Chapter 32: Someone Has Already Checked for Us

“He still has half a relative.” The team member repeated it.

Confirming he hadn’t misheard, Yu Dazhang let out a bitter laugh:

“Come on, show me what half a person looks like.”

The others in the group also cast skeptical glances at the two of them.

Is Kong Lingjie’s relative now only half?

You two are really impressive—any kind of person you can dig up.

Did you go tomb raiding?

Otherwise, where would you find half a person?

“That’s not what I meant!”

Seeing everyone look at him like he was an idiot, he waved his hands frantically:

“I mean, Kong Lingjie used to have a direct blood relative, but she’s not anymore—so she counts as half.”

Everyone still stared at him like he was an idiot.

Why not just say the person died? Why make it so complicated?

Yu Dazhang thought for a moment, then quickly realized:

“You found Kong Lingjie’s ex-wife?”

Only someone who had once been married would refer to them as “half a relative.”

During the marriage, she was a direct relative; after divorce, she wasn’t.

But since they lived together, and she was the closest person to him, even after divorce, their bond remained closer than others’.

Isn’t there a saying?

One day as husband and wife brings a hundred days of affection; a hundred days as husband and wife runs deeper than the sea.

“That’s right.” The team member nodded quickly:

“We didn’t just find her—we got her exact details, including her current workplace.”

This was indeed a breakthrough… Yu Dazhang had reviewed Kong Lingjie’s identity records before.

In the marital status field, it read: divorced.

They hadn’t dug deeper into that field because the two had been divorced for sixteen years.

From what they knew, the two had had little contact after the divorce, and in recent years, they’d lost all connection.

But now things were different—anyone connected to Kong Lingjie couldn’t be overlooked.

“Can we find her in person?” Yu Dazhang asked.

“Yes.” The team member replied with certainty:

“Although she’s not in Songhai, based on the information we have, locating her won’t be difficult—just…”

Seeing him hesitate, Yu Dazhang smiled:

“You’re going to have to travel far, right?”

Everyone understood the team member’s concern.

Yu Dazhang’s authority now came only from within the special task force, so it was limited to the group’s scope.

As long as they stayed within Songhai, Yu Dazhang could freely mobilize group resources, and everyone was happy to cooperate.

But assigning personnel to travel out of town for an investigation was beyond Yu Dazhang’s authority.

Any request involving vehicles or funding required joint approval from the team leader and deputy leader.

Yet the subject of this investigation was someone who hadn’t contacted the suspect in many years.

In other words, this trip might be a complete waste of time.

“You two, prepare immediately—be ready to depart at any moment.”

It was Lu Zhongxin who spoke—now he had to step forward.

This also showed his complete trust in his disciple, and his willingness to take responsibility for it.

He would definitely report to the team leader, but fortunately, the process went smoothly.

As long as resources were used for the case, the team leader generally supported it.

What they wanted was the final outcome—the specific investigative process was your job as deputy leader and team members.

Don’t you believe it?

Let me give you another scene of dialogue…

“Give us people, give us vehicles, give us funding—if the case isn’t solved by the deadline…”

“I’ll resign voluntarily!”

Don’t these two lines sound strangely familiar?

Do you think resources are given to you for free? That’s a form of pressure.

Without you even realizing it, you’ve already signed a military guarantee.

If, with full support, you still can’t solve the case, it’s clearly your incompetence.

They won’t even give you a chance to make excuses.

Half an hour later, the two men drove off under Lu Zhongxin’s orders.

Once the bow is drawn, there’s no turning back.

Since the investigation began, everyone in the special task force had been on edge, none daring to slack off.

They had a feeling… the real killer was about to surface.

Although the case had grown increasingly convoluted, it was undeniable that progress had been made.

And the pace was faster than expected.

That fat, greasy Fatty somehow uncovered new leads every single day, and every order he gave came with a head start.

Please… you… collect… 6…9…books…!

It was as if he already knew what would happen next, so he could arrange things ahead of time.

Two days later, the autopsy report had just been released when Qian Cheng brought it to the special task force.

“The time of death has been pushed back by one day…” Yu Dazhang said, staring at the autopsy report in his hand:

“That means Zhang Yan died that afternoon, the same day she went missing.”

Zhang Yan’s parents reported her missing at 9:20 p.m. that day.

Anyone seeing this would surely question: Isn’t it required to wait twenty-four hours before filing a missing person report?

If you believed that, you’d waste so much time.

The truth is, you can report a missing person immediately.

But generally, police won’t launch an investigation until after twenty-four hours.

If the missing person is an elderly person, a child, or someone showing signs of danger, police act immediately.

Zhang Yan clearly fell into the category of someone potentially in danger—her parents clearly understood the law.

“We missed a crucial lead!” Yu Dazhang suddenly shouted.

Lu Zhongxin and Qian Cheng were startled.

“Did you find a new lead?” they asked in unison.

At the same time, they glanced at the autopsy report in Yu Dazhang’s hand.

Are we looking at the same report?

How come you instantly spot something new?

“No, not a new lead,” Yu Dazhang denied:

“It was always there—we just ignored it.”

His eyes fixed on the report, his expression growing more excited.

“What is it?” Lu Zhongxin pressed.

“The time Zhang Yan went missing!” Yu Dazhang explained quickly:

“When the case came to us, Zhang Yan’s body had already been found, so to us, this was a murder case.”

“But before that, Zhang Yan’s case had already begun.”

“Because her parents filed the report, the local police station must have conducted an investigation.”

“Including her school dismissal time, surveillance footage along her route home, and analysis of her whereabouts after she vanished.”

“To the police officers at the station, it was a missing person case.”

“We overlooked it because Zhang Yan was found—even though she was only a corpse, she was no longer missing.”

Generally, a police station registers and conducts a preliminary investigation upon receiving a report.

If the case is prolonged or complex, it’s transferred to criminal investigators.

Zhang Yan’s body was found on the fifth day of her disappearance, so the police station naturally closed the missing person case.

Lu Zhongxin and Qian Cheng’s eyes grew brighter.

Since Zhang Yan’s time of death and time of disappearance were both that afternoon…

“Master, Brother Qian, come with me,” Yu Dazhang suddenly stood up, smiling:

“This will be easy—we’re going straight to the local police station.”

(End of Chapter)