Desperate Forensic Doctor - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: 新法医 The New Forensic Doctor

It was morning. The sun rose above the horizon.

The first ray of sunshine shone into the bustling city, reflecting light and shadows off the glass of high-rise buildings.

It was the start of a new day.

It was noisy in every corner of the city, the sounds of birds and insects echoed everywhere. Curtains were swept open in the houses of the residential districts, letting sunshine into the rooms.

There were long lines of traffic on the overpass. And along the streets, shopping malls displaying large advertising screens started flashing brightly. The sounds of horns blaring, tires screeching and bustling intersections – people of all ages swarming past and going their separate ways as soon as the colour of the traffic lights changed.

People came and went, and the whole of Bin Yuan City came alive.

This was a large city that housed more than tens of millions of people.

The western part of the city had farmland and large green pastures, the north had a mountain range rich in minerals, the southern part had a popular internet economy and the eastern coast had been a place of trade since ancient times.

One side facing the sea, bringing with it convenient transportation; the other side backed by the mountain ranges. For anyone who knows even a little bit about Feng Shui, will know that this was a Feng Shui treasure land with mountains at its back and water at its front.

T/N: According to Feng Shui, mountains represent Yin energy and govern authority, harmony and benefactors, while water represents Yang energy and governs wealth and opportunities. Having a balance of both surrounding the city makes it an excellent flourishing environment.

During the morning rush hour, a taxi driver was being chatty and complaining non-stop to the passenger sitting in the back seat.

“Ai, our municipality in Bin Yuan City…I really don’t want to talk about it, it just looks good from the outside. On the surface, our city looks glamorous and is also an international first-tier city. But look at these roads! These patches have been filled layer after layer, becoming lumpy and uneven, if I drive any faster it will hurt your butt. There will be traffic jams as soon as it reaches the rush hour, and it will flood whenever it rains.”

“Metro Line 4 has been under construction for so many years, and several roads have thus been blocked. Construction has been continuously delayed. As a result, even until now those roads are still not open to traffic. In the past, we have vigorously industrialised and the large areas of good farmland in the northern parts were acquired to build so many factories. Later on, these factories started to shut down one by one due to pollution. I remember a few years ago, the sky was all grey.”

“The price of crops are all steadily increasing, if it drags on any longer, we won’t even be able to afford eggs.”

Sitting in the back seat was a handsome man in his twenties. He was tall and slender, with slightly pale skin.

At that moment, his hands were placed on his knees, his slender fingers intertwined, and was quietly listening to the taxi driver’s words.

The driver kept on talking regardless of whether the passenger at the back was getting annoyed: “Also, there used to be an area in the western part of the city that was vast and sparsely populated. At night, there would be people selling all sorts of things along the road, and there were also people who did that. Us taxi drivers would never dare to drive by there at night for fear of getting robbed. The small park will be full of wandering men and women, there are even a lot of illegal cars… You look like it’s your first time in Bin Yuan City. Even bringing a suitcase…you’re here for vacation right, or to see your girlfriend?”

T/N: ‘that’ probably refers to illegal things like prostitution, trafficking, etc.

“No, I’m here for work.” After listening to the driver for so long, the young man finally replied to his question. He had a very nice voice, but it was also a little cold, “What about now?”

“Now? Just a while back, I heard that there was a new leader appointed last year, and reforms were carried out. If it were up to me, the previous leader should have stepped down long ago.” The driver sighed after saying this, “I still miss the times, a few years back, when Police Chief Lin was here, he was what you call a real civil servant. He fell ill while on the job. During his memorial service, many people went to send him off. It was then when I realised that our city’s law and order was managed differently by different people. It’s only effective if you have a firm grip on things, but once you loosen your hold, trouble will start finding you.”

At this point, the driver looked around and said, “Your destination is Changhe Road intersection right?”

The young man said, “Drive past the intersection by 30 metres then drop me off there.”

The driver stopped the car and charged the young man his fare. Then turned his head and looked up, and saw the words “Bin Yuan City Public Security Bureau”.

After seeing those words, the driver started sweating. He was only familiar with the roads and didn’t realise until then that the destination was actually here.

The young man expressionlessly scanned the code to pay the cab fare.

