Chapter 45: The Economic Investigation Request

Ten o'clock the next morning.

Lu Chuan finally woke up leisurely.

Looking at the swaying red anthuriums in front of the window, Lu Chuan felt that his mental state had recovered well.

With a vigorous twenty-year-old body, the physical reaction upon waking in the morning was quite intense.

After a long stretch, Lu Chuan got out of bed to wash up.

The conditions of the Tianzhou City Criminal Investigation Detachment basically crushed those of the Haizhou City Criminal Investigation Detachment in almost every aspect.

Take this hotel, for instance; although it wasn't a five-star, it was a four-star single king room.

Moreover, it featured a zero-gravity waterbed, which gave a slightly floating sensation.

Just as Lu Chuan got up, he suddenly thought of Forensic Pathologist Shen Yan.

*Whew...*

He would have to invite Forensic Pathologist Shen to dinner when he returned. That hotpot soup from last time... was a bit too overwhelming.

Lu Chuan couldn't even imagine that scene right now; otherwise, he probably wouldn't be able to eat hotpot for the next few months.

Especially dishes like stewed large bones—Lu Chuan would have to inspect them carefully from now on.

On the first floor of the hotel, the buffet restaurant was still open.

When Lu Chuan came down, Wang Changjiang was eating.

"Awake?"

Wang Changjiang greeted him. "How was your rest yesterday? The steamed eggs in this hotel are quite good, give them a try!"

Lu Chuan took the soup bowl handed to him by Wang Changjiang. "I slept well. Brother Wang, how is the investigation of their case going?"

Although this highway case had nothing to do with Lu Chuan—after all, even the System hadn't issued any tasks—he had been busy for most of the night and was still very concerned about the progress of the case.

"I just heard Li Kai on the phone saying that based on the analysis report you provided, the identity of the skeletal remains has been confirmed."

"But the difficulty of investigating the case is extremely high, after all, the person has been dead for sixteen years."

"And, you were right about one thing: the remains were indeed moved."

In the early hours of this morning, the Tianzhou City Criminal Investigation Detachment had sent people to the crime scene overnight to conduct soil testing.

They confirmed that the crime scene only contained clay, so the sandy soil found on the bones proved that the remains had once been buried elsewhere.

Only later did they appear under the highway roadbed.

Lu Chuan nodded. In that case, the difficulty of solving the case would be even greater.

If the burial site wasn't the first place they were buried, it was clear that solving the case would be...

Hard.

Not all homicide cases can be solved, especially cases like this that have been hidden for sixteen years.

Basically, every criminal investigation detachment has unsolved homicide cases in its history.

And most of them remain unsolved.

Or, even if they are solved, it might be after ten or twenty years have passed.

For example, the old criminal Lu Chuan caught at the wedding right after he transmigrated.

If it hadn't been for the "Eye of Truth" rewarded by the System, and if the person hadn't failed to remove the blood mole behind his left ear during plastic surgery, no one would have been able to catch him.

Even when he was caught, twenty-eight years had already passed.

"I only performed a simple microscopic analysis of the soil yesterday. If they conduct further experiments, they should be able to find the source of the soil, right?"

Lu Chuan felt that based on the characteristics of the sandy soil, they could at least lock down the approximate area of the first crime scene.

"It's difficult!"

Before Wang Changjiang could answer, a sigh came from beside them.

Lu Chuan turned his head and saw the forensic pathologist, Li Kai.

"Old Li, what are you doing here?"

Wang Changjiang looked at the dark circles under Li Kai's eyes. At this stage of the case, he should be at his busiest.

"Why wouldn't I be here? Officer Lu Chuan has already helped us with a precise skeletal identification analysis; our forensic work is done."

Sitting next to Wang Changjiang, Li Kai grabbed a fried dough stick and took two bites. "I haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon."

"Forensic Pathologist Li, when you said it's difficult, do you mean the soil is hard to analyze?"

