National Forensic Doctor

Chapter 1352: Chapter 1278: Catching Insects

Jiang Yuan walked around the rubber plantation.

The interior of the rubber plantation is very comfortable; the tall rubber trees provide shade and repel mosquitoes. The ground has been repeatedly cleared by workers using tools like chainsaws, making a stroll in the plantation similar to a walk in the park on dry days.

Especially when the wind blows, even the scant heat is dispersed, allowing one to almost empathize with the feelings of the Dutch back in the day.

One body was discovered within the plantation itself, while the remaining two were concealed within the tree clusters at the edge of the plantation.

If the second body was relatively concealed, the first was essentially in the open—not only was it discovered in an exposed state, but it can be assumed that the murder also occurred in an exposed manner.

By serial killer standards, this killer’s level is not considered high, probably just below average. Their methods were too weak; although they hid the second body among the trees at the edge of the plantation, it was not long after the first murder had occurred, and all victims were plantation workers. In the tense atmosphere at the time, half a day of the victim being out of contact led to a search and eventual police notification.

Accordingly, the police intervened quickly, leading to the swift discovery of the second body.

Needless to say, resorting to body concealment at such a stage was evidently a bit outdated, making its quick discovery unsurprising.

Regarding the third body, only the location of concealment changed, appearing more clever, yet the essential nature remained unchanged—a plantation worker was missing again, prompting alarm, police reports, and police station reactions.

Regarding the choice of targets and methods of concealment, it’s clear this figure is still some distance from being a serial killer.

A true serial killer would not be so adaptive to the environment.

They would act more according to conscience rather than gain—the choice to target plantation employees seems too pragmatic, lacking the freedom of a serial killer and losing the elusive nature that makes investigations difficult.

However, after Jiang Yuan walked through the crime scene and surveyed the plantation, he somewhat understood the killer’s choices.

The ground of the plantation is relatively hard, with grass and tree roots intertwined below, making digging difficult—this can be said to be a common burial predicament in tropical areas. Regardless of how soft the ground seems, plant roots grow everywhere, and the deeper one digs, the more obstructive these intertwined roots become. Digging a hole big enough for a human is more exhausting than clearing half an acre in a temperate zone.

Similarly, the tundra has frozen soil, posing equal digging difficulties, but snow and leaves in the tundra, along with fewer scavenging animals, make simply placing a body in a snow hole more effective than a tropical burial.

Furthermore, He’s Rubber Garden was established long ago; daily cleaning keeps the plantation tidy, yet the woodland outside consists entirely of trees over a century old.

These plants have lived together for hundreds of years, akin to old neighbors with long-standing grudges. The scene reveals roots gripping branches, trunks mounted on other trees’ necks, branches jabbing into other trees’ armpits...

Concealing a body within this woodland is not easy; if one can walk a few steps in and find a suitable spot to stuff a body, that’s considered quite good.

In fact, the killer did make an effort, as evident by chainsaw marks when the third body was discovered...

The Dama Police Force even followed the chainsaw leads for further investigation. However, chainsaws can have interchangeable blades, so apart from increasing suspicion of plantation personnel, no further progress was made.

"Catch bugs," Jiang Yuan commanded as he stood at the crime scene of the third murder, instructing Shen Yaowei and others.

"Yes," Shen Yaowei, accustomed to hard labor, rolled up his sleeves and got to work without complaint.

The tropical environment is unlike the temperate zone; two steps in and mosquitoes and beetles surrounded Shen Yaowei.

Shen Yaowei grimaced silently, only swinging the fly net in his hand.

"Continue," Jiang Yuan waved dismissively, coldly sending his soldiers to deplete the enemy like a medieval knight.

Wei Shikan opted for math, in his mind this time.

Wei Shikan quietly approached Jiang Yuan, whispering, "We seem to have the crime scene photos, and the earlier forensic doctor captured many insects. Do we still need to catch them? Was the previous collection improper?"

The initial forensic doctor indeed captured a large quantity of insects and eggs, especially for the second and third cases, being an expert within the police force and confronting a major case ensuring comprehensive evidence collection.

Yet Jiang Yuan merely shook his head, stating, "The insects they caught previously were just for routine business. Fresh bodies don’t rely on insects to determine the time of death."

"Are you planning to use insects to determine the time of death?"

"Auxiliary, mainly to understand the local insect varieties and forms," Jiang Yuan explained briefly.

Local insects differ from those in temperate regions, with particularly quick iterations. Comparatively, temperate insects resemble Spanish manufacturing, while tropical insects resemble Yiwu manufacturing.

If evaluating daily, the textbook insect guide suffices, but for a more precise analysis, using typical examples isn’t adequate.

For instance, when humans reproduce some deliver at 32 weeks, some at 30, others at 28, with habitual miscarriages or overdue Cesarean sections. Surely insects share this variation? noveldrama

Some insects complete a cycle within days during reproduction in a corpse, lacking incubators for premature birth or Cesarean sections for overage.

In a continuous premature lineage, time discrepancies become striking.

Furthermore, the insect guidebooks are far below medical guide standards. Despite ample human research samples, textbook’s "typical" cases are scarce, and all scenarios aside from textbook typical cases can appear simultaneously.

This can be attributed to insufficient updating in textbook knowledge, significant human variations, or the author’s background in a medical doctorate program, but the disconnect between textbook knowledge and reality persists.

Books can deviate, and so can insect guides.

Thus, in practice, hospital doctors rely on experience, while forensic doctors expand search ranges or conduct their own experiments.

Ultimately, while authors can write carelessly, practitioners genuinely require knowledge.

Jiang Yuan thought this way, and hence commanded his subordinates to act accordingly.

Shen Yaowei and others collected insects over the course of a full day and night.

The reason for a day and night collection is due to daytime hosting day insects, while nighttime hosts nocturnal ones. Moreover, when these bodies were discovered, they had essentially been overnight.

The next day, Jiang Yuan selected several typical and significant insect species to hatch busily.

At this time, Liu Jinghui completed the first round of transcript reading, glanced at Jiang Yuan’s insect-bearing activities, and humorously quipped, "This case is over half a year old; cultivating these insects now is akin to carving a boat for a sword."

"More mobile insects exhibit commonality, while those with higher degrees of deviation localize more. Isn’t that logical?" Jiang Yuan glanced at Liu Jinghui, presenting a notion of logic.

Liu Jinghui’s eyes lit up with understanding: "There’s some substance here."

"Common fly species often found on corpses have clear breeding rates and times due to their movements; we’ve grown familiar. Instead, certain competitive local species rarely seen in Shan Nan require focused consideration."

"Competitive species?"

"Ants, like weaver ants, may transport fly eggs or attack and consume maggots. Consequently, the egg-laying time and transformation frequency of familiar blue bottle fly may alter. Also, hornet species, beetles, mantises, dragonflies might prey on corpse flies, especially during their vulnerable maggot phase, demanding differentiation between initial arrivals and subsequent invaders..."

Jiang Yuan simultaneously explained while working.

Liu Jinghui’s furrow deepened with concern: "You didn’t deal so complexity before; is it due to unfamiliar territories rendering prior techniques less applicable?"

"My aim is to refine the timeline, simplifying suspect identification based on transcript timestamps," Jiang Yuan presented a direct solution.

Liu Jinghui stared dumbfounded momentarily, then slightly touched, turning to see Shen Yaowei and associates curiously observing. Furrow deepening, she declared: "Jiang Yuan’s command stands, retrieve more insects immediately!"