Chapter 98 - 98 96 Where Is Daddy Going

Words : 1876 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

98: Chapter 96 Where Is Daddy Going 98: Chapter 96 Where Is Daddy Going After a dinner that was more about ceremony than substance, fingerprint experts from various regions gradually left the venue, heading back to their dormitories, and some even went straight home. The experts who had cracked homicide cases, as well as those like Zhu Huanguang with top-ranked matching fingerprints, were specially retained for photographs and interviews. Some people might be anticipating awards for their achievements, but for the moment, no one was actually discussing this topic. Jiang Yuan was still eagerly studying LV5 Bloodstain Analysis. Bloodstain Analysis is very useful, but the stimulus of LV5 is even stronger. Thinking of Dazhuang’s enthusiasm for dog food, one could almost envision how the sprayed bloodstains would connect to the killer. “Expert Jiang, please come over here,” another journalist appeared, dragging Jiang Yuan off to take photographs. Then, the journalist repeated a series of questions that previous reporters had asked, and had Jiang Yuan change into various police uniforms that were borrowed for another series of photographs. Li Zemin seized the opportunity to hug Jiang Yuan, taking many photos together. “Hey, you’re leaving already? This fingerprint battle ended so quickly,” Li Zemin said with a cigarette in his mouth, his face filled with worry as he patted Jiang Yuan’s shoulder and made a reverse V-sign to the reporters ahead. Behind them was a ranking board printed in large format from the fingerprint department. On the left side was the “Homicide Backlog Ranking,” with Jiang Yuan in first place and a battle count of 10; Li Zemin was ranked 35th, with a battle count of 0. On the right side was the “Backlog Case Solving Ranking,” with Jiang Yuan in first place and a battle count of 18; Li Zemin was ranked 35th, with a battle count of 0. Both looked very happy, and took many more photos in front of the ranking board. Li Zemin said he wanted to take them back to show his brothers that he had come out to join the fingerprint battle following the top-ranked fingerprint expert, causing chaos together. As for his own ranking and battle count, they didn’t matter. Jiang Yuan was also quite moved as he playfully slapped Li Zemin’s back. The 14 days of the fingerprint battle were pure and joyful; he just worked on fingerprints, occasionally went out for fresh air, had chats, and then at night, he slept soundly without having to think about how many murderers would die because of his work. The clarity of the world’s darkness and light seldom appeared so distinctly before Jiang Yuan, directly affecting him. During this time, Jiang Yuan was spared from worrying, like in school, that some half-grown boy would suddenly rush out to drag him off to play, or at home wandering aimlessly with boring descendants of wealthy families, or being cornered by strange people pushing weird investment projects. Li Zemin was also a great companion. Unlike Jiang Yuan who was devoted to fingerprints and almost always on call, Li Zemin was more easy-going and had a youthful vibe that was rare among the group of experts. “Come visit Liyuan City when you have time. We are close to Pingzhou, with mountains and grasslands, and the meat is really delicious...” Li Zemin warmly invited Jiang Yuan, bidding him a reluctant farewell. Having no achievements, he naturally didn’t have to deal with interviews or awards. On the other hand, while it was quite enjoyable to be away from home for half a month, by the time it came to returning, he was indeed missing his friends and family. His clothes smelled, he was fed up with Changyang City’s food, and the cigarettes he brought with him... it was time to find a place to stash them. Jiang Yuan said goodbye to Li Zemin, putting on a tough facade, and handed him two packs of Zhonghua cigarettes priced in the 30s, then watched the departing ride-hailing car with a tinge of sadness. The bustle of the fingerprint battle was sharply different from the bustling celebration that was now taking place. “Jiang Yuan. Congratulations to you.” In a somewhat melancholic moment for Jiang Yuan, Liu Jinghui appeared behind him. “Director Liu?” Jiang Yuan was a bit surprised. To be frank, Jiang Yuan was not fond of Liu Jinghui. Especially his distrustful approach to evidence utilization, which is quite rare in today’s police world. However, seeing a familiar face like Liu Jinghui at this particular moment provided Jiang Yuan with a very comfortable feeling, even somewhat on point. “I have a gift for you.” Liu Jinghui smiled, handing Jiang Yuan a bag, saying, “Congratulations on being top-ranked in battle achievements. This time, you must receive at least a second-class merit.” He pointed to the “Homicide Backlog Ranking” behind them and said, “In previous years’ fingerprint battles, experts who matched four or five homicide cases would straightaway receive second-class merits. You were impressive this time, with 10 homicide cases, I saw several leaders thrilled beyond words. The criminal police forces everywhere were kept busy. Counting per person, thousands must have stayed up through the night.” “Were they all caught?” Jiang Yuan couldn’t help asking. “Almost. Unless there were other cases outstanding, for the most part, the primary suspects could be found,” said Liu Jinghui, familiar with such cases, “The characteristic of old, unresolved cases is that they are difficult to solve, but capturing suspects isn’t something to