Chapter 38 - 38 38 Not Captured

Words : 1229 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

38: Chapter 38: Not Captured 38: Chapter 38: Not Captured Forensic office. The Devil’s ivy was spirited, stretching its thick and long leaves. Its roots were desperately absorbing water, trying to make its stems as rigid as possible, especially under the sunlight where they could stay stiff for longer periods. In front of the desk. Jiang Yuan sat upright, his eyes level, placing Xiao Wang beside him, and began to diligently identify the characteristic points on the fingerprints they had just received. Xiao Wang looked even more serious. In the grassroots police force, there’s a saying: “If you’re a cop, don’t be a detective; if you’re a detective, don’t be a technician.” Those referred to as technicians are the trace evidence investigators, crime scene technicians, and substance analysts in the criminal investigation department. The reason is that technicians often have to double as regular detectives. They need to be on the scene when necessary, run errands when needed, and when there’s a shortage of hands to apprehend criminals, the first ones to be summoned are the technical officers. Xiao Wang used to like quoting this saying, but after Jiang Yuan arrived, Comrade Xiao Wang unexpectedly discovered a phenomenon. Since beginning to work on fingerprints, Jiang Yuan had never been “apprehended.” The detective team’s work is never-ending, especially when there are homicide cases, when even the squadron leader might stay awake with everyone for three days and nights. Ordinary officers would be happy to snatch a nap and even smile in their dreams. But Jiang Yuan was invariably sitting in the office. Even Xiao Wang, as long as he was with Jiang Yuan, had never been reassigned. What surprised Xiao Wang even more was that none of the leaders had ever issued an order concerning this, but whether it was within their own criminal investigation squadron or the other detective squads, even the ones who usually liked to take advantage of situations, seemed to have an unspoken agreement—none had ever requisitioned Jiang Yuan for regular duties. Without anyone saying so, Xiao Wang understood why. Because Jiang Yuan could directly identify criminal suspects with their fingerprints. With this skill, which squadron leader wouldn’t frequently need his service in the future? Even those who cared little for personal relationships wouldn’t have the nerve to casually pull Jiang Yuan away. In the police force, rank has its place, as does seniority, but at the heart of it, the tasks everyone looks down on the most are also the ones they can’t escape from. In a nutshell, we’re all solving cases, so who is to say who is more noble? Naturally, those who can solve cases are more noble than those who cannot. Xiao Wang aspired to be one of the noble ones. Xiao Wang sat up straight, intensely focused on Jiang Yuan’s motions. As he watched Jiang Yuan mark the characteristic points, he tried to mimic on his own leg, attempting to understand Jiang Yuan’s thought process. Fingerprint comparison often boils down to logical thinking. A break in the pattern could be a characteristic point, a noise point in the image, or an incomplete section from the print taking process. Deciding what it ultimately is can be a true test of one’s reasoning. Simple fingerprints are fine regardless, but with difficult ones, you first need to construct enough related content in your mind. “Let’s run it and see.” Just as Xiao Wang’s thoughts surged, Jiang Yuan finished marking and let the software do the matching. Knowing that Xiao Wang was watching, he explained deliberately. Xiao Wang was startled and asked, “You finished marking?” “Yes, marked a dozen or so, should be enough.” “This seems less complicated than the arson case,” Xiao Wang said spontaneously. From his perspective, both the fingerprint from today and from the arson case were extremely challenging. Just for learning purposes, Xiao Wang had been ready to follow Jiang Yuan for another week. Yet, Jiang Yuan had completed the first round of marking in under half an hour. At that moment, Jiang Yuan laughed and said, “Of course, the fingerprints from the arson case may have been difficult to detail due to being burned. The extraction wasn’t great either.” That last comment was his true critique. The county bureau’s conditions were poor—not just in one aspect, but in every single one. The department’s computer made a creaking, groaning noise, Xiao Wang’s attention was no longer there. He recalled the details of Jiang Yuan’s marking that he had just seen, feeling his head filled with muddle, as if he had just sat through a mathematics exam, finishing all the multiple-choice questions, but couldn’t recall any answers when comparing them with a classmate. Jiang Yuan followed the software’s list, verifying each fingerprint one by one. Xiao Wang composed himself and slowly followed Jiang Yuan’s pace, watching intently. Before he got halfway through, Jiang Yuan swiftly changed to another fingerprint. Apparently, the previous one had been ruled out. Xiao Wang frowned slightly, then continued to follow Jiang Yuan as he moved on to the second fingerprint. Not halfway through, he stopped again. And again, he stopped. Xiao Wang rubbed his eyes, feeling a weary burn, his spirit exhausted. This feeling was like being in school, listening to the teacher discussing test papers with such focus, only to hear halfway through, “The rest is simple, no need to go over it...” Xiao Wang straightened up, his gaze strong and determined—considering himself a grown man, and moreover, a proud people’s policeman, he believed he had become incredibly strong! “Match found.” Jiang Yuan rechecked the sixth fingerprint, then couldn’t help but slap the desk and stood up, stretching. A smile slowly spread across Xiao Wang’s face, “Matched already... that’s fantastic.” Jiang Yuan, too, let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the one who left the fingerprints was a habitual criminal. Otherwise, with this as the sole lead, it would have been quite difficult to pin him down. “Cai Bin... this guy has been detained three times for stealing electric bikes,” Jiang Yuan glanced at the record, quite surprised, “Caught three times, yet he still resorts to forceful lock-breaking every time, not an iota of improvement.” “What, would he have progressed to stealing motorbikes?” Wu Jun, hearing that the fingerprint matched, came over for a look and commented, “Criminals like this, when they upgrade, they tend towards gang activities. Especially after serving time in prison, they’re more likely to take that route.” Jiang Yuan recalled the videos he had watched and replied, “He doesn’t seem like he operates with a gang. Every time, he just steals one bike and leaves. The value of the stolen bike isn’t always high, and there’s no accomplice waiting...” “Maybe no gang wants him,” Wu Jun interrupted Jiang Yuan nonchalantly. Xiao Wang glanced at the suspect’s photo on the computer screen with an inexplicable sense of sympathy, “If it hadn’t been for Jiang Yuan, no one would have caught him. The case value is too low, and there are too few leads.” Jiang Yuan took that as a compliment and promptly phoned Wei Zhenguo and Mu Zhiyang. The cigarette butt had to be tested for DNA; who knows how long it would take to be queued, it’s best to catch one if possible.

Chapter 38 - 38 38 Not Captured

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