Free Web NovelChapter 113: Chapter 112: How did she come here? [First Update]_1
May 4, 2011 17:02
The backyard of the city police station.
With the sound of screeching brakes, two police cars stopped in front of the technical department.
Zhou Ning and his team hopped out of the cars; Mr. Sun brought down a case with him while Mr. Zhao dashed out of the car and ran straight to a trash bin to vomit. Xu Dayuan handed a bottle of mineral water to a detective, who went to check on Mr. Zhao.
Mr. Zhao was already pale, and Zhou Ning held him steady.
"How come you’re carsick now?"
Mr. Zhao waved his hand dismissively.
"It’s not carsickness. I’ve been overthinking things. The more I think, the more my stomach churns. You guys go ahead, Doctor Lu and the others are probably already there; I’ll catch up after a moment."
Zhou Ning nodded, smiled at the detective helping Mr. Zhao, and then quickly headed up to the third floor. Just as he reached the forensic medicine research office, he heard Doctor Lu’s laughter.
"Doctor Lu, you’ve arrived?"
Seeing Zhou Ning and Xu Dayuan enter, Doctor Lu stood up happily, grabbing both their hands and shaking them vigorously.
"Finally, I’ve been waiting for you guys to show up. But, you’ve got a case already as soon as you arrived?"
Xu Dayuan felt slightly embarrassed. Although Zhou Ning was the lead developer of the software, it was Qindao University that funded the project, and calling them over with just one phone call seemed a bit too much.
"It’s embarrassing to trouble you on the first day of our arrival, so I didn’t dare ask you myself, and had to have Zhou Xiaozhou make the request!"
Doctor Lu waved his hand dismissively, his smile growing even broader.
"That’s not the right way to put it. I’ve been looking forward to your arrival. As for the software, it’s still in the testing phase. You’ve provided us with such great conditions for testing, we’re too happy to be bothered. Why would we dislike it?
Let’s move on to the next step, and forget the formalities and excessive praise. You’re not good at it, and I don’t think it’s necessary either. It makes everyone feel awkward. If you had come and not looked for me, that’s when I would have been upset."
Xu Dayuan threw his head back with laughter and patted Doctor Lu on the shoulder.
"All right, as you wish. The skull has been found; now it’s time to see your team’s expertise!"
Zhou Ning simply smiled and did not join in their conversation, understanding it was a professional exchange he should not intrude on. Just then, the doors to the research office opened, and many people came in carrying equipment, but one familiar figure made Zhou Ning freeze.
Why is she here?
"Mr. Xia?"
Upon turning her head and seeing Zhou Ning’s signature smile, with both dimples as beautiful as ever, Xia Momo asked,
"Aren’t you surprised to see me?"
Zhou Ning nodded, then puzzled, glanced at Doctor Lu as if searching for an answer from him.
"Surprised, yes, but how come you’re here with Doctor Lu? This..."
Zhou Ning’s mind was a bit overwhelmed, as everything seemed too coincidental, as if it had all been arranged in advance. Doctor Lu came over, looking back and forth between Zhou Ning and Xia Momo.
"You know each other?"
"Yes, I learned how to draw from Mr. Xia. The first time I did facial reconstruction for a deceased, I completed it with Mr. Xia. That’s what led to the idea of developing the software."
Doctor Lu looked surprised.
"So, Momo is the Mr. Xia Zhou Xiaozhou has been talking about!"
Seeing Zhou Ning still confused, Xia Momo quickly explained:
"Don’t be so stunned. I’m originally a teacher at Qindao University. I was only seconded by the Education Bureau to substitute for a year, taking over for my cousin who was on maternity leave and guiding her last group of art students. Many people thought I was permanently assigned there, and I never corrected them."
Zhou Ning had an aha moment but still could not quite articulate his array of questions, as it all seemed too convenient, as though it had been prearranged.
"But how did you end up joining the software development team?"
Doctor Lu leaned in.
"I chose her. Although our software has previously reconstructed a human likeness with satisfactory results, I discussed it with Momo’s father, who is also a teacher at Qindao University. Momo was there too and shared her thoughts. I found her input very worthwhile, so we created a ’softened’ version of the software. Today, I wanted to show it to you."
Zhou Ning finally understood. He now remembered that Xia Momo’s father was indeed a teacher at Qindao University, so her involvement was not surprising. He looked towards Xia Momo, feeling somewhat embarrassed for his initial reaction.
"I apologize for being taken aback. Welcome to the team!"
Xia Momo smiled lightly.
"I meant to give you a surprise, not a scare,"
"It’s a surprise!"
