Chapter 395

"Sir, we're offering free dog registration—let me get you one, okay?"

"If you don't do it now, you'll have to go to the police station later, when it'll be crowded, you'll have to wait in line, and pay two yuan for the booklet. Right now, everything's free."

"Hey, we'll take a photo of your dog—keep this certificate, just save it on your phone. You can show the physical copy later, or just pull up the photo on your phone."

Police officers were scattered across the entire county, especially around Song Alley, approaching anyone walking a dog to register it.

The registration cards being issued now are practically useless—just like when hotels first started requiring ID cards to check in; people with problems won't just walk up and hand themselves in.

But once enough cards are issued, like when hotels and internet cafes all started requiring ID, the oddballs and criminals will start to slip up.

This is territorial control: first build the foundation, then whether you launch proactive operations or wait for criminals to walk into your trap, it all works.

The officers in Jiang Yuan's cold case unit played a huge role. In recent years, as police forces in provincial capitals have been caught up in internal competition, their hiring standards have become almost like management trainee programs—unnecessary, but due to the sheer number of applicants, requirements kept rising. The high standards and ultra-low acceptance rates meant new officers all had high hopes for their futures…

Many civil servants who began to burn out in their thirties were likely crushed by this cycle.

Wang Chuanxing and others came to Jiang Yuan's cold case unit hoping to secure a new path for promotion. Their managerial skills—or rather, the managerial skills they hoped to have—only now found some use: grassroots workers from communities, active members from schools, some frontline officers willing to follow orders, and those promoted to subdistrict office cadres—all had only managed themselves until now.

Liu Jinghui didn't care. He'd seen too many complex situations; this one was practically harmonious. Sometimes, disagreements with local criminal investigation teams over investigative directions were the real problem.

Right now, Xu Xuewu simply hasn't had time to pay attention to them.

"This should be enough. At the current pace, within three or four days, most dogs in the county will be registered. We've also stationed people at pet shops and veterinary clinics, checking in periodically. If we can find Guihua through pet food, vaccines, or grooming services, that's ideal. If not, we'll see if anyone adopted her. If that fails, there's nothing more we can do." Liu Jinghui didn't mention dog meat trucks or dog markets—those had been investigated from the very beginning.

But dog markets are orders of magnitude harder to manage than pet shops; if Guihua went there, tracing her from that angle wouldn't be worth much.

Fortunately, Guihua was a small, lean Pug.

Jiang Yuan couldn't think of a better plan either, so he asked: "If we want better results, what can we do?" Liu Jinghui raised an eyebrow: "Better results? What did this dog do in its past life—build bridges and pave roads?"

"The ones who built bridges and paved roads were earth dogs. Pugs were probably programmers in their past lives." Jiang Yuan joined in the joke.

The mood was set. Liu Jinghui sighed and said: "To make territorial control effective, we have a specific term for it: reinforced territorial control. Besides setting up the basic framework well, the key is strong enforcement, frequent inspections, swift and fair penalties, and occasional rewards. It's not just about funding—it requires people to invest, and high organizational discipline."

If inspections aren't rigorous, the territory is just an empty shell.

Jiang Yuan nodded. He couldn't conjure up more personnel—he could only hope the Miaohé County side could free up some capacity. The key was whether Liao Baoquan could be broken.

Yet the outcome everyone most anticipated never materialized. In the afternoon.

Feng Qiong convened a meeting to announce the results.

"... Liao Baoquan, knowing he was doomed, refused to confess." Feng Qiong spoke at length, but only this final sentence held real meaning.

This outcome wasn't surprising, but it was one no one wanted to accept. Feng Qiong's long speech was merely to give everyone space to calm down.

Psychological tactics had failed during interrogation; now, they were being used in the meeting.

Director Guan Xingfu of the Miaohé County Bureau picked up a cigarette and lit it. Click-click-click.

Instantly, lighters sparked up all around.

Everyone had been holding it in too long. With a leader starting, the clever ones rushed to finish one cigarette and immediately lit another, smoking slowly.

The meeting room filled with smoke. Director Guan said: "Sorry, I'm a lifelong smoker. Uh... Comrade Feng, on behalf of the Miaohé County Bureau, I pledge full support for the special task force's investigation..."

After brief remarks from the director and other senior officials, Feng Qiong and Kang Zhichao turned their gazes toward Liu Jinghui and Jiang Yuan.

They had no expectations for Miaohé County's investigative capabilities, but Liu Jinghui and Jiang Yuan's resumes were impressive, and they were seen as valuable reinforcements.

After all, just the two of them couldn't solve the case alone.

Jiang Yuan reached across the table and pulled over a stack of photos, examining them one by one.

He hadn't been involved in this case from the start. For him, finding the dog was the real work; other tasks had dedicated personnel—he didn't need to pretend he was indispensable.

Even the photos related to Case 503, he only now had time to read carefully. He slowly went through them.

Liu Jinghui glanced at him and guessed his thoughts were on Guihua. He silently shook his head and said: "As for us... since we've been assisting Miaohé County with territorial control, if needed, we can help..."

Kang Zhichao suddenly chuckled: "Finding the dog."

With a "leader" from Beijing leading the laughter, no one in the room could hold back—they all burst into giggles.

This absurdity had become Miaohé County Bureau's running joke over the past few days.

Feng Qiong, unlike Kang Zhichao who was technical, still wanted to use them and the Ningtai County police force. He cleared his throat twice and said: "First, we must acknowledge Miaohé County and Jiang Yuan's cold case unit for digging deep and capturing Liao Baoquan, the long-sought fugitive in Case 503. Regarding the other accomplice, my current thinking is this..."

"Liao Baoquan lived and worked in Miaohé County for several years—this was likely a period when he was relaxed and free. Compare his contacts during that time with those before the crime to see if we can find any leads."

"Second, Liao Baoquan's belongings must be checked again and again. His refusal to confess may stem from personal willpower, or he may be blackmailed by an accomplice, or perhaps it's driven by emotional motives—we need to figure this out."

"Finally, we can start from Liao Baoquan's family and partners to see if we can uncover any clues." Feng Qiong was highly skilled—his speech was orderly, quickly outlining the key priorities.

But Jiang Yuan was used to working with Liu Jinghui. Compared to him, Feng Qiong's judgments were clearly cautious, based only on current information—summarized into three points: search Liao Baoquan's home, investigate his relationships, examine his changes over the past few years.

In breadth, Feng Qiong's investigative coverage was sufficient. But he lacked Liu Jinghui's depth of reasoning.

Liu Jinghui's reasoning always dared to push one step further based on existing evidence. It might not yield results, but if you viewed a case as a chess game, Liu Jinghui's deductions often formed brilliant moves.

Feng Qiong was more methodical. From Jiang Yuan's perspective, this expert from the ministry, at least in practical criminal investigation, was merely average—level 2.3, no more.

But for a ten-year-old major case like 503, steady progress wasn't wrong. Just like Guihua's disappearance—no leads meant no leads. Liu Jinghui, besides helping build the territorial control system, hadn't made any brilliant moves either.

Jiang Yuan lowered his head and kept flipping through the photos.

Feng Qiong, having finished speaking, glanced at Jiang Yuan and said: "When this case reached the ministry, Anhai City had already conducted two mass searches involving a thousand people—and still failed to catch the two suspects. So they concluded the suspects were locals, at least familiar with the area. They also believed the suspects had a carefully planned strategy..."

Feng Qiong summarized the earlier investigation: "Later, my master Yu Shuguo and I went to Anhai City. We had reservations about Anhai City Bureau's judgment—after all, attacking an armed police officer was too brazen to be called a 'careful plan.' Still, Anhai City's criminal investigation work was solid. The failure to solve the case was regrettable, but we must re-examine and re-investigate the earlier groundwork while maintaining some trust in it..."

"My main thoughts are two: First, don't fear mistakes—we've certainly made many. Correct them when found. Second, in the short term, we should focus our criminal investigation efforts on Liao Baoquan's recent years."

Currently, the most critical evidence and leads in Case 503 were Liao Baoquan himself—Feng Qiong's entire case focus rested on him.

Still, since Liao Baoquan had spent his early years driving refrigerated trucks across the country, a thorough investigation would be difficult.

Feng Qiong looked at Jiang Yuan, then at Director Guan: "Director Guan, could you help coordinate personnel? In the initial phase, travel assignments will be frequent and heavy..."

"No problem." Director Guan glanced at Jiang Yuan but still understood priorities. Jiang Yuan looked up, took a sip of water, and said: "I'd like to add two points."

"Go ahead." Feng Qiong smiled, ready to shut Jiang Yuan down if he mentioned the dog. Jiang Yuan said: "As is well known..."

Everyone in the room broke into knowing smiles.

Then Jiang Yuan continued: "As a forensic pathologist, I have some insights into determining time of death..."

Without exaggeration, Jiang Yuan was a level 6 expert in time-of-death determination. Worldwide, only a handful of dogs or cats' paws could match his expertise.

Of course, no one in the room yet grasped the magnitude of this gap—their faces still wore the same amused smiles thinking of Guihua.

Jiang Yuan continued: "I've carefully reviewed the photos of the first victim, armed police officer He Boyong, and the second victim, Dou Dingqiang. Both died from stab wounds causing hemorrhage, within eight hours. But the exact time of death appears misjudged."

Jiang Yuan paused, pushed two photos toward Feng Qiong and Kang Zhichao, and said: "The first victim shouldn't be He Boyong—it should be Dou Dingqiang. Their times of death differ by one to two hours; I lean toward one hour. That means Liao Baoquan and his accomplice killed Dou Dingqiang first, then He Boyong."

Jiang Yuandun paused, pushed the two photos toward Feng Qiong and Kang Zhichao, and said, "The first victim shouldn't be He Boyong—it should be Dou Dingqiang. The time of death between the two differs by one to two hours; I lean toward one hour. That means Liao Baoquan and his accomplices killed Dou Dingqiang first, then He Boyong."

If Jiang Yuan was right, the entire investigative direction of the case would need to change fundamentally—and they must start from the day of the crime in Anhai City!

The Miaohé County officers stared at Jiang Yuan in shock, filled with admiration of varying degrees, dimensions, and angles.

The people of Miaohe County present stared at Jiang Yuan in stunned amazement, feeling admiration of varying degrees, dimensions, and perspectives.