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

Zhang Hui also wavered. He rubbed his throbbing head and carefully recalled the entire comparison process. Based on the current situation, they had already checked all eligible missing persons in the city and surrounding provinces, but had not found a match. The deceased could indeed be from a more distant place. However, the workload for nationwide comparisons was much greater, and the information entered into the database for some regions was not standardized, making the task extremely difficult.

Just then, Lu Chuan called to inquire about the progress of the comparison. Zhang Hui reported the situation truthfully, his tone tinged with guilt: "Team Leader Lu, I'm sorry, we've compared tens of thousands of pieces of information, filtered out 30 suspected results, and after verifying them one by one, none of them matched successfully. The team members have been working for two days straight and are all exhausted, and their emotions are not very stable right now."

Lu Chuan paused for a moment on the other end of the phone, then said, "I know you're working very hard, and I understand how you feel. But the identity of the deceased must be confirmed as soon as possible; it's crucial to solving the case. Tell your team members to hang in there a little longer. I've already coordinated with the provincial data analysis center to have them send two people over to support you. At the same time, we'll expand the comparison scope to cover all eligible missing persons nationwide. Also, I'll have the logistics department send you some supplies to ensure everyone has food and rest."

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Hui relayed Lu Chuan's words to the team members. The support from the provincial department gave everyone a glimmer of hope, and the coffee, bread, and milk delivered by the logistics department also eased their fatigue. Xiao Chen picked up a piece of bread, eating as he said, "It's good to have support from the provincial department; at least it lightens the burden a bit, so we don't have to carry the load ourselves."

At 2 PM, data analysis experts from the provincial department arrived, bringing more advanced comparison tools and more precise screening algorithms. With the experts' assistance, the team rebuilt the comparison model, further refining the deceased's characteristic data, focusing on key tags such as "history of heavy metal exposure," "no dental caries," and "medium build," and launching a new round of nationwide automatic comparison. Meanwhile, team members took turns resting for two hours to recover their energy.

After the rest, everyone's spirits improved significantly, and their work efficiency also increased markedly. Zhang Hui led his team members, cooperating with experts from the provincial department, to verify the results pushed by the automatic comparison one by one, focusing on missing persons whose registered residence was in areas with a high concentration of metallurgical, electroplating, and waste recycling industries. Night fell again, and the lights in the analysis room were still on, but the atmosphere was much more composed than before. The sound of keyboard typing was neat and rhythmic, and everyone was working hard towards the same goal.

At 10 p.m., an expert from the provincial department suddenly said, "Team Leader Zhang, take a look at this record. The match rate is very high." Zhang Hui immediately went over and saw a missing person record from a neighboring province on the screen: Li Baochun, male, 35 years old, from Nanzhou City in the neighboring province, 175 cm tall, medium build, worked in a private metallurgical workshop before disappearing, and had long-term contact with heavy metals such as lead and mercury. He went missing on October 20, 2025. His family reported the case on October 23. The database contains complete dental X-rays and DNA samples.

"Quickly retrieve his dental X-ray and compare it with the deceased's. At the same time, have the technical department expedite the DNA matching!" Zhang Hui's voice was trembling with excitement, his fingers shaking slightly. The team members instantly perked up, crowding around the screen and carefully comparing the two dental X-rays. In terms of dentition, wear, and tooth morphology, the two were almost identical; neither had cavities, and the position of the left third molar was perfectly matched.

"It's too similar! This must be the deceased!" Xiao Li exclaimed excitedly, his previous fatigue and complaints vanishing. Old Zhao nodded as well: "The height, age, occupation, and dental features all match perfectly. It's highly likely to be him. We're just waiting for the DNA comparison results to confirm." Zhang Hui suppressed his excitement and said, "Xiao Li, contact the Nanzhou Public Security Bureau, get in touch with Li Baochun's family, verify the details of his disappearance, and inquire whether he has any records of coming to this city, or whether he has any connections with people from this city. Xiao Wang, keep an eye on the technical department and urge them to expedite the DNA comparison process. Let me know as soon as you have the results."

Everyone got to work, each fulfilling their duties. Xiao Li quickly contacted the Nanzhou Public Security Bureau, who stated that Li Baochun's family lived in a remote rural area of ​​Nanzhou and had limited education. Before his disappearance, Li Baochun had called home, saying he was going to work in a neighboring city, but he didn't specify where or what kind of work he was going to, and then they lost contact. After the family reported him missing, the local police searched the surrounding area but found no trace of Li Baochun, nor did they receive any information about him.

Meanwhile, the technical department reported that DNA matching was underway. Because it involved samples from multiple provinces, it would take some time, with results expected around 3:00 AM. While waiting for the results, everyone was restless, both expectant and nervous. Zhang Hui paced back and forth, constantly recalling Li Baochun's information, trying to find clues related to the case. Old Zhao and Xiao Chen rechecked the details of Li Baochun's disappearance, checking for any omissions.

Around 2 a.m., the analysis room was silent except for the slight hum of the computer mainframes. The team members leaned back in their chairs, eyes closed, exhausted but with a glimmer of hope in their eyes. Xiao Li rubbed his eyes and said, "Brother Hui, if we can confirm it's Li Baochun, then all our suffering these past two days won't have been in vain." Zhang Hui nodded: "Yes, as long as we can confirm the victim's identity, our work won't have been wasted. Next, we need to investigate Li Baochun's social relationships and whereabouts to find clues about the killer."

Time ticked by, and finally, at 3:15 a.m., the technical department called. The voice on the other end of the line carried a hint of excitement: "Team Leader Zhang, the comparison results are in! Li Baochun's DNA data matches the deceased perfectly, and the dental features also match flawlessly. We can confirm that the deceased is indeed Li Baochun!"

Upon hearing the news, the analysis room erupted in cheers. Xiao Li jumped up from his chair and shouted excitedly, "Great! We finally found it!" Xiao Wang also clapped his hands excitedly and said, "After two days and two nights of hard work, we finally have results. It's been so difficult." Old Zhao rubbed his eyes, a long-lost smile appearing on his face: "Now we can give Captain Lu an explanation, and we can also give Li Baochun's family an explanation."

Zhang Hui held the phone, his hands still trembling slightly, but a huge weight had finally been lifted from his heart. Two days and two nights of relentless work, comparing tens of thousands of pieces of information one by one, countless cycles of hope and despair, countless moments of exhaustion and complaints—all of this transformed into relief and joy at this moment. He said into the phone, "Okay, I understand. Please issue the official comparison report as soon as possible and send it to me." (End of Chapter)