The driver smiled awkwardly saying: “Young man, I was just joking, don’t take it seriously. Bin Yuan City’s security is really good. There are no problems.”

The young man said: “I don’t think there was anything wrong with what you said.”

After paying, he went to collect his things from the car boot. Other than a suitcase, he also carried a small potted plant. It was a mint plant, with seedlings sprouting, emitting a faint aroma.

After passing the inspection by the guard at the main entrance, the young man first went to the Human Resources office to go through the formalities. He took out some documents from his bag and handed them over.

The staff reviewed his diploma and other various documents, and retrieved information from the system. The information showed his name was Shen Junci, occupation was a forensic doctor, and it was his first day reporting to the city bureau.

The young man looked pale and handsome, with a cold and distant temperament. The HR staff couldn’t help but steal a few more glances at him, before looking back down at his documents.

The department written under his information was rather strange, so the staff couldn’t help but ask: “Special Criminal Division. What is this department in charge of?” The staff had worked here for many years, but had never come across such a department before.

Shen Junci’s head dropped slightly, and the sunlight casted a small shadow over his eyelashes. He avoided the staff’s gaze and seemed a bit unsociable: “It’s newly established and founded by Police Chief Ding. I will still usually work at the forensic department.”

The full name of the Special Criminal Division was the Special Criminal Case Investigation Division. It’s a newly established division, with not many people in the group, and was considered one of Bin Yuan City Public Security Bureau’s special investigation units.

Since it had just been established, it’s normal for the lower ranked HR staff to be unsure.

The salaries and contracts have already been decided in advance.

Shen Junci was transferred over from the provincial department and although his team leader had given him ample time to report, he just delayed it until the very last few days to do so.

After completing the onboarding procedures, the staff handed over his work badge and key card, and kindly reminded him: “The forensic department is in Building 3, the Forensic Examination Center, just behind the courtyard. You can retrieve your computer and office supplies from the logistics department later on.”

Shen Junci thanked the staff and walked out of the human resources centre.

Today was the last day of the Bin Yuan City Bureau’s drill exercise, hence all the police officers, apart from those on-duty, were called to the training grounds behind the courtyard to do drills. The courtyard was left empty.

Shen Junci also heard of the things Chief Ding did after taking office.

The first thing was to strengthen the physical fitness of the police officers, dragging the old officers to start running rounds as part of morning training. He later proposed to be more diligent in training the troops and to conduct police evaluations. Not only that, Chief Ding also reached out to the masses to gather feedback and solved problems. Even the establishment of the Special Criminal Division was one of them.

Shen Junci received a message from Chief Ding just as he reached the entrance of the Forensic Examination Centre. He said that someone from the forensic department would be coming to fetch him and for him to settle down first. The chief would come to find him once he was done with the drills.

The municipal bureau’s Forensic Examination Centre was constructed 8 years ago. There were a total of 3 floors inside, and the facilities were of the highest standard in the country.

As soon as Shen Junci reached the entrance of the forensic department office, he saw a young forensic doctor walking over and stopped in front of him: “Are you Dr Shen?”

T/N: They’re all called forensic doctors, but I just shortened it to doctor.

“That’s me.” Shen Junci nodded.

The forensic doctor appeared to be very young, with big eyes, and looked bright and talkative. He folded his hands nervously as he met Shen Junci: “Nice to meet you Teacher Shen, I am Qi Yian and I will be your assistant forensic examiner. I look forward to learning from you.”

T/N: He referred to Shen Junci as teacher as a form of respect, someone in a more senior position.

Forensic medicine was one of the rare jobs with a mentor-apprentice system, where a veteran forensic doctor would mentor a young apprentice. The man in front of him seemed to be an apprentice allocated to him by the city bureau.

Shen Junci nodded his head.

Qi Yian realised his mentor didn’t seem to like to talk much and his personality was also a little cold.

So he took the initiative to talk to him: “When you put my name together it becomes the word “money”, so there are people who call me by my nickname. Not Dr Qi but Xiao Dr Money.”

T/N: Xiao as in ‘little’, referring to someone younger/more junior in status, and Qi Yi An > qian > ‘money’ in Chinese

He had a pretty good impression of his mentor, he just thought his mentor looked a bit young and aloof.

Qi Yian took the initiative again to carry Shen Junci’s bag and his pot of mint.

