Chapter 110: Chapter 103: Corpse Origin Confirmation

After receiving the director’s task, Luo Rongbing immediately followed the requirements and took out all the information and records of people who went out to work that year.

“All the information is here. Back then, there were a total of 486 people from Luo Family Village and nearby villages who went out to work. Most of them worked around Jinghai City, while a few traveled far and wide. It’s not easy to narrow down the suspects from so many people.”

“How many of these people have a criminal record?”

“Uh, I haven’t tallied that up yet, but I’ll check it now.”

All those who have served their sentences and returned to their hometowns must report to the local police station. The police officers keep in touch with these people with criminal records, both to help them reintegrate into society and keep an eye on them to prevent them from reoffending.

Luo Rongbing was responsible for monitoring some of these released individuals. Comparing his list, he found quite a few overlapping names.

“I’ve checked, and there are 12 people who meet the criteria.”

Upon hearing this, Li Xiang was delighted. The number of people to investigate instantly reduced to 12, greatly simplifying the task.

“Mao, you’re amazing! Now we only need to investigate 12 people.”

“But the killer might not be among these 12. If the murderer hasn’t reoffended, we might exclude the correct answer altogether.”

Li Xiang nodded in agreement. “That’s true, but even just checking the 486 people’s workplaces is much easier than a nationwide search.”

“You’re right. Let’s take this back and give it a try.”

Mao Ji nodded, then said to Luo Rongbing, “I’ll take the list of these 486 people and their workplaces. Thank you for your cooperation.”

“Oh, please, if this case can be solved, it’s like lifting a rock off our Luoyang Police Station. We should be thanking you.”

“No need for thanks. We’ll report to Director Jiang and head back to headquarters.”

After greeting Director Jiang, the two immediately returned to the city bureau with all the materials.

Next, they categorized and ranked these people’s workplaces by significance and ran a system check against missing persons in these areas for a match.

The 12 were scattered across five locations, with most concentrating in Huaibei, Liangxi, and Jinling. Thus, the initial focus for potential victims began in these locations.

At the same time, they requested cooperation notices from the police in these areas to investigate missing persons from fourteen years ago matching the victim’s description.

This work was exceedingly tedious. The entire first unit of the criminal investigation team spent a week sorting all the information. Finally, 35 missing person cases matched the conditions.

By comparing the single-parent DNA data of these 35 cases, they finally found the victim’s mother.

“Found her!”

Chu Xiulan, from Shun’an, had come to Liangxi thirteen years ago to search for her daughter Liu Jie, but found no trace and reported the disappearance to the local police.

The hard work of the criminal investigation team over a week felt worthwhile at this moment.

Cao Jun was also invigorated. The fourteen-year-old cold case finally had a lead. He immediately instructed Mao Ji, “You and Li Xiang head to Shun’an with the deceased’s portrait for family confirmation.”

“Understood.”

Li Xiang was equally excited. With the victim’s identity confirmed, could capturing the killer be far behind?

Zhou Man booked them a high-speed rail for the next day. Once again, with no one to take care of things at home, Li Xiang had to call Sun Zhidong.

“What? You’re going on a business trip again? What have you been busy with lately?”

“Either solving cases or on the way to solving them. Recently, I’m investigating an old case and have some leads, so we’re going to check it out.”

“You detective types really have colorful lives. Unlike me, just gaming all day for boredom.”

Hearing Li Xiang’s words, Sun Zhidong felt a bit envious. Although he often seemed carefree, he too longed to solve cases, or else he wouldn’t have gone to Jinling with Li Xiang without hesitation.

Especially after earning a second-class merit and a regular position from that incident, he savored the rewards of solving a case.

He began to nurture the idea of becoming a detective.

“Isn’t that good? Playing games, dating—many people would envy that. Unlike me, working like a dog with constant overtime, even going home with my mind still on unfinished tasks and tomorrow’s duties. Yet, it’s worthwhile.”

Recalling the fourteen-year-old cold case, now with a major breakthrough, his efforts seemed insignificant.

“Anyway, while I’m away, can you feed my cat since you have my house key?”

“Alright.”

With the cat arrangements made, early the next morning, he and Mao Ji boarded the high-speed train to Shun’an.

There was no direct train, requiring a transfer, taking 11 hours. By 10 p.m., they arrived in Shun’an.

“Exhausted. Let’s get a room to rest and visit Chu Xiulan’s place tomorrow.”

They found a hotel near the train station and called it a night.

The next morning, after waking up, Li Xiang called Chu Xiulan to confirm she was home, and they prepared to visit her.

After receiving the police’s call, Chu Xiulan felt an emptiness. Her daughter had been missing for years, and although she had imagined countless times that her daughter might have passed, without a body, she held a one-in-a-million hope that her daughter was alive, just not recognizing her as her mother.

But after receiving the police’s news of her daughter’s possible murder, all hope shattered—her grief was immeasurable.

“Hello, we’re from Jinghai City Public Security Bureau. We called you. Is this photo your daughter Liu Jie?”

Li Xiang and Mao Ji arrived at Chu Xiulan’s home, presenting a portrait crafted by a provincial specialist for the victim.

Upon seeing the photo, tears streamed down Chu Xiulan’s face. “It’s my daughter! Why won’t you come back to mommy? Why didn’t you listen?”

“Please accept our condolences.”

Hearing Chu Xiulan’s cries, Li Xiang felt overwhelming sorrow, something was caught in his chest.

Having witnessed such scenes frequently, Mao Ji comforted Chu Xiulan while inquiring, “When did she go to Liangxi? What was she doing?”

“She left in 2005 after dropping out due to poor grades, intending to earn money. Liangxi’s a big city, easy to make money. She initially apprenticed at a hair salon for beauty training, then joined a beauty salon as the pay was better. She was already at a marriageable age, so I wanted her to come back and get married, but she refused and said she was involved with a divorced man. I opposed it and insisted she come back, leading to several arguments, but I couldn’t change her mind.”

“A beauty salon? Do you know its name or her boyfriend’s name?”

Listening to Chu Xiulan’s story, Li Xiang and Mao Ji immediately suspected Liu Jie’s boyfriend of having significant criminal potential.

“I don’t know. If I did, I would have searched him out. Back then, when I went to Liangxi looking for my daughter, I visited every beauty salon with no luck. She even deceived me about her job. Since I opposed her relationship, she wouldn’t share much about her boyfriend. I think she mentioned once that her boyfriend was the salon’s owner.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep