Chapter 1363

At 5 p. m., Jiang Yuan chose to clock off on time.

The police officers still stationed at the city bureau saw this and hurriedly packed up their things to follow suit and clock off.

Working hours had already exceeded the limit, the number of personnel sent out by Anwan City Bureau had also exceeded the limit, and more importantly, the budget had also been exceeded.

"We'll have lamb hotpot tonight—lamb raised on the grasslands eating wild chives and wild garlic, it's incredibly fragrant, slaughtered and cooked fresh." Liu Zhuang, swearing as the criminal police detachment captain, was actually very busy, with the various detachments he'd sent out possibly needing to find him at any moment, but he still felt he should first attend to Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan was also very experienced in this, smiling and saying: "Lamb hotpot is fine, you don't need to accompany me. Just send someone to show the way."

"That won't do." Liu Zhuang actually wanted to do that, but rubbing his hands, he felt embarrassed.

Zhang Limin came running up from behind at this moment, saying: "Let me do it, let me do it—I know Director Jiang's preferences too well, and besides, I've just learned the technique for grilling bull's eyes; I'll grill a sheep's eye for Director Jiang to try in a moment."

Like all frontline cadres, Liu Zhuang inherently didn't care much for Zhang Limin's type of bureaucratic official, but at this time, Zhang Limin being able to take over the reception duty made him genuinely feel that the provincial department's personnel had some use.

Liu Zhuang put on a simpleton's act, humming and hawing: "This isn't quite proper..."

His usual manner of directing subordinates was always swift and decisive, which Jiang Yuan and Zhang Limin had both witnessed; seeing him act bashful now, they found it somewhat hard to accept.

Jiang Yuan couldn't be bothered to wrangle with the middle-aged man, turning his head and saying: "Then it'll be trouble for Director Zhang, but sheep's eyes are still better boiled—boil a sheep offal soup, throw the whole sheep head in, and just roast the kidneys to eat."

He made his demands without the slightest politeness, which instead made Zhang Limin and Liu Zhuang feel relieved.

After exchanging a few more words, Liu Zhuang hurried back to the command room, while Zhang Limin smiled and linked arms with Jiang Yuan, saying: "I can roast kidneys too, but I'm telling the truth—I'm best at roasting sheep's testicles; I'll have them cut a few more later and roast them for you to try."

Mu Zhiyang, standing nearby, remarked somewhat curiously: "A sheep only has two testicles, right? Killing one sheep probably wouldn't even finish them all."

"We can borrow a few sheep's testicles first." Zhang Limin offered a solution.

"Borrow?" Mu Zhiyang asked: "When the sheep are sold later, if customers find there are no testicles, what then?"

"Just say they're castrated sheep, just like the pigs we usually eat—aren't pigs nowadays all castrated? Then whoever encounters them later will just have castrated sheep." Zhang Limin said this and laughed, pulling out his phone: "I'll let them know first, borrow the testicles from the sheep to be slaughtered today, then talk—this side's sheep testicles are absolutely good; there's even horny goat weed and caterpillar fungus on the grasslands, the medicine has already entered their bodies!"

Zhang Limin spoke truth as joke while shouting for several vehicles, then set off mightily toward the lamb restaurant.

Having borrowed the sheep's testicles for the night, even without alcohol it couldn't last long; Jiang Yuan returned to the dormitory early, slept until 6 a. m., then hurried to the criminal police detachment.

The earliest batch of police officers sent to "inquire" about the suspects in the Cuiying 211 case had mostly already brought people to the nearby police substation, fingerprints naturally having been taken, and some had even made transcripts for the suspects, requiring detailed accounts of their movements in the days before and after the incident.

Jiang Yuan compared the newly taken high-definition fingerprints in sequence, the process identical to before, merely losing the initial freshness, becoming somewhat dull and silent, even slightly torturous.

Because the tertiary features of fingerprints are too fine, even with a large proportion of high-definition enlargement, they still look difficult, requiring full concentration to compare. Unlike the secondary features of fingerprints, which have many ready-made techniques for reference, taking a bit longer makes it seem especially tedious.

Whether it was Jiang Yuan or the experts accompanying him, they soon fell into silence, yet felt it was entirely natural.

If solving a case were viewed as success, then the struggle within success certainly exists, occasional hot-blooded moments being inspiring, but most of the time it's just torment and waiting—whether forensic technicians or criminal police, it's the same.

Three police cars entered the criminal police detachment's compound silently and without sound; Liu Zhuang received the news, rushed downstairs in a fluster, and only managed to bump into a few people at the elevator entrance.

"Chief, why have you come?" Liu Zhuang panted. He had come running down from the stairs.

The chief waved his hand: "I'm afraid you'll come again to ask me for funds, so I had no choice but to deliver them myself, to see how you're doing."

