Chapter 247 - 247 237 Reinforcements

Words : 2225 Updated : Sep 27th, 2025

247: Chapter 237 Reinforcements 247: Chapter 237 Reinforcements Zifeng Mountain spans both Jianjiang City and Qinghe City, located deep within the mountains. But because of the coal mines, the road to Zifeng Mountain is rugged and difficult to navigate; still, there’s no shortage of people living at the mountain’s base. The town at the southern foothills, Zi Feng Town, now looks to be in decline, yet it still has a population of over ten thousand. The state-owned coal mines’ years of continued investment, the construction of mechanical processing plants, the invested coal-processing enterprises, and the tertiary industry’s-built fertilizer and pesticide factories are all still operating stubbornly. They’re just barely scraping by. Just like the people in the town. Under the hazy air, ordinary people go about their daily lives. Lacking vitality yet exuding peace and antiquity, and also a hint of familiarity. The Alphard moved slowly along the main road through the town, and Jiang Yuan’s mind couldn’t help but conjure the images of Zhangshan Town and Lichang Town. That’s where Wangguoshan, the perpetrator of the reservoir case, used to live, commit murders, and was eventually arrested. I heard that because of that incident, many residents left Zhangshan Town, which caused the already declining town to deteriorate even faster. Zi Feng Town seemed even less lively than Zhangshan Town, but in reality, the town was somewhat larger, and there were a few industries that caused the population to be more dispersed. Wei Zhenguo saw Jiang Yuan paying attention outside and began to explain, “Zifeng Mountain is very big, we are now in the southern area, mainly residential and industrial areas. The coal mines are all up in the high mountains, there are several of them, locals call them Mine Shaft One, Mine Shaft Two, but actually, Mine Shaft One is one coal mine, and Mine Shaft Two is another, and all used to be department-level entities.” “Higher than the mayor’s level.” “Of course. Back when the coal mines were profitable, the mayors were nothing.” Wei Zhenguo laughed and said, “When we went out for cases, we would stay in state-owned enterprises’ guest houses; local government guest houses were unusable, bunk beds, stinking to high heaven.” “You seem quite familiar with Zi Feng Town?” “Not really, I’ve been here before. Qinghe City is only so big, you know, and in the past, the places where cases most often happened were these industrial and mining enterprises. Nothing happened most of the time, but when something did, it was always a major case.” “What kind of case was it back then?” Jiang Yuan chatted casually, also as a way of gathering information. For an unfamiliar place, merely reading about it online is hardly enough to form a concrete impression. Human cognitive mechanisms dictate that stories and characters are needed to conceptualize. In contemporary terms, it requires a hook. Without Ma Su, Jing Ting becomes forgettable; Lushan, without its committee chair, gradually fades from people’s view as well. Wei Zhenguo also sank into his memories, and after a long while, he said, “It involved five hooligans from nearby collectives, idiotic youngsters with no money to spend. On a weekend, they came up to the mine to steal, thinking the state enterprise offices would have valuables. They broke into several offices and found nothing of value, and after a back-and-forth, they stumbled upon the accounting room.” “Did they get away with a large sum of cash?” Jiang Yuan guessed. Back then, factories and mines used to pay wages in cash, and large factories with thousands of workers, hitting the right timing, could be more profitable than robbing a bank. Wei Zhenguo said, “The mine wasn’t foolish; not only was there money in the accounting room, but there was also an accountant on duty.” “Ah.” “The five of them beat an accountant who was close to retirement to death and ran off with nearly 100,000 yuan. We chased them for less than a week before we caught them all.” As Wei Zhenguo spoke of the case, his thoughts returned, and he slapped his forehead and said, “The mine we went to at that time was Mine Shaft Two. It’s called the Lijiagou Coal Mine. Mine Shaft One is the Zifeng Mountain Coal Mine, and Mine Shaft Two is the Lijiagou Coal Mine. There’s another mine, let me check... called the Temple Gully Coal Mine. They are all high mountain mines.” Jiang Yuan had also looked up some information in the car just a while ago. Moreover, Jiang Yuan took an interest in Zifeng Mountain when Liu Jinghui was injured last time. Listening to Wei Zhenguo’s explanation, Jiang Yuan was also sketching a map in his mind. Where should he start his investigation? The three treasures of a modern-day criminal investigator are video, mobile phone, and DNA. Cliché as they may be, the fact that everyone uses these methods shows the high probability of solving cases with them. At the very least, the cost-performance ratio is very good. But in Zifeng Mountain, there was naturally no video evidence. The pathway through the mobile phone had been proven infeasible by the technical investigation, otherwise, the provincial department would not be so anxious. DNA evidence would require a crime scene. And with a missing persons case, there is no crime scene. The kind of case that criminal investigators dread most is probably the missing or uncontactable person, partly because there is no crime scene. Without a crime scene, many of the current technical methods are useless, and solving the case becomes impossible. Of course, the most important reason is the complex nature of disappearance cases. If you work hard to solve a case only to discover it was just a runaway or an illicit affair, it’s all for naught, wasting both time and emotional energy. In most cases, this is what detectives encounter. Of course, what’s even rarer and most fearsome are cases where the police overlook a report and then the person turns out dead. Therefore, proving abnormal circumstances is crucial for a disappearance or missing persons case to be filed. For example, Liu Jinghui by all rights should not have lost contact for this long. But as for finding him, Jiang Yuan also felt at a loss on where to begin. The reinforcements from the provincial department arrived at Zi Feng Town soon after. A line of seven cars parked orderly into a hotel. The leader was a man in a white shirt, who looked extremely serious. “Xu Taining. First-Class Senior Police Superintendent. Big Boss Xu.” Wei