Chapter 395 - 395 362 Gradually Going Beyond the Scope

Words : 1804 Updated : Oct 13th, 2025

395: Chapter 362 Gradually Going Beyond the Scope 395: Chapter 362 Gradually Going Beyond the Scope Chi Yong City. The cold wind cut to the bone, and at the transparent station, it was even more so. Yuan Ben looked at the side branch political commissar and saw him shove his hands into his sleeves, which made him express his concern, “Commissioner Liu, why don’t you go inside and rest? When the train arrives, I’ll call you.” “I’m not that delicate,” Commissioner Liu said as he shivered. “Back when we were on stakeouts, we didn’t wear as much as we do now. We would sit in the woods for half the night waiting for someone; that was the real deal.” “The ‘back then’ you’re talking about, that’s when you were 30, right?” “Twenty. Back then, young people like us who had a bit of education would ascend the ranks quickly. By the time I was 30, I was almost ready to be a battalion commander.” The commissioner slightly smiled and glanced at Yuan Ben’s epaulets, “It’s different for you guys.” Yuan Ben spread his hands, “I understand your body feels cold, but your words seem just as chilling. It’s easy to dishearten people.” The commissioner laughed heartily, “Whether you get promoted or not doesn’t really matter. Look at me now, I’m basically just a senior investigator who also happens to handle receptions, right?” “What are you saying...” Yuan Ben couldn’t agree with that, and quickly thinking, he said, “At the very least, if you were to sacrifice yourself for the country, your funeral expenses would be higher than mine...” The commissioner calmly looked at Yuan Ben, “I think it’s you who wants to collect those funeral expenses.” ... The high-speed train slowly pulled into the station. Through the glass door, Yuan Ben saw Jiang Yuan. Having seen his picture already, he quickly pointed him out to the commissioner. Commissioner Liu rubbed his hands together and went up to greet him. “Captain Jiang, welcome to Chi Yong City...” The commissioner, having just warmed his hands, shook hands with Jiang Yuan and then introduced himself. “Commissioner Liu,” Jiang Yuan politely responded. The branch political commissar has a slightly higher position than Huang Qiangmin, and although Director Huang had already negotiated the terms, the proper respect must still be given. Liu Jinghui automatically stepped forward and also shook hands with Commissioner Liu. “I’ve reserved a private room at the restaurant up ahead. Why don’t we go there to rest and have something to eat before heading to the bureau?” Commissioner Liu smiled and suggested. Jiang Yuan wasn’t too keen on going, “How about we go directly to the crime scene instead?” “We have to eat at some point. Besides, the team has had a long journey. Let’s eat something first and then go to the crime scene. We’ll have enough time.” “Hmm...” Seeing Jiang Yuan still hesitant, Commissioner Liu coughed twice and added, “This is arranged by your Director Huang.” “Eh?” Jiang Yuan hadn’t caught on yet. Tang Jia, standing at his side, whispered, “Director Huang seemed to have made arrangements regarding meal and hotel standards. There seem to be certain expectations for Chi Yong.” Jiang Yuan expressed his surprise, “Starting to care about lifestyle? That doesn’t sound like Captain Huang’s style.” “It’s a different province, and perhaps some resources aren’t as easy to arrange. Moreover, he’s probably worried about us not eating and sleeping well while outside.” Tang Jia spoke softly. Jiang Yuan thought to himself that you haven’t seen the dining and accommodation standards of the Criminal Investigation Division during Captain Huang’s time. However, he could understand that certain demands made by Huang Qiangmin couldn’t be met in Chiyong, an outside province. After all, they couldn’t ask the province to build buildings for Ningtai County. If work demands can’t be fulfilled to the max, then naturally, expectations for living conditions must be raised. You can’t expect people to work for free after all—if Comrade Huang Qiangmin were here, that’s probably what he would say. As they chatted, the group reached the restaurant up ahead. The restaurant was small and unassuming, but the private room was nicely decorated and the dinner was truly delicious, boasting both flavor and local specialties. Commissioner Liu himself was witty and humorous, cracking jokes and spinning yarns. It would have been a harmonious and warm meal had there been any alcohol. Jiang Yuan, feeling full, patted his stomach and looked outside, “It’s getting late. Let’s skip the crime scene for now. I’d like to start with the autopsy.” If it were a fresh crime scene, it would be best to see it as soon as possible, even at night. But now that the scene had been around for almost half a month, Jiang Yuan would rather wait for better weather the next day to carefully investigate. In comparison, autopsies didn’t require auspicious dates and times. As Commissioner Liu was eating a piece of pork intestine, he quietly put down his chopsticks and said, “Of course, we can do the autopsy. Captain Jiang, will you be conducting the autopsy personally?” He knew that Jiang Yuan’s specialty was as a forensic doctor, but from Commissioner Liu’s 30 years of experience, he believed that excelling in one area often means compromising in others. With Jiang Yuan’s strong investigative abilities, evident in his knack for