Chapter 767: Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils

The three of them were downcast, but it wasn't anything major. In the original plot, Li Dawei went out with a auxiliary police officer named Sun Qiancheng to investigate a robbery case, only to discover the two suspects were packing up to leave Ping'an City and move elsewhere. Li Dawei immediately chased after them, and Sun Qiancheng followed. After a pursuit, they successfully apprehended the two robbers.

During the arrest, Li Dawei had his palm slashed by a knife. But he didn't think much of it—he even felt a sense of accomplishment, since he'd finally done something noteworthy after watching Wang Yan's performance.

Back at the station, Chen Xincheng got scolded for his reckless action, then received an even harsher reprimand from Wang Shouyi. He was also told about how Chen Xincheng had once been blamed and harassed by the family of a girl who jumped to her death because he failed to save her—eventually, the bureau paid compensation, and Chen Xincheng received a disciplinary sanction.

Yang Shu was downcast because today he handled a case involving a young man who jumped from a building, overwhelmed by his own mother's control. Cao Army Supervisor didn't follow proper rescue procedures—he didn't wait for firefighters or medical personnel to arrive before rushing up to talk to the man.

Saving a life isn't wrong, and emergencies always have their justifications. But Chen Xincheng's incident had just happened right beside them, and they still didn't learn from it. Wang Shouyi was deeply dissatisfied and scolded Yang Shu for not stopping Cao Army Supervisor. Of course, it wasn't really a scolding—it was more like earnest advice. After all, Yang Shu was his apprentice, and Cao Army Supervisor was the type who loved to show off—no one could have stopped him.

Xia Jie, meanwhile, had gone out with Cheng Suo to raid a brothel. Just like in the original plot, she witnessed the female ringleader of the prostitution ring pretending to be innocent, which stirred her sympathy. During interrogation, she felt the veteran officers' treatment of those women was cruel, inhumane, and disrespectful toward women—it made her deeply uncomfortable.

Of course, she didn't tell Wang Yan or the others. She privately contacted the woman's husband—an act violating discipline. The woman's guilt hadn't been established, yet Xia Jie had already assumed her innocent and reached out to family—this was clearly wrong.

After hearing them all out, Wang Yan smiled and handed Li Dawei a Huazǐ cigarette, then lit one for himself. "Li Dawei, you were reckless. Remember the first day we arrived? When we were chasing that murderer, Brother Chen already scolded you. Police don't arrest criminals alone—more people are always better. At the very least, you need a two-to-one advantage."

"Don't blame the chief for yelling at you—Sun Qiancheng's an auxiliary cop, making barely two thousand a month. What's he risking his life for? You don't fear death, but you can't drag him down with you. Don't think it's luck that nothing happened. If something had happened, you wouldn't even have a chance to speak. A knife to the gut, intestines shredded—you'd know then whether it was serious."

Li Dawei felt utterly wronged. He widened his eyes and shouted, "They were about to leave! If I hadn't moved now, they'd be gone from Ping'an City already. All the effort we put in would've been wasted!"

"As long as they're on Chinese soil, they can't escape. But if you die, you lose everything. Police are human too—we must value our lives. We already have their information. We can ask traffic and railway authorities for assistance—it'll just take more time, but we'll catch them eventually."

"Yan Ge, I just want to ask you—what would you have done in that situation?"

"Of course I'd arrest them." Wang Yan shook his head at Li Dawei's incredulous expression. "Don't act like you're unconvinced. I could take eight guys like you."

"Talk is cheap. How about we spar? If I win, you call me big brother."

"Good spirit. I've got faith in you. Let's train after we finish smoking."

Wang Yan raised an eyebrow, ignoring the eager Li Dawei, and turned to Yang Shu. "You're the one who suffered unjustly. We've been here a few days—everyone at the station knows each other. Cao Army Supervisor—I'm not saying bad things behind his back, but honestly, he's petty and loves to show off."

