In the office of the forensic departnt’s second division.
After finishing their al, Xia Momo handed Zhou Ning a cup of water. She watched as he drank the entire cup, her face unable to hide her concern.
"Take a break, the bodies aren’t going anywhere. There are two more autopsies to perform later, and that won’t be a short process."
Zhou Ning patted Xia Momo’s hand, signaling her not to worry.
"It’s fine. There were tis before when I did seven or eight autopsies in a row. I’ll go brush my teeth, and we’ll start the autopsy as soon as I get back."
Mr. Zhao shook his head and nudged Zhu Xingxing beside him.
"I’m thirsty."
Zhu Xingxing knew very well what he ant and rolled her eyes at him.
"Stop being lodramatic and prepare for the autopsy. I think we can do two at the sa ti. At least that way, we can quickly proceed with the facial restoration of the deceased. After all, Director Xu is so impatient; identifying the victims is key to moving on to the next steps."
Mr. Zhao grinned, not taking Zhu Xingxing’s attitude to heart. After all, their daily bickering was their way of having fun, different from that of other couples.
"Don’t rush it. The samples we collected have already been sent for testing, and the bodies have been moved to the autopsy room. The exhaust system is on; we can start as soon as we go down."
Zou Jialong stood up, gathered the lunch boxes on the table, and went downstairs first with Pang Tianhang after rinsing his mouth. Liu Yongxin, watching this, kept nodding in approval. Grinning, Mr. Zhao helped Liu Yongxin to his feet.
"Mr. Liu must think Zhou Ning is quite skilled at ntoring his students, right?"
Liu Yongxin laughed with joy; he was happier when soone praised Zhou Ning than if he had received a complint himself.
"That’s my student. Although he’s a bit overly concerned with cleanliness, he is truly impressive at ntoring. He influences those around him not to procrastinate and knows what to do and when."
Mr. Zhao couldn’t stop laughing.
"He just doesn’t want to worry. Are you coming to watch the autopsy?"
Liu Yongxin nodded.
"Let’s go, we’ll watch together. No need to help ; it’s just the cold affecting my leg, nothing serious."
Zhou Ning ca back after brushing his teeth and didn’t rush off; instead, he did sothing on the computer. Mr. Zhao, on his tiptoes, peeked and saw what seed to be a dialogue box. After a while, Zhou Ning stood up without saying anything unnecessary and went downstairs with the others.
In autopsy room two, there was a body on each of the two autopsy tables. Zhou Ning, fully dressed for the procedure, glanced over.
"Scan both bodies and begin facial reconstruction first. As for the autopsy, start with the second highly decomposed body."
This statent caught everyone off guard. Mr. Zhao blinked and ca over.
"Didn’t you say to start with the easy ones? Is this second highly decomposed body easier?"
Zhou Ning nodded.
"Both bodies will undergo an external examination. I just consulted Professor Li, my ntor. The significant differences in their condition, despite being in the sa environnt, are related to various factors such as hunger and body fat content.
I’ll make a list; Mr. Yang will prepare the materials. After the external examination, we will rehydrate the first mummified body, then proceed with the autopsy."
Everyone except Liu Yongxin shuddered, with Mr. Zhao widening his eyes and clenching his molars to force out a few words.
"What, rehydrate a mummy? My goodness, what’s this thod? We’ve never heard of it."
Liu Yongxin slapped Mr. Zhao on the back, and Mr. Zhao promptly shut up. Liu Yongxin gestured with his chin.
"Explain in detail. Professor Li is knowledgeable and must have so unique thod. Let’s learn from it."
Zhou Ning nodded and said:
"I just contacted Professor Li and rembered that during one of his lectures, he ntioned a xican forensic doctor who, based on prior research, ca up with a reagent called Lu Feier Solution.
By adding it in a 1:100 ratio to warm water at 38 degrees Celsius and soaking the body for 8-24 hours, you can effectively rehydrate a mummified body, restoring fingerprints and facial features.
I discussed the condition of this victim with him to see if Lu Feier Solution was applicable. According to Professor Li, rehydration is a possibility and considering the state of this body, which isn’t too mummified, it might take around a dozen hours for its parts to regain elasticity!"
Mr. Zhao shuddered again. They had never dealt with anything like this before—a mummy soaking in a pool for over ten hours to regain flexibility. The thought was unsettling to him.
"Is soaking necessary?"
Liu Yongxin glared from behind.
"Why so much nonsense? If there’s a new technique, we should try it. A mummified state leaves too few traces. If we can restore the appearance of a fresh corpse, then many of the marks on it can also be examined, certainly more than those left by a highly decomposed body.
Yang Xuetong, go prepare. I rember there’s a stainless steel basin in group one; choose one that’s not too big. For temperature control, ask the technical departnt for a heating pad and temperature monitoring equipnt."
With that decisive statent from Liu Yongxin, everyone hurriedly got to work.
Although he wasn’t part of Team Two, everyone knew how much Zhou Ning respected Liu Yongxin. As for Director Xu and Mr. Hu, they also gave Liu Yongxin their utmost recognition. He was the kind of person with modest academic credentials, who had mixed in the low ranks for many years but had comprehensive skills and extensive knowledge.
The materials used were quite common. By the ti Yang Xuetong and the others were getting everything ready, Zhou Ning had already walked up to the mummified corpse.
"Have you sampled the surface of the first victim’s clothing?"
