Chapter 10

After the police determined the first murder scene of Dao Youcheng, the forensic team finally arrived, albeit belatedly. Under the constant urging of Wen Jianren, the forensic team had to improve their efficiency and only took two hours to determine the cause of Dao Youcheng's death. Dao Youcheng had been beaten to death by a group.

It was a group assault.

The forensic team found multiple wounds on Dao Youcheng's chest, with eight ribs broken. These wounds varied in size and force, and the forensic doctor concluded that they were caused by the punches of different people.

The forensic team also used the positions of the punch wounds on Dao Youcheng's body, combined with his height, to roughly estimate the height range of the five assailants, which greatly narrowed the scope of the police investigation.

Li Er, witnessing the forensic team's ability to reconstruct the crime scene, felt a chill. He aspired to be the King of Pirates, cough, the King of Assassins. If a district forensic team was already so impressive, wouldn't the forensic department of the main headquarters be even more advanced?

He was doomed, sooner or later to be坑死 by the damn system.

"Hey! Buddy, what's your name?" Li Er smiled and asked a small, fat forensic officer.

"Guo Yanbo!" The small, fat officer replied with a stern face.

"Oh! Officer Guo, can you find the fingerprints or DNA of the assailants?" Li Er asked curiously.

Guo Yanbo looked at Li Er in surprise: "This officer seems to know a lot about forensics?"

Li Er waved his hand and laughed: "Just curious, pure curiosity, watched too many movies."

Guo Yanbo nodded: "The victim's body was washed by sewage in the drainage channel. Even if there were fingerprints, they would have been destroyed. Moreover, our police fingerprint database is limited, containing only the fingerprints of criminals with a record. Even if we found a match, it wouldn't be very helpful to your investigation department."

Actually, there was one thing Guo Yanbo didn't tell Li Er: both fingerprint matching and DNA testing require money.

In this era, the police department did not prioritize the forensic department, and the annual budget allocated to the forensic department was extremely low. The head of the forensic department also instructed his subordinates to do as little as possible, unlike some departments where people like Li Qianying would pay out of their own pocket.

At this moment, a CID officer, following Wen Jianren's instructions, bought boxed meals and water for everyone, apparently planning to have the CID officers start working immediately after eating.

Li Er opened the boxed meal and saw it was a combination of roast pork and roast duck. He had just seen Dao Youcheng's body and had no appetite. Moreover, he had just crawled through the drainage channel and was covered in a foul smell. Li Er handed the boxed meal to the small, fat forensic officer who was swallowing saliva.

"Do you want it? I just saw a dead body and have no appetite!"

The small, fat officer quickly grabbed it and smiled happily: "Just right, I didn't have breakfast this morning. Thanks!"

Wen Jianren, though not as frugal as Li Er, would not use the CID department's budget to buy meals for other departments. If it weren't for the continuous work, he would rather let his subordinates disperse to have lunch and then return to gather.

"Officer Li!" The small, fat forensic officer glanced at the police ID Li Er had clipped to his chest.

"Look at this shoe print on the ground. These two are the most common slipper patterns, and these two shoe prints have been repeatedly stepped on, making it difficult to extract the patterns; but—!" The small, fat officer deliberately paused: "I know the last pair of shoes."

Li Er: "......"

The small, fat officer lifted his work boots: "This is the same style as mine, and it's a size 12. There aren't many people with such big feet, usually those over 1.8 meters tall. This helps you narrow down the suspects."

The small, fat officer winked, with a look that said he hadn't eaten the meal for nothing.

Li Er nodded, thinking to himself that he should never buy unique shoes again.

The small, fat officer, rarely listened to so seriously, couldn't help but continue in a low voice: "Officer Li, if you really want to catch these murderers, be careful. They just killed someone and are at their most dangerous. They are fearless and reckless, willing to do anything, and will fight to the death with you."

Li Er was stunned, looking at the small, fat officer carefully, and asked: "How do you know this?"

"From reading and observing. Our police department has many old case files. In all murder cases, the criminals are usually very anxious after committing the crime. They often find a justifiable reason to convince themselves that they acted in self-defense. At this point, they will resist the police with all their might to prove they are right," the small, fat officer said seriously while eating.

"What if you wait a while before arresting them?" Li Er asked skeptically.

The small, fat officer smiled confidently: "If you wait too long, the criminals will start to feel lucky. This is a human flaw, and no one can escape it. When they encounter the police, their first thought will not be to fight but to run. At this point, arresting them is safer."

The small, fat officer's words left Li Er speechless.

"Why don't you include your findings about the shoe prints in the forensic report?" Li Er asked.

