Chapter 51: Trouble En Route

It was still Qin Yong's office.

There were still four people, but they were no longer Wang Chuanmin and his group.

"Captain Liao, this is Lu Chuan."

Qin Yong sat adjacent to a middle-aged man. Seeing Lu Chuan enter the room, Qin Yong stood up to introduce him.

"The fingerprints on the envelope were handled, collected, and compared by young Lu here."

"Lu, this is Captain Liao Kai from the Economic Investigation Detachment."

*Snap!*

Lu Chuan hadn't expected that this unremarkable-looking middle-aged man would actually be the captain of the Economic Investigation Detachment.

"Hello, Captain Liao!"

Haha!

Liao Kai stood up along with Qin Yong: "I heard Captain Qin mention you before the National Day holiday. As expected, you are a talented young man with great presence."

"I came here today specifically on behalf of the Economic Investigation Detachment to thank you!"

Lu Chuan was slightly stunned; he hadn't expected another wave of gratitude.

"You're too kind, Captain Liao. It was only my duty."

Lu Chuan glanced at Qin Yong and continued, "The detachment had a homicide to handle before the holiday, so Captain Qin told me early on to ensure the fingerprints on the envelope were extracted properly."

"The fingerprint identification results were a bit delayed; please forgive us, Captain Liao."

The delay regarding the envelope, of course, had nothing to do with a homicide.

It was purely because after Qin Yong had instructed Liu Guodong, Liu Guodong had simply forgotten.

However, Lu Chuan could not possibly reveal the truth, though an explanation was still necessary.

Moreover, using a homicide as an excuse was not only perfect but also helped Qin Yong earn more favors.

*See, even when we in Criminal Investigation are dealing with homicides, we are still helping you.*

*We only asked for one variable-frequency laser spectroscopy analyzer worth over 400,000 yuan; that's not too much, right?*

Sure enough, upon hearing Lu Chuan's words, the smile on Liao Kai's face deepened. He looked at Qin Yong: "Old Qin, nothing more needs to be said."

"That car you mentioned—I'll have them deliver it this afternoon!"

"Haha, Old Liao, there's no need for that between us... haha!"

Liao Kai was reliable; when he spoke of gratitude, he truly meant it.

At the very least, he was more genuine than Wang Chuanmin from neighboring Tianzhou City.

"Comrade Lu Chuan, there is one more small matter I'd like to ask your help with."

With the pleasantries concluded, the fox finally showed its tail. Liao Kai looked at his subordinate, who tactfully handed over a briefcase: "Can fingerprints be extracted from this?"

The case was opened to reveal a layer of bright red banknotes.

A rough glance suggested there was nearly a million yuan in there.

"This money is evidence from a bribery case. We want to see if we can extract the target's fingerprints from it to make the prosecution's evidence more substantial."

Liao Kai's subordinate then handed over a smaller box. When opened, it contained over a dozen fingerprint photos.

"These are the target's fingerprints."

*Ding!*

"Basic Task: Assist the Economic Investigation Detachment in completing the fingerprint identification and comparative analysis of the banknotes to help them secure evidence of bribery."

Lu Chuan looked at the banknotes in the box and the target fingerprints. He did not agree immediately but instead looked toward Qin Yong.

How could he agree to such a thing on his own?

The decision had to be made by his superior.

Qin Yong understood Lu Chuan's meaning perfectly and laughed: "Old Liao, although these banknotes and the envelope are both paper, the difficulty of collecting fingerprints is quite different."

"How about this: if you trust me, leave the items here first, and I'll have young Lu and the others study them."

"I'll give you an answer this afternoon. How does that sound?"

Looking at Qin Yong's half-smile, Liao Kai knew exactly what the man was calculating.

The envelope was paper, but the money wasn't?

If they could perform non-destructive fingerprint extraction on an envelope, they could certainly do it on these banknotes.

He was just waiting for the new car to be delivered.

However, some things shouldn't be said explicitly; as long as everyone understood the situation, that was enough.

"Fine, fine. As long as you say that, I'll wait for your good news this afternoon!"

Qin Yong led Lu Chuan to see Liao Kai off.

Returning to the office, Qin Yong glanced at the box of banknotes on the desk and turned to Lu Chuan: "Lu, is the difficulty level high?"

