WWY Chapter 64

Chapter 64: 3D Printing – Use these photos for three-dimensional modeling…

Chapter 64: 3D Printing – Use these photos for three-dimensional modeling…

Yishi Pan looked at the photos, then at the real object, and finally pointed to the photo of the repaired jade disc, arguing with Tuxi Ling, “Look, the patterns inside the jade disc are exactly the same. How could it be fake? Would I go to all the trouble of repairing a fake jade disc?”

Tuxi Ling stared at the signature on the register and said, “What if the jade disc was swapped out before the photos were taken?”

“Impossible!” Yishi Pan slapped his thigh in anger, emphasizing each word, “I remember the events of that year very clearly. I inspected it after Qiu Na repaired it, and then I personally took this photo. Who could have swapped it? Are you implying that I’m a suspect?”

“I’m not suspecting anyone, but the fact is that there’s a problem with this artifact. The key to our investigation is figuring out which step went wrong!”

“You are suspecting me. Just say it if you suspect me. My conscience is clear!”

The two argued heatedly, their faces red. You Ba weakly raised his hand, “Um, Curator Pan, should we reassemble the fragmented jade disc and compare it with the current object to see if they’re completely identical?”

The two turned their heads simultaneously and asked in unison, “What?”

You Ba pointed to the original six fragments of jade. At that time, they were still inside the glass case in the display cabinet, with a total of four photos taken from different angles.

“Use these photos for three-dimensional modeling and then try 3D printing? Although the 3D print might not show the internal patterns of the jade stone clearly, the shape of the bonded surfaces can be used as a reference.”

Tuxi Ling and Yishi Pan looked at each other, realizing that the other was just as clueless as they were.

You Ba scratched his prominent nose, “There are a few too few photos, but we have a kid in our station who just graduated this year. He’s very good at this kind of thing. How about we let him try?”

With the humble feeling of an outdated old man, Tuxi Ling’s attitude was cautious, “Then, how long will it take?”

“The modeling is the most time-consuming part, but it’s okay, he’s very skilled. It should take about two or three hours.”

After obtaining Curator Pan’s permission, You Ba left with a few photos.

Tuxi Ling firmly believed in his investigation direction, continuing to flip through the register and copying all the artifacts that Qiu Na had handled onto a piece of paper, including the Tang Dynasty incense burner in front of him.

When You Ba returned with the 3D-printed model, the three of them huddled together for a careful comparison, and Yishi Pan was stunned.

“Is this, is this accurate?”

“It’s accurate.”

You Ba vouched, taking out the original and copies of the photos from the file bag, circling a few points on the copies with a red pen.

“The circled areas are the more distinctive fracture points. Look at this point number 10, which is a very small S-shaped curve on the real object. Look, the enlarged image is very clear.” You Ba picked up the white 3D-printed model and circled the corresponding position, “Here, this S-shaped curve has a much larger arc. Doesn’t it look more like the shape of the fractured state in the photo?”

You Ba pointed out several similar subtle differences in a row, leaving Yishi Pan speechless.

The curator’s office fell silent for a while. Yishi Pan looked back and forth between the photos and the real object, his forehead sweating a bit. Tuxi Ling didn’t press him, picking up the model and curiously playing with it. The last time he was so shocked was when he saw a living cloned sheep in the newspaper.

Yishi Pan took out a handkerchief and wiped his forehead, “So, someone really swapped the artifacts in the museum?”

Tuxi Ling pointed to the Tang Dynasty incense burner, “It’s probably not just one. Dan Lao has already confirmed that this one is fake. I see that the previous registration in the museum was also handled by Professor Qiu. Curator Pan, I’d like to select all the artifacts handled by Professor Qiu and re-authenticate them. Is that possible?”

“That’s at least dozens of pieces!”

“Please find them all one by one. I’ll make another bet: none of those artifacts handled by Professor Qiu have gone missing this time, do you believe it?”

“I…” Yishi Pan finally made up his mind, “Okay, I’ll gather the expert group right now to re-authenticate everything!”

After he left, You Ba exclaimed, “Ling, Captain, I think your analysis is correct!”

Tuxi Ling smiled.

“Professor Qiu, that name sounds familiar, I think I’ve heard it before?”

