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"Captain Huang... Do you remember the last time we met?" Wan Baoming took a few steps further away, clutching his phone, his head hung lower than his shoulders, his waist almost buckling.
It's not easy being a deputy director, with not much to show for it, and yet Huang Qiangming's appetite is quite large.
A glint of tears could be seen in Wan Baoming's eyes.
Getting things done is just too hard.
Jiang Yuan couldn't see the look in Comrade Wan Baoming's eyes or his expression. He was sitting on the other side of his study, almost 20 meters away from the corner Wan Baoming had chosen, barely even able to hear him speak.
Of course, Jiang Yuan wasn't interested in listening to his squabbles with Huang Qiangming.
He turned on his computer and started processing the fingerprint Wan Baoming had brought over with Photoshop.
Having worked with fingerprints for a long time, Jiang Yuan could make some judgments before matching them with the software. Whether a match was possible, and how close the matched fingerprints would be, were all predictable.
Generally speaking, fingerprints with a high degree of incompleteness could turn up anything if not processed with image software first.
Of course, it's possible to get the correct fingerprint, but for a technician, playing this probability game isn't very interesting. Those LV2-level trace examiners might only use this method to cover tasks when dealing with super difficult fingerprints, but for Jiang Yuan, he was already beyond that level.
He's at least at the LV4.2 level now, and that 0.2 alone could beat a bunch of people.
Having dealt with many difficult fingerprints and always succeeding, such experience is invaluable. It's like an ordinary person gradually gaining insights after serving as president for a long time.
The fingerprint Wan Baoming brought this time was excessively incomplete. According to Jiang Yuan's experience, throwing it into the fingerprint software now would yield random results.
There's nothing strange about that. If the difficulty hadn't exceeded the LV3 level, Wan Baoming wouldn't have been so humble.
A few minutes after Wan Baoming's call with Huang Qiangming, Wan Baoming came over with his phone and whispered, "Jiang Yuan, it's Captain Huang's call for you."
"Alright." Jiang Yuan took the phone.
"How's your rest, Jiang Yuan? Tired?" Huang Qiangming asked cheerfully over the phone.
"Not bad. I've been building a wall all day and broke a sweat," Jiang Yuan replied.
"Sweating is good, it makes the body feel comfortable," Huang Qiangming laughed, then asked, "Did Wan Baoming bring you another fingerprint? Following up on a lead? How difficult is the fingerprint he brought this time?"
"Difficult. The chances of making it out directly are not high," Jiang Yuan said.
"Oh, can you match it? Can you make a match?"
"That depends on whether the database has the fingerprint," Jiang Yuan paused, then added, "Even if the database has the fingerprint, it also depends on the quality of the fingerprint in the database..."
"Give me a number, what are the odds you can make it?"
"Sixty percent," Jiang Yuan glanced at Wan Baoming, not hiding much.
Analyzing the keywords, Jiang Yuan felt that Wan Baoming must have sought help from the fingerprint experts at the ministry.
But to be honest, the experts at the ministry might not necessarily be at the LV4 level. There are definitely experts above LV4, maybe even LV5 big shots.
But experts also talk about probabilities and investment.
Whether Wan Baoming could invite a strong enough fingerprint expert to fully commit was doubtful.
It's more likely that the expert would help look into it, and if there's no match in a short time, they'd give up.
After all, the experts at the ministry are very busy. With over thirty provinces like Shan Nan Province, even an expert might not be able to process one super difficult fingerprint a week.
This is like during a fingerprint battle, where experts at the level of the Shan Nan Provincial Department, over a 15-day battle, looking at around 100,000 fingerprints, would be doing well to match a few.
The intensity and importance of a battle are completely different from helping out on a daily basis.
Jiang Yuan simply told Huang Qiangming, "The chances of this fingerprint being processed within the province are slim."
Huang Qiangming then understood and cheerfully said, "Okay, then hand the phone to Wan Baoming, I'll make sure he gets reimbursed for the last fingerprint's expenses."
Jiang Yuan smiled, "The last fingerprint only took a little over two hours."
"I've been told about this, it's based on computing power," Huang Qiangming confidently said, "Hand the phone to Wan Baoming, don't feel bad for him. Changyang City is so wealthy, a little leak from their fingers is enough for our small county to strive for 10 years."