"I remember the second morning we came—he caught two petty thieves. When he heard I'd caught a fugitive the day before, he started looking at me the wrong way. He's got cases requiring image enhancement—all of them were delivered to me by you. Yesterday, when we talked about me and Ji Wei possibly getting credit, his face darkened."

"I'm not saying saving lives is wrong. But he's just too eager for recognition. In the past two days, I've gathered some info. When handling public disputes, he always thinks only of closing the case quickly. Yes, our job requires smoothing things over—but not like he does."

"Still, overall, he's not bad—he actually does his work, and he's a decent cop. Yang Shu, I think you should stay alert when working with him. Calling him 'Master' doesn't mean he's your father. Show respect, but stay cautious."

"The public reports all kinds of strange complaints. Their request might be one thing, but we should always try to think two steps ahead. You're a top graduate—your education far exceeds mine. I have no right to lecture you, just a gentle reminder."

"Because even if you do step one, something bad might happen later, and the public will be dissatisfied. Based on my limited understanding of Cao Army Supervisor, if that happens, he'll immediately shift all blame onto you and avoid taking responsibility himself."

"On the other hand, your official posting is with the city bureau. How do the people here see you? You're just passing through Balihe. Our chief is a good man—he'll try his best to advocate for you. But 'trying' is all it'll be. Understand?"

Wang Yan had said enough. For someone like Yang Shu, if he could maintain this mindset, it would always be a good thing for the people. Idealists make mistakes, they're naive, they rush ahead—but a mature idealist's light brings blessings to the people.

The current political system ensures that those who chase glory and rush recklessly won't last long. This stable, well-oiled machine will gradually grind every part into the shape it needs. Those who, through this process, still preserve their ideals and stay true to their original intentions, will never be a threat.

In the original plot, a woman calls in at midnight, reporting her husband left after a fight. Cao Army Supervisor and Yang Shu respond. She says not to disturb him—just confirm he's there. Later, her husband dies. The station comes under pressure. Logically and emotionally, Cao Army Supervisor should've taken responsibility—but he washed his hands of it and pushed Yang Shu out.

In this regard, Cao Army Supervisor is disgusting. When something goes wrong, he's never involved. Later, Yang Shu tracked down a gang stealing electric bikes—and Cao Army Supervisor swooped in to claim the credit. He even brainwashed Yang Shu, instilling in him his own flawed principles.

Wang Yan has already warned him—but he can't say it outright. Still, he sees clearly: if someone who was destined to die lives because of his words, that's good. If his words make no difference and the person still dies, it doesn't matter.

His job doesn't involve responding to calls, and there are so many incidents daily—he can't pinpoint exactly which day. But he warned—that's all he could do…

Yang Shu nodded solemnly. "Thank you. I'll remember. I'll be careful from now on."

Although Wang Yan criticized Cao Army Supervisor here, he wasn't some naive bookworm—he could tell right from wrong. But he didn't want to dwell on it. Talking behind someone's back was always improper.

Xia Jie perked up, staring fixedly at Wang Yan. Seeing his commanding air, she knew it was her turn.

Sure enough, Wang Yan exhaled smoke and turned to her. "Now let's talk about your issue. I understand you meant well. But what is this place? A police station—a grassroots law enforcement unit of the state's coercive apparatus. What's our mission? To combat crime, to uncover the truth. What does the suspect's gender have to do with it? Whether they're parents or not? What does it matter?"

"If police aren't authoritative, if our attitude isn't stern, will criminals confess? Didn't you learn criminal psychology at police academy? The simplest point: no criminal ever admits guilt. They all make excuses, find reasons. Can you believe them?"

"So what's wrong with Cheng Suo and the others treating the prostitutes harshly? Yes, I know you think they might've been forced into it, with all kinds of reasons. But I ask you—is prostitution a criminal act? If it is, then until the facts are clear, any sympathy is superfluous. This applies to everyone—men, women, old, young. Only after the facts are established should we consider who deserves compassion."

