Chapter 15: Qin Yong Changes Cars

Captain’s Office.

"Yes, yes, yes, Bureau Chief Song, we’ve caught the guy, and we have all the stolen items... Yes, I’ll have the recovered property sent over immediately."

Several team leaders stood outside Qin Yong’s office, looking at each other in confusion.

"I was just about to head out, and the guy’s already been caught?"

"He’s already in the holding cell. Wang Tao and the others are interrogating him now."

"I’ve been working cases for so many years, and this is the first time I’ve seen a case closed the moment it was reported."

"That’s nothing. I just heard Old Liu say that the leader of the three guys Lu Chuan caught today is the same habitual thief who robbed Bureau Chief Song’s father-in-law’s house the year before last..."

The Haizhou City Criminal Investigation Detachment has about two hundred people, counting both office and field staff. It’s not a small number, but when it comes to who’s actually in charge, it’s just those few.

The heads of the various departments all started their careers around the same time.

They were either classmates or served in the same military unit before transitioning to civilian work, so naturally, there were no secrets between them.

While Qin Yong was in his office reporting to Song Jianguo, the news of how the case was solved had already spread outside.

"Lu Chuan’s luck is truly unmatched."

"Luck?"

"I don’t think so. If they hadn’t done that footprint analysis this afternoon, even if they had caught the guy, they might not have been able to get him to confess to the case from two years ago."

Lu Chuan is something of a celebrity in the Criminal Investigation Detachment.

In just one day, he solved four cases!

The key clue in the Zhang Wen murder case was discovered by Lu Chuan, and then, that same morning, he solved a cold case involving robbery and assault through footprint analysis.

Before the day was even over, he caught a thief on his way home from work—a thief specifically named by the higher-ups.

And in the process, he even cleared a cold case involving the burglary of the Bureau Chief’s father-in-law’s home.

"Captain Qin’s ten-year-old Land Cruiser might finally be due for an upgrade..."

"Ding!"

"Advanced mission complete: Host analyzed the suspect’s physical characteristics based on footprints from a theft case, completed an internal investigation and wanted notice, and apprehended the criminal suspect single-handedly."

"System reward: Intermediate Fingerprint Collection 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 fingerprint extraction took deep root in his consciousness.

After accepting the system’s reward, Lu Chuan let out a long breath.

Finally, a skill related to fingerprints. Although it was only a fingerprint extraction skill card and not the fingerprint comparison and analysis he wanted most, it was still pretty good.

Moreover, this was the only intermediate skill card Lu Chuan had ever received.

Compared to footprint analysis, fingerprint analysis has a much wider range of applications in solving cases.

Although fingerprints cannot determine a suspect’s height, weight, or other physical characteristics like footprints can, they have a greater advantage in locking onto a specific suspect.

Much like a human face, the uniqueness of a fingerprint makes it more reliable and convenient for comparison than a footprint.

There are two prerequisites for fingerprint comparison: the perpetrator must leave a fingerprint, and someone must collect it.

Fingerprint collection is a basic skill for any criminal investigator.

Lu Chuan had learned it back at the Public Security University.

But just because everyone has learned it doesn’t mean everyone is at the same level.

It’s like Wu Dalang and Ximen Qing—they have the same parts, but their techniques and methods differ, and the resulting experience is naturally different.

The external manifestation is the difference between "Dalang, drink your medicine" and "Oh, my lord, your medicine."

Fingerprint collection is the same. Everyone uses the same tools; the key lies in technique, experience, and attention to detail.

For the same fingerprint, a patrol officer from a local station might fail to get a match during comparison, or even if they do succeed, it might take much more effort.

But a veteran crime scene investigator collecting that same print might achieve better integrity, leading to a higher success rate in matching.

The fingerprint collection skill card rewarded by the system covers every aspect of the process.

In particular, it includes many techniques and methods for collecting fingerprints in special environments that Lu Chuan had never heard of before.

The formation of a fingerprint is related to the physiological structure of the finger.

Judicially speaking, fingerprints include the patterns on the finger pads, the knuckles, and the palms.

But in actual life, and even in solving cases, "fingerprint" usually refers to the patterns on the finger pads.

As for the structure of a fingerprint, it consists of papillary ridges and furrows, categorized by shape into whorls, arches, and loops, with some special individuals possessing unique prints.

The composition of a fingerprint is actually a chemical substance.

Unlike dogs, whose sweat glands are only on their tongues, the human body is covered in sweat glands.

The fingertips are no exception, and compared to other parts of the body, the sweat glands on the fingertips are more developed and finer.

In addition to sweat glands, there are many sebaceous glands; the substances secreted by these glands are what make up the residue of a fingerprint.

In layman’s terms, a fingertip is like a stamp, and the glandular secretions are the ink. Wherever the finger touches, it’s like leaving a seal—a unique seal at that.

Collecting a fingerprint is essentially about making these chemical substances, which are usually invisible to the naked eye, appear so they can be photographed.

Of course, before cameras existed, other special methods were needed to preserve fingerprints, such as taking impressions.

The fingerprint collection methods rewarded by the system encompass everything Lu Chuan had previously learned.

Powder methods, magnetic powder methods, and laser methods are suitable for extracting fingerprints from non-absorbent surfaces.

For absorbent materials like paper, leather, and wood, chemical methods such as iodine fuming or fluorescent reagents must be used.

Beyond that, there are fingerprint collection methods for special circumstances.

For cases involving fire damage, water immersion, or prolonged sun exposure, the intermediate fingerprint collection skill card contains many specialized techniques.

These methods are the true essence, allowing Lu Chuan to collect fingerprints that others cannot.

After accepting the reward, Lu Chuan felt confident that, at the very least, he could sit firmly in the top spot for fingerprint collection within the Haizhou Criminal Investigation Detachment.

As for the provincial level, he hadn’t seen any masters at work, so it was hard to judge.

But within the Haizhou City Criminal Investigation Detachment, Liu Guodong was the expert in this field.

Comparing his own skills to Liu Guodong’s performance at the Zhang Wen murder scene, the intermediate fingerprint collection skill Lu Chuan had just received was a significant step above.

With Qin Yong handling the reporting, Lu Chuan had nothing left to do.

He left the infirmary and headed straight home.

However, because of his injured arm, he certainly couldn’t ride a shared bike.

Fortunately, it was a work-related injury, and Qin Yong had already arranged for a detachment vehicle to take him home.

Yes, the car being used was his own ride—the ten-year-old Land Cruiser.

Chenguang Villa District.

In the evening, there were many elderly people strolling around the neighborhood, greeting each other and chatting.

Then, they watched as a Land Cruiser with white license plates drove directly into the villa district, heading deep into the complex.

"Whose house is in trouble? Why are the police here?"

"I think... doesn't the person in the passenger seat look like Chuan-wazi?"

"Doesn't Chuan-wazi work at the Public Security Bureau?"

(End of chapter)