Chapter 51 - 51 51 The Devil Among Men

Words : 1766 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

51: Chapter 51 The Devil Among Men 51: Chapter 51 The Devil Among Men A squadron of patrol cars entered the residential community, quickly surrounding building number four with police tape. After several phone calls, Wei Zhenguo handed over command of the scene, merely arranging for Ding Lan and the others to take a car back to the police station. Soon, the crime scene examination vehicle from Changyang City arrived, with several technicians entering the building as well. “How’s the situation down there?” The oncoming team leader of the crime scene investigation, Cao Zhouquan, dressed and checked his gear while looking towards Wei Zhenguo and Jiang Yuan. “One of our detectives has entered the dungeon, but nobody else has gone past the last iron gate. I’ve attached warning tape, and also collected fingerprints from several doorknobs. I wiped a few cotton swabs.” Jiang Yuan succinctly answered his question. The crime scene investigation team leader, Cao Zhouquan, had a wide face, the look of a traditional middle-aged heartthrob, the kind that could easily lead someone astray. He did not expect Jiang Yuan to resist delving into such a major case and not enter the dungeon, thus regarding him with newfound respect before confirming again, “You didn’t go in at all?” “No,” Jiang Yuan responded. “Not bad at all, quite patient,” Cao Zhouquan nodded, recognizing that the crime scene technicians from the county could retreat from difficulties, which was quite commendable. Seeing that Jiang Yuan was sensible, Cao Zhouquan politely said, “Well then, if you think of anything else, just let me know.” From across the window, Jiang Yuan watched as Ding Lan and the others got into the police car, then said, “You might want to dig up the area far from the computer desk to see if there’s anything buried underneath.” Team leader Cao Zhouquan frowned, “Buried what?” “I don’t know, maybe a body.” Without holding back, Jiang Yuan directly added, “The space down there is very cramped, and that particular spot is noticeably empty. The captive probably knew there was something there—I’m guessing, but you can ask them.” “Got it,” Cao Zhouquan sighed, “We’ll focus on checking that area later. If you think of anything else, let us know.” “Um...,” Jiang Yuan called out to Captain Cao Zhouquan. “Yes?” “The basement doesn’t look big, but the amount of work seems significant. Even if Tan Yong is physically strong, digging it out alone would’ve been very difficult. Additionally, the chisel marks on the inside look rather messy and shallow, not like the work of a strong man...” This time, Cao Zhouquan interrupted Jiang Yuan, asking, “You suspect Tan Yong made the woman he was holding captive dig out the basement?” “Yes.” “Alright... not surprising. We will collect evidence on that later,” Cao Zhouquan said. He stopped what he was doing and asked further, “Anything else?” “We don’t have much evidence in hand; the next steps are up to you.” Jiang Yuan was keen to join the forensic examination; he was confident he could do better than the average technician, but given the busy scene before him, he wisely did not speak up. At this moment, Cao Zhouquan also realized that Jiang Yuan was somewhat extraordinary. In just a few sentences, Jiang Yuan had, based solely on observation, deduced the main evidence in the case—skills that suggested he was more than capable of conducting on-site forensics without having entered the site himself. Cao Zhouquan questioned himself, admitting that even several years back, or even now, he might not have had Jiang Yuan’s patience. Considering the credit for solving the case, the decision he would have made was even more uncertain. With such abilities and knowing to wait for the fully equipped crime scene investigation team to arrive before taking action, Cao Zhouquan politely thanked Jiang Yuan, before calling an apprentice and heading down the vertical shaft. Another technician, carrying equipment, followed; both of them twisted and wriggled their way into the shaft like malfunctioning Mario characters. It was only after Wei Zhenguo and the others went down that he came over in surprise, asking, “There’s a body down there?” “Very likely. But we’ll need to dig it out to know for sure.” Jiang Yuan realized he was a bit late in mentioning this and asked, “Should we inform Captain Huang again?” “Let’s leave it be; if there’s a murder case, they’ll have to handle it. We can’t manage that,” Wei Zhenguo shook his head. The Criminal Police team never chased after the number of cases; in theory, they wouldn’t want major or important cases either, as the pressure and costs of handling such cases far outweighed any potential rewards. The squad leader of the crime scene investigation team, Cao Zhouquan, stayed a long time in the basement, with technicians constantly busy going up and down. When Cao Zhouquan eventually emerged, his traditionally handsome middle-aged face was covered by a gas mask. “We found a body, preliminarily identified as a young female... sustained a blunt force trauma to the back of the head, undoubtedly a homicide...” The squad leader provided a brief report, reciprocating Jiang Yuan’s self-restraint. Wei Zhenguo asked, “Have you found any traces of Tan Yong?” “Fingerprints, footprints, and