He discovered that Shen Junci’s body emitted a faint fragrance.

Qi Yian felt that he smelled good, but he couldn’t tell what kind of smell it was. It carried a bit of the scent of the mint plant Shen Junci was holding, but was also mixed with other scents.

In the office, Qi Yian talked a lot, and Shen Junci finally said: “I’m not very good at managing people, so just treat me as your work partner. If you’re not used to being in the Special Criminal Division, you can transfer out any time.”

These words sounded like a dissuasion to stay. Qi Yian thought that he had done something wrong and disappointed his mentor. However, he looked at Shen Junci’s expression and felt that it was not the case, so he could only treat these remarks as his mentor being harsh at the start, and letting him prepare his mentality for the future. He just responded in a low voice.

Shen Junci asked him: “How long have you been working here?”

Qi Yian said: “It has been more than two months, and I have been helping out in the forensic department during this time.”

He had been here for a while, and was familiar with the entire forensic and criminal investigation departments, and had also helped out around.

After the two briefly chatted, Qi Yian went to the logistics office to help Shen Junci get his computer equipment and office supplies, install and log in to the system, and then took him on a tour of the Forensic Examination Center.

As the name suggested, the Forensic Examination Center was divided into two aspects, one was forensic medicine and the other was physical forensics. Physical forensics included physical evidence, trace inspection, evidence storage, prohibited drugs, trace evidence, and judicial document identification.

Forensic medicine was also divided into two parts, the autopsy department and the forensic identification department.

Autopsy was mainly the examination of corpses, and was subdivided into traffic, accident and criminal divisions.

The Forensic Identification Department mainly comprises a forensic clinic, responsible for injury examination, parent-child examination, mental examination, and so on.

There were also several laboratories in the building, such as a toxicology laboratory, a routine laboratory, a DNA laboratory, and a poison and drug laboratory.

As long as the laboratories and departments were needed for criminal investigations, everything would be readily available.

There was even a long row of autopsy rooms, with large ventilation equipment inside, and large glass windows on the side facing the corridor, making it easy to see the autopsy procedures from the outside.

Due to the city bureau’s drill exercise, many forensic doctors were also not in the office that day. Excluding the forensic doctors who were working in the field, there were only two of them left in the criminal autopsy office.

One of the forensic doctors was named Cheng Gong and the other was named Wen Wan.

Cheng Gong had worked for three years, and Wen Wan had seven years of work experience.

Qi Yian introduced them, and Shen Junci greeted them.

Cheng Gong smiled and complimented: “With professionals like Dr Shen joining our team, our municipal bureau’s Forensic Medicine Department will become so much more efficient in the future.”

Shen Junci said modestly: “I have little talent and knowledge. Please take care of me in the future.”

After the two of them left, Cheng Gong whispered to Wen Wan: “This is the guy joining the Special Criminal Division?”

Wen Wan nodded: “I heard that he was transferred from the provincial department…”

Chief Ding initially recruited members of the Special Criminal Division from within the Criminal Investigation department. As this was a department under the direct supervision of the leader, most people in the city bureau were unwilling to transfer over.

Especially the forensic department, which was already short of manpower and had a very heavy workload. Who wanted to join a new department with such an uncertain future and work under such great pressure? Hence, no one was willing to transfer at that time.

In desperation, Chief Ding began to recruit forensic doctors from outside, and even turned to the provincial department for help. Only then was this young forensic doctor transferred in.

Wen Wan had read Shen Junci’s application file. He was 27 years old and his grades in college were extremely mediocre. He took a year off before graduating from college and had worked for three years, so his resume was not considered that great.

There were many elites in the Bin Yuan City Forensic Medicine Centre. Take the two of them, for example. They both graduated from the Forensic Medicine Department of the famous Public Security University. Hence the college Shen Junci graduated from seemed a bit disappointing.

Cheng Gong said: “Anyway, he is from the Special Criminal Division, and he may not have much interaction with us. By the way, has the captain of the Special Criminal Division been chosen?”

Wen Wan: “There’s news, I heard Captain Gu was chosen.”

Cheng Gong was surprised: “Captain Gu? Which one?”

Wen Wan: “That one. Captain Gu from the logistics department.”

Cheng Gong was surprised: “How can someone from the logistics department become a criminal police officer?”

