Chapter 221: This Criminal Is a Bit Arrogant

"Later, the First Detachment stationed itself at the victim's home while simultaneously tracking the criminal's whereabouts."

Li Jun exhaled a cloud of smoke and continued:

"We originally thought the criminal would make a ransom call, but just yesterday, the victim returned on their own."

"However..."

Hearing this, Yu Dazhang suddenly felt he had heard this plot somewhere before.

He unconsciously spoke up:

"Did the victim go mad?"

"How did you know?" Li Jun's voice carried a hint of surprise:

"Did someone else tell you?"

Someone did tell me, but it was two months ago... Yu Dazhang asked with a touch of irritation:

"How many fingers did the victim lose this time?"

This plot was something a colleague had mentioned at a celebration banquet two months ago.

Because it was so bizarre, the impression it left on him was very deep.

He never expected that two months later, Li Jun would actually tell him this story as if it were a true event.

"You even know that." While surprised, Li Jun answered offhandedly:

"This time, three fingers were missing."

It didn't seem like he was deliberately teasing me... Judging by Li Jun's expression, Yu Dazhang could confirm this was the truth.

"Captain Li, you should smoke less in the future."

Yu Dazhang finally understood where the problem lay.

Li Jun had completely forgotten the casual chat from two months ago.

It seemed he, like Yu Dazhang, had treated this case as a story back then.

"Two months ago, during our team's dinner." Yu Dazhang reminded him:

"Brother Liu from the team mentioned a similar case at the dinner table, almost exactly the same as what you just said."

"Old Liu mentioned it?" Li Jun recalled for a moment:

"I remember now, it seems he did say something."

No wonder they say important people have short memories... Yu Dazhang could understand Li Jun's forgetfulness.

As the squadron leader, he had many things to deal with every day.

He was already too busy with official matters; where would he find extra energy to remember trivialities discussed at the dinner table?

"I remember a similar case occurred in S Province."

Yu Dazhang recalled the details of that day's casual conversation:

"Experts from the Provincial Department personally investigated it. It's been two months; could it be that the case hasn't been solved yet?"

He had already phrased it very tactfully.

The same case occurring in Songhai was enough to prove that the previous serial severed-finger case had not been solved.

But he couldn't say it outright, or it would be questioning the abilities of the Provincial Department experts.

That would affect unity.

"Yes." Li Jun nodded helplessly:

"Counting this one that just happened in our district, there are nine victims in total."

Nine victims... Yu Dazhang calculated in his mind.

When he first heard about this serial case two months ago, there were seven victims.

That meant that during the period the Provincial Department experts were investigating, the criminal committed two more crimes.

That's crazy enough.

Dare to commit crimes consecutively in such a short time, showing the criminal doesn't put the police in their eyes at all.

There is another layer of reason: the criminal is extremely confident in their own abilities.

Too arrogant!

Yu Dazhang couldn't help but feel a bit of anger.

"Has the First Detachment found any leads?"

He believed the First Detachment would absolutely be able to find leads.

The elite of the branch bureau are all concentrated there, and everyone has rich experience in handling cases.

Combined with the traces left at the scene, they would surely find some clues.

"At present, there are no valuable leads."

Li Jun looked somewhat depressed:

"Besides, time is running out; the people from S Province are already rushing over here."

Merging the cases for joint handling... Yu Dazhang immediately guessed the reason for Li Jun's depression. Very few police officers are willing to conduct joint investigations.

The reasons are...

First, fear of having the credit stolen.

This isn't a guess; similar things have happened many times.

Therefore, officers who have experienced joint case handling tend to develop some resistance.

Second, to protect personal interests.

This needs to be phrased tactfully.

Often, merging cases for investigation will expose dereliction of duty behind both parties.

No need to say more; let's leave it at that.

In short, unless absolutely forced, no one is willing to merge cases for investigation.

"Then why did you call me here?"

No mistakes, one chapter, one release, one content, all available here!

Yu Dazhang simply could not figure out what connection he had with this case.

"You know Wei Qian's temper," Li Jun said with a serious expression:

"So after careful consideration, the bureau has decided that you will lead the Cold Case Unit to coordinate with the personnel from the Provincial Department."

So they just want us to be receptionists.

Reading between the lines, Yu Dazhang quickly guessed Li Jun's intention.

For the past month or so, the Cold Case Unit has made no progress, so the team assigned them some work.

Once the people from S Province arrive, the Hongkou Branch will certainly have to send personnel to cooperate with the investigation.

To put it nicely, it's a joint investigation.

In reality, it's just treating some local officers as laborers, at the complete disposal of the people coming from S Province.

Although Yu Dazhang felt somewhat uncomfortable, he didn't dare say anything.

After all, to outsiders, it really looked like the Cold Case Unit he led had been idle and unproductive for the past month.

"No problem," Yu Dazhang agreed bluntly:

"I guarantee the experts from the Provincial Department will feel as warm as at home."

What kind of remark is that?

Li Jun heard the sarcasm in the fat man's words.

"Dazhang, did you misunderstand something?" he quickly explained:

"I arranged this just to let those experts see our investigation capabilities; you are the criminal investigation talent recognized by our entire bureau."

Leaders do know how to speak nicely... Yu Dazhang smiled:

"I understand. Rest assured, I will cooperate fully."

That afternoon.

Yu Dazhang met the three experts from S Province in the Detachment Commander's office.

Since this was Li Jun's first meeting with them as well, after shaking hands, they each introduced their own side's situation.

These three who came were no ordinary people.

The leader was a middle-aged man, the Deputy Captain of the Criminal Investigation Corps of the Provincial Department, Ding Feng.

He looked to be in his early forties, with hair already turning gray, but his spirit was very vigorous.

His face was thin; at a glance, one could tell he was a serious and conscientious police officer.

The other was a criminal sketch artist from the Major Case Branch of the Provincial Department.

Do you think a sketch artist is nothing special?

If you think that, you are greatly mistaken.

The status of a criminal sketch artist is extremely high!

Those who can enter the Provincial Department are even rarer than phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

To put it this way, a sketch artist working in the Major Case Branch of the Provincial Department must, at minimum, be specially appointed by the Ministry of Public Security.

Moreover, this profession relies heavily on talent.

Not only must their drawing skills be good, they must also be detailed enough to depict characters vividly.

Using clues provided by eyewitnesses to determine which descriptions are credible.

This is what is commonly called "filtering out the false to retain the true" in criminal investigation studies.

Just achieving this point, few can do it.

Often, eyewitness descriptions are chaotic; before the sketching even begins, the artist is already dizzy from the confusion.

Many people with high artistic talent cannot become sketch artists for this very reason.

After the introduction of this person, Yu Dazhang quickly drew a conclusion.

This serial case has been investigated for so long, yet they still haven't even clarified the criminal's appearance!

(End of this chapter)