"And that woman you mentioned—the one caught at the crime scene—besides the victim, I don't believe she's innocent. At the very least, she's an accomplice by omission. I'm certain she participated in the crime. If you've developed sympathy for her and helped her in any way, go to Cheng Suo right now and report everything. Whoever she asked you to contact? That's definitely another criminal who escaped."

"Our experience is still too shallow. Don't casually express pity for society or criminals. Why do they say the Six Gates are good for cultivation? Because our work exposes us to countless situations and people, deepening our understanding of humanity. That's why seasoned veteran cops can instantly tell who's guilty—it's all experience."

"By now, interrogations should be mostly done. You've got time to stand here with your arms crossed, unhappy? Don't you have time to check their statements?"

Wang Yan had said plenty. As fellow officers, he'd spoken up—otherwise, he wouldn't waste his breath. Smiling, he placed the eight-piece kit and body camera into the dazed Xia Jie's arms, then walked over to the flowerbed where the bougainvillea swayed, its base already piled with cigarette butts, and added one more.

He stretched, cracking his neck left and right, then waved at Li Dawei, who had warmed up and was eager to fight. "Come."

"Then I won't hold back, little brother." Li Dawei grinned fiercely, lunged forward with a powerful kick, dropped into a horse stance, and threw a straight punch straight at Wang Yan's face.

Wang Yan, exuding the aura of a master, moved slowly yet swiftly, extending one hand to firmly block the incoming punch and seize it.

Li Dawei couldn't break free—he twisted his body backward, pivoted his hips, and launched a high roundhouse kick.

Amid Yang Shu and Xia Jie's cries of alarm, Wang Yan calmly grabbed Li Dawei's ankle, swept his foot lightly, released his grip—and Li Dawei crashed to the ground with a cry.

Wang Yan hadn't intended to dirty Li Dawei's clothes. But this damn kid asked for it—he needed a good beating.

"That doesn't count—I wasn't ready!" Li Dawei groaned, lying on the ground, refusing to get up.

"Fine. You can use our police baton."

"No way!" Yang Shu hurriedly said. "We're just sparring. If you bring out knives, what if someone gets seriously hurt?"

Wang Yan smiled and nodded. "Xia Jie, give him the baton."

"Oh." Xia Jie responded, pulled out the baton, and walked over to hand it to the lying Li Dawei.

Without even refusing, Li Dawei grabbed it. A true expert's move reveals everything. His grades might've been poor, but in hand-to-hand combat, he was top-tier—yet he couldn't even get past one move against Wang Yan. He had to bring out the tools.

After a pause, Li Dawei stood up, swiftly extended the baton, and slung it over his shoulder in a defensive-offensive stance. "Watch out—I won't hold back."

"Come. If your baton touches me, consider me dead."

Feeling Wang Yan's utter disregard—not even contempt, just pure indifference—Li Dawei crept closer, then suddenly lunged. He pushed off with his leg, channeled power through his body, and swung the baton over his shoulder straight at Wang Yan's head.

Wang Yan didn't make a single extra motion. He seized Li Dawei's baton-hand with precise, forceful control, twisted slightly—and Li Dawei cried out in pain, dropping the weapon. Wang Yan's other hand caught the falling baton flawlessly, gripping the handle precisely, then slowly held it across Li Dawei's neck.

Watching the dumb kid's wide eyes, Wang Yan smiled, released his grip, and lightly tapped Li Dawei's head with the baton, making him yelp. "When we were posing earlier, what did you say? Say it again."

Li Dawei rubbed his head, wincing, and grinned sheepishly. "Yan Ge, big brother, don't take it personally."

"Ah, now that's right—you're still a good comrade." Wang Yan laughed, tucked away the baton, walked over to Xia Jie, and retrieved his eight-piece kit and body camera. "Let's go. Don't just sit here moping. There's so much work—when will it ever end? I'm pulling an all-nighter today."

