January 29, 2012
It was the first day back at work after the holiday, and Zhou Ning arrived very early.
He parked the car at 7:30 a.m. and entered the office building of the technology departnt through the side door.
Just as he let down the cotton door curtain, he happened to see Mr. Peng walking towards him from the main entrance. Before Zhou Ning could speak, Mr. Peng smiled and waved at him.
"Forensic Doctor Zhou, happy new year! I thought I’d be the first one here, but I didn’t expect the younger generation to be even more eager to work."
"Happy new year, Mr. Peng! I was worried about traffic congestion, so I set off a bit earlier."
After a brief and lukewarm exchange, Mr. Peng slightly nodded and quickened his pace, heading upstairs.
Zhou Ning, on the other hand, slowed down. After all, if they went upstairs together, they’d need to continue chatting. However, conversing with leadership, as far as workers are concerned, was sowhat resisted.
When he opened the door to the office, he saw Mr. Zhao about to take a bite of a stuffed pancake he was holding.
Over the New Year, every family feasts on lavish als, and Mr. Zhao naturally overindulged, his police sweater now outlining one large and two small bulges across his chest. Needless to say, he had put on quite a bit of weight.
"Haven’t you eaten yet?"
Mr. Zhao waved his hand and sat opposite Zhou Ning, trying to keep a little distance between them. After all, it’s not very comfortable for soone who has already eaten to sll food. Seeing Zhou Ning’s expression, he quickly shook his head and said:
"Don’t talk to about ho-cooked als; the holiday was miserable. I’m a carnivore, and yet I was craving greens. I was planning to have so porridge at the office, but then I ran into an auntie selling stuffed pancakes on the way."
Zhou Ning nodded without saying much, and just walked over to the coat rack to hang up his jacket.
Mr. Zhao drew closer, speaking in a low voice:
"Don’t rush into that matter; it doesn’t seem easy to investigate."
Zhou Ning smiled at him.
"I know, it’s certainly not easy to investigate."
Mr. Zhao looked towards the door to see if anyone was coming, and then leaned in closer to Zhou Ning again.
"I an, why don’t you use that software for comparison? If you don’t want Momo to check, you could ask Mr. Qu, right?"
Zhou Ning shook his head slightly.
"There’s no rush on that matter. Maybe as I investigate, I’ll also rember so things."
When Mr. Qu had been asked to check the surveillance footage, they had focused on searching the Xia family. If Zhou Ning avoided Momo again, she would definitely sense sothing.
In turn, Momo would learn that he didn’t want to alarm many people, but most important, he didn’t want Momo to know he was investigating her father, as well as those who were associated with him.
Just then, the door opened, and Zhu Xingxing and Xia Momo ca in together. Momo was dressed in a white lab coat, with a na badge hanging around her neck.
Seeing this attire, Zhou Ning then recalled that soone was going to shadow their work for a few days to get familiar with the practical application of the software in actual cases.
Mr. Zhao knew that the earlier conversation could not continue. He finished his pancake in a few bites, wiped his hands, and then mumbled ambiguously:
"So, about the person coming later, are they going to be with our second group, or are they here to visit the lab? Who’s in charge of reception?"
Momo smiled at Mr. Zhao.
"Doctor Lu will co by shortly. She will visit the lab for a quick look and then she will follow your second group. Of course, if no cases co in, you’ll need to explain our previous cases where we used the software to aid the investigation. I think you’re the most suitable for this."
As she spoke, Momo glanced at Zhou Ning, who nodded along, setting aside his emotions of the past few days.
After all, Momo was behaving as usual, serene and indifferent, seemingly unaware that her father was to be appointed as deputy mayor.
Zhou Ning pushed the thought away, since thinking about it reminded him of Xia Shouchang’s resu—last December, he was appointed as the president of Qindao University. However, such matters were not spoken of by Momo, nor by Doctor Lu.
Putting aside his thoughts, he looked at Mr. Zhao.
"It’s not the end of the Chinese New Year yet, so there’s probably not much happening. I think you can try talking about two cases. One is the Red Dress Serial Murders, as it’s well-known. The other could be the 7.4 Jingkou District traffic accident murder.
"In these two cases, from facial recognition to skeletal fragnt analysis and vehicle dynamics, the software’s phase 1-3 features were all perfectly showcased, improving the progress of the investigations. They are highly suitable as case studies."
Mr. Zhao thought it over. He was closely involved with both cases from start to finish. Every detail was etched in his mind—the evidence and so of the data could even be recited without looking at the files.
Feeling confident, Mr. Zhao slapped his chest and said:
"Okay, now that you ntion it, I feel up to the task again! But, could you get one of those white coats? It adds a bit more authority."
Momo couldn’t help but laugh at this, while Zhu Xingxing gave him an envious glance. He walked past Momo with a brand-new white lab coat draping over his arm—the size and length of it clearly suggested that it was extra-large.
"Mr. Xia had guessed that the team leader would assign this task to you, so he asked to pick up the coat in advance. Put it on now, don’t disgrace our group, and don’t drop the ball," Zhu Xingxing said.
Mr. Zhao disregarded the envy in Zhu Xingxing’s eyes and hurried to put on the white coat.
Of course, he also pulled out the badge from his pocket and hung it around his neck. After all this effort, he looked significantly improved from before—not just a little, but like a university research staff mber. He walked over to the sink, checked himself in the mirror, and sighed.
"Hey, it looks like I need to get myself a pair of non-prescription glasses with gold wire fras, just like Zhou Xiaozhou’s, so at first glance I’ll be the epito of a refined rascal."
Zhu Xingxing gave a disdainful look.
"Refined rascals are all tall and thin. Which do you claim to be, taller or thinner?"
