Reborn in 1995, Criminal Investigation Records

"What?" Yuan Lili looked at Zhou Yang and the other person with a surprised expression. "That's impossible! I saw him yesterday afternoon, how could he disappear today?"

"I won't be going far away, have I asked for leave... or gone out to work... I heard about overseas..." Yuan Lili's voice trailed off, and the bitterness on her face grew stronger.

"Has this happened before?" Zhou Yang asked, looking at the woman with darker skin.

"Never!" Yuan Lili shook her head violently. "Even if he was just going out for a day, he would always let us know or have someone send a message, just so we wouldn't worry!"

Yuan Lili didn't dare ask why Zhong Tao disappeared. She had a vague guess in her heart, but she didn't dare to confirm it. However, she felt that her Tao-ge was not that kind of person. So she just drifted along aimlessly.

"By the way, did Zhong Yue have a boyfriend when she was in school?" Zhou Yang asked, pulling her back from her reverie as she seemed lost in thought.

"Boyfriend?" Yuan Lili recalled, "He wouldn't really be called a boyfriend. He just helped him with his studies. We're probably just friends. I haven't heard the siblings mention anything else!"

Yuan Lili didn't remember the other person's name either, and Fang Duo drew a big question mark on her notebook.

......

As it was getting late, the two drove back to the station to gather clues from their colleagues and see if they could come up with any new ideas.

In July, it gets dark later. When the two arrived at the station, it was almost 8 o'clock, and the moonlight in the courtyard was still bright.

The two of them were actually the first group to return.

Xiao Jiale and Wang Chao were still conducting door-to-door visits and investigations in the Changleyuan community.

Dai Yan and the people who were assigned to monitor Yao Fengshou were also outside.

Liu Chengyu is still dealing with the bounty on Gong Hongxing's head.

"No, after this case, we really need to put the addition of an investigation team on the agenda!" Fang Duo sighed again as she looked at the large room and the scattered seats.

Zhou Yang nodded in agreement. The large team, including himself and Xiao Jiale, two newcomers, only had six people. Including the internal affairs staff, it could barely be called a squadron.

Having the name of a brigade but only the number of personnel of a platoon naturally leads to low efficiency.

"Then you'll have to keep nagging my master about it, Sister Duoduo," Zhou Yang said with a smile, pouring her a cup of hot water.

"What can I complain about? Only a promising talent like you can voice your opinions!" Fang Duo thanked him and accepted the gift. "I know Liu Da pretty well. Even if our brigade, which is essentially a shell of a unit, is eventually downsized to a company, as long as we can solve cases, he won't have any objections!"

Just then, Dai Yan, who had just returned from outside, overheard their discussion and grinned, "How can that be the same? After the downsizing, our brigade still occupies a 'brigade-level' organizational structure and budget. Even if we have slightly more resources per person, our overall influence will decline, putting us at a disadvantage when vying for major cases and equipment resources!"

Zhou Yang nodded. The change from a brigade to a squadron would be a psychological blow to the members, giving them a feeling of being marginalized, which would be detrimental to the investigation of the case.

"Why are you two looking at me like that?" Zhou Yang noticed that the two men's eyes were fixed on his face, so he leaned to the side and asked.

"I think you should bring this up. You're Liu Da's precious darling now. Besides..." Dai Yan said, then shut his mouth and stopped talking.

Looking at the guy's expression, a phrase suddenly popped into Zhou Yang's head—"He's holding back a fart."

Sure enough, seeing that Zhou Yang didn't press the matter, Dai Yan felt bored: "We had enough people before, but ever since you arrived, not to mention the distant past, in the last ten days or so, cases have been piling up one after another. You have to take responsibility!"

Seeing Fang Duo nodding frantically beside him, Zhou Yang was speechless. What do you mean, "after I arrived"? Xiao Jiale, you never mention this.

However, it seems that it has indeed been true since the day I came back on July 1st.

"Right?"

Zhou Yang nodded, but then immediately realized, "What do you mean, 'right'? I think Liu Da already knows what's going on!"

In the previous life, the brigade did indeed expand, but only after Liu Daji resigned and was transferred to the provincial department.

"I think there's someone more suitable for this!" Zhou Yang gestured mysteriously towards the two of them.

Just as the two were pressing him for answers, Zhou Yang's ears twitched, and he spoke of the devil, and the devil appeared!

"Oh dear, I'm so thirsty! We're not the first ones back, are we?" A rough voice rang out, followed by Wang Chao striding into the house, with Xiao Jiale following behind, frowning.

Fang Duo and Dai Yan exchanged glances; this blockhead seemed to be a suitable candidate.

"Brother Chao is back! Come, come, I just poured you some water, let me get you some first!" Dai Yan's eyes lit up as he carried the water in front of Fang Duo to greet her.

Fang Duo: ......

"We interviewed witnesses and found a suspicious person!" Xiao Jiale said first, seeing that everyone in the team had arrived.

Zhou Yang and the other two put down what they were doing and looked at each other with questioning eyes.

"According to witnesses in the community, they saw a suspicious man loitering around the community in the week before the incident. He fled in a hurry after being spotted!" Xiao Jiale said, opening his notebook.

"Yes!" Wang Chao downed his glass of warm water in one gulp. "There was more than one witness; at least three residents saw it. At first, they didn't pay attention, but as soon as someone approached, they would hurriedly leave!"

"Any special features?" Dai Yan took the cup from Wang Chao and placed it in front of Fang Duo.

"Waisted leg, over 175cm tall, around 180cm, medium-length hair!" Xiao Jiale added.

"Yes, the last time was the day before the incident, on the 9th. The noise from the blasting fish was so loud that many people saw this guy!" Wang Chao said with some excitement. This was a very valuable clue.

Zhou Yang and Fang Duo also summarized their findings.

"I think we can investigate along two lines. That way, no matter which one yields a result, we can verify the other one!" Fang Duo poured herself another glass of water and offered her opinion.

The group had no objections, so they decided to continue working along the same line of thought after finishing their meal at the restaurant.

Xiao Jiale and Wang Chao went to investigate the suspicious person who had appeared there.

Zhou Yang and Fang Duo went to the place where Zhong Tao used to work to look for where he might be hiding.

Dai Yan and another colleague who had been seconded to the company continued to investigate Gong Xiaojun's movements over the past few days.

......

The work continued into the late hours of the night, and when everyone gathered again, everyone looked exhausted.

Xiao Jiale and Wang Chao's investigation into the suspicious person has not made much progress. This person seems to have appeared out of thin air and disappeared just as suddenly, leaving behind very few clues.

Zhou Yang's investigation only revealed that Zhong Tao usually had a lot of work, mostly casual jobs, and was available whenever needed. This meant that he didn't have any close friends or confidants at work.

The two also went to see Yao Fengshou, who was also very surprised by Zhong Tao's disappearance, as he had never encountered such a situation before.

Zhou Yang didn't think the other party was lying, but he was still wary and instructed the local police officer to keep an eye on the other party's situation and report any news immediately.

Dai Yan discovered some clues. Since being discharged from the hospital, Gong Xiaojun has been acting as if he has been possessed. He is either visiting elderly people living alone or doing charity work, which is completely different from his previous image.

That's how case investigations work. Stagnation is the norm. There aren't many flashes of inspiration or obvious clues. It all comes down to time and patience.

The next day, July 11, just as dawn was breaking, the group set off again.

Meanwhile, Xiao Jiale discovered an important clue!