"What? Another case?" Li Dawei hurried over.

"Wasn't the case of the guy who stole over ten times in three years solved? Tonight, I visited the two families whose children were stolen. I gathered more info. I'm going to review the surveillance footage frame by frame today."

In the shadows upstairs, Wang Shouyi leaned silently against the wall. After a long while, he let out a bitter chuckle and shook his head, sighing softly…

Inside the building, Wang Yan smiled and greeted the still-busy veteran officers and auxiliary police, then went to check on Zhang Zhijie, who hadn't left and had spent the whole day writing reports; after a brief chat about today's work, he returned to his desk and sat down.

Xia Jie, sitting beside him, didn't return to her desk but went to ask the veteran officers for the interrogation records of today's prostitution busts, reviewing them one by one—and naturally, she came across the record of the woman she'd earlier pitied; only then did she realize this woman was the organizer, forcing women who had come to the city for work into prostitution, frequently beating and abusing them, and recording videos to blackmail them.

She immediately dropped her self-righteous pity and rushed to find Cheng Suo, who still hadn't clocked out, to confess her mistake…

In the Six Ministries, cultivation thrives—even within the ecosystem of criminals, it's no different. Those who take shady paths without skill get crushed by others. Seasoned criminals are certainly more experienced than ordinary junior cops. They can instantly spot, among a crowd of police, which one is just a sheep blending in among wolves, then exploit them. Xia Jie looked exactly like a fresh graduate—of course it was strange she wasn't exploited.

Wang Yan didn't dwell on it—he was truly busy, busier than he'd been in a very long time, utterly saturated. He visited the public during the day and handled cases at night. Now that he'd demonstrated his fingerprint-matching skills, he'd have yet another task added.

He didn't forget the fingerprint demonstration file he'd mentioned yesterday; he spent over half an hour creating a PowerPoint. Simple and direct, it opened by clearly explaining various fingerprint scenarios, with accompanying images. It specified what ordinary people could handle themselves and what required his personal involvement. Then came the main focus: how to properly perform the most widely used powder method. He spent ages searching for a video and embedded it.

Anyone who puts in a little effort can master basic fingerprint extraction—the precinct's clearance rate will inevitably rise another level.

With his earlier boast, Wang Yan was certain the veteran officers would show him what "respecting veterans" truly meant. From now on, whenever a case arose, if fingerprints could be collected, they'd be collected—and they'd bring him a pile of them to match.

You think you're so capable, huh?

Wang Yan didn't mind this kind of thing. Though it was still playing the fool, it was far better than always being called to the scene to collect fingerprints. He could choose selectively—prioritize major cases, and leave minor ones, like the Dongning Village dog theft, buried under paperwork.

As for the dog theft cases, even if they couldn't be solved, they still had to be investigated thoroughly whenever they occurred in true rural areas. Stealing dogs in villages affected a radius of dozens of li—it was a vile act that severely disrupted people's lives.

But now, after wandering Dongning Village for two days, he hadn't seen a single stray dog darting through the alleys. Even though dog owners still lacked permits and hadn't vaccinated their pets, they'd all started tying them up in their courtyards—quite a good thing.

So even though catching dog thieves offered far greater chances of solving cases than hunting traffickers, Wang Yan deliberately ignored it, preferring to stay up late, painstakingly watching surveillance footage frame by frame.

But if Dongning Village had another dog theft next time, things would be different—not that he wouldn't catch them, but he wouldn't rush after them. If they dared to commit crimes right under his nose, he'd crack down without mercy…

Wang Yan still hadn't directly watched the missing-child surveillance footage. Yesterday, Gao Chao had given him four cases requiring fingerprint analysis, already processed by the branch, but not yet matched.

Immediately, he pulled up the fingerprints on his computer, as usual enhancing them all first, then reviewed Gao Chao's incident reports. Basic case details were written on the reports—he needed to briefly analyze the suspect's profile: local or outsider? This would greatly accelerate his fingerprint matching.