Mr. Zhao didn’t dare to waste words and, along with Zou Jialong, quickly nodded in agreent.
"We’ve sampled everything, even tried to lift fingerprints from the surface of the clothes. I think the material is unusual; we found several incomplete fingerprints at the buttonholes and the holes for the hat drawstrings, but they can be compared."
Zhou Ning waved his hand dismissively.
"Mr. Qu, first scan the victim’s face, then show the images of all the bones of both victims. We can now generate 3D images, and that’s what I want to see. Mr. Zhao, you and the others take photographs of the victim’s clothes, then cut and remove them."
Mr. Qu had already started scanning with the machine, beginning with the mummified body since it would need rehydration soon.
Before long, the scan was complete. Mr. Zhao and his team approached carefully, ticulously cutting the garnts layer by layer until the body was fully exposed. Zou Jialong organized the cut clothes back into their original arrangent and placed them on a stainless steel trolley beside them.
Looking at the mummified body with its raised right hand and curled-up posture, Mr. Zhao shivered. The corpse looked terribly uncomfortable, as if a skeleton was wrapped in a layer of skin and contorted into a pose, especially the abdon and chest that were completely sunken. It was his first ti encountering such a sight.
Apart from so damage on the partially remaining right palm, no fatal injuries were found upon examination from head to toe.
Liu Yongxin drew close and also examined the body.
"How many layers is he wearing? Do all these outdoor enthusiast friends wear so much?"
After donning three layers of latex gloves, Zhou Ning ca over and glanced at the clothes on the stainless steel platform. Indeed, there seed to be an abundance of clothes: a threaded vest, thermal underwear, double-layer fleece jackets, fleece vests, down linings for mountaineering suits, and even six heat packs stuck to the back and abdon of the mountaineering suit.
The trousers were slightly fewer in number but consisted of thick thermal pants and down-filled mountaineering pants.
"Is Zhou Xiaozhou particularly sensitive to cold? With so many layers, even if the temperature drops at night, this attire is overkill. Can it be that n beco less resistant to cold after they turn 38?"
Smack!
Mr. Zhao felt a slap on the back of his neck and looked aggrievedly at Mr. Liu who had just struck him.
"Mr. Liu, why are you taking that personally? I wasn’t attacking older people. I was just remarking that the highly decomposed body wasn’t layered as much. I think that outdoor enthusiasts are always moving, always walking. With so many layers, how could they move like caterpillars? It would surely be hard even to lift their legs, right?"
Liu Yongxin glanced over, considering his own clothing.
"Considering the material of this jacket, it seems to be very wind-resistant, and the inner down lining seems thick enough. Why wear so many layers? I’m an old man, and I just wear a wool sweater and a vest underneath my coat."
"Perhaps it’s because he’s skinny. Look, he has six heat packs stuck inside his jacket. These things can easily cause chronic burns. Using six at once, the temperature must be quite high."
Mr. Zhao pursed his lips, clearly unconvinced.
"I know many people who love outdoor sports. Generally, those who are active and like rock climbing, mountain climbing, or even camping, have robust physical fitness. Even the thin ones aren’t that intolerant to the cold. If he’s sensitive to cold, what’s the point of outdoor activities?"
Zhou Ning narrowed his eyes. Indeed, Mr. Zhao’s crude words made sense. If he was sensitive to cold, then what was the point of engaging in outdoor activities? But then Zhou Ning thought about the extra-large mountaineering bag beside him.
"Perhaps he didn’t co to the mountain willingly but was brought here. Mr. Zhao, examine the soles of the victim’s shoes carefully and collect samples, then compare them with the other victim’s shoe soles, as well as the dust samples we collected from the scene, to see if they are of the sa type."
Mr. Zhao nodded and hurriedly went to prepare.
At that mont, the doors to the autopsy room opened, and with a creaking sound, a stainless steel sink trolley was pushed in. Mr. Yang and Pang Tianhang pushed the cart, and several people followed, helping to open doors and carry things.
Zhu Xingxing and the others quickly went to assist, placing the trolley against the wall. They all courteously thanked those who had helped.
With the size of the setup, Zhou Ning was quite satisfied. Mr. Yang took a breath and then signaled to Zou Jialong and the others to co help. They wrapped the thermal device around the outside of the stainless steel basin, then connected the temperature control device. After asuring the water temperature, he looked at Zhou Ning.
"Boss, we’re ready. Given that the corpse is curled up, this size should be enough. Otherwise, we’d have to mix too much liquid, and we might not have enough."
Zhou Ning nodded.
"Okay, Mr. Zhao, photograph the corpse from all sides— front, back, and profiles. Then, place the body into the basin, making sure it is fully subrged."
Mr. Zhao shivered, glanced at Liu Yongxin without daring to refuse, but it was Zhu Xingxing who stepped up and kicked him.
"Man up, let’s do this. I’ll help you lift it."
He crouched down, gripping the upper half of the mummified body to assess its weight, then Zhu Xingxing chuckled.
"Forget it, all of you step back. I can handle this on my own. Looking at you guys, all bristling with fear, are you even n?"
No one contradicted him, for in truth, they couldn’t bring themselves to touch the mummified body like he did. Zhu Xingxing carefully placed the mummified body in the basin, adjusted its position just right so that it was fully subrged.
Zhu Xingxing clapped his hands and planted them on his hips, shaking his head.
"It’s settled then. You enjoy your spa treatnt!"
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