National Forensic Doctor-Chapter 1146 - 1077: Time Difference

Dawn.

Jiang Yuan and Liu Jinghui, along with others, walked out of the crime scene in the mock Ming Dynasty building, stepping on a transparent acrylic bridge.

A few people saw them and immediately came over to greet them.

Soon, a white-shirted man hurriedly got off a bus painted with the words "SWAT" nearby and walked briskly toward them.

Wang Chuanxing, worried that Jiang Yuan might not recognize him, quickly whispered in his ear, "That’s Dai Zhi’s deputy, Lin Xunlei, the deputy captain."

As they spoke, Lin Xunlei had already arrived in front of the police cordon and smiled, "Captain Dai had to attend a meeting and just left not long ago. He asked me to watch over things. Director Jiang, Director Liu, you’ve been working hard."

"You’re too kind." Liu Jinghui, now smiling cheerfully, stepped forward to shake hands with Lin Xunlei and said, "You really didn’t need to worry about us; just have someone guide the way, and that would’ve been enough."

"That won’t do. Having the nation’s top criminal investigators visit Lanyue City is a rare learning opportunity for all of us..." Lin Xunlei exchanged pleasantries and then said, "It’s just about time for breakfast. Let’s go try some of Lanyue City’s signature morning dishes, and I’ll escort you back to the hotel afterward. What do you think?"

"We can just eat at the hotel," Liu Jinghui declined.

Lin Xunlei waved his hand. "Hotel food is standard fare. We can’t say it’s bad, but it doesn’t represent the essence of Lanyue City’s breakfast cuisine. If I let you leave like this, people might say we don’t have any good food here in Lanyue City!"

After exchanging more pleasantries, Lin Xunlei grabbed hold of Liu Jinghui with one hand and Jiang Yuan with the other, and they all boarded a standard minibus.

The people who had been waiting outside quickly followed suit.

Seeing that Lin Xunlei and the others had no objections, Wang Chuanxing and his team didn’t intervene, instead instructing Mu Zhiyang and Wen Ming to keep a close eye on Jiang Yuan.

Once aboard, Lin Xunlei waited for everyone to settle in before introducing a few casually dressed individuals who had just joined them. "Let me make some introductions. This is Vice President Dong Xifeng of the Film City, who is most familiar with the situation here. Any resource allocations or personnel requirements you have moving forward can be coordinated through Vice President Dong."

Dong Xifeng, around 50 years old, exuded the air of a professional manager: refined and courteous. Dressed in a suit, he stepped forward to shake hands with Jiang Yuan and Liu Jinghui individually, saying, "Thank you to Jiang Yuan’s Cold Case Squad for coming to Lanyue Film City to help both our enterprise and the victims resolve this troubling case and uncover the truth. During your stay at Lanyue Film City, please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any requests—we will fully cooperate."

As he spoke, he handed each of them a business card, complete with a QR code.

Jiang Yuan and the others had no choice but to accept the cards.

Lin Xunlei then introduced a few more people, who turned out to be the representatives of the involved production team under Baoh River Film and Television Company, the much-despised Lisong Culture Entertainment Co., Ltd. from the previous night, and the small-time producer Li Jike who was implicated in the case.

Each of them spoke in turn, either trying to clear themselves of suspicion or pledging their cooperation, all putting on airs of complete sincerity.

Jiang Yuan was more accustomed to dealing with people who were genuinely forthright. Faced with this sort of ambiguous posturing, he could only observe their hands, their feet, and the exposed patches of their skin, his mind involuntarily pondering something.

Before long, the group began to feel uneasy under his scrutiny. Yet Jiang Yuan, as the central figure among them, left these men in their 40s unable to vent their frustration. Instead, recalling Jiang Yuan’s role and expertise, they gradually developed a sense of apprehension.

The bus came to a stop.

The group quickly excused themselves and left.

Watching this, Lin Xunlei found it amusing. Leading the others into a nearby restaurant, he explained as he walked, "Their main concern isn’t just the risk of criminal liability; they’re more worried about how this might impact their films’ releases. After all, the Film City is a pillar industry of Lanyue City, and maintaining transparency is an essential part of fostering a favorable business environment..."

As he explained, Jiang Yuan and the others listened quietly.

Soon enough, the breakfast was served, and Lin Xunlei, with startling enthusiasm, shifted the conversation to focus on the food.

"Lanyue City’s most famous breakfast has to be the buns. Locals know the best bun shops won’t cut corners. The meat filling is always premium, and the dough is kneaded the day before so it can properly ferment overnight. The next day, they shape and steam them fresh..."

"The lamb soup might look simple, but it’s quite unique. If you take a closer look, you’ll notice it’s a thick broth, somewhat similar to the kind you find in Japanese ramen. But ours tastes even fresher because it’s made with a mix of fish and lamb. The art of ’fish and lamb together’—our ancestors weren’t wrong about its flavor."

"And as for this pickled vegetable, give it a try. I’d even go as far as to say our pickled cabbage is the originator of Korean kimchi. We prepare this in a variety of ways—some are spicy, and others are even ready to eat on the same day they’re made. Try our spicy pickled cabbage..."

Lin Xunlei enthusiastically hosted the breakfast before escorting the group back to the hotel. On the way, he finally asked, "Captain Jiang, how’s the case progressing?" ƒгeewebnovёl.com

"We’ve made some new discoveries, but we’re still a ways from solving it," Liu Jinghui replied vaguely, even though the person asking was the deputy captain of the Criminal Police Brigade.

Lin Xunlei didn’t take it to heart and responded with a smile, "If there’s anything I can help with, just let me know... Everyone must be exhausted. Once we get to the hotel, have a good rest."

"The leads we have so far have hit a bit of a dead end. We’ll still need to wait for the interrogation results," Liu Jinghui explained further. In significant cases like this, pulling all-nighters for the first two or three days was routine. Having arrived in the early hours and going straight to breakfast before rest might seem too relaxed to some.

However, with Jiang Yuan’s Cold Case Squad achieving such high efficiency in solving cases, Liu Jinghui, who had been working alongside Jiang Yuan, had long adapted to this approach, no longer placing emphasis on working long hours.

Lin Xunlei, not in a position to lecture Jiang Yuan’s team on how to conduct their investigation or what dedication looked like, simply smiled again and said, "Waiting around isn’t ideal, that’s true. I’ll gather some more personnel on my end and try to have all the surveillance footage from the scene reviewed as quickly as possible. If any leads turn up, I’ll let you know right away."

The case had just been active for less than a day, and combing through such a large amount of footage required extensive manpower.

Jiang Yuan, recalling the locations of the surveillance cameras, instantly switched to analyzing the LV3 security monitoring technology and the LV6 Image Investigation trajectory-tracing techniques. He asked, "Were the cameras in the various pathways operating continuously, or were there periods when they were turned off?"

"They were turned off during filming," Lin Xunlei answered, understanding the implication of Jiang Yuan’s question. "Some of the cameras’ positions could interfere with the filming, like showing a red-light indicator or something similar that could cause a continuity error. The director would shut them off during those times. But after the victim’s death, filming had already wrapped up, and the cameras weren’t switched off anymore."

Hearing this, Liu Jinghui immediately froze. "So, you’re saying the cameras were off prior to the victim’s death?"

"It’s possible. I’d need to confirm to be sure," Lin Xunlei replied.

"Then it’s possible someone entered the production site before the victim’s death?" Liu Jinghui paused, then added, "And they might not have left afterward."

Lin Xunlei looked at Liu Jinghui in confusion.

Liu Jinghui turned to Jiang Yuan. "I think we need to return to the crime scene and conduct another thorough search!"