Cases in the precinct requiring fingerprint support were mostly thefts involving losses of a few thousand yuan with no surveillance video. Because police incidents here were trivial yet numerous—mostly dispute mediation and public assistance: lost cats and dogs, missing children, drunk disturbances, upstairs noise, neighbors dumping trash at your doorstep, and so on.

Other public order and criminal cases combined accounted for roughly one-tenth of the precinct's total incidents. But the precinct's capacity was limited, and many cases didn't meet the threshold for deploying criminal investigation teams, so the backlog of unresolved cases was enormous.

Under the higher authorities' directive that all homicide cases must be solved, the national homicide clearance rate reached over 94%. Yet for the vast majority of other case types, the clearance rate was under 50%. The drag on these numbers came from the massive backlog of unresolved cases in grassroots precincts.

It wasn't that they couldn't be solved—it was lack of energy and mismatched input versus output. Pouring massive effort into finding an old lady's cat was plainly unrealistic. And for a grassroots precinct like Balihe, serving a population of over 120,000, responding to fifty to sixty calls daily, one case hadn't even finished before the next arrived. If you worked on old cases, new ones piled up. If you worked on new ones, old ones piled up.

Even before Balihe Police Station had begun handling cases, just preparing case files and prosecution materials had already worn out half the lives of the veteran officers who had no choice…

This time, the four cases Gao Chao gave him were all thefts involving property losses of a few thousand yuan. For such cases, relying on deduction, investigating contacts, and so on was extremely time-consuming—far less efficient than fingerprint matching.

After reviewing them once, he understood the general situation—all involved people close to the victims—no major issues—and began matching fingerprints.

As usual, he marked various feature points and filtered repeatedly. After nearly four hours, by past midnight, he identified the four suspects. One wasn't a local—he took the longest to identify, a man from a neighboring small city. According to the reports, he was likely a former construction worker who'd secretly returned to steal.

The station had previously called to question him, but obviously, no one would admit to their crimes. Without concrete evidence thrown in their faces and without interrogation by seasoned veteran officers to break their psychological defenses, all criminals hoped to escape or mitigate punishment.

He sent all the identity information to Gao Chao, stood up, stretched, and went to get water with his cup.

The work area was now empty except for him. The veteran officers had all left—even Zhang Zhijie, who'd been writing reports, had gone home. Li Dawei and others were nowhere to be seen. Xia Jie had left even earlier, saying she'd go home to pack and deliver her things to Wang Yan's house the next morning.

Only the front desk had a team on duty. The two patrol teams that had just returned from responding to calls were catching precious sleep in the dormitory. Of course, there were also those too lazy to go home, enduring the stench of sweaty feet in the dormitory for the night.

Holding his thermos of brewed tea, he walked to the backyard, lit a Huazhi cigarette, and quietly admired the nearly full moon hanging high in the sky, sipping his tea slowly.

So far, he was a qualified grassroots police officer. The old man Wang Da, who hadn't worked this saturated in a long time, found himself offering a rare self-assessment.

To be honest, though he'd always maintained objectivity, he'd actually been living in the clouds. Though his spirit and thoughts still stood firmly with the majority of the people, after so long in the clouds and so little contact with ordinary citizens, his thinking could be kidnapped.

Even in the real world, he'd reached a high position. His company was a state-owned enterprise with state capital investment; the organization had sent him, a promising young cadre. His subordinates, though ordinary enough, were all high earners making tens or hundreds of thousands annually. He lived in Lin'an, a major metropolis—there were no poor people around him. Even with iron will, prolonged silent influence had subtly affected him.

Of course, for him, a tiny bit didn't matter. When he realized it, that tiny bit was already gone. The impact from this grassroots police work, interacting with the broad masses, would last at least a thousand years.

Thinking carefully, he realized he'd never before been so deeply immersed among the masses, doing mass work…

After smoking one cigarette, he wandered back into the station and threw himself once again into work—watching surveillance, frame by frame. He trusted the comrades who'd watched the footage immediately after the report—but he didn't fully trust them.

