Chapter 7: Father and Son Killing Each Other

By the time Qin Yong and the others went to make the arrest, Lu Chuan had already fallen asleep on the sofa in the laboratory.

After pulling an all-nighter, even Lu Chuan was reaching his limit.

Although the novelty of his first crime scene investigation had initially outweighed the monotony of the work, the subsequent night spent comparing photos and the second trip back to the scene had been enough to wear out an iron man.

When Lu Chuan woke up, the sun was already high in the sky.

He threw off the blanket covering him and walked out of the laboratory.

In the crime scene investigation office, Yang Sen and Old Bai were drinking tea and chatting.

Seeing Lu Chuan walk in, the two quickly stood up. "Xiao Lu, you're awake?"

Yang Sen pulled out a chair for Lu Chuan to sit, and Bai Wenhai picked up a thermal container from the desk. "The cafeteria made soy milk and fried dough sticks this morning. They're still warm, have some."

Lu Chuan felt rather flattered.

In the half-month since he started the job, this was the first time Lu Chuan hadn't had to mop the floor, tidy the office, or brew tea for his seniors.

"Thanks, Brother Bai." Although Bai Wenhai was old enough to be Lu Chuan's father, in the unit, as long as they weren't his superiors, he addressed all older men as "Brother" and women as "Sister." "Did Master go to a meeting?"

Yang Sen nodded. "He just left. The case is solved, and the team is starting to write the closing report."

"Solved?"

Lu Chuan looked up, puzzled. "Did they catch the killer?"

"It’s all thanks to you. The DNA match from the cigarette butt locked the clues onto Zhang Wen's son."

Bai Wenhai took over the conversation. "Even though that kid cleaned up the scene well, his psychological fortitude was weak. I heard he confessed while they were still in the car."

"Haha!" Yang Sen patted Lu Chuan on the shoulder. "Our crime scene unit really stole the spotlight this time. You’re definitely the one who deserves the most credit, kid!"

Lu Chuan felt quite excited; after all, this was the first case he had truly helped solve.

As for the incident half a month ago where he caught the groom at the wedding, that was entirely thanks to the Eye of Truth.

However, the Eye of Truth couldn't be used for every case; that ability was best suited for catching fugitives.

When he had free time, Lu Chuan could go out on patrol; perhaps he would stumble upon a case and earn some merit.

The way Yang Sen and Old Bai looked at Lu Chuan was actually filled with envy.

What police officer didn't want to earn merit and receive awards?

But this sort of thing was like a flower thief gathering nectar—once you've had a taste, you want more, but sometimes your ability just doesn't allow for it.

Back when Yang Sen was a patrol officer, he had seen plenty of streetwalkers. Some would go for fifty, but others wouldn't settle for less than eighty.

People have their differences in looks, just as they do in ability.

Lu Chuan clearly belonged to the category of being both handsome and capable.

"By the way, why did Zhang Minlu kill his father? That was his own flesh and blood, right?"

The trope of father and son killing each other was something Lu Chuan had only seen in novels; this was his first time experiencing it in reality.

"For money, of course." Yang Sen lit a cigarette and blew a gentle puff of smoke, creating a curling ring—this was Old Yang's specialty. "Zhang Wen had an old house in Erchanggou that was slated for relocation last month."

"But Zhang Wen didn't share any of that money with Zhang Minlu; he gave it all to his current wife's son."

"Is that his biological son too?"

Old Bai sneered. "Biological my foot. The son of Zhang Wen's current wife was born to her and her ex-husband; he has absolutely nothing to do with Zhang Wen."

"Zhang Minlu's daughter has leukemia, and Zhang Wen wouldn't cough up a single cent..."

"Damn!"

Lu Chuan cursed, biting into the last piece of the fried dough stick. "It seems this old man didn't die unjustly."

*Bang!*

As they were chatting, the office door opened, and in walked Branch Captain Qin Yong.

The three of them hurriedly stood up and saluted.

"Good morning, Captain Qin!"

Qin Yong pressed his hands down, a kind and amiable smile on his face. "Everyone has worked hard. On behalf of the branch, I’d like to express my appreciation to the crime scene investigation office."

Although the crime scene office was small, because they were the "money pits" of the branch, the few of them saw Qin Yong quite often.

But an expression of appreciation outside of the holidays... that seemed to be a first.

"This must be Xiao Lu. Truly young and promising. How are you? Are you tired?"

Lu Chuan didn't expect Qin Yong to address him directly. He was stunned for a moment. "I'm alright. I just had a sleep, I'm pretty well-rested."

"Haha," Qin Yong stepped forward and patted Lu Chuan on the shoulder. "Still, you need to take care of your health. You can only work better if you're in good shape. How about this: take a day off and get some rest."

Watching Qin Yong leave with his hands behind his back, Lu Chuan was a bit confused.

Didn't I just earn merit?

Why am I being sent on leave?

"Master, Captain Qin... what does this mean?"

Liu Guodong let out a breath and patted Lu Chuan's shoulder. "If he tells you to rest, then rest. Isn't a day off a good thing?"

There was an unspoken rule in the criminal investigation branch: giving someone time off was a reward.

After all, salary increases weren't decided by one or two people, and official commendations weren't up to the team either.

Verbal praise was no different from drawing a cake on a wall to satisfy hunger, but time off was the most practical reward—and one that everyone loved.

And so, while the entire branch was still busy, Lu Chuan became the idlest person there.

"Ding!"

"Advanced mission completed: The host discovered clues through crime scene investigation and assisted the special task force in solving the case."

"System reward: Primary Footprint Analysis Skill Card."

"Does the host wish to claim the reward?"

"Claim!"

*Whoosh!*

Streams of light flashed through Lu Chuan's mind as knowledge and experience regarding footprint analysis took deep root in his consciousness.

Lu Chuan had studied footprint analysis at the Public Security University.

There were three most important weapons in crime scene investigation: fingerprints, footprints, and DNA samples.

This was because these three types of traces could serve as the sole evidence to confirm a suspect's identity.

No two people in the world had the same fingerprints, DNA information, or footprints.

Every person's footprint was unique.

In crime scene investigations, footprints were also one of the most important pieces of information to extract.

Yesterday morning, when Lu Chuan lowered his head to observe the ground traces in the direction of the sunlight, he was actually trying to determine if any footprint traces existed.

However, in reality, the probability of solving cases using footprints had always been relatively low; generally, they were used as auxiliary data.

For example, for people like Liu Guodong, footprints could only be used to roughly estimate the owner's height and gender.

A normal person's foot length is about one-seventh of their height, and the length-to-width ratio of a footprint can determine the owner's gender.

But with the Primary Footprint Analysis Skill Card Lu Chuan had obtained, he could calculate various proportional relationships of a footprint to determine a suspect's height, weight, age, and general body shape with relative accuracy.

The most complex part was calculating age—yes, calculating it.

Footprints at crime scenes rarely showed bare feet; the vast majority were shoe prints.

In footprint analysis, by comparing footprint data from different angles, one could determine the owner's age range.

Highly skilled footprint analysis experts could find comparison points for different footprints to derive calculated data.

The Primary Footprint Analysis skill Lu Chuan had acquired could pinpoint the owner's age within a margin of five years.

Lu Chuan, who had already walked out of the criminal investigation branch, returned to the office.

Since he had nothing to do anyway, and he had just acquired a new skill, Lu Chuan decided to give it a try!