The small, fat officer laughed slyly: "I'm not that stupid. These are just speculations, and any speculation, no matter how rigorous, has a chance of being wrong. If the case is solved, it's your CID's achievement, and we forensic officers get nothing. If the case changes, you'll blame us. The less we do, the fewer mistakes we make. We forensic officers don't want to take the blame for you. Haven't you noticed how concise our forensic reports are? It's to protect ourselves from future disputes."

Indeed, nine out of ten fat people are sly.

Li Er couldn't help but give the small, fat officer the middle finger.

Li Er suddenly remembered that the forensic team's efficiency was always low. Now it seemed they might be deliberately delaying until the case was solved, then providing the forensic report, which would be flawless. Indeed, each department had its own unwritten rules, and it was a mess.

The small, fat officer smiled and pointed at the mineral water in Li Er's hand. Li Er, speechless, threw the unopened bottle to him. The small, fat officer was not only sly but also liked to take small advantages.

"Thanks, Officer Li!" The boxed meal bought by the CID was too salty, so the small, fat officer quickly took a sip of mineral water.

On the other side, Wen Jianren had already started assigning tasks.

Wen Jianren: "Li Er, you and B will be responsible for the first to fifth buildings in Shangcun. Any problems?"

"YES, SIR! No problems," Li Er replied decisively.

In such a situation, even if Li Er had issues, he wouldn't immediately contradict Wen Jianren. He would raise them after the meeting, which was one of the reasons Wen Jianren liked Li Er.

"B, I just got some information. The assailants might be a group of five, one of whom is tall and wears size 12 shoes. Any leads?" Li Er knew Li Qianying had a wide network, dealing with all sorts of people, and asked him in a low voice.

"A group of five, that's a small gang of low-level hooligans," Li Qianying frowned, thinking for a moment, then his eyes narrowed: "Hei Ziweng, they often beat Dao Youcheng, but he only has three subordinates, and none of them are tall."

"Hey! B, what are you police doing gathered under the banyan tree?" It was Hei Ziweng's voice, what a coincidence.

Hei Ziweng had an ice cream in his mouth, his shirt pulled up to his armpits, and he walked towards Li Qianying with a rogue's attitude.

Wen Jianren's face darkened when he saw Li Qianying's close relationship with the gangster.

Li Qianying's eyes flashed, and he suddenly pointed at Hei Ziweng, shouting loudly: "Hei Ziweng, someone saw you beat Dao Youcheng to death yesterday. You're done for."

Hei Ziweng's face changed, and he immediately started running.

All the CID officers were stunned by Hei Ziweng's sudden flight.

"Damn, it's really you!" Li Qianying was already angrily chasing after him.

Li Er quickly reacted, realizing that Li Qianying was bluffing Hei Ziweng, but he didn't expect the assailant to be him. He followed Li Qianying in the chase.

Wen Jianren was overjoyed. Seeing Li Qianying and Li Er chasing Hei Ziweng, even a pig would understand what was happening.

"Quick, all of you, chase after him. We must catch that bastard!" Wen Jianren shouted excitedly.

Hei Ziweng, often chased by the police, had trained his speed. Fortunately, Li Qianying was also fast, closely following Hei Ziweng.

Li Er started off quickly, but after running for three to four hundred meters, he was out of breath, sweating profusely, and his ribs ached.

"Wait, Li Xianying is chasing the criminal Hei Ziweng in the housing estate." Li Er, looking at Li Qianying and Hei Ziweng's backs, suddenly remembered a movie. This was "The Protector," and Li Xianying was about to accidentally kill a little boy.

"Hei Ziweng, you can't escape. Stop right now," Li Qianying shouted angrily as he chased.

Hearing Li Qianying's words, Hei Ziweng ran even faster, not daring to stop.

"B, B, you damn it, stop now!" Li Er, enduring the pain in his abdomen, panted as he chased Li Qianying.

Li Qianying heard Li Er's call but, focused on catching the criminal, did not stop and instead sped up, making it even harder for Li Er to catch up.

"B, damn it, stop, I'm out of breath," Li Er, holding his stomach, chased and cursed: "Don't shoot, don't shoot, damn it!"

Just as Li Er finished speaking, Li Qianying had already drawn his gun.

Hei Ziweng, while fleeing, pushed several passersby, including an elderly person who fell down the stairs, bleeding profusely.

Hei Ziweng turned a corner, and Li Qianying followed without hesitation, disappearing from Li Er's sight.

"Bang—!"

A gunshot rang out.

Li Er's heart sank, hoping that his butterfly effect was strong enough.