Chapter 52: Severely Wounded and Unconscious (Many thanks to Soda Water for the big tip!)

Lu Chuan and Zhang Hui froze.

Something had happened to the Tianzhou Criminal Investigation Detachment?

Knowing that Ren Qiang and the other two had set out specifically to coordinate with the Tianzhou team, Zhang Hui asked urgently, "Brother Qiang, what happened? Is someone hurt?"

Whether it was a case or a person, it was all referred to as "something happening."

Lu Chuan turned his body slightly, waiting for Ren Qiang to explain.

"Old Yu, sound the alarm. Get to Cuiping Road as fast as possible."

Old Yu was a part-time driver for the Criminal Investigation Detachment and a very veteran auxiliary police officer.

Upon receiving the order, he sounded the siren and floored the accelerator.

The fifteen-year-old Jetta roared as it slowly forced its way into the flow of traffic.

"One of Group Leader Zhao Ming's investigators is critically injured and unconscious; he was just rushed to the hospital."

"Critically injured and unconscious?"

Zhang Hui's voice cracked. "What happened? How did he get seriously injured? Was it a car accident?"

In the territory of the Haizhou Criminal Investigation Detachment, a serious injury to an investigator from another city was no small matter.

Moreover, they were here on a mission.

Lu Chuan also looked somewhat tense. He knew very well that policing was a high-risk profession; after all, he had sustained injuries himself while catching thieves.

However, he had only heard of people being "critically injured and unconscious"—he had never seen it.

"It wasn't a car accident, it was a knife wound. Fortunately, it was discovered early, otherwise..."

Ren Qiang had only heard the gist over the phone; he didn't know the specific details.

Ten minutes later, at No. 18 Cuiping Road, Jingyuanli Residential Community.

Zhao Ming, his face pale with anger, described the events to Ren Qiang.

"This morning, the suspect we had been monitoring revealed his whereabouts."

In front of Unit 1 of Building 3, officers from the Cuiping Road Police Station had already cordoned off the area with police tape.

There were obvious bloodstains on the ground by the entrance.

"Han Chao disguised himself as a delivery man to get close for reconnaissance, but he was spotted by the suspect and took a knife to the stomach."

"He's in the hospital now and is still in critical condition."

Ren Qiang's expression was grim. It was normal for Zhao Ming and his team to be staking out a location in Haizhou, but they didn't have local law enforcement authority.

"Old Zhao... this operation was a bit reckless."

Zhao Ming nodded with a dark face, his eyes filled with clear apology. "It was my oversight. I should have notified you in advance."

Ren Qiang waved it off. "Given our relationship, the procedural stuff isn't a big deal."

Although Ren Qiang didn't say it explicitly, Zhao Ming knew that Ren Qiang wasn't blaming him for not notifying the Haizhou Detachment before acting.

He was saying there was no need to take such risks.

"What's the situation with the suspect?"

"He fled."

Zhao Ming's expression darkened further. "The suspect only showed himself this time to meet his mistress."

"After stabbing Han Chao, he fled immediately."

"Another officer and I were on the perimeter. By the time we rushed over, he was already gone."

"However, the suspect's mistress has been detained."

The incident had happened so suddenly that no one expected the suspect to stab someone without hesitation.

Furthermore, if they had pursued the suspect, who had already vanished, Han Chao's medical treatment would have been delayed.

Compared to the life of a team member, saving a life was clearly more important.

"Do you have specific information on the suspect? We'll issue a wanted notice immediately."

Since the suspect had attacked a police officer, this was no longer a simple stakeout.

Ren Qiang and his team had shifted from supporting roles to being the main force.

The immediate priority was to catch the suspect.

"Yes, I'll send it to you right now."

Ren Qiang had already begun arranging for the personnel left behind in Group Two to issue the wanted notice.

Lu Chuan wasn't idle either; he was examining the scene.

Due to the need for emergency medical assistance, the scene had been heavily disturbed.

Moreover, since the suspect's identity had already been confirmed, the role of forensic scene investigation wasn't as obvious.

Nevertheless, Lu Chuan still found something.

"Brother Qiang," Lu Chuan said, holding a remote camera in his gloved hand. "I found this on the windowsill of the suspect's mistress's home."

"The camera is facing the entrance of the unit."

*Damn!*

Beside him, Zhao Ming couldn't help but curse. No wonder the suspect was able to realize Han Chao was a disguised delivery man.

What delivery man doesn't even have a vehicle?

The suspect had been prepared all along.

"I just replayed the surveillance footage from the time of the incident. The camera at the suspect's house also recorded the direction of his escape."

Ren Qiang took a look. He turned right out of the door.

It was the exact opposite direction of where Zhao Ming and the others had come from.

"Old Zhao, do you have any other information on the suspect?"

Zhao Ming glanced at the footage and shook his head. "We only know of this one location where the suspect is staying in Haizhou."

"However, it's highly unlikely he will leave Haizhou directly. We originally suspected that Liang Qi, Wang Jun's illegitimate daughter, might have been kidnapped to Haizhou by him."

"The fact that he has stayed here for so long suggests he hasn't gotten what he wanted, or something else is going on."

"Therefore, I believe the suspect is most likely to return to his hiding place."

"Which is where he is holding Liang Qi captive."

Ren Qiang agreed with Zhao Ming's analysis.

"Did the suspect's mistress provide any useful information?"

Turning his head, Ren Qiang looked at Zhang Hui.

Zhang Hui shook his head. "She knows nothing. The suspect usually only communicates with her via WeChat."

A brief silence fell over the three men in the hallway.

The Jingyuanli Residential Community was built thirty years ago; the facilities were old and property management was outdated.

There was almost no surveillance in the vicinity.

Once a suspect fled, trying to find them was no different from looking for a needle in a haystack.

In reality, solving cases was very different from how they were depicted in TV shows and novels.

Those tropes where a suspect is immediately locked down via surveillance footage were mostly nonsense.

Compared to premeditated murder, cases involving a suspect fleeing after a crime of passion were much harder to solve.

The reason was simple: everything was random. Without premeditation, there was no pattern.

This case was the same.

The suspect had acted decisively to wound someone and then fled. To catch him, besides the wanted notice, they would have to check surveillance and interview passersby along every possible escape route one by one.

And all of this required time.

With that time gap, the suspect would have long since disappeared.

This was why, for many major cases, it wasn't that the target hadn't been identified, but that the suspect had fled and could not be caught.

"Brother Qiang, I have some findings that might help in locating him."

Just as Ren Qiang and the others were falling into silence, Lu Chuan suddenly spoke up.

*Hmm?*

Ren Qiang was slightly startled, looking at Lu Chuan with a mix of pleasant surprise and curiosity.

In truth, he knew exactly what Qin Yong meant by arranging for Lu Chuan to follow him and assist the Tianzhou Criminal Investigation Detachment.

In frontline investigations, they didn't usually send forensic scene investigators.

It was simply an opportunity to give Lu Chuan a chance to grow and gain experience.

Therefore, Ren Qiang had never truly expected Lu Chuan to be of much help.

Technical work and investigative work were two different things.

But the fact remained: the only lead currently available—the camera—had been discovered by Lu Chuan.

"Xiao Lu, tell me. What did you find?"