"What? That Liu Siya is in cahoots with the scientist?"
"En, of course. That's one possibility. Or, Liu Siya isn't with him but is trying to help us. However, if she's playing a trick or has her own agenda, the situation becomes very different."
Su Yaxin was right. She continued, "Ordinary people wouldn't be able to tell these writings are printed. This means Liu Siya has some research in this area. If I'm not mistaken, she tampered with them. She must have guessed that only the police would have a chance to discover it. Therefore, I think this Liu Siya is not simple!"
"This is really a headache. I hope someone like her isn't part of the culprits, or we're truly in trouble." He Xin gave an awkward, wry smile, her hands still on the keyboard. She was chewing on chocolate, something that Dao Zhiyong must have given her.
Seeing our spirits low, Dao Zhiyong took out a lot of snacks. This time, it wasn't just betel nuts and chocolate, but also White Rabbit creamy candies! And, cough, cough, Tanghulu!
I quite liked the latter, as it brought back good childhood memories. Dao Zhiyong distributed snacks to everyone and encouraged us, "Don't get discouraged, there will always be a way!"
"Monkey, you're the only one who can stay optimistic at any time!" I couldn't help but retort.
"It's fine, we'll find a solution after eating some snacks!"
"..." I didn't know what to say, but everyone slowly started unwrapping their snacks, as if they really believed Dao Zhiyong.
I sometimes wondered if Dao Zhiyong's family sold snacks. Otherwise, where did he get so many? They must have been unsellable at home, nearing their expiry date, and he was treating us to them as a consolation prize?!
Thinking this, I seriously looked at the production date on the creamy candy wrapper I was eating. Fortunately, it was still three months from expiring. All good!
I couldn't see the date on the Tanghulu, but sniffing it, it seemed fine.
As everyone ate, Su Yaxin suddenly said, "As long as we find Liu Siya, I believe this case will have a breakthrough. Everyone, stop eating!"
"Everyone to your posts!"
I instructed, and everyone went back to their tasks. I kept Su Yaxin behind, intending to get to know her better, this newcomer.
"It seems you learned a lot in school. Your method of examining writings is different from Dao Zhiyong's!"
"Indeed it is. Mine is scientific analysis, unlike Dao Zhiyong's pseudo-divine method. I'll tell you a secret: besides this job, he also does fortune-telling online."
"Fortune-telling? Like character guessing?"
"En, it should be called character guessing. If you have worries, you can ask him to guess a character, and perhaps things will get better."
"Oh, I'll see about that. Alright, Yaxin, could you research these writings again and see what kind of printer was used? Because at the scene, we..."
"That would require going back to the document examination room."
After Su Yaxin left, I wandered around my office. It felt rather dull, so I decided to check on the progress of Monkey and Yaxin. To my surprise, I found a notice posted outside the handwriting examination office door: "To enter our territory, one bag of White Rabbit creamy candy per day, 500 yuan red envelope per year! For red envelopes, there's a QR code on the side!"
I chose not to ignore this childish prank. This was definitely Monkey's mischief. Having to comply with such rules to enter an office would be too embarrassing for me, the director. So, I opened the door directly.
Seeing me arrive, Dao Zhiyong gave me a sideways glance. "One violation of the rules, a fine of 1000!"
"Oh, come on. Do you think the provincial department is yours? Alright, how is your research going?"
"It's okay. Director He, come over here, never mind this monkey!"
I went to Su Yaxin's side. She was holding a scanner and working on the computer, using modern technology as expected.
Examining the data, Su Yaxin compared a series of computer outputs to identify many printer nozzles. She explained to me, "There are many types of printers. The commonly used ones on the market can be broadly categorized into dot matrix printers, inkjet printers, laser printers, thermal printers, thermal transfer printers, and so on. The countless nozzles on it spray countless tiny ink droplets to form the pixels in an image. Based on these dense strokes, it should be caused by laser technology. This type of printer can be traced back to the 1960s. As for the brand, it should be HP."
"You can analyze the specific brand of printer from the strokes?" I asked.
"Of course. Don't forensic investigators analyze shoe brands from footprints?"
"Oh, it seems to be the same principle. I wonder where Liu Siya printed this document. She doesn't have such a printer at home. If we confirm this, we might be able to determine where she's been based on the printer."
"We can't possibly search for every printer in this city, there are too many, it's completely impractical. It's the same as footprints, and footprints have sizes. For this printer, I can at most pinpoint its price range. This was printed by an HP printer costing around 2000 yuan. Different priced printers have different printing speeds and ink release rates. More expensive ones can release ink more precisely, preventing irregular diffusion of the text. Of course, ordinary printers can also achieve this to some extent, but if you observe carefully, there will still be some halo diffusion. Otherwise, people wouldn't buy more expensive printers. This is a process in document examination. All I can tell you is this."
Su Yaxin confidently presented her professional theories and insights. I nodded. After all, in modern society, not every case is related to document examination. Her ability to provide so many details about her findings was already excellent.
After I praised her, I asked her and Dao Zhiyong to continue their efforts. However, Dao Zhiyong waved his hand. "Don't worry, I won't mess around. But you're paying for tonight's late-night snack, otherwise, I'll have no motivation to continue, Director He!"
"Eat, eat, eat. All you think about is eating. Why don't you learn from Su Yaxin, how professional she is, always thinking about work? If you continue like this, you'll end up like Gao Mingqiang from before!"