Chapter 253 - 253 240 Pumping Water

Words : 993 Updated : Sep 29th, 2025

253: Chapter 240: Pumping Water 253: Chapter 240: Pumping Water The next morning dawned. Several vehicles descended the mountain again, enduring another bumpy ride. Upon reaching Zi Feng Town, the scene resembled the previous day’s, albeit with significantly fewer people queuing, and Xu Taining’s white shirt had become dirtier. “Didn’t change clothes last night, huh?” Even Wang Zhong, with his limited reasoning, could figure out Xu Taining’s situation. Jiang Yuan glanced at the queue and asked Huang Qiangmin, “Shall we go talk to them?” “Yes, have you thought it through?” Huang Qiangmin said, “This Director Xu is known for his stringent ways, not quite like me, who is more willing to consider your opinions.” Li Li and Dazhuang, who were in the same vehicle, cast sidelong glances at Huang Qiangmin. Huang Qiangmin’s lips curled into a proud 22.2-degree smile. Jiang Yuan said, “As long as he wants to solve the case, he should listen to me.” “Oh?” “Thousands participated in the search yesterday, personally organized by Director Xu. If there weren’t suitable clues, he would likely consider a new plan.” Huang Qiangmin put himself in Xu Taining’s shoes and nodded involuntarily. What people admired most about Xu Taining was his ability to organize intensive and extensive investigative operations. But the aspect they admired the most was also his most vulnerable point. Should such intense operations yield no result, what a massive disappointment that would be. Of course, with Xu Taining’s current experience, even if he failed once or twice, it was probably something his superiors could accept. But could Xu Taining accept it himself? Organizing an operation involving thousands of people, demanding their time and energy, and ending up without results would surely lead any normal person to feel dejected and doubt themselves. Now, more than 72 hours had passed since Liu Jinghui went missing. The golden 72-hour window had elapsed, and without any news, the missing person case had turned into a disappearance. And the difficulty of searching only increased. If Huang Qiangmin were in Xu Taining’s position, he would likely agree to any reliable idea proposed by his subordinates. This wasn’t just a matter of decentralizing responsibility and authority but also a normal choice under the abundance of resources. Jiang Yuan needed people, needed vehicles, needed resources—grant them, and that was it. If resources were not enough, Xu Taining could request more. Especially with Liu Jinghui confirmed as missing, doubling the personnel and resources wouldn’t be a problem as long as they were used rationally to achieve the goal. Huang Qiangmin followed Jiang Yuan, walking over together. Then, they saw Jiang Yuan not bothering to queue up, but heading straight for Xu Taining instead. Huang Qiangmin wanted to pull him back, to give Jiang Yuan a lesson on politics and personal matters, but he couldn’t keep up with Jiang Yuan’s pace. When he caught up, the stir had already caught Xu Taining’s attention. Xu Taining spotted Jiang Yuan, a tall figure, and gave a faint smile, beckoning Jiang Yuan to come over and saying, “Looking at you rushing up here, have you found any clues?” The surrounding people immediately fixed their gaze on Jiang Yuan. Everyone hearing the word ‘clues’ held a somewhat unexplainable expectation. Jiang Yuan decisively shook his head and said, “No, we searched around Sanqing Temple yesterday but found nothing; the police dogs didn’t pick up a starting point either.” “Hmm.” Xu Taining’s face became expressionless. Jiang Yuan continued, “Last night, I had an idea and went back to the main peak, where Director Liu had his car accident and where he previously parked, to do some investigation.” “Did you find anything?” “No,” Jiang Yuan replied directly. Someone beside them couldn’t help but frown and said, “If you didn’t find anything, just say so directly; don’t hint at something and leave us hanging.” Jiang Yuan smiled dismissively at the remark and continued with his own train of thought, “Considering this case, the car accident caused by the tire sabotage, and the case Director Liu was investigating before, I suggest searching for a body near the parking spot— not Director Liu’s body.” Up to this point, in fact, nobody had yet brought up the word ‘body’. Even though Jiang Yuan expressly stated it wasn’t Liu Jinghui’s body they were looking for, the mood of the crowd was still visibly affected. Xu Taining, increasingly anxious, asked, “Then whose body do you want to search for?” “I don’t know. But I think, if we could find a body nearby and through that solve the case, it would be very helpful in locating Director Liu.” Before Jiang Yuan could finish speaking, several senior police officers around them couldn’t help shaking their heads. “How do you know there will be a body nearby?” “What do you mean by solving that case? You want to find a body that hasn’t been discovered yet, and then solve this case?” “Can’t find the person, so you plan to solve a murder cold case first? What a joke.” A flurry of verbal attacks followed. Huang Qiangmin looked at Jiang Yuan with an “I told you so” expression and felt oddly pleased. The comments were essentially what he had said before. Being in the police force for so long, one knows too well the challenges of solving cold murder cases. Solving cold cases really depended on luck. Those who stayed in the criminal investigation circle long enough knew that some cases were extremely difficult to solve. And that was putting it mildly. Putting it bluntly, some murder cases, once they became cold cases, no longer had the conditions for investigation. In the local police departments, solving cold murder cases merits commendation not because commendations are cheap. Xu Taining looked Jiang Yuan up and down, then slowly asked, “Do you have confidence in solving this case?”

Chapter 253 - 253 240 Pumping Water

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