Chapter 41 - 41 41 The Case of the 326 Disappearances

Words : 1519 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

41: Chapter 41: The Case of the 326 Disappearances 41: Chapter 41: The Case of the 326 Disappearances “The 326 missing person case... It was from three years ago,” Wei Zhenguo’s tone was tinged with reminiscence, as he slowly continued, “You know, to file a missing person case, there are certain requirements. By the time the case came to me, there were already many troubling signs.” Wei Zhenguo had clearly reviewed the case details, he paused briefly and resumed, “The victim, Ding Lan, was an accountant at a factory. On the 26th of March, she worked overtime until about 10 pm, then left the factory for home. She didn’t show up for work on time the next day, but her colleagues thought she was just running late. It wasn’t until that afternoon that they tried to contact her. Living alone as she did, it wasn’t until the evening of the 27th that her family reported her missing, and even then, the case wasn’t immediately filed. Later, a few people who set out to look for Ding Lan found her bicycle behind a municipal flowerbed, about seven or eight meters from the roadway.” “That would be grounds for opening a case,” Wu Jun interjected. “Yes, the abandoned bicycle means there’s more to the disappearance,” Wei Zhenguo sighed, “Afterwards, our squad conducted some search efforts and also lifted fingerprints from the bicycle, but we never made any progress and the case ground to a halt.” “Let me look at these fingerprints.” That was all Jiang Yuan had in terms of investigative skills. Fingerprints were his sharpest tool, much sharper than the forensic doctor’s own skillset. Wei Zhenguo must have called him in on this case for that very reason. Upon opening the integrated police service platform, there was a long list of fingerprints related to the 326 missing person case. Among them, the most important were the fingerprints collected from the bicycle, totaling several dozen and belonging to multiple individuals, scattered across the handlebars, frame, and tire. It could be said that the person who collected the fingerprints did so with considerable diligence. But similar to a previous assault case, the cylindrical material of the bike frame meant that the collected fingerprints were severely distorted, making them hard to match. Coupled with the large number of fingerprints gathered from the victim’s home, the total number of fingerprints involved in the case easily ran into the dozens. Without a clear direction for the investigation, handling these dozens of fingerprints was going to be a real headache. Wei Zhenguo was clearly aware of this and could only explain, “Ding Lan’s bicycle was often borrowed by people in the office. The cashier and another financial staff member used it frequently. Also, Ding Lan was quite casual in her social interactions, with numerous relatives, friends, girlfriends, and boyfriends. We know of four ex-boyfriends living in the county alone...” “Romantic entanglements?” Wu Jun speculated blindly. With no body and the case not being a major special case, he had no recollection of it after two years. Wei Zhenguo shook his head: “Her several ex-boyfriends all parted on amicable terms, none had a history of violence... Honestly, after recording their testimonies, the investigation stalled, and there was practically no follow-up. If not for the peculiar circumstances of that abandoned bicycle, this case might not have even reached me... But it was precisely because of the oddity of the abandoned bicycle that I’ve kept the case in mind...” As Wu Jun listened, he suddenly felt a sense of resignation: “In our country, a so-called perfect murder could simply be replaced with a missing person case. Just the time it takes to file the case can consume the crucial 72 hours, and without a body, much of the evidence can’t be found. Moreover, not as many resources are invested.” Wei Zhenguo nodded gravely, exchanging a look with Wu Jun: “You feel it too?” Wu Jun uttered a thoughtful “Hmm...”, and said, “There’s no way the bicycle would just be discarded by the roadside without reason. But there are other explanations, the most critical issue is... there’s no body.” “Indeed,” Wei Zhenguo sighed again. Jiang Yuan understood and expressed his surprise, “Captain Wei, you think there’s a murder involved here?” Wei Zhenguo replied, “Too bad a hunch doesn’t count.” Despite his youth, Jiang Yuan frowned and said, “Regardless, a person has truly gone missing. We have to find her.” Wei