Chapter 232: Downward

After dinner.

Da Zhuang and Heizi each had their own tasks and went off to work.

Jiang Yuan stayed behind, with nothing urgent to do.

Many reinforcements had arrived from various regions, all operating in at least squad-sized units. But police dogs remained scarce, with every location applying for more.

Returning to sleep on the dormitory's bunk bed no longer appealed to Jiang Yuan.

He took a car directly to the local vegetable market, found a stall, bought large quantities of vegetables and meat, then asked the shop owner about renting a house.

The shop owner looked at him uncertainly and said, "Aren't you all just staying temporarily? Doesn't the Mining Bureau already arrange housing for you?"

Almost everyone still working in this small town had relatives or friends in government or state-owned enterprises—the speed of internal rumors outpaced online porn.

Jiang Yuan didn't answer her question but said directly, "I'll pay market rate for two months, plus an extra month's rent upfront."

He might not understand other businesses, but renting property—he knew it inside out.

Raising rent by fifty percent was already a major selling point in the rental market, especially when phrased as "pay for two months, get three"—it felt incredibly satisfying.

After a moment's hesitation, the shop owner asked, "What kind of house are you looking for?"

"A place with a yard, where I can cook, and rooms where I can sleep—just something I can clean up a bit and sleep in," Jiang Yuan said. "And it shouldn't be too far from town. Price can be flexible."

With that last line, the shop owner said, "My relative has an empty house. Should I call and ask?"

"Good." Jiang Yuan's goal was exactly that.

From yesterday's reconnaissance, Jiang Yuan estimated he'd be staying here for several days.

Pumping out water wouldn't be done in a day, and the next phase of the investigation might yield any number of outcomes.

As for Liu Jinghui…

The only thing left to do was a broad net search—something Xu Taining was particularly good at. He just hoped Xu could maintain his focus.

After a long phone call with her relative, the market owner returned and told Jiang Yuan, "My relative's old house is vacant—great location, spacious. It was meant for his parents, but they found the town too noisy and didn't want to live there…"

Even though Zi Feng Town already seemed desolate enough, Jiang Yuan nodded.

"All the furniture and appliances are fully functional. Monthly rent is six thousand. Two months' deposit, and as you said—pay for two months, get three. That's five months total—thirty thousand yuan…"

The shop owner stared at Jiang Yuan, afraid he'd think it too expensive.

In Zi Feng Town, very few people rented at all, and rents were never high.

Six thousand yuan exceeded many people's monthly income.

"Fine," Jiang Yuan said without even considering negotiation.

Seeing how easily Jiang Yuan agreed, the shop owner instantly understood: "You're renting for a superior, aren't you? Should I use your name or the unit's name? We only issue receipts—but if you're willing to report a higher amount…"

Jiang Yuan murmured noncommittally. When he saw the house, he confirmed the living conditions were indeed good—not just a hundred-square-meter yard, but excellent privacy as a standalone property.

Moreover, the structure resembled a sihe courtyard, with four two-story buildings surrounding the yard, totaling over a dozen rooms, each over forty square meters.

And at the entrance of each room, wooden signs labeled their purpose: rice storage, noodle-making room, grain storage, cured meat room, recreation room, mahjong room, poker room…

The furniture was simple, practical above all.

The mahjong room had one electric mahjong table and four chairs. The poker room had a regular mahjong table and six chairs. The noodle-making room had a foldable bare table and a noodle press…

This courtyard showed Jiang Yuan one thing: Chinese people could live as freely as Americans—if only their houses were big enough.

There were five bedrooms suitable for sleeping, each as spacious as a full apartment in Beijing, Shanghai, or Guangzhou. Jiang Yuan picked one with a bathroom, signed the lease on the spot, and transferred four months' salary to the landlord.

Then Jiang Yuan remembered what the shop owner had said and called Huang Qiangmin, Liu Wenkai, and others.

The house was large enough—if two or three people shared a room, it could easily accommodate the entire Ningtai County team.

Jiang Yuan suggested this, saying it was just a matter of buying a few beds, and more comfortable than staying at a guesthouse.

After making the calls, Jiang Yuan messaged his father on WeChat to report his safety and describe his rental experience.

Jiang's father felt immense pride—and proved it with a transfer of ten thousand yuan.

Jiang Yuan sat calmly in the courtyard, waiting for others to arrive, opened his notes app, and recorded today's expenses:

Expenses: vegetables, 380 yuan; rent, 30, 00 yuan (three months' rent, two months' deposit).

Received: Father's ten thousand yuan (for maintaining good relations with colleagues).

Net income today: zero yuan.

…

An hour later, Huang Qiangmin arrived with the criminal investigation team at Jiang Yuan's newly rented courtyard.