Jiang Yuan chuckled and handed the phone back to Wan Baoming.
Wan Baoming took it with great care, solemnly placing it to his ear, "Captain Huang, it's me, Wan..."
While talking, Wan Baoming continued to walk toward the corner.
Jiang Yuan returned to his computer, and before the mainframe started roaring, he could faintly hear some mysterious keywords:
"Please."
"I'm really worried."
"Captain Huang~"
"Give me a hand..."
***
After a while, Wan Baoming brought the overheated phone back to Jiang Yuan.
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Jiang Yuan: "Hello, Captain Huang."
Huang Qiangming: "Please take care of it, I'll have them send a couple of people over for training, and we'll also lend them some old equipment. I'm still keeping the channel open, so if you see anything you want later, just tell me."
Jiang Yuan said a bit embarrassedly, "Okay."
"Alright, put me on speaker," Huang Qiangming instructed.
Jiang Yuan took the phone off his ear and turned on the speaker.
Huang Qiangming's voice came through: "Jiang Yuan, take good care of the task from Director Wan. You still have two days of vacation left, don't take them yet, consider yourself back at work. After you're done, you can take your break. Changyang City's Criminal Science Center has also helped us with many cases before. This opportunity for cooperation should be cherished..."
"Yes," Jiang Yuan responded dutifully.
"Director Wan, I'm leaving Jiang Yuan in your care. If the young man does anything wrong, please be patient, and come directly to me if there's a problem. I'll reprimand him..." Huang Qiangming ended the call with his ramblings.
Wan Baoming put away his phone and sighed, "Your Captain Huang isn't as easy to talk to as he used to be."
Jiang Yuan just smiled and said nothing.
Borrowing someone's big ox to plow the field is probably different from borrowing a cat to catch mice.
With a click of the mouse, the computer whirred to life.
In terms of image rendering, no matter how high-end the computer is, the sound is the same, just like, well, you know.
"Director Wan, could you introduce the case?" Jiang Yuan asked Wan Baoming while he had the chance.
"This is last year's case from Mai Xin Electronics Factory. A female worker was pushed off the roof. At first, we thought it was a suicide, but then an eyewitness said they saw two people on the roof and there was a pushing motion..." Wan Baoming described the scene, then focused on the evidence:
"The initial police response was problematic because it was thought to be a suicide, so the crime scene wasn't well protected. The factory's security and workers all ran up to the roof."
"Secondly, there's only an eyewitness, lacking surveillance video. Since everyone was wearing work clothes, it's hard to identify the murderer."
"Thirdly, the factory workers aren't very familiar with each other. Mai Xin Factory hires people on the fly. They hire a bunch of workers for a big order, and once it's about done, they let them go, then hire again when the next big order comes in. So, it's not easy to solve the case by following social relationships."
Listening to Wan Baoming's introduction, Jiang Yuan asked, "So the only evidence is the fingerprint on the clothes?"
Wan Baoming sighed, "The problem now is that the fingerprint on the clothes has become reverse evidence. The few suspects that the detectives focused on were all excluded by the fingerprint evidence..."
Jiang Yuan couldn't help but laugh, then asked, "So all the factory workers had their fingerprints taken?"
"Yes. When the incident happened, the factory was immediately sealed off, and the surveillance footage of the entrances and exits was complete."
Jiang Yuan nodded, understanding that the fingerprint database issue was essentially solved.
From a trace examiner's perspective, this is a perfect environment for fingerprint comparison. As long as you can produce a fingerprint, you can make a comparison.
Thinking of this, Jiang Yuan frowned and said, "Then the core issue is matching the fingerprint. For last year's case, if it really can't be matched, matching one by one should work, right..."
Wan Baoming couldn't help but smile and quickly covered it up, saying, "I mentioned the factory is Mai Xin's, you might not understand, but at that time, they had a big order and were operating at full capacity. There were nearly 30,000 workers in the factory area."
Jiang Yuan then realized.
It's unrealistic to compare fingerprints one by one in a factory with tens of thousands of people, especially when the condition of the fingerprint is so poor.
"What did you use to extract the fingerprint? Cyanoacrylate?" Jiang Yuan looked at the fingerprint, gradually entering the state of fingerprint comparison.
Wan Baoming understood Jiang Yuan's implication and smiled bitterly, "Yes, it was developed with cyanoacrylate."
