Chapter 370 - 370 337

Words : 1745 Updated : Oct 9th, 2025

370: 337 370: 337 Huang Qiangmin was promoted to deputy director while also assuming the role of the leader of the Criminal Police Detachment. The news had been swirling around for some time, but with all the true and false rumors over the years, one could never be sure. At that moment, seeing Huang Qiangmin’s 55.5-degree restrained smile, Jiang Yuan immediately said, “Director Huang, congratulations...” Huang Qiangmin laughed heartily a few times, pulled Jiang Yuan over, and patted his shoulder a few times without saying a word, simply showing his affection. The former detective squad leader, Director Zhang, looked at the two of them with a bit of envy. In a business unit dealing with operations, although it’s not impossible to get by without real substance, having a business prodigy like Jiang Yuan under one’s command certainly made things much more comfortable. Jiang Yuan had once been under his command, so Director Zhang also benefited from this arrangement, but as Huang Qiangmin rose to power, Director Zhang had no choice but to relinquish control over criminal investigations. After all, the closer bond between Huang Qiangmin and Jiang Yuan meant he ended up as the party to step back. Of course, this situation itself was harmless, if not beneficial, for Director Zhang. Criminal investigation work was exhausting; even as a deputy director, he had to rise from bed at the sound of a call whenever there was a homicide. Therefore, it was sufficient to have held the position for a while. The longer one did so, the greater the disadvantage. On the contrary, like Director Zhang, who served for a period and achieved outstanding results, that was the best scenario. “As the year’s end approaches, are you planning to stay in the county for a while?” Director Zhang asked on behalf of Director Guan Xi. Jiang Yuan looked towards Huang Qiangmin and said, “I do plan to stay for a while. The cases over in Changyang City have also come to a close for now.” If he wasn’t needed elsewhere, Jiang Yuan was also keen to spend more time at home. He had initially wanted to go to Changyang City to break new ground, but after shuttling back and forth for several months, he had nearly exhausted all the cold cases within his reach. With the novelty worn off, he wasn’t as eager or anticipative anymore. Now taking on Changyang City’s homicide cold cases could mean running into cases that would take months to solve. Such cases were the most taxing. If you didn’t investigate, the case would hang unresolved, concerning both the victims’ families and the anxious souls in the netherworld. But if you decided to investigate, it would consume a vast amount of time, energy, and manpower, and getting stuck would make things even worse. For those kinds of cases, Jiang Yuan preferred to address them after improving his skills. With the right skills and direction, it could take just a few days and one percent of the resources to solve some cases. On that note, Huang Qiangmin decisively said, “Just stay for a couple more days. Our building is up now, and things like replacing the armaments and such can wait until next year.” “Have the cases I worked on recently come to a close?” “Almost. They’re basically all wrapped up.” Saying this, Huang Qiangmin heaved a sigh and with a smile added, “The Criminal Police Detachment has only just gotten a break after being busy until now.” As he finished speaking, the system interface appeared before Jiang Yuan. Mission: Get them moving. Mission Content: The workload of Ningtai County Criminal Police Detachment is insufficient. Work on a few cases to give them more to do. Mission Completion: 18/18 Mission Reward: Forensic Odontology (LV4) A slight smile spread across Jiang Yuan’s face. Forensic Odontology, also known as forensic dentistry, involves not only the identification of teeth but also the examination of the jawbones, bite marks, saliva, dental fillings, and dentures, among others. Essentially, anything related to teeth falls under its purview. In terms of level, LV4 Odontology might not compare to LV5 dog food, but LV4 is already quite sufficient, and besides, odontology is a niche within the field of forensic science. Most people only study a bit of it, so at LV4, it’s already quite impressive. Meanwhile, the director, who was very concerned, suggested, “I think we can start by updating a laboratory. Jiang Yuan is a criminal science and technology personnel, and with a laboratory as support, he can better utilize his strong points.” Huang Qiangmin looked puzzled but still nodded, “We can start with building a laboratory.” “Jiang Yuan, what kind of laboratory do you need the most right now?” the director asked, expressing his goodwill fully. Jiang Yuan hesitated for a moment and then said, “Then, it’s probably still the forensic autopsy room and the morgue.” Considering his current skill level, a Trace Evidence Laboratory might seem the most needed. However, a general-level trace evidence lab doesn’t cost much, and the current equipment in Ningtai County is already largely adequate. As for high-level trace evidence laboratories, on one hand, Jiang Yuan wouldn’t know how to use