After sleeping on bunk beds, everyone was extremely satisfied with this two-story, multi-room house.

Huang Qiangmin asked Jiang Yuan for the lease, then immediately called the unit's logistics officer to transfer the rent and food expenses to Jiang Yuan.

Public business couldn't be paid for privately.

Jiang Yuan accepted without protest, returned to his initially chosen master bedroom, and revised today's expenses:

Net income today: ten thousand yuan.

As a forensic pathologist, this was an unusually high income.

…

Another day.

Xu Taining had arranged a water rescue team, which brought over a dozen water pumps and began draining the mine shaft.

The Zi Feng Mountain Mining Bureau was a state entity; abandoned mines under its jurisdiction were always dealt with—typically by filling or blasting.

Otherwise, unchecked groundwater accumulation could alter geological structures. If mining resumed, new dangers might arise—like the Muling Mine disaster, where a new shaft broke into an abandoned one, flooding it and killing many.

As for the idea of meticulously mapping the mine tunnels—those were stories confined to paper.

Tunnel excavation was done by specialized excavation teams, but these teams were blue-collar miners, incapable of drafting maps.

Of course, with today's intense competition, some high-end coal mines might have engineers. But expecting everyone to work diligently and accurately label everything remained an unrealistic standard.

The mine shaft near the parking lot had no records at all.

The police, for their part, had no expectations either.

But pumping out tens of meters of water was no easy task.

This mine shaft wasn't a simple vertical well.

From the outside, it looked like a large rectangular pool—perfectly straight, with cut edges, its cross-section the size of a sports field.

Groundwater had seeped in over years, filling the pool nearly to the brim.

A dozen pumps worked furiously around the pool, yet the water level dropped slowly amid the deafening noise.

Seeing this, the water rescue team immediately approached Xu Taining and requested ten more pumps, which were rushed to the site.

Fortunately, the shaft narrowed gradually; at forty meters deep, it was roughly the size of a single room.

Huang Qiangmin took a few men, pitched tents, and stationed themselves beside the mine shaft.

He agreed with Jiang Yuan and Xu Taining's assessment: with so many people recruited for auxiliary work, how could the suspect not try to infiltrate?

Honestly, anyone who committed such a serious crime and learned a team had arrived would inevitably try to interfere.

To prevent damage to the mine or equipment, Huang Qiangmin began assigning guards after the water rescue team arrived.

The second squad's officers were still idle—they could now survey the area around the shaft.

At this point, Jiang Yuan seemed slightly anxious.

The mine shaft before him was precisely where he believed the body was most likely hidden.

Not only because other locations had already been searched, but because it reminded him of the reservoir body-dumping case.

The perpetrator of that case, Wang Guoshan, chose the reservoir partly due to childhood memories.

But it might also have been because he had a subconscious belief that hiding bodies in water was safer.

Criminal behavior patterns are traceable.

Or rather, human behavior patterns are always traceable.

Many criminals deliberately create unusual patterns—but certain habits remain unchanged.

Even scholars at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and generals in the military follow certain routines.

Criminal psychology studies exactly this.

Jiang Yuan understood it only superficially, but seeing this vast expanse of water, his mind immediately went to reservoirs.

He now placed his hope here.

If no body or evidence surfaced in the shaft, Liu Jinghui was truly in danger.

He might vanish for good.

Jiang Yuan thought this silently, watching as the water level slowly dropped.

The next day, the water finally receded completely.

The divers began searching underwater.

Jiang Yuan personally cooked a meal for the police dogs using a gas stove.

This time, he prepared food not just for Da Zhuang, but also for Heizi.

Heizi ate with wild excitement—if not for his remaining self-control, he'd have rolled onto his back right in front of Jiang Yuan.

Da Zhuang was slightly displeased, but after Li Li soothed him, he ate quietly.

By afternoon, the water level had dropped below eight meters, and Xu Taining couldn't resist coming over to watch.

Amid the synchronized roar of the pumps, large concrete blocks and old debris surfaced in the mine shaft.

To Jiang Yuan's untrained eye, it looked like an illegal landfill site for the Mining Bureau.

But the thing everyone wanted—and hoped for—still hadn't surfaced.

"Keep digging," Huang Qiangmin said without waiting for Jiang Yuan's input, directly advising Xu Taining.

Having come this far, stopping now was impossible.

The leadership of the Mining Bureau silently deployed several of their vehicles.

Several miners from the Mining Bureau also came to assist.

Everyone worked together to haul out the concrete blocks at the bottom; after moving just two, a smell began rising up.

Neither of the police dogs got a chance to enter the scene before they started barking Wangwang.