Chapter 383 - 383 350 Approval

Words : 1714 Updated : Oct 11th, 2025

383: Chapter 350 Approval 383: Chapter 350 Approval Wu Xia was a fingerprint expert from Anping Province and also a trace evidence examiner, but if just considering the level of trace examination, he might sway between LV2.8 and LV3, not as proficient as his level in fingerprint analysis. Therefore, Wu Xia was a trace examiner with expert fingerprint identification skills, but primarily a fingerprint expert, who couldn’t understand the trace photos given by Jiang Yuan... This was, of course, quite abnormal! Wu Xia had hardly ever encountered such a situation. Given his level of trace examination skill, it was normal for there to be traces he couldn’t make sense of, but why couldn’t he understand them? Zhang Xian, the true LV4.8 expert from the ministry named in the neighboring department, slid over. He had noticed Wu Xia’s expression. Being a criminal investigator, he was an old sly fox, and his ability to read people’s expressions was like having lived with relatives for 30 years—immediately he started examining the few photos on the table. “Are there any matching traces?” Wu Xia asked directly. Filled with competitiveness, Zhang Xian, the nationally renowned expert who often traveled around the country to give lectures, stared at the photos for a good while. Then, after putting on his loupe, he pointed to the right side of the steering wheel’s dashboard and said, “You are probably talking about these scratches here, right?” The plastic dashboard was covered in traces created by dirt, as well as scratches on the plastic, crisscrossing and twisting in a chaotic mess. Zhang Xian studied the scratches with great effort. In such situations, anyone with a reputation had a name at stake. They definitely wouldn’t make a joke out of their reputation in such a semi-public setting. In fact, when the three of them came together, it was somewhat like an expert consultation, and anything they said could potentially become a topic of conversation around other people’s dinner tables in the future. On Jiang Yuan’s young face, there was no sign of panic. He calmly said, “There are some here on the dashboard, and on the side of the glove compartment, including the scratches on the steering wheel. In fact, all of them have a certain similar pattern.” Jiang Yuan pointed as he moved the photos. Looking directly at the photos, the traces Jiang Yuan was referring to were too fine—so fine that they were nearly invisible unless closely examined. Even with the loupe magnification, these scratches could only be said to be visible. To say they were identical, or that they came from the same person, was somewhat of a stretch. Zhang Xian, being older, didn’t want to strain his eyes, so he closed them, recalling the traces he had just seen, making judgments in his mind. Trace evidence examination could involve determining the similarity of a particular trace, but the formation of a group of traces could also be used as a template for examination. Such traces, when isolated, might not be distinctive, as if two people were each whipping a third person’s behind with the same vine. The vines are the same, and the individual marks produced would naturally be similar. Despite possible differences in depth or length, they can be difficult to prove. However, if two people each whip more than a dozen times, or even more, forming a set of lash marks, then the set of lash marks would have certain distinguishing features and specificity. Needless to say, such a method of examination has lower accuracy and the difficulty is exponentially higher. “How do you think these traces were formed?” Asked Zhang Xian. Having been prompted by Jiang Yuan, he basically agreed with sixty percent certainty. Both cars had been stolen, and both had newly-formed traces, so to say they were the work of the same group had a high likelihood. “I deduce that this driver has a habit of banging on the car, and additionally, he must have been wearing something on his right hand—a watch, but most likely a string of beads—so that’s why these scratches are on the right side,” Jiang Yuan gestured in the air a few times. The others didn’t quite understand, but Zhang Xian and Wu Xia both caught on—Jiang Yuan was simulating the movements of the driver’s right hand. And the few movements Jiang Yuan simulated corresponded exactly to the formation of certain scratches on both cars. Taking the whipping example again, whether it was due to anger or excitement, the lashes made by the same person might look chaotic on different behinds. But upon closer analysis, it’s often discoverable that they share common characteristics. Without intentionally changing the motion, a person’s height, weight, and the way they swing the whip always have some commonalities that can be considered a part of muscle memory. Jiang Yuan had indeed found the similarities in the scratches on both cars. This level of evidence from forensic examination might require some procedures and be troublesome to use in court, but it was already sufficient to make a