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

"The difficulty of this case lies in the complex scene environment, the ease with which traces can be destroyed, and the lack of direct clues to the victim's identity and eyewitnesses. We will proceed in three steps: First, the technical department will quickly test the extracted dust samples and gray coat to see if we can find fibers, hair, or other trace evidence; second, Wang Shuai will lead a team to continue interviewing scavengers and homeless people around the unfinished building to expand the search area, focusing on finding anyone who has seen the 'man in the black hoodie' or the 'black car'; third, we will retrieve surveillance footage from the Huijia Garden community and a 3-kilometer radius around it over the past week, especially footage from main roads and intersections, to look for suspicious vehicles or individuals, while simultaneously entering the deceased's characteristics into the missing persons database to attempt to confirm their identity."

He paused, his tone becoming more resolute: "Although there are no major leads yet, we can't give up. The unfinished building may be remote, but if the suspect has been there, they will definitely leave traces. We just might not have noticed them yet. Let's all work harder and try to find a breakthrough as soon as possible to give the deceased some closure."

As evening fell, the members of the Criminal Investigation Detachment set off again. Some went to the technical department to follow up on sample testing, some continued to interview scavengers in the surrounding area, and others buried themselves in carefully reviewing surveillance footage. The shadow of the unfinished Huijia Garden building loomed over everyone's hearts. Everyone knew that solving this case was destined to be full of challenges, but everyone's eyes were filled with determination—no matter how difficult it was, they had to find the truth and make the murderer hiding in the darkness have nowhere to hide.

On Wednesday evening at 6 p.m., the afterglow of the setting sun cast a dim yellow hue over the steel and concrete of the unfinished Huijiayuan building. Wang Shuai, along with two team members, carrying the description of the deceased and the information about the "man in a black hoodie" and the "old black car" mentioned by Lao Zhou, began their investigation along the streets surrounding the unfinished building. Their first stop was a small shop 200 meters south of the building—a place where nearby scavengers often bought water and cigarettes, where they might find someone who had seen the suspicious person.

The convenience store owner, a woman in her forties, was leaning over the counter doing accounts. "Excuse me, ma'am, have you seen any scavengers who frequent the Huijia Garden unfinished building area recently? Probably male, around 40-50 years old, about 175cm tall, wearing dark trousers, worn-out sneakers, and a gray jacket," Wang Shuai handed over the deceased's description, while asking, "Also, have you seen a man wearing a black hoodie and a mask, or a black old car parked near the unfinished building?"

The shopkeeper looked up, glanced at Wang Shuai a few times, then looked at the description of his features, and shook his head: "Scavengers do come often, more than a dozen every day, mostly familiar faces, but I didn't pay much attention to the age and clothing you mentioned—they all dress similarly, tattered and ragged, who would specifically remember their features? I don't remember the man in the black hoodie either. Black cars are common, though; residents of the surrounding neighborhoods often pass by, but there are so many old cars that it's hard to tell which one is which."

Undeterred, Wang Shuai pressed on, "Did you see a man in a black hoodie or a black car parked in front of the unfinished building yesterday afternoon? Old Zhou said he saw someone like that near the unfinished building yesterday afternoon." The boss thought for a moment and then shook his head, "I was busy unloading goods yesterday afternoon and didn't pay much attention to the outside. Besides, the unfinished building area is remote. Apart from scavengers, very few people go there. Even if there were cars parked there, I wouldn't have seen them."

Leaving the convenience store, Wang Shuai led the team to the entrance of a small path on the east side of the unfinished building. This path was the direction Old Zhou had described as the one the "man in the black hoodie" had left in. The path was muddy and overgrown with weeds, with villagers occasionally passing by on electric bikes. Wang Shuai stopped an elderly man on an electric bike: "Sir, do you live around here? Have you seen a man wearing a black hoodie and a mask recently, about 170 cm tall, of medium build, who was around this path yesterday afternoon?"

The old man stopped his car and scratched his head. "Wearing a black hoodie? Not many people wear hoodies in this weather. I've never seen one. This path is usually used by people from our village. Outsiders rarely come here. Even if they do, they're usually scavenging for scraps at the unfinished building. I haven't noticed anyone like you." Another woman passing by chimed in, "Yes, we've lived here for over ten years. That unfinished building area is gloomy. Who would go there except for scavengers? We've never seen anyone suspicious."

Next, Wang Shuai led his team to visit several villages and rental houses around the unfinished building. These places are home to many migrant workers and scavengers, with a high turnover rate. In a rental house converted from an old factory building, Wang Shuai found a middle-aged man who had been scavenging near Huijia Garden for many years: "Brother, do you often go to the unfinished Huijia Garden building to collect scraps? Have you seen a scavenger who looks to be 40 or 50 years old, wearing a gray coat and dark trousers? I haven't seen him recently."

The middle-aged man sat on the edge of the bed, holding a steamed bun in his hand, and said vaguely, "I've seen a lot of scavengers, quite a few of them are in their 40s and 50s, wearing gray coats... I think there was one, I saw him at the unfinished building a few days ago, but I haven't seen him since. But I don't know him well, I don't know his name or where he lives, I just occasionally bump into him at the unfinished building and we just nod to each other."

"Do you remember when he was last seen? Was he with anyone else?" Wang Shuai quickly pressed, as this was the closest clue to the deceased's identity. The middle-aged man thought for a moment: "It seems to have been the day before yesterday morning. I was collecting plastic bottles at Building 2 of the unfinished building when I saw him wandering around near Building 3. He wasn't with anyone else; he was all alone. He wasn't very talkative and didn't eat with us. I don't know anything about him."

This clue gave Wang Shuai a glimmer of hope, but the middle-aged man couldn't provide any more information—he didn't know the deceased's name or address, nor had he seen him in contact with any suspicious individuals. He could only confirm that "there was such a scavenger who appeared at the unfinished building the day before yesterday morning." Wang Shuai asked his team to record the middle-aged man's contact information and instructed him to contact the police immediately if he remembered anything else.

Afterwards, Wang Shuai led his team to the property management office of Huijiayuan residential complex. Although there was an unfinished building on the north side of the complex, there were surveillance cameras inside the complex, which might capture people or vehicles heading towards the unfinished building. "We need to retrieve the surveillance footage from the north entrance of the complex over the past week to see if any suspicious individuals or an old black car have entered or exited, especially yesterday afternoon and the morning before yesterday," Wang Shuai told the property manager.

The property manager looked troubled: "Officer, the surveillance camera at the north entrance of the complex broke down last month and hasn't been repaired yet. We can only view the footage from the south and east sides; the north side isn't working. Furthermore, the surveillance cameras inside the complex only capture what's inside the complex; they can't see the unfinished building area." (End of Chapter)