Chapter 177: Seven Lunatics

See? A case can still be gossiped about just the same.

Inside the system, things like this are common — any big or major case gets spread around in no time.

Of course, the ones that need to be kept confidential are the exception.

"What case?" Li Jun couldn't help but ask.

Even he had his curiosity piqued.

"I don't know the specifics either, just the gist of it."

That officer seemed to be enjoying the feeling of being watched by everyone, deliberately stringing them along.

"You really like playing the big bad wolf — spit it out already."

"Yeah, what are you holding back for?"

"Alright, alright, alright, don't rush me, let me think about where to start." After quickly choosing his words in his head, that officer said slowly:

"It started as a kidnapping case. The victim went missing, and the family reported it to the police that same day."

"But after waiting several days, no ransom call ever came. Just when everyone was starting to feel something was off, the victim was found."

"Found, yes — but what no one expected was…"

Pausing here, he took another long, drawn-out breath.

"You little punk, are you itching for a beating?" Li Jun said through gritted teeth.

Even Yu Dazhang clenched his fist.

Seeing the somewhat bloodthirsty looks in everyone's eyes, that officer shrank his neck and went on:

"The victim had gone mad."

"He was walking down the street, muttering all kinds of filthy language, and didn't even react to the cars passing by."

Hearing this, the group exchanged glances.

Yu Dazhang also looked around at his colleagues with a blank expression and found their reactions were pretty much the same as his.

There was nothing special about this case.

Since the person had turned up on his own, it was very likely never a kidnapping case at all.

Soon, an officer raised a doubt:

"The victim must have had a pre-existing mental illness. He had a sudden episode that day and ran off on his own — cases like this are way too common."

He voiced exactly what everyone was thinking.

A case like this is worth having provincial-bureau experts personally investigate?

Since when are provincial-bureau experts so free that they take on cases like this?

"Let me finish, will you?"

That officer smiled, clearly pleased with everyone's reaction. He took another sip of his drink to wet his throat before continuing:

"The victim was missing two fingers, and the wounds had been treated and bandaged."

Hearing this, the group wore all sorts of expressions.

Two of them even touched their own fingers.

Losing a finger at minimum counts as a minor injury; if it's the thumb that's gone, it's classified as a serious injury.

This is a straightforward criminal case.

"Even so, it doesn't warrant provincial-bureau experts coming personally, does it?" This time it was Yu Dazhang who spoke.

He felt that even if this was man-made, it didn't meet the standard of a big or major case, let alone warranting the provincial bureau's attention.

"What if seven people in a row were all like this?" that officer countered.

At that, everyone in the private room fell silent.

After a while, Yu Dazhang continued asking:

"All seven went missing first, then came back on their own after going mad?"

"Yep." The officer nodded, then added:

"And they were all missing fingers — at least one, at most six."

This case really is a bit eerie… Yu Dazhang instinctively figured it was the handiwork of some pervert.

Same method, same recipe — seven people in a row go missing, and they all come back mad.

Cut off fingers until they go mad?

The same thought popped into everyone's mind at the same time.

It was just gossip, after all, so nobody took it seriously. They chatted for a while, then naturally drifted to another topic.

"Let me tell you, there's another case…"

This meal lasted over three hours. It had probably been a long time since everyone had been this relaxed — they were in great spirits, chatting more and more excitedly.

Midway through, Yu Dazhang took the chance of a bathroom break to settle the bill at the counter. How could he really let Captain Li treat? Jokes are jokes, but real action still has to follow.

A first-class individual merit comes with a bonus of twenty thousand; two of them is forty thousand — treating everyone to a meal is only right.

Although the collective merit also came with bonuses, everyone tactly avoided bringing it up.

Collective bonuses can't be used privately — they can only be used as funds for collective activities.

Especially when it comes to system personnel dining together, it's a sensitive matter these days. Sometimes when the checks get strict, even paying out of pocket isn't allowed, let alone dipping into collective funds.

The next day.

Criminal Investigation Detachment.

Today, Yu Dazhang seemed a bit distracted.

After reading through case files for several days straight without finding a breakthrough, he now had no choice but to make a decision.

Should this case be left hanging, or should he take it on?

If he took over this case right now, honestly, he honestly didn't have full confidence in his heart that he could bring it to a close.

Although he knew that butler had a problem, he always felt the matter wasn't that simple.

Not a single error—every word, every line, every content—read it now!

It wasn't until noon that he finally made his decision.

Investigate!

Since the leadership intended for him to set up a cold-case unit, he couldn't exactly back down in the face of difficulty, could he.

In the afternoon, he told Squad Leader Li about his decision to take over the case.

"You have a lead?" Li Jun asked, somewhat excitedly.

If the bureau's cold cases could really be cracked, for him it would be even more of a joy than earning merit.

As the detachment commander, with four cold cases weighing on his head, it was like owing an outside debt.

Every time the leadership asked whether there was any new progress, he felt the weight on his shoulders grow heavy.

"No."

Yu Dazhang smiled and shook his head:

"Squad Leader Li, you really think highly of me. If you could crack a case just by reading the case file, then this case wouldn't have fallen to me to investigate."

The meaning in his words was very clear.

The case file had been organized by the officer previously in charge of the investigation; if there had been any leads, they would have investigated them long ago.

"I trust you." Li Jun stared at him and said:

"Whatever you need, you can raise it. Regardless of the final outcome, the detachment will support you."

Although it was only a brief sentence, it revealed more than enough information.

Li Jun had full trust in him!

And it was the unconditional kind.

"I will certainly do my best." This was the only promise Yu Dazhang could give.

Immediately afterward, Ma Jian and another officer named Liu Miao came to find him to report in.

The cold-case investigation unit was officially established.

The three of them were originally from the same detachment and were fairly familiar with one another in daily life.

The polite formalities were naturally skipped.

"Come with me to the Liu family." Without any superfluous nonsense, Yu Dazhang directly gave the order.

The three of them drove a police car to the villa where Liu Zhengyang had lived before his death.

Although Liu Zhengyang was gone, his son Liu Siyuan still lived here, and the butler and servants were still the same people as before.

All of this was recorded in the case file.

The fact that even such details were not overlooked showed how meticulous the officer who organized the case file had been.

After identifying themselves, Yu Dazhang and the other two entered the villa.

Before coming, he had already contacted Liu Siyuan; the Liu family's contact information was recorded in the case file.

"Officer Yu, right?"

Liu Siyuan greeted them after seeing the three of them:

"Please sit down, don't be polite."

Then he ordered someone to bring drinks.

Sitting down on the sofa, Yu Dazhang asked:

"Your sister isn't home?"

"She doesn't live here." The moment his own elder sister was mentioned, Liu Siyuan unconsciously revealed a look of disgust:

"I've told her so many times, Dad died of illness, yet she insisted on calling the police."

"Not only did she throw the whole family into chaos, Dad's body wasn't cremated until a full month later."

(End of chapter)