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

He zoomed in on the anatomical diagram of the stomach, and the close-up of the wriggling chyme made several team members turn their faces away. "Methamidophos residue was detected in the vegetables in the stomach contents. It is a banned pesticide, but the dosage was far from fatal." At this point, he pushed up his glasses and his voice suddenly lowered: "The strangest thing is the abnormality in the deceased's mouth—there are three needle-like puncture wounds on the tongue, arranged in a triangle, as if they were caused by some kind of toothed tool."

Wang Shuai slammed a stack of bound case files onto the table, the sound of the plastic covers hitting the surface crisp and jarring. "Li Erzhu's theft case has been verified, involving 430,000 yuan and seven receivers of stolen goods." He pulled up surveillance footage showing the suspect skillfully stripping the outer sheath of electrical wires. "However, after cross-checking, the time of the crime and the traces of the tools are unrelated to the murder. But during interrogation, he mentioned a crucial piece of information—Zhou Zhengming, the deputy director of the demolition office, had hinted that 'some waste materials are troublesome to dispose of.'" When the screen switched to Zhou Zhengming's bank statements, murmurs rose and fell in the conference room: "Three days before the incident, his personal account suddenly received a 200,000 yuan overseas remittance."

Zhang Hui's report brought the atmosphere to a freezing point. The missing persons comparison chart he presented was staggered by hundreds of red crosses: "In the past 72 hours, we screened 3812 missing persons records from this province and five surrounding cities, including 217 men matching the age criteria." He clicked on one of the photos, a stark contrast between the smiling elderly man and the unidentified corpse on the autopsy table. "The three closest matches have all been ruled out. Two were found in nursing homes, and one voluntarily reported himself missing after leaving home due to a family dispute." His voice trembled slightly at this point: "The deceased's identity remains a mystery; we can't even confirm if he was a local."

After a brief silence, Lu Chuan drew a large question mark on the whiteboard: "There are three core contradictions that need to be resolved." He circled three keywords in red: "Special coating, oral puncture wound, mysterious remittance." Turning to Yang Lin, he asked, "Can we trace the manufacturer back from the coating ingredients?"

“I’ve already contacted the Provincial Chemical Industry Association.” Yang Lin quickly flipped through his notebook. “Only three companies in the province produce this type of coating, two of which are mainly for export, but…” He suddenly paused, “the largest supplier is a subsidiary of Meda Plastics Factory.”

Zhang Kai added thoughtfully, "Oral stab wounds might be a particular fetish of the perpetrator during the crime, or some kind of marking behavior. I suggest reviewing the serial crime files of the past ten years to see if there are any similar modus operandi."

Wang Shuai held up Li Erzhu's interrogation record: "We can't let Zhou Zhengming go. I request that he be placed under 24-hour surveillance, with a focus on his subsequent contacts with overseas accounts. In addition, Li Erzhu mentioned that there is a 'secret warehouse' in the demolition area, which might lead to physical evidence related to the murder case."

Zhang Hui proposed a new approach: "Since we can't find it in the missing persons database, can we trace it back from the deceased's physical characteristics? For example, that ulna fracture from five years ago must have had a medical record at the time. We can work with hospitals throughout the city to retrieve orthopedic medical records."

The meeting continued until noon, the sunlight piercing through the clouds and becoming scorching. The clue diagram on the whiteboard had become intricate, red arrows and blue question marks intertwined into a web. In his summary, Lu Chuan's pen strokes heavily landed on the words "Meida Plastics Factory": "Next, we'll proceed in four directions: I will personally lead a surprise inspection of Meida Coatings Company; Zhang Kai will continue to study the special methods of committing crimes involving oral trauma; Wang Shuai will delve into Zhou Zhengming's profit chain; Zhang Hui will be responsible for screening medical records. Remember, every detail could be the key to unlocking the truth."

After the meeting, the team members hurried away, but Lu Chuan stood in front of the whiteboard, staring at the faded ring mark on the deceased's photograph. Outside the window, the demolition site's cranes continued to turn slowly, seemingly mocking humanity's persistent pursuit of the truth.

When Wang Shuai pinned Zhou Zhengming's photo to the whiteboard, the man in the picture, dressed in a sharp suit, sat upright with a polite smile, but his eyes behind his glasses were unfathomable. The name "Zhou Zhengming" was circled in red on the whiteboard, and below it were key details such as "Deputy Director of the Demolition Office" and "Received 20 yuan in overseas remittances before the incident." "Let's go, this time we must find out everything about him," Wang Shuai said to his team members, his voice filled with unwavering determination.

The investigation began with Zhou Zhengming's work environment. In the demolition office, documents were piled high, and progress charts on the walls were densely marked with milestones for each project. Wang Shuai and his team found Zhou Zhengming's subordinates, attempting to extract clues from them. "Director Zhou is usually very meticulous in his work and has very high standards for the demolition process," a young staff member said, head bowed, his eyes darting around. "As for that remittance, we really don't know anything about it; he never mentioned it to us."

At the teahouse Zhou Zhengming frequented, the owner wiped the tables while recalling, "Director Zhou would come two or three times a week, always sitting by the window, and occasionally meeting with some strangers. But they spoke very softly, and I couldn't hear what they were saying." Wang Shuai pulled up the teahouse's surveillance footage, which showed Zhou Zhengming indeed meeting with different people, but they all deliberately lowered their voices and were very cautious with their body language, making it impossible to determine the content of their conversations.

Even more problematic was that when Wang Shuai tried to investigate the source of the 20 yuan overseas remittance, the bank stated that it involved cross-border transactions, the procedures were complex, and it would take time for them to cooperate with the investigation. While waiting, Wang Shuai didn't remain idle; he led a team to visit Zhou Zhengming's neighbors. In an old residential building, a kind-hearted older woman took Wang Shuai's hand and said, "Zhou Zhengming usually seems quite honest, leaving early and returning late, and he has good relationships with his neighbors. However, some time ago, I saw a man wearing a hat and mask loitering outside his house; he looked quite suspicious."

This clue made Wang Shuai's heart tighten. He immediately checked the community's surveillance footage and indeed found the mysterious man's figure. However, the footage was blurry, only showing a man of medium build wearing an ordinary black jacket; his appearance was completely unrecognizable. Wang Shuai continued to track the man in the direction he had left, but lost track of him in a bustling commercial street.

Just as the investigation reached a stalemate, the bank informed them that the remittance account was a temporarily registered offshore account, and its identity could not be traced. Undeterred, Wang Shuai turned his attention to Zhou Zhengming's social circle, discovering his close ties with several local real estate developers. "Perhaps this money is related to land development," Wang Shuai thought. He and his team launched an investigation into these developers, staking out their locations day and night, recording their every move. (End of Chapter)