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

Just when everyone was about to give up, team member Xiao Zhang suddenly shouted, "Team Leader Zhang, look at this one!"

All eyes were fixed on Xiao Zhang's computer screen. The information showed: Chen Gang, male, 47 years old, 175cm tall, a Didi driver, went missing around 5 PM on August 15th at the intersection of Heping Road and Jianguo Road. His family reported him missing on the morning of August 16th. At the time of his disappearance, he was wearing a dark gray polyester jacket, dark blue cotton work pants, and black leather shoes, perfectly matching the clothing description given by the forensic doctor.

"Wait a minute, the dark gray polyester jacket, dark blue cargo pants, and black leather shoes—these are exactly the same as the deceased's clothes!" Xiao Li perked up instantly and leaned closer to the screen. "Moreover, the time of disappearance was 5 PM on August 15th, and the estimated time of death was around 8 PM on August 15th. The timeline matches up!"

Zhang Hui immediately asked Xiao Zhang to retrieve Chen Gang's detailed information and his family's contact information. "Chen Gang, 47 years old, divorced, has a daughter studying in another city, and his parents are deceased," Xiao Zhang read the information aloud. "He has been driving for Didi for five years, mainly picking up passengers around Heping Road and Jianguo Road. At 5 pm on August 15, he sent a WeChat message to his daughter saying, 'I'll come home for dinner after I finish this fare,' and then we haven't been able to contact him since. His phone has been switched off, and his vehicle cannot be located."

"Contact Chen Gang's family immediately and have them come to the station to identify the body from the photos!" Zhang Hui made a decisive call, and Xiao Zhang immediately dialed Chen Gang's family's number. On the other end of the line, Chen Gang's sister, Chen Fang, said in a tearful voice, "Officer, is there any news about my brother? We've been looking for him for a whole day and night, we're almost going crazy!" When she heard that they needed to identify the body from the photos, the crying on the other end of the line instantly intensified: "No...it can't be my brother, can it? He's always been perfectly healthy, how could this be..."

At 3:30 a.m., Chen Fang and Chen Gang's daughter, Chen Yu, rushed to the Criminal Investigation Division. Zhang Hui carefully handed them photos of the deceased's face and clothing. Chen Yu glanced at the photos and broke down in tears: "It's my dad! I bought him this jacket last month, a dark gray jacket, with a small hole in the left cuff, which he accidentally snagged while driving!" Chen Fang nodded, trembling: "That's right, it's my brother. His leather shoes were bought last winter; I remember the heels were quite worn, exactly like in the photo!"

To further confirm the claim, Zhang Hui had technicians extract DNA samples from Chen Fang and Chen Yu and compare them with the deceased's DNA. While awaiting the comparison results, the team continued to dig deeper into Chen Gang's information and soon discovered a second important clue—Chen Gang's Didi order records showed that at 5:10 PM on August 15th, he picked up a ride at the intersection of Heping Road and Jianguo Road, with the destination being an abandoned factory in the suburbs. The passenger information showed "anonymous," and the contact information was a virtual number that was not registered under a real name. After this ride, Chen Gang's account had not accepted any more orders.

“An abandoned factory in the suburbs? Could this be the primary crime scene?” Xiao Wang asked. Zhang Hui nodded: “Very likely. The brown soil on the victim’s trousers contained sand and humus, and the soil type around the abandoned factory in the suburbs matches this characteristic. Moreover, the passenger used a virtual number, which clearly indicates that he came prepared, and he is very likely the murderer who killed Chen Gang.”

The third crucial clue came from Chen Gang's bank statements. During the investigation, team member Xiao Li discovered that at 4:30 PM on August 15th, Chen Gang's bank card received a transfer of 50,000 yuan from an unknown account. This money was then completely withdrawn at 5:30 PM that same day from an ATM near Heping Road. "This money is very suspicious," Xiao Li analyzed. "Chen Gang's income mainly comes from Didi (a ride-hailing service), and he rarely makes such large transfers. The fact that it was withdrawn immediately after arriving in his account suggests that the murderer may have used some pretext to get Chen Gang to transfer the money, or that Chen Gang received some kind of 'hush money' before being murdered."

At 4:30 a.m., the DNA comparison results came back—the DNA of Chen Fang and Chen Yu matched the DNA of the deceased with a 99.99% kinship, confirming that the deceased was Chen Gang. This result brought a sigh of relief to everyone in the verification room; their hard work of more than ten consecutive hours had finally paid off.

"Great! We've finally confirmed the deceased's identity!" Xiao Li excitedly slammed his hand on the table, all his previous complaints vanished. "Now that we have Chen Gang's identity information, we can check his social connections, order records, and bank statements, and the subsequent investigation can proceed smoothly!"

Holding Chen Gang's file, Zhang Hui smiled, a long-lost smile on his face: "Thank you all for your hard work. Now that the deceased's identity has been confirmed, we have a clear direction for the investigation. Xiao Wang, you are responsible for retrieving Chen Gang's Didi order route and vehicle trajectory on August 15th, to see the specific location of the abandoned factory in the suburbs where he last picked up a ride; Xiao Li, continue to dig deeper into the information of that unfamiliar account that transferred 50,000 yuan, to see if you can find any clues related to the suspect; Xiao Zhang, contact Chen Gang's family members to learn more about Chen Gang's recent interpersonal relationships, whether he offended anyone, or if there were any unusual circumstances."

The team members immediately sprang into action, and the verification room bustled with activity once again. But this time, the busyness was no longer tedious and confusing; instead, it was filled with hope and motivation. Watching everyone's busy figures, Zhang Hui knew that identifying the deceased was only the first step in solving the case. Many more clues needed to be uncovered, and many more mysteries needed to be solved. But at least, they had taken the most crucial step.

The sky outside the window gradually brightened, and the first rays of sunlight streamed into the verification room, dispelling the fatigue of the entire night. Zhang Hui picked up Chen Gang's photo. The man in the photo wore a dark gray jacket, a gentle smile on his lips. No one could have imagined that he would end his life in such a tragic way. "Chen Gang, don't worry, we will definitely find your killer and give you and your family justice," Zhang Hui said silently in his heart.

At 6 a.m., Zhang Hui compiled the results of confirming the deceased's identity and three important clues into a report and reported it to Lu Chuan. Lu Chuan looked at the report and nodded in satisfaction: "Well done, thank you for your hard work! Now that the deceased's identity is confirmed and the direction of the investigation is clear, the next focus should be on Chen Gang's last business deal, the 5 yuan transfer, and the abandoned factory in the suburbs. We must find clues about the suspect as soon as possible."

With the identification of the deceased, the investigation into the male corpse found at the Heping Road garbage transfer station finally saw a glimmer of hope. Although exhausted, Zhang Hui and his team members were all filled with determination—they knew that as long as they followed these clues, they would eventually uncover the truth and bring justice. (End of Chapter)