Chapter 246 - 246 236 Disconnected

Words : 1861 Updated : Sep 27th, 2025

246: Chapter 236: Disconnected 246: Chapter 236: Disconnected Jiang Yuan spent another day processing videos for Zeng Zhuohu before he finally returned to Ningtai County the next day. On the return journey, he rode in Jiang Yongxin’s Alphard. The new pickup truck Captain Huang had acquired four years ago had been taken to the county by a colleague who had come over for a business trip a couple of days earlier. Such a new truck, filled with Captain Huang’s hopeful essence, definitely shouldn’t be left to wander for several days on end. Jiang Yuan didn’t want to drive it either, so when he arrived in Qinghe City, he took the opportunity to send it back. This trip was a private job he had taken on after hours; it was part-time and not appropriate for using a department vehicle. Captain Wei naturally preferred riding in the Alphard, but once on the highway, seeing Jiang Yuan constantly writing and drawing in his notebook, he felt somewhat unsettled. Captain Wei couldn’t help but ask, “Hasn’t Zeng Zhuohu’s labor fee been paid yet?” “He must run it through the school’s accounts. Official accounts are more formal,” Jiang Yuan replied. “The technology you’ve learned is great, much more widely applicable than Bloodstain Analysis or anything like that,” Captain Wei said enviously. Jiang Yuan seriously considered this and responded, “Their requirements for video enhancement are too simple, not very interesting. Bloodstain Analysis is actually better; even if it’s an injury case, as long as Bloodstain Analysis is used, it’s always the full set. When it’s done, there’s a greater sense of achievement.” “Earning easy money and still not happy... Never mind, let’s not talk about this anymore,” Captain Wei said, upsetting himself with his own words, then patted the seat of the Alphard and stretched contentedly, adding, “Now, I just look forward to our country thriving, our national brands producing affordable and high-quality cars. When it’s time to change to a four-year-old new car in the future, I hope it will be more comfortable to sit in, as my old back can’t take it anymore.” “Let’s take a rest at the upcoming service area,” Jiang Yuan told Jiang Yongxin, who was driving. Jiang Yongxin immediately acknowledged. The drive from Qinghe City to Ningtai County wasn’t far, just over an hour, but if the “guest” wanted to take a break, a break was in order. Compared to other young people in the village, Jiang Yongxin seemed much more mature and capable, able to handle both hardship and pride. By the time Captain Wei came out of the restroom, Jiang Yongxin had already bought drinks and water, and most importantly, prepared cigarettes, waiting there. Captain Wei quickly lit a cigarette, took a puff, shivered with satisfaction, and laughed, “You know, air-conditioned cars have their own advantages, but our old car has its own charm too. Of course, in the end, as long as the car can stop, it’s better to have air conditioning.” “If you can’t stop, whether you have air conditioning or not doesn’t really matter,” Jiang Yuan stated, picking up a bottle of water and providing a quite reasonable conclusion. After solving a logic puzzle, Jiang Yuan unconsciously thought of Liu Jinghui. Inference, courtroom debate, including the judicial process, are actually closely related to a country’s philosophy. In an era without forensic science, proving someone’s guilt required either witnessing the crime or resorting to inference. With the foundation of formal logic, the West constructed a pathway to procedural justice, while in China, judicial institutions had long been controlled by Confucian scholars, leading to vastly different approaches to inference. Liu Jinghui’s ability to solve cases directly through inference was uncommon in both the East and the West. The situation might be even more severe in Europe and America, where their scrutiny of evidence far exceeds the handling capabilities of forensic institutions. Defense attorneys, on the other hand, have always known how to target the weak spots of judicial institutions. Thinking of this, Jiang Yuan couldn’t help but ask Captain Wei, “How long has it been since you last contacted Director Liu?” “I haven’t contacted him,” Captain Wei replied, still smacking his lips as he got into the car. After some thought, Jiang Yuan took out his phone; it had been quite a while since he last called Liu Jinghui, and even the WeChat message had been sent several days ago. Liu Jinghui had been injured before and then gathered several dogs to search for clues in the mine. However, the process had not been smooth. As time went by, both the dogs and the people under him began to dwindle. That’s the way it is with special case teams for criminal investigations: they can be lavishly staffed at the beginning, and as more leads emerge, the number of personnel and equipment can keep increasing. But if there’s no progress and no new leads, the resources of the special case team will be gradually reassigned until only one or two officers are left to do clerical-like tasks. Later on, even these officers start doing clerical work part-time, and the case team exists only in name. If they’re lucky, some of these teams might reactivate after a few years or even over a decade later and get busy again. But more often, they fade into silence as the officers handling the cases pass on. Liu Jinghui was accustomed to traveling around the province solving cases, but he actually didn’t have any real