Chapter 268 A Half-Truth, Half-Fake Deception

Captain Li returned quickly. No one knew what method he used, but when he went out, he was perfectly fine, but when he came back, his hair was a mess, and his once neat coat was covered in white dust.

It's like... we just came back from somewhere.

However, Bai Nuo and Liu Yanan cleverly pretended not to see Captain Li's disheveled state, and decided that they could take action as soon as they were sure.

"I need some clay. I don't know what kind we have here. For example, the clay used in ceramic factories, and the clay used in paper mills should also have some good adhesive properties. If it's really hard to find, yellow clay or Guanyin clay will also work."

Since maintaining that level for a long time isn't necessary anyway, Bai Nuo isn't picky as long as she can complete the task.

“We don’t have any ceramics factories or paper mills in Kaiyuan City, but we do have a brick and tile factory. I’ll go ask about it first. If all else fails, I’ll go to the countryside to find yellow clay and Guanyin clay. That’s not difficult.”

"Then I'll have to trouble Captain Li. Try your best to get it to me before tomorrow morning."

"Comrade Bai, you're too kind. We should be thanking you more. Don't worry, just stay here. If you need anything, just ask Lao Qiu. We'll take some people to find clay right now."

Captain Li understood the principle that everyone has their own expertise. Although he found Bai Nuo's request strange, he didn't ask any further questions. After all, she was in their station, and Lao Qiu was there with her. There was nothing else to worry about. As long as they could help the girl get the portrait, that would be the greatest help they could receive.

Captain Li confirmed that only clay would be needed, then turned and quickly walked out.

Bai Nuo borrowed a white coat from forensic doctor Qiu, put it on, wore a new pair of forensic gloves, and also borrowed a set of forensic doctor Qiu's dissection tools before starting work.

She held one of the heads on a waterproof sheet, turned around, dragged a chair over, sat down, and began to scrape off the charred black marks from the head bit by bit, holding a sharp scalpel in her hand.

This work can't be rushed. You have to scrape it little by little along the grain of the skin, and you can't scrape off several layers of skin at once. The saying "slow and steady wins the race" is especially true here.

By scraping away layer by layer of skin and flesh, the skin texture that can still be seen beneath the skin is identified. Then, by following these textures, the focus of facial muscle tissue is found, thereby determining the original thickness of the face.

As a seasoned forensic pathologist, Qiu's daily work involves dealing with all sorts of corpses, and he has become accustomed to it.

But when he saw a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl holding a scalpel, holding a charred human head in one hand, scraping away the burnt flesh bit by bit, he couldn't help but shudder.

this……

How many heads must one have shaved to be so skilled!

"Comrade Liu, may I ask about Comrade Bai's real age?" Forensic doctor Qiu reassured himself, thinking that maybe the young lady was just a bit petite and looked young, but was actually already twenty-five or twenty-six years old and an experienced technician in the public security department.

Liu Yanan glanced over expressionlessly, taking a brief look at the forensic doctor's expression. Not noticing anything strange or unusual, she then replied, "Nuonuo is sixteen years old this year. What's wrong?"

"He really is sixteen!" Forensic doctor Qiu looked at him with a skeptical expression, opened his mouth in shock and incomprehension, and finally shook his head silently: "No, it's nothing. I just think that Comrade Bai is so young, not only is his painting skill outstanding, but his courage is also so extraordinary. It's really admirable."

Liu Yanan turned her head and glanced at the little girl who was seriously scraping her bone. She pursed her lips and, in order not to let others think that her sister was a little pervert, gave a half-truthful explanation.

"Nuonuo's parents were martyrs who sacrificed their lives on the battlefield, and her family was full of loyal martyrs. She grew up in a military compound when she was young. In the early years, there were constant internal and external wars, and she often saw many wounded uncles and aunts. Naturally, she was braver than girls from ordinary families."

Later, she learned to paint from her elders. She heard that only by interacting with many people could one paint more of life's myriad aspects—the sordid, the terrifying, the mutilated, the living, the dead—she'd probably seen quite a few of those. A few burnt heads naturally wouldn't frighten her.

"So that's how it is!" After hearing this, the awkward feeling in Qiu's heart instantly disappeared, leaving only a deep sense of respect.

The daughter of a soldier, and orphans of martyrs, with her family elders being loyal and brave, grew up surrounded by soldiers who had suffered various battle wounds. Naturally, her courage and perspective were different from those of girls from ordinary families.

Liu Yanan glanced indifferently at the forensic doctor whose face was full of admiration, then silently turned her head to look in the other direction, afraid that she would lose control of her expression.

This guy actually believed it!

Little did she know why her best friend's adopted sister, who looked so delicate and gentle, was so bold. However, she had seen Bai Nuo's information: her parents were martyrs, her father was from the Bai family in Guangdong Province, and her mother was from the Wei family in Shanghai. Both families were full of martyrs, so what she said wasn't exactly a lie, just not in great detail.

As for the rest, that's pure deception, but it's reasonable, at least it won't make the people in this branch think Bai Nuo's actions are strange.

Liu Yanan knows the criminal police all too well. Arousing their curiosity is not a good thing. They may not have time to think about it now, and they may investigate out of curiosity, but once the case is over, who knows if they will remember this matter?

Therefore, it's best to half-jokingly dispel all their curiosity and turn it into respect, so that there won't be any further developments.