The Forensic Doctor Better Than a Detective

Chapter 497: Chapter 284: The Path of a Detective Is a Choice Without Regret

He kept brushing the dust off his body with his hands, but to little effect.

Li Jian stepped forward and, seeing the team members covered in dirt and grime, felt a sudden pang of heartache.

He noticed a young officer’s pant leg had been torn by thorns, revealing a bleeding wound underneath.

Another officer’s helmet was covered in cobwebs.

...

Li Jian’s Adam’s apple moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he just patted each person heavily on the shoulder.

”You’ve all worked hard!”

Li Jian picked up a loudspeaker, his voice a bit choked.

His gaze searched the crowd and finally fell on Jiang An.

The dried blood on Jiang An’s face looked particularly striking in the moonlight.

”Not hard at all!”

The team members responded in unison, their voices echoing through the valley.

Jiang An stepped forward, and Li Jian noticed his steps were a bit unsteady, clearly an indication of exhaustion.

”Captain!”

Jiang An cleared his hoarse throat, ”Let me report on what we’ve found so far.”

As he spoke, he kept licking his chapped lips with his tongue.

”Through our grid search, we didn’t find any small houses or wooden huts fit for human habitation.”

As Jiang An spoke, he pulled a small notebook from his pocket, wetting a finger with saliva to turn the pages.

”We only found traps set by hunters to catch animals and traces of human activity during our canvass.”

After hearing the report, Li Jian did not show disappointment.

Instead, he stepped forward, raised his hand to pat Jiang An’s shoulder, and felt the tense muscles under his clothing.

”It’s okay, everyone has worked hard. Let’s return and get some rest, and we can discuss this case more thoroughly.”

However, Jiang An suddenly looked up, a sharp glimmer flashing in his eyes.

”But, I found one issue.”

His fingers unconsciously rubbed the edge of the notebook.

”Oh, what kind of issue?”

Li Jian raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms as he awaited further explanation.

”I have a feeling we may be misled by incorrect information.”

Jiang An lowered his voice, ”His wife mentioned that Li Lei often goes to Migratory Bird Mountain, yet we’ve found no signs of habitation here. Is it possible she lied to us?”

Li Jian rubbed his chin, fingertips brushing against his stubbly beard.

”That possibility does exist.”

”However, I’m thinking of another possibility—could it be she’s also been deceived?”

Wang, who was standing nearby, suddenly interjected, ”If that’s the case, then it’s entirely possible he is also a victim.”

He spoke excitedly, waving his arms, ”If he too was deceived, it’s entirely possible he might be an unwitting victim.”

”If that’s the case...”

Li Jian nodded thoughtfully, his fingers tapping continuously on his arm.

”However, after carefully considering the situations you mentioned earlier over the phone, it really fits this line of reasoning.”

”He is definitely hiding something from us, and the things he’s hiding aren’t few.”

At this moment, Jiang An suddenly crouched down, lifting his right foot to carefully examine the sole of his shoe.

”Captain, is there anywhere in Jiangcheng City where the soil composition can be analyzed?”

His fingertips touched some of the soil from the shoe sole, rubbing it between his fingers.

”Oh, soil composition analysis?”

”You mean to check the soil composition?”

Li Jian also squatted down to take a closer look at Jiang An’s sole.

Jiang An nodded, pulling a small plastic bag from his pocket and carefully scraping some soil into it.

”Although we don’t know if the woman is lying, we can determine if this location is the primary scene through soil analysis.”

Mr. Fu hurried over, his eyes fixed on the plastic bag: ”That’s indeed a very good idea.”

”Our Jiangcheng City Public Security Bureau can’t conduct trace evidence comparison examinations, but the Jiangcheng City Forensic Identification Center can.” As he spoke, he took out his phone, ”I’ll contact them right away.”

Jiang An carefully sealed the plastic bag, attaching a label to it: ”That would be ideal. With a comparison, we can fully confirm our hypothesis.”

Li Jian stood up, dusting off his knees. He looked around at the undulating mountains in the darkness, the moonlight casting a silvery glow on his profile.

