Outside the door.

Huang Qiangming began to take statements from a group of people.

Previously, when two forensic investigators from Qinghe City came, they had already taken statements from them, but Huang Qiangming still wanted to do it again.

Although Yuan Jiansheng also found it troublesome, he still cooperated as much as possible.

With him as an example, even if others were unwilling, they had to take statements as well.

Even with targeted questioning, it took Huang Qiangming several hours to finish the statements for over thirty people.

Everyone was exhausted.

Huang Qiangming forced himself to focus and finished the statements before entering the mansion.

The luxurious decoration did not interest him in the slightest. Wu Jun had seen luxurious mansions before, and Huang Qiangming had also seen them. He had even had dreams similar to Wu Jun's, except that Guan Er Ye did not bless him.

"How did it go?" Huang Qiangming arrived outside the study and saw that the entrance was already cordoned off. He stood outside the cordon and watched the busy people inside, asking, "Were you able to collect evidence?"

Jiang Yuan heard the voice and straightened up. With a grunt, he said, "We collected a lot."

"Did you find any traces of evidence being tampered with?" Huang Qiangming asked.

"There were a few, but not many," Jiang Yuan said.

Huang Qiangming furrowed his brows, not surprised. "Internal crime?"

"It's hard to say," Jiang Yuan turned around and took another fingerprint.

Xiao Pang was sprinkling powder next to him, while Wu Jun and the thin forensic investigator were scanning the office desks and other items, trying to avoid bending over and causing back pain.

"These family businesses are always troublesome. Now, their eldest and third sons both hold important positions in the company, and the recent conflicts have been intense. It's not impossible that someone sneaked into the study. In addition, there are other original shareholders and management personnel in the company who have their own thoughts about the upcoming IPO," Huang Qiangming sighed, summarizing the information he had gathered.

"By the way, there's also the issue of information disclosure. Many people in Jianyuan Company are not very clear about the IPO situation. There is a huge arbitrage space in this, so it's possible that they came here to gather some information..."

Jiang Yuan finished collecting the fingerprints and looked up at Huang Qiangming. He said, "A lot of valuable items were also stolen."

"Compared to the value of these documents, it's just a drop in the bucket," Huang Qiangming said.

"But for a thief, it's already enough. Among the stolen items, there are sheep fat jade pieces, jade paperweights, cash, watches, luxury pens, and computer accessories, all of which are high-value items."

"What do you mean?" Huang Qiangming's thoughts were somewhat influenced by the images from the previous statement. He hadn't worked on a case for a while, especially after Jiang Yuan arrived. The crime clearance rate in Ningtai County was extremely high, and most major cases could be successfully solved, which made Huang Qiangming almost detached from frontline work.

Theft is never good, try looking at [ pawℝead.com ].

However, Jiang Yuan's explanation made Huang Qiangming sense a different atmosphere.

Jiang Yuan didn't keep him in suspense and took out his phone, showing Huang Qiangming a few photos. He said, "There are signs of technical lock picking on the study door."

The photos Huang Qiangming saw were the inner wall of the keyhole taken by Jiang Yuan.

The other light source next to it made the faint scratches on the inner wall visible.

Huang Qiangming didn't carefully examine them. He didn't have any professional skills in this area. He just focused and asked, "How was it opened?"

"By bumping the lock," Jiang Yuan answered.

There are many techniques for lock picking. Sometimes, it seems like there are many ways in movies.

In reality, there are only six ways to pick locks using technical means, whether it's for door locks or padlocks.

The simplest and most common method is carding, which is often shown in various videos, using a bank card to slide open the lock. This method requires the door to not be deadlocked and the gap to be relatively large. It is the most basic and weakest method of lock picking.

The next method is forced entry, which is commonly used in stealing electric bikes. It involves directly breaking the lock, requiring the lock core to be weak.

There is also bypassing, which involves using a peephole or hooking the long handle inside the door through the gap at the bottom of the door to open it, as well as stealing and duplicating keys.

These five methods can be mastered by ordinary people with a few dozen hours of learning at most. Those with talent can become proficient in a few hours.

But these five lock picking methods ultimately rely on the flaws and negligence of the lock, door, or key holder.

