Chapter 40: Gang Crime?

Li Jun saw Wu Ju looking utterly baffled and couldn’t help rising to lean over and peer at the file.

The Technical Division had surveyed the new crime scene… and when they saw those words, his expression became just as stunned as Wu Ju’s.

The crime scene was changed?

Suppressing the urge to snatch the file, Li Jun whispered:

“Wu Ju, I’d also like to see that case file…”

“Wu Ju?”

“Wu Ju!”

As his voice grew louder, Wu Ju snapped back to attention:

“What did you say?”

“The case file.” Li Jun pointed at the documents on the desk, his curiosity now unmistakable:

“Let me take a look.”

Wu Ju said nothing, simply pushed the file forward.

Li Jun immediately grabbed it and flipped rapidly to the first page.

Ten minutes later.

The room was unnervingly silent.

You could even hear the breathing of the three men.

Li Jun’s facial muscles had frozen stiff.

“This… this can’t be right!” Unable to accept what he saw, he kept muttering:

“How could this happen? It was such a simple case… how could it possibly…?”

He was a veteran detective, had handled many cases, but never one this complex.

It wasn’t that the case posed a major threat to society—it was just impossibly difficult.

Honestly, if he’d been in charge of this murder, he’d likely have fallen straight into the suspect’s trap.

Even now, with the suspect exposed, he couldn’t help feeling a chill of dread.

If he’d made a mistake, his position as squad captain would bear direct responsibility.

At the same time, he noticed… there was a capable person in the task force!

And someone he didn’t know. The veterans, he was confident he knew all of them—could name them, knew their backgrounds.

None of them, including himself, had such ability.

Who the hell is it?!

Li Jun couldn’t help glancing at Lu Zhongxin beside him.

He must know the answer!

Before Li Jun could speak, Wu Ju’s gaze had already settled on Lu Zhongxin:

“Old Lu, we’ve worked together a few times—we’re familiar. I know you fairly well. Tell me, how was this case investigated to this point?”

That’s leadership.

Both skill and emotional intelligence.

He asked exactly what he wanted while preserving his subordinate’s dignity.

A seemingly ordinary question, yet layered with meaning.

To translate it back into Chinese, it would be…

“Old Lu, we’re all familiar—no bullshit. You know your own limits. Just tell me who solved this case.”

That version is straightforward, but brutal.

See through but don’t say it outright—still can be friends~

Lu Zhongxin naturally understood.

He never intended to take credit for this—he hadn’t even considered it.

Since his superior asked, he answered without hesitation:

“Yu Dazhang is leading the investigation. He’s a new recruit assigned here this year, and he was the first to suggest the suspect was hiding in a small inn.”

“All the clues mentioned in the case file were discovered by him during his investigation.”

“You could say he’s driving the entire case forward.”

“Also, he’s my apprentice.”

No need to be embarrassed—he admitted it calmly.

Ask anyone in the task force—you’ll find no one who objects.

My apprentice earned his position by ability; we’re happy to support him.

Disagree?

Then you step up!

“You mean…” Wu Ju chose his words carefully:

“You were led by a newcomer? And this newcomer, Yu Dazhang, led you all to solve this case?”

Lu Zhongxin nodded firmly, replying seriously:

“Yes.”

Wu Ju fell silent.

Li Jun opened his mouth but couldn’t think of anything to say.

This was a problem.

By convention, when a case reaches a major turning point beyond the task force’s capability, the best course is to halt the investigation immediately.

Then, higher-ups assign a new task force to take over.

But the current situation was unusual. Someone in the task force had the ability to solve it—but his status…

A probationary officer, just recently assigned.

Wasn’t that a bit ridiculous?

If he solves it, great—everyone wins.

But if the trail goes cold and it leaks out, it’ll become a joke.

#Hongkou Branch lets a brand-new probationary officer lead a murder investigation—and actually solves it#

Who could take that?

Thinking of this, Li Jun clenched his teeth and said to Wu Ju:

“Maybe we should stop.”

If the task force continued, it’d be like gambling.

The case must go on—but within proper procedure.

“Stopping is easy,” Wu Ju stared at Li Jun, his eyes sharp:

Please... collect 6...9...books....!

“Who in the bureau can take over this case?”

That was the real problem!

Hand it over to higher-ups?

That’d be even more humiliating.

Disband the task force and assign someone else from the bureau?

Li Jun didn’t need to think—he scanned the entire branch:

No one. Not a single person.

It wasn’t that he looked down on others—he knew everyone in the branch too well.

Besides, if there really were someone that exceptionally talented, the bureau couldn’t keep them—they’d have been transferred up long ago.

“But… maybe… then…”

Li Jun began stammering, using only filler words, hints, and evasions—never stating anything concrete.

No choice. The responsibility was too great—he couldn’t shoulder it.

All he could do was suggest, but couldn’t speak plainly.

What if the bureau chief finally said: “Fine, do it your way.”

That would be disastrous.

He’d already decided: even if he had to gamble, he wouldn’t be the one placing the bet.

Wu Ju knew exactly what Li Jun was thinking—he saw through him in an instant.

“Keep an eye on them,” Wu Ju said to Li Jun:

“Support the task force in any way you can. Make sure this case is solved. As for the deadline…”

Wu Ju paused, seeming uncertain.

Finally, he waved his hand:

“Forget it. Don’t pressure him. It’s tough enough for him to handle a case like this for the first time.”

Both Li Jun and Lu Zhongxin understood that “him” referred to Yu Dazhang.

They nodded quickly—though silent, their thoughts were nearly identical.

Big Cat really has guts.

Not only daring to bet—but betting big.

At this moment, Yu Dazhang was reviewing the freshly issued crime scene investigation report.

“Besides Zhang Yan and her family of three, we found footprints from two other individuals at the scene,” Qian Cheng pointed out to him.

Two people?

This result exceeded Yu Dazhang’s expectations.

Adding Kong Lingjie, who had already been taken into custody, the number of suspects in this case rose to three.

A gang killing?

That doesn’t make sense.

Kong Lingjie’s role was to take the blame for someone else—that still fits within normal logic.

But the presence of two killers at the scene left Yu Dazhang baffled.

Zhang Yan, a nineteen-year-old girl in the prime of her youth—why would two people team up to kill her?

Moreover, the strangulation marks on her neck had been confirmed as the work of a single person.

Even if another person had helped hold down Zhang Yan’s feet, her ankle would have shown bruising or other signs from her violent struggle.

Yet in reality, the only mark on Zhang Yan’s entire body was the strangulation mark on her neck.

The wavelike creases at the foot of the bed also indirectly proved that no second person had held her down during her violent struggle.

This is truly bizarre.

What was the extra person doing at the scene?

Standing by watching?

Yu Dazhang himself felt the absurdity of it.

The killer hasn’t been found, but we’ve uncovered a bystander.

A bystander who watched the killer commit the murder at the primary crime scene!

Who the hell is it?!

(End of Chapter)