118: Chapter 116: Fatigue 118: Chapter 116: Fatigue “Don’t dissect me.

Don’t dissect me!” Mu Zhiyang cried out as he opened his eyes.

To any human being, being vivisected is the ultimate horror.

Even detectives who are well-informed about such matters feel increased fear when they think about it.

For Mu Zhiyang, yesterday’s experience was the most horrific in his life, so much so that it continued to haunt his dreams.

“Nobody is dissecting you.

You’re fine,” a soothing voice came from beside him.

Mu Zhiyang breathed a sigh of relief, then sensed something wrong, and upon a closer look, the face before him was indeed Forensic Expert Jiang Yuan!

“Oh my god…”

Mu Zhiyang’s soul practically jumped out of his body from shock.

“It’s all good, we came to see you,” Jiang Yuan gently pressed him down, as if smoothing over a corpse.

Beep beep beep beep.

The monitor beside Mu Zhiyang began to sound off.

A nurse poked her head in and frowned in reproach, “What are you doing?

The patient just had surgery, don’t roughhouse with him, and don’t make inappropriate jokes.”

“Alright, alright,” Wei Zhenguo agreed from the side.

Mu Zhiyang’s soul slowly wafted back into his body, and he looked at Jiang Yuan with pitiful eyes, saying, “Doctor Jiang, I called you ‘Jiang,’ I get it, but please don’t come see me again, my heart really can’t take it…”

“Fine,” Jiang Yuan sighed.

Wei Zhenguo added, “You owe Jiang Yuan a big thanks for stopping your bleeding.

The doctors said if you had lost any more blood, it would’ve been really troublesome.”

“Thanks, Jiang,” Mu Zhiyang quickly said, “I’m not unreasonable, I’m just genuinely scared.”

“It’s okay,” Jiang Yuan nodded.

Wei Zhenguo patted Jiang Yuan on the shoulder, speaking earnestly, “Being a forensic doctor, there comes a moment when you are bound to be disliked, it’s normal.”

“Yeah,” Jiang Yuan nodded slowly.

Mu Zhiyang hastened to say, “I don’t dislike you, I didn’t mean that…”

“It’s okay, being disliked by people is inevitable,” Jiang Yuan patted Mu Zhiyang’s unharmed arm, looking very philosophical about it.

If it weren’t for the corners of Wei Zhenguo’s mouth that involuntarily began to curl into a smile, Mu Zhiyang might have actually taken it seriously.

After visiting Mu Zhiyang, Jiang Yuan and Wei Zhenguo hurried off to a meeting in Qinghe City.

Among the gang of five, Hu was still in a coma, and none of the remaining four were tough guys.

Or rather, the individual interrogations had created a prisoners’ dilemma where none wanted the others to get an advantage.

When they committed the murders, they acted swiftly, and when it came to snitching on others, they did so just as swiftly.

Of course, each was only willing to confess to the crimes they did not participate in, creating a perfect closed loop as the four took turns throwing each other under the bus.

In just two days, they confessed to 6 murder cases involving 12 victims.

The case with the most killings involved three people killed in a single incident.

As the case developed to this extent, Liu Jinghui’s special investigation team also rapidly expanded to hundreds of members, half of whom entered the old hunting path to search for bodies and physical evidence.

They wouldn’t be back for a month.

The thought alone was enough to tire Jiang Yuan out.

When I saw Liu Jinghui again, he also had the look of exhaustion.

“How is Mu Zhiyang doing?” As the most seriously injured officer in the operation, Liu Jinghui also remembered his name.

Jiang Yuan nodded and said, “He’s a bit shaken up mentally, but physically, he’s okay.”

“That’s good, that’s good.” Liu Jinghui rubbed his temples, smiling self-deprecatingly, “I now really wish I could lie down in a hospital, but no one’s giving me that chance.”

“Is the situation complicated?”

“Complicated but not complicated, just a lot of things to deal with.