Because this was a test of patience. The longer you watched, the more your mind grew restless, your butt fidgeted. At such times, even if they watched frame by frame, they inevitably missed some details.

It was just like students taking exams: check once, check twice, think everything's fine—but when the results came out, they realized both checks had overlooked the simplest mistakes, costing them points…

Wang Yan believed clues must exist in the surveillance footage. Though Fengdan Bali Street's surveillance wasn't complete, every intersection had cameras. The traffickers were hiding among them—if he didn't miss a single piece of information, he'd surely catch their slip-up.

He began watching from the moment Ma's family appeared on Fengdan Bali Street. Wang the Eagle-Eyed stared at the dense crowd captured in the footage.

No doubt—he, Wang Mou, was still human. Watching so many people for long periods made his eyes blur—that was a physiological issue. Though his body had been modified by his Living Father, he was still made of human parts. But he could endure far longer, and his tranquil, near-death mindset granted him immense patience.

As he clicked the mouse, the image flickered frame by frame. Clearly, Ma's family beamed with happiness. The child was well-fed, plump and rosy, sometimes walking hand-in-hand between his parents, sometimes held in his mother's arms, sometimes perched on his father's shoulders. The child excitedly watched the passing crowd; from atop his father's neck, he felt towering, waving his arms and legs wildly, squirming restlessly. Less than twenty minutes later, the excited little one vanished—the footage showed his frantic parents pushing through the crowd.

By now, it was past four in the morning; the sky outside had begun to lighten.

In the surveillance footage, some faces were in profile, some frontal, some just the back of the head—hard to distinguish. But Wang Yan didn't give up. He found the blind spots at either end of the barbecue stall, and when Ma's family entered the blind zone, he played frame by frame, switching and zooming, watching both cameras simultaneously.

Precise timing did exist: Ma had paid the deaf-mute couple when the child was still present, and paid the barbecue stall when the child was gone—both transactions had timestamps, all recorded in the Juan Sect.

But he still needed to watch longer, because as he'd told Ma's family, traffickers selected targets in advance and waited for the right moment—there must have been signs earlier.

But sadly, within just twenty minutes, he'd painstakingly watched over four hours—and still found no suspicious person.

Wang Yan kept watching the surveillance footage. Finally, diligence rewarded him—his all-night vigil wasn't in vain—he spotted something unusual.

After the child disappeared, Ma and his wife pushed through the crowd, provoking annoyance, and were surrounded. As they screamed desperately for help, in an unnoticeable corner of the footage, amid the dense throng, half a blurred face entered Wang Yan's view.

He zoomed in, took a screenshot, and rapidly enhanced the image. Though still slightly blurry, it was clear enough. Wang Yan saw clearly—the expression on that half-face wasn't that of a curious onlooker. He didn't need to guess further; knowing its uniqueness was enough. Everyone loved a spectacle, yet this person wasn't watching the spectacle—wasn't that an accomplice?

But so far, Wang Yan still hadn't figured out how the child vanished.

He refused to believe anyone possessed such flawless technique—carrying a child without leaving a trace. But he didn't waste effort; he kept following the man, eventually finding him meeting a plump woman, over one meter seventy tall, wearing a voluminous long dress, in a parking lot over five hundred meters from Fengdan Bali Street. They got into a black Jetta.

In fact, the moment the woman appeared, Wang Yan confirmed she was suspicious—her gait was wrong. A four-year-old boy couldn't fit inside a one-meter-seventy plump woman's skirt without visibly affecting her walk. Though she moved slowly, stopping and starting, she didn't need to do much—after three consecutive steps, Wang Yan spotted the anomaly.

With a quick ether-soaked cloth to the face, her hands fast enough, and her height, a simple step and slight adjustment of her dress would make the child vanish. If she moved swiftly, escaping the barbecue stall immediately after the theft, in the night market, she'd be just another unremarkable person, unnoticed.

