Chapter 591

With Huang Huang Qiang's confession, there is sufficient grounds to apply for Zhang Yi's arrest, but the key decision on whether to refer the case for prosecution still hinges on whether subsequent evidence can be secured.

Otherwise, when time runs out, they will have to release her. Jiang Yuan and Liu Liu Jinghui, basing their assumptions on current evidence that the victim is Liu Liu Hongbing, a man who collected used clothing, still face considerable risk.

Because most of it is speculation, with little factual foundation, and it all dates back six years.

In a normal investigation, such assumptions are acceptable—just bold hypotheses, carefully verified. But now… there's really no difference; they still boldly hypothesize, then carefully verify.

Wang Wang Chuan was swiftly dispatched to Jianjiang City to question and investigate Liu Liu Hongbing's family. Investigations in Ningtai County were assigned to multiple personnel.

Liu Liu Hongbing's financial status was also given special attention, because Zhang Yi and Li Gan were suspected of gaining economic benefits, possibly not limited to cash.

A fact that might seem unbelievable to an ordinary person is that many robbers demand victims transfer money to their own bank accounts, Alipay, or WeChat, while others use the victim's bank card to withdraw cash from ATMs.

Many robbers have been caught precisely this way. Robbery is inherently difficult to solve, combining random crimes, strangers, outdoor locations, and heightened emotional tension—all unfavorable factors—yet it remains an extremely low-return crime; the criminals' own foolish behavior has greatly increased the clearance rate of robbery cases.

Everyone hoped Zhang Yi would conform a bit more in this regard. Unfortunately, she did not. At dawn, the special task force regathered to report.

Liu Liu Jinghui received feedback and felt a touch of disappointment: "I think Zhang Yi is messing with us—female criminals are just overly cautious. Otherwise, how could Li Gan, such an idiot, have covered everything so perfectly? What about the phone number?" Regarding technical investigation matters, Liu Liu Wenkai responded: "No results." Liu Liu Jinghui paused briefly, then said: "I think we should proceed in two steps." Everyone listened intently.

Liu Liu Jinghui said: "First, interrogate Zhang Yi and Li Gan separately. Design the interrogation questions carefully—should we bluff them with Liu Liu Hongbing's name? Should we use An Zhiquiang as a breakthrough? These need careful consideration." As he spoke, Liu Liu Jinghui glanced at Meng Meng Chengbiao, who nodded solemnly.

This was an extremely practical yet exceptionally difficult request, an extraordinary challenge for Meng Meng Chengbiao.

Liu Liu Jinghui continued: "Second, assume the victim is Liu Liu Hongbing. He likely came to Zhang Yi's home voluntarily—this was a crime of passion, right? Otherwise, Zhang Yi and Li Gan would have lured him to a warehouse or similar location, which would be more convenient and safer."

"Liu Liu Hongbing came to Zhang Yi's home to collect used clothing, or perhaps to talk. What vehicle did he use? And after being dismembered, where was his body taken, and by what means of transport?" Tang Jia, who had investigated transportation, replied directly: "Liu Liu Hongbing owned an electric tricycle in Ningtai County and rented a warehouse. He'd collect items, bring them to the warehouse, and either he or he and his wife would sort them—selling the better, newer clothes secondhand, and disposing of the rest collectively." Liu Liu Jinghui raised an eyebrow: "That's a lot of work."

"I heard it was exhausting, so he planned to find a partner in Ningtai County," Wang Wang Chuan, who had rushed back overnight, said.

Liu Liu Jinghui asked: "What kind of partner?"

"Liu Liu Hongbing would provide money and labor; the partner could contribute labor only, or split everything fifty-fifty. These were ideas from six years ago—they may have changed."

"So it's possible the partnership fell through," Liu Liu Jinghui nodded slightly. Tan Jing immediately agreed: "Possible. In industries where profits are hard-won, partners often clash."

"Could there be other partners—or competitors? Who currently runs this business in Ningtai County?" Pang Pang Jidong, emerging briefly from his dense forensic botany notes, offered a quiet question.

