Era: Starting from the local police station

The convoy climbed uphill, with various coal-carrying donkey carts, horse-drawn carts, and trucks mixed together on the road. The road surface was full of potholes, and although it was covered with a layer of coal ash, it was still uneven.

Upon reaching the pass, the road turned, and the wind suddenly picked up, carrying the smell of coal smoke.

The convoy began its descent, with sharp turns everywhere.

Jiang Zhenghua stared at the road, gripping the seat tightly: "Such a sharp bend, and a long downhill slope at that, can these brake pads withstand it?"

Xiao Li looked focused and carefully steered the wheel: "Hey, some people take this route because it's a shorter distance. We're just driving a jeep; if I were driving a truck, I wouldn't dare come here, especially when it's carrying cargo."

"We should have arrived at our destination. I see the security personnel blocking the way."

Jiang Zhenghua craned his neck to look ahead and saw three people in the security uniforms of the Hongxing Machinery Factory waving red flags, signaling the car to stop.

"Creak—"

The screeching of brakes continued, and the two front sidecars gradually slowed down.

"Xiao Li, watch your distance."

Xiao Li nodded and then stepped on the brakes, reducing the jeep's speed once again.

Once the car had come to a stop, Xiao Zhou, whom he had met at the machinery factory, quickly approached, stood at attention, and saluted: "Instructor Zhang, Deputy Director Jiang, hello."

Zhang Chongguang and Jiang Zhenghua jumped out of the car and quickly returned the greeting.

Jiang Zhenghua put his hand down: "Comrade Zhou, what's the situation up ahead?"

Xiao Zhou pointed to the donkey cart that appeared at the corner: "The accident site is just around the corner. In order to protect the scene and facilitate the passage of the public, the section chief told us to only block the left lane and leave a one-way street. The road is narrow to begin with, and the space left now is only wide enough for one truck to pass through, so people have to walk side by side."

"Where is your Section Chief Cheng?"

"The section chief led a team to the bottom of the hillside to investigate the wrecked vehicle."

"How is he?"

Xiao Zhou said with some regret, "The whole car rolled down the hillside. It was discovered by a passerby this morning. The person saw our factory's logo on the car and called us. According to what happened when it was found, the person was already gone."

Jin Hong, who was standing nearby, said, "Since the cars need to give way temporarily and can't pass, let each car leave one driver behind and the rest of you go over and take a look."

The police officers present responded, "Yes, sir."

Jiang Zhenghua looked at Fang Ya and saw that she was carrying a box: "Teacher Fang, do you need help carrying your tools?"

There's also a stretcher in the vehicle.

Liu Baojia immediately said, "I'll get it."

The group then quickly walked down the slope.

By this time, quite a few people were already coming towards us, some pushing bicycles, some driving horse-drawn carriages, some driving donkey carts, and some carrying loads on their shoulders.

As Jiang Zhenghua walked, he observed the ground and found that the road surface, which was covered with a layer of cinders, was full of potholes and had many skid marks left by sudden braking. He sighed, "With so many skid marks, it's impossible to tell which ones were left by Gu Youliang's car."

Zhang Chongguang nodded: "Hopefully there will still be traces at the scene of the incident."

After rounding a steep bend, a security guard stood smoking ahead. The road on the left was cordoned off with ropes, while on the right, many people walked along, craning their necks to look around.

Many people were whispering among themselves.

"Sigh, yet another one who took a chance and risked everything to get there."

"That's right, this road is a real nightmare for trucks. Countless accidents happen here every year. Why don't they learn from their mistakes?"

The old man driving the carriage sneered, "What else could it be? After driving for a few days, he's got a big nose in the air, thinking he's the best driver. Little does he know, those who drown are often the ones who can swim."

"Your insight is excellent. There's a saying: 'With a turn of the wheel, rice, cabbage, and noodles are plentiful; but with your hands on the steering wheel, you wouldn't even take a county magistrate's job. These drivers all look down on everyone. And most of the ones who get into accidents are half-baked drivers, because new drivers simply don't dare to drive, while those who have been driving for a long time know that safety is more important than anything else."

"Speaking of which, the driver's benefits are really good. He has a high status, he has face wherever he goes, and he can always bring back some things. He lives a comfortable life, which is really enviable."

