Leisurely Traveler with Check-in System

Lobsang Zhaxi placed the fingerprints on the desk in front of Li Younan, then silently lit a cigarette: ”Take a look.”

Li Younan picked it up, glanced at it a few times, and his mouth began to rise. Before Lobsang Zhaxi could light the lighter, he spoke: ”It seems my guess was correct.”

Li Younan set down the A4 paper with fingerprints and said, ”Your investigative direction has been off from the start. The one who stole the documents is not human.”

The female officer next to him, who was drinking water, nearly spat it out: ”A ghost?”

...

Lobsang Zhaxi suddenly realized something, and his eyelid twitched slightly.

Yes, why didn’t I think in that direction from the start?

”These are not human fingerprints and palmprints.”

”They’re... a monkey’s.”

At this moment, Li Younan was giving a presentation to the officers.

It’s not entirely the police’s fault for their initial misjudgment because overall, monkey fingerprints and palmprints are very similar to human ones macroscopically. To the naked eye, they look identical.

People who frequently solve cases involving monkey thefts are well aware that if only one or two fingerprints are left by a monkey, it’s impossible to tell whether they’re human or monkey without an expert opinion.

Like human fingerprints, monkey fingerprints are unique and unchanging for life. However, when they’re left in small segments rather than full handprints, they’re easily misinterpreted as human unless you consult a zoologist.

Li Younan pointed to the printed fingerprints and said, ”Monkey fingerprints and our human fingerprints have the same basic shapes, such as arches, loops, and whorls.”

”However, there are still subtle differences.”

”Firstly, the line density and spacing—this is the most direct difference. Monkey fingerprint lines are narrower and denser than those of humans.”

”Everyone, please look here. Isn’t it obviously denser here?”

”Besides that, there are the frequencies of minutiae like islands and ridge endings, which differ from the distribution pattern in humans.”

”Of course, this is complex and can’t be explained in just a few sentences.”

”But if we look at palmprints, the difference becomes clear because the difference between human and monkey palmprints is greater than that between fingerprints.”

”While monkeys also have hand creases like life lines, head lines, and heart lines, you can see that the pattern of the thenar and hypothenar at the base differs significantly from that of our hands.”

”In this case, the absence of the C main line and the triple-radiate configuration appearing where it shouldn’t on a human palm makes it clear. I can almost certainly say these are monkey fingerprints and palmprints.”

After hearing Li Younan’s explanation, the officers instinctively looked at their own fingerprints and palmprints. After hearing him, they again compared them to the suspect’s printed fingerprints—

Hmm... still can’t tell the difference.

However, Li Younan’s certainty uplifted the officers present.

Lobsang Zhaxi, listening to Li Younan’s speculation, felt somewhat excited but remained calm and asked, ”Is there a way to verify it?”

Li Younan said, ”It’s quite easy to verify. Input the fingerprint data into the wildlife database, and we should get a conclusion.”

Lobsang Zhaxi nodded and instructed his officers to hurry with the task.

During the wait, Lobsang Zhaxi’s attitude towards Li Younan noticeably improved. After chatting for a while, he learned of Li Younan’s heroic deeds, his status as a major live-streamer, a world-class wilderness survival expert, and a Forbidden City national treasure-level artifact restoration expert.

Such credentials would command respect even on their own, naturally leading to the honorific ”Teacher Li” for Li Younan.

Liu Li stood silently to the side, watching the police regard Li Younan as a savior, feeling a bit proud inside.

Meanwhile, the person most agitated was the professor whose documents were stolen.

Having spent two nights awake without results, his mood had become increasingly heavy. However, the sudden turning point and glimpse of recovery couldn’t help but excite him.

He conversed with Li Younan for a while, handing over his business card.

Soon, the results came out, confirming what Li Younan had said: the fingerprints they collected were indeed from local macaques.

Confirming the final results was undeniably thrilling, yet the smiles on everyone’s faces only lingered briefly before gradually fading as they realized something.

A bigger problem now faced everyone.

If a person stole the materials, it would be manageable. Finding the person would likely lead to the materials.

As long as the person didn’t throw the USB drive into the sea, even if the materials were discarded or damaged, modern techniques could help track and recover clues.

But if the thief was a monkey, how could they proceed?

It’s important to know that a monkey’s behavior is completely different from a human’s. Standard criminal investigation techniques, while not entirely inapplicable to monkeys, are basically useless.

Lobsang Zhaxi lit another cigarette, flicking the ash halfway through, and his dark lips moved: ”Professor Zhang, we can basically conclude that if a monkey stole your materials, you need to prepare for the worst-case scenario.”