decision at the investigative stage. “I agree,” said Zhang Xian, after giving it some thought, supporting Jiang Yuan’s judgment. He also wanted to support Jiang Yuan, given that Jiang Yuan’s experience wasn’t very deep. As a technical expert endorsed by the ministry, Zhang Xian knew that young technicians often faced crises of trust. Like Gao Changjiang, the head of Guqi City Bureau, who could only be said to somewhat trust Jiang Yuan. It was actually not easy, at least Gao Changjiang was willing to listen to Jiang Yuan’s opinions, it was just not the same kind of trust as one would have in exceptional talents. After Zhang Xian expressed his “agreement,” the expression on Gao Changjiang’s face immediately changed, and he looked at Wu Xia first. In terms of familiarity, the expert from Anping Province he trusted the most was Wu Xia. Although, from the performance of the three, Wu Xia seemed to be slightly inferior to Zhang Xian and Jiang Yuan, but in terms of trustworthiness, Gao Changjiang had seen Wu Xia perform miracles many times. After the conversation between Zhang Xian and Jiang Yuan, especially after Jiang Yuan’s explanations and demonstrations, Wu Xia also understood the traces shown in the pictures. Influenced by Gao Changjiang’s querying look, he said, “What Jiang Yuan says makes a lot of sense.” Without the slightest hesitation, Gao Changjiang issued a series of orders: “Check the license plates of these two cars, and get the vehicle information. Pull out the case of the missing car, look for surveillance. Zhou, take some people to the scene of the car theft, look around to see if you can collect any footage, and ask the surrounding businesses.” “The car rental company, there’s a car that isn’t from the car rental company, right? Zhu Hongbo, you take your people to the car rental company, check the surveillance, and ask for all the GPS data, see where they went. Take statements from the staff at the rental company, whoever went to find the car, bring them back, and ask them thoroughly.” “Don’t touch anything inside the car, call a flatbed truck to tow it to our garage, let the forensic team go up to scan for fingerprints, scan for DNA.” “That... Director Wang, I’ll leave the image tracking to you, see if you can use the vehicle’s route and stopping points to find the whereabouts of these people.” Gao Changjiang dispatched his staff with ease and skill. He was a bureau chief who had come up from the front line, having directed the investigation of numerous cases, but this case was particularly difficult, with the criminals carefully planning their crimes, making it not easy to solve in a short time. However, he had managed to secure the support of experts from the ministry and their immediate presence, which was also a testament to his ability. Jiang Yuan simply added, “When the car arrives, I’ll do the investigation.” With his level 4 crime scene investigation skills, he was the top in Guqi City. Even for an expert like Zhang Xian, who may have top-notch scene investigation skills, given his age, it would be difficult to do a better job than Jiang Yuan. Gao Changjiang agreed immediately, “No problem. Once the car arrives, I’ll call you straight away.” Jiang Yuan nodded. Unless the car had been thoroughly cleaned, the likelihood of finding skin flakes, hair, sweat, saliva, nasal hair, pubic hair, eyelashes, and such was very high. Jiang Yuan felt that they might not even need to go that far because the car could provide a lot of information. Even though the criminals had used stolen cars, which reduced the likelihood of being discovered, once the vehicles were identified, their chances of escape had been significantly lowered. This time, their subsequent crimes hadn’t left much trace. Including the fact that the rental company had reclaimed the car, it didn’t matter much. Car rental companies often lost cars; without a reason, the police usually wouldn’t investigate it. But the criminals’ failed attempt at crime in the rural market had left too many clues, including the abandoned red Santana, which had become a breakthrough point. They would have faced high risk whether they discarded the car or not, especially under police surveillance, it was difficult to drive the car back to their residence, and finding a place to stop was inconvenient, increasing the difficulty of escaping. It was precisely because the kidnapping attempt wasn’t thoroughly traced. With the case making progress, the excitement stirred among the members of the Guqi City Bureau’s special task force, while Jiang Yuan fell silent beside them. Soon, the first lead came in. “The ID they left at the car rental company was purchased, but the same ID was used to check into a hotel in the east of the city, and another car was rented by them at a different rental company using another ID. GPS shows the car is moving, on the highway... We are going to arrest them now.” Gao Changjiang returned from a trip outside, and when he came back, he was all steely determination.

Chapter 383 - 383 350 Approval

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