I just met with a few members from some city’s hikers’ association, and showed them a few photos that are suitable for viewing.” Liu Jinghui shook his head and said, “Now there are eight hikers proven dead, and the higher-ups are also afraid of causing panic.”

Wei Zhenguo curled his lips and said, “Didn’t they go on an adventure?

A serial killer should be considered a part of the peril, right?”

Liu Jinghui’s mouth twitched slightly, then he slowly said, “Your point does hold some logic, but you can’t say that, mainly because we haven’t brought these people to justice in time.”

Wei Zhenguo shrugged.

Jiang Yuan coughed twice and asked, “Have the bodies been brought back?”

“No?”

“No.

Up to now, not a single body has been found.” Liu Jinghui nodded slightly and said, “These guys don’t just abandon the bodies.

They throw some enticing soup ingredients on the bodies, concocted by that Guo himself.

It’s said to attract wild boars and bears very easily.”

“So the bodies are all gone?”

“Not only that, they come back after a while to check the situation and then deal with the remaining remains.

It’s not like what we thought, that they completely threw them away and didn’t care.”

Jiang Yuan thought more about it and asked, “How do they deal with the remaining remains?”

“They add more soup ingredients and often try to move the bodies.

However, with more people going this time, let’s see if they can find any residual remains.”

To confirm a homicide case, it’s best to find the body.

Although in some cases, verdicts can be reached without a body, those are still the minority.

Liu Jinghui, accustomed to working in a large unit, actually did not want to be the one to break the rules.

Solving a case with the existing conditions was what he liked to do the most.

Jiang Yuan felt a slight regret; if he could personally dissect and analyze the body, he might be able to read even more information.

Perhaps, he could get his hands on two more inheritances.

Liu Jinghui noticed it; if it were another officer expressing regret, Liu Jinghui would surely have told him off.

But with Jiang Yuan, Liu Jinghui still wanted to provide consolation.

He handed a bottle of mineral water each to Jiang Yuan and Wei Zhenguo, saying cheerfully, “Even if a body came now, you probably wouldn’t have the time for the autopsy.

In a few days, I plan to hold a determination gathering.

Then, I will present medals to several of you who earned honors.”

Jiang Yuan had shown enough merit during the fingerprint battle and was looking forward to it.

He asked directly, “Has it been confirmed?”

“Confirmed.

You get a second-class merit, the sniper gets a second-class merit, Mu Zhiyang gets a third-class merit, and, remember Zhu Huanguang during the fingerprint battle, he gets a third-class merit too.” After finishing, Liu Jinghui specifically pointed out, “Yours is not for this time.

When the entire case is over, there should be another chance.”

Jiang Yuan was surprised, “I can receive another one?”

“Not counting this time, you can definitely get another one,” Liu Jinghui laughed, then said, “It depends on your performance; if you make new contributions, maybe you can combine them for another second-class merit.

If not, we’ll see how much more we can dig out from this case.”

Second-class merits in the police system are not as difficult as in the military, but they are still far from simple.

For someone like Mu Zhiyang, if he had broken an arm and sustained a serious injury, he might have been eligible for a second-class merit.

Or, if Mu Zhiyang had faced the criminal alone, stayed in the fight despite light injuries, and subdued the gang leader by himself, he could also get a second-class merit; otherwise, just like now, it could only be third-class.

Of course, a third-class merit is also excellent, and most officers end at third-class merits.

Those who receive second-class merits, though not explicitly stated, are generally given priority for promotion and significant attention.

And as for the explicitly stated benefits, one can receive a full pension, give their children an extra 5 points in college entrance exams, and receive a bonus of 10,000 yuan…

Just from the bonus to the pension and the extra points for children’s college entrance exams, one can tell that these honors are truly awarded at a low rate.

Jiang Yuan thanked Liu Jinghui and thought back to the last time he received an award.

This time, he really needs to carefully consider the system’s reward.