The truly technical and universal lock picking method is what Jiang Yuan called "bumping the lock."

Its principle is to insert a hook needle into the lock, simulating the unlocking principle of a key, and adjust the position of the lock core pins to open the lock. Because both ends of all the pins are chamfered during processing, by using a special tool to manipulate the first pin, taking advantage of the dimensional error gap of the pins, it can be moved to the unlocked position. Then, use another hook needle to continue manipulating the second pin, and so on, until all the pins are moved to the unlocked position.

At this point, for the lock core, it is as if it has been poked tightly by a key.

Therefore, with this method, unless it is a lock that doesn't require a key, as long as the technique is proficient, there is no lock that cannot be opened.

However, even with proficient skills, it would take a relatively long time to open a lock without obvious flaws, especially advanced locks with precautions.

Locks that can be opened in minutes like in movies are theoretically not suitable for bumping the lock. It is easier to force or bypass the lock without the need for the complicated process of bumping the lock.

If we judge by skill level, mastering the five lock picking methods and occasionally being able to bump the lock would be considered Level 1 lock picking. To be able to open Yuan Jiansheng's study door, one would need at least Level 2 lock picking skills.

In other words, Yuan Jiansheng's study door was opened by a professional thief.

Huang Qiangming quickly turned his mind. Among the roughly thirty people who were cordoned off in the courtyard just now, were there any professional thieves?In theory, it shouldn't be possible. Even if someone had a peculiar hobby, the method of lock picking with a hook and tension wrench required a high level of skill.

A professional thief, if caught and imprisoned, might come out after three to five years with enriched theoretical knowledge and more comprehensive strategic thinking. However, his hands would definitely be out of practice. He would need to train for a while to regain his skills.

Would any of the thirty people in the yard meticulously prepare their lock-picking skills just for this moment?

It's not impossible, just a bit foolish.

The lock on Yuan Jiansheng's study door was excellent, making it extremely difficult to pick.

Facing such a mechanical lock, even a very professional thief would need some time to open it. Moreover, they often needed an accomplice to provide lighting for the operation.

At the same time, wearing gloves while picking a lock with a hook and tension wrench was very inconvenient. Many thieves have failed at this step.

If Huang Qiangming were in a similar position and wanted to pick the lock, he would rather find a way to steal a copy of the key to Yuan Jiansheng's study.

Before this, the management of the key to Yuan Jiansheng's study was not strict, and it was possible for acquaintances to get a copy.

From this perspective, since the study door was opened by lock picking, the probability of an acquaintance committing the crime became very small.

Imagine a company executive in his thirties or forties, squatting in front of the study with a lock-picking expert, or with a trusted accomplice, spending ten to thirty minutes slowly picking the lock.

It sounded utterly foolish.

"So, could the case really be about money?" Huang Qiangming thought about the notes he had just taken and felt a hand cramp.

"Based on the evidence collected so far, it seems more likely that it was a common burglary, with the thief stealing some documents while seeking money," Jiang Yuan replied.

In Huang Qiangming's mind, the words and scenes of various leaders instructing him resurfaced.

Was all their caution in vain?

Huang Qiangming asked, "What evidence do we have now, and what else do we need?"

Jiang Yuan thought for a moment and said:

"The safe door has been wiped clean, not opened."

"There are used condoms and semen stains in the trash can. There are cigarette butts. There are traces of saliva and phlegm."

"Drawers and cabinets have been pried open and rummaged through."

"There are a lot of fingerprints and palm prints, but I don't expect any big surprises. There are glove marks."

"The footprints are messy, and some documents have been trampled on. Judging from the footprints, there were two men, one of whom was about 1.6 meters tall and relatively light."

Hearing this, Huang Qiangming finally understood. Indeed, based on the evidence, this case seemed more like a stranger's crime rather than an acquaintance's.

"Keep the case confidential for now," Huang Qiangming thought for a moment and instructed the four people.

Yuan Jiansheng was not a criminal investigator and would not view problems from a criminal investigator's perspective.

For Jianyuan Company, which was in the process of going public, Yuan Jiansheng was at his most suspicious. Without solid evidence, he would not believe anything.

But for Huang Qiangming, everything could wait until the case was solved.

(End of Chapter)