Li Kai hurriedly chewed a few bites of the dough stick and looked at Lu Chuan, shaking his head. "After finishing the crime scene investigation of the soil structure last night and confirming the body relocation, Captain Wang arranged for the forensics team to send the samples to the technical identification center. They have specialized instruments there to test soil composition."

"The results just came back. The sandy soil found on the remains should be from the sandy areas near Hulu Mountain."

Wang Changjiang took a sip of soy milk and explained, "Hulu Mountain is a mountain in the northern part of Tianzhou City; it has a 4A-level scenic area."

"That area is too large. It's basically impossible to confirm the first burial site of the remains."

Lu Chuan nodded. After all, sixteen years had passed.

Even if they truly found the first burial site, what would it matter?

The clues left by the killer would have long since vanished.

Fortunately, Lu Chuan's skeletal identification analysis report helped the Tianzhou City Criminal Investigation Detachment confirm the victim's identity.

Subsequent work could be carried out by looking into the victim's personal relationships.

However, according to Li Kai, the deceased was a government employee back then.

The investigation showed that he had resigned sixteen years ago and then went abroad.

Who would have thought he was actually dead?

Furthermore, because the man was an orphan and his adoptive parents had long since passed away, and his wife was divorced, no one had reported him missing.

Naturally, there was no DNA information to compare.

Moreover, because so much time had passed, many people who were familiar with the deceased back then had forgotten most things.

If it hadn't been for his sudden resignation and departure abroad—which was somewhat unusual—many people might not have had any impression of him at all.

Having no more tasks, Li Kai spent the afternoon accompanying Wang Changjiang and Lu Chuan on a tour of Tianzhou City.

As evening approached, a private car was arranged to send the two back to Haizhou City.

This was considered customary; if you come to support them, you might as well have some fun.

While the Tianzhou City Criminal Investigation Detachment was in a state of chaos, the Haizhou City Criminal Investigation Detachment was enjoying peace and prosperity.

Having just finished the skeletal case, everyone was still immersed in the joy of closing the case.

The action teams had become idle, and the forensics office was even more so.

Early morning on September 30th.

The sun was bright. The warm sun after the Autumn Equinox was no longer piercing; it fell upon the body like a maiden's touch, making one feel intoxicated.

Lu Chuan had already finished mopping the floor and was now fiddling with the gorgeous red anthuriums.

Fertilizing and watering—Lu Chuan was very meticulous in this regard.

Only with careful nurturing would delicate flowers bloom vibrantly.

The "destruction of a pear blossom in the rain" might look satisfying, but it can only happen once.

Steady progress is the way to go.

Speaking of which, he should invite Shen Yan to dinner tonight.

Old Bai had already crossed his legs, humming an excerpt of Peking Opera that Lu Chuan had never heard before.

Yang Sen was late again.

Liu Guodong had just finished the morning meeting. He leaned back in his chair and picked up his enamel mug, beginning a leisurely day.

"Xiao Lu, you and Old Wang went to Tianzhou City to help the other day. How is the case progressing?"

Lu Chuan put down the red anthurium and walked to Liu Guodong's desk. "The skeletal identification analysis report is fine; it has helped them confirm the identity of the remains, as well as the time of death and the cause of death."

"But the progress of the case seems quite slow."

"I heard Brother Wang say yesterday that the deceased was in charge of engineering supervision within the system back then, and there seem to be many hidden stories behind his resignation."

"Heh heh."

Old Bai chuckled. "It's most likely the usual corruption and bribery stuff. These kinds of cases existed ten years ago and still exist ten years later. It's just that as long as no one dies, it's a matter for the Economic Crime Investigation Department."

Hearing Old Bai mention the Economic Crime Investigation Department, Liu Guodong's expression froze, and he suddenly slapped his thigh. "What happened to the stuff the Economic Crime Investigation Department sent over yesterday?"

(End of Chapter)