Chapter 1369

Jiang Yuan specifically requested a small office, sat inside, waited for Wang Chuansheng to bring the list, first scanned it himself, then marked some symbols on the paper before picking up the receiver.

Huang Qiangmin followed in anxiously. How difficult it is to seek help—he, who is constantly pursued by others, knows this better than anyone.

Huang Qiangmin prepared himself, in case Jiang Yuan's phone call didn't go smoothly, then he would take over.

At this moment, Jiang Yuan dialed the first phone number.

"Yu Zhi, good morning." Jiang Yuan's first call was to Yu Wen-shu, the captain of the Criminal Investigation Detachment of Changyang Municipal Bureau.

On the other end of the line, Yu Wen-shu's laughter sounded as warm as hearing about a Sichuan opera-touring panda: "Hahahaha, Jiang Yuan, good morning, good morning, is there a problem on your end?"

"There is a case I'd like to ask you to send someone to conduct a thorough investigation." Jiang Yuan slightly emphasized the word "thorough."

Yu Wen-shu agreed without hesitation, saying: "No problem, have your people send over the detailed situation, and I'll immediately arrange personnel to handle the liaison."

"Alright, it's an old case; possibly Xu Taining from Xu Chu will be the one to handle the liaison with you later." Jiang Yuan specifically clarified.

Upon hearing Xu Taining, Yu Wen-shu immediately perked up: "Is it a major case?"

"An old case from 15 years ago, two victims, one of whom was a police family member."

"Police family member?"

"Yes. It's an old case from Ningtai County previously, and clues were found in Anwan, Pingzhou." Jiang Yuan briefly outlined the basic situation of the case, without saying too much, as Yu Wen-shu is the captain of the Criminal Investigation Detachment of the provincial capital city and rarely handles cases directly anymore; not wasting his time is the best respect.

"If you put it that way, I recall it—was it Wei Zhen-guo's lover, named... Li Huimin?" Yu Wen-shu's mind kicked into gear, immediately entering a state of never-forgetting-what-he-saw, the file he had seen years ago appearing vividly before him.

"It's her." Jiang Yuan replied.

"I understand. This case, our Changyang Municipal Criminal Investigation Detachment will certainly give full support..." Yu Wen-shu gave Jiang Yuan assurance.

Jiang Yuan said a few more words, hung up the phone, and looked toward Huang Qiangmin.

Huang Qiangmin gave a thumbs-up. It still had to be Jiang Yuan making the call—everything got settled without any unexpected issues or extra costs; if it were him doing it, the approach would be entirely different.

Although, it's also because Yu Wen-shu is sufficiently familiar, but for a case of this level, the degree of assistance and support varies; normally, allowing out-of-town criminal investigators to come and check files themselves, sending one or two young officers to accompany and question relevant personnel, is already considered quite a scene.

Yu Wen-shu didn't even mention these things—he treated it as his own case to handle, which is the hardest to obtain and the most genuine support.

"Next, call Gao Changjiang, the bureau chief of Gugu Municipal Bureau." Jiang Yuan looked at the list and said directly.

Wang Chuansheng obediently helped dial the number, waited for the connection, then handed the receiver to Jiang Yuan.

Because of the relationship with Gao Yuyan, the auxiliary police officer in the Cold Case Special Unit, Gao Changjiang and Jiang Yuan occasionally have phone contact, consulting some technical issues.

After two beeps, Gao Changjiang's voice came through: "Hahahaha, Jiang Yuan, good morning, good morning..."

Two minutes later.

Jiang Yuan rubbed his ears, glanced at the list, and said: "Guo Peichao, bureau chief of Changle Municipal Bureau."

Wang Chuansheng dialed the number.

Immediately, the receiver carried a familiar vibration: "Hahahaha, Jiang Yuan, good morning, good morning..."

Pingmeng Municipal Bureau...

Litang County Bureau...

Chiyong Municipal Bureau...

Miaoxian County Bureau...

Liyuan Municipal Bureau...

Jingcheng Zhengguang Bureau...

Lan'yue Municipal Bureau...