subordinates; he just used local staff wherever he went. Even his colleagues from the provincial office were constantly rotating and reorganizing. Looking back after so much time, Liu Jinghui most likely wouldn’t have many dogs left under his command. After all, police dogs are much rarer than humans. It’s not possible for them to be on loan all year round. Thinking this, Jiang Yuan casually dialed Liu Jinghui’s number. It rang several times but no one picked up. Poor signal at the coal mine was normal. Jiang Yuan hesitated for a moment but still decided to call Huang Qiangmin and said, “I am a bit worried, staying in a coal mine for such a long time seems a bit unreasonable. Besides, Director Liu had a rather fixed schedule for contacting me before, now both WeChat and phone are unreachable.” Huang Qiangmin grunted and said, “Liu Jinghui actually has a fixed schedule for contacting you?” “Uh, it’s mainly about some fingerprints or footprints that he wanted me to have a look at. There are many cases on his side, so...it’s like asking for a third-party opinion.” Huang Qiangmin said, “Liu Jinghui is with the province’s department, if he wanted to poach people, there are plenty in Changyang City for him to poach, yet he comes to our county. I think he might as well rob openly, just issue a transfer request, and see whether I let him or not...” “Captain Huang, perhaps Director Liu has encountered some accident in the coal mine,” Jiang Yuan said in a low voice. “Are you worried about him?” Huang Qiangmin asked sternly. What was this even about? Feeling somewhat helpless, Jiang Yuan said, “I suspect there was a murder case at Zifeng Mountain Coal Mine, that’s why Director Liu went there. Now that he’s out of touch, aren’t you worried at all?” “What does this amount to being out of touch? And what am I worried about? Worried that he won’t have time to poach our people?” Huang Qiangmin snorted twice and added, “Old Liu is a veteran detective; if he were in a county bureau, he’d qualify to take an afternoon off to pick up his kid, you know. He’s probably somewhere in the wild... let me ask around.” “Okay then, thank you for the trouble, I’m on my way back. If there’s nothing wrong, I’ll take another day off tomorrow and go back to work the day after.” Jiang Yuan had solved several major cases and amassed a lot of compensatory leave. As long as his superiors agreed, he could easily take a summer or winter holiday for himself. Huang Qiangmin didn’t mind Jiang Yuan taking more time off to rest. Recently, there hadn’t been any major new cases to solve, and the backlog of unsolved cases was already reduced beyond expectations. For his own workhorse, as long as a certain level of activity was maintained, he was reluctant to have Jiang Yuan run around senselessly. It was only people like Liu Jinghui from the provincial department, these silly roe deer who go around messing with other people’s affairs all day long, borrowing other people’s prized livestock to cultivate land for outsiders, and still frequently getting in touch. After Huang Qiangmin made the call, Jiang Yuan felt somewhat relieved. The senior superintendents from the provincial department were either highly educated and cultivated for management from the start or experienced veteran detectives brought up from the grassroots level. They had encountered more situations than Jiang Yuan had even heard of, so there really wasn’t much to worry about. Jiang Yuan leaned back in the Alphard’s seat and silently started reading a novel. Brrr... A call popped up on the phone, from Huang Qiangmin. Jiang Yuan frowned and glanced at Wei Zhenguo beside him, then turned on speakerphone and said, “Captain Huang, I’m with Captain Wei right now; I’ve turned on speakerphone.” “Hmm, Liu Jinghui has been missing for 60 hours,” said Huang Qiangmin, being very precise about the time. Jiang Yuan asked, “How did you determine it’s been 60 hours?” “After 48 hours of no contact, the provincial department started reaching out, but considering his specific situation... Anyway, as soon as I asked, they also became a bit anxious, repeatedly asking if I had any clues. They are now planning to send people to Zifeng Mountain.” The disappearance of an adult is quite common. 60 hours is somewhat an awkward duration. However, given Liu Jinghui’s injury, this 60-hour disappearance could easily lead to unpleasant speculations. For the provincial department, on-duty deaths occur occasionally, but the disappearance of a high-ranking superintendent is something they absolutely cannot accept. Jiang Yuan keenly sensed that if the situation remains unchanged in the next few hours, Liu Jinghui’s disappearance would definitely turn into a major issue. Given the current situation, the provincial department would certainly not waste time waiting for the foolish 72-hour mark. Instead, they would pour a large amount of resources into the situation well before the critical period. “Let’s go to Zifeng Mountain,” said Jiang Yuan, and then added, “Captain Huang, has Heizi from Longli County returned? If he can be borrowed again, please lend him out.” Police dogs are quite professional at finding people. And, indeed, the efficacy of police dogs and their trainers varies significantly depending on their level. Jiang Yuan felt he had already done unpaid work for Longli County twice and it was time to cash in for some canine hours. Huang Qiangmin was a bit reluctant but still agreed.

Chapter 246 - 246 236 Disconnected

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