Similar to ninhydrin development, the cyanoacrylate fuming method is a scheme that reveals latent sweat fingerprints by applying chemical reagents.
Likewise, all similar schemes have a less-discussed issue: they are prone to flaws in operation.
Criminals leaving fingerprints is already careless, and if the fingerprint is damaged and not fully displayed, they certainly won't provide another one.
Like this fingerprint, so torn and incomplete, the trace examiner still has to match it with difficulty. Usually, the one who gets blamed is the one who extracted the fingerprint, and usually, it's the crime scene officers who get scolded.
Jiang Yuan adjusted the fingerprint slightly with the image software and gradually had a plan.
Feeling spirited, he didn't bother with Wan Baoming anymore and said, "If you're bored, why not go back to Changyang City and bring what Captain Huang wants? Once you've delivered it, come back, and I should have results by then."
He had already processed nearly half of the image, feeling that the clarity was acceptable. Considering that Changyang City had collected fingerprints from all the factory workers, this meant the comparison database was complete, greatly increasing the likelihood of a match.
In fact, if a fingerprint can't be matched under these circumstances, it would be very meaningful and valuable in itself.
Therefore, Jiang Yuan's answer was very certain.
Wan Baoming thought Jiang Yuan was a bit arrogant, but looking at Jiang Yuan's expression, he couldn't detect that arrogance.
"Okay. I'll go back first and report to the leadership. Later, I'll come back and wait for your good news." Wan Baoming reined in all his emotions.
His philosophy was simple: as long as you can produce results, I'll respect you.
With this mindset, Wan Baoming, with average abilities, gained the recognition of many criminal investigation experts and became the deputy director of the Changyang City Criminal Science Center.
Inside the Criminal Science Center, Wan Baoming was also a well-respected leader because he was one of those who respected technology.
As long as Jiang Yuan could produce results, Wan Baoming could accept the combination of Jiang Yuan and Huang Qiangming.
But if not, then Wan Baoming would have to have a word with Huang Qiangming and Jiang Yuan.
After leaving, Wan Baoming got into his car and started talking in the group:
Daily Downcast: 【I took last year's unsolved murder case to Jiang Yuan. Super difficult fingerprint, didn't expect Jiang Yuan to take it on so readily, now off to move bricks in exchange for fingerprints...】
South-North Warrior: 【I've only heard of moving bricks for 30 days, then going to the club on the 31st, what's this about moving bricks for fingerprints?】
Daily Downcast: 【Captain Huang set some conditions, I have to prepare some resources for him. Can't let people work for free. What's this about moving bricks to go to the club?】
South-North Warrior: 【Moving bricks is so tiring, if it's not for going to the club, it's a tearjerker.】
Daily Downcast: 【What if there's no 31st?】
South-North Warrior: 【You're moving bricks, not robbing a bank, can't you save up enough money in two months?】
Daily Downcast: 【Makes sense...】
South-North Warrior: 【What conditions did Captain Huang set? You still have to prepare resources?】
Daily Downcast: 【A few technicians, some equipment, and the technicians bring a crime scene investigation vehicle over.】
South-North Warrior: 【That good? Got a new car to use again?
Sitting in the car browsing his phone, Daily Downcast sat up, frowning and typing:
Daily Downcast: 【Wait, who are you @South-North Warrior】
South-North Warrior: 【I... am just a man who has traveled north and south, accumulated some experience, and is happy to share.】
***
Ning Tai County Criminal Police Brigade.
Sitting in the office, idly chatting, Liu Wenkai sighed deeply, then looked up at the instructor and said, "Let's dig up a couple of cold cases and have a crackdown."
"Looking for trouble? Finished with the cases on hand?" the instructor scoffed.
Liu Wenkai chuckled softly and said, "I've heard through the grapevine that our brigade might be getting some temporary workers, technicians."
"That good?" the instructor was surprised, "We've been out of positions for a long time, where did you scam these people from?"
"Support from Changyang City's detective team. Probably."
"Reverse secondment?"
"Guess so. Want them?" Liu Wenkai said indifferently, "Want people, don't you need a project?"
"Alright, alright, let's open up the cold cases," the instructor said twice. For a squad that's always busy, nothing is more comfortable than adding manpower.