Wen Wan said: “He joined the city bureau around the same time as me. He started out in the criminal investigation team. Chief Lin was still there at that time and personally took care of and trained him, almost like a son. He did live up to expectations and solved a series of cases, including Xu Chenghuang’s case.”

Cheng Gong finally got the answer: “I know about Xu Chenghuang’s case. It is said that it has been investigated for almost a year.”

“Later, Chief Lin died of illness, and Captain Gu went to the logistics department not long after. He was usually responsible for the management of the police dogs, purchasing police supplies and the training of new recruits in the various branches. He was also considered a small leader of the logistics department. Recently, Chief Ding wanted to form a Special Criminal Division and he felt that none of the captains were suitable, so he thought of him. Chief Ding had only one meeting with Captain Gu before immediately selecting him.”

Cheng Gong said: “But he has been away from the front line for several years. Can he still do it?”

Wen Wan said: “Aren’t you practising martial arts these days? The results of the individual events have come out. Do you know who is number one?”

Cheng Gong was surprised: “It can’t be this Captain Gu right?”

“And he also broke the 100-metre speed sniper record.” Wen Wan thought of something again and said, “Today’s armed police drill exercise, I heard that Team Gu won the BOSS card. I think there will be something good to watch this time.”

T/N: BOSS card: something like a trump card.

At noon, Shen Junci did not go to the city bureau’s canteen, but took Qi Yian to a restaurant outside, saying that he would treat him to lunch.

Dr Shen sat upright at the table and ordered the dishes.

While eating, Qi Yian prayed that Shen Junci’s skills were excellent and that he could learn something from this mentor.

Now that he had just started working, he had his own plans and future aspirations for this job. He really loved forensic work, otherwise he would not have chosen this profession despite the opposition from his family.

After lunch, Qi Yian took Shen Junci to the forensic department’s lounge.

Since forensic doctors often needed to work at night and often more than eight hours a day, having a break room was essential.

The infrastructure of the Bin Yuan City Bureau was good, and there was simple furniture such as sofas and coffee tables in the lounge for the forensic doctors to rest. The full-time forensic doctors also had their own beds.

The Special Criminal Division was a separate department, so this lounge was only shared by Shen Junci and Qi Yian.

The room was not big, and Qi Yian’s bed had already been made. He offered to help Shen Junci, but Shen Junci insisted on doing it himself.

Qi Yian didn’t insist and just sat on the chair to chat with Shen Junci.

Shen Junci had come prepared. He first took out a box of Tibetan incense, took one stick from it, took out a lighter, lit it and inserted it into a small box.

Now, Qi Yian finally understood where the scent he smelled on Shen Junci’s body came from.

In the light of the fire, the incense head quickly turned grey-white, emitting a thin wisp of fragrant smoke.

The smell of the forensic building was already a mix of scents. The smell of corpses, blood, formalin, and human beings would still linger even with a large exhaust fan.

But now, the lounge smelled of Tibetan incense after just a short moment.

The fragrance gradually became stronger and penetrated into the nose, suppressing all other smells. It even lingered on the clothes and walls, making people feel calm.

Shen Junci started to make the bed again, and he took out a pillow from his suitcase. Then he put away the sheets sent by the administrative office and laid out the ones he brought. The sheets were dark blue and the fine mulberry silk looked shiny in the sun.

Compared with his bed, Qi Yian felt that the bed he slept on looked like a pig’s den.

Shen Junci packed up and asked him: “Who is the director of the Criminal Forensic Department here?”

Qi Yian said hurriedly: “The director in charge is called Lu Cun. Under him is Dr Liu, who is the most skilled here…The others are the two you just met, Wen Wan and Cheng Gong and three other forensic doctors. The intern’s name is Song Qiancheng.”

He introduced the situation to Shen Junci while watching him clean up.

After making the bed, Shen Junci took out a pair of slippers from his suitcase.

He put on his slippers and seemingly tired, he asked Qi Yian, “Do you want to rest?”

Qi Yian was stunned.

Shen Junci covered his yawn with his hand: “I want to take a nap. If you are sleepy too, you can take a rest together.”

Only then did Qi Yian understand.

But since when were there leaders who invited their subordinates to take a nap together on their first day at work?

