Chapter 50: Survival After the Ordeal

The vertical shaft was about four meters deep.

Beneath the chiseled concrete floor was a rough layer of soil.

The vertical shaft was only wide enough for one person to climb up and down. At its narrowest point, it could only accommodate one person, but at the bottom, the area was slightly larger, presumably for the convenience of construction.

The horizontal shaft involved a larger volume of earthwork, sloping downward for more than two meters. The main part of the basement was two meters high, with an area of about ten square meters. It had been retrofitted with a chimney for ventilation. Although the air was still foul, it was capable of sustaining long-term survival.

What was even more surprising was that there was a computer in the dungeon. It couldn't connect to the internet, but it should have been usable for entertainment.

Jiang Yuan recalled the three disheveled, terrified, and dazed women who had just climbed out, and felt his skin and blood vessels tighten.

Jiang Yuan only looked at the entrance for a few moments before rationally stopping his steps.

If he were curious, he still had plenty of curiosity. But as of now, this dungeon of less than 10 square meters was full of evidence. In his hands, apart from a flashlight and a phone, he had almost no suitable investigation equipment, not even a crime scene investigation mat. If he stepped in now, the scene would be covered in his footprints.

If it were an ordinary small case, there would be ways to extract evidence without specialized equipment. For example, for a bed sheet covered in strange substances, some police officers would just roll it up or tear it and put it in a plastic bag, considering it evidence.

However, today's case had nothing to do with a small case. Therefore, even a single footprint on the ground could be extremely important. When Wen Ming went down just now, he might have been in a hurry to save people, or he might not have paid attention, and had already walked around the scene. However, as long as it was limited to his footprints, it wouldn't have too much of an impact.

Still, it had to be limited to Wen Ming's footprints. Otherwise, in a 10-square-meter dungeon, as long as three or five people entered, the footprints, fingerprints, and even other traces inside would be messed up, which would be equivalent to the entire scene being destroyed.

Therefore, even if Jiang Yuan wanted to conduct the crime scene investigation himself, he stopped at the door. After taking photos, he used caution tape to seal the entrance first.

Afterward, he began to extract fingerprints and footprints from the door locks and other places on the spot.

Today's case might have already nailed Tan Yong in the eyes of Wen Yong or Wei Zhenguo, but in Jiang Yuan's view, that wasn't necessarily the case.

Still, if it were a small case, Tan Yong would instead be nailed down. But once the case rose to the level of a potential death penalty, the requirement for the rigor of evidence would be epic. Although the final result might still be good, the interrogation process in the middle would definitely make every police officer handling the case remember it for life.

Between the police and criminals, there is often an information gap. Many cases have problems because of this information gap. For example, now, everyone would guess that Tan Yong's DNA might be all over the dungeon, but this assumption is absolutely not rigorous. What if Tan Yong was willing to wear protective clothing every time he went down to the basement?

Someone might say, what about when he's having sex? First of all, he might not necessarily be having sex. What if he can't get an erection? Secondly, what if he just likes to have sex while wearing protective clothing?

Someone might retort, there's no such pervert! Then they should look back at this dungeon.

After roughly collecting a few fingerprints and footprints to provide the most basic insurance, Jiang Yuan carefully exited the dungeon and climbed to the ground.

At this time, four police officers from the Changyang City Criminal Police Team also arrived at the scene.

"Damn it!"

"Holy shit!"

The police officers who came in saw the vertical shaft leading deep underground, and then looked at the three terrified women, and felt terrible.

It is said that police officers have seen much of the darkness of society, and their endurance is excellent. But ordinary police officers are not trained to witness the darkness of society; what is called "witnessing" is also seen step by step.

And today, the scene they witnessed clearly refreshed their understanding of the darkness of society.

"This is simply..."

"Is there really such a person?"

The four criminal police officers stood in the four-bedroom house, looking here and there, every cell in their bodies cursing.

Jiang Yuan's mood was even worse.

Compared to the criminal police officers, he had experienced less and understood more, and the scene in the basement made it easier for him to fill in a large number of details.

"How is it over at Mu Zhiyang's side?" Jiang Yuan could see Ding Lan shivering across from Wei Zhenguo, but didn't know what to say.

Wei Zhenguo also quickly pulled himself out of his bad mood and said, "I'll make a call and ask."

As he spoke, Wei Zhenguo took out his phone and thought about going into the bedroom to make the call.

The three women followed him naturally, step by step.

Wei Zhenguo was stunned, then smiled and said, "It's okay, I'm just making a call."

Ding Lan raised her head slightly, looking pitifully at Wei Zhenguo, tears falling one by one.

"Alright, drink some water first. You wait a while, and when the car comes, we'll head back," Wei Zhenguo comforted them quickly.

"I want to make a call... We want to call our families," Ding Lan took the opportunity to make a request.

"We are already contacting your family members. For such a big matter, I think it's better to say it in person, don't you think?" After a while, the old criminal police officer's IQ gradually came online.

The three looked at each other and indeed hesitated.

Indeed, having been kidnapped for so long, what would be the result if they suddenly made a call home? None of the three could guess.

This kind of doubt also immediately reduced their urge to make a call.

Wei Zhenguo let out a sigh of relief. Today's case was too big, and the situation at the scene was complex. It was best to give them their phones after taking their statements.

Taking advantage of this time, Wei Zhenguo sent a message to Mu Zhiyang, waiting for the other party's reply.

Not long after, Mu Zhiyang's call came back, panting: "Master, the one uglier than me has been captured."

"Good! It's good that he's caught. Were there any accidents? Did you encounter any danger?" Wei Zhenguo asked in succession.

"No, everything went smoothly. The four of us pounced on him and handcuffed him directly," Mu Zhiyang said. "Everyone is safe."

"That's good. Pay attention to the procedures. The Procuratorate might intervene directly in this case..." Wei Zhenguo whispered a few words of advice, then hung up the phone, feeling relaxed all over.

In this way, the main part of the entire case could be considered successfully completed.

Wei Zhenguo looked back at Ding Lan and the others who were still in a state of unease, and couldn't help but feel a sense of survival after the ordeal himself. ===== CHAPTER 51 =====