The Forensic Doctor Better Than a Detective

At this critical juncture, any negligence could lead to irreparable consequences.

At this moment, Director Hou, Political Commissioner Li, Mr. Qin, and others have struggled to stand up from the engulfing smoke.

They endured the ringing in their ears and dizziness, swiftly advancing into the building’s interior.

However, upon rushing indoors, they found it already deserted.

Everyone immediately started searching, leaving no corner unchecked from the first to the second floor, but still found no trace.

Political Commissioner Li picked up the walkie-talkie again, disbelief in his voice: ”Report the status of the perimeter team! Did the target leave?”

”Report, all exits are tightly sealed, no personnel have been observed leaving.”

This answer left everyone puzzled.

How could Wu Guang disappear under such close watch?

Every exit in the courtyard is heavily guarded, could he have flown away?

Just as everyone looked at each other in bewilderment, Jiang An suddenly spoke, his voice quiet yet startling everyone: ”Could we have overlooked something? Is there an underground tunnel here?”

Instantly, everyone’s nerves tightened, a silent alertness filled the air.

They swiftly exchanged a glance, then disperse in tacit coordination to conduct a thorough search of the entire house.

Footsteps echoed rapidly on the stairs as several people rushed to the second floor, checking each bedroom one by one.

Doors were pushed open sequentially, flashlight beams swept every corner in the dark—the wardrobe was fully opened, clothes examined piece by piece.

The area under the bed was also inspected, leaving no gap unchecked.

However, aside from stirred-up dust and empty echoes, there was nothing to be found.

”Nothing found!”

”Same over here!”

...

The reports, rising one after the other, added to the tension.

The group quickly turned to the first floor, applying the same meticulous search to the bedrooms and storerooms.

Someone even lifted the mattress, knocked on walls, checking for hidden compartments.

But the results remained disappointing—the entire house seemed like an airtight container, without any suspicious spots.

When everyone regrouped in the living room, an eerie atmosphere enveloped them.

They looked at each other, faces full of confusion and disbelief.

”How is this possible?” someone murmured, ”A living person vanished into thin air?”

”Could he have used the main door?”

Another person questioned but immediately refuted: ”Impossible! The main door was constantly guarded, even a fly exiting would be noticed.”

”Then what really happened...”

Amidst the low discussion, Jiang An’s gaze slowly swept across the space like a searchlight, finally stopping at the open-plan kitchen in the corner.

This common rural stove seemed ordinary, yet caught his attention.

Although pots, bowls, and utensils were neatly placed atop the stove, a thin veil of dust covered them, showing no signs of use.

Jiang An stepped forward, crouching to inspect the stove’s hearth.

Where firewood should be piled up was unusually clean, not even a bit of coal dust.

His fingers gently brushed the hearth’s inner wall, his eyes suddenly sharpened.

”I understand now.” Jiang An’s voice shattered the silence, all eyes instantly focused on him.

He reached out to grasp the iron pot on the stove, twisting and lifting it with force, revealing a pitch-black hole underneath as the stove slowly shifted.

”They escaped through here!”

Jiang An pointed at the hole.

Immediately, the entire team packed around like ignited explosives.

”Everyone, follow me!”

Mr. Qin and Political Commissioner Li led the charge, leaping into the hole without hesitation.

Jiang An and Director Hou followed closely, with others trailing afterward.

The hole was narrow, but within was a simple ladder descending into unknown darkness below.

Five minutes later, everyone reached the underground basement level.

In this hidden space, the air was filled with the damp scent of earth, flashlight beams dancing in the empty room.

Beside scattered boxes and messy footprints, the place was already empty.

”Look over there!”

Someone shouted, pointing to the other end of the room. Another ladder leaned against the wall, leading to another deep tunnel.

”Go after them!”

Political Commissioner Li gave the order, and the group dashed forward along the only tunnel like wartime tunnel fighters.

The tunnel was pitch black, the flashlight beams flickering on dirt walls, footsteps echoing within the confined space.

After 30 minutes of sprinting, a glimmer of light finally appeared ahead.

