, going directly to Changyang City was the fastest and best path. In his current position, Jiang Yuan felt that being a forensic doctor was the most suitable for him. Some of the requirements of this post made the role of squad leader for the Surveillance Analysis Squad unsuitable for cross-position maneuvers. The reverse was not true. With more cases to handle now, Jiang Yuan had a clearer idea and plan for what he wanted. A position like the squad leader of the Surveillance Analysis Squad was definitely not part of it. Huang Qiangmin was a bit taken aback by Jiang Yuan’s decisiveness. He got up, closed the door, and said in a lower voice, “The Surveillance Analysis Squad will definitely be reinforced later on, and it might even be upgraded to an Image Reconnaissance Brigade. It’s hard to say. Securing a position in advance is never a bad thing.” Jiang Yuan said, “Even if it gets upgraded to an Image Reconnaissance Brigade, they can’t possibly make me the brigade leader.” “Well... indeed, they wouldn’t,” Huang Qiangmin admitted with an awkward smile. The leader of the Criminal Police Detachment at the county level usually starts at the division rank, and the leaders of an Image Reconnaissance Brigade would likely be similar. At that rank, in Changyang City, even releasing a police dog might rank half a level higher, but in the county, it was a very scarce position. Not to mention Huang Qiangmin, even Director Zhang couldn’t necessarily promise that. Without certain qualifications, it was even less likely to be offered. So, Jiang Yuan suggested, “Then it might be better to wait for the Criminal Science and Technology Squadron to be promoted to a brigade and secure me a position like squad leader of the forensic squadron. Then, appoint my mentor as deputy brigade leader.” Huang Qiangmin was speechless: “You think quite positively. Why would the Criminal Science and Technology Squadron get promoted to a brigade?” “I’ll help you get a few million worth of equipment, then you apply for some land, buildings, and other fixed assets, ask for some staffing, set up a couple of labs, and upgrade to a Criminal Science Center. It’s only natural,” Jiang Yuan outlined thoroughly. Huang Qiangmin laughed, using the same words he often scolded his subordinates with: “Do you even know how much a few million is? In coins... never mind, you know.” Suddenly, Huang Qiangmin thought the idea might actually be feasible. After all, Jiang Yuan had managed to sell a few tens of millions worth of surveillance systems, and although the money came from a government project, it was still... “When are you getting promoted?” Jiang Yuan asked further. With his Image Office heading towards becoming an Image Reconnaissance Brigade, Captain Huang continuing as the leader of the Criminal Police Detachment... it was not impossible, just not quite in line with Huang Qiangmin’s character. When it came to fighting for power, Huang Qiangmin was not weak. In fact, any head of a criminal police detachment should be a natural master of balancing power, because his job is essentially about balancing power. Huang Qiangmin smiled slightly, not concealing anything, and only whispered in a low voice, “If nothing goes wrong by the end of the year, I might be promoted to deputy director. I haven’t even told my wife about this; don’t spread it around.” “Yep, yep,” Jiang Yuan continuously nodded in agreement, “That sounds about right. Actually, you should be given a position of executive deputy, in charge of criminal investigation.” “We’ll see,” Huang Qiangmin said with an indifferent laugh toward fame and fortune. Then he added, “Actually, it’s possible. If nothing goes wrong by the end of the year, our Ningtai County could possibly be first in combat strength among all county-level units in the province. According to past practices, that’s at least a one-grade promotion.” Huang Qiangmin made a very serious expression, the kind that doesn’t break into a smile. This year, the Ningtai County Criminal Police Detachment solved all murder cases on hand, achieving a full score of 300 points. They cracked all eight major categories of serious crimes, earning another full score of 150 points. For routine maintenance and basic points of 300, they didn’t lose much, getting about 220 points. Deducting a bit for discipline, finance, and other miscellaneous points, about 20 points in total, the rough sum came to 650 points. In previous years, the total score of Ningtai County Criminal Police Detachment was usually around 550 points, or just over 500 points in bad years. The criminal police detachments of other counties in Qinghe City or other police units in Ningtai County were about the same, with something like Longli County Criminal Police Detachment normally not even reaching 550 points. Therefore, 650 points were already enough for Ningtai County Criminal Police Detachment to take first place on the Qinghe City level combat strength leaderboard. However, 650 points were far from the limit for Ningtai County Criminal Police Detachment. According to regulations, solving an unsolved murder case would directly add 100 points, with no upper limit. Capturing a