Mr. Zhao shoved Zhu Xingxing away, pretending to be angry as he said:
"Go away, what does a kid like you know? Our team needs distinctive qualities. Zhou Xiaozhou’s in charge of being tall and thin, while I take care of being fair and plump. Just do your job as our mouthpiece and that’s enough."
Zhu Xingxing beca interested.
"Distinctive qualities? What about Sun Gaotie and Mr. Yang?"
"Sun Gaotie, as an intern, can’t go wrong with diligent studying. As for Yang Xuetong, the diligent older brother, his professional skills are stronger than mine, I absolutely respect him, and among the five groups here, I haven’t seen a better trace evidence analyst than him."
"What about ?"
After asking, Zhu Xingxing stared intently at Mr. Zhao, making the atmosphere in the office a bit odd for a mont. Zhou Ning rubbed his nose and stepped back. Zhu Xingxing was bold; if she wasn’t a straight female, she probably wouldn’t have chosen to be a forensic doctor.
Zhao Xinli used to nickna you ’Zhujing’; with just his mouth, he could insult you until you were thoroughly ashad, so why would you want to provoke him?
Could it be that Zhu Xingxing actually had feelings for Mr. Zhao?
Mr. Zhao also paused for a mont but instantly beca serious, nodding at Zhu Xingxing as if to review his failure to evaluate her.
"I can’t forget anyone else but you; you’re the most distinctive feature of group two, after all, since you reported for duty, you’ve been irreversibly on the path to becoming more well-rounded. Da Man’er, eat less, and learn from Mr. Xia."
Zhu Xingxing was stunned for a second, then reached out to hit Mr. Zhao but was stopped by Xia Momo. Clearly, the remark about being well-rounded had angered her.
Zhou Ning covered his face. Was it really okay to tell a girl she has put on weight?
Zhu Xingxing stomped her feet in frustration, causing the flesh on her cheeks to puff up even more.
"He called fat!"
"Mr. Zhao, apologize."
Seeing Zhou Ning’s command, Mr. Zhao approached Zhu Xingxing with a grave face, bowed earnestly, and apologized, dropping the smile.
"I was wrong, don’t be mad. Our group two is the most united, aren’t we? You’re aweso. In a few months since you’ve transferred to group two, following Zhou Xiaozhou, you’ve handled several major cases. Just based on this experience, you’d have enough to boast about for years among your university friends, am I wrong? Which case wasn’t textbook-worthy?"
Zhu Xingxing thought about it and nodded, albeit still resentfully glancing at Mr. Zhao.
"Even though I find you annoying, I’m indeed very grateful to be in group two. Not to ntion others, Su Fangxiang, who joined at the sa ti as I did, was assigned to group one and just ends up running to cri scenes every day. After several months, she hasn’t improved at all and hasn’t even touched a scalpel."
Zhou Ning glanced over but didn’t join the conversation.
After all, group one was under Mr. Pang’s leadership, the group with the most mbers, and the relationships inside were sowhat complex. Moreover, they handled traffic cases, which required very few autopsies. So were even voluntarily relinquished, so naturally, the hands-on opportunities were pitifully scarce.
Unlike them, who had to conduct autopsies and skeletal analysis on nineteen victims in just the previous case, which took two days of overti. Such rigorous training naturally yielded different results.
Just like him, if Liu Yongxin hadn’t been hit by a car, he probably wouldn’t have had the opportunity to gain practical experience. With this kind of work, the more you’re exposed to, the richer your experience becos, and the higher your proficiency levels rise.
However, nobody had the sa experience as him, being tortured in a dark room every night for over a year – improvent was inevitable.
Just then, soone knocked on the door. Sun Gaotie was near the door and quickly opened it.
Doctor Lu, suited up and carrying a briefcase, stood at the entrance, his aunt-like smile particularly conspicuous. He nodded at Zhou Ning and led a group of people inside, pointing to a middle-aged man with M-shaped hair loss and said:
"Team Leader Zhou, this gentleman is Director Ye Yangeng from the Huining Provincial Public Security Departnt Criminal Technology Center. The people following him include their center’s forensic doctors, trace evidence analysts, and other technicians. Director Ye, this is Doctor Zhou, the team leader of group two I told you about. Let’s get to know each other."
Zhou Ning felt a bit embarrassed. Although they didn’t share the sa province, that was a director of a Criminal Technology Center, visiting so humbly and even coming to their office with no airs at all.
The firm handshake just now, the calluses on Director Ye’s right palm, made Zhou Ning feel a sense of kinship; those marks were the result of using surgical tools, obviously indicating that Director Ye ca from a forensic background, which explained his high regard for the software.
Zhou Ning smiled, and Director Ye, seeing the genuine rather than just polite smile, felt a sense of kinship too.
"I really didn’t expect you to be so young, but perhaps it’s not surprising, considering us old folks can’t keep up with the pace of your thinking. Tell about this software, has it been used in case investigations, and are there any cases you could introduce?"
Zhou Ning nodded and glanced around the office.
At that mont, the office was cramd with people, and Mr. Pang, who followed behind Doctor Lu, along with a few others from the departnt, didn’t co inside, which showed how urgent Director Ye was.
"Director Ye, this space is too small; why don’t we move to the conference room? We can have our team mbers explain to everyone the two cases we’ve tracked using the software."
"Good."
Mr. Zhao picked up two files from the table, winked at Xia Momo, who imdiately understood the gesture and gave a thumbs up. He was the first to leave the office, raising his hand to the visitors and saying:
"Leaders from Huining, please follow !"
As he spoke, he seed to step on sothing, and turning back, he saw Mr. Hu smiling at him.
"Little fatty, lift your feet!"
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