The decomposition of a body starts the moment the heart stops beating.

In the eyes of a forensic doctor, a decomposing body can be further divided into several detailed stages.

"The body is in the active decomposition phase and shows signs of progressing to the later stages of decomposition."

On the autopsy table, the body was arranged in a large "X" shape. Wang Changjiang was examining the extent of decomposition, while Shen Yan was taking notes beside him.

The heavy rain outside showed no signs of stopping, only intensifying.

Thanks to everyone's efforts, the body had been moved from the banks of the Bailan River to the autopsy table of the Criminal Investigation Team.

As Old Bai and Yang Sen had said, once free from the cleansing rain, the odor of the decomposing body was indeed quite overwhelming.

Lu Chuan and Liu Guodong were still conducting the final examination by the riverbank, while Wang Changjiang and Shen Yan were performing a preliminary external examination of the body here.

The first determination was the degree of decomposition.

If Lu Chuan were in the autopsy room, he would have reached the same conclusion as Wang Changjiang.

Decomposition begins with a fresh corpse and, as time passes, and with changes in the external environment, the internal environment of the body also changes continually.

A fresh corpse is the first stage of decomposition.

This concept of freshness is different from what we usually mean by fresh vegetables, fresh air, fresh pork, etc.

This freshness is similar to steaming cow dung, an unusual kind of fresh.

Generally, both crime scene investigators and forensic doctors prefer to encounter this type of body.

A fresh corpse generally doesn't have any peculiar odors.

Nor are there strange other organisms that can proliferate within the body to an extent visible to the naked eye.

The presence of rigor mortis during this period makes it relatively easier to determine the time of death.

There is no fixed standard for how long a body can remain in the first stage.

This is determined by the external environment surrounding the body.

In a high temperature, high humidity outdoor location, a fresh corpse will not remain for more than 48 hours.

However, in extremely low temperatures, such as in polar regions, the body can maintain its death appearance permanently.

In hot, extremely dry, and rain-scarce deserts or gobi areas, the body may gradually dry out and become a mummy.

This has nothing to do with the body's condition, it's mainly due to the effects of the external environment.

The target body is currently in the third stage of decomposition.

It has bypassed the two important stages of fresh and bloated decomposition.

It directly entered an active decay state and has already progressed to the late stage of active decomposition.

The so-called active decomposition does not mean the body has regained activity or can move.

Instead, it refers to the maggots and other parasites within the body that can now move freely, breaking through the skin and becoming visible to the naked eye.

"The decomposition is severe, with no livor mortis remaining on the exposed arms and face."

Wang Changjiang continued the examination, while Shen Yan meticulously recorded the forensic findings.

Wang Changjiang did not proceed with a more in-depth examination of the body but made a general assessment of the body's condition through visual observation.

Liu Guodong had already communicated that they should wait for them to return from the Bailan River to conduct a joint surface examination of the body.

"Shen, please measure the height, arm length, and other basic data."

"Alright."

While Wang Changjiang and Shen Yan conducted the basic surface examination of the body, Liu Guodong and Lu Chuan continued to get soaked outside by the Bailan River.

The rain fell harder and harder, drenching them both completely.

"Master, I found nothing here."

Lu Chuan, along with three others, began examining three directions radiating from the center point where the body was found.

Towards the river's direction was the rushing Bailan River, white and vast, with nothing to find.

Lu Chuan was responsible for the direction towards the west, having gone over a hundred meters out.

At this distance, contact could only be maintained by walkie-talkie amidst the heavy rain.

Ssssshhh.

After a weak static noise, Liu Guodong's voice came through the walkie-talkie: "Nothing found in the east either."

"Old Bai, Yang Sen, how about on your side?"

At the scene, Lu Chuan was leading the search to the west of the body, Liu Guodong to the east, and Yang Sen and Old Bai were searching in the south, forming a fan-shaped search area.

Because their search area was larger than that of Lu Chuan and Liu Guodong, the two worked together.

"No discoveries."

That was Old Bai's voice.

"With this heavy rain, everything's been washed away."

Yang Sen's shoes were filled with water, causing him to kick at a black plastic bag on the ground with a splash.

Bang!

The plastic bag was lifted and thrown into the distance.

Hmm?

Is there something inside?

Yang Sen jogged over and looked at the distance between the spot and the riverbank, roughly about fifty meters away now.

"What's up, Old Yang? Did you find anything?"

Old Bai was about thirty meters from Yang Sen, yelling through the curtain of rain as he saw the black plastic bag Yang Sen had flicked up.

"Seems like there's something, let me check!"

Shouting through the rain, Yang Sen crouched to examine the black plastic bag he had just kicked.

Though it was pouring rain and he was already soaked, Yang Sen, a seasoned crime scene investigator for over ten years, still maintained caution.

Such caution was born from the lessons of blood and fire.

Three years ago, a rookie from the Criminal Investigation Team in another province, also conducting a crime scene investigation.

At a murder scene, he handled a black plastic bag without gloves, thinking it unrelated to the case.

The young man assumed it was an ordinary black plastic bag, with no significant connection to the crime scene.

Seeing it blocking his way, he casually picked it up to discard it.

As a result, a sharp blade fell out when he picked it up.

Excitedly, he picked up the blade, shouting he'd found a key lead.

The lead was critical; the knife in the black plastic bag was indeed the murder weapon.

However, the young man made a fatal mistake.

Because he was not wearing gloves at the time, his fingerprints remained on the knife handle.

Coincidentally, there were no other fingerprints on the weapon besides his.

How to explain this?

Did the young man, in his urgency, leave fingerprints on the weapon by not following crime scene procedures and wearing gloves?

Or did he have a connection to the case, using this as a way to cover up his careless handling of the weapon?

Or was there a possibility he knew the killer and might have destroyed evidence?

His colleagues at the crime scene investigation office and the police team believed him, but would the judge?

Similar cases have been specifically reported by the ministry.

Five years ago, there was another case.

If the case three years ago was only about solving an investigation, the one from five years ago was about a life lost.

Five years ago, another crime scene investigator from another province found a plastic bag at the crime scene.

Seeing it bulging, he casually grabbed it, only to be pricked by a sharp object inside, leading to severe exposure after bleeding.

It was later discovered that the black plastic bag contained used needles from intravenous drug use by the deceased.

The victim had died from excessive drug use and was a carrier of a highly contagious virus.

Unfortunately, the crime scene investigator was infected by the virus due to that exposure.

His life was essentially ruined.

That's why Yang Sen, after first spotting the black plastic bag, gave it a nudge with his toe, rather than touching it with his hands.

Yang Sen was wearing explosion-proof shoes issued by the police, which were of high quality and typically impervious to punctures.

Carefully, using a broken twig, Yang Sen punctured the black plastic bag.

Plop.

The contents of the bag fell into the surrounding water.

Yang Sen focused his gaze, his pupils dilating!

"Old Bai! Quick, come here!"

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