Chapter 5: Confirming Homicide

Yang Sen handed Liu Guodong a cigarette and picked up the conversation: "Brother Liu is right; the deceased must have been murdered. We’re going to have a busy night ahead of us."

Bai Wenhai stretched his arms and yawned, taking the cigarette Yang Sen offered. "Little Lu, you’ve just started working, so you lack experience. At a crime scene like this, the less we find during our initial investigation, the bigger the problem actually is."

Bai Wenhai pointed to the evidence collection box in the vehicle: "Look, we’ve been at it for ages, yet in the living room where the deceased died, we only managed to collect a dozen or so fingerprints. There was only one type of shoeprint, which I suspect belongs to the deceased's son."

"He entered the living room before reporting the case this morning, so it’s natural for his prints to be there. If the deceased had committed suicide, we would have at least found the deceased's own shoeprints."

Bai Wenhai took a drag of his cigarette: "But the scene is too clean. We didn't find any shoeprints belonging to the deceased, which suggests someone deliberately wiped away the traces."

Yang Sen sighed: "The perpetrator was very careful; the traces were wiped away quite thoroughly..."

Lu Chuan listened quietly to the three seniors chatting. This was the best time for him to learn and accumulate experience.

In school, Lu Chuan learned the technical side of things—how to collect fingerprints, how to gather blood samples—but what these things actually signified was not something school could teach.

That was something Lu Chuan had to accumulate on his own. Take Bai Wenhai and Yang Sen, for example; their methods during crime scene investigations weren't exactly professional, as they were both self-taught.

Yet, they were able to discover things beyond the technical data. They didn't even need to wait for the autopsy report to basically determine that the deceased hadn't committed suicide.

Back at the detachment, the cafeteria didn't have hot food available at all hours. This was part of the homicide investigation mechanism; usually, meals were served at set times, but when a homicide occurred, the logistics staff were actually no less busy than those on the front lines.

In the words of Captain Qin Yong, the people on the front lines were risking their lives, so they couldn't come back to the station without a hot meal.

3:15 PM.

The four of them began to categorize and identify the evidence collected from the scene. Fingerprint comparison and DNA sample analysis were the top priorities.

Liu Guodong went ahead to attend the case analysis meeting. Lu Chuan and the other two didn't have the qualifications to attend, so they could only work in the lab.

Don't let the fact that there were only four people in the crime scene investigation office fool you; the crime scene investigation unit was the wealthiest department in the entire criminal investigation detachment.

For no other reason than the equipment being expensive.

A single DNA testing instrument could outperform all the other departments combined.

This machine was the lifeblood of the office, purchased only last year. Previously, if the criminal investigation detachment needed a DNA test, they had to go to the Technical Identification Division. Not only did they have to wait in line, but sometimes they even had to deal with people's attitudes.

Yang Sen was responsible for operating the equipment, Bai Wenhai organized the evidence, and Lu Chuan was in charge of sorting the photos and writing the crime scene investigation report.

The investigation report was one of the most important parts of the case file. Writing a file was different from solving a case.

Solving a case allowed for logical deduction, guessing, and suspicion.

A case file was a statement of facts, using photos, serial numbers, and text to record everything at the scene in detail.

It was 6:30 PM by the time Liu Guodong returned, thirteen hours after the deceased had died.

"Brother Liu, how did the meeting go?"

Liu Guodong’s expression was somber: "I gave a detailed report on the crime scene findings. Based on the analysis of the traces at the scene, we can confirm it was a homicide."

"But the autopsy isn't finished yet, so there hasn't been much progress on the specifics."

*Sigh...*

With the nature of the case confirmed, everyone felt a heavy weight in their hearts.

"Alright, let's do our jobs and finish the crime scene analysis report as soon as possible."

Solving a case didn't rely on passion alone. The forensic experts, crime scene investigators, and detectives each had to do their part; only through concerted effort could the investigation move forward.

In Conference Room No. 1, Qin Yong looked at the relationship chart on the whiteboard with a gloomy face.

The residential complex where Zhang Wen lived was an old one with dilapidated facilities, and the few surveillance cameras present were all broken.

Furthermore, the complex had no perimeter walls; it was an open-access area, which made door-to-door inquiries very difficult.

Zhang Wen's interpersonal relationships had basically been mapped out. His ex-wife was no longer in the city, and his second wife and her child had returned to her parents' home in the neighboring city the day before the incident.

The person who reported the case was Zhang Wen's son from his first marriage. He had come to pick up Zhang Wen for a medical check-up in the morning, but after knocking and receiving no answer, he used the spare key kept under the floor mat to open the door, only to find that Zhang Wen was dead.

