Chapter 985: Master

The next morning.

Right at the start of the workday, Zhang Xiaoya arrived at the Criminal Police Detachment.

The officer who brought her in walked a bit too fast and led her right to Director You, who was tidying up his folding bed.

Zhang Xiaoya looked surprised: "Director You, why are you... you slept here last night?"

"It was too late, and I was too lazy to go back and forth. Besides, my wife and children were all asleep, and it would have been easy to wake them up if I kept going back and forth," Director You said with a simple, honest smile.

Zhang Xiaoya felt even more embarrassed: "This... this is really... I didn't expect you to come in person, and to stay up so late. Sigh—I thank you on behalf of my younger brother."

"No need to thank me; this is what we should do," Director You said with a wave of his hand, then continued to tidy up the folding bed.

It had truly been a while since he had slept on a folding bed, but the skills he had trained in his early years were still there. After getting slightly familiar with it, he soon straightened it out.

Zhang Xiaoya was wearing professional attire and couldn't step forward to help, so she could only take out her phone to take a few photos.

The shoulders and waist that had been aching from the hard bed board didn't hurt anymore.

Jiang Yuan walked in at this moment with a few people, carrying a PAD and other items.

"Jiang Yuan!" Zhang Xiaoya called his name directly.

"Zhang Dong." Jiang Yuan entered with a bit of emotional intelligence, which was a bonus from a clear head early in the morning.

But at this moment, the one lacking emotional intelligence was Zhang Xiaoya.

The moment she saw Jiang Yuan, it was as if a fog had covered Zhang Xiaoya's eyes.

"Jiang Yuan..." Zhang Xiaoya's lips moved, she trembled twice, then said: "Thank you!"

This time, facing Jiang Yuan, Zhang Xiaoya behaved exactly like an ordinary victim's family member.

Zhang Xiaoya, who had just been chatting freely with Director You, felt as if her throat was stuffed with something, and she couldn't say any extra words at all.

For Zhang Xiaoya, pursuing the killer who murdered her own younger brother was a mission that had lasted more than 20 years. She once thought this mission would be long enough to reach the end of her life, and even that this mission would evolve into a huge event, eventually becoming a terrifying black hole.

However, in less than a week, Jiang Yuan had caught the killer.

Although it was the killer's remains, for Zhang Xiaoya, what she thought was a lifelong regret had already been largely dispelled. At least at this very moment, Zhang Xiaoya felt that even if they couldn't catch the mastermind behind the scenes, just stopping here was not unacceptable.

"Jiang Yuan, tell Zhang Dong about our findings." Director You watched Zhang Xiaoya collect her emotions, then stepped out and said, "I couldn't hold on yesterday and slept for a while, but Jiang Yuan and the others have been busy the whole time."

Zhang Xiaoya nodded vigorously.

Jiang Yuan cleared his throat twice, but before he could speak, his phone rang.

"I'll take this call first; it's from the field officer." Jiang Yuan said while answering the phone.

"Team Jiang, we found Li Dianzhong's master. His mother revealed it—it's Li Dianzhong's own uncle, Shen Peng. He served time once for intentional injury, a 3-year sentence, and is missing a thumb on his right hand." The person on the other end of the phone was Miao Liyuan. He was originally a criminal police officer who was also quite good at technology, but this time, there was no need for technical work, so he became a basic laborer just like an ordinary technical policeman.

Jiang Yuan's eyelids twitched when he heard this. The thumb is the most important finger on the hand; missing this finger means half the function of the entire hand is gone. This level of disability was quite consistent with the identity of an old thief.

"What does this Shen Peng say?" Jiang Yuan asked, his voice slightly louder, drawing the attention of Zhang Xiaoya and the others.

"He said quite a lot." Miao Liyuan couldn't see the situation on this side and just said excitedly, "When he heard we were police, he took the initiative to say a lot. First, he confirmed that Li Dianzhong learned the flying claw and some body movement skills from him. But Shen Peng always refused to teach Li Dianzhong lock-picking techniques and constantly educated him not to do petty theft, only passing down the skills, saying there would be a day when they would be useful."

Miao Liyuan sighed and added, "Shen Peng himself had his thumb cut off by someone because he stole things, so he didn't want Li Dianzhong to follow his old path."

Miao Liyuan: "In addition, Li Dianzhong mentioned Zhang Xiaoming in front of Shen Peng, saying he was going to lay off workers and Li Dianzhong felt he might be laid off—something like that."

"I see." Jiang Yuan nodded slowly and lowered his head to think.

If layoffs are considered the motive for murder, the Jianmen Academy case can basically be considered cleared up. Li Dianzhong had "completed his studies," and with the wave of layoffs coming, his income plummeted, so he had already quietly started part-time practical activities.

At the same time, Zhang Xiaoming began to push for layoffs in the factory. Li Dianzhong, as an off-the-books employee, felt he could hardly be spared. It was very likely that out of the idea of venting his anger and making some money, Li Dianzhong decided to steal from Zhang Xiaoming and hired Wang Futing to help pick the lock...

Thinking of this, Jiang Yuan couldn't help but shake his head.

Wang Futing's 500-yuan hiring fee was on the high side. Besides, just to vent anger or something, running directly into his own unit's building to steal things was a bit too bold.

Given the density of the housing at Jianmen Academy, how did Li Dianzhong manage to go up and down without attracting attention?

People back then might have greeted each other when they met. Even if Li Dianzhong had the flying claw, it didn't mean he could avoid such eyewitnesses.

Ding ding.

Jiang Yuan's phone rang twice, and he saw Miao Liyuan send a WeChat message.

Miao Liyuan: 【Before Li Dianzhong died, he mailed a box of things to Shen Peng, asking him to keep it for him. I'll take photos for you to see.】

Immediately after, there was a series of pictures.

What Shen Peng received was a leather suitcase, inside which a large number of items were neatly stacked.

They were mainly daily necessities, including some books and some scattered items.

Miao Liyuan and the others had already finished taking photos for evidence and only sent the main photos to Jiang Yuan.

"Is there any new news?" Director You asked after a while when Jiang Yuan hung up the phone.

Jiang Yuan nodded: "We found Li Dianzhong's master, and some things Li Dianzhong mailed out... Wait a moment."

Hearing the somewhat familiar "wait a moment," Director You stood still for no reason, not making a sound, as if afraid of affecting Jiang Yuan's work.

Jiang Yuan made a call back to Miao Liyuan and asked, "Do you have the things in your hand?"

"In the car," Miao Liyuan replied.

"Take a few people over, keep the evidence safe, and then take out the notebook from the seventh picture. Show me the live video," Jiang Yuan said.

"Yes." Miao Liyuan didn't say a word of nonsense and immediately started running.

A while later, the two started a video call, and Miao Liyuan unfolded the notebook Jiang Yuan wanted.

Jiang Yuan had him flip through a few pages, and after looking, said, "Protect the evidence, you guys just rest where you are. I'll send someone to pick you up."

Jiang Yuan gave a few more instructions before hanging up the phone.

The few people present couldn't help but look at Jiang Yuan.

Tao Lu asked, "What did you find?"

Jiang Yuan hesitated for a few seconds and said slowly, "I suspect it's a codebook." ===== CHAPTER 986 =====