"However, I have always believed that the original scene is the source of all evidence."

"I think it's necessary to re-examine it."

As he spoke, he looked at Wang Yang, "Mr. Wang, is the original scene still intact? Has it been disturbed?"

"We have protected it carefully,"

Wang Yang immediately got up, "Except for removing the body, everything else remains the same."

"Let's go, let's see the scene now!"

Forty minutes later, four police cars stopped at the foot of the forest.

As soon as they got out of the car, the fresh scent of grass and trees greeted them.

The forest was alive with the sounds of birds and insects, making it hard to imagine a crime had occurred here.

Wan looked at the steep mountain path and clicked his tongue, "This place is too remote. The killer chose to dump the body here intending for it to rot away, huh?"

Jiang An squatted down, picked up a handful of soil, and sniffed it, "The soil is moist and the vegetation is dense, indeed a good place to hide a body."

"But have you noticed, although this path is steep, there are obvious trample marks. It suggests people come here often."

Wang Yang added, "This mountain is a famous hiking route nearby, quite a few hikers come on weekends."

He then added, "We investigated and found no missing hikers recently."

"The deceased wasn't carrying an ID or a phone?"

Jiang An stood up and patted the dirt off his hands.

"Nothing at all!"

Chen Biao sighed, "Apart from a worn-out coat, there wasn't even a pocket."

"We suspect either the killer took them or nearby scavengers picked them up."

"Would scavengers take things from a dead person?"

Wan looked astonished.

"For survival, what wouldn't they dare to do?"

Li Jianguo snorted, "A few years ago, in one case, the deceased's shoes were taken off."

As they talked, the group continued up the mountain path.

The path was more treacherous than expected, covered with gravel and overgrown with weeds.

After about 20 minutes, a circle of white police tape appeared ahead, alongside a "Do Not Enter" sign.

"Here we are!"

Wang Yang pointed to the area inside the tape, "The body was lying under that pine tree."

Jiang An crossed the tape and squatted by the pine tree to inspect it closely.

Marks from the investigation were still visible on the ground, with trampled grass surrounding the area.

Within his sight, there was a strip of fibrous material on the pine tree branches.

He looked around and noticed a stark contrast with the leaves and branches.

Moreover, there were only segments, and the edges had some fluffy material.

He then asked in a deep voice, "Mr. Wang, have you checked the treetop situation?"

"The treetop, yes we checked, nothing unusual." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

At this moment, Chen Biao also remarked, "Exactly, we didn't find anything out of the ordinary."

Having heard this, Jiang An just nodded.

He then said, "Please pass me a pair of gloves, foot covers, and a mask."

Seeing Jiang An's determined look, Chen Biao immediately bent over and grabbed a pair of gloves and foot covers.

At this point, the other police officers weren't idle either, examining the surrounding area again.

Li Jianguo, meanwhile, had found something in a nearby bush, "There's a hole here, as if something dug it!"

Everyone gathered to see a hole about thirty centimeters in diameter, with fresh soil on the edges, as if it was recently dug.

Wang Yang leaned in to look, seeing nothing but darkness, the hole seemed bottomless.

"Bring a flashlight!"

Wang Yang said, putting on gloves from his backpack, "Let me see what's inside."

Li handed over the flashlight, and its beam shone into the hole.

After peering for a few seconds, he suddenly frowned, "There's something inside!"

He cautiously reached in, feeling around for a while, and pulled out an object covered in mud.

Everyone crowded closer, realizing it was an old, worn-out sneaker.

"This shoe..."

Chen Biao's eyes lit up, "It looks like the one missing from the deceased's foot in the photo!"

Wang Yang put the shoe into an evidence bag, "Jiang An's guess was correct, the deceased's shoe was indeed nearby."

After the shoe was brought out, a police officer suddenly asked curiously, "Wait, how did this shoe end up in there?"

"Could someone have hidden it inside?"

Chen Biao clucked his tongue, "Doesn't seem like it. It's more likely that an animal dragged it in."

"Think about it, if someone hid the shoes, why not hide the body too?"

The other officers nodded in agreement after hearing this.

At this moment, Jiang An stood under the pine tree, observing for a long time.

The original state of the crime scene photos appeared in his mind.

Seeing Jiang An so focused, Mr. Wang and Chen Biao instinctively lightened their footsteps, flanking him on either side, afraid of disturbing his thoughts.

The sunlight filtering through the leaves cast a dappled light on the three of them, projecting delicate shadows on the ground.

After all, back in the conference room, the young man's unique perspective and keen insight had already impressed the seasoned criminal investigation captain with over twenty years of experience.

If at first Wang Yang had doubts about those reports and suspected media exaggeration,

now, while gazing at Jiang An's focused profile, the subtly furrowed brows hid eyes sharp as a hawk's.

Wang Yang suddenly realized that this seemingly delicate young man was far from simple.

The maturity and steadiness beyond his years made Wang Yang think of the legendary old detective he met when he first entered the profession.

Outside the caution tape, a group of officers stood on tiptoes, peering over.

A middle-aged man with stubble gently nudged Wan, lowering his voice, "This guy, your deputy captain here looks way too young. Isn't he a VIP's son, here for some gilded experience?"

Wan turned his head at the words, a meaningful smile appearing on his lips.

"Too young?"

"Believe it or not, he's the youngest deputy captain in Jiangcheng Police history. Promoted right after he became official."

He paused, lowering his voice on purpose, "Do you know why?"

Two officers nearby perked up their ears, with one unable to resist interjecting.

"Could it be... he's connected? Strong ties at the top?"

This comment made Wan and Zhang Yean exchange a knowing smile.

Zhang Yean patted the officer's shoulder, "Connected?"

"If you saw how he solves cases, you wouldn't think that way."

"Both parents died young, pure grassroots background, his only 'backer' is his case-solving rate."

"You know that high-profile nationwide serial murder case last year? He led the team and cracked it."

As he spoke, he pulled up a photo on his phone.

"Look at this, it's the key evidence he captured after a 72-hour stakeout."

"Really?"

The two officers widened their eyes, one even taking off his police cap to wipe his forehead.

Having navigated the criminal investigation system for years, they'd met many experts in solving cases.

But someone so young, solving major cases and rising so quickly—it was a first for them.

The other officer laughed skeptically, "Buddy, we're all in this together, tell us the truth."

"These days, without some backing, how can one rise so fast on ability alone?"

He said this while pulling out a pack of cigarettes, his eyes saying "you know what I mean."

At this moment, Wan suddenly said, "Guys, you might have some misconceptions about Mr. Jiang."

He pointed to the figure examining under the pine tree, "See him?"

"He must have found some significant evidence."

"At Jiangcheng Police Station, we call him the 'Walking CT', no clue can escape his eyes."

As if to confirm Wan's words, Jiang An was now crouching under the gnarly pine, his long fingers gently brushing away leaves at the base of the tree.

While others were still puzzled, he stood up, his eagle-like eyes locking onto a nondescript tuft high on the tree trunk.

"Mr. Wan, can we find a ladder nearby?"

Jiang An suddenly spoke, his voice not loud but very clear.

His raised arm drew a sharp arc in the sunlight, pointing towards the tree canopy.

Wang Yang followed his finger, squinting for a long time.

"A ladder? In this wilderness..."

He turned to Chen Biao and said, "Should we get the village secretary to help find one?"

Jiang An had already quickly assessed the terrain and shook his head, "That would take too much time."

Chen Biao said firmly, "Let's get some guys to give you a boost, you can take a look up there."

"Give me a boost?"

Jiang An looked up in surprise at the densely swaying treetops in the wind.

"Mr. Jiang, is there something special up there?"