cracking cold cases, his forensic skills were likely not as impressive. So, Commissioner Liu’s question was whether Jiang Yuan had brought another forensic doctor with him. Jiang Yuan simply shook his head and said, “I’ll do the autopsy myself, please inform Commissioner Liu. If possible, I would still like to go ahead with the dissection.” To dissect, they would need to take the body out of the ice coffin and thaw it, normally it requires a bit of extra time. However, the re-autopsy proposed by Jiang Yuan was actually equivalent to a second autopsy by a forensic doctor, which made his request even harder to fulfill. Commissioner Liu agreed without any fuss. This was actually something that had been discussed beforehand. The investigative approach that Jiang Yuan wanted was definitely something that the Chiyong authorities intended to fulfill, otherwise there would be no point in him coming to investigate. Moreover, a forensic autopsy is never an easy task. Jiang Yuan’s willingness to do it actually spoke to his commitment. From this perspective, Commissioner Liu was even less likely to object. So, some people went back to the hotel to rest, while a few others followed Jiang Yuan to the mortuary to begin the autopsy right there. All four bodies were taken out, and Jiang Yuan first examined the surface of each body, then froze the bodies, before examining the pathology slides of the corpses. In modern forensic autopsies, it is necessary to create tissue blocks and pathology slides. There were about a hundred blocks and slides made from the four bodies, all of which could be observed carefully under the microscope. The case of the quadruple homicide was handled as standardized as possible. The forensics work done by Qiu Xing from the Chiyong City mortuary was also quite skillful. Jiang Yuan estimated that his level of forensic pathology was about LV 2.5, which is quite strong among frontline forensic doctors. The autopsy reports and slides he produced also didn’t have any significant issues. Of course, if Jiang Yuan had conducted the initial autopsy, he would certainly have discovered more, but whether it would have been helpful in solving the case was not certain. “All set,” he said. After going through the pathology slides, Jiang Yuan turned back to examine the bodies, and took the opportunity to thank Qiu Xing of Chiyong City. Qiu Xing indifferently said, “You want to spend all night looking at bodies, that’s fine by me. How is it, our work isn’t bad, right?” “Quite good,” Jiang Yuan smiled. “You’re a forensic doctor, right, Captain Jiang? Any advice you provide could help us improve our skills in the future,” said Qiu Xing, who had heard of Jiang Yuan’s reputation. Though not trying to challenge authority, he was indeed curious about Jiang Yuan’s abilities. With that, Jiang Yuan just gave an “Mmm” and said, “If I may suggest, for the heart and liver, perhaps doing continuous slices would be better.” Slicing is a continuous action. When conducting the first autopsy, the organs and brain tissue taken out were placed in buckets containing a formalin solution. After these tissues were fixed, they would become hard, greyish-brown in color. Then, the forensic doctor would proceed with sampling from conventional sites as well as from suspicious areas. Starting from this step, the work becomes complicated, difficult, and unpleasant. Firstly, the organs are soaked in formalin, which is a 35% to 40% formaldehyde aqueous solution. Spilling just one spoonful on the ground could cause the formaldehyde concentration in the entire room to exceed the standard. Secondly, the following steps of sampling, dehydration, embedding, and slicing, each one is more technically demanding than the last. Particularly in slicing, which often requires slices so thin they are only a single cell layer thick, it’s easy to ruin the sample with a slight error. And continuous slicing refers to cutting multiple consecutive sections to reveal more details. Qiu Xing did perform continuous slices as well, but he ruined the continuous slices of the heart and liver. Since he asked, Jiang Yuan quite naturally pointed it out, leaving the forensic doctor momentarily without a response. There was still a slight feeling of dissatisfaction, of course. At this time, Jiang Yuan was seen standing in front of the male head of household’s body, picking up the scalpel and starting the dissection. Qiu Xing stood by, assisting while watching Jiang Yuan’s own technique. Jiang Yuan did not perform any complicated maneuvers, murmuring to himself as he operated: “Multiple superficial skin lesions on the head and face located at... The epidermis on the back of the neck is peeled off, situated at... The head has multiple cranial fractures...” Mu Zhiyang hurriedly recorded everything beside him. Jiang Yuan was also slowly describing the condition of the body he observed. “Bilateral shoulder and neck...” “Cervical vertebrae...” “Back...” Initially, Jiang Yuan was following the normal procedure, but soon the words he spoke started going beyond the usual scope. “The person holding the knife, the killer, is about one meter seventy to one meter seventy-five tall.” “The person is quite strong.” “The third person, the one who tied the rope, is likely left-handed.” “The killer holding the hammer has considerable strength in his legs, too...”

Chapter 395 - 395 362 Gradually Going Beyond the Scope

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