Chapter 1070 - 548: The Intuition of Two Criminal Investigation Captains

Under the expectant gaze of the crowd, Mr. Li adeptly and skillfully extracted the fingerprint in its entirety.

He held up the transparent card with the fingerprint and turned to Chen Guan, "Mr. Chen, see—although the edges of this fingerprint have some wear and the lines are slightly incomplete, the core area’s feature points show good clarity and stability. It should meet the identification criteria without much trouble."

Mr. Chen took the fingerprint card and lowered his head to examine it closely.

As his fingertips touched the card, his emotions couldn’t help but surge.

If this fingerprint, extracted from the excavator’s cabin, could be matched to Li Xu, it would signify a significant breakthrough—it would directly prove that Li Xu had been inside this cramped driving space.

And this fact would be crucial in establishing a connection between Li Xu and the perpetrator of this case.

Thinking of this, a wave of excitement, mixed with anticipation and urgency, surged within him.

He immediately raised his head and spoke decisively, "In that case, we must not delay, let’s head back to the bureau immediately to extract Li Xu’s fingerprint sample for comparison."

Just as he finished speaking, Qin Feng, standing by, couldn’t contain his excitement either, his face breaking into a smile, "Mr. Chen, Director Hou, I don’t know why, but I suddenly smell something—a scent of the case being solved! Haha, it seems we’re not far from the truth."

"Solving the case is inevitable," Chen Guan took over, speaking with certainty, but his gaze shifted to Director Hou, and his words carried deeper implication.

"Whether it will be resolved tonight depends on the upcoming comparison results."

"Director Hou, if this fingerprint match is successful and locks down the key evidence, tonight we might have to work late into the night."

"Not only do we have to analyze the case in depth, but I think we should also prepare the celebratory glasses in advance, not stop until we’re drunk, drink till dawn, what do you say?"

Director Hou’s gaze never left the fingerprint card, and at this moment, his lips curved into a composed smile, "As long as it leads to a substantial breakthrough in the case and the truth coming to light sooner, not to mention late-night discussions, even continuous fighting is worth it."

However, amidst the optimistic and vibrant atmosphere, Jiang An remained relatively calm.

He gazed intently at the highly anticipated fingerprint, with different thoughts swirling inside him.

In his view, even if this fingerprint is intact and the match successful, it only establishes one fact: Li Xu had entered the cabin.

But this is still a long way from proving he operated the crucial lever, thus linking him to the core actions of the case.

Moreover, as far as he knows, Li Xu and the original excavator driver were friends.

Among friends, entering each other’s vehicle cabin, sitting around, touching the controls, is quite common.

It’s like finding your fingerprint on your friend’s car window, and then your friend unfortunately dies. Can this fingerprint alone directly associate you with the case?

Clearly, that’s not certain.

For a stranger, such physical evidence might have significant directionality; but within the context of familiar relationships, its probative value can greatly diminish, requiring stronger corroborative evidence to support it.

However, seeing his colleagues’ spirits high and immersed in the joy of an imminent breakthrough, Jiang An did not immediately dampen their enthusiasm.

He knew well that in investigative work, morale and team confidence are equally precious.

Raising doubts at this moment might disrupt the rhythm and affect everyone’s current focus and drive.

Moreover, in criminal investigation practice, there are many variables; if the fingerprint comparison succeeds, combined with interrogation strategies applying pressure, causing Li Xu’s psychological defenses to loosen and confess, is not entirely impossible.

In this field, no clue should be completely dismissed, and all possibilities need to be given room for consideration.

Therefore, he chose to keep his concerns to himself, merely observing silently, ready to make a judgment based on more comprehensive evidence in the subsequent phases.

Half an hour later, the entire team returned in a grand fashion to the criminal investigation unit.

By now, Li Xu had been placed in the interrogation room.

As soon as everyone returned to the bureau, they headed straight for the interrogation room.

Technician Mr. Li swiftly prepared to extract Li Xu’s fingerprints.

Seeing so many people pouring in, Li Xu’s face was full of resignation and confusion, saying, "Does it really take so many people to interrogate just me? I’ve long said that I’m innocent, and I really don’t understand why you’ve pinpointed me."

"Don’t say too much yet, just cooperate with our procedure."

Li Xu glanced at Mr. Li taking out the extraction tools and immediately asked, "Extracting fingerprints? Did they find my fingerprints on the deceased?

Even if so, that’s normal—we were often together, pushing each other or touching could leave marks."

"Well, it seems you have quite a grasp of legal terms and evidence correlations, explaining it quite simply." Qin Feng stepped forward, pointing at him with his finger, a look of surprise flashing across his face.

He really didn’t expect a regular citizen to come out with an argument close to criminal investigation science.

Mr. Li had already begun his work, but Li Xu suddenly got excited, "I’ve watched Hong Kong dramas like ’Untraceable Evidence’ and ’Forensic Heroes’; I roughly know some of your technical methods.

But let me tell you, don’t even think about framing me! If you falsely accuse me, I’ll definitely file a complaint when I get out.

Hong Kong has an Independent Commission Against Corruption, and although we don’t have the same-named institution here, there are plenty of departments monitoring you, so you better not play any tricks on me!"