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

Wang Shuai didn't reveal his identity directly. Instead, he went to the convenience store, bought a few bottles of water, and sat down on the bench among the elderly people. He started chatting casually, saying, "Grandpas and grandmas, it's so hot, why are you still cooling off here? I work in logistics nearby. I was wondering if there are any vacant warehouses around here, or if any villagers are willing to work as loaders in the logistics park. The pay is decent." He deliberately avoided sensitive words like "murder case" and "investigation" to prevent causing panic and resistance among the villagers. This gradual approach to communication was an experience he had gained over many years of investigation work.

Upon hearing this, the elderly men began to chatter. Mr. Li, with his gray hair, sighed, “Young man, forget about loading and unloading workers. Most of the young people here have gone to work in the cities. Those left are either elderly or children. Where would we find someone with the strength to do loading and unloading work? There are a few vacant warehouses, but they're all behind the village, unused year-round, and don't meet your logistics requirements.” Another woman, Ms. Zhang, added, “That's right. We're far from the city. Besides farming, the only options are odd jobs at the logistics park or a few small hardware factories to the west. The pay isn't high, so young people don't want to stay.”

Wang Shuai listened patiently, interjecting when appropriate, gradually steer the conversation toward the movement of people: "Do you know if anyone in our village, or in the surrounding villages, has suddenly disappeared recently, or hasn't shown up for several days? Whether they are young or middle-aged, any unusual disappearance counts." He spoke with gentle eyes and a sincere tone, trying his best to put the elderly man at ease.

Hearing this, the elderly women frowned, exchanged glances, and began to think carefully. Grandpa Li pondered for a moment and said, "I haven't heard anything. Our village only has a few dozen households; any trouble in one family would be impossible to keep quiet. Lately, the village has been quite peaceful. People are going to the fields, working, and picking up their children—everything is going smoothly. I haven't heard of anyone going missing." Grandma Zhang nodded in agreement, "Yes, even in the neighboring Wangjia'ao and Xihe villages, I haven't heard my friends mention anyone missing. In this rural area, everyone knows each other very well. If someone really didn't show up for several days, the news would have spread far and wide by now."

To ensure the accuracy of the information, Wang Shuai inquired in detail about the population of each village, especially the number of male villagers aged 34 to 36 who were engaged in manual labor and their recent whereabouts. Grandpa Li informed him that there were only seven men in Lijiazhuang who met this age requirement. Four of them worked in other provinces, two worked on construction sites in the city, and one farmed and did odd jobs at home. All of them had been in normal contact recently, and none had gone missing. "The one who's at home is named Li Jianguo. He comes to my shop every morning to buy cigarettes. I saw him yesterday; he couldn't possibly be missing," the shop owner added, his tone very certain.

After leaving the convenience store, Wang Shuai led his team in two groups. One group went to the Lijiazhuang Village Committee to retrieve the village's household registration information and recent population movement records, verifying the information provided by the elderly man one by one. The other group randomly visited households in the village, focusing on whether any relatives had gone missing or whether anyone had recently seen strangers or suspicious vehicles in the vicinity of the village. Wang Shuai personally visited Li Jianguo's home. Li Jianguo was repairing farm tools in the yard. Upon seeing the police IDs shown by Wang Shuai and his team, he did not panic and actively cooperated with the questioning, providing information about his recent activities. With the testimony of family members and neighbors, the possibility of him being involved in a case or going missing was ruled out.

At 4 PM, the two groups met. The household registration information and mobility records provided by the village committee matched the results of the on-site investigation. No one was missing in Lijiazhuang, nor were there any male villagers matching the deceased's physical characteristics who had recently gone missing. Wang Shuai didn't linger and immediately led his team to the next village—Wangjia'ao. Wangjia'ao was slightly larger than Lijiazhuang, and most of the villagers made a living by raising livestock and planting crops. Some villagers worked at scrap metal collection stations around the logistics park, which was somewhat related to the heavy metal industry the deceased might have been involved in, giving Wang Shuai a bit more hope.

Upon arriving at Wangjia'ao, Wang Shuai continued his approach of "first finding the information hub, then verifying each household's information." He first went to the village's livestock cooperative, where many livestock farmers were gathered, and they were quite familiar with the village and its surroundings. The cooperative's head, Wang Jianjun, was a capable man in the village, with extensive connections and good information. After learning Wang Shuai's purpose, he was very cooperative: "Officer Wang, don't worry, I'll ask around for you. I know the situation in our village and the surrounding area like the back of my hand." He immediately gathered several livestock farmers to recall whether anyone had recently gone missing or had unusually lost contact.

After more than half an hour of questioning and verification, the situation in Wangjia'ao gradually became clear. There were nine eligible male villagers in the village, three of whom worked outside the village, two worked at a scrap metal recycling station, and four were engaged in animal husbandry and farming at home. The two villagers working at the scrap metal recycling station, named Wang Qiang and Wang Hao, were both in their twenties, which did not match the deceased's age range, and they had been working normally recently without any abnormalities. The whereabouts of the remaining villagers were also clearly known, and none were missing. "There are only two scrap metal recycling stations here, and they are not large. They mainly collect waste paper and plastic, rarely metal, and we haven't heard of any outsiders working here," Wang Jianjun added, dispelling Wang Shuai's speculation that the deceased might have worked at a nearby scrap metal recycling station.

Subsequently, Wang Shuai led his team to visit two scrap metal recycling stations in Wangjia'ao. They reviewed the purchase records and employee information, and spoke with the managers and staff one by one, asking if they had seen anyone matching the deceased's physical characteristics, or if any unfamiliar individuals had recently come to sell metal items or behaved suspiciously. Both recycling station managers stated that no unfamiliar individuals had come to trade recently, all employees were locals, there were no new or missing persons, and the purchase records were complete and without any abnormalities.

By 6 p.m., Wang Shuai and his team had searched the villages of Lijiazhuang, Wangjia'ao, and Xihe, but found no missing persons or male villagers matching the deceased's description who had recently gone missing. As darkness fell and the temperature dropped, the team members were visibly tired, but Wang Shuai knew the search couldn't be relaxed. After a quick dinner and a short rest, he led his team to Beipo and Nangou villages, taking advantage of the fact that most villagers were home at night to expedite the search.

Both Beipo Village and Nangou Village are small villages with sparse populations, making the investigation relatively smooth. In Beipo Village, only three male villagers met the criteria, all of whom were farmers and none were missing. In Nangou Village, five male villagers met the criteria; two worked outside the village, and three worked in a hardware factory in the city. All three had been in regular contact recently, and the hardware factory mainly produces small agricultural tools, not heavy metal processing, making it unlikely to be related to the deceased's occupation. (End of Chapter)