Qi Yian was a little awkward and didn’t know what to say. He stammered: “Ah, um, I’m not sleepy. Mentor, please rest first. I’ll go to the office and sit for a while.”

T/N: Shifu was used in the raw, which means master, but I felt that mentor was more appropriate here.

After leaving the lounge and sitting down in the office, Qi Yian was still feeling confused. He finally understood where his confusion came from.

He came a month earlier and knew more about the situation here.

In the Bin Yuan City Bureau, work was very busy, and there was a one-hour lunch break at noon. Forensic doctors were also uniquely blessed with a break room, so they could take a lunch break and nap. But in reality, no one took a nap in the lounge.

The reason was simple: the leaders of the Forensic Medical Centre were very strict.

Going to the lounge to sleep during working hours would inevitably lead to suspicion of laziness.

Therefore, in the city bureau, the lounge was usually only used when working at night. Occasionally, even after working all night, when doctors couldn’t stand it anymore, they would just lie down on the table for a while.

This kind of culture was like the “996” of a large company. It was not a hard and fast rule, but everyone abided by it. If someone didn’t follow this, they would become a maverick.

T/N: Some companies in China have their employees work 9am-9pm 6 days a week, hence 996. Maverick meaning a non-conformist, unorthodox person.

Thinking of this, Qi Yian rested his forehead in his hands…

He felt that Shen Junci must not understand the situation, so he should mention it to him tactfully in the future to avoid other people gossiping.

At this moment, there was a burst of crying and noise coming from outside the office…

At this time in the afternoon, only Qi Yian and the two other forensic doctors on duty were present in the forensic department offices.

When the three of them heard that there was a commotion outside, they all stuck their heads out.

As soon as the door opened, the quarrel outside became clearer.

It sounded like a mix of old and young people quarrelling as well as some crying.

An old lady shouted at the top of her lungs: “My family is unfortunate……”

“Marrying a money-loser from your family will bring you bad luck for eight lifetimes.”

“Who the hell do you think you are, how dare you bully my sister!”

“Police! Someone is killing!”

“Fuck! Let go! The police haven’t said anything yet, but you already think you’re right.”

There were criminal police officers trying to maintain order: “This is the forensic building, don’t make trouble here. Leave the body here and go back and wait for the results.”

Qi Yian saw several police officers outside holding back several people.

The quarrel was between relatives, all the different relatives were present and blocked the corridor.

The criminal police officers managed to pull the group of people out after trying all the different ways to persuade them.

Cheng Gong asked: “What is going on, where is Captain Shao?”

A young policeman said: “Captain Shao is still at the drill exercise and is rushing back. He will probably arrive soon.”

Qi Yian recognised the little policeman he was talking to. His name was Yu Shen. He joined the company on the same day as him and had worked here for just slightly more than two months.

While waiting for the police to pull the family members out, Yu Shen wiped his sweat and handed them an autopsy application form: “It was assigned by the county. This is a small case, not too complicated, but the family is a bit difficult to deal with.”

Wen Wan saw a few scratches on Yu Shen’s wrist and there was also blood: “You are injured……go and bandage it quickly.”

Qi Yian also pouted at the side: “I’m afraid he must have practised the Nine Yin White Bone Claw to scratch him like this.”

T/N: 九阴白骨爪: A martial arts move from the Legend of Condor Heroes

Yu Shen looked at his wrist and said helplessly: “This family is from the nearby countryside. I just wanted to grab this from them…” He then handed over a plastic bag and said, “The body is here. Please help to identify it.”

It was a small plastic bag, it looked heavy, and there was still some soil inside.

“Is it body parts?” Wen Wan didn’t expect that he would carry the body with him. She took the bag, and looked into it. Then her face changed, and her whole person seemed to be petrified.

Cheng Gong came over to take a look and fell silent.

Qi Yian was curious and looked over too.

The bag contained the body of a baby, small and wrinkled, like a soft ball, with a broken umbilical cord and a placenta on the side. The body was stained with a lot of soil, as if it had just been pulled out of the soil.

What everyone saw before them was the body of a premature baby.

Wen Wan closed the bag before she came to her senses, raised her head and asked Yu Shen: “What is the specifics of the situation?”