It was crude, yet genuinely technical—and extremely bold.

Having found the accomplice, Wang Yan turned back to examine the Fengdan Bali Street surveillance footage around the time the child disappeared.

Only then did he notice: while others watched the spectacle, she watched too. When people dispersed to help search for the child, she even appeared anxious and helpless—as if she'd shouted out a couple of times before leaving.

She wasn't the only woman in a dress, slightly plump, on the street at that time. And she'd concealed herself well—stopping and starting, glancing at goods as if wanting to buy but hesitating, then glancing at the crowd as if worried.

This woman wasn't conspicuous among the crowd. Though she was over one meter seventy, men and women in Shandong Province were generally tall; she'd consciously walked beside taller people, making her perfectly inconspicuous. It wasn't that other cops were incompetent—it was that the criminals were too cunning.

Following the results back to the process, Wang Yan finally spotted the anomaly in the brief gaps where the woman's body was exposed. Had she been fully obscured, he'd never have noticed. She left only her back of the head—utterly natural, an excellent actress.

With the target locked, the rest was easy. Tracking the two via surveillance to obtain clear facial footage, enhancing the images for facial recognition, and pulling up their identities.

Next comes the report—this case is beyond the scope of the police station; it must be handed over to the branch criminal investigation team, who have a dedicated anti-trafficking unit. Neither the nature of the case nor the resources required qualify the station to investigate, nor do they have the manpower to pursue it. If it had occurred within their jurisdiction, they could've handled it directly with cooperation.

But now it's been over a month, nearly two—just as I told Brother Ma, if lucky, the child is still in a northern provincial capital; if unlucky, they've already been moved south for sale; if even more unlucky, the child has been sent abroad.

"Wang Yan, you little brat, did you really watch surveillance footage all night? You're just stubborn—those videos have been flipped and replayed countless times; we've assigned dozens of people to watch them over and over. Hurry up and clean up, go rest in our dormitory…"

Just as Wang Yan was about to verify whether the other child trafficking case was committed by this man and woman, Wang Shouyi, speaking in a Shandong dialect, shouted loudly to urge him.

"You're here so early, Chief?"

"At my age, I don't need that much sleep. Go on, get some proper rest. Young people shouldn't work like this—you need rest to have the energy to solve problems for our people." Wang Shouyi waved his hand as he walked over, urging him.

Wang Yan glanced at the time in the bottom-right corner of the computer—it was already past six forty. Outside, the streets were already noisy. Looking at Wang Shouyi, frowning and clearly annoyed, he shook his head: I really didn't mean to show off.

He smiled and said, "Chief, we found the traffickers."

"Even if we found traffickers, we still can't…" Halfway through, Wang Shouyi realized, eyes widening, "What did you say? Found the traffickers? The two cases in our jurisdiction?"

"It's one case. Though the methods are similar, I haven't yet reviewed the surveillance from the other case to confirm if it's the same gang."

"Pull up the footage and show me."

Wang Yan nodded: "Chief, this is when Brother Ma and his wife discovered their child was missing, and they were rushing through the crowd, surrounded by others. At this moment, they were shouting loudly that their child was gone. Pay attention here—this half-face. This is the enhanced image—I can see his expression is completely different from everyone around him; there's clear satisfaction in it. But he was in the corner, partially blocked by several heads, which is how he slipped up. I followed him…"

He explained his thought process for reviewing the surveillance, detailed the trafficking process of this man and woman, and displayed their information along with the license plate of their black Jetta.

"Good, good, well done."

Wang Shouyi slapped Wang Yan on the shoulder. "What's the hardest part about anti-trafficking? Right here. They exploit heavy foot traffic and blind spots in surveillance, committing crimes right out in the open, yet we find zero leads.

Once we find one, everything else becomes manageable. With this lead, we just need to follow them—eventually the case will grow larger, easily exposing a criminal network centered on trafficking women and children."