Mr. Zhao leaned in, reaching out a hand to Xia Momo from behind Zhou Ning.
"I’m Zhao Xinli, everyone calls me Mr. Zhao. It’s finally a pleasure to meet Mr. Xia in person today, welcome!"
Xia Momo didn’t act coy and shook hands with Mr. Zhao, then she also greeted Xu Dayuan and went straight to help assemble the various equipment. Xu Dayuan glanced at Zhou Ning and nodded towards Xia Momo.
"Did she follow you here?"
Mr. Zhao almost laughed out loud, Zhou Ning quickly shook his head.
"Don’t, Xu Da..."
Xu Dayuan nodded and gestured to his team.
"Mr. Zeng stay, the rest of you withdraw."
It was the first day on the job, and Xu Dayuan was wearing everyone out, but since the military orders were firm, they had to work quickly to solve the case, and there was no time for a period of adjustment.
The box containing the skull was placed on the table, Zhou Ning donned gloves and carefully took it out, with Mr. Zhao already bringing an LED magnifying lamp to Zhou Ning’s side.
The surface of the skull had many blackened areas as well as residual bite marks. Beside the incisors, there were deep canine teeth marks, the signs of a macaque’s gnawing.
As for the grease and other impurities left on the skull, these could be temporarily ignored, after all, removal took time, and considering the pressure cooker and that smell, Zhou Ning was always very averse to it.
As for the method favored by foreigners using small insects to clean the bones, Zhou Ning found it even harder to accept, hoping his team could find an entomologist expert in the future to undertake such work.
"Doctor Lu can start scanning, the deceased’s head has completely skeletonized."
Doctor Lu’s team gathered around, leading a group that included Mr. Qu, and they constantly circled the skull, scanning and taking pictures. Zhou Ning could tell that in just a month, the scanning equipment had improved as well.
It was like a rotating arm with a camera on each end. As the arm rotated above the skull, the photography was complete. Moreover, the current photos were no longer limited to a fixed number, it appeared to be a 360° stereo scan.
Zhou Ning spared a glance at Xia Momo, feeling somehow that this upgrade was related to her. Doctor Lu smiled, raising an eyebrow and introduced to Zhou Ning:
"We’ve improved the photographic method. It’s no longer fixed-angle shots but a 360° surrounding scan, which allows for more accurate analysis of wounds and certain specific bone structures. This was Mr. Xia’s suggestion."
"Not bad!"
Zhou Ning’s reply was very simple, but Doctor Lu and his team didn’t seem to mind. At that moment, Xia Momo and Mr. Qu approached the operating table, and with the data entered, Xia Momo looked towards Zhou Ning.
"Doctor Zhou, can you provide some characteristics of the deceased on your end?"
"The deceased was a male, aged between 70-80 years old, 170-175 centimeters in height, weighing 65-75 kilograms, with osteoporosis, severe degenerative changes in the spine, limited mobility in the lower limbs, and bone cancer.
The middle finger of the right hand was slightly bent outwards, and there was hypertrophy in the finger and wrist joints, but the left hand was in somewhat better condition. Other characteristics cannot be distinguished from the bones."
Doctor Lu paused for a moment, glancing at the skull. freeweɓnovel.cѳm
"So, the deceased is just a skeleton?"
Mr. Zhao grimaced as he came over and waved his hand to explain.
"Not exactly, only the skull is intact as one piece, the rest has been sliced into over three hundred pieces. Most of the skeleton has been found, though there are still some missing parts."
Xia Momo wasn’t scared and, after discussing with Mr. Qu, began inputting various data—shortly, four composite portraits appeared on the big screen. Seeing this improved version of composite status surprised Zhou Ning.
How to put it?
The previous software-combined portraits were clearly fake, with unrealistic skin, lines, and hair, but now, the four pictures on the big screen were photo-realistic at a cold glance, and each picture had some differences.
Xia Momo smiled at Zhou Ning, explaining:
"Considering the age range you gave of 70-80 years, I made a few more comparison pictures, one every five years from 60 to 75. After all, some people renew their identity cards quite early."
Zhou Ning nodded and shifted his gaze from Xia Momo to Mr. Qu.
"Log into the household registration system and start the search!"
Mr. Qu quickly got to work—the search field flickering with images non-stop. Zhou Ning glanced at Mr. Zhao and pointed to his watch.
"It’s been three hours since we sent off for testing before heading to Xinghua City, let’s see if the lab results are out."
Mr. Sun raised his hand, volunteering:
"I’ll go. I was the one who sent it for testing, so it’s better if I retrieve the results. Mr. Zhao went and wouldn’t know who to ask. After all, it’s easy to... well, easy to..."
