Reborn in 1995, Criminal Investigation Records

"Brother Yang, to be honest, sometimes your speculations scare even a grown man like me!" At Xiangjiang Plaza, Wang Chao looked at Zhou Yang, whose eyes were constantly moving, with lingering fear.

This "Brother Yang" is both a joke and an acknowledgment of Zhou Yang's identity as a criminal investigator.

"Don't be like that, Chaozi, you're trying to flatter me to death!" Zhou Yang rubbed his temples and retorted.

This time, however, Wang Chao didn't respond to being called "Chaozi." Instead, he continued Zhou Yang's observation: "Height characteristics?"

Based on the known clues about the suspect, the most certain information at present is his height.

Zhou Yang nodded: "Also, the one who looks least like the murderer, and most importantly, he was carrying a corpse with him!"

In the previous life, on July 7.10th, two corpses were still placed at the scene of the first case—Hong Kong Plaza. Tonight, it will be July 7.8th, the date of the second case.

"Why not wait for the second corpse instead of this one?" Wang Chao took out an egg from his pocket and handed it to Zhou Yang. After Zhou Yang shook his head and refused, Wang Chao peeled the egg and put it in his own mouth.

"At the restaurant where the second body was found, although the news was being kept under wraps, many people still knew about it. At that time, the people around were on edge, and the chances of being discovered were too high!"

Now, all the attention in this case has been drawn to the second body, so the crime scene will be subconsciously put on hold. Although there's still a risk, it's much lower than the first one. Besides, the killer must be enjoying this cat-and-mouse game!

What Zhou Yang said was half his own guess and half based on the contents of later case files.

However, to prevent any mishaps, Liu Chengyu also instructed the officers in his jurisdiction to keep watch tonight, so that if the perpetrator showed his face, he could be apprehended immediately.

"What's wrong?" Zhou Yang asked, noticing that Wang Chao's eyes were unfocused.

"I'm so conflicted!" Wang Chao slapped Zhou Yang across the face, his breath reeking of eggs. "On one hand, I want the killer to appear so I can catch him immediately, but on the other hand, I also hope he doesn't appear, because if he does, it means there will be new victims!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yang didn't say anything, but simply patted the other person on the shoulder.

According to Zhou Yang's suggestion, the observation point for the two should be set on the second floor of the hotel, since the view there is good. However, Wang Chao refused, because even if they spotted the culprit on the second floor, there would be at least a minute of downtime before they could see him.

Another issue is the limited field of vision!

According to Zhou Yang's analysis, it's unlikely that the murderer would simply place the body on the ground and then start assembling it. It's more probable that after arriving at the scene, the murderer would first find a secluded area, arrange the body properly, and then choose a time to place it in the designated spot.

Therefore, observing the surrounding environment becomes crucial. Combining these two points, Zhou Yang agreed with the other party's point of view and chose to conduct a disguised stakeout near the square.

The night passed quickly.

After the two met up, they saw the stubble on each other's faces and couldn't help but smile wryly, unsure whether it was relief or regret.

As the saying goes, when one door closes, another opens.

They didn't find anything, but their colleagues made new discoveries.

After a whole night of comparison and searching, the team confirmed that the two had no other contact besides their high school years. So they continued their investigation overnight and finally obtained an important clue.

Interviews with classmates and teachers revealed that during the third year of middle school, there were five girls who were known as the "Five Golden Flowers".

The first victim, Zhao Jun, and the second victim, Li Hanlu, were two of these five women.

Five people?

Zhou Yang's heart skipped a beat. How could there be five people?

"These five people are Zhao Jun, Li Hanlu, Ruan Jinyin, Ren Jing, Lin Feifei..." Upon hearing Xiao Jiale's report, Zhou Yang's pupils dilated dramatically. He looked at Fang Duo, and their eyes met.

"That Jin Yin, doesn't she run a small clinic?" Zhou Yang interrupted.

Xiao Jiale was very unhappy about being interrupted, after all, this was the result of his entire night's work, but seeing the other party's forced composure, he still nodded and replied, "Yes, it's not too far from Zhao Jun's house. I must have missed it when I visited before..."

"Liu Da, immediately check the missing persons reports to see if Ruan Jinyin, Ren Jing, and Lin Feifei are among them. I suspect they were kidnapped by the murderer, or are already..."

He didn't say anything more, but everyone in the room clearly understood his concerns.

In 95, the computer system did not yet have the capability to register missing persons. Most missing persons cases were recorded by simply providing basic information such as name, gender, and age.

Furthermore, because it is handwritten on paper, it is impossible to compare it with criminal cases, fugitives, unidentified corpses, etc.; one can only search through the paper.

A few minutes later, Liu Chengyu jogged back, shook his head, and said, "Didn't find it. Tell me!"

"Let me explain!" Fang Duo succinctly recounted her investigation plan and route with Zhou Yang that day: "We passed by Jin Yin Clinic, but no one answered the door, and passersby told us that it hadn't been open for two days!"

Two days!

Two days ago, in the afternoon, the first body was discovered in Xiangjiang Square.

Yesterday morning, a second body was discovered, but it had been frozen for more than 12 hours, meaning it was killed almost simultaneously with the first victim.

Two days earlier, Ruan Jinyin, who was also one of the "Five Golden Flowers" (a group of five women) along with the two deceased, had not opened the door.

"Now, go find the remaining three immediately. Be quick. If you find them, bring them back to the station as soon as possible. If you find anything unusual, notify the technical team immediately!" Liu Chengyu used "first" twice, which showed his inner turmoil.

"Report any news to the office immediately. I'm requesting two more operators!"

God knows how much pressure he was under as the deputy head of the task force. Just when things were starting to look at the first two victims, he found out that three more might die, making it five!

If three more bodies are found, or even if they appear one after another, not only will the deputy head of the task force be implicated, but the bureau chief will likely also be implicated.

After giving his instructions, he quickly ran upstairs. The case was getting bigger and bigger, and it was necessary to inform the chief. In addition, it would be more effective to have the chief ask the officers in the jurisdiction to cooperate in visiting and continuously staking out the two scenes.

This time, Zhou Yang and Fang Duo went to Ruan Jinyin's address based on the household registration information, only to find that it was her parents' house. The elderly couple were terrified when the police knocked on their door early in the morning.

However, the composed Fang Duo quickly calmed the two elderly people and asked for some basic information, as well as the last time she saw her daughter. Then, based on the address provided by them, she rushed to Ruan Jinyin's residence.

"Don't be too nervous. Unlike the other two victims, Ruan Jinyin was married. Maybe she wasn't the killer's target!" Fang Duo gripped the steering wheel tightly, comforting Zhou Yang.

But even she herself felt that what she said was not very credible; as a criminal police officer, she was sometimes not calm enough.

Zhou Yang remained silent, his right hand gripping the overhead handrail: "Sister Duoduo, did you hear Ruan Jinyin's parents say what the name of the man she married was?"

"What's his name... Hong Guorui, yes, Hong Guorui." But then she turned her head and said, "The person who registered Zhao Jun also has the surname Hong!"