For a moment, the transparent large screen changed scenes, no longer displaying any transparent green text. An animated portrait of Zhou Ning appeared, with some information below it.
"Bound person Zhou Ning, congratulations on completing the intermediate task. The reward drawn for you by the system is: Portrait Restoration Technology [Level 2] access. You may choose to obtain it immediately, or complete the learning process gradually over fifteen days?"
Two options were presented before him.
Zhou Ning was stunned. Portrait Restoration Technology?
Isn't that just drawing?
After two days of anxiety, this was the reward he got? What kind of reward was this?
However, thinking about the "Eight Tigers of Criminal Investigation," there was one extraordinary expert who could accurately draw the criminal's portrait based on descriptions. That seemed not bad, although it was somewhat less related to a forensic doctor's work.
After hesitating for a moment, he directly clicked to complete the learning process gradually over fifteen days. After all, he had no background in drawing, and it seemed daunting to obtain it directly.
Besides, Zhou Ning had figured out the working method of the system. When a case arose, touching the corpse would trigger a system task that threatened him and wanted to take something back once it was initiated.
But the nature of the threat had significantly changed from the beginning to now. Originally, it was the direct acquisition of level 2 access, which was totally crammed in. Since there was an option to learn slowly, he decided to take his time. He wasn't in a hurry anyway.
Having realized this, Zhou Ning directly clicked to complete the learning process gradually over fifteen days.
Immediately, the screen changed and asked the bound person to wait. The download would be complete in two minutes.
This time, there was no headache, only a slight sensation of eye strain. However, key points flashed before his eyes, including the cover of a book and its publication date, which was in 2021.
This discovery surprised Zhou Ning; the knowledge was from eleven years in the future!
It was known that the knowledge that made it into schools was often outdated, or nearly so. After all, the subjects being taught had been methods and standards from years ago, whereas medical science was advancing particularly fast, changing day by day.
Upon a brief examination, he realized he had been too simplistic in his thinking. The content was not just as simple as drawing a criminal's portrait based on descriptions, but it involved restoring appearances based on the skull, according to the deceased's age, height, weight, and gender.
It looked to be pretty impressive.
Zhou Ning swallowed hard; with a "beep," a very thick album of Portrait Restoration Technology appeared before him. Zhou Ning flipped through a few pages, and indeed the content was extremely detailed—even without any drawing experience, he could understand the introductions.
Zhou Ning no longer felt the drowsiness he used to get from looking at books when he was a student; he started to read carefully.
After an unknown amount of time, the car jerked, and Zhou Ning immediately opened his eyes.
Xu Dayuan was already standing in the yard, waving behind him as someone came forward to take Wang Chengjuan away. As for the samples that Zhou Ning had just collected, they were only for blood comparison and did not need to be sent to the city; Xu Dayuan had them directly taken to the county hospital.
Xu Dayuan raised his arm and clasped Zhou Ning's shoulder. Such a capable young man made Xu Dayuan immensely gratified.
"Doctor Zhou, you're impressive. I said you were my lucky star, and you've been full of surprises. I set you a target of five, and you delivered results worth ten. This ability and your earnest attitude—everyone should learn a bit from you."
He Chunyang and the others laughed by the side—no one made any sarcastic comments. They were genuinely happy, as the case had been solved in less than 48 hours, which was the best proof of their work.
Zhou Ning felt somewhat shy with so many people watching.
"Xu Da, you're giving me too much credit. We were just luckier. However, Wang Chengjuan's testimony needs to be well organized. She has a habit of lying. I've recorded the conversation I just had with her and will send it to Xu Da later."
Xu Dayuan nodded emphatically.
"Alright, He Chunyang, go and conduct the interrogation. With the evidence of hiding the murder weapon and Liu Wangcai's whereabouts, we've got enough to lock her up. Explain the policies to her well, and of course, make clear the benefits of making a meritorious service."
He Chunyang walked away happily; an interrogation with such solid evidence was straightforward and lacked technical difficulty.
Zhao Xinli went to deliver the test samples, while Zhou Ning returned to the office to start organizing the autopsy report. He had made notes before, but a comprehensive autopsy report required attaching all the lab reports and comparison results, all of which he needed to write up as soon as possible.
....
That day, just before closing time.
Zhao Xinli entered Zhou Ning's office with a smile on his face, leaned in close to Zhou Ning, and lifted his chin in his direction as he looked at him printing a report.
"Hey, aren't you interested in the trial results? How can you remain so focused on writing your report here?"
Zhou Ning gave him a look that said it all.
"Just say what you want to say. I need to finish these reports quickly. I can't let my work affect the submission of this case. Xu Da and the others are in a hurry, after all. During such a critical period, the county prioritizes stability above everything else."
Zhao Xinli immediately lost his enthusiasm, plopped down beside Zhou Ning, and scanned through the reports.