Yu Shen said: “You know Dongxiang Village next to Xia County. Two days ago, a daughter-in-law surnamed Zhao gave birth to a premature baby girl at home, before she could be sent to the hospital. The daughter-in-law had not yet recovered when the mother-in-law said the baby had died. She buried it in the backyard on her own initiative. Only after a long time did Zhao’s parents receive the news and come to see their daughter. And it was then that the daughter discovered that something was wrong. She called the police and dug up the child.”

Cheng Gong frowned and said: “Xia County doesn’t have its own forensic doctor? Why did they bring this matter to the municipal bureau?”

Yu Shen: “The child was born prematurely. The county forensic doctor looked at it and said it was too young to be tested. There were many people in these two families, and they also started fighting, so the case was transferred to us.”

Cheng Gong asked: “So, the daughter-in-law suspected her mother-in-law of killing the baby?”

Yu Shen nodded: “Her husband was not home at the time. Only the daughter-in-law and mother-in-law were there. The daughter-in-law gave birth very quickly, and she was too weak after and passed out. She said she heard the child’s cry and that it was alive after birth. The child was taken by her mother-in-law and killed by her. The mother-in-law insisted that the child was born dead and did not cry at all. If she heard crying, it was the daughter-in-law’s hallucination. Both sides insisted, and the daughter-in-law’s family dug out the baby’s body to let the police investigate.”

Whether the child was born alive or dead, this matter became a Rashomon effect.

T/N: Rashomon effect: situation where different parties involved describe the situation differently (often contradictory)

Seeing that the three forensic doctors were silent, Yu Shen asked, “Is it easy to investigate?”

Wen Wan said: “It can be checked, but it will definitely require a floatation test. The child is premature, so it may be difficult to do. We need to do some research.”

Besides various examinations, pulmonary floatation and gastrointestinal floatation tests were the best ways to directly judge live births and stillbirths.

Yu Shen said: “It’s best to get the results today. They brought a car full of people from the village. If it takes too long, the family members will overthrow our police team.”

Cheng Gong received the baby and took it to the autopsy room nearby. He placed the baby’s body on the autopsy table. Due to the premature birth, the body was only a small ball, not much bigger than a kitten.

Cheng Gong carefully looked at the condition of the corpse, then turned to Yu Shen and said: “It’s very difficult. Some people in the forensic centre are out in the field today, and some are in the training grounds, Dr Liu asked for leave again. Not everyone is here, so why don’t we freeze it first and wait until the drill exercise is over?”

Yu Shen was anxious: “Don’t ah, Dr Cheng, please think of a solution. If this is delayed any longer, I’m afraid the family will cause trouble again.”

From a forensic perspective, corpses change over time, so naturally the sooner they were examined, the better.

Cheng Gong was put on the spot: “Then let’s try……” He turned to Wen Wan and asked, “Sister Wen, are you going to do it, or should I do it?”

T/N: Sister: used to address a close female friend/relative who is older or more senior

Looking at the baby’s body, Wen Wan was a little hesitant. She wore glasses and was a little short-sighted. This corpse was no ordinary baby corpse. It was a premature baby. All the organs were more than one size smaller than normal, and it had also been buried in soil. It was a difficult task.

Wen Wan hesitated for a moment: “My eyesight is not very good. How about you do it, Xiao Cheng?”

Cheng Gong took a deep breath, moved his hands and said, “Then I’ll do it. Qi Yian, you can help record.”

Qi Yian had been working as an intern during this period, and he was very good at recording work.

Yu Shen watched them start and exited the autopsy room.

Qi Yian set up the camera, while Wen Wan arranged the equipment, Cheng Gong changed his clothes, disinfected himself and came up to the autopsy table.

“Body length 40.5cm, sitting height 27.7cm, weight 2.2kg……”

This was followed by measuring the head circumference, chest circumference, abdominal circumference, biparietal diameter, occipital diameter, suboccipital fontanelle diameter, anterior fontanelle diameter……

After the various measurements were taken, Qi Yian was at the side immersed in recording.

This premature baby looked less than a month old, but if she had been born normally in the hospital, she might have survived.

Cheng Gong had his own judgement about this infant corpse. The thorax of the corpse was slightly larger than the abdominal circumference, and there were traces of scalp swelling and haematomas. This was most likely a live-born baby.