Zhenguo, seeing the man from a distance, quietly said to Jiang Yuan. In the police world, a white shirt was a dividing line, which very few could cross. Therefore, for the rank-and-file officers, simply saluting the white shirt is the right thing to do. The rank of Senior Division Head is for the administrative level. There are four levels of senior police inspectors, with the third and fourth levels corresponding to the deputy division level; the fourth level is called “junior deputy division head,” and the third level is “senior deputy division head.” First and second level senior police inspectors correspond to the division head level, with the second level being “junior division head” and the first being “senior division head.” In more modern terms, a first level senior police inspector is equivalent to division head plus. For the police system, the division head level is the hardest hurdle. Once promoted, you can wear a white shirt and enter the ranks of senior police officers. It’s considered a minor peak in one’s career. If you do not get promoted, you are regarded as one among the great unwashed. Most people, especially those at the grassroots level, do not get promoted. In Shannan Province, there are not many who would still go around to various scenes wearing a white shirt at the first level senior police inspector rank; Xu Taining is one of the more famous among them. Wei Zhenguo recognized him immediately. Jiang Yuan, as a third-level police inspector, had almost the lowest rank in the police system. He simply stood at the farthest point, watching a group of people go through the motions and asked, “This Director Xu, what famous deeds is he known for?” “There are quite a few,” Wei Zhenguo pondered, then said, “He’s dispatched thousands of officers for the arrest of armed robbers, used police forces in other jurisdictions, cracked down on Black Society organizations, wiped out several drug dens, and even captured tele-fraudsters in Southeast Asia—all big scenes.” “The commanding type?” Jiang Yuan summed up. Wei Zhenguo thought about it and nodded, saying, “That’s not wrong to say. Director Xu is best at conducting large-scale integrated operations.” When the provincial department sends people out for a case, these senior inspectors actually do not carry much authority, so most of them focus on inspections and supervision. Often, senior inspectors have stepped down from leadership positions, and when there’s a need, sending a senior inspector back to the field where they once fought can be quite beneficial. Of course, most cases do not escalate to the political level. Situations of potential conflict usually arise with enterprises like Jianyuan Company. Aside from that, local criminal detectives generally welcome supervision from superiors because police chiefs from the provincial department often bring funds or technical personnel, which is advantageous for solving cases. But what Xu Taining did involved more than just supervision or even command. It was about integrating forces from various quarters, which was of considerably high difficulty. And from this perspective, the provincial department took the disappearance of Liu Jinghui very seriously —according to the provincial department’s definition, Liu Jinghui is still considered missing, not lost. “Jiang Yuan, which one is Jiang Yuan?” A police officer hurried over, running and shouting as he approached. Jiang Yuan waved his hand, standing out like a giraffe shaking its neck. “Are you Jiang Yuan?” The running officer asked. “That’s me. From Ningtai County.” “Come with me.” The officer turned and started to jog away. Jiang Yuan had no choice but to jog after him. That’s the discipline of the force—absolute obedience to orders. Xu Taining had a square face with sharp eyes that commanded respect even without anger. He spoke slowly and clearly with the people around him, and there was strong logic in his sentences. After speaking to several people and sending them off, Xu Taining signaled for Jiang Yuan to come forward and said, “I heard you have a good relationship with Xiao Liu. Did you talk about the case the last time?” “We didn’t talk specifics. Director Liu had just been injured at the time and was preparing to gather people and dogs to search the coal mine for the missing person,” Jiang Yuan described truthfully, not adding or omitting anything. Xu Taining nodded and said, “I hear you’ve done well with criminal cases, recently solving a major case of a body dumped in a reservoir? Do you have any thoughts about this situation?” “Not at the moment. However, Director Liu was following the lead of the reservoir case when he came here.” “We will consider it,” said Xu Taining. “Report to me if there’s any progress, and go back to your team for now.” “Yes.” Jiang Yuan was sent off after a few words and heard Xu Taining discussing where to deploy additional personnel as he left. It was evident that he was preparing to employ a saturation strategy. That was the most suitable and most luxurious plan under the circumstances. Jiang Yuan, too, pondered as he went back to the roadside, telling Jiang Yongxin to drive back alone. As he was making arrangements, a brand new Great Wall Cannon truck pulled up in front of him. Huang Qiangmin jumped down from the driver’s seat with a hearty laugh, rolling up his sleeves and shouting out the names of Jiang Yuan and Wei Zhenguo. Li Li, walking Dazhuang, came down from the back seat. Dazhuang, on a leash, seemed somewhat unsteady. When he reached the side of the road, he staggered a bit before he couldn’t help but vomit. Not just Jiang Yuan and Wei Zhenguo, but a crowd around them stared in disbelief. Li Li saw this and could only unpack a bag of tissues, sighing, “Sorry, he’s carsick.” “Dogs can get carsick?” Jiang Yuan was quite surprised. Li Li spread her hands, pointing to Dazhuang resting in a hollow by a tree, and said, “It was too rough today, but he often gets carsick. He’ll be fine after a rest.” “If not, let him rest for a day, and we can enter the mountains tomorrow,” Huang Qiangmin said as he gently closed the car door, not succeeding at first, then pushing harder on his third try until it shut properly. Li Li hesitated but ended up patting Dazhuang’s head and said, “Dazhuang wants to make a contribution; he should be among the first group into the mountains.” Upon hearing the instructor mention making a contribution, Dazhuang enthusiastically nodded his head. A dog wouldn’t just give up and lie down.

Chapter 247 - 247 237 Reinforcements

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