"Talking to smart people like you is really no fun. Xu Da sent me to check if you've finished the reports. The case needs to be submitted to the prosecutorial authorities urgently, just like you said earlier."
Zhou Ning checked the reports one last time, ensuring the newly retrieved bloodstain tests from Zhao Xinli were included, and found no omissions before handing everything over to Zhao Xinli.
"So, spill it. Did Liu Wangcai and Wang Chengjuan confess?"
Zhao Xinli's smile returned as he propped his elbow on the table and spoke mysteriously:
"I have to admit, you guessed right. Liu Wangcai, although he had divorced, harbored strong feelings about it. He hadn't mentioned the divorce to the villagers and still had Wang Chengjuan keeping tabs on Zhu Meifeng.
On the 21st, after Zhu Meifeng called Liu Wangcai, he took the high-speed train back, not even using his own identity information to purchase the ticket, so Mr. He and his team didn't find out. Liu Wangcai, in disguise, met with Wang Chengjuan at noon, who had prepared food for him, and he hid in Lantai Village.
At 10 p.m., Liu Wangcai snuck back home, not through the main entrance, but by climbing over the wall. He caught Li Delin and Zhu Meifeng asleep at home. Li Delin was drunk, and it was too late for Zhu Meifeng to wake him.
Liu Wangcai rushed into the kitchen, grabbed a knife, and slashed Li Delin's neck. Li Delin tried to run while grabbing his clothes, but Liu Wangcai stabbed him five times. When Zhu Meifeng tried to stop him, he knocked her out with a kick, chased after Li Delin, and delivered a final blow to his back near the door, leaving him motionless.
Then Liu Wangcai cleaned up the room, bandaged his hand, and seeing Zhu Meifeng still unconscious, wrapped her in a bedsheet, carried her to Lantai Village, and detained her there while he pondered his next move to clear himself of suspicion.
Around 11:00 p.m. that night, Wang Chengjuan heard noises from Liu Wangcai's house but after calling out a couple of times and getting no response, she did not go to check. She believed Liu Wangcai must have had a confrontation with Zhu Meifeng. After all, she had always been jealous of Zhu Meifeng, who despite being married and having children, still had people treat her so well. How could that not make her envious?
On the night of the 24th, Liu Wangcai, carrying the unconscious Zhu Meifeng, returned to his home. He hung her from the roof beam to make it look like a suicide and made a further inspection of the scene. Having been an auxiliary police officer for a year, he had some experience with crime scenes, which made things look like a clear-cut case of suicide.
He climbed out through the rear window into Wang Chengjuan's house, found a pitchfork to close the window, but because it was so dark, he failed to notice that the window had not been properly closed. After returning the pitchfork to Wang Chengjuan's house, she discovered him. He gave Wang Chengjuan money and asked her to go to his house on the 27th morning.
Wang Chengjuan pressed him about what had happened, but Liu Wangcai threatened her, saying that if she wanted to stay alive, she'd better not know too much or she would end up like Zhu Meifeng. Scared, Wang Chengjuan kept quiet, then he returned to Ludong City overnight, discarding the gloves and his clothes in a trash bin at the train station."
Listening to Zhao Xinli's narration, Zhou Ning nodded repeatedly until he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Wang Chengjuan is dumb enough to escape death. Otherwise, she wouldn't have survived Liu Wangcai's blind rage. He managed to stage a crime scene that looked like a suicide. This was not a crime of passion, but one that had been premeditated."
"Yeah, the boss said the same thing. Liu Wangcai can't escape the death penalty, but it remains to be seen how the judge will sentence Wang Chengjuan. It's hard to delineate. Alright, I better hurry and deliver these materials before we close. My life is hard; I can never rest."
Zhou Ning chuckled and patted the reports on Zhao Xinli's back.
"Quit your complaining, and hurry up."
After seeing off Zhao Xinli, Zhou Ning truly relaxed. The culprits in this case weren't hard to find, but the evidence was not easy to uncover. If it hadn't been for a second visit to the scene, this case would have remained at a standstill.
Shaking his head, Zhou Ning began to shut down the computer connected to the bulky monitor.
Just then, his phone rang, flashing the words "second uncle." Zhou Ning paused, suddenly recalling the previous weekend when he went back home, his grandfather had twisted his ankle. Could it still be bothering him?
...
[1] Facial Reconstruction Technology:
Proposed as early as 1958 by Soviet anthropologist Professor Grasimov, this technique rests on the belief that, based on the skull of the deceased, it is possible to conduct a three-dimensional scan using a computer. Then, through a scientific measurement of soft tissue thickness, one can proceed with a three-dimensional reconstruction that accurately reproduces the person's appearance when they were alive. What's even more amazing is that this technique can even precisely measure the person's hair quantity, which is truly astonishing.