Chapter 89 - 89 87 What Was It Again

Words : 1644 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

89: Chapter 87 What Was It Again 89: Chapter 87 What Was It Again “”” “Hmm...the matter...the matter is actually quite simple...I just saw that you were working on a blood fingerprint, what case is it?” Yang Ling did not immediately answer Jiang Yuan’s question, but instead posed a new one. In her understanding of fingerprint experts, if there was something difficult to discuss, just talking about fingerprints would suffice. After chatting about fingerprints for a while, and once they were pleased, all conversations would become easier. Jiang Yuan, unaware of Yang Ling’s approach, simply opened the screen and said, “It’s a case from over a decade ago, a robbery that involved killing a taxi driver. This fingerprint was collected on the outskirts of Changyang City.” “A homicide case from Changyang City?” Yang Ling was surprised by Jiang Yuan’s composure. Jiang Yuan’s surprise was more directed at the skill of image enhancement. He had not expected that a technique initially intended for surveillance video and the like, when combined with fingerprint identification, would prove to be so powerful. Suppressing his personal emotions, Jiang Yuan grabbed the mouse, opened the case description, and continued, “It’s a 16-year-old homicide case. The criminal police from Changyang City obtained this bloody handprint from the rear passenger window, photographed it for record-keeping, but it was never matched.” The key words he mentioned might sound ordinary to a layman, but the experts present all frowned upon hearing them. For instance, the bloody handprint collected by the criminal police, the mention of photographing and record-keeping, sounded extremely unprofessional—referring to the police. The fingerprinting environment in earlier years was like this, with many fingerprints not properly collected, the capabilities of practitioners insufficient, and marked by overconfidence, resulting in many fingerprints that could have been direct tickets to prison for the criminals, yet failed to send them there. At this moment, Li Zemin was looking at his own computer screen. He had already evaluated Jiang Yuan’s new findings, but was still focusing on the fingerprint, studying it himself, and said, “Jiang is indeed armed with special tactics, perfect for dealing with these potsticker-like fingerprints.” “Call me Xiao Jiang, or just Jiang Yuan is fine,” Jiang Yuan hastily responded with modesty. In this office, there were many experts old enough to be his father, and only Section Chief Yang Ling and he were the youngest. Even Yang Ling was about ten years his senior. But at the moment, Yang Ling was the person least concerned about age. Solving homicides in a fingerprint battle is no easy task. In fact, any cold case homicide is very difficult to crack. Given the current level of attention to homicides, each one is like a giant elephant painted with a target. As it passes by, no one can ignore it. Basically, the only reason it can’t be brought down is the inability to do so. The homicides that enter the fingerprint battle are usually cold cases with key fingerprints, having been compared by countless people. A 16-year-old cold case would definitely have entered the system before she took office. Yang Ling didn’t think there was any element of luck involved in this. “Congratulations, congratulations,” Yang Ling started with pleasantries, then quickly added, “Wait a moment, I’ll make a phone call to the office to have them expedite the issuance of a letter. This should be our first homicide fingerprint of this fingerprint battle, right?” “It is the first homicide case, and Jiang Yuan has taken the lead,” Li Zemin already started working on his behalf. Yang Ling’s expression softened considerably. She nodded with a smile and then took the phone out to make contact. Besides pushing the office to issue the letter quickly, she would certainly have to report to her superiors. The two most important tasks for a police officer are undoubtedly homicide cases and “other tasks assigned by superiors.” Now that there’s news of a breakthrough in a homicide case to report to higher-ups, it’s doubly important and also a crucial moment to highlight the significance of the fingerprint department. Yang Ling came and went, and the large office area quickly returned to serenity. Those who are fingerprint experts typically have the temperament to stay seated and focused, and generally speaking, their social skills are—put nicely—diminished. Even with such significant news as the solving of a homicide, there was still no atmosphere of discussion, only the light from the “Cold Case Breakthrough Ranking” board in the front right twinkling away. Jiang Yuan looked again at the just-matched homicide fingerprint. This was also his first cold case homicide fingerprint match. The owner of the fingerprint was a career criminal, repeatedly imprisoned for violent crimes, and had only quieted down in the last few years. According