The crackdown on organized crime began with the arrest of the mother-in-law.

Chapter 1464 Footprint Analysis

The two then went to the footprint examination room, where staff were analyzing the extracted footprints. "These footprints all belong to the same person, male, size 42, with a diamond-patterned sole, a casual athletic shoe from a certain brand. This shoe was sold both last year and this year, and had high sales volume," the staff member said. "Based on the depth, width, and stride of the footprints, we estimate the perpetrator to be between 176 and 179 centimeters tall, weighing between 65 and 70 kilograms, and aged between 25 and 40 years old. His gait was steady, suggesting he was a young adult male."

"Is it possible to narrow down the scope of the investigation by looking at the pattern on the soles and the brand?" Xiao Yang asked.

"It's very difficult," the staff member replied. "These shoes are sold nationwide, and many small factories are counterfeiting them, so it's impossible to determine the specific purchase channels and sales areas. We can only suggest that you focus on young and middle-aged men wearing these kinds of shoes during your investigation."

Xiao Sun and Xiao Yang exchanged a glance, both seeing the helplessness in each other's eyes. The clues they had were rather vague, making it extremely difficult to quickly identify a suspect. "Let's check the DNA comparison results first and see if we can confirm the victim's identity," Xiao Sun said.

The two arrived at the DNA testing lab, where staff were conducting final comparisons. "The deceased's DNA sample has been entered into the national missing persons DNA database. Currently, three suspected cases have been identified, and we are further verifying them," the staff member said. "At the same time, we also conducted DNA testing on the bloodstains and skin tissue extracted from the wire, confirming that they belong to the deceased, and no other person's DNA was found."

Xiao Yang nodded: "Verify those three suspected cases as soon as possible, send the photos and characteristics of the deceased to the local police station, and ask them to cooperate in the investigation to see if anyone recognizes the deceased."

"In addition, we have retrieved surveillance footage from the urban village and surrounding streets and are reviewing it one by one," Xiao Sun said. "However, most of the surveillance cameras are quite old, the images are blurry, and there are many blind spots, so it will be quite difficult to find a clear image of the suspect."

Over the next few hours, Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun waited for the fingerprint and DNA verification results while reviewing the surveillance footage. Most of the footage was blurry, showing only moving figures without any clear facial features or clothing details. In the footage from the eastern exit of the alley, they found a male figure whose height and build matched their prediction of the perpetrator, walking out of the alley around 11:20 PM the previous night. He was wearing a hat and mask, head down, deliberately obscuring his face, making his features unclear. He was wearing dark clothing and sneakers, matching the footprints they had collected. However, due to the angle and quality of the footage, they were unable to further confirm his identity.

At 1 a.m., the DNA testing lab reported that, after verification, all three suspected cases were unrelated to the deceased, and the deceased's identity remained undetermined. Fingerprint matching also yielded no results; the incomplete fingerprint could not be matched in the national fingerprint database.

Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun sat in the office, wearily rubbing their eyes. They had been working all night, but the case hadn't made any substantial progress; the victim's identity remained unknown, and leads on the suspects were scarce, leaving both of them feeling somewhat stressed.

“It seems we need to change our approach,” Xiao Sun said. “Since we haven’t made any breakthroughs by focusing on the victim’s identity and the evidence at the scene, we can start with the motive. If it was a revenge killing, the victim must have had some social connections. We can expand our investigation and question the residents and shop owners around the urban village one by one to see if anyone has seen the victim recently or anyone who had a conflict with the victim.”

Xiao Yang agreed: "In addition, the technical department is still processing the mark on that wire. We need to get the results as soon as possible to see if we can find any clues. At the same time, we can investigate shops that sell this type of wire, especially hardware stores around urban villages, to see if anyone has recently purchased similar wire and whose physical characteristics match the murderer."

"Also, although the shoe brand and pattern are common, we can contact the manufacturer to learn about the sales channels and main consumer groups of this shoe, thus narrowing down the scope of our investigation," Xiao Sun added.

Just then, the office phone rang. It was the local police station calling. "Officer Yang, Officer Yang, during our investigation, an elderly resident of the urban village reported that he saw the deceased at the alley entrance around 11 p.m. last night. At that time, the deceased was on the phone and seemed agitated, as if he was arguing with someone."

Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun immediately perked up. "Okay, we'll be right there!" Xiao Yang hung up the phone, and the two of them immediately got up and drove to the urban village.

Upon arriving at the urban village, the police officers from the local police station had already taken the elderly resident to a temporary questioning point. The resident, surnamed Wang, was in his sixties and had lived in the urban village for decades. "Last night I got up in the middle of the night, around eleven o'clock, and when I got to the alley entrance, I saw the deceased standing there making a phone call," Mr. Wang recalled. "His voice was very loud, and he was very agitated. He seemed to be saying things like 'Don't force me,' 'I won't compromise,' but I didn't hear what he was saying clearly. Later I went back to sleep, and I never expected something like this to happen today."

"Did you see the deceased's face clearly? Did you see anyone with him?" Xiao Sun asked.

Grandpa Wang shook his head: "It was dark last night, and I was far away, so I didn't see his face clearly. He was alone at the time; I didn't see anyone else. But he was wearing a dark jacket, which is similar to what you described."

"Did he mention any specific names, locations, or matters when he made the call?" Xiao Yang pressed.

"No, I just heard him arguing. He sounded very aggressive, like he had a big conflict with the other person," said Grandpa Wang. "I've lived here for decades and I've never seen this person before. He's probably not a resident of the urban village; he might have come from out of town."

The two questioned Mr. Wang about other matters but did not obtain any further valuable clues. However, this information had already made a slight progress in the case: the deceased had been in a heated argument with someone before the incident, which further confirmed the possibility of a revenge killing, and the murderer was very likely the person who had argued with the deceased.

Back at the branch office, Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun immediately convened a case analysis meeting. Li Ming also attended the meeting and, after listening to their report, said, "The deceased had a heated argument with someone before the incident, which is a crucial breakthrough. We need to focus on investigating people who had conflicts with the deceased. Although the deceased's identity is unknown, we can start with his call records. The deceased was on the phone at the time, indicating that he had a cell phone, which was simply taken by the murderer. We can contact the mobile network operator to check the call records of the surrounding area during the time of the incident, looking for any unusual calls, especially those involving emotional outbursts or arguments."