Chapter 249 - 249 238 Attention to Every Detail_2

Words : 1782 Updated : Sep 27th, 2025

249: Chapter 238: Attention to Every Detail_2 249: Chapter 238: Attention to Every Detail_2 Jiang Yuan realized instantly that he must have hesitated to drink water, to avoid wasting time going to the bathroom. For other leaders during a normal search operation, the usual approach would be to hold a meeting and assign tasks to different middle-level officers. However, Xu Taining took it upon himself to manage every detail. That naturally meant he would get much more tired. “Jiang Yuan,” Xu Taining didn’t know Huang Qiangmin, he simply waved his hand and then asked, “Which one of you is the team leader?” “Director Xu, I am Huang Qiangmin, the team leader of the Ningtai County Criminal Police Detachment.” Huang Qiangmin took the initiative to come forward and greet him. He was about the same age as Xu Taining, but his position was much less significant. Xu Taining smiled, “Good, the team leader himself has come, you’ve worked hard. Hmm, how many people do you have in total?” “Should be 28 people, and 28 are present,” Huang Qiangmin replied very formally, with his feet together. This time he had brought the second team. In Ningtai County, the first and second teams always had endless cases every day. However, in the last two months, the number of cases had decreased, and the teams had become much more relaxed. For Huang Qiangmin, going out to support this time was also an opportunity to train. “Good, an entire platoon is here. You brought police dogs as well, right?” “Yes.” Huang Qiangmin called over Heizi from Longli County because there was a unified dispatch task from the provincial department, and this time they were spared the expense of the dogs. Xu Taining then looked at Jiang Yuan and said, “As I recall, Jiang Yuan’s on-site investigation abilities are quite good.” “Yes.” Jiang Yuan answered this time, without any false modesty. “You will start the search from the position of the Sanqing Temple. There’s a lot of local activity here, and the situation is rather complex...” Xu Taining made a few more arrangements and signaled for Jiang Yuan and the others to start working. Huang Qiangmin responded and took Jiang Yuan and the dog up into the pickup and started to drive, following the roadside markers. The road signs on both sides of the road were all re-arranged by Xu Taining today. There weren’t many forked roads on the mountain, so as long as the signs were clear, no guides were needed to find the way, making it convenient for everyone. However, most search personnel wouldn’t think of something so detailed. Most commanders were just anxious and upset; not everyone has good organizational skills, and fewer still are outstanding. Sanqing Temple is actually on a side peak. You have to drive halfway up the mountain, then walk along a forked path, descend into the temple valley, and then climb up again. Temple valley is also a very large mountain valley that used to be home to an entire village. To develop the coal mine, everyone relocated to Zi Feng Town. On one side of the valley is the main peak of Zifeng Mountain, and on the other is the side peak where Sanqing Temple is located. The height of the side peak is not low, but the circumferential width is much smaller. If it weren’t for the discovery of the coal mine, this place could have been developed as a tourist attraction. Now the potential for development is gone. Standing at Sanqing Temple and looking down, all you see are badly dug open-pit coal mines. Although refilled now, they still look like a landscape pocked with holes. “I thought we were going to be assigned some important task.” Li Li got out of the car with Dazhuang, whose legs were wobbling. The Panshan Highway is a nightmare for those who travel by car, and it seems it presents a hellish challenge for dogs as a passenger. “The temple seems to be maintained; that’s an important task too,” Huang Qiangmin corrected Li Li’s view, saying, “We don’t have anything special.” “We might not, but Jiang Yuan does. And besides, we have the police dogs,” Li Li emphasized, “We’re here for Jiang’s sake, if not for the dogs’.” Jiang Yuan wasn’t sure if Li Li was praising him or taking a dig at him. But as it gets dark early in the mountains, and he couldn’t see Li Li’s face but could make out her figure clearly, Jiang Yuan’s tone was very calm, “Let’s look at the scene first.” “Dazhuang might need to rest a bit,” Li Li said, holding Dazhuang against her chest with concern. People who get carsick feel terrible, not to mention dogs. Jiang Yuan nodded and began unloading things like power sources and inspection lights from the car. Half of these had just been begged back with the Great Wall Cannon. Mobile power sources like this were indeed provided in Ningtai County, but they were old, not only with low battery capacity but also lagging in performance. Inspection lights are meant to illuminate, but the power of such devices has been increasing over time. Needless to say, the more powerful they are, the more useful they are. Soon, Wen Kai, the leader of the