Chapter 246

Li Li didn't know that after she reported the discovery over the radio, the white-shirted officers were nearly moved to tears.

It was too hard.

The pressure was too great.

The difficult living conditions in the mine and town, the challenges of the investigation—all were secondary; the hardest part was the psychological strain.

Imagining the scene where Liu Jinghui was found, everyone could let themselves revel in joy; but imagining the scene where he wasn't found made sleep and appetite vanish.

For a group of middle-aged and elderly cadres, asking them to imagine a happy, reunion-style ending left their minds rigid; but asking them to imagine terrifying, catastrophic outcomes made their minds as lively as in their youth.

Li Li's report freed many of them.

Some officers ran over immediately; smarter ones even brought shovels and pickaxes, but there weren't many of these tools, and the open space before the mine entrance quickly filled up.

Fortunately, an excavator and a backhoe arrived.

The engineering machinery was already on standby—they had been working at the Zifengshan mine entrance before, and now they came to prepare again.

This was Xu Taining's habit: regardless of probability or cost-effectiveness, if superiors gave him resources, he'd spend them without hesitation.

In the past, the provincial bureau's greatest strength was manpower; Xu Taining mastered organizational coordination. On the ground, where others used a few hundred personnel for a case, he insisted on deploying a thousand, even several thousand, fully mobilizing the masses and employing human-wave tactics.

Sometimes, this drew criticism from local cadres.

But Xu Taining used more resources—and his case-solving ability was stronger.

Just like this time. A more frugal leader might not have sent engineering machinery up immediately, since the situation above was still unclear, and the machinery was billed by the day.

Similarly, normal senior officers in the provincial bureau, even when using dogs, considered five or six to be plenty—the bureau's own police dog unit could easily meet the need.

But Xu Taining was different: if he thought it necessary, he'd exhaust every resource. As for the cost or waste, this level-one senior officer—who didn't manage people or money, only did the job—had no reason to care.

Just solve the case.

By the time the excavator arrived, Xu Taining had woken up.

The first to arrive was a standard medium excavator; the operator, clearly experienced, observed the scene and said: "I'll clear a path first. The mine entrance's condition is unknown—get someone from the coal mine to take a look. They have specialists for this."

Xu Taining agreed immediately and called the leadership of the Zifengshan Mining Bureau.

Most of the coal mines under Zifengshan Mining Bureau had ceased production, but a few still operated, albeit on a reduced scale; staff reductions, however, were minimal. All necessary positions remained filled.

In fact, because production tasks had become simpler, the number of personnel handling safety, production, and hygiene regulations had actually increased.

Xu Taining had grown familiar with several leaders at the Mining Bureau in recent days; after one phone call, support arrived quickly.

The first to arrive was the bureau's own mine rescue team.

The mine rescue team operated under the fire department's structure and management model, but unlike regular firefighters, they carried search devices, cutting saws, high-expansion fire extinguishers, and positive-pressure oxygen respirators.

Moreover, since they were bureau personnel, they could easily obtain mine blueprints, understand them, and leverage their familiarity with local soil conditions—greatly enhancing safety.

But this mine shaft didn't require such specialized skills.

Fangjin Township had weak coal resources, mostly small, illegal mines dug years ago. Back then, extraction was crude; now, with the collapse… the difficulty level wasn't high.

The professional team labored diligently, while the original thousand-person force rested where they could and helped where possible, significantly speeding progress.

They still hadn't confirmed whether the person inside was Liu Jinghui; Xu Taining couldn't just disband the team.

What if it was just a monkey that liked to tap metal?

Jiang Yuan helped out near the mine entrance for a while, then was quickly replaced.

He didn't know how to operate heavy machinery, so he went to the logistics camp and became a kitchen helper.

Cooking for people—he was good at it, but had no interest; cooking for dogs—Da Zhuang had earned his merit; he deserved a proper meal first.

Soon, the smell of Level 5 dog food spread through the camp.

Not just Li Li, several dog handlers were lured over by their own dogs.

Including Heizi.

Of course, all these dogs were official, with status and dignity—they wouldn't bark like stray dogs, but simply sat before Jiang Yuan, each holding a bowl, watching him cook.

Jiang Yuan felt their anticipation and quietly added three more pots.

Several handlers stepped forward to help Jiang Yuan.

The Level 5 dog food skill looked visually impressive; anyone who watched Jiang Yuan's actions sensed something unusual.

Da Zhuang kept glancing sideways, twitching his nostrils.

Among the assisting police dogs were large breeds like Rottweilers and German Shepherds, as well as small ones like Jack Russell Terriers.

Different-sized police dogs had vastly different appetites; ideally, their food types should vary accordingly.

Jiang Yuan distributed it all evenly with ease.

The first to receive food was Da Zhuang.

Before a crowd of senior and junior dogs, Da Zhuang gently set down his bowl and received a full portion of dog food.

Da Zhuang lifted his chin proudly, holding the pose until Heizi placed down two bowls.

"Hmph…"

Da Zhuang turned his head away, refusing to look at Heizi.

Li Li promptly ordered: "Eat."

Da Zhuang buried his head in his food; the world had no more troubles.