to the records, the suspect had aged, started collecting social security retirement benefits, and entered the stage of doting on grandchildren. The homicide he committed, along with its dreadful social impact and subsequent serious injuries, was enough to ensure that all his hopes for the future would be shattered. To match this fingerprint, Jiang Yuan employed the level 4 Qingdao Single-Finger Fingerprint Analysis Method, tried the level 3 Chongqing Single Finger Fingerprint Analysis Method, and utilized level 4 image enhancement—it was a full display of his equipment. It was only with two level 4 skills complementing each other that Jiang Yuan could handle it with such ease. In terms of sheer strength, Jiang Yuan should also be considered the peak within this office. A provincial powerhouse! And he was among the top tier. “”” Three victories already surpassed most of the experts participating in this operation. Based on past experience, the bottom ten or so experts might not achieve even one victory. Fingerprint comparison is a task where good fortune plays a part in achieving the best results, but if one can’t perform the task well, then luck is meaningless. Even Jiang Yuan himself hadn’t expected to match three fingerprints within a single day. Jiang Yuan was engrossed for quite a while before he opened the special folder for the operation and silently began to sift through fingerprints. Fingerprints smeared into a lump of bronze, a clump of silver, a pool of gold, and the S-level fingerprints smeared into scallion pancakes, the SS-level fingerprints smeared into spicy soup, and the most formidable, the legendary SSS-level fingerprints smeared into a piece as solid as an iron disc... Which fingerprint should he choose? Whirr... The computer tower made an inexplicable noise, likely because the heat accumulated inside the case was too much, and the fans were actively trying to push some of it out. Jiang Yuan frowned. With his LV4 Image Enhancement skills, he judged that the broken computer tower beneath him was probably at its limit with the silver fingerprint. If it broke down in the middle of work, just being halfway through and it breaking would be infuriating. And it could also disrupt the work of others. At that moment, Yang Ling walked back into the main office with a smile. “Expert Jiang,” Yang Ling called out deliberately, her enthusiasm tinged with a hint of informality as she broached the subject. “I’ve been following up on the three cases you solved, and the results are remarkable.” “How so?” Jiang Yuan couldn’t help but look up. Yang Ling grinned to herself, thinking that experts all had their ways. Counting on her fingers, she said, “For the first case, Miaohexian Criminal Police Brigade dispatched three cars and a dozen people all at once to make arrests in Wan Xiang City. On their part, Wan Xiang City was also prepared with two cars and even mobilized their technical surveillance to confirm the suspect’s location.” “The suspect in the second case, the arson case, has basically confessed. He’s been in prison for several years now. When he was taken out for questioning and saw that even people from the prosecution office were there, he hardly resisted and only requested leniency in sentencing.” “The third case, the murder with the bloody handprint, Changyang City Criminal Police Detachment just recently organized and mobilized dozens of officers and they have gone to establish a defense.” Yang Ling mentioned only the specific cases, not the fingerprint campaign, so as not to upset other experts. Listening to this, Jiang Yuan felt utterly elated; to sit and sift through fingerprints was one thing, but actually seeing the cases being solved elevated his mood by several magnitudes. “That’s wonderful,” said Jiang Yuan. “However, I have a request, though I’m not sure if it’s reasonable.” “Please, tell me,” replied Yang Ling politely. “I would like to buy a new computer. If the provincial office can’t provide one, I can buy it myself. The current computer’s image processing capabilities are inadequate; it’s very time-consuming and inefficient...” “Ah... that...” Yang Ling was a bit taken aback. It was not unusual to ask for a new computer, but to offer to buy one himself was something unexpected. However, it’s still a request from an expert, and it aligned with the goals of the operation; Yang Ling felt inclined to accommodate as much as possible. She pondered for a moment and said, “How about this? I’ll find you a better computer from another office for you to use temporarily. If that still isn’t satisfactory, then we can think of another solution.” “Fine,” Jiang Yuan answered indifferently, not caring where the computer came from, and politely inquired, “When you came over earlier and asked if I was available, what specifically did you need?” “That....” Yang Ling’s mind suddenly went blank as if it had been bitten by a crocodile, and she also asked herself: What did I need again?

Chapter 89 - 89 87 What Was It Again

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