Chapter 26: The Sedan Emerges from the Water!

Chaoyang Public Security Bureau!

Zheng Yuanqiao was taking a nap at his desk during his lunch break when his phone rang. He answered it hurriedly.

"You found the car? Good, I’ll arrange for an excavator and a crane to go to Sa-… wait, what?"

His mind was still groggy, so he had been following the lead of the voice on the other end. But as soon as "Sanya Slope" was mentioned, Zheng Yuanqiao was instantly jolted awake. His brain felt as if it had been plunged into ice water, becoming incredibly clear in an instant.

He suspected he might be sleepwalking, but he glanced at his phone—it was indeed a call from Xu Xinyi.

"Xiao Xu, what did you say? The divers really found a Hummer at Sanya Slope? So quickly? Shouldn't they have only just arrived?" His words were as breathless as his lungs.

"Shen Ting specified the approximate search area, so the progress was much faster. As for whether it is definitely a Hummer, we can't be one hundred percent sure yet because it’s entirely buried in silt. But the divers said the shape detected by the scanner looks very much like a car, and it’s slightly larger than a standard sedan. The probability of it being a Hummer is very high!"

This… Zheng Yuanqiao still couldn't believe it. The pond that had been searched inch by inch all those years ago without yielding any results? Was it truly the site where the perpetrators had dumped the vehicle? And more importantly, had Shen Ting really found it?

Zheng Yuanqiao suppressed the shock in his heart, forced himself to calm down, and kept telling himself not to get excited too soon. Until the car was completely out of the water, confirmed to be a Hummer, and verified as Liu Furen’s vehicle from all those years ago, anything was possible.

"Xiao Xu, hold on, I’ll arrange for the excavator and crane immediately."

Zheng Yuanqiao hung up, but he still felt uneasy. If that Hummer was truly Liu Furen’s, this matter was far too explosive; he had to be there in person to oversee it. He quickly put on his jacket and went to the office next door.

"First Brigade, all available personnel, come with me, including the technical team."

Everyone was startled. Usually, when the entire team was mobilized, it meant a major case. They quickly prepared. Several squad leaders approached Zheng Yuanqiao.

"Captain Zheng, what's the situation? Another homicide?"
"Isn't the frequency a bit high?"
"Exactly, we just finished the last case!"

Zheng Yuanqiao shook his head, his expression grave. "It’s not a new case; it’s a breakthrough in a cold case. You should all know about the Luohe kidnapping."

Luohe kidnapping? Some squad leaders immediately showed expressions of shock. Others had to rack their brains for a moment before remembering which case it was.

"Holy crap, that billionaire kidnapping case?"
"That case caused a nationwide stir, didn't it?"
"Wasn't this case reviewed by multiple expert teams without any progress? How did it suddenly have a breakthrough out of nowhere?"

"I can't explain the details too clearly myself!" Zheng Yuanqiao was still baffled as well. "The consultant I just hired, Shen Ting—the one you all weren't too keen on—he discovered it! The divers have confirmed there is indeed a car at the bottom of the Sanya Slope pond, and it is very likely a Hummer. We need to dig it out for further verification."

"Shen Ting?"
"Him?"
"He only just arrived two days ago, meaning he found the location of the Hummer in just two days?"
"He's that good?"

The disbelief on the squad leaders' faces became even more pronounced. However, some couldn't help but question it once they heard it was Shen Ting.

"So, the car hasn't been pulled up yet, and we can't confirm it's a Hummer?"
"Besides, we searched Sanya Slope back then; there clearly wasn't a car there!"
"Is it possible that later criminals sank other vehicles involved in crimes in that pond?"

Zheng Yuanqiao replied, "All of those are possibilities. Once the car is pulled up, everything will be clear."

A group of them piled into police cars and set off in a flurry. The other brigades at the Chaoyang Public Security Bureau watched from their windows, amazed, all wondering what had happened to require such a large mobilization.

More than half an hour later, the speeding police cars screeched to a halt at Sanya Slope. Zheng Yuanqiao got out and immediately saw Shen Ting in the distance, who gave him a slight nod. Shen Ting then returned to discussing the salvage operation with the divers, the excavator operator, and the crane technician.

Burying a car in a pond was relatively easy, but digging it out without damaging the vehicle—and especially without destroying any potential physical evidence on it—was a high-difficulty operation. After planning for a while, the excavation and salvage work officially began.

At first, the digging power seemed slightly insufficient. But by evening, a large group of more professional excavators arrived, and their equipment was of a much higher caliber. Searchlights were set up in mid-air, their powerful beams cutting through the water to illuminate the bottom of the pond. Work progressed rapidly!

"Who are these people who just arrived? Are they also working with the Chaoyang police? They look very professional!" Shen Ting asked.

"How could they be?" Xiong Beibei beside him shook his head like a bear. "Not to mention anything else, we couldn't even buy those searchlights, let alone afford to use them."

Xu Xinyi added, "Those are military-grade searchlights. That group is from the Liu family!"

The Liu family? Liu Furen’s family? Shen Ting realized. Money sure is convenient!

With the help of the Liu family, the salvage went much faster. Before the sky turned completely dark, the car finally emerged from the water under the glare of the lights.

Shen Ting stood up from the wild grass on the bank. He didn't know much about cars, but even from a distance, he could see the model looked very much like a Hummer. It was just that the body appeared to have been incinerated, leaving it blackened and deformed.

The car was placed on the bank, and the technicians immediately stepped forward. Since the license plate was damaged, they opened the hood to find the engine serial number. Everyone on the scene held their breath. Even the roar of the cranes, excavators, and other machinery seemed to fade away.

A few minutes later, the technician holding a flashlight stood up from under the hood, his face full of excitement. "It matches! The engine serial number matches! This is definitely Liu Furen’s Hummer!"

The area around the pond fell silent for a fleeting moment, then erupted in an uproar.

"It really… it really is that Hummer?"
"Holy cow!"
"A car that hadn't been found for over a decade was actually found by Shen Ting?"
"So many police officers, volunteers, and civilians helped back then, yet they didn't find it!"

The police and staff at the scene were all filled with excitement and shock. They all turned their gaze toward Shen Ting on the bank, eyes full of curiosity. They seemed unable to wait to rush over and ask him exactly how he had found the car!

But just then, the technicians who were processing the exterior of the Hummer and collecting evidence suddenly exclaimed, "Captain Zheng, there are bodies inside the car! Several bodies! And their positions… they don't look right!"