As a police captain from a major city, his questioning was sharp. Tan Jing immediately replied: "I'll look into it."

"And what about Liu Liu Hongbing's old warehouse? After his disappearance was reported, what did his family do with it? Are the contents still there? Did they sell them themselves, or were they resold by others…?" Liu Liu Jinghui laid out the questions one by one: "What happened to the lease?"

"Liu Liu Hongbing's WeChat and phone should be re-examined too. Previously, we treated it as a missing person case; now we can approach it from a murder perspective." Tan Jing nodded and took notes.

One by one, similar questions were raised, each awaiting verification. Under cover of night, the team scattered like flowers, each petal blending into the local landscape like farm fertilizer, quietly investigating.

So far, Jiang Yuan had little he needed to do. The current investigation still leaned heavily on the "searching the ocean for a needle" model.

What was needed was the iron boots of detectives—everything else had to be set aside. Jiang Yuan simply pulled up a chair and sat beside Pang Pang Jidong.

Pang Pang Jidong had come only to learn; studying forensic botany was his own choice, but as Jiang Yuan approached, he felt an inexplicable unease.

Mainly because Jiang Yuan was too strong, and the content of forensic botany was overwhelmingly vast.

"Any questions?" Jiang Yuan asked casually. Pang Pang Jidong hesitated, then said: "There are quite a few."

"Tell me." Pang Pang Jidong pulled out a notebook, opened it, and inside were dense lines of tiny black characters, like worms, filled to the brim.

In moments, Pang Pang Jidong's questions buried Jiang Yuan. Had the case not been in a critical phase, Jiang Yuan would have activated his skill "Temporary +1" right then.

But having questions was good for learning. Jiang Yuan calmed his emotions and began answering each one in turn.

The next morning. Jiang Yuan woke after half a night's sleep and returned to find everyone exchanging information. The most important update was Meng Meng Chengbiao's interrogation… Meng Meng Chengbiao himself sat in the center of the meeting room, smiling humbly.

Well, obviously, they got nothing. When it comes to life-or-death work, people simply refuse to act when the time comes. News about Liu Liu Hongbing poured in—Wang Wang Chuan and others continuously collected, organized, and shared documents with everyone.

Jiang Yuan opened them, glanced through, and frowned. Information from six years ago was full of speculation and memory gaps; compiling it into judgments was exceptionally difficult.

"How's it feel? Are you starting to understand the difficulty of cold cases?" Liu Liu Jinghui smiled as he sat beside Jiang Yuan.

"A corpse is still better," Jiang Yuan smiled. No matter how chaotic external changes became, a corpse itself was an excellent piece of evidence.

"I want to find the corpse too. If we don't find it soon, we won't even have sufficient grounds to detain Zhang Yi." Liu Liu Jinghui paused, then added: "According to feedback, Liu Liu Hongbing's electric tricycle is also missing. So here's an idea: after dismembering him, how did they dispose of the body?"

"Did they transport it in the electric tricycle?" Jiang Yuan answered naturally.

"Right. Even dismembered, the body parts are heavy," Liu Liu Jinghui nodded. "And the tricycle itself would need disposal. If so, they couldn't have buried the body nearby."

"Exactly."

"Liu Liu Hongbing's warehouse hasn't been touched—or at least, we don't know if it has. But I think if Zhang Yi and Li Gan committed this crime, they'd have visited the warehouse at least once." Jiang Yuan's eyes lit up.

Liu Liu Jinghui stood up, drew several routes from Zhang Yi's home to the warehouse on the map, and said: "Along these routes, there are many secluded spots. Considering the body hasn't been found in six years, I think we should prioritize searching for burial sites." All eyes turned to several parks in the middle of the map.

"How do we find them?" Tan Jing suddenly felt frustrated. Pang Pang Jidong, who had spent the entire day learning, looked at the map and said: "We can use forensic botany to identify possible burial sites!"