American forensics, but the gourmet system

Lorne Beckman took a sip of coffee, set the cup aside, stared at the computer screen, and continued typing:

"...In view of the above points, I hereby submit an application to lead the establishment of a laboratory in response to the increasingly frequent homicide cases..."

Ding ding dong ding dong ding.

Dr. Beckman's phone rang.

"Is there something you need, Russell?"

"You might have found a clue? Weren't you in the autopsy room less than half an hour ago? You've had another epiphany?"

"The thickness of the carbonized layer... Okay, I'll go down now..."

Dr. Beckman stood up, tidied his meticulously styled light-colored hair, smoothed out the wrinkles on the front of his suit jacket, and turned to leave the office.

……

"You think the carbonized layer on the side of the calf is thicker because the killer wanted to cover up some marks, so they used an alcohol spray gun to heat it for a longer time?"

Dr. Beckman stood beside the autopsy table, holding the photographs Russell had picked out from the case file.

"It's just a guess." Russell shrugged. "It's also possible that the killer really disliked the shape of the muscles on the side of his calves... But from a more reasonable perspective, the only explanation is that the killer wanted to cover up certain traces, so he gave that area special attention."

“That makes sense.” Dr. Beckman looked at the photos, nodded thoughtfully, and said, “From this angle, the color here is indeed darker… The killer may have been trying to cover up a tattoo, or some special mark that would allow us to identify the victim… But the problem is, the alcohol spray gun has burned all traces here to charcoal. Whatever the killer wanted to cover up, he has succeeded.”

"What if it's a scar? What if the killer was trying to cover up a very noticeable scar, or a mark left by surgical sutures?"

Russell countered with a question.

Dr. Beckman stared at the legs on the autopsy table, lost in thought.

"The entire surface of this leg is charred, which means that the entire leg may have features that could identify the victim, perhaps tattoos or skin color. I'm more inclined to believe that the entire leg was covered in tattoos, which is why the killer chose such a troublesome method to destroy evidence... and this is the key point the killer covered up..."

Russell pointed to the outside of his calf and continued:

"I suspect there might be a scar here from a serious injury, most likely a fracture. That's why the killer targeted this area for burning..."

Dr. Beckman looked at Russell:

"So you want..."

  Remember us, 101kanshu.com

"Clear the soft tissue from the bone surface and check for any previous fractures in the tibia."

Russell replied.

"I must say your reasoning is quite interesting..." Dr. Beckman scratched his chin with the corner of a photograph, "but there's something I must tell you..."

He pulled an X-ray from the case file and placed it in front of Russell:

"We examined the leg with X-rays, and its tibia and fibula are healthy, with no signs of fracture or post-fracture scarring... It's a pity."

Russell was slightly disappointed, but faced with $30,000, he decided to take the gamble.

He believed in the masterful control of the heat and concluded that the murderer must have been trying to cover up some kind of mark on the side of the victim's lower leg.

Russell took a deep breath and said:

"X-rays can't detect minute bone damage... I know checking the bones is just a matter of luck, but when we've exhausted all other options, taking a chance might not be a bad choice..."

Russell shrugged and continued, "Actually, I just want to ask you, Dr. Beckman, am I qualified to handle this amputation in the way I just described?"

"You still want to remove the soft tissue to examine the bones?" Dr. Beckman looked at Russell with some surprise. "Of course you're qualified. You're a certified forensic pathologist now, Russell. You just need to explain your reasons in the subsequent report... But I must remind you that while you exercise your rights, you will also bear the corresponding responsibilities... If all the soft tissue on this leg is removed, the next forensic pathologist to handle this case will just be staring at a pile of bones."

“I understand, Dr. Beckman.” Russell nodded. “I’ll try not to let them stand there in a daze for too long… I also need a larger stew pot; we should have one here, right?”

"It's in that cabinet over there," Dr. Beckman said calmly, pointing to a storage cabinet in the corner. "The induction cooker is also there."

……

After buying a chicken sandwich and having a quick lunch, Russell returned to the dissection room.

The leg had thawed naturally, and the muscle tissue had regained its elasticity.

Russell put his nitrile gloves back on and took out a scalpel.

This time, his task became even more challenging. He needed to remove the entire tibia and fibula without causing any artificial scratches or affecting the original injury.

First, Russell needed to sever the connection between the femur and tibia at the knee joint.

Because a layer of carbonized material had been removed from the surface of the thigh, making the tendons near the knee joint barely visible, Russell did not follow the usual dissection procedure and began to peel away the soft tissue from the thigh.

With a scalpel in hand, Russell made a precise incision and easily severed the connection between the quadriceps tendon and the suprapatellar bursa.

Due to prolonged freezing, the patellar ligament has lost most of its original elasticity, and the patella has fallen crookedly to one side, exposing the joint capsule underneath.

Human tissue that has been frozen for two years is very different from fresh tissue. The surface of the joint capsule, which should be plump, tough and smooth, becomes rough and brittle, just like the powdery texture of zombie beef that has been frozen for many years.

But no matter what shape the joint capsule is, it can't last more than one round under the sharp scalpel. Russell cut open the joint capsule surrounding the knee joint along the cartilage edge of the distal femoral articular surface, and incidentally severed the femoral attachment points of the medial and lateral collateral ligaments.

He then bent his lower leg to 90°, inserted the scalpel into the joint, cut the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments, and then cut the tendons of the hamstring and gastrocnemius muscles in turn. With a gentle rotation of the lower leg, he divided the leg, which was longer than Russell's years of service, into two parts.

Russell carefully continued to peel away the remaining calf muscles and separate the ankle joint. After more than ten minutes, he only had the fibula and tibia left in his hands.

Just as he was about to proceed to the next step, the semi-transparent light screen suddenly popped up.

[Host detected performing bone removal...]

[Task: Complete the deboning process and use heat control techniques to simmer a pot of bone broth]

[Quest Reward: Skill Upgrade Points *2]

Eh?

Russell was stunned for a moment and almost dropped the leg he was holding.

The system didn't react when he was processing beef shank, but it popped up when he was processing human legs...

And then there's the bone broth... This is just too hellish...

However, Russell did indeed intend to cook the calf he had in his hand.

This leg had endured the scorching heat of an alcohol spray gun, the decay of a sewer environment, and two years of cryopreservation. The area where the soft tissue and bone surface were attached was a complete mess. The tangled, unrecognizable connective tissue clung tightly to the periosteum. Using a scalpel alone was simply not enough to restore the tibia to its original shape; it might even have scratched the surface of the tibia, concealing the minor damage to the bone.

How can we remove the remaining connective tissue from the surface of bones?

The correct method is to soak and rinse the tissue in 85-degree Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius, the harshest American unit) water to remove any remaining connective tissue that might interfere with observation. However, this process is lengthy, often taking a day or even longer.

However, Russell is a man with master-level control over the heat.

He made up his mind: let's start cooking!