Chapter 985: The Second Question

Confirming that Li Dianzhong was murdered did not relieve the group’s tension.

On the contrary, when Jiang Yuan stated this conclusion, even though everyone had prepared for it, each person felt a tightening in their chest.

This meant opening another new case.

If it had been suicide, one could still claim it was suicide out of guilt or some similar explanation. But if it was murder, it was almost certain that someone was behind it.

No expert was needed to judge—it was obvious to any ordinary person that this was murder to silence him.

But opening a new case, especially one from twenty years ago, was far too difficult—so difficult it made people hesitate to even approach it.

“Since we’ve confirmed it was murder, let’s keep investigating,” said Director You, sipping tea, his voice low but carrying a tone of resolve that reached everyone’s ears.

“Then let’s continue,” said Tao Lu, looking at Jiang Yuan.

By this point in the case, he could only rely on Jiang Yuan.

In truth, the case had barely begun, and the real difficulty was still uncertain—but investigating cold cases was like sailing across a desert; if you happened upon an easy one, it might only be because you took the right path, not because the case was truly simple.

There might be a path in the desert, or there might be none—but whether there was a path or not, you were best off with a caravan of camels and an experienced guide.

Jiang Yuan nodded without hesitation and said: “Take Li Dianzhong’s photo to Wang Futing, but don’t tell him who it is. Hmm, bring several other photos too, so he can identify them. If he recognizes him, then ask for details. Also, send people to interview Li Dianzhong’s acquaintances—family, friends, coworkers—see what information they have.”

“Yes,” Shen Yaowei quickly responded and went to assign tasks.

Director You nodded, asking: “Wang Futing—the informant you previously arrested, the accomplice in the murder case?”

“Yes, that’s him,” Jiang Yuan said.

“Hmm, this man is a breakthrough. We can start by questioning him,” said Director You, settling back as if waiting, then turned to Jiang Yuan: “Have you shown him photos before?”

“Yes, we did,” Tao Lu explained beside him. “We showed him group photos, photos from workshops, teams, and different offices. Several of those photos included the suspect Li Dianzhong, but Wang Futing didn’t recognize him. He may have seen a standalone photo too, because the factory had thousands of employees, and it had already been shut down and broken up. The photos we recovered were often from years later, even over a decade later.”

Jiang Yuan didn’t speak as cautiously as Tao Lu—he said bluntly: “There were too many people, and Wang Futing’s memory isn’t reliable. He didn’t look carefully enough.”

Recognizing people from photos isn’t reliable. Just like someone’s friend from over twenty years ago—it’s not surprising if they recognize them, nor is it surprising if they don’t.

Of course, some people are exceptionally good at recognizing faces, while others aren’t. In modern society, there are plenty who claim to have face blindness; some can’t recall colleagues even if they change clothes or makeup, and when you add the factor of time, it becomes even harder.

Asking Wang Futing to recognize Li Dianzhong—a brief acquaintance from the case—isn’t impossible, but it’s unreasonable to demand.

Director You nodded and said: “Then let’s ask him now. I’ll wait and see.”

He clearly wanted a definitive answer; in some ways, he needed evidence. Even eyewitness testimony from twenty years ago was still a form of evidence.

Tao Lu fully understood Director You’s thinking and urged everyone to get to work.

Turning back, Tao Lu added casually: “The factory was already failing by then and no longer hired externally. For labor-intensive jobs, they first hired temporary workers, then used contract worker slots to keep them dangling, then used permanent worker slots to keep the temporary staff hanging on—but when it came to pay and benefits, none of these people were on the official list. People like Li Dianzhong, as temporary staff, weren’t close to the unit. Back then, finding his photo might have been easier; now, it’s hard even to locate one.”

“Didn’t you say his flying claw technique was hard to master? Why would he be content as a temporary worker?” Director You suddenly connected this to earlier evidence.

“He was still learning the flying claw technique—he probably hadn’t mastered it yet,” Jiang Yuan said.

Tao Lu smiled slightly: “In the 1990s, having a job and doing some petty burglary on the side wasn’t unusual.”

Many thieves started stealing because they couldn’t find work or lacked skills. But some thieves were originally employed—until petty theft or major robbery got them fired, leaving them no choice but to become full-time thieves.

From a neutral perspective, Li Dianzhong may have gone through a period of confusion back then.

The group began digging deeply into Li Dianzhong’s identity.

Compared to the initial investigation at the case’s start, this phase was far simpler and smoother.

Previous investigations had merely followed the tracks of the earlier special task force, barely picking up any usable leads. Everything worth investigating had already been thoroughly examined by the previous detectives.

But the Li Dianzhong case was different. Though it was a follow-up to the Jianmen Academy case, it had been treated as an unnatural death—closed as suicide—and thus had undergone virtually no effective investigation.

Now, following Li Dianzhong’s trail yielded a completely different volume of leads.

When Wang Chuan returned, two tables were already piled high with documents before Liu Jinghui and Jiang Yuan.

Liu Jinghui went through each document methodically.

That’s how deduction works—you need ample data to reason properly. Of course, everyone hopes you can make sound deductions from sparse data, but that level of difficulty is one Liu Jinghui would never lightly attempt.

Because deduction still involves probability, any failed reasoning is a failure, and the consequences are so severe that cases with complete data actually take Liu Jinghui longer to process.

“Start by tracing interpersonal relationships,” Jiang Yuan glanced briefly through the documents and offered a direction, then looked at Tao Lu.

Tao Lu nodded: “Agreed.”

There was nothing to argue about—in an era without cell phones or surveillance, visiting people and tracing relationships had always been one of the primary investigative methods for detectives.

For a current case, this kind of investigation would also include tracking financial flows to see if the suspect had any large transactions. Further still, they could consult confidential informants for details about the suspect.

But for cold cases, none of that exists. Investigating interpersonal relationships is still the best way to understand the suspect’s background and is ideal for initial inquiries.

Several police cars, filled with officers, were sent out into the pitch-black night, driving all night to locate relevant people by morning, trying to save as much time as possible.

The rest of the work remained focused on online investigations.

After issuing all the orders, Tao Lu looked out at the dark night and smiled at Director You: “We’re about done for today. Why not get some rest?”

“Find me an office and a cot,” said Director You.

Tao Lu opened his mouth, thinking: You could’ve gotten home and back in the time it takes to find a cot and set it up.

But thinking of the case, he snapped to attention: “Yes.”