Diary of a Criminal Investigator

Haizhou City Criminal Investigation Team.

Qin Yong sat behind his desk with a grim expression, listening to the reports from Lu Chuan and Zhang Hui.

"When we arrived, although the other party had already acted first and damaged the vehicle involved, some traces were still left."

"The police car driven by Group Leader Ren Qiang had signs of deliberate damage to the brake hose on the left rear wheel. I’ve secured the evidence."

"We can confirm that Group Leader Ren’s traffic accident was no accident, but was deliberately caused."

Lu Chuan briefly introduced the situation from the crime scene investigation.

Zhang Hui also discussed the current state of the investigation.

"The suspect’s identity has not yet been specifically verified. The surveillance footage did not capture a clear image of the individual, as they were wearing a mask and a cap. We’re currently working with the traffic police to track information on the fake license plate towing vehicle."

Qin Yong has worked in the Criminal Investigation Team for a long time and was familiar with the Songbei Mining case from five years ago.

Back then, when the detectives from Action Squad 2 disappeared, the Criminal Investigation Team deployed all their resources.

A comprehensive investigation was conducted on Songbei Mining, but due to its duration and lack of progress, compounded by instructions from higher-ups, the case ultimately faded into oblivion.

Qin Yong did not expect that five years later, after Ren Qiang had just found a hint of a lead, the other party would act so quickly, so accurately, and so ruthlessly.

They even dared to directly target Ren Qiang!

These people are utterly lawless!

"Are there any other discoveries regarding the suspect?"

"According to the description by the extrusion machine operator who encountered the suspect, the person had small eyes, a hoarse voice, a strong fishy odor, was about 1.75 meters tall, not particularly fat or thin, and wore blue suspenders and canvas clothes."

Zhang Hui added: "The suspect has a strong anti-surveillance awareness, mostly showing their back or side to the camera after entering the parking lot."

"I think the suspect is a veteran, not a novice. Also, I suspect the individual is familiar with the layout of the surveillance cameras in the parking lot."

"Either they scoped out the place in advance, or have worked in that parking lot before, or have some other connection."

After hearing the report, Qin Yong pondered for a moment, remaining silent for a while.

The two of them only conducted an investigation because they suspected the nature of the car accident.

However, Qin Yong knew more than Lu Chuan and Zhang Hui did.

Ren Qiang had returned from Liangzhou City, having left a site meeting midway, with leave secured by himself as the team leader from the bureau.

Upon obtaining a lead related to the case from five years ago, Ren Qiang promptly reported it to him.

The reason for having Ren Qiang handle this lead was because it was very vague; it was just a text message.

The text message was simple.

"Wang Mingshan, Lion Mountain Bridge."

That’s it, nothing else.

Qin Yong had someone check the phone information; it was an empty card, an unregistered number, and couldn’t trace any information on the sender.

But only Qin Yong and Ren Qiang knew about this matter.

Ren Qiang definitely wouldn’t tell anyone else, even Lu Chuan and Zhang Hui didn’t know what lead Ren Qiang had obtained that made him leave the site meeting in Liangzhou City midway and return to Haizhou City.

Qin Yong had not told anyone either; when asking for leave from his superior, he only mentioned a sudden case that required Ren Qiang to handle immediately.

So who leaked the news that Ren Qiang had obtained this lead?

Additionally, from the time Ren Qiang got the news to the car accident, the window was very short. How did the other party act, manipulate Ren Qiang’s car, and figure out which vehicle he would be driving?

The fact that the opponent could react so quickly in such a short period already hinted at a horrifying level of influence behind the scenes.

Qin Yong felt a suffocating sense of oppression.

As if invisible hands in the shadows were controlling everything, firmly holding everyone in their grasp.

What’s next?

Should Qin Yong report to his superiors?

Report to whom?

Song Jiangguo?

Qin Yong recalled Song Jiangguo’s attitude when the case happened...

Is he trustworthy?

He didn’t know.

Qin Yong really didn’t know.

Therefore, the next step wasn’t to report, but to verify whether the lead obtained by Ren Qiang was real.

Lion Mountain Bridge!

Could Wang Mingshan, who disappeared five years ago, really be there?

But Lion Mountain Bridge is over a thousand meters long, and although the riverbed of Lion River beneath has been dry for over thirty years, searching such a large area for a body that may not even exist...

If a significant amount of manpower and resources are invested and nothing is found, then what?

However, if decisive action isn’t taken promptly, the same forces that acted against Ren Qiang might move the body.

It’s possible!

Highly possible!

Ren Qiang received the lead this morning, and by the forenoon, he had a car accident on his way back to Haizhou City from Liangzhou City.

Lu Chuan and Zhang Hui spent hours investigating leads at the parking lot, and now it was nearly the end of the workday.

If night falls...

The traffic flow on Lion Mountain Bridge is heavy; during the day the opponent is unlikely to act, but at night...

Qin Yong realized that action was required now!

Otherwise, once tonight had passed, there might be nothing left.

But deploying a large number of personnel...

"Lu Chuan, does your crime scene investigation team have a way to locate a buried body over a large area?"

Hmm?

"Well... it depends on how long the body has been buried and the specifics of the site, which require careful analysis."

"Isn’t there a rapid confirmation method, like some kind of detector or something?"

"Um... not at present. We have metal detectors and life detectors, but there’s no equipment specifically for detecting bodies."

"Nothing..."

Qin Yong thought for a moment: "Alright, you and Old Liu prepare and notify the forensic team, and then come with me."

"Zhang Hui, gather the second team... fully equipped, armed, do you understand?"

Zhang Hui paused, not understanding why Qin Yong made such an arrangement, but he still followed orders: "Understood!"

If hundreds of people or the entire squad were to search under Lion Mountain Bridge for a body, that would be too noticeable, and Qin Yong would have to report it.

But if it were just Action Squad 2, combined with the forensic and crime scene investigators, totaling around twenty people, it wouldn’t be a problem.

In fact, if the only aim was to find the body, bringing just the crime scene team and the forensic doctors would suffice; bringing Action Squad 2 was just a precautionary measure for Qin Yong.

If they could target Ren Qiang, they might target him too if possible.

Of course, unless absolutely necessary, they wouldn’t do something that foolish, as the repercussions of a missing detective and the intentional murder of a Criminal Investigation Team leader would be drastically different.

If it were the latter, the ministry would send experts to oversee the case.