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

Chapter 1430 Two Missing Persons Ruled Out

“I haven’t heard anything about missing persons, but this morning around 5 a.m., when I got up to use the bathroom, I heard the sound of a car starting outside the window. It wasn’t loud, like a small sedan,” the aunt recalled. “Our window faces the small road on the south side of the square, and there are usually very few cars passing by at this time. I peeked out the window, but because of the thick fog, I only saw a blurry car headlight shadow, which quickly disappeared.” Xiao Wang immediately asked, “Are you sure it was around 5 a.m.? What color were the car headlights? Did you see the general outline of the vehicle?” “I’m sure it was around 5 a.m. I glanced at the alarm clock on the bedside table. The car headlights were white, but I couldn’t see the outline clearly. The fog was too thick; I could only see a ball of light,” the aunt added. Xiao Wang and Xiao Liu carefully recorded the aunt’s testimony, left their contact information, and told her that she could contact them anytime if she remembered any other details. They then continued to visit the next household.

During their community visits, Xiao Wang and Xiao Liu collected three more valuable leads: an elderly man who exercises in the morning reported hearing a slight dragging sound near the fitness equipment area on the west side of the square around 4:00 AM, but didn't dare approach due to the heavy fog; a convenience store owner stated that around 3:00 AM, a man wearing a black coat and a mask bought a bottle of mineral water at the store entrance; the man was of medium build and spoke in a low voice, and walked towards Nanhu Square after buying the water; and a community security guard said that around 2:00 AM, he saw a black SUV stop near the north entrance of the square for about 5 minutes before driving away, but couldn't see the license plate due to the dim light. Xiao Wang and Xiao Liu carefully compiled and recorded these leads and promptly reported them to Xiao Wang.

At this time, Xiao Wang had finished contacting the police station about the missing persons and arrived at Hubin Road, north of Nanhu Square, to meet up with Xiao Li and Xiao Zhang, who were retrieving surveillance footage from shops. "Team Leader Wang, we've contacted 12 shops along Hubin Road, 8 of which have surveillance equipment. We're currently copying the footage from these shops between midnight and 7 a.m.," Xiao Li reported. "However, the surveillance equipment in 3 shops is quite old, and the image quality isn't very clear, which might affect the investigation." Xiao Wang nodded: "Regardless of the quality, copy it all back, and we'll review it frame by frame later. Also, pay special attention to the 24-hour shops; their surveillance coverage is the most complete and might yield valuable clues."

While copying CCTV footage from a 24-hour convenience store, the owner, Mr. Zhao, told Xiao Li, "Around 4:1 this morning, a man dragged a large black suitcase past the store, heading towards Nanhu Square. It was very foggy, so I couldn't see his face clearly, only that he was wearing dark clothes and the suitcase looked heavy; he seemed to be struggling to drag it." Xiao Li immediately asked, "What did the suitcase look like? Were there any obvious features? Like a handle or wheels?" Mr. Zhao recalled, "It was a rectangular black suitcase with a handle, and the wheels seemed a bit stiff, making a 'clunking' sound when he dragged it. I thought it was strange; dragging such a large suitcase to the square so early in the morning isn't normal." Xiao Li quickly reported this to Xiao Wang, who immediately rushed to the convenience store: "Mr. Zhao, could you please think about it carefully again? What was the man's height and build like? Was there anything else unusual?" "He was probably a little over 7 meters tall, of medium build, neither fat nor thin. I didn't notice anything else unusual. He walked very fast and didn't stop at the store entrance," Mr. Zhao said.

Xiao Wang immediately instructed Xiao Li to highlight the surveillance footage from this convenience store, prioritizing the footage from around 4:30 AM. Afterward, he led his team to continue coordinating with the property management companies of surrounding residential communities. At the Hubin community on the west side of the square, the property manager informed Xiao Wang that the surveillance cameras at the east and north gates of the community could cover two small roads leading to Nanhu Square: "The cameras at these two gates are high-definition cameras and operate 24 hours a day; they should capture quite a bit." Xiao Wang instructed Xiao Zhang to immediately copy the footage from these two surveillance points, while also emphasizing: "Focus on reviewing the footage from midnight to 7:00 AM, especially the people and vehicles traveling from the community to the square."

At 6:30 PM, the first phase of the surveillance video copying work was initially completed, collecting 136 surveillance videos from the square and surrounding shops and residential areas, totaling over 200 hours of footage. Xiao Wang led his team back to the Criminal Investigation Division, importing all the surveillance videos into a dedicated video analysis room. Xiao Li and Xiao Zhang immediately began screening and reviewing the videos. "We'll start by reviewing the footage in chronological order, focusing on the footage from midnight to 7 AM. Two people will review the footage from each monitoring point simultaneously to avoid missing anything," Xiao Wang explained, outlining specific requirements for the surveillance review. "We'll focus on three types of targets: first, people dragging large black boxes or similar items; second, suspicious individuals loitering or lingering around the square; and third, vehicles stopping near the square during the early morning hours to pick up or drop off people or load/unload goods."

Meanwhile, Xiao Wang and Xiao Liu continued their door-to-door visits. They arrived at the urban village east of Nanhu Square, where most residents were renters and the population turnover was high. During a visit to one renter, Mr. Chen, a tenant, reported: “The man who lived next door to me suddenly disappeared about two weeks ago. The rent wasn’t due yet, and his belongings were still in the rented room. He rarely spoke, and I don’t know his name, only that he was about 40 years old, looked to be over 1.7 meters tall, and often wore a black jacket.” This information immediately piqued Xiao Wang and Xiao Liu’s interest, and they pressed further: “When exactly did he disappear? Was there anything unusual before he went missing? Do you have his contact information or the landlord’s contact information?”

"About 15 days ago, I saw him smoking at the door when I left for work in the morning. When I came back from get off work that evening, he was gone, and I haven't seen him since," Mr. Chen recalled. "There was nothing unusual before he disappeared, but I felt like he was in a bad mood lately. I often heard him making loud phone calls in the middle of the night, like he was arguing. I don't have his contact information, but I have the landlord's phone number, which I can send to you." Xiao Wang immediately wrote down the landlord's contact information and then contacted the landlord to rush to the rented room. After the landlord opened the door, Xiao Wang and Xiao Liu conducted a preliminary inspection of the room. There was a bed, a wardrobe, and a desk in the room. Several men's clothes were hanging in the wardrobe, mostly black and gray jackets and pants. There were some personal items in the desk drawer, but no identification documents or bank cards.