The crackdown on organized crime began with the arrest of the mother-in-law.

Chapter 1434 Investigating Clues and Expanding the Scope

Teammate Lao Chen chimed in, "Yes, and the registration information for many missing persons is incomplete. Some only have their height and age written down, and the physical characteristics section simply says 'average,' which makes it extremely difficult to make comparisons."

Xiao Zhou walked to Xiao Lin's computer, pointed to the information list on the screen, and said, "The difficulty is precisely why we're needed. The victim's identity is unknown in this case, and the dismemberment and disposal of the body destroyed a large number of identification clues. The missing persons investigation is the most direct way to determine the victim's identity. Incomplete information doesn't matter; we'll focus on those with clear physical characteristics and whose disappearance and death times are close. Even if only one detail matches, we can't overlook it." He paused, his tone becoming firm: "Remember everyone, behind every piece of information could be a family waiting for the truth. The more meticulous we are, the greater the chance of identifying the victim, and the greater the hope of solving the case. Now, let's get to work!"

With Xiao Zhou's command, only the crisp sound of keyboard typing and the occasional click of the mouse filled the office. Xiao Zhou himself sat down, taking charge of overall coordination and reviewing difficult information. He first broke down the missing persons information for the entire province by city, then assigned it to various groups, and then opened the information list for his city, beginning to examine each item one by one.

"Name: Wang Jianguo, Gender: Male, Age: 36, Height: 176 cm, Weight: 72 kg, Time of Disappearance: 2 months before the incident, Location of Disappearance: High-tech Zone of this city..." Xiao Zhou's eyes were fixed on the screen, his fingers lightly sliding across the mouse, checking the information one by one. When he saw the "Physical Characteristics" column read "A 3 cm scar on the left forearm, slender build," he immediately stopped. "Slender build does not match the deceased's 'medium build' characteristic; the scar on the left forearm, the forensic report states the deceased had a superficial resistance injury on the left upper forearm, and the location and shape do not match." Xiao Zhou muttered to himself, marking "excluded" in the table, and then continued to check.

Time passed slowly, and the sky outside the window gradually darkened. All the lights in the office came on, illuminating the tired but focused faces of the team members. At noon, the boxed lunches delivered from the canteen were placed on the corner of the table, but many team members didn't have time to eat them until Xiao Zhou urged them repeatedly. Only then did they hurriedly eat a few bites and immediately return to their work.

"There's a suspicious piece of information!" Around 3 PM, Xiao Song, the team member responsible for sorting through information from neighboring cities, suddenly shouted. Xiao Zhou immediately went over, and Xiao Song pointed to a record on the screen, saying, "Look, this is Liu Jun, male, 40 years old, 177 cm tall, 73 kg. He went missing a month before the incident, in the Hubin District of the neighboring city, only 30 kilometers from our city. The physical description says 'medium build, old injury on left arm,' which matches the victim's left upper limb injury and physical characteristics."

Xiao Zhou leaned closer to the screen, carefully examining every detail of the message: "The reason for disappearance is 'disappeared on the way home from get off work.' In the photo provided by the family, the person is wearing work clothes and does appear to be of medium build. There's an old injury on his left arm, but what exactly is it? The registration information doesn't specify." He turned to Xiao Song and said, "Contact the criminal investigation department of the neighboring city immediately and have them assist in verifying Liu Jun's detailed information, especially the specific location and time of the old injury on his left arm, as well as his activity trajectory and social relationships before his disappearance. Also, have the family provide supplementary photos of him and information about his clothing."

"Okay, I'll contact them right away!" Xiao Song immediately picked up the phone and began contacting the criminal investigation department of the neighboring city. Xiao Zhou returned to his seat, a hint of anticipation rising in his heart, but he quickly suppressed this emotion—before the information was fully verified, any similarity could be a coincidence.

However, their hopes were quickly dashed. In the evening, Xiao Song brought the verification results from the neighboring city: "Liu Jun's old wound on his left arm was a burn from childhood; the scar is round, completely inconsistent with the superficial scratches on the deceased's left upper limb. Furthermore, before his disappearance, he worked at a factory in the neighboring city, had simple social relationships, and no enemies. Surveillance footage from the day he disappeared shows him boarding a bus with out-of-town license plates. The preliminary assessment is that he left voluntarily, and his connection to the deceased in this case has been ruled out."

"Understood, mark it as excluded." Xiao Zhou nodded and said calmly. Six such "suspected clues" appeared during the first day of investigation, but after verification, they were all eventually ruled out. The team members were inevitably a little downcast. Old Chen sighed and said, "This investigation is like finding a needle in a haystack. We've been busy all day, and we haven't left a single useful clue."

Xiao Zhou patted Lao Chen on the shoulder and comforted him, "Don't be discouraged, this is only the first day. This is how massive investigations work; eliminating irrelevant clues brings us closer to the truth. We've already eliminated more than 1200 pieces of information today, and that's a achievement. Keep up the good work tomorrow and finish sorting out the remaining information."

Over the next three days, the investigation entered an even more arduous and challenging phase. The team members arrived at their posts at 8 a.m. and didn't leave until 11 p.m. every day, averaging over 2000 pieces of information to process. Their eyes became red, swollen, and dry from staring at computer screens for extended periods, and many carried eye drops with them, using them every hour. Xiao Zhou worked even harder than the team members; he not only had to process the information himself but also coordinate and resolve problems encountered by various groups, and liaise with criminal investigation departments in surrounding cities to verify leads. He got less than five hours of rest each day.

The following afternoon, Xiao Li, a team member responsible for sorting out information in the city's Chengnan District, discovered a potential clue: Zhao Wei, male, 38 years old, 176 cm tall, weighing 74 kg, disappeared 15 days before the incident, near a KTV in Chengnan District. His physical characteristics were described as "medium build, no tattoos, and recently depressed." "Zhao Wei's basic characteristics perfectly match the deceased, and the time of his disappearance is also close to the time of his death," Xiao Li said excitedly.

Xiao Zhou immediately organized his team to analyze the information carefully, and then contacted Zhao Wei's family. When Zhao Wei's wife answered the phone, her voice was clearly trembling with tears: "Police officers, have you found my husband? He's been missing for 15 days, and I've been looking for him every day. I'm so worried!" Xiao Zhou quickly reassured her: "Madam, please don't worry. We haven't confirmed that we've found him yet; we just want to verify some information with you. Before Zhao Wei disappeared, was he injured? Especially, were there any wounds on his left upper limb?"