The Forensic Doctor Better Than a Detective

Director Hou walked slowly into the evidence storage area, meticulously surveying the surroundings.

The interior was elegantly decorated, with distinct functional divisions, and fully equipped with various devices. He couldn’t help but nod slightly, his tone filled with appreciation: ”It’s indeed refreshing.”

”To be honest, I’ve visited numerous evidence labs across the province, but none like yours, equipped with both full-room air conditioning and a professional exhaust system, along with such large-scale compact cabinets, and even clear guidance signs and comprehensive monitoring in key areas — this level of configuration is indeed leading in the province!”

As he finished speaking, Mr. Qin burst into hearty laughter, patting his chest with a hint of pride.

”Director Hou, you’re right!”

”For this lab, our Political Commissioner Li has been running around tirelessly, literally ’begging’ for resources everywhere, negotiating persistently to secure what we have now.”

”You might not guess it, but the total investment in this small area has already approached four million!”

Political Commissioner Li, hearing this, also smiled and waved his hand, ”It’s not about any credit; as long as we can create a better working environment for the frontline officers and ensure every piece of evidence has a secure ’home,’ all my legwork is worth it.”

”Handling cases isn’t easy. What we can do is make sure the logistical support is solid and detailed.”

As Director Hou listened, he nodded, walked over to a row of grey-blue compact cabinets, and gently caressed the cabinet, continuing to praise: ”Indeed, it’s scientifically designed.”

”Look at these compact cabinets. They’re not only easy to navigate but also have separate dry and wet zones — crucial for the long-term preservation of evidence, especially for biological items vulnerable to environmental influences.”

As he spoke, he suddenly turned to Jiang An, smiling and asked, ”Mr. Jiang, what do you think?”

Jiang An was originally engrossed in observing the layout and details inside the room. Upon hearing the question, he quickly nodded seriously: ”Director Hou is absolutely right.”

”To be honest, I’ve been observing and learning since I walked in.”

”There’s room for improvement in our current evidence storage conditions in Jiangcheng, and seeing this today has been truly enlightening.”

”Once we return, we plan to create a fully functional evidence storage area modeled after this standard.”

Mr. Qin’s smile widened — although he believed their case-handling experience and talent weren’t as robust as in Jiangcheng, to excel in hardware construction was comforting enough.

He quickly responded politely, ”Mr. Jiang, you’re too modest! Everyone knows Jiangcheng relies on ’software’ strength rather than hardware.”

”Ultimately, talent is the primary productive force!”

His words elicited laughter throughout the room, instantly easing the originally somewhat serious atmosphere.

Amidst the laughter and conversations, the group walked to the innermost side of the storage area.

A duty officer, using the provided case number, accurately pinpointed the corresponding storage location and soon transported two clearly labeled evidence boxes to the operation table.

Mr. Qin stepped forward, explaining as he inspected, ”These two boxes are key evidence from that year.”

”The smaller box contains excavated human bone remains discovered in a wasteland on the outskirts back then.”

”The larger box contains branch evidence related to the scene.”

”Since the original branches were too large for long-term preservation, our evidence room performed necessary partial cutting upon receipt, but every cut was clearly marked and recorded, and you can verify it one by one.”

As he spoke, two young officers wearing white gloves cautiously extracted the evidence from the boxes and arranged them neatly on a dust-proof mat on the examination table.

The bones were placed in transparent evidence bags by section, while the branch fragments were labeled and reassembled according to their original shape.

Soon, a grisly arrangement of bones was carefully laid out into a clear human-like form on the floor.

The branches were also restored to their original placements by the technicians as much as possible.

At this moment, the always composed Jiang An suddenly turned around and, in a decisive tone, addressed his colleague beside him: ”Brother, give me a pair of gloves.”

The young officer next to him was taken aback, instinctively asking back: ”Mr. Jiang, are you going to handle it personally?”

Jiang An nodded slightly, his gaze never leaving the pile of bones, his voice low and resolute: ”Yes, some details can’t be seen just by looking.”

”You have to feel it with your hands, to sense every trace and notch on the bones to capture those easily overlooked key pieces of information.”

As his words dropped, Mr. Qin quickly walked to the evidence cabinet, retrieved a new pair of latex gloves from a drawer, and personally handed them to Jiang An.

”Mr. Jiang is right.”

”Since I took a leadership role, I’ve gradually distanced myself from hands-on practice, and naturally, I became rusty.”

”We should all learn from Mr. Jiang, always maintaining enthusiasm and a spirit of inquiry in criminal investigation work.”

Before Mr. Qin finished his words, he too adeptly put on gloves and stepped forward, ”Today, I’ll follow Mr. Jiang’s lead, and we’ll re-examine this evidence together.”

Political Commissioner Li, witnessing this scene, couldn’t help but show an expression of surprise and satisfaction, raising his voice: ”This is a rare sight, indeed!”

”It’s the first time in all the cases I’ve handled to see both investigation team leaders personally examining evidence!”

”The camera crew and the photography team should come quickly and capture this precious moment of collaboration.”

”This is an important case jointly investigated by us and the Jiangcheng Criminal Investigation Team. With the high level of involvement and professionalism, it will surely drive the case toward a significant breakthrough!”

Director Hou also nodded in approval: ”Indeed, this cooperation isn’t just a technical exchange between two criminal investigation teams, but a high-level professional dialogue.”

”I believe we’ll be able to pierce the fog and reveal the truth.”

Amidst everyone’s expectant looks, Jiang An slowly bent down and began intensely examining the bones.

He first systematically checked for knife marks, impact dents, or other trauma signs on the bone surfaces.

After a meticulous inspection round, his gaze ultimately focused on the rib area of the deceased’s chest.

Sure enough, between the sixth to tenth ribs, clear traces of fractures appeared on both sides.

After observing for a long time, he fell into deeper contemplation, as if an invisible force drew his gaze tightly onto those fractured bones.

Knowledge accumulated from forensic textbooks and practice flooded into his mind like tides.

About the mechanical properties of bones, the morphological classification of fractures, the connection between the direction of force and the fracture lines... every detail was awakened at this moment.

He recalled a basic principle repeatedly emphasized by his instructor when he first entered the forensic field: Fractures are formed inevitably by physical forces; and the direction of force is often hidden in the fracture’s morphology and distribution.

Following this logic, could the close locations of these rib fractures indicate they bore the same directional force?

But if so, how could a person have such similar fracture lines appear symmetrically across the left and right sides of their body?

It defies common sense — unless the force exerted on him had some unique symmetry or came from an extremely rare injuring mechanism.

”Strange, very strange.”

Jiang An murmured softly. He had examined no fewer than hundreds of bodies and seen many bizarre injuries, but this case with symmetrical rib fractures and almost identical fracture-line positions was something he’d never encountered before.

As he immersed himself in deductions, Mr. Qin quietly approached, his tone tinged with urgency: ”Mr. Jiang, did you find any crucial points? Are there issues with these fractures?”

Jiang An slowly turned his head, ”I wouldn’t say there’s definitely a problem, but something feels off.”