Zhenguo gave a bitter smile: “The difference between a missing person case and a murder case is vast.” Wu Jun also said from the side, “There are issues with fake disappearances. For example, eloping with a boyfriend, running away due to financial problems or escaping debts, or actively participating in pyramid schemes and strange religions. And then, there’s what you young people say, taking an impromptu trip, experiencing a love that’s meant to be...” “Right, our police resources are limited, and so is our energy. Without definite evidence, it’s impossible to actively convert a missing person case into a homicide case,” Wei Zhenguo said. Wei Zhenguo and Wu Jun, one after another, laid out the situation for Jiang Yuan. Jiang Yuan hesitantly asked, “What counts as definite evidence?” “A corpse,” Wei Zhenguo said. “The tradition here is that you need to see a body to open a case. Without a body, it’s impossible to throw the finances, possibly millions, into investigating a single case.” The high-pressure mandate to solve homicide cases is the primal force driving the police to solve cases regardless of cost. However, the fact that they can spare no expense for homicide cases doesn’t mean police funds are unlimited. On the contrary, because funds need to be saved for serious cases like homicides, the budget for ordinary cases becomes even tighter. And before a body is seen, a disappearance case is just an ordinary case. The resources it can receive are only those allotted to ordinary cases. “The victim’s position was an accountant. Were there any financial issues?” Wu Jun raised another question. Wei Zhenguo sighed, “The initial investigation shows no major issues, but there are some minor discrepancies with additional reimbursements. In short, it’s not completely clean. But the factory side doesn’t want to delve into it, and we don’t have the manpower to do so.” “Fond of socializing, loves to have fun, had several ex-boyfriends, and isn’t very cautious with money,” Wu Jun shook his head. “Cases like this are indeed tough to convert to homicide. Who knows, she might just show up one day, smiling and telling you it was all a joke.” “It’s been three years, and she hasn’t popped up,” Wei Zhenguo’s expression grew much graver. “So, what do you need me to do now?” Seeing the mood was low, Jiang Yuan stood up again. Adjusting his emotions, Wei Zhenguo pondered and said, “Here’s what I’m thinking. When we investigated this case before, our focus was on acquaintances. We considered the possibility of an acquaintance committing the crime, taking into account issues of romantic entanglement and the like. In summary, we followed the personal relationships. Now, let’s set aside that old route and focus on this bicycle.” When it comes to case investigation, Wei Zhenguo’s thoughts became extremely sharp, and his brows furrowed deeply as he said, “The only flaw in this case is the bicycle. If it weren’t for this one lying in the bushes, it might have been difficult to even file the disappearance case. And to conceal this bicycle would actually be very easy to do; either ride it away or discard it by the roadside, and it might get taken by passing people, leaving no trace.” Jiang Yuan nodded as he listened. This kind of case analysis was still very fresh to him, a forensic doctor who graduated from a medical academy. “Therefore, this bicycle signifies that the case might have occurred spontaneously and could involve a crime of passion. If a crime did take place, there’s a high chance that the bicycle might contain a significant clue, like, for example, the fingerprints of a criminal suspect,” Wei Zhenguo looked at Jiang Yuan and said, “To be honest, I considered this aspect three years ago, but back then, matching fingerprints was even harder than now...” As Wei Zhenguo described, a semi-transparent system interface popped up in front of Jiang Yuan. Mission: Full-Scale Match Mission Content: Wei Zhenguo believes that a clue to the disappearance case of Ding Lan #326 may lie in the fingerprints on the bicycle. Please match the fingerprint samples collected from the bicycle and attempt to solve the case. Jiang Yuan’s eyes twitched. Good grief, matching all the fingerprints on the bicycle, disregarding the seventy to eighty percent fingerprints already matched, the rest are the problematic ones—it’s really only by assuming a major criminal case has occurred that one would have the patience to work through all of them.

Chapter 41 - 41 41 The Case of the 326 Disappearances

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