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

Chapter 1155 Searching for the Identity of the Deceased

The strong tea in the enamel mug on the desk had long since cooled, and the tea stains had spread to the bottom of the mug, forming a map of varying shades, with a layer of brown tea stains around the edges.

Zhou Jianguo, a veteran detective in the team, yawned, the back of his chair scraping against the floor with a screeching sound, startling the sparrows on the windowsill into fluttering flight. "Brother Hui, this system is harder to handle than an old radio," he said, the aroma of dried tangerine peel wafting from his thermos, mingling with the tobacco scent in the air to create a strange smell. A thick layer of goji berries settled at the bottom of the cup. "Over 1000 pieces of information, and 237 of them are 'male, 35-40 years old, 175-180cm tall.' My eyes are almost crossed from looking at them." He suddenly pointed to the skull reconstruction image on the screen. "Look at this scar on the right eyebrow bone, 0.5cm long, arc-shaped, like it was cut by some sharp object. We have to pay attention to this detail when comparing."

Xiao Zhou put his glasses back on, the light reflecting off the lenses falling on the deceased's photograph. "The mole behind the left ear is 2mm in diameter with irregular edges," he circled the feature on the printed paper with a red pen. "The forensic doctor said this mole has hair growth, a typical feature of a pigmented nevus, which is rare in ordinary people." Young police officer Xiao Zhao suddenly raised his hand, the mint in his hand making a crisp sound in the foil: "Brother Hui, do you want to try the facial recognition system? Mark the scar and the mole as features, and let the system compare them automatically."

“We’ve tried,” Xiao Zhou pulled up the system log, where the red “comparison failed” message filled half the screen. “The photos in the database are of very poor quality. Either the ID photo doesn’t show the whole ear, or the scar is covered by hair. The recognition rate is less than 15%.” He suddenly raised his voice, “Everyone, pay attention! The handcuffs on the deceased’s wrists are the standard Type 99, and the lock cylinder has slight wear, indicating long-term use. We should focus on screening military, police, security, and escort personnel, as these people have more opportunities to handle handcuffs.”

At one in the morning, the analysis room was filled with the sounds of snoring. Xiao Zhao dozed off at his keyboard, drool spreading across the words "Cause of Disappearance: Family Dispute," blurring the word "dispute" into a murky blob. Xiao Wang from the technical department spread his police coat on the table, curled up like a shrimp, still clutching the corner of the DNA comparison report in his hand; the paper was wrinkled from drool, and the ink on the word "Excluded" had smeared into a blue cloud. Xiao Zhou's gaze swept across the screen, and the 912th message suddenly made his pupils contract—"Wang Haitao, male, 37 years old, security captain, missing on May 13, scar on right eyebrow bone."

In the accompanying photo, the man was wearing a dark blue uniform, the number "0735" on his left chest gleaming white under the flash. The black mole behind his left ear looked like a splatter of ink on paper, its position and size perfectly matching the deceased's. "Check this one carefully!" Xiao Zhou's voice startled the sparrows on the windowsill. Xiao Zhao jumped up from his keyboard, the tropical fish swimming in his screensaver vanishing instantly. His forehead hit the edge of the monitor, making him wince in pain.

Wang Haitao's missing person report shows that his last known location was the "Gardener's Community" near Beishan Park. He suddenly disappeared while on night shift on May 13th. His last walkie-talkie call was at 10:17 PM, the message being, "Suspicious person found, go verify." "Height 178cm, weight 75kg," Xiao Zhao said, flipping through the file, the mouse wheel clicking clearly in the silence. "It matches the physical characteristics deduced by the forensic doctor, and look at his work ID photo," he zoomed in on the image, "the handcuffs and keychains he was wearing are exactly the same as those found at the scene—silver chain links with black rubber rings!"

Zhou Jianguo suddenly pulled a medical examination report from the pile of files; the staples on the edge of the paper were rusted. "He has congenital heart disease and left ventricular hypertrophy," he pointed to the echocardiogram results, "but the forensic report says the deceased's heart size is normal, the ventricular wall thickness is 8mm, within the normal range, and there are no organic lesions." Zhou's shoulders slumped, and he crossed out "Wang Haitao's" name, the tip of the cross tearing through the paper to reveal "Li Jianguo's" name underneath. "Continue investigating," he said, picking up his enamel mug and taking a sip of cold tea; the brown liquid slid down his throat, carrying a bitter taste.

At 2:30 a.m., the 956th message popped up. "Chen Mingliang, male, 39 years old, former criminal police officer, dismissed for disciplinary violations, went missing on May 14th." The man in the file photo had sharp eyes, and the scar on his right eyebrow looked like a red earthworm, perfectly matching the deceased. "This person is a suspect!" Xiao Zhao's fingers flew across the keyboard, the sound of typing like dense raindrops. "He used to work at the Beishan Park police station, and was dismissed in 2018 for abusing handcuffs. His file records that he was skilled at quickly handcuffing people, able to complete the locking action within 3 seconds."

Xiao Zhou zoomed in on the photo. Chen Mingliang did indeed have a mole behind his left ear, only 0.5mm smaller than the deceased's. "Check his fingerprints," he said, pulling up the fingerprint comparison system. Chen Mingliang's right index finger had a clear defect—the first phalanx was missing due to a work injury, while the forensic report stated that the deceased had all ten fingers intact with no deformities. "Another one ruled out," Zhou Jianguo pushed Chen Mingliang's file aside. The "Dismissal for Violation of Discipline" stamp on the file folder was bright red and glaring. "This is already the 18th piece of suspected information. They're all somewhat related, and they all have serious flaws."

Xiao Zhou suddenly remembered what forensic doctor Zhang Lin had said: the deceased's stomach contents contained undigested steak, rare, with muscle fiber ruptures of about 0.8cm in length, indicating thorough chewing, consistent with Western dining etiquette. "Check the surveillance footage of all Western restaurants in the city on the evening of May 14th," he entered keywords into the search box, "male, dining alone, ordered rare steak, scar on right eyebrow." The system instantly filtered out 43 surveillance records, with the 17th showing a man wearing a baseball cap dining at "Black Knight Steakhouse," the scar on his right eyebrow faintly visible in a blind spot of the surveillance camera, the timestamp showing 9:15 PM.

"Get this restaurant's bill," Xiao Zhou said excitedly, swiping his finger across the screen to show the location of the steakhouse, only 800 meters from the west gate of Beishan Park. "Table number 7, cash payment, total bill 388 yuan, ordered sirloin steak with Cabernet Sauvignon." When Xiao Zhao contacted the steakhouse owner, the owner's voice sounded groggy from just waking up: "That customer was wearing a mask and hat, and spoke very softly. He dropped a black button when he paid the bill, and I asked the waiter to collect it, saying he'd come and get it."

"Buttons!" Zhou Jianguo sat bolt upright, the chair legs scraping against the floor with a screeching sound. "The buttons found at the scene were also made of black resin, with four holes!" But when the forensic team retrieved a clear image of the man, they found that the area behind his left ear was completely smooth—no moles, just a misjudgment caused by a similar hairstyle. "What a disappointment," Xiao Zhao slammed a copy of the bill on the table. The fingerprints on the cash were too blurry to extract any useful information. "The waiter said he was carrying a black briefcase and left in the direction of Beishan Park."