Chapter 313: Don

They had agreed to have a team-building event at home, so Jiang Yuan began making preparations.

The first thing was to investigate the scene of the warehouse where the crime occurred. Yes, Jiang Yuan's preparations weren't based on food or drinks, but on tracing the mental pathways of his team members.

When companies do team-building, they play Werewolf or Murder Mystery; for police, even if no murderer dances in the street, they ought to have a murder case as a side dish.

Jiang Yuan took Qiang Nian straight to the modern pharmaceutical industrial park on the city's outskirts and found the warehouse from the arson case.

Eight years later, the warehouse had been renovated and now belonged to another logistics company.

There weren't many goods inside, the view was largely unobstructed, and there were about forty to fifty employees. Jiang Yuan showed his credentials and explained his purpose to the warehouse manager, who responded with stunned disbelief: "Someone died here?"

Jiang Yuan hadn't expected this question first. He thought a moment and said: "Lots of places have had deaths. Don't overthink it."

"We often start work at midnight. Hey, now you mention it, how are we supposed to work overtime at night? Ah." The manager's expression darkened.

"Actually, it's nothing. This warehouse is so large, and only two people died. Like Huazhu Road beside the industrial park—it used to be a mass grave. When the country was first founded, there were bandits who came in and slaughtered dozens of families…" When Jiang Yuan studied, his teachers loved telling stories about local legends from Shannan Province—all about deaths.

The warehouse manager gained new knowledge but didn't smile. He simply said: "I live on Huazhu Road, No. 350. The houses around here have the lowest rent…"

By the end, the warehouse manager realized what he'd said, and his expression went flat.

Jiang Yuan and Qiang Yi exchanged glances and said: "It's nothing. It happened over half a century ago."

"Just look around the warehouse," the manager said, no longer wanting to talk. He found a corner outside the camera's view, sat down, and silently searched on his phone.

Jiang Yuan sighed. Don't type your home address into a search engine and add suffixes like "death," "murder," or "corpse"—the older the district, the older the place name, the less advisable it is.

As Jiang Yuan and Qiang Yi said, after decades, how could anyone avoid a death or two?

Indeed, the manager quickly sank into severe irritation, moderate anxiety, and mild fear.

Places once used as mass graves were naturally on the city's fringes. Even after decades of development, they remained poor. When night fell and silence settled… wasn't a death perfectly normal?

While the manager was distracted, Jiang Yuan quickly walked through the warehouse with Qiang Yi, taking photos where needed and recording details. When anyone approached, they showed their credentials.

The warehouse had been rebuilt and showed no trace of fire. But the basic structure remained unchanged. The new construction was simply built atop the original foundation.

Jiang Yuan himself didn't know what he was looking for, but he still examined everything carefully and took photos.

Solving a case is like this: you don't know what clue you need until you've walked the path, seen the sights, and only then, at the end, realize you've arrived.

After leaving the warehouse, they circled it once and returned to the parking lot. Jiang Yuan got in first and sat in the driver's seat, then heard Qiang Nian shout.

Jiang Yuan quickly got out and saw Qiang Yi pointing at the right rear tire: "Your tire's been slashed."

Instantly, Jiang Yuan's mind flashed to Liu Jinghui's car accident. Without thinking, he pulled out his phone, turned on the camera, and scanned the surroundings.

Nothing unusual. But he scanned twice more before walking to the rear of the car.

Just as Qiang Yi described—the right tire was punctured. It was still inflated, but no one could say how far it would last.

"This doesn't seem useful," Jiang Yuan said, hesitating as he looked at the tire.

"Yeah, we can drive back fine. Fix it later," Qiang Yi said.

Jiang Yuan shook his head: "Don't move it. Call the Forensic Center to inspect it."

Jiang Yuan called Wan Baoming and asked him to send trace evidence technicians.

Tires are also a key focus for forensic technicians.

With a level-2 skill, they can already discern a lot.

Jiang Yuan and Qiang Yi stayed until the arriving forensic team finished their inspection, then drove off together.

Before noon, members of the cold case task force began arriving at Jiang Yuan's house.

Wang Chuan stepped inside and blurted: "Holy shit, Jiang Team, your house is this big?"

He'd graduated only a few years ago and was at the age of house-hunting. Seeing Jiang Yuan's living room, he was stunned.

Shen Yaowei, who'd been to Ningtai County, gave a knowing smile: "You've got a wrong impression of Jiangcun people."

Wang Chuan sighed: "I can't even afford the down payment for this living room…"

Tang Jia poured tea for everyone and said: "Actually, it doesn't matter. Calculate your monthly mortgage—you'll think no down payment is better."

Shen Yaowei laughed without pity: "First-class merit award gives you 20, 00 yuan. If you got it dozens of times, you'd have your down payment. Just guarantee one second-class merit every month, and buying a house won't be a problem."

Wang Chuan laughed too: "Now that you say it, it's actually kind of pleasant."

Seeing most people had arrived, Jiang Yuan walked over and turned on the new projector: "Today's team-building theme is this warehouse arson-murder case."

As he spoke, a photo of a charred corpse appeared on the projection screen.

A human figure, life-sized, presented in a burned posture before them.

Wang Chuan had just picked up a blood orange, glanced at the photo, and quietly put it back.

"Starting with something this intense?" Tang Jia smiled at Jiang Yuan.

"This case involves Jianyuan Pharmaceuticals, so we're investigating quietly first. If we find leads, we'll go public later." Jiang Yuan switched photos as he spoke: "Don't be shy—eat whatever you like. Later there'll be grilled and boiled meat—my dad made it himself."

Qiang Yong brought out a platter of beautifully grilled lamb skewers.

On the projection screen, another photo appeared—still highly graphic.

Qiang Yi glanced at it, put down his skewer, and said: "Do young people really do gatherings like this now?"

Tang Jia stared at him in surprise: "Uncle, you're not scared?"

"Cooked meat is all the same. What's there to fear? Everyone, eat while it's hot. Cold food isn't tasty." Qiang Yi enthusiastically urged everyone on.

At least half of Jiang Yuan's eighteen team members felt physically uneasy.

But no one vomited, and Jiang Yuan was satisfied—this meant they weren't complete rookies.

"Where do we start with this case?" Shen Yaowei asked. This case had been too much for his cousin Shen Yaoguo. Psychologically, Shen Yaowei wanted to see the gap between his cousin and Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan looked at him and said: "I don't have any ideas yet. This case was actually requested by someone—I just need to see if we can crack it. Let's study it first."

Indeed, for Jiang Yuan, this case truly had no "handle."

But Jiang Yuan had just received a first-class merit medal—he could now unlock a high-level skill. If focused solely on this case, it would be like gaining a targeted, high-powered weapon.

As for how the case should truly proceed, Jiang Yuan genuinely had no direction.

It was a cold case anyway. The scene had already been inspected. What remained were just photos and physical evidence.

Fortunately, Shen Yaoguo had done solid work back then—he'd taken all necessary photos, captured the right angles, and documented all key evidence.

Jiang Yuan found a comfortable spot and flipped through the photos one by one.

A group of detectives sat in the living room, eating grilled meat and fruit, staring at corpses and arson scenes.

The visual feast was complete.

"Roast goose is here!" One chef, without waiting for Qiang Yi, carried the roast goose out on a cutting board, ready to carve it on the spot.

Jiang Yuan pressed a directional key—the projection screen switched to an even more gruesome photo.

The chef stared at the screen, then down at the roast goose.

Qiang Yi, sniffing the distinct aroma of the roast goose, muttered involuntarily: "Wait a sec—I'll be right over."

Saying that, he set down the goose and ran off.

Jiang Yuan watched the chef's back and said: "He won't come back."

Shen Yaowei: "We won't be reported as a perverted organization, will we?"

Wang Chuan: "Tear the roast goose apart. Don't let it get cold."