worry about. Over time, as cases remain unsolved, many murderers start leading ordinary lives concerning firewood, rice, oil, and salt. From what I’ve seen, the more significant the case, the more these suspects love to live such trivial, ordinary lives. When the arresting officers arrive, their anger... as if their dream life is collapsing, there’s less resistance...” Liu Jinghui took a deep breath, reveling in the moment with a cruel smile, “I most enjoy seeing their tears and pleas.” Jiang Yuan was filled with longing and felt that he should probably enjoy it too. After a while, Jiang Yuan realized he was holding a bag and quickly picked it up, asking, “You also brought a gift, what is it?” “A sleep mask to make sleeping a bit more comfortable. Just a little token, nothing much.” Liu Jinghui smiled sincerely. Jiang Yuan opened it to find indeed a sleep mask, which didn’t look very expensive. After hesitating for a moment, he accepted it. And yet, he felt a bit strange inside. Back in his dormitory, he had trouble sleeping and often thought about getting a sleep mask, but he would always forget when working and remember again when trying to sleep... How did he manage to sensibly gift it just like that? No matter what, it came from a fourth-grade senior superintendent from the provincial office. The fact that they sent it over was worth more than the sleep mask itself. “What’s your plan for coming up?” Liu Jinghui asked. “I’ll see what the higher-ups arrange,” Jiang Yuan said. “If that’s the case, you’ll probably be taking a few more photographs and then publishing them in the newspapers for several days straight, then attending various meetings and award ceremonies. You may even do speeches at some units. The most troublesome part is that you might be assigned to some extremely complex cases,” Liu Jinghui said. Seeing Jiang Yuan’s calm expression, he continued, “By complex, I don’t mean the complexity of the case, but rather the complexity of interest distribution.” Jiang Yuan was taken aback and asked, “What case?” “You should be asking why it’s you,” Liu Jinghui gave Jiang Yuan a moment to think and then went on, “We had an agreement on the Wu Long Savage case, remember? You said to wait until after the fingerprint campaign, and now that it’s over...” “Director Liu, I never promised,” Jiang Yuan said with a wry smile and a shake of his head. Although homicide cases were quite high-end, Ningtai County surely had enough of its own, and it wasn’t necessary to follow the unlikeable Liu Jinghui everywhere. Liu Jinghui gave Jiang Yuan a deep look, seemingly guessing his thoughts, and said in a light tone, “The Wu Long Savage case has gained some notoriety in our province, far more interesting than those homicides in your Ningtai County. Besides, how many resources can a county bureau have? In the end, you won’t be able to skip the meetings you’re supposed to attend, and who knows where you might be seconded to...” Jiang Yuan had to admit, Liu Jinghui was not only adept at reasoning but also pretty good at persuading others. “All right, I’ll go and get ready. I’ll take care of things at your county bureau. After our trip to Mount Wulong, just in time for your medal award ceremony — nice and comfortable,” Liu Jinghui said and then turned to leave. ... After a comfortable night’s sleep with the sleep mask on, Jiang Yuan saw Liu Jinghui and a Great Wall pickup truck waiting at the dormitory entrance the next morning. The blue Great Wall pickup, with its rear cargo area covered, was dirty and battered with worn tires, looking weatherworn. Jiang Yuan had called Master Wu Jun the night before and decided to follow Liu Jinghui to Mount Wulong. But seeing the sorry state of the Great Wall pickup, he began to doubt his claim of abundant resources. “That’s how it is at the department, if it works, they won’t replace it with a better or newer one,” Liu Jinghui motioned for Jiang Yuan to get in the vehicle and drove off. “Is it just the two of us?” Jiang Yuan asked, resigned to the situation. Liu Jinghui, eyes fixed on the road ahead, said, “If we find something, we’ll call people in. If not, at least we won’t lose too much face, right?” Jiang Yuan... I don’t trust you at all. ... As Jiang Yuan followed Liu Jinghui to Mount Wulong, police detectives from various places, and even experts from outside the province, were flocking to Changyang City. Blurred fingerprints were not unique to Shannan Province. A single fingerprint campaign had solved 10 homicide cases in 14 days, which not only shocked the police community but also attracted many experts to emulate. However, for well-known reasons, fingerprint experts typically are not very familiar with techniques like image enhancement, such as Fourier Transformations for different types of signals including continuous non-periodic, continuous periodic, discrete non-periodic, as well as discrete periodic, and their mastery of these is often not proficient. Therefore, after several days of trying, they all hurried to Changyang City, hoping to learn from Jiang Yuan. Most of the experts thought that Jiang Yuan might possess a relatively simple technique to easily transform blurred fingerprints. The police detectives and their leaders who charged over had even more straightforward ideas: asking Jiang Yuan to do a few fingerprint comparisons or to help process fingerprints were excellent propositions. But no one expected that, just after the fingerprint campaign had ended, Jiang Yuan was gone. Where was he?

Chapter 98 - 98 96 Where Is Daddy Going

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