Jiang Yuan's calls went through, and the responses were almost uniformly resounding and vigorous; each bureau's enthusiasm was so great they seemed to want to personify their words.

Only when calling Meiyang did Secretary Zhang Dinghui answer somewhat nervously: "Director Jiang? Why aren't you calling in the early morning anymore? Did something major happen?"

Jiang Yuan could only first soothe him: "No, it's just that we have a case here and would like to ask for your help."

"Hahahaha, as long as nothing happened, that's good..." Zhang Dinghui quickly returned to the proper track.

After a round of calls, Jiang Yuan then called Pang Jidong and Shan Kan, now that his master is in need of personnel, naturally he should send his disciples out.

Huang Qiangmin stood before him, listening to Jiang Yuan make calls, and gulped down three cups of water with loud glugging sounds.

Jiang Yuan finally finished calling through the entire list, stood up, swayed slightly, and said: "Done calling, has Xu Chu made contact?"

Xu Taining cannot be used for free, and this is also Ningtai County Bureau's own case, so Huang Qiangmin made the call.

Huang Qiangmin gave an affirmative hum and said: "They can arrive tomorrow; if needed here, we can first resolve some mobilization and related issues via remote connection—it's the standard procedure, and they didn't give us any discount."

Jiang Yuan chuckled: "The filling doesn't show on the pleats."

"I understand, so I stayed silent; the point is these old-timers didn't shirk responsibility, which shows they still have some heart." Huang Qiangmin said while stretching: "I'm still considering—if it really doesn't work out, we still have vehicles here that aren't fully used; returning a few to them wouldn't be impossible..."

Just as he was speaking, the phone on the table rang.

Huang Qiangmin startled, couldn't help but lightly pat himself with his hand: "Don't listen to my earlier nonsense—I'm just bored..."

Jiang Yuan pressed his hand on the receiver, waited for Huang Qiangmin to finish speaking, then picked it up and said: "Hello..."

"Hahahaha, is it Jiang Yuan? It's me, Song Tiancheng." A hearty laugh came through the phone.

"Hello, Bureau Chief Song." Jiang Yuan then realized, giving Huang Qiangmin a mouth shape: Ministry.

"Hello hello." Song Tiancheng and Jiang Yuan have collaborated multiple times before; he spoke loudly: "I heard you're requesting reinforcements all over the world—what trouble have you run into?"

"There is a case that's rather lacking in clues..." Jiang Yuan then recounted the Li Huimin case.

Song Tiancheng hummed in acknowledgment, saying: "You're going from one city to one county like this—when will you ever get it done? Why not come to me? Is Old Song not usable?"

"No no. I considered that you're burdened with myriad duties, too busy, and I couldn't bear to disturb you." Jiang Yuan, at this moment feigning social awareness, added: "Besides, we've considered that if the killer is a frequent offender, as long as we contact some city and county criminal investigation teams, find one or two clues, we'll likely be able to confirm it; if those cities and counties we contact can't even manage to merge cases, then we might have to consider other approaches."

"Hmm, definitely we should follow your investigative approach. Like this: you still need which cities and counties to help? Write a list and send it to me via text, and I'll speak on your behalf."

"This..."

"You're calling one by one, and I hear it and feel pitiful—enough, don't be polite, just do it this way." Song Tiancheng said and then hung up, not giving Jiang Yuan a chance to refuse.

Jiang Yuan couldn't help but look toward Huang Qiangmin.

But it was Liu Jinghui beside him who softly said: "It's also a good thing—let's just wrap up the surrounding cities. I'll make the list."

"You're being rather blunt, it's not easy to talk about unfamiliar places," Huang Qiangmin muttered, but he still let Liu Jinghui do it.

After sending the text message, the few of them discussed waiting a bit longer, as they needed Song Tiancheng to free up time to make a call before they could get in touch again.

Just as they were considering whether to go out for a meal, the phone suddenly rang.

"Hahaha, is this Director Jiang Yuan? This is Wang Kai from the Li Tao Municipal Bureau; I received a call from Director Song..."