Neighbors could testify to this.

Other than that, Zhang Wen's social background was simple, and he didn't have any enemies.

Early this morning, the surrounding neighbors hadn't heard any unusual noises either.

Coupled with the fact that the killer hadn't left any traces at the scene, the investigation had hit a dead end.

Qin Yong could only pin his hopes on the autopsy results to see if there would be any valuable discoveries.

Crime Scene Investigation Office.

Liu Guodong brought back meat buns from the cafeteria: "Come on, take a break. The cafeteria made buns tonight, donkey meat filling. Eat them while they're hot."

Lu Chuan and the other two put down their work and gathered around the desk: "Master, has there been any progress on the case?"

Liu Guodong handed Lu Chuan three meat buns, understanding his curiosity. When he encountered his first murder case, he had been even more curious than Lu Chuan.

"The autopsy report is out. The cause of death was the heart being pierced by a sharp object, but there were signs of repeated stabbing on the wound. It matches our conclusion: a homicide staged to look like a suicide."

So-called repeated stabbing meant the knife was pulled out after being thrust in, then thrust in again.

It wasn't that a suicide couldn't involve repeated stabbing; generally, if a person was determined to commit suicide, they might not feel pain in the short time during self-harm, so repeated stabbing could occur to ensure a quick death.

But a stab wound to the heart was different from other areas. With such a vital organ struck, the deceased would lose their strength in an instant, making it highly unlikely they could stab themselves repeatedly.

Lu Chuan nodded and didn't ask further. Crime scene investigation had its own scope of work, and at this stage, their job was essentially coming to an end.

From the conversation between Yang Sen and Old Bai, it was clear that neither intended to work overtime tonight. Yang Sen’s child was taking the college entrance exam next year, so he definitely had to go home to look after them.

Old Bai was already fifty; after a busy day, his stamina was failing, and he kept dozing off.

Lu Chuan couldn't, and didn't have the standing to, ask the two seniors to work overtime.

But he still had the system's advanced task.

Although there was no penalty for failing the task, there would certainly be no reward.

After quickly polishing off the three donkey meat buns, Lu Chuan went back to studying the crime scene data.

Liu Guodong glanced at him but didn't say anything. When he first joined the police force, he had that same drive.

Young people were all like that, just like how you wouldn't understand what it meant for your prostate to rebel until you reached a certain age.

Who hadn't had their own feats of youthful vigor?

Thanks to the "Primary Crime Scene Photography" skill, the photos Lu Chuan had organized were categorized and orderly. Opening his computer, Lu Chuan started from the general overview of the scene, not letting a single detail slip by.

The system's advanced task was: "Discover clues to the case through crime scene investigation and assist the special investigation team in solving the case."

This meant there must be clues to solving the case at the scene; Lu Chuan just hadn't found them yet.

Clicking the mouse, Lu Chuan zoomed in on every photo, carefully observing every detail.

From the panoramic shots to close-ups of the body, details of bloodstains, and even every item on the coffee table and the trash can in the corner—Lu Chuan didn't miss a single one.

But zooming in on every one of the thousands of photos was not an easy task.

Liu Guodong and the others naturally noticed Lu Chuan's behavior, but none of them interrupted him.

They were older, and since they weren't formally trained, their room for advancement was limited. All they could teach Lu Chuan was the experience they had fumbled through over the years.

Of course, it wasn't that they lacked ambition; it was just like why Empress Dowager Zhao took a fancy to Lao Ai back in the day—technical skill was one thing, but the key was having the stamina to keep up.

Liu Guodong and the other two clearly lacked the energy to match their will.

Having already looked through over four hundred photos, Lu Chuan twisted his stiff neck and reached for the cigarette pack beside the computer, but found no cigarettes left.

Coming to his senses, Lu Chuan looked at the clock on the wall; it was already past two in the morning.

No wonder the pack of cigarettes was gone; Lu Chuan had been looking for over seven hours.

Old Bai and Yang Sen had long since gone home. Liu Guodong hadn't left, though; he was snoring away on the office sofa.

Lu Chuan walked over and covered Liu Guodong with a blanket, then grabbed the cigarettes from the desk and lit one.

He took a deep drag, the strong tobacco flavor giving him a slight boost of energy.

He flicked his index finger, shaking off a bit of ash.

*Hmm?*

Looking at the cigarette butts piling up in the ashtray, a lightning bolt of realization flashed through Lu Chuan's mind.

*Cigarette butts?*

Stubbing out his cigarette, Lu Chuan rushed to the computer and quickly scrolled through the crime scene photos with his mouse.

A moment later, a photo appeared on the screen.