Chapter 32: Beset by Difficulties!

Chaoyang Public Security Bureau! Outside the case review meeting room, Liu Qitong, with a sorrowful expression, was still speaking with Team Leader Zheng Yuanqiao: "Captain Zheng, the bodies of those three uncles have been found, but my father..."

"Mr. Liu, we will do our best to find him!"

Liu Qitong suddenly remembered Shen Ting: "By the way! Does that young man, Shen, have any leads? He was able to find the Hummer; might he have some insight into the location of my father's remains?"

"This..." Zheng Yuanqiao dared not commit. This case currently lacked any clues pointing to the whereabouts of Liu Furen's body. However, he couldn't grasp Shen Ting's methods either, so he couldn't be certain.

Just then, Shen Ting arrived at the meeting room, accompanied by Xiong Beibei and Xu Xinyi. Seeing him, Liu Qitong’s eyes lit up, and he asked directly: "Young Mr. Shen, I have a question for you. Do you have any thoughts on where my father’s body might be? In our culture, we believe in returning to one's roots; as long as I cannot find my father, I have no peace of mind."

"Ahem, no!" Shen Ting shook his head decisively. Don't be ridiculous! Even if he had ideas, he couldn't possibly tell him! In his eyes, the man before him was currently a prime suspect. Furthermore, Shen Ting truly had no leads.

Liu Qitong’s eyes betrayed his disappointment, but he still smiled and thanked him: "Young Mr. Shen, sorry for the trouble!"

Soon, Zheng Yuanqiao saw Liu Qitong off, and the case review meeting officially began. The main agenda was for the technical team—forensics, trace evidence experts, and analysts—to report their findings. Shen Ting had already reviewed the forensic and trace reports. The only thing he hadn't seen was the analysis of the dust, insect remains, and other debris collected after the car was dismantled.

The result was: no result. There was no physical evidence that could directly identify the perpetrator.

"The analysts' strategy was to use the marks and physical evidence on the vehicle to reconstruct the Hummer's driving trajectory. We wanted to determine where the criminal went, what routes they took, and where they stopped or hid while playing cat-and-mouse with the investigation team before abandoning the car. Specifically, if we could find the locations where they stopped, we might be able to identify the criminal's residence and thus their identity."

Shen Ting nodded. This approach was very typical for trace evidence experts; they usually sought breakthroughs starting from physical evidence. The key was that it had high feasibility. For instance, the silt collected from the tires was geological evidence. Based on the forensic geology knowledge he had recently acquired, if the silt were unique enough, it would be entirely possible to reconstruct the car's complete route.

Of course, the difficulty varied. The more unique the materials like silt were, the easier the trajectory reconstruction. Chaoyang's own experts could manage that. Conversely, the more common the materials, the higher the difficulty, requiring higher-level analysts or even geological experts. The silt collected this time fell into the latter category.

"The Hummer was just playing cat-and-mouse within that specific area. The region was too restricted, so the similarity of the grit in the tires was naturally very high." If the vehicle had traveled long distances, it would have "carried" unique local minerals from different places, making the trajectory much easier to determine. "It’s all silt common to the southern part of Chaoyang. There are glass particles, similar to the previous case, but things like salt brine particles—which could drastically narrow down the suspect's profession—are missing."

Shen Ting frowned slightly. Meanwhile, the technicians finished their reports. Zheng Yuanqiao also furrowed his brows: "Simply put, although there is a lot of physical evidence collected from the car, none of it points directly to the killer?"

"Correct!"

"There's no helping it! The time elapsed is just too long."

"Indeed. If we had found this Hummer right after the crime, we might have found leads. But it has been twelve years; much of the evidence has either decomposed or severely degraded, losing its value."

Hearing the experts' explanation, Zheng Yuanqiao nodded slightly. He knew this well. Even without the twelve-year gap, the "golden window" for criminal investigation is typically only the first 72 hours. That is when evidence is most easily collected, witness memories are clearest, and investigators have the most energy. If a case isn't solved during this window, the subsequent difficulty increases exponentially. Time can wash away so much, including the truth of the case.

"Everyone, think again. Are there any other investigative angles? We finally found the Hummer and restarted the case. If possible, I want to solve this completely. Let's not let these files gather dust again, and let's not make the victim's family wait any longer for answers." Zheng Yuanqiao spoke with sincerity. The officers in the room were moved and began to rack their brains.

But investigation is like that; often, effort alone isn't enough. A promising direction can lead into a dead end. Whether one can achieve a breakthrough depends on ability, inspiration, and luck.

Zheng Yuanqiao was silent for a moment, glancing at Shen Ting. Seeing no reaction from him, he sighed inwardly but remained steady: "It's alright! After twelve years, we found the Hummer. Solving the case and catching the killer is definitely still possible. Don't rush; if you have no ideas, keep reviewing the files, look for inconsistencies, and scrutinize the details."

"Understood!" "No problem!" "I refuse to believe in a perfect crime. A kidnapping must have loopholes; we just haven't found them yet. I'm not going to sleep until we find a breakthrough."

After the meeting, the members of the First Division immediately began digging through the files. The office was filled with the sound of flipping papers and intense discussions. Shen Ting pretended to be busy while actually waiting for the results from his group chat members. He "painfully" endured until the end of the workday, but not a single officer left, clearly intending to work through the night. Shen Ting, however, left on time to pick up his younger sister.

"Oh, Shen Ting, you don't look so good. Is the police work that tiring?" Teacher Gao, holding little Shen Manman's hand, walked out of the kindergarten and greeted him.

"It's not exactly tiring! Just a case that hit a bottleneck, so I've been a bit busy these last two days."

Teacher Gao thought for a moment, took off the bracelet from her wrist, and handed it to Shen Ting with a smile: "Here, borrow this! It's my lucky charm. I hope it brings you good luck so you can solve the case soon. You’re so smart, Shen Ting; I’m sure you can do it."

This... Shen Ting looked at the bracelet, feeling a bit embarrassed. But when a girl is this explicit, he’d have to be a fool not to understand. He took the bracelet, confirming they were crystals—exactly the subject of forensic geology. White quartz, citrine, amethyst, smoky quartz, tea crystal, phantom quartz... almost every common type was included. He put the bracelet on; it still held the warmth of Teacher Gao's wrist.

"Then thank you, Teacher Gao. Once this case is solved, I’ll treat you to a meal—a nice one."

"It's a deal!"

They added each other on WeChat, and that was how Shen Ting learned her name was Gao Ya.

Back home that evening, the group members had been vetting the information for half a day.

Group Leader: "How is it? Any results from the vetting? Liu Qitong, his two brothers, the board members of the Furen Group, or the enemies of Liu Furen in business and life. Did you find any suspects among them?"

"Boss, I found something! (◔◡◔)" Kiko replied immediately.