fugitive murder suspect added 50 points. Solving one of the eight major categories of unsolved serious crimes, based on the number of arrests, would also add between 50 to 70 points, with no upper limit. These unsolved cases, when solved, are like bonus questions in an exam. Even during difficult times, Ningtai County Criminal Police Detachment would organize one or two squads to dedicate a month or two to work on these unsolved cases, hoping to solve one or two unsolved murder cases to make up for any shortfall. Since the introduction of the combat strength leaderboard, the best performance of Ningtai County Criminal Police Detachment in unsolved murder cases was solving two and capturing another two fugitive murder suspects, adding a bonus of 300 points. But that was the same year that Ningtai County made a blunder in current murder cases, and all 300 points were deducted. This year was different. This year, the murder cases and crime suspects pursued by Jiang Yuan, belonging to Ningtai County Criminal Police Detachment, as well as cases from other areas but with combat strength points shareable with Ningtai County, added up to giving them more than 1200 points. This meant Ningtai County Criminal Police Detachment’s combat strength was aiming for 1800 points this year, with Jiang Yuan accounting for sixty percent of the combat strength. This number was the biggest outlier ever since Shannan Province had implemented the combat strength leaderboard. In past years, the most outrageous numbers would stop just over 1000 points. Ordinary county-level criminal police detachments only had so many solvable unsolved cases; trying to solve more was beyond their existing capabilities. Only someone like Jiang Yuan, who crossed oceans and upheld a selfless spirit, could push figures to such an outrageous extent. Even the score of Ningtai County Bureau, from around 500 points in previous years, skyrocketed to above 650 points at once. If it weren’t for a ceiling on the number of points for criminal investigation, Ningtai County Bureau itself had the potential to become an outlier in numbers. In such a scenario, as long as Huang Qiangmin could hold out until the end of the year, he would not only receive a promotion but also commendations. Huang Qiangmin looked at Jiang Yuan, growing happier the more he looked, and as a result, promised, “Fine, once I get promoted, we’ll transfer people from the Criminal Science and Technology Squadron to form a larger Criminal Investigation Brigade.” Jiang Yuan cheerfully agreed. Huang Qiangmin then slapped his forehead, saying, “Right, what I wanted to say earlier, come on, I’ll take you to the imaging office to take a look. The surveillance system just got upgraded, and it’s all a mess over there; I don’t even know how well it’s been done.” As he spoke, Huang Qiangmin stood up, casually taking a cigarette from Jiang Yuan, and as he lit it, he asked, “Is the case in Changyang settled? Has the suspect confessed?” Jiang Yuan nodded, explaining, “They’ve confessed. Actually, it all started over a taxi fare and escalated from a verbal dispute. The suspect has mobility issues, and since he was going to seek help from a distant uncle, he wanted to take a taxi to appear respectable. Just before arriving at the slaughterhouse, he intended to settle the taxi fare, attempting to haggle a bit in the process.” “Unexpectedly, he failed to lower the fare, and the taxi driver mentioned that leaving the city incurred long-distance and return trip fees. The driver offered to waive the return trip fee but said there would be an additional 10% charge for long-distance. Naturally, the suspect and his spouse were unwilling to pay, and they started arguing...” “Eventually, the female driver didn’t want to cause any trouble and suggested waiving both the long-distance and return trip fees, settling the payment right away. But since an argument had already begun, the suspects demanded to stop the car, got out, and refused to pay the fare. To their surprise, the female driver actually chased after them.” “The limping suspect, already insecure about his disability, only managed a few steps before the female driver easily caught up. Feeling humiliated, he pulled out a knife...” Jiang Yuan spread his hands, concluding, “It was just a trivial matter that escalated step by step.” “Personality determines destiny.” Having seen much, Huang Qiangmin spoke naturally, “It’s all too common to quarrel in daily life. If you worked in a police station, you’d find people argue incessantly all day long. But it rarely escalates to murder. Those who become murderers might seem provoked, but truthfully, it’s their true nature.” Jiang Yuan had not considered this perspective before and slowly nodded in agreement, “Perhaps thinking of relying on relatives, he was already unhappy, insecure, and unsure of what lay ahead...” “Didn’t the murderer’s wife attempt to stop him?” “She was the main force in the argument and even assisted physically.” “Two death sentences, well deserved,” Huang Qiangmin declared without a shred of sympathy.

Chapter 323 - 323 291 Top of the List

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