Lu Chuan nodded without hesitation: "Captain Liao and his team are requesting non-destructive extraction from carriers both times; the difficulty is quite significant."

"Furthermore, fingerprints on banknotes often involve overlapping layers, making identification and analysis extremely difficult."

Extremely difficult?

Qin Yong frowned. Fortunately, he hadn't agreed directly just now.

"How long will it take if you perform the extraction and analysis?"

Lu Chuan thought for a moment and gave a conservative estimate: "It will take at least three hours."

Three hours?

Qin Yong's eyes paused: "Three hours... and it's still difficult?"

Lu Chuan quickly explained: "Captain Qin, the difficulty is indeed quite high. It's just that once you know how, it's not hard, but if you don't know how, it's impossible."

"Before coming here, Captain Liao and his team must have visited the Technical Identification Center. They likely came to us because the center couldn't do it."

"Alright. Once the new car arrives this afternoon, the Land Cruiser I used to drive will belong to your Crime Scene Investigation office!"

Lu Chuan's face lit up with joy: "Thank you, Captain!"

Although the CSI office had a vehicle, it was a specialized forensic vehicle.

For daily official business, they couldn't exactly drive that around.

Carrying the two boxes, Lu Chuan returned to the CSI office.

Because of his experience with the envelope fingerprints last time, Lu Chuan's extraction this time was more proficient and smoother.

Aside from the target, no one else had touched the banknotes in the box.

Although there were other overlapping fingerprints, the target's print was on the very top.

The comparison of the target fingerprint was also completed quickly.

Before noon, a fingerprint identification report confirming the match was delivered to Qin Yong.

*Ding!*

"Basic Task Completed: The host has completed the fingerprint identification and comparative analysis of the banknotes, helping the Economic Investigation Detachment secure evidence of bribery."

Hearing the system's notification of task completion, Lu Chuan felt wonderful.

Looking at the old Land Cruiser in the detachment's courtyard, he felt a sense of happiness.

In the entire Criminal Investigation Detachment, the only person allowed to have a dedicated vehicle was the Captain.

If anyone else needed a car, they had to submit an application, and then the fleet would dispatch a vehicle for duty.

The scenes in TV dramas where people just hop into any car and drive off were nonsense.

In this day and age, any organization manages the private use of official vehicles even more strictly than performance metrics.

The fact that the CSI office could occupy a dedicated official vehicle—and one that was formerly the Captain's personal ride—represented absolute trust and status from the leadership.

In the afternoon, a brand-new Prado drove into the Criminal Investigation Detachment compound.

The new car Liao Kai promised to Qin Yong had finally arrived.

If nothing else, the Economic Investigation Detachment was truly wealthy.

The atmosphere was thick with "nouveau riche" vibes—the kind of wealth where even the hostesses at a club would cost two people.

One sings, and the other sings too.

A duet of flutes in the underworld.

"Tsk, tsk," Yang Sen clicked his tongue repeatedly as he circled the majestic and domineering ten-year-old Land Cruiser: "This car... is it going to be used by us from now on?"

Old Bai, holding an enamel mug, also took a lap: "Lu, is this car not as comfortable as your family's Bentley?"

Lu Chuan nodded firmly: "I think the Bentley is comfortable, but when this car drove me home last time, my parents thought it was better than the Bentley."

Lunch was handled in the cafeteria; today it was chicken stewed with mushrooms.

Before the afternoon shift started, Ren Qiang brought Zhang Hui and dragged a still groggy Lu Chuan away.

"Group Leader Ren, naps are good for growth."

Yawning, Lu Chuan was still a bit dazed; he had recently fully adapted to the working rhythm of the CSI office.

Ren Qiang shook his head with a bitter smile: "In the entire detachment, only you guys in CSI and the forensic doctors get to take naps."

Lu Chuan nodded in agreement: "Not only that, Captain Qin even approved a dedicated vehicle for us today."

Ren Qiang clutched his chest, feeling a bit stung.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Zhang Hui turned his head and looked at Lu Chuan pitifully: "Lu, is your CSI office hiring?"

As the three were chatting, Ren Qiang's phone rang.

A moment later, Ren Qiang hung up, his expression suddenly turning grim.

"Brother Qiang, what's wrong?" Zhang Hui asked, puzzled.

"The Tianzhou Criminal Investigation Detachment... something happened!"

(End of Chapter)