"Looks like this young man needs more responsibility. So many people watched those videos countless times and saw nothing—you solved it in one night. Quick, check if the other case was also done by this pair, organize the materials, and I'll call the branch right away to track these two traffickers. Oh, I hope those two kids are still alive…"

"No rest now? Don't young people need to take care of their health?"

"Brat, making fun of me? Right now, those two children's safety is in our hands—every minute counts, every second brings more hope. Get moving."

He gave Wang Yan a half-angry slap and quickly pulled out his phone to dial. Though it was early, the case's progress was a battle cry—even if he had to crawl, he had to get up.

Wang Yan moved quickly too. Searching aimlessly for people was hard, but searching with a target was far easier. In less than five minutes, Wang Yan spotted the man and woman in the surveillance footage.

By then, Wang Suozhang had finished his call. Wang Yan said, "Confirmed, Chief—both cases were done by them."

"Good. Quickly organize the materials—the branch will send someone to pick them up. You're capable—want to join their anti-trafficking operation?"

"No."

Wang Yan shook his head. "With this lead, the branch's officers can search all over China. Their operation doesn't need me, and I don't need to tag along for credit. If this case grows big, won't I still get credit as the rookie who first discovered the key lead?

But whether I get credit or not is secondary—I've done my utmost. Their investigation, surveillance, and arrest don't need me at all. Better not get in their way. Chief, there's one thing I need to tell you."

"Go on."

"Yesterday, when I visited these two families, I already advised them to stop futilely searching for their children and start new lives. I told them: regardless of whether we have leads, unless they physically see the child alive or dead, don't give them false hope. So, Chief, don't tell them anything else. The children are four or five; the parents are in their thirties. If they can't find them, they can always have another child—don't torment them."

Wang Shouyi frowned deeply; his face, which had just been smiling like a blooming chrysanthemum, turned serious. "You told them that? Exactly what did you say? Repeat it to me."

After hearing Wang Yan's words, his eyes widened again: "Is this how you do mass work? If I weren't your superior, I'd hit you on the spot—or you'd get complaints."

"Did you get a call from Director Song?"

Wang Yan smiled bitterly and shook his head. "Put yourself in their shoes—mass work must be sincere. You must speak tactfully, but not too tactfully. If they keep searching, their families will fall apart. I can't just watch them destroy themselves. Besides, I even brought up my own parents—they'd feel ashamed. Even if they're unhappy, they'll know I mean well.

And wasn't I the one who caught that serial thief? I'm still popular in Dongning Village—even the old man with bad hearing knows me. Someone has to say this, and I'm the right one. Even if they complain, it's no big deal. I'm not chasing a political career; even if I get a reprimand, it doesn't matter—as long as I'm not kicked out of the police force."

"Don't worry, Chief—I'll make sure you finish your last shift without any trouble."

"It's not about avoiding trouble for me—it's about avoiding trouble for the people. You little rascal, you're slick. I know what you're saying—even if you didn't say it, we'd never lightly disturb the families. You understand this—do you think others don't?"

Wang Shouyi placed both hands on Wang Yan's shoulders and squeezed hard. "Enough talk—get to work. Oh, your tea's gone cold, turned to clear water. Wait—I'll brew you some good tea. I'll tell you, this tea I swiped from Director Song—it's excellent…"

Wang Suozhang firmly handled the station's logistics, scurrying off with Wang Yan's large thermos to rinse the cup and brew tea…

Thank you, Brother QuriKuduo, for the 400-coin support.

Thank you to nine brothers—LEO～RYAN, ZiYiRen, MrXingChen, SiZhaiLaoShuChong, JingManSanRen, HuangLvJiaYinHe, LuXiFaYe, XiYanYan, ChangKongWang—for continuing your support.

Daily thanks to the good brothers who voted for monthly tickets.

Thank you to all the brothers who gave recommendations.

Thank you to the brothers who silently read.