Attending ex-girlfriend's wedding, arresting the groom's officer on the spot

The reason for disappearance was listed as "left home after arguing with family members," and the disappearance occurred two months ago, which is close to the time of the incident.

"Continue to dig deeper into his information, including his social media accounts, call logs, and frequently visited locations. Contact his family and ask if they have exhibited any unusual behavior recently," Wang Shuai quickly issued the order, his tone urgent. Xiao Zhang immediately began sifting through various databases, searching for information about Li Pengcheng. He logged into the social media database, entered Li Pengcheng's account, and the page loaded slowly; every second of waiting was agonizing. Finally, the page popped up, but Li Pengcheng's social media accounts had barely been updated in the past three months. The only status update was a post from six months ago about everyday life, with nothing suspicious.

"Captain Wang, we haven't found any useful clues on the social media accounts. We need to contact the telecommunications company to get the call records; we'll probably only have results tomorrow," Xiao Zhang reported helplessly. Wang Shuai frowned, thought for a moment, and then said, "Contact his family first. No matter how late, call them immediately."

The phone rang loudly in the quiet night. After a long pause, a middle-aged woman's voice came through, heavy with sleepiness and a hint of anxiety: "Hello, who is this?" After Xiao Zhang identified himself, the woman instantly woke up, her voice trembling: "Officer, have you found my son? Where did he go?" Xiao Zhang patiently calmed her down and inquired in detail about the situation before Li Pengcheng's disappearance. From his mother's description, he learned that Li Pengcheng had been under a lot of work pressure and in a bad mood for some time before his disappearance. After arguing with his family, he left home in a fit of anger, taking only his cell phone and a small amount of cash with him.

After hanging up the phone, Xiao Zhang compiled the information and reported it to Wang Shuai. Wang Shuai looked at the record and pondered for a long time: "Although the clues are still unclear, Li Pengcheng is highly suspicious. Everyone, please work a little harder to sort out his whereabouts from the week before he disappeared, and compare them with the surveillance footage around the crime scene to see if we can find any footage of him."

The officers returned to work, their eyes glued to the screens, reviewing the surveillance footage frame by frame and verifying Li Pengcheng's whereabouts location by location. Drowsiness washed over them; some couldn't help but yawn, tears blurring their vision. They quickly rubbed their eyes and continued staring at the screen. Others suffered from severe neck pain, slightly turning their heads to ease the stiffness, but their gazes remained fixed on the screen. In the office, the only sounds besides the hum of the computer fans were the officers' occasional hushed conversations, mouse clicks, and keyboard tapping.

Outside the window, the night grew deeper, and the city fell asleep. Only the office lights were on. For any possible clues, for the truth of the case, the police officers continued to fight tirelessly in the tedious sea of ​​information, leaving no possibility unexplored.

The next day soon came.

Morning light pierced the curtains of the Criminal Investigation Division's meeting room, casting dappled patterns of light on the long table. Lu Chuan twirled a red and blue marker, his gaze sweeping over the crime scene photos and clue notes plastered on the walls. The room was filled with the strong smell of coffee mixed with ink. At eight o'clock sharp, he slammed his hand on the table: "The first case analysis meeting officially begins. Time is of the essence, everyone get straight to the point."

Yang Lin was the first to stand up, his investigation uniform cuffs still stained with grass clippings from the valley. The projector lit up, and a 3D model of Falling Eagle Valley slowly rotated, each fluorescent reaction and footprint marked with a striking red circle. "The on-site investigation has uncovered three core clues," he said, pointing a laser pointer to the riverbank area. "First, the deceased was strangled with a rope, with drag marks stretching 15 meters. Fresh metal scratches were found at the starting point, and testing confirmed they matched the composition of the steel pipe murder weapon. Second, on a hillside 200 meters from the body, we found signs of a struggle, and blood from the deceased was extracted from the rose bushes. Third, two sets of shoe prints were found at the scene: size 42 hiking boot prints with a steady stride, and size 40 sneaker prints that were messy and showed signs of retreat, suggesting at least two suspects are involved."

He switched to photomicrography, where magnified metal fragments shimmered with an eerie glow: "The metal fragments extracted from the scratches contain 0.45% carbon, the same material as the murder weapon in the steel pipe murder case at the construction site in the west of the city three years ago. But this time the murderer was more cautious, treating all possible areas with bleach. However, we still detected trace amounts of fluorescent residue among the gravel on the riverbank."

Zhang Kai opened the autopsy report, and the cold air from the autopsy room seemed to seep into the conference room through the papers. "The deceased died of mechanical asphyxiation. The ligature groove on the neck was 1.5 centimeters wide, with obvious signs of life at the edges, consistent with damage caused by rough materials like hemp rope." He pulled up the autopsy photos of the lungs; the dark red lung lobes were covered with shocking hemorrhages. "Bilateral pulmonary congestion and hemorrhages on the surface of the heart are typical characteristics of asphyxiation. Analysis of the stomach contents indicates that the deceased was killed 1-2 hours after eating noodles and vegetables. Considering the degree of liver autolysis, the time of death is estimated to be 24-36 hours before the body was discovered."

He suddenly held up a photo of a transparent evidence bag, inside which a sample from under the fingernails had a pale pink tint: "The most crucial discovery is the skin tissue and fibers from under the victim's fingernails. Unfamiliar DNA has been extracted from them, and the fiber composition has been tested to be a blend of polyester and cotton-linen, possibly from the suspect's clothing. In addition, the victim had a blunt force trauma to the head, which, while not fatal, was enough to cause unconsciousness."

Wang Shuai's notebook was worn and frayed at the edges, and the chair scraped against the floor as he stood up. "After 36 hours of continuous comparison with the missing persons system, we identified the deceased as Li Pengcheng, 32 years old, an outdoor sports enthusiast. He was last seen on surveillance footage five days ago at the scenic area entrance. Yesterday morning, we extracted DNA from his parents at his home, and the match was successful." He played the home surveillance footage, showing Li Pengcheng waving to his parents with a backpack, a bright smile on his face. "Li Pengcheng lived alone and worked as an outdoor equipment review blogger. His social media posts indicated that his purpose for this trip was to explore the undeveloped areas of Luoying Valley."

He pulled up a densely packed list of call records: "In the past three months, he had been in frequent contact with a number ending in 4789, but that number was a virtual number. Bank statements showed that he received a remittance of 5 yuan a week before his death, the source of which was also untraceable. During the interviews, neighbors mentioned that Li Pengcheng had said, 'This time I'm going to reveal a big secret,' but he didn't reveal the specifics."

A brief silence fell over the conference room, broken only by the soft hum of the projector's cooling fan. Lu Chuan drew a relationship diagram on the whiteboard, connecting "Li Pengcheng," "mysterious number," and "5 yuan remittance" with red lines. (End of Chapter)