“Professor at Jiannan University, he fell to his death a while ago. I now suspect that his death is related to the artifact forgery.”

“Really? He did it?” You Ba was shocked.

“I didn’t say that!” Tuxi Ling quickly clarified, “It’s just a suspicion at the moment.”

You Ba blinked twice, revealing a “I understand” expression.

After the museum’s experts spent the night authenticating, a large portion of the artifacts that Qiu Na had restored and sorted were fake.

Tuxi Ling and You Ba exchanged a look: he must have made a lot of money over the years!

The experts’ faces were unsightly, and Yishi Pan was in tears, gasping for breath, “Officer, officer, I want to report a case! I want to report a case! Qiu Na committed embezzlement!”

Tuxi Ling nodded, “I’ll open a case when I get back.”

He also looked at You Ba, who was preparing to pack his bag and leave work, “Officer Ba, come help me.”

You Ba: “…”

Tuxi Ling put away the law enforcement recorder, “We have the evidence. Get a few people from your station to help me search Qiu Na’s house. I’ll go get a search warrant now.”

You Ba: “.”

The time on his phone showed: 20:56.

He was just roped into doing forced labor.

Tuxi Ling didn’t report this matter to the task force for the time being, but went to see Director Liu. Director Liu also hadn’t gone home tonight. Being older, he was a bit overwhelmed and was dozing off in his office.

Tuxi Ling explained the situation carefully from beginning to end, driving away all his drowsiness. The elderly man with graying temples was radiant, listening and analyzing, shocked by the inside story hidden behind this case.

From the murder of Weiyu He, they had been investigating for so long, and in the end, it had all become part of a complete set of criminal acts?

“Then why did they kill Man Qin? Man Qin has nothing to do with antiques?”

“It should be for Lan He. The number one suspect thought that Man Qin wanted to harm Lan He. With his past feelings for Lan He, he could indeed do such an extreme thing.”

Liu Chao gripped the armrest of the swivel chair tightly, the veins on his bony hand bulging, “Too arrogant!”

During the narration, Tuxi Ling tried his best to separate Lan He from Qi A. Director Liu didn’t mention Lan He, which made him breathe a sigh of relief.

His phone rang, it was You Ba calling.

“Ling, Captain, no abnormalities were found in the accounts of Qiu Na before his death. We legally searched another vacant property of his and found seven million in cash and ten cultural relics in a privately dug wine cellar, nine of which were genuine products that had been replaced from the city museum. According to experts from other museums, the black market value is between nine million and twenty million. Guan Shuxiang, Qiu Na’s wife, has been taken into custody!”

Tuxi Ling had the speakerphone on, and Liu Chao listened to the whole process with a grim face. After hanging up the phone, he gritted his teeth and flipped to the number of Tian Kun from the task force, “Seal it off, merge the cases, and bring her in for interrogation!”

When Shuxiang Guan was brought into the interrogation room, she was barely able to maintain her original elegant and dignified demeanor.

Regarding the cash and antiques in the property, her explanation was that Qiu Na originally bought the house to bring his parents to live there and retire, but his parents never really wanted to leave their hometown. Later, the two elders passed away one after another, so the house was left vacant. She never asked about it from beginning to end, and she didn’t even know that a wine cellar had been dug in it, let alone that money was hidden there.

Tuxi Ling asked, “What was your and Qiu Na’s monthly salary?”

Shuxiang Guan said, “Qiu Na made 12,000 a month, and I made 9,000.”

“Then how could you afford a four million yuan watch?” Tuxi Ling asked sternly, “Don’t say it’s fake. Each watch has a code. We can find out as soon as we check.”

Shuxiang Guan lowered her eyes, “I don’t know. Qiu Na gave it to me for my birthday a few years ago. I don’t know about this.”

“What about your expensive jewelry and bags? Did he give those to you too?”

Shuxiang Guan bit her lip.

“Teacher Guan, you are a highly educated person. You know more about the truth than I do. You don’t really think that we can’t find out the truth if you say you don’t know anything, do you?”

Shuxiang Guan pursed her lips and thought for a long time, then sighed, “Then let me confess leniently!”

Tuxi Ling and the newly transferred Xiao Xu perked up and listened to Shuxiang Guan tell the story in detail.

“Actually, for so many years, my heart has been very conflicted and contradictory. This has also made our marital relationship exist in name only. Qiu Na is a good person. I don’t understand why he would become like this. Maybe, as he said, money is indeed a good thing…”

The first time Qiu Na cooperated with the museum, he somehow discovered the management loopholes in the museum, used his skills to make a fake dragon-patterned jade disc, and easily played a trick of substituting the real for the fake, making a profit of 600,000 yuan. From then on, he couldn’t stop.

“Six hundred thousand?” Tuxi Ling couldn’t believe it, “As far as I know, the value of this cultural relic is more than 600,000.”

“In order to get rid of it as soon as possible, Qiu Na sold it at a very low price. It was his first deal, and he was very timid. He wasn’t greedy either.”

Tuxi Ling felt that the “not greedy” point was debatable.

“How many pieces did he sell in total?”

“I heard him mention that there were a total of twenty pieces, all taken out of the museum.”

“Who was the buyer?”

“I don’t know.”

“Can you provide a little information?”

“Qiu Na hid it very well. Even when he initially gave me valuable gifts, he said that he earned it from the stock market. Although I suspected it, I didn’t think too much about it. He didn’t tell me the truth until he stopped doing it five years ago. We had a big fight at the time, but he said that the money he earned was spent on me and the children, and I wasn’t clean either, so… I also guessed that his death was probably related to the crime of that year, alas!”

“You suspect that he committed suicide out of fear of punishment?”

“I guess so.”

Tuxi Ling thought for a while and asked, “Did he have any friends who he had close contact with five years ago but hasn’t contacted recently?”

“This…” Shuxiang Guan thought for a while, “He probably hid it from me when he did that kind of thing, right?”

“Then in the past few years, has his behavior been different from before?”

Shuxiang Guan paused cautiously for a while and shook her head, “The only difference is that our relationship has become more and more distant.”

Tuxi Ling suddenly asked, “What was his relationship with Curator Pan like?”

“Very good. Curator Pan was his confidant. They often went out for tea together and sometimes chatted until very late before coming back.” Speaking of this, Shuxiang Guan’s expression was a bit ashamed, “But Qiu Na approached him, probably to improve the relationship and make it easier for him to do things, right? Alas!”

Besides these, she couldn’t provide any more valuable clues.

Tuxi Ling and Xiao Xu returned to the office to sort out the notes and put them on Director Liu’s desk.

He had just returned to the office to make instant noodles when his phone alarm suddenly rang.

Xiao Xu, who was dozing off on the table, jumped up, “Ah? Is it time to go to work?”

Then he realized that he was already at work, so he rubbed his eyes, put on his glasses, and saw that Tuxi Ling was turning off the alarm.

Being woken up for no reason, he muttered dissatisfiedly, “What are you doing, Captain Ling, setting an alarm in the middle of the day?”

“What middle of the day, it’s obviously nine o’clock in the morning.” Tuxi Ling stared at the note behind the alarm clock, a little embarrassed.

The case had a new discovery, and he didn’t want to put it down, but he had promised Lan He to go bungee jumping with him today. Wouldn’t it be bad to break his promise?

Moreover, it was his birthday, so he had to give him a gift, right?

Because the bungee jumping time was scheduled for the afternoon, he set this alarm to go out and buy a gift in advance.

While he was racking his brains about how to ask Director Liu for leave, Director Liu came.

“Xiao Ling, I’ve read the notes. Go report to Team Leader Tian now. Do you want to go together?”

Tuxi Ling pinched his phone, “I…”

Director Liu was a little surprised. Tuxi Ling had always been a workaholic, especially since this case was his thorn in his side. How could he hesitate?

“What’s wrong? Do you have something to do?”

“I… yes, I want to ask for a day off.”

Director Liu saw the only alarm clock on his phone screen, “If you have something to do, go ahead. The case here still needs to be sorted out. I’ll have someone pick up the case files from the Criminal Investigation Brigade later.”

Tuxi Ling thought for a moment, after receiving the files they would likely still need to summarize and analyze, and it wouldn’t matter if he was there or not for things like recording statements from witnesses and investigating surveillance, so he was slightly relieved, “Okay, then I’ll come earlier tomorrow!”

Director Liu nodded and watched him run downstairs with a smile.

It seemed like he really had something urgent!