"We're currently distinguishing the fingerprints of several suspects in the Cuiying 211 case." Liu Zhuang hurriedly updated the progress, saying: "Director Jiang has confirmed 48 suspects, our personnel have currently brought in 14 suspects, and about 10 groups have had their suspect identities clearly confirmed; the remaining 20-plus teams are either en route or further confirming suspect identities."

The chief listened and nodded, walking alongside Liu Zhuang while asking for details.

Liu Zhuang first spoke of the successful parts, prompting everyone to nod in agreement.

The tertiary features of fingerprints are still very welcome in the police system—this is equivalent to satellite clarity increasing by dozens or even hundreds of times, or saying artillery has become missiles; the trouble is trouble, the cost is high, but the effect is indeed good.

Entering the meeting room, one saw Jiang Yuan and others busy to the point of flying about, keyboard and mouse discussion sounds like a market.

The chief spoke in advance: "Don't disturb them—we'll first take a look ourselves. Any difficulties now? Don't tell me about funds—I don't have any either!"

The several people accompanying him all let out light laughs.

Liu Zhuang did not laugh: "Difficulties do indeed exist. Because this time the scope is relatively large—48 suspects, still cross-compared out—some suspects may inherently have various problems, or for some reason, their location and identity are hard to determine."

At this moment, the chief suddenly realized the implication behind Liu Zhuang's earlier remark about "further confirming suspect identities," his face slightly changing: "Has someone fled?"

This is the situation most feared during the investigation of cold cases—when you've painstakingly drawn a small circle around a suspect, only to find some suspects inside are no longer in normal social relations; at this point, finding them would require enormous effort, while not looking risks letting slip through the net.

Ordinary suspects and nearly confirmed criminals are still different, because confirmed criminals are often just one or two people, at most a slightly larger gang, often interconnected—arrest a few fools, and it's basically one net catching them all.

But ordinary suspects can be numerous and unconnected; if such a person temporarily breaks free from their old relationship network, for police, the cost of searching will increase greatly. If someone inside truly committed something, deliberately hiding and fleeing to another place or even abroad, naturally it will bring even greater search costs.

Liu Zhuang at this moment also dared not guarantee anything, speaking carefully: "Currently still under investigation, but some suspects themselves have criminal records, or have become dishonest persons through small loans, their phones and ID cards no longer in use; some can be contacted through family—we're doing our best to make contact; some situations are still uncertain, we're still pursuing."

"Equivalent to manhunt? How many such cases? Any fled abroad?" The chief immediately zeroed in on the crux.

The several people behind the chief also had grim expressions. The bureau's money had all been given to Liu Zhuang—equivalent to the dragon clan giving its hardest scales to Liu Zhuang to make armor—and now you say you can't find the enemy? How agonizing that is.

Liu Zhuang swallowed, speaking softly: "Currently no overseas flight has been detected, but several people's current situations are uncertain; exactly how many, still unclear."

The chief, who had come incognito for a private visit, wore a serious expression, somewhat unwilling to speak. He too felt the pressure, especially the responsibility of asking superiors for funds—one cannot take money upfront and then later talk about practical difficulties and idealism.

At this moment, Jiang Yuan stood up and said: "We haven't yet reached the stage of manhunt."

With this one sentence, Liu Zhuang, who had originally been about to bend his waist, instantly felt his spine healthy.

Jiang Yuan first said: "Our fingerprint comparison here is low-cost; let's first look at these fingerprint comparisons up front to see if they can match. If not, we'll handle these untraceable suspects separately..."

The chief was not so easily persuaded, speaking rationally: "As I know it, the perpetrator of the Cuiying 211 case is likely a fleeing offender, so the possibility is greater among those whose identities cannot be confirmed..."

"I don't necessarily need a real person for comparison." Jiang Yuan took up the chief's words, saying: "First priority in seeking suspects is that live comparison has the highest credibility, lowest difficulty, and lowest cost of confirmation, and it can also prevent suspects from hearing the wind and fleeing..."

Jiang Yuan glanced at the attentive audience, then continued: "But if we truly cannot find a live person, I only need to find a way to obtain this person's fingerprints and footprints. The suspect's hometown, the house used before fleeing, even previously used objects, etc., can be used for secondary comparison, which is also feasible."

Jiang Yuan finally looked at Liu Zhuang: "In the worst case, even if the above plans still cannot confirm the suspect's identity, we should still be able to exclude most people. The remaining... manhunt we also have experience with—whether they fled to avoid debt or for other reasons, it's merely opening another case at most, not too difficult."

The same words, spoken by different people, yield different effects. When endorsed by "Ning Taijiang Yuan," saying "nothing more than opening another case," the psychology of those present was actually extraordinarily reassuring.

One case, to Jiang Yuan, amounts to what again?

The chief immediately applauded and lifted Jiang Yuan high: "Not unworthy of Director Jiang, Ning Taijiang Yuan, ferocious and overwhelming, today we finally see—indeed so!"

Pa-pa-pa-pa, the applause rang out instantly, as if the case had already been solved.