”Indeed, we’ve seen this kind of black soil here before.”

”But exactly what the composition of this black soil is, we can only determine through a chemical test.”

After a brief discussion, Li Jian said seriously, ”Alright then, let’s follow Jiang An’s suggestion.”

He turned to Mr. Wang, the captain of the special police team, extending a hand: ”This time, thanks to you and the special police team.”

”Your strong support has greatly increased the efficiency of our work.”

The SWAT officer immediately stood at attention and saluted, the crisp collision of their shoes making a sharp sound: ”Mr. Li, I once attended your lecture; I have always admired detectives.”

”Feel free to contact me anytime if you need.”

”Alright, no problem.”

Li Jian returned the salute, his voice loud and clear, ”The police teams are like family; whether detectives or SWAT, we are all members of the Jiangcheng Police Team.”

”The accomplishments are everyone’s, the honor is everyone’s, and the responsibility is everyone’s.”

”No matter when or where, as long as there’s need, we will be on the front line.”

”Well said!”

Thunderous applause instantly erupted at the foot of the mountain.

After returning from Migratory Bird Mountain, everyone had a meal at the bureau’s cafeteria.

The cafeteria was bustling with noise, tired officers gathered in small groups.

Jiang An filled his plate with dumplings, mechanically dipping them in vinegar, while his eyes drifted off into the distance. His chopsticks stirred aimlessly on the plate, piercing through the dumpling skins.

Li Jian noticed his odd behavior and, holding onto his tray, walked over and sat down.

He deliberately set the tray down heavily, with a loud ”thud,” pulling Jiang An back from his thoughts.

”What’s the matter?”

”Has this hit you so hard that you’re losing heart?” Li Jian picked up a dumpling, rolling it in the vinegar dish.

Jiang An shook his head with a rueful smile, spinning his chopsticks between his fingers: ”No, I was just thinking.”

Mr. Fu also came over with his tray and sat next to Jiang An with a thump, shaking the table.

”With the impressive work you’ve done at such a young age, it’s we who should feel discouraged, haha!”

He laughed heartily, patting Jiang An’s back, nearly making him spit out a dumpling.

”Exactly!”

Li Jian chimed in, pointing at Jiang An with his chopsticks, ”Back in our day, when we were your age, we were still trailing behind our mentors like shadows.”

He imitated the sneaky manner of those days, making Mr. Fu cough with laughter.

Hearing the encouragement from the two captains, Jiang An finally smiled.

”Come on, you two big brothers, stop teasing me.”

He set down his chopsticks, crossing his hands on the table, ”Today’s thing is all my fault, wasting everyone’s time.”

”Hey, what do you mean wasting?”

Li Jian instantly set down his chopsticks, ”Remember, no effort or commitment is wasted.”

”Sometimes, we may not find the result, but no result is also a result.”

”At the very least, knowing this direction is wrong means we try another.”

”Criminal investigation is about unraveling chaos, making hypotheses one after another, verifying repeatedly to ultimately eliminate incorrect answers and find the right one.”

”Indeed,”

Mr. Fu continued, ”that’s why, at all times, we must maintain confidence.”

”Any case can have a turning point, which means we must always remain steadfast in our belief.”

Upon hearing the teachings from his mentors, Jiang An suddenly felt a lot lighter.

He smiled and nodded, ”Thank you, Captain, for your guidance. I’m feeling much better now.”

Seeing Jiang An’s features relax, Li Jian seized the opportunity: ”At any moment, we must keep an optimistic mindset.”

”In criminal investigation, cases are not solved immediately; some criminals are less intelligent, but others may have intellects that surpass ours.”

”But we are a team, a collective whole.”

”An individual’s intelligence may not match theirs, but the collective intelligence can undoubtedly overcome them.”

Unity is strength!

With that, Li Jian clenched his fist in a show of encouragement: ”Let’s go!”

At this moment, Zhang Yean and Wan also approached.

The two came up behind Jiang An, each patting him on the shoulder.

In that instant, Jiang An suddenly felt a warmth in his heart.

All of a sudden, he knew that the path of a detective was a choice he would never regret in life.