The old man gestured downwards with his lip: "Aren't you envious of him? He's lying here all alone, what will happen to his parents, wife, and children? These days, widows are encouraged to remarry, who knows who will benefit from this fortune?"

Upon seeing Jin Hong and his group, the smoking security guard immediately threw away his cigarette butt and came forward.

It was the same bespectacled man I'd seen at the machine factory that day.

He stood at attention and saluted: "Good morning, Deputy Director Jin. I am Yuan Hua from the Security Department of Hongxing Machinery Factory. I am here on orders to protect the scene."

Jin Hong returned the greeting: "Is this where the incident happened?"

Yuan Hua nodded: "That's where they climbed down."

Jiang Zhenghua looked at the ground and asked, "Are there any signs of an accident?"

Yuan Hua pointed to the cordoned-off area: "There were no brake marks. It seems the car was going too fast and couldn't turn around in front, so it just went straight down the road."

Fang Ya looked at Jiang Zhenghua: "Deputy Director Jiang, shall we take a picture?"

Jiang Zhenghua nodded: "Thank you, Professor Fang. We still need to take pictures of some key traces as evidence."

"Let's go inside and take a look. Everyone, examine it carefully."

As Jin Hong spoke, he pulled up the rope and crawled inside from below.

After everyone entered, they dispersed to examine the area carefully.

Fang Ya was busy taking photos.

Standing on the edge of the cliff, Zhang Chongguang pointed to the ground and said, "These are the tire tracks from that car, right?"

Yuan Hua nodded: "That's right."

Jin Hong looked back at the road they had come from, then at their current location, and said in a deep voice, "If you rushed down from such a height, even an iron man would be wrecked."

Jiang Zhenghua came to the side and looked down.

Jiang Zhenghua discovered that below was a cliff face with some protruding rocks, extending about thirty to forty meters in depth.

At the bottom of the cliff, one can vaguely see the upright stones scattered everywhere. A group of people are busy on the rocky beach, while some people stand watching not far away.

He looked away, glanced at the tire tracks stretching outwards in front of him, then looked behind him, and paced back and forth, frowning in thought.

After a while, Liu Baojia stepped forward and reported: "Deputy Director Jin, no abnormalities have been found nearby."

Zhang Chongguang sighed: "Now it seems that the car was indeed going too fast, which caused it to lose control. We'll see if the car has been tampered with."

Jin Hong nodded, then noticed Jiang Zhenghua frowning and remaining silent: "Deputy Director Jiang, why aren't you saying anything?"

"I have a feeling that something is wrong, but I can't quite put my finger on it."

Jiang Zhenghua said, glancing around again.

"What did you discover?"

Before Jiang Zhenghua could speak, Geng Jianwu walked over and said, "I looked along the tire tracks back the way we came, and I didn't find any tire marks or skid marks from braking."

Zhang Chongguang glanced at the steep hillside: "Now it seems like the car was braking for a long time, causing the brakes to overheat and fail, and the car was going too fast."

Jiang Zhenghua's eyes suddenly lit up, and he turned to ask Geng Jianwu, "Old Geng, are there any signs of a car collision on the cliff face to the left?"

Geng Jianwu shook his head: "There are some marks, but they've all been washed away by the rain. It rained recently, about ten days ago, so they're all old."

Zhang Chongguang looked at Jiang Zhenghua and said, "This car clearly lost speed and went downhill, it didn't overturn due to a collision. Why are you asking this...?"

Jiang Zhenghua looked at the steep and winding road: "Did the brakes suddenly stop working completely? Also, did the car suddenly accelerate?"

"No, it should be that the braking force is gradually lost."

"Although the road is steep and you can accelerate quickly, it's not a sudden, sudden acceleration."

Jiang Zhenghua asked again, "If you were a driver and discovered that the brakes had failed, what would you do?"

"He braked repeatedly."

"Quickly shift gears and see if you can slow down in the lowest gear."

Jiang Zhenghua nodded: "Everyone is right. I think experienced drivers do it all at the same time, right? So, when repeatedly applying the brakes, is it possible that at some point the brakes suddenly stop, causing the brakes to lock up?"

Upon hearing this, everyone lowered their heads and fell into deep thought.