Diary of a Criminal Investigator

Haizhou City Criminal Investigation Team.

Lu Chuan and the others, who had taken a nap for 4 hours, were slightly revitalized.

Although still very tired, they should be able to endure through the coming night.

It was already dusk outside, the sky darkening, and soon the search team could set off.

After the case analysis meeting at noon, Qin Yong had already arranged for a group to clear the underbrush beneath Lion Mountain Bridge.

One reason they were able to find Wang Mingshan’s body this morning was thanks to Lu Chuan’s use of a frequency-modulated laser spectrometer.

Another reason was that the burial spot Wang Mingshan chosen by the perpetrator was relatively close to the shore, making the search considerably easier.

However, now that a full search beneath Lion Mountain Bridge was underway, the area to be searched had expanded significantly, and if the underbrush remained, it would definitely hinder the search progress.

Therefore, the local police station took responsibility for sealing off the area, while another group was brought in to clear the brush in advance.

At the same time, Lu Chuan also brought out two backup frequency-modulated laser spectrometers.

This was all the laser equipment the Crime Scene Investigation Office of Haizhou City Criminal Investigation Team had.

Old Bai and Yang Sen certainly had no issues using the frequency-modulated laser spectrometer, but they weren’t very familiar with frequency tuning.

Last night, Lu Chuan spent a long time researching before determining the laser frequency that could produce a special reaction with phosphorus.

This was experience.

This was the skill that the system had provided to Lu Chuan.

While not everyone has heard of the gas chromatography method, anyone with a bit more advanced chemistry knowledge will know about it, but knowing exactly which laser and what frequency can cause a special reaction with phosphorus is not common knowledge.

After calibrating the three frequency-modulated laser spectrometers to the appropriate frequency, Lu Chuan carried one himself, while Old Bai took one, and Yang Sen took another.

At seven in the evening, the sky had completely turned dark, and the search team set out.

"Old Bai, do you think we’ll find anything this time?"

In the car, Yang Sen hugged the equipment and chatted with Old Bai.

"I think... the likelihood is high."

"Why do you say that?"

"Think about it, why was Wang Mingshan killed? Before Wang Mingshan was murdered, he was investigating the missing police officer case—so where is that police officer now?"

"Since it’s confirmed that Wang Mingshan was murdered, I suspect the police officer has probably met the same fate."

"And also, don’t forget, this morning when we conducted the forensic analysis of Wang Mingshan’s remains, we found many old wounds and blunt force injuries."

"The killer tortured Wang Mingshan before burying him alive, so why torment Wang Mingshan?"

"Did Wang Mingshan discover something?"

"You know about the Songbei Mining incident back then, so I think there’s a big deal hiding behind this."

Although Qin Yong didn’t tell his subordinates about the pressure he was facing, the Songbei Mining incident was widely rumored back then. Although it was never publicly reported, anyone with the slightest connection knew about it.

"You mean... that mining accident?"

"Hmph, such a big accident, and they claim no one died—do you believe that?"

"Why did that police officer go missing back then? Heard of it, right?"

Yang Sen nodded.

The police officer who disappeared back then was from the Songbei Police Station, and his younger brother used to work at Songbei Mining as a leader of an excavation team.

Later, after the accident at Songbei Mining, he disappeared.

When the police officer went to investigate, he too vanished after a few days.

"Such a big mining accident, and they say nobody died, but the leader of the excavation team disappeared—who can believe that?"

"Wasn’t it just that the police officer went to investigate and vanished after a few days?"

"The police officer disappeared, and Songbei reported the case to our Criminal Investigation Team. Task Force Two was on it, with Wang Mingshan leading the investigation, and he disappeared while investigating Songbei Mining."

"Now, we find him under Lion Mountain Bridge—could he be the only one under the bridge?"

Liu Guodong leaned back on his seat with his eyes closed, not getting involved in Yang Sen and Old Bai’s conversation.

As the head of the Crime Scene Investigation Office, he knew more about the case from five years ago than Yang Sen and Old Bai did.

A police officer disappearing from a police station back then was already a serious matter. When the case was reported to the Criminal Investigation Team, an officer involved in investigating the case vanished consecutively.

This incident was unheard of at that time.

The Criminal Investigation Team indeed exerted great efforts back then, deploying the whole team to investigate Wang Mingshan’s disappearance.

There were not enough personnel back then, so the entire Crime Scene Investigation Office participated, including Liu Guodong.

Moreover, he was also involved in the case analysis meetings at the time.

Many speculations and reasoning were much more straightforward than those mentioned by Yang Sen and Old Bai.

However, to no avail, there was indeed nothing suspicious found at Songbei Mining back then.

The surveillance records from that time showed that Wang Mingshan’s entry and exit from Songbei Mining Company on the day of his disappearance were complete.

He went in and came out entirely, disappearing while returning to his unit—what connection could that have with Songbei Mining?

Even so, Qin Yong still managed the pressure and turned Songbei Mining upside down, yet found nothing.

Tossing and turning for almost two months back then, Songbei Mining was even temporarily shut down, but nothing was discovered.

Indeed, even the tiniest clue would have been good, but with no clue, to turn a prestigious company into that state led to interventions from higher-ups.

Liu Guodong remembered that Qin Yong went to Song Jiangguo’s office to argue about this more than once.

But with no leads, no evidence, they couldn’t continue probing into Songbei Mining indefinitely.

Then...here we are today.

Even now, there’s no evidence proving that Wang Mingshan’s death was related to Songbei Mining.

Not only is Qin Yong clear about this, but everyone is aware, so the main direction of the investigation now is to take Ren Qiang’s car accident as a breakthrough.

As long as this person is found, they might be able to follow the trail to reveal the dark secrets behind it all.

While Old Bai and Yang Sen chatted on their way to Lion Mountain Bridge, the work on the other side at Liangzhou City Criminal Investigation Team had made greater progress.

The man in the hoodie showed his face at a hotel, and running wouldn’t be easy anymore.

The Liangzhou City Criminal Investigation Team was indeed capable, as they launched a comprehensive investigation once the appearance was confirmed.

With the dense distribution of surveillance cameras nowadays, without a pre-planned route, it’s tough for the person not to be captured.

Therefore, gradually, the ultimate whereabouts of the man in the hoodie were finally determined.