Chapter 1091 - 557: Reunion and Cracking the Old Case! (Part 2)

He said, "Exactly, when I first started in criminal investigation, I always thought there wasn’t a case the criminal investigation team couldn’t solve or a criminal they couldn’t catch. But as I grew older and my career lengthened, I deeply realized how arrogant I was back then."

"There are some cases where, despite all our efforts, we still can’t achieve significant results. Take this case in front of us, for instance."

"Even though we’ve formed and dissolved six special task forces, in the end, we still don’t even know the identity of the deceased."

As he spoke, he shook his head helplessly, his face full of resignation.

After a brief pause, he took a deep breath and said, "That’s why we especially wanted to invite Director Hou and Mr. Jiang to guide us on this case."

"Director Hou has guided many complicated cases across the province, and Mr. Jiang is a talented young officer."

"If even here we can’t find a breakthrough, I fear this case might remain unsolved by the time I retire."

Seeing Mr. Ma’s resigned expression, Director Hou quickly offered comfort: "Mr. Ma, we should stay optimistic."

"Sometimes heroes emerge from the young; perhaps the cases our older generation of revolutionaries can’t solve can be figured out by young officers like Mr. Jiang."

"Besides, in Guangling Criminal Investigation, there’s not only you, Mr. Ma, but also Mr. Qin, Mr. Wang, and Mr. Jiang. I don’t believe that the unwavering pursuit of generation after generation of criminal investigators won’t find this killer."

As soon as Director Hou finished speaking, Mr. Ma chuckled and turned to Qin Feng: "Mr. Qin, Director Hou just laid a task on you. After I retire, this case is yours. We’ll definitely rely on you."

"I agree, ha, no problem, but I think there should be progress before you retire."

"And I believe there should be significant results this time."

"Oh?" Director Hou turned to Qin Feng: "What makes you feel that?"

"Ha, you see, there aren’t many cases that can make Mr. Jiang An furrow his brows, but this one does. Moreover, I think Mr. Jiang An has already formed some initial thoughts after looking at it for these few minutes."

Upon hearing this, everyone turned their eyes towards Jiang An.

At that moment, Jiang An’s brows were indeed furrowed deeply, lost in thought.

"Mr. Jiang!"

Hearing Director Hou’s call, Jiang An slowly snapped back to reality: "Ah, are you calling me?"

"Haha, you see, we were all having such a heated discussion earlier, yet Mr. Jiang wasn’t aware at all. This clearly shows Mr. Jiang is thinking about something important."

"Mr. Jiang, in our earlier discussion, you must have formed an idea. Would you mind sharing your thoughts with everyone?"

Upon hearing these words, Jiang An twitched the corner of his mouth, looked up at Director Hou: "It’s only been 30 minutes since I started looking at it, isn’t it a bit too early to draw conclusions?"

"Ha, then let’s wait another half an hour."

Immediately, Mr. Ma said, "I’ve already organized many of the old investigators who participated in the special task force back then to gather in the conference room in half an hour."

"Some are my former subordinates, and some are retired veteran detectives."

"Let’s all come together, revisit this case, see which parts confused everyone during the early investigation, and share our thoughts and feelings about it from back then."

"This way, we can provide Director Hou and Mr. Jiang with some reference for their ideas and also hope to open a new breakthrough for the case with everyone’s input."

Hearing Mr. Ma’s suggestion, Director Hou quickly gave a thumbs-up and said, "I wholeheartedly support this suggestion."

"This case has seen the establishment and dissolution of six special task forces, and many people have retired since. If we can gather them together, their experiences, ideas, and even intuitions might just become the breakthrough we need."

"Haha, Director He, I remember during the first special task force, you and the chief also came over. We were all young then, and now our hair has turned gray, and this case still needs revisiting."

"Ha, no other choice, just that our abilities weren’t enough back then. If they were, the case would have been solved long ago."

minutes later, the conference room of the criminal investigation team was already full of people.

Unlike usual case meetings, this time, people weren’t full of energy but rather had graying hair and mostly wrinkled skin, belonging to middle-aged and elderly individuals over fifty.

Meanwhile, Director Hou, Qin Feng, and Jiang An were among the youngest present.

The meeting commenced, hosted by Mr. Ma, who solemnly stated: "Esteemed seniors and colleagues, some of you were once members of the criminal investigation team but have since been transferred."

"Today, I’ve gathered you all here primarily to review the dismemberment case that occurred 15 years ago."

As he spoke, he clicked his laser pen, and the PPT immediately displayed the name and basic details of the case from back then.

Upon seeing the PPT, everyone’s attention was drawn to the screen, their interest piqued.

This case has left a deep impression on everyone’s hearts.

Regardless of whether they are involved in criminal investigation work now, back then, they tirelessly stayed up late for this case, even at the cost of their health.

The previously quiet conference room became filled with whispers as everyone began to whisper among themselves.

Suddenly, a veteran detective with partially gray hair asked: "Mr. Ma, has there been no progress in this case?"

"Exactly, it’s been 15 years, and it’s still a sore point for us. During our last gathering of retired detectives, we were discussing this case, and I never thought I’d revisit it again in my lifetime."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Ma shook his head helplessly and said, "Brother, I wish we could solve this case soon too, but in reality, our capabilities are indeed limited."

"We’ve formed many special task forces one after another, yet still made no progress, not even identifying the deceased."

"So today, the purpose of inviting you, brothers, is to gather together and collectively discuss our approach to solving this case."

"Moreover, the main reason is that two expert groups from the provincial department are here to guide us, which is also an opportunity to see if they can help us find a breakthrough for the case and clear the next hurdle in the investigation."

Upon finishing, he quickly turned to introduce: "This is Director Hou from the first division of our Criminal Investigation Headquarters."

"Director Hou has come specifically to lead and guide the work on murder cases across the province, providing us with substantial assistance in solving a previous murder case, so we’ve specially requested Director Hou and his team to stay on and continue supporting and guiding this case."

Then, he turned to Jiang An: "This is Mr. Jiang, the captain of the criminal investigation team at Xinjiang City’s Public Security Bureau. He’s a talented young officer who has solved thousands of cases since taking office and has often been assigned to the provincial department to assist, guiding cases across the province."

"This time, he’s working with Director Hou’s team on a province-wide tour to investigate unsolved murder cases."

"These two beside him are two young experts from the forensic division who have also provided tremendous assistance in solving our cases."

After a brief introduction, he continued: "All of you here are veterans and experienced detectives of our criminal investigation team, some of whom have even transferred away from investigation duties, but all have been involved in the investigation of this case."

"So regarding this case, everyone is free to speak their mind, share your views and ideas, whether there is scientific backing or not. Let’s gather together without restraint and express our opinions."

As soon as he finished, several gray-haired veterans started whispering to one another.

They discussed quietly, glancing at the PPT displaying the photos.

To help them quickly recall the details of the case from back then,

Qin Feng controlled the laser pointer, reviewing the photos from the case from start to finish once more.

Some even saw their younger selves appearing in the photos...