However, at present, they could only say that it was very likely that the infant’s body was buried. Perhaps something happened during the burial process that could affect the diagnosis.

In addition, the taboo in identification was not to confuse live births with living ability. The key was still to look at the floatation test results.

The initial phase of taking measurements was over and it was finally time to dissect. Cheng Gong held his breath and made the first cut from the chest to abdomen. The little corpse on the autopsy table was soft like tofu, opening at just one touch.

The soft baby skin was like a piece of translucent tissue. It was cut open to reveal the small organs inside. The sternum was slender and the blood vessels were as thick as strands of hair. His scalpel cut through the abdominal cavity and the intestines were exposed, looking like a bunch of wires coiled together.

Lung and gastrointestinal floatation tests were very precise tests. It was necessary to ligate and cut off the organs, put the internal organs into water, and observe the floatation. This way, there could not be any mistakes. If even a minor mistake was made, all the effort would have been for naught.

If that happened, it would be even more difficult to determine if the baby was born alive or stillborn.

After the first cut, Cheng Gong gestured, not knowing how to make the second cut. He felt that the feel of the hand was different from the previous dissections, so he began to retreat: “I…I think I can’t do it either. The body is too small and was buried for two days. If my hands tremble even for a second, something will go wrong……I have done the floatation test twice before, but both times with a child weighing at least 3 or 4 kg. Now the baby is so small, I don’t have the confidence.”

The dissection of such a premature infant was no less difficult than a surgical operation. It was a great test for the eyes, hands and skills of the forensic doctor. It was too difficult.

Qi Yian saw that both Wen Wan and Cheng Gong were a bit afraid, so he asked from the side: “Is there anyone else who can do the autopsy?”

Wen Wan had just sent a message to Chief Lu and also sent the photos to the group chat. She shook her head and said, “Lao Lu said he couldn’t do it either. His eyesight is blurry and he is currently asking other people.”

T/N: Lao: a close form of address for someone more senior in age or status.

Cheng Gong bit the bullet and held the knife. He raised his head and asked, “Who else in the city bureau can do this kind of embroidery-like fine work?”

“Dr Liu?” Wen Wan suggested.

“But isn’t he on vacation?” Cheng Gong said anxiously, “Far water cannot quench the near thirst.”

T/N: 远水解不了近渴: Solutions that take time are useless in emergency situations.

Wen Wan looked at the group chat and frowned: “There are already not many people with experience in infant and child anatomy. Some people in the group said that if we really can’t do it, to find external help?”

Apparently, other forensic doctors were unwilling to take this hot potato.

Cheng Gong was nervous at first, but he almost choked after hearing these words, and coughed a few times: “Are you kidding me? Do we need to send for another forensic doctor from the province? Besides, the body has already been cut open now…Forget it, can’t count on others. I’d better work hard and do it myself.”

He became determined, and decided to treat the baby’s corpse as a small animal. When he was in medical school, he had also dissected some animals, and they were all extremely delicate and fragile.

But this thing is afterall still different from animals.

This was a baby, a once living young life.

Cheng Gong gritted his teeth and lowered his head to continue, but his heart became agitated and his hands became even more unsteady.

Even his fingertips were trembling and looked like he was going to cut crookedly.

Wen Wan watched from the side, her heart hanging on a thread, and she was about to shout.

A hand suddenly stretched out from behind them and held Cheng Gong’s hand. The hand was very steady and stopped the scalpel in Cheng Gong’s hand.

Qi Yian looked up from the side and found that it was Shen Junci who was supposed to be taking a nap.

They were so engrossed just now that they didn’t notice him walking in.

Qi Yian was a little surprised when he saw him: “Mentor, you’re up?”

Shen Junci said: “I was woken up a long time ago.”

He seemed to have woken up with a bad mood, or maybe it was because he was facing the corpse, his face was expressionless, and even his voice was stiff.

Shen Junci then proficiently put on gloves and a mask: “Let me try.”

Under the shadowless light, his eyelashes were very long and clearly defined.

Shen Junci’s eyebrows were beautiful, and when he put away the smile on his face, it was as if the gentleness he greeted him with before was just a façade.

The serious and focused expression on his handsome face made him seem like a different person, with a coldness that could repel people thousands of miles away from him.