Chapter 975: A Desperate Hope

Jiang Yuan walked back and forth within the Jianmen Academy’s residential area for a long time, studying the fourth floor where the crime occurred, then meticulously re-examined the room itself, and circled the entire compound again and again, occasionally pulling out his PAD to compare photos.

It should be noted that the room where the crime occurred remained untouched since the incident; no one else had lived there since, and after it became available for sale, the victim’s family purchased it.

By the time Jiang Yuan prepared to leave, the night was fully dark.

“Let’s go back.” Jiang Yuan got in the car and closed his eyes, pretending to nap.

Cui Qi wanted to ask, hesitated, then decided not to, and simply got into the car behind, letting Jiang Yuan rest properly.

“How was it?” Li Jiang turned his head from the front passenger seat to ask.

“I don’t know. I didn’t ask.” Cui Qi replied, then added: “Honestly, it’s obvious—if there had been any direct conclusion or useful lead, Jiang Yuan would have spoken up.”

“True. But it’s been over twenty years, and the place has still been lived in—any remaining clues would be miraculous.”

“Exactly. At Jiang Yuan’s level, if he’d found anything, he’d have used it already.” In Cui Qi’s view, someone at Jiang Yuan’s stature was no longer hindered by ordinary political constraints; if needed, organizing a mass search of tens of thousands of people would be as routine to him as daily work.

For ordinary criminal investigators, such an operation would require days of planning, a thick feasibility report submitted to superiors, or only be requested in dire emergencies. More likely, they’d never request it at all unless leadership proactively offered such resources.

Thus, in terms of actively solving cases, Jiang Yuan was extremely reassuring to the investigating agencies.

At this point, Cui Qi reached his conclusion, and with slight regret, said: “It seems Jiang Yuan has no tangible leads to present. Next, we’ll have to rely on interrogation.”

Li Jiang glanced at Team Leader Cui, seeing his genuine expression, and felt disappointed: “If there’s absolutely no lead, this case will be stuck. The suspect they caught, Wang Futing—he’s the deputy CEO of Enda. He’s no fool. Why would he confess to murder?”

This is one reason many cold cases stall. Often, cold cases arise from insufficient evidence and an unidentified killer. After many years, if no new evidence emerges and only a suspect is identified, the suspect’s confession becomes critically important.

If you follow related news, you often see suspects weeping, visibly ashamed, tormented by guilt, unable to eat or sleep—then, when questioned by police, some even confess spontaneously without being prompted.

In other words, if the suspect has no conscience, no shame, and refuses to give a statement, the case becomes extremely difficult.

Among the three common cold case resolution patterns, the accidental discovery type is the least stable—and this is why.

When new technology identifies the killer, there’s concrete evidence, or if the killer was already known and only the final manhunt remains, capturing the suspect confirms identity. The case facts are relatively clear.

The hardest part of the accidental discovery type, however, remains the facts of the case itself.

In this case, Wang Futing’s fingerprints were found on the wall—a crucial piece of evidence—but not enough to prove he was the murderer.

Most importantly: is Wang Futing the murderer? If he refuses to confess, even Jiang Yuan cannot confirm it.

The car was filled with veteran detectives. After exchanging a few words and reorganizing their thoughts, Cui Qi said: “Even the best cook can’t make a meal without rice. Back at the bureau, let’s not waste time.”

“Understood. We just came out to inspect the scene. After all these years, finding no leads is normal.” Li Jiang echoed Cui Qi’s unspoken thought.

“Exactly. Remind everyone in the group not to slip up—don’t let Jiang’s reputation suffer.” Cui Qi added one last warning, then closed his eyes to rest.

This case was truly exhausting—even just observing it left him mentally drained.

The convoy entered the Zhengguang Bureau compound; the surroundings were already silent.

It was too late—even detectives needed rest.

Cui Qi stumbled out of the car and saw several figures moving in the light ahead—they were waiting for them.

“Director Tao is still waiting this late? Jiang’s treatment really is different.” Cui Qi muttered, staggering forward. As he neared, he suddenly realized something was wrong—why was there a silhouette of a woman with an exceptionally curvaceous figure?

Cui Qi immediately reached for his waist—today, accompanying Jiang Yuan, he’d specifically requested a firearm.

To be fair, although the bureau had female officers and even beautiful ones, none would wear clothing so revealing of their figure.

If there were, he, old Cui, would certainly know.

Taken together, the group waiting at the gate, roughly speaking, represented danger.

“Old Cui! Turn off your gun’s safety!” Tao Lu barked, snapping Cui Qi out of his shock.

He looked up and saw Tao Lu already standing at the front.

Cui Qi quickly secured his weapon and snapped to attention, saluting.

“This is the victim’s elder sister,” Tao Lu introduced immediately, to prevent further misunderstanding.

“Zhang Xiaoya,” the woman in high heels stepped forward from the light: “I’m Zhang Xiaoming’s sister. I heard you’re investigating his case, so I came to see for myself.”

“This… we’re just gathering information, not yet investigating,” Cui Qi instinctively lied.

“I understand your concerns. It doesn’t matter—I just want to learn the situation.” Zhang Xiaoya smiled gently, then looked toward Jiang Yuan, who had already climbed the stairs: “I heard Jiang Yuan went to inspect the scene early, so I waited for you. I didn’t expect you’d be out so late.”

Jiang Yuan smiled: “Sorry.”

“No, no—I mean, I’m deeply grateful that Mr. Jiang Yuan inspected the scene so thoroughly.” Zhang Xiaoya gave a faint smile, then added: “Though it may sound impatient, I truly want to know—has Mr. Jiang Yuan found anything?”

Seeing this, Cui Qi quickly cleared his throat: “Um, Ms. Zhang, you know the situation at Jianmen Academy—so much time has passed. Even though Jiang Yuan inspected carefully, there’s no guarantee he found anything…”

“I understand.” Zhang Xiaoya showed no great disappointment, brushed her hair back, and said: “In previous inspections, I already realized this—but I still held onto a little hope…”

"It's not that he found absolutely nothing," Jiang Yuan suddenly spoke, breaking the unspoken understanding between them.

Zhang Xiaoya’s eyes lit up instantly: “You found a lead?”

“A little, but not much. Don’t get too excited.” Jiang Yuan was still willing to update Zhang Xiaoya.

In normal criminal cases involving victims—especially homicide victims—investigating officers often share some case progress with the family. It’s hard not to, since families will call or show up anyway.

In this regard, Zhang Xiaoya was no different from ordinary family members—except she might possess information gathered through her own investigation. Also, Zhang Xiaoya herself could bring substantial resources.

Tao Lu was even more astonished. Even without solving the case, any breakthrough, given Zhang Xiaoya’s attitude, would be uplifting.

“Let’s go to the conference room to discuss in detail,” Tao Lu said, his demeanor growing more formal.

Li Jiang, meanwhile, slipped his gaze toward Team Leader Cui Qi—his team leader’s judgments were often wildly off, yet somehow Cui Qi always ended up benefiting.