…

When Liu Jinghui saw the starry sky again, his body trembled with weakness, but gazing at those around him, he felt only nostalgia and awe for the beautiful world.

And a little worry.

"Inside… there are human bones. The killer… buried victims here years ago…"

Liu Jinghui did not speak immediately upon seeing officers in uniform; only when he recognized a senior officer did he solemnly relay the information.

Liu Jinghui had long suspected that someone among his assigned personnel was a mole or informant.

But this information, he couldn't reveal now—especially not to provincial bureau colleagues.

The reason was simple: senior officers in the provincial bureau, like him, were generals without troops; they couldn't handle deeply entrenched problems effectively.

In contrast, grassroots team leaders like Huang Qiang were more likely to act decisively in such situations.

Liu Jinghui scanned the crowd; he believed Jiang Yuan would join the rescue—and if Jiang Yuan came, Huang Qiang would likely come too.

Sure enough, Jiang Yuan's long neck appeared from afar, like a giraffe's.

A smile broke across Liu Jinghui's face.

As Jiang Yuan approached, Liu Jinghui waved him over and told the surrounding officers: "Bring Jiang Yuan here."

The circle of officers, mine rescue team members, leaders, and mobilized civilians parted, allowing Jiang Yuan to squeeze through.

At this point, Liu Jinghui and two other officers were already on stretchers, carried away from the mine entrance.

The mine's shape was gone—under the assault of multiple machines, this small illegal mine had suffered unprecedented excavation, all for free.

That's the rule: the freeloading ones dig the deepest.

"Director Liu." Jiang Yuan knelt beside Liu Jinghui, unbothered by the stench.

Director Liu had gone sour—this was an objective fact; even a clean cloth left sealed in a mine for over a week would emit a powerful odor.

Only a forensic expert like Jiang Yuan could kneel down without flinching.

"Jiang Yuan. You're here." Liu Jinghui's breath carried a strong urine stench, proving the mine had little water.

"We first searched near the tire-punctured mine entrance and found nothing, so we came here." Jiang Yuan explained his delay directly, skipping preliminaries—he trusted Liu Jinghui's reasoning enough to understand.

Liu Jinghui sighed heavily, then said with relief: "Finding this place is already impressive. I was wondering whether you could even distinguish the relationships among the multiple tire tracks at the parking lot."

"What tire tracks?" Jiang Yuan asked.

Liu Jinghui paused. "Didn't you just say you searched near the tire-punctured mine entrance? There were motorcycle tracks at my accident site too."

"Yes."

"Didn't you consider that most of these different tracks might come from the same killer?"

Jiang Yuan blinked. "Director Liu, you said they were different tracks—who'd assume they came from the same person?"

"That place was so remote. Yet fresh tracks appeared for days on end—wasn't that because we went there? Such a high mountain, such a complex road, frequent tracks appearing over days, yet never reported to me, appearing simultaneously at the crash site and parking lot, and the police dogs' behavior even hinted they might be from the same person—just unproven…"

Liu Jinghui had held this thought too long; he'd been thinking about it for days. Now he spoke in one breath, his face flushed and flushed again.

Jiang Yuan absorbed the information. "So… what's the connection between the tire tracks and Fangjin Township?"

Liu Jinghui frowned at Jiang Yuan. "This is Fangjin Township already?"

"Uh… yes." Jiang Yuan nodded.

"We followed the tracks. One was especially deep—probably from rain. We traced it to a crossroads and confirmed he came from this mountain road. The most promising spot along this road, the one most likely to hold clues, was these mine entrances…"

Liu Jinghui didn't elaborate fully, but his reasoning direction was clear.

Jiang Yuan stared blankly at him. Normally, communication flowed easily; this time, the gap was a little too wide.

Added to that, Liu Jinghui had just emerged from the mine—his voice hoarse, barely able to speak, and reeking—making communication even harder.

Several officers lifted Liu Jinghui onto a stretcher.

Liu Jinghui turned his head toward Jiang Yuan again: "I judge the killer works for the state—not necessarily a government employee, but possibly from a public institution or state-owned enterprise, over forty, likely fifty, male, physically strong… living in this small town, yet hiding his actions…"

"Director Liu." Jiang Yuan interrupted.

"The air outside is better, my mind's clearer—let me organize my thoughts…" Liu Jinghui murmured. "I originally planned to follow Wang Guoshan's trail, but soon realized they'd severed ties long ago—this path was dead. The best approach is to find the bodies. There should be several corpses in the mine—we've already unearthed one, fully skeletonized…"

"Director Liu." Jiang Yuan, while Liu Jinghui spoke, slipped on gloves and gripped his hand. "Rest now…"

Liu Jinghui panicked: "How can I rest? Don't mind me—think of me as having fasted for over a week. Now I must seize the moment…"

"The killer's already caught." Jiang Yuan patted Liu Jinghui's hand, soothingly. "He's an employee of the nearby power supply station. Five years ago, he was stationed at a service point just a few hundred meters from the mine entrance. His motorcycle was provided by a repair shop—leased, essentially…"

As Jiang Yuan spoke, Liu Jinghui's grip weakened, gradually slipping into weakness.