CHAPTER 59: CHAPTER 59: PATERNITY TEST

Today, Old Bai and Yang Sen came early, which is quite rare.

When Lu Chuan entered the office, cleaning had already been completed, and tea leaves were steeping in the enamel cup.

"Lu, the gift you gave yesterday... was a bit too extravagant."

Yang Sen and Old Bai knew that Lu Chuan’s family owned Qiangsheng Group, which meant he was wealthy.

Usually, they didn’t hesitate to smoke Lu Chuan’s cigarettes.

In this regard, Lu Chuan was very accommodating. Among the four people in the office, three were smokers.

Lu Chuan generally went through one pack every two to three days, while Liu Guodong and the other two each went through a pack every day.

Old Bai smoked even more, almost a pack and a half daily.

After tidying up the office each morning, Lu Chuan would open a pack of cigarettes and place it on everyone’s desks.

He never explicitly gave it to anyone; they just smoked as they pleased.

But this time was different; after the meal yesterday, Lu Chuan specifically gave everyone a gift.

"Indeed, Lu, such a heavy gift isn’t appropriate."

Yang Sen nodded, "However, the taste of Maotai is indeed great. The last time I had it was around five years ago, right?"

A bottle of wine was worth more than half a month’s salary; few ordinary people could afford it.

Lu Chuan picked up the flamingo-lily from the ground, gently caressing its delicate petals.

After months of Lu Chuan’s careful nurturing, the blossoms had become increasingly radiant.

"Brother Yang, it’s just a token of appreciation. Yesterday was really quite risky, luckily Brother Hui arrived just in time."

"By the way, why hasn’t the master arrived?"

Old Bai put down the enamel cup, sat on the sofa, and crossed his legs. "He was here earlier but was called away by Group Leader Sun."

Group Leader Sun?

Action Group One?

Lu Chuan shook his head, refrained from asking details, and began fertilizing the flamingo-lily.

The verdant leaves, set off by the scarlet petals, brought some vitality to the whole office.

The office door opened, and it was Liu Guodong returning.

"Lu, come with me to do a paternity test."

A paternity test?

Lu Chuan was slightly taken aback; he had done many DNA info analyses during his time in Crime Scene Investigation.

But he had never done a paternity test.

Of course, it’s not that the Crime Scene Investigation office couldn’t perform paternity tests.

It’s just that such cases were rare.

In recent years, doing paternity tests seems to be trending.

In Haizhou City, there are quite a few such testing organizations.

Of course, most are private; doing a paternity test with a public institution requires a reason.

Moreover, if it involves legal matters, then only results issued by authorized judicial institutions have legal effect.

And if the Criminal Investigation Team is doing a paternity test, it’s definitely not for personal reasons.

They are usually linked to criminal cases.

"Master, is it a case from Group One?"

Liu Guodong nodded, "It’s pretty urgent. This morning the team received a report; an incident of severe injury occurred at Jiahe Garden."

Liu Guodong didn’t elaborate; they both headed straight out.

For Criminal Investigation Team paternity tests, related samples need to be extracted on-site.

Home service is naturally not possible; concerned personnel were already waiting outside the lab.

"The case is quite bizarre," Liu Guodong explained to Lu Chuan on the way.

Lu Chuan found it quite bizarre too after hearing the details.

Actually, the process was rather simple, one man stabbed another man.

Just, the place was quite peculiar, equating to a physical castration.

The plot was rather cliché, yet quite realistic.

The husband’s business trip ended early to surprise his wife, only to see what shouldn’t be seen upon returning home.

"Both involved parties had knife injuries, so it could roughly be identified as mutual assault."

Fights are a common occurrence.

The police also deal with such matters frequently.

As long as one party gets hit but doesn’t retaliate, the attacker is in trouble, regardless of the reason for the fight, the offender is essentially fully responsible.

In modern slang, it’s like finding someone to serve as a ’dad.’

But if both parties engaged, then it’s mutual assault.

If no severe injuries are present, it’s resolved through mediation.

"However, the husband might have had a stroke of luck, for the opponent was unclothed, and amidst overwhelming luck, he was castrated."

"Then why do a paternity test?"

Lu Chuan was puzzled; castration implies serious injury if it can’t be reattached, and reattachment seems unlikely, making it a disability.

The baseline is at least three years in prison.

Liu Guodong shook his head, "The woman’s affair was with her superior, and they had been together for some time."

"The woman’s husband suspects the child may not be biologically his."

"The other party claims it was negligent injury, not intentional harm. The injured man was at fault first, maliciously damaging another’s family, and now even seeks compensation."

Lu Chuan shook his head, a situation like this...

The people involved likely feel miserable.

If the child isn’t biologically his, the woman’s husband might be eligible for sentence reduction, though such reduction probably feels unsatisfying for him too.

If the child is indeed his, then the woman’s husband likely won’t have reduced sentencing, enough to serve several years.

How does one live knowing his wife was slept with by someone else and he still has to serve time?

And his wife outside...

As for the castrated man, it’s even worse, what could be more painful for a man than being castrated?

The woman, too, gained nothing.

Her husband would surely divorce, her affair with the castrated man left her nothing viable even if they married later.

Besides, the castrated man has a family, too...

DNA samples of the aggressor had been prepared; Liu Guodong and Lu Chuan were responsible for collecting the child’s samples.

A three to four-year-old girl with braided hair sat cutely on the stool.

"Officer, my mom said you only need a strand of my hair; it doesn’t hurt at all, right?"

The girl’s eyes were large, looking at Lu Chuan with innocent clarity.

Lu Chuan gazed at the innocent and lovely girl, his heart suddenly felt heavy. He deliberately widened his smile, "Don’t worry, little sweetheart. It doesn’t hurt at all, just like pulling out a hair, like a mosquito bite."

"Uh-huh, then go ahead, Officer. But be quick."

"My dad fought with Uncle Wang this morning, and there was quite a bit of blood."

"I need to accompany my dad after that."

The little girl recognized the man her mother had an affair with, showing they indeed interacted frequently.

In DNA samples, blood or hair follicles are relatively easy for DNA analysis.

With Liu Guodong’s guidance, Lu Chuan performed the task.

The pre-treatment of samples was rapidly completed.

Besides the girl’s father and her DNA, the castrated man’s DNA sample was also included.

The result was as everyone expected.

In Action Group One, Sun Jun sighed heavily after viewing the report Lu Chuan delivered.

"Lu, thanks. I’ll get busy first, let’s talk later."

In the Crime Scene Investigation office.

Yang Sen sighed as well, "Forget about those adults, what matters is what happens to the child?"

Old Bai put down the enamel cup and sighed, "Well, what else can be done, she’ll probably stay with her mother."

"Now it’s up to the judge. Such cases occurred before, usually insufficient for intentional injury, but this castration is quite serious..."

Handling cases involves encountering all sorts of people and events.

Lu Chuan and others could only sigh.

The week passed uneventfully, with only Sunday off due to a work schedule adjustment.

Just as he was about to finish work, Lu Chuan received an invitation from Shen Yan for a date.