Everyone quickened their pace, discovering an exit concealed on the hillside behind, cleverly hidden by dense shrubbery.

Standing at the opening, Jiang An noticed freshly broken branches at the exit and trampled weed.

When everyone gathered on the slope, Jiang An surveyed the surroundings thoughtfully saying, ”This exit obviously was just recently opened.”

”Look at these broken branches, the marks are very fresh.”

He parted the dense undergrowth, ”In such a concealed location, if unaware beforehand, discovery would be impossible.”

Mr. Qin nodded in agreement, crouching to inspect the vegetation around the exit.

”Indeed, these weeds have grown so deep, indicating the exit hasn’t been used for many years, it’s completely a backup escape route.”

He stood up, gazing at the endless mountain range ahead, ”It appears our opponent is even more cunning than we thought.”

Upon seeing this, Director Hou paused, vigilantly scanning the area.

He frowned, speaking in a serious tone: ”Mr. Li, look at this environment, dark and blind, if we continue searching aimlessly like now, it would be like finding a needle in a haystack, very inefficient.”

”I think it’s time to deploy police dogs.”

”Their sense of smell and tracking ability is far more reliable than manpower in this setting.”

Political Commissioner Li nodded in response: ”You’re right, the tracking ability of police dogs is indeed formidable.”

”Our previous data shows that under similar terrain and visibility conditions, the tracking success rate of police dogs far exceeds manual searches.”

”Should we deploy them immediately?”

”Of course!” Director Hou’s tone was firm.

Political Commissioner Li said: ”We recently brought in a batch of new detection dogs, plus some specially bred working dogs, their tracking and detection abilities have undergone rigorous training, proving very effective.”

”Deploying them now couldn’t be more appropriate.”

”Alright, promptly arrange for the police dog team to be deployed.”

Immediately after, Political Commissioner Li took the walkie-talkie, contacting the police dog squad standing by nearby.

minutes later, the police dog team swiftly arrived on scene.

Ten well-trained police dogs lined up neatly under their trainers, eyes sharp, seemingly ready for action at any moment.

Political Commissioner Li stepped forward, issuing orders: ”Everyone pay attention, the target has left around 15 minutes ago, likely covering some distance.”

”But it doesn’t matter, our police dogs possess formidable running capability and endurance, offering efficient tracking.”

”Follow the dogs’ lead in action, direction is at least clear, better than wandering aimlessly like headless flies.”

Upon his words, all ten police dogs quickly entered working state at the trainers’ commands.

They sniffed the ground and surrounding undergrowth, quickly locking onto three different directions, pursuing without hesitance.

Political Commissioner Li responded via walkie-talkie: ”We can basically judge this way. Everyone stay alert, ensure safety. During the tracking process, SWAT members must protect both the dogs and trainers, absolutely no mishaps allowed.”

”If targets are found, capture immediately if conditions allow.”

”If situations are complex, avoid direct confrontation, adopting flanking maneuvers if possible.”

”Understood!” came the coordinated responses from the three group members on the walkie-talkie.

On this end, Mr. Qin, Political Commissioner Li, Jiang An, and Director Hou returned to the tunnel entrance.

Four SWAT members were guarding the vicinity, upon seeing them arrive, immediately reporting: ”Political Commissioner Li, we’ve conducted a preliminary search indoors, confirming safety.”

”A vigil has been arranged at the village entrance too, currently no signs of other people escaping.”

”Good, but we mustn’t drop our guard.”

Political Commissioner Li’s expression was stern, ”Certainly, there are more clues within this village, Wu Guang couldn’t have acted alone.”

”We must conduct another thorough sweep, every household mustn’t be overlooked, no suspicious person should be missed.”

At this time, Mr. Qin suddenly asked, ”Where is Lao San? Where is he?”

”Lao San has already been secured in the car by one of our officers.”

”Alright, bring him out, have him lead us to find the other accomplices.”

”In this operation, not a single one should be missed!”

”Yes!” Everyone responded in unison, swiftly taking action.