second team, arrived at the scene with his personnel. The vehicles they were in were all old ones from the Second Squad, with a Skoda as the mainstay, an Iveco, and two Wuling Hongguang vans. The old roads of the coal mine had long been pitted and bumpy, and the few cars had a very difficult time moving forward. One of the team members, following Dazhuang’s example, started vomiting as soon as they got up the mountain. “Go further away to vomit, don’t contaminate the scene,” Huang Qiangmin called out first then sighed, “That’s why air conditioning is also a combat ability. Having a good vehicle also helps us preserve the scene.” Squad leader Liu Wenkai looked around at the wilderness and agreed, “A good vehicle has many uses. When I was younger, I would also take my girlfriend to mountains like these. We didn’t have money for a hotel back then and wanted to do something on the mountain. Ended up borrowing an A-class car, but my girlfriend’s legs were so long... ah...” Huang Qiangmin gave him a sideways glance with his eyes and slowly said, “I was talking about the Great Wall Cannon.” Liu Wenkai, with a teasing smile, replied, “I’m also talking about a ‘cannon’.” ... Wang Zhong took a survey box out from the Iveco, came over to Jiang Yuan, skillfully set up the equipment, and asked, “What are we looking for?” “Don’t know, let’s start by checking the footprints.” “Footprints... looking at what?” There were indeed quite a few footprints around. Some were dusty from corridors and rooms, some were wet mud from the yard, and some were even made of incense ash. The number of visitors to Sanqing Temple had dwindled, and the temple keeper had moved to the town, only coming up every few days to collect the offerings, light incense, burn joss paper, and clean the place up. As a result, the footprints in the temple were most likely formed in the past several days. As Jiang Yuan examined, he said, “First, let’s see how most of the footprints were formed. The paths they took, the way they moved. See if there are any unusual or exceptional ones.” After a pause, Jiang Yuan added, “If we can directly find signs of a struggle, or bloodstains, that would be even better.” “Got it,” Wang Zhong felt he had learned quite a lot and contentedly held up the examination light to illuminate Jiang Yuan’s way. The two walked back and forth several times, and Jiang Yuan remained silent without saying a word. What he had said earlier seemed simple, but in practice, it was anything but easy. The footprints left behind were few and not very clear, and they still had to distinguish behavior patterns. It wasn’t that it was impossible to do, but the level of difficulty was very high. In fact, it was more suitable for analyzing blood footprints. Among various footprints at a crime scene, blood footprints always hold the highest value. On the other hand, they were also uncertain about what state Liu Jinghui was in. With simple deduction, Liu Jinghui actually had a pretty good chance of coming to Sanqing Temple, as it’s a high point on the side peak. Anyone coming to the side peak might likely come up here. And having spent so much time at the Zifeng Mountain Coal Mine, it would be completely normal for Liu Jinghui to come to the side peak for a look. Furthermore, given the special nature of the temple, with the temple keeper coming and going from time to time, there might also be a chance to see or know something. However, if Liu Jinghui simply entered to look around, or even did something like a regular pilgrim, such as lighting incense sticks, the method Jiang Yuan was currently using to examine the footprints would no longer reveal anything. He was assuming that Liu Jinghui was engaged in activities similar to reconnaissance or investigation within Sanqing Temple. More importantly, Liu Jinghui may never have come here at all. Cast-net style searches are just like that, unless they coincidentally encounter what they’re looking for. Otherwise, no matter what abilities Jiang Yuan might have, he wouldn’t be able to utilize them. The criminal officers from the Second Squad began to spread out spontaneously, starting from Sanqing Temple and searching the surroundings. Around the same time, Dazhuang also woke up from his continuous motion sickness. Li Li took a black leather shoe out of the evidence bag, let Dazhuang sniff the inside and the sole, then let him out to search for the scent source. Huang Qiangmin also shifted his attention over. During a large-scale search, even Jiang Yuan probably couldn’t compare with Dazhuang. Dazhuang lowered his head searching for the scent and kept wandering back and forth, eventually returning to the black leather shoe, then leaving again, and then coming back. This was a sign that the police dog had not found a breakthrough scent trail. Li Li tried several different spots in succession but was unsuccessful. Li Li and Dazhuang continued to try. Huang Qiangmin shifted his focus back to Jiang Yuan again, as if he had never lost confidence in him.

Chapter 249 - 249 238 Attention to Every Detail_2

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