seminal stains, plenty of them,” the squadron leader gave a definitive answer. Wei Zhenguo and Jiang Yuan exchanged glances, finally relaxing. Although Tan Yong was a pervert, he at least wasn’t perverted to the extent of not having sex nor was he perverted to the point of having sex in protective gear. It could be said to be a silver lining in his dark life. Slowly, a system prompt also appeared before Jiang Yuan’s eyes: Mission Complete: Full Matching Mission Content: Wei Zhenguo believed that the clue to the disappearance case 326 of Ding Lan might exist on the fingerprints on the bicycle. Please match the fingerprints collected from the bicycle, and attempt to solve the case. Mission Reward: Forensic Anthropology (LV3) Jiang Yuan accepted it calmly. Forensic Anthropology is indeed a bona fide branch of forensic science. However, compared to Forensic Pathology, its practical difficulty level is much higher. If we go by the classifications of Western countries, like the United Kingdom, forensic anthropology is categorized as a science rather than medicine. Therefore, students who studied forensic anthropology in the United Kingdom, do not possess a medical practitioner’s license. To introduce the various branches of forensics in layman’s terms, the most common and in highest demand is forensic pathology. It addresses the issue of cause of death, answering, “How did this person die?” Next is forensic clinical medicine, which is frequently used and resolves the issue of living body injuries, answering, “How was this person injured?” Then comes forensic material evidence which is used from time to time and solves the problem of human tissue and bodily fluids, asking, “Why is this poop here?” Forensic Anthropology is probably the knowledge forensic doctors are most reluctant to use. It indeed addresses the question of “What is this?” Ranging from the most basic queries such as if the remains belong to a human or another primate, whether it’s a man or a woman, if the individual was old or young, all the way to “Who is this?” Jiang Yuan’s skills in forensic anthropology were nothing to write home about, which was the case for most forensic department graduates. The majority of them learn gradually while on the job. Looking at the newly acquired skill, Jiang Yuan tentatively asked Cao Zhouquan, “The body today, where is it being sent for an autopsy, and can I participate?” “I’ll ask for you, but I doubt it’s possible,” Cao Zhouquan said honestly, “For a single homicide, an autopsy could just be done in the district. But with a case like this, given its potential impact, forensic doctors from both the city and district will be involved. I’ll ask for you anyway.” According to the police jurisdiction regulations within Shannan Province, a case falls under the jurisdiction of where it occurred. Therefore, if a body is found in Changyang City, the case will be registered in a district of Changyang City. The City Bureau usually does not register cases directly, since it corresponds with the City Procuratorate and the City Intermediate Court. If a case is judged there, appeals will go to the Provincial Higher Court, which is both highly troublesome and unnecessary, and it would attract a lot of criticism. However, the three senior forensic doctors in Changyang City Bureau always provide support wherever a homicide occurs, and for cases involving multiple homicides or those with significant impact, they will perform the autopsies themselves. Generally speaking, within the criminal investigation department, collaboration is frequent, even across different cities, and relationships are well-maintained. The belief that all criminal police around the world are one family holds true—there are numerous times where officers have to collaborate in capturing suspects and conducting investigations in different locations. As for interpersonal relationships, most criminal police officers are graduates of police academies, and the majority work within the province. Each province typically has just one or two police academies. In Shan Nan, for example, there is only the Shannan Police Academy. Digging to the root, ultimately everyone is classmates. It’s common for everyone to work on a case together, share a barbecue, sing “Golden Shield forged in blood” together while drunk, and end up crying buckets. Wei Zhenguo had also obtained approval from Captain Huang Qiangmin before contacting the local criminal investigation team. Once the entire handover was complete, he too let out a big sigh of relief. “At least there’s an explanation now,” Wei Zhenguo sat back in the car, feeling utterly drained. Jiang Yuan could only partially understand and followed his remark with a question, “Has this case been weighing on you for a long time?” “How should I put it... at the time, it was a routine case,” Wei Zhenguo looked out the window, speaking slowly, “Including myself, we considered all sorts of possibilities, but we truly never thought... we’d actually encounter such a pervert. A devil among men.” “At least it’s solved now.” “Yeah.” “Then try to relax a bit, at the very least, we’ve solved a case today,” Jiang Yuan tried to buoy Wei Zhenguo’s spirits. “Yes,” Wei Zhenguo smiled painfully, “My wife also went missing back then.”

Chapter 51 - 51 51 The Devil Among Men

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