them, and on the other, their prices are sky-high. By comparison, the forensic autopsy room had many more things that could be updated. To say the least, just adding one more comfortable bathroom could make a significant difference in work quality. Director Guan Xi didn’t even ask for a reason, he simply said, “Then let’s prioritize updating the forensic autopsy room and the cold storage.” Everyone’s gaze fell on the director. Though they didn’t know how much this whole setup would cost, the decisiveness to just go ahead and buy it was still very appealing. It also fully showcased Director Guan Xi’s authority. Jiang Yuan couldn’t help but feel a bit surprised. He thought to himself that with the director being so straightforward, he might really be able to get a negative pressure autopsy table, a better bathroom, and restroom, and even provide Master Wu Jun with a room for his work. The only problem to consider then would be how to scare people away from using the autopsy room as their personal bathroom. When Jiang Yuan was happy, so was the director. He nodded at Huang Qiangmin and said, “If Jiang Yuan is unwilling to, he can continue working in our county next year. We can also set up a Cold Case Squad.” “The backlog of criminal cases in our county, particularly homicide cases, is pretty much cleared,” added Director Zhang. Although there were still many unsolved cases from 20 years ago, the difficulty of solving such old cases was so high that it shouldn’t even be the target. The director smiled and said, “Establishing a Cold Case Squad isn’t necessarily about being limited to working on cases within the county. If brother units ask for help, we can assist them with their cases.” The others looked at the director with puzzled expressions. Criminal cases are definitely a losing financial proposition; even if the criminal is fined and has their property confiscated, the money goes either to compensate the victims or to the state treasury. Director Guan Xi calmly said, “We can learn from Changyang City by using our own people and training our own team. Moreover, as far as I know, Jiang Yuan has solved many cases from his office, orchestrating the strategy from afar, hasn’t he?” Huang Qiangmin quickly said, “Jiang Yuan is a technical expert; we generally don’t have him go to the scene.” “I didn’t mean to suggest he has to go to the scene,” the director said with a smile. “I’m just thinking since Jiang Yuan can solve cases from the office or the laboratory, he doesn’t necessarily have to go to Changyang.” “The director is making a lot of sense!” Huang Qiangmin immediately realized and exclaimed, “The director’s vision is broad indeed. This way, the initiative is still in my hands.” A few people glanced at Jiang Yuan unconsciously. In fact, the initiative had always been in Jiang Yuan’s hands, but the people from Jiang Village didn’t care about such things, nor did they compete for it. This power, when transferred to Huang Qiangmin or the director, utilized a different kind of leverage. First of all, it could be imagined that Changyang People would have to pay a significantly greater price if they wanted to continue using Jiang Yuan’s services. It might not be monetary, but the overall cost would definitely have increased. Moreover, Director Guan Xi’s strategy obviously wasn’t limited to Changyang City. With Shannan Province being so vast, only targeting Changyang City would be unprofitable. Changyang had handled many cases, and by next year the cases would certainly be more complex, potentially leading to Yu Wenshu offering a lower return. “Jiang Yuan, what are your thoughts?” the director still wanted to hear Jiang Yuan’s opinion. After pondering for a moment, Jiang Yuan said, “The personnel assigned by the Changyang City Criminal Police Detachment are quite useful. If possible, could we borrow some of them?” Even Director Guan Xi was taken aback by Jiang Yuan’s suggestion. Was the county office considering borrowing staff from the provincial capital’s criminal police detachment? It wasn’t impossible. Traditionally, it was the provincial capital city offices that would borrow staff from the district city offices, and the district city offices from the county offices, but this was just a tradition. Traditionally, cold cases, especially homicide cases, were almost unsolvable too. Sometimes, in order to solve a case, the department had to break the conventional way of doing things. Jiang Yuan’s idea, set against the backdrop of having solved over a dozen cold homicide cases, had a foundation for success. Director Guan Xi nodded grandly, saying, “Since we’ve got to make requests anyway, I’ll ask them.” Everyone nodded in agreement, and Huang Qiangmin said, “Actually, I had already borrowed some technicians from the Changyang City Criminal Police Detachment earlier, and Chief Yu agreed to it, too.” “It’s more appropriate to lend people to Jiang Yuan than to the criminal police team,” the director said, nodding at Huang Qiangmin. “You talk to Chief Yu first.” Huang Qiangmin could imagine how much Yu Wenshu’s feelings would change, but he resolutely agreed nonetheless.

Chapter 370 - 370 337

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