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

Xiao Wang immediately instructed Wang Jianjun to lead his team to Wang Qiang's home. Wang Qiang's parents were already waiting at the door. Upon seeing the investigators, Wang Qiang's mother broke down in tears: "Officer, do you have any news about my son? He called us about two weeks ago, saying he was changing jobs, and we haven't been able to contact him since." Xiao Wang showed them a photo of the deceased's clothing: "Auntie, do you think these clothes belong to Wang Qiang? What brand of shoes did he usually wear? What was his build like?" Wang Qiang's father took the photo and examined it carefully: "These clothes aren't his. He usually wore sportswear, and he was a bit more robust than this, though his height is about the same." Xiao Wang then inquired about Wang Qiang's detailed physical characteristics: 176 cm tall, 75 kg, and a scar on his left arm from a childhood burn. These characteristics did not match the deceased's lack of a scar on his left arm and his weight of 65-70 kg. To be on the safe side, Xiao Wang still collected DNA samples from Wang Qiang's parents, instructing them to contact the police immediately if they had any information about Wang Qiang.

It was 1 a.m. when they left Wang Qiang's house. The team members had only eaten one meal all day, lunch, and were starving. Xiao Wang had the team members take out the bread and bottled water they had brought from the police car to have a quick bite. "Hang in there, everyone. We'll go check Zhao Jia Gou. If we don't find any clues, we'll go back to town to rest and continue tomorrow morning," Xiao Wang said. However, the search in Zhao Jia Gou also yielded nothing. The village head said there were no missing persons in the village, and all the people working outside could be contacted.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Xiao Wang's team got up. After a quick breakfast, they drove to Sunjia'ao. Shortly after setting off, a light rain began to fall, turning the country roads into muddy ruts. The police car got stuck in the mud several times, forcing the team members to get out and push, their clothes soaked with mud. By the time they arrived at Sunjia'ao, their trousers and shoes were completely drenched, and the cold wind made them shiver. But they didn't give up. They immediately found the village head, Sun Guangfu, and began searching for the missing persons.

There's a special situation in Sunjia'ao: many villagers make a living by scavenging, frequently going to the landfill in the northern suburbs to collect garbage. This gave Xiao Wang hope: "Director Sun, are there any scavengers in the village who haven't been to the landfill recently, or who can't be contacted?" Sun Guangfu thought for a moment: "There's a man named Sun Laoshuan, over 60 years old, who goes to the landfill to scavenge every day. I saw him three days ago, but I haven't seen him in the last two days. There's also a young man named Sun Lei, 27 years old, who also occasionally scavenge. I heard he got into a fight a few days ago; I don't know if he's run away."

Xiao Wang immediately split his team into two groups: one went to find Sun Laoshuan, and the other went to Sun Lei's house to verify the situation. He personally led his team to find Sun Laoshuan, but the door was locked. Neighbors told them that Sun Laoshuan had caught a cold a couple of days ago and was recuperating at home, not scavenging. The team knocked on the door, and Sun Laoshuan was indeed home. Although he was weak, his spirits were still good, which was clearly inconsistent with the age and physical characteristics of the deceased. The other team reported that Sun Lei had indeed been detained by the police station for fighting and was currently still in the detention center, thus clearing him of suspicion. Subsequently, the team interviewed more than ten scavengers in the village, all of whom stated that they had not seen any suspicious persons at the landfill before or after the incident, nor had they seen anyone whose clothing resembled that of the deceased. One scavenger mentioned that three days ago, in the morning, he saw a dilapidated pedicab at the entrance of the landfill, which resembled the pedicab retrieved from the scene, but he had not clearly seen the rider's appearance.

Over the next two days, Xiao Wang's team tirelessly visited Zhao Jia Gou and Hu Jia Po. In Zhao Jia Gou, they identified a missing person: 29-year-old Zhao Xiaoliang, 177 cm tall, of medium build, matching the deceased's physical characteristics. However, further investigation revealed that Zhao Xiaoliang had left home two weeks prior to avoid gambling debts, and his family had been secretly in contact with him, but dared not speak out. Xiao Wang contacted Zhao Xiaoliang through his family, confirming he was currently in a neighboring province, thus ruling him out as a suspect. The search in Hu Jia Po was even more difficult. The village was located deep in the mountains, with some villagers living halfway up the mountain, inaccessible by vehicle. The team members had to hike up the mountain, visiting each household. By the end of the day, the team members had blisters on their feet, but found nothing. There were no matching missing persons in Hu Jia Po, and the villagers stated they hadn't seen any strangers or suspicious vehicles recently.

By the fourth day of their investigation, Xiao Wang's team had searched five villages, covering over 200 kilometers, interviewing more than 300 households and nearly 500 people, and checking on 47 people who were working away from home or were missing. They found no one whose physical characteristics perfectly matched the deceased. During this time, they also interviewed 12 garbage truck drivers, five of whom were responsible for transporting garbage to the northern suburban landfill. These drivers all stated that they had not noticed anything unusual before or after the incident, except that three nights prior, they had seen a blurry figure near the landfill entrance, but due to the darkness, they could not make out the appearance or clothing.

On the afternoon of the fourth day, Xiao Wang's team arrived at the last village—Zhangjia Village. Zhangjia Village is the largest of the six surrounding villages, with nearly 300 households. Besides agriculture, the village also has several small auto repair shops and hardware stores. The proportion of young and middle-aged people working outside the village is relatively low. After learning the investigation team's purpose, the village head, Zhang Fugui, readily cooperated: "Our village hasn't reported any missing persons recently, but there are a few who don't return home for years, and there are several repair shops. The people coming and going are quite diverse. I'll take you to see them."

Zhang Fugui first led his team to the village's household registration office, where they retrieved the household registration information of all 43 men aged 25-35 in the village. After verifying each person's information, they found that 18 were working outside the village, and 25 were working in the village or surrounding areas. "There's a guy named Zhang Baode, 32 years old, who runs a car repair shop in the village. He's about 178 centimeters tall and of medium build. I heard a few days ago that he didn't open his shop; I wonder if something happened to him," Zhang Fugui said. This information rekindled hope in the exhausted team members.

Xiao Wang immediately led his team to Zhang Baode's auto repair shop. The shop was located at the entrance of Zhangjia Village, with a sign that read "Baode Auto Repair." The door was locked, and a thin layer of dust covered the ground, indicating it hadn't been open for several days. The owner of a nearby convenience store told them, "Zhang Baode was open three days ago this morning, but he closed it at noon and hasn't come back. I heard he had a fight with his wife; I wonder if he went back to her parents' house." The team members examined the repair shop and found a van being repaired inside, with tools neatly arranged and no signs of anything unusual.

Afterwards, Zhang Fugui led his team to Zhang Baode's home. Zhang Baode's wife, Liu Mei, was cooking at home and seemed somewhat surprised to see the investigation team.