Chapter 1171 - 599: Unexpected Clue

At eight-thirty the next morning, as Director Hou and Jiang An stepped into the Guangling City Public Security Bureau’s criminal investigation office, Hou’s phone suddenly rang.

The caller ID showed the number of the DNA laboratory at the Provincial Department’s Technical Appraisal Center.

As soon as the call connected, a technician’s voice came through: "Director Hou, the samples Guangling sent over last night have been examined, and preliminary results show that the DNA sequences from the toothbrush and towel match those of the suspected deceased."

Upon hearing this, Director Hou asked, "Can this result be fully confirmed?"

"There shouldn’t be any major issues, we will confirm again to ensure absolute accuracy."

"Alright, thank you for your hard work."

After hanging up, he turned and said, "The results are in; we can basically confirm the identity of the deceased."

Upon hearing this, Deputy Director Chen Guan’s face was filled with barely contained excitement.

"This is excellent news; being able to identify the deceased gives a clear direction for the examinations and appraisals that follow."

"For anonymous body cases like this, finding the identity is equivalent to finding the key breakthrough for solving the case and following the right investigation pathway."

At this moment, it wasn’t just Chen Guan who was excited; Qin Feng was too.

Last night, he arranged for criminal investigators to drive overnight to the Provincial Department for submission.

The two officers responsible for submitting the samples were still on their way back.

With an excited look, Chen Guan turned to Jiang An and said: "Mr. Jiang, we truly owe you a debt of gratitude!"

"If it weren’t for your timely discovery of suspicious clues, we’d still be aimlessly searching for the victim’s identity."

Jiang An responded with a slight smile: "Mr. Chen, your praise is too generous."

"These are just basic investigation tasks, and this time, we were fairly lucky."

"Even though we’ve confirmed the victim’s identity, the ensuing tasks are still quite heavy; we must thoroughly investigate each clue, revisiting the places where the three victims once lived together."

"Let’s go."

Upon hearing this, Director Hou nodded and said gravely, "These three victims were buried together at the same location, there must be a common reason behind it."

While speaking, Chen Guan suddenly noticed that Jiang An had deep bags under his eyes, and his eyeballs were covered with dense red bloodshot.

He immediately asked with concern: "Mr. Jiang, you didn’t rest well at the hotel last night, did you?"

"Looking at your state, it’s clear you didn’t sleep soundly."

Jiang An gently rubbed his aching temples, and said somewhat tiredly: "After I returned last night, I barely slept, a certain question kept lingering in my mind."

"Mr. Jiang, do tell."

Qin Feng immediately chimed in.

Jiang An began speaking: "Guangling has a very large area, why did the murderer choose to dispose the bodies here specifically?"

"Behind the choice of this location must lie an unknown significance, which has continually puzzled me."

"To others, this place might just be a nondescript corner in the mountains, but for the murderer, it should hold extraordinary importance."

Hearing this, Qin Feng quickly patted his shoulder and suggested: "Mr. Jiang, why don’t we go back to the scene again, and personally experience the surrounding environment once more."

"You often say we failed to grasp the essence of the scene because we didn’t lower our perspective enough to truly connect with the site, right?"

Jiang An chuckled slightly, not expecting that a casual remark he once made would be remembered by Qin Feng, the Criminal Investigation Team Captain.

At this moment, Chen Guan jestingly commented: "Qin Feng, are you selling the newly learned?"

"I’ve said it before, having Director Hou and Mr. Jiang stay with us in Guangling is a rare learning opportunity for our criminal investigation team, gaining experience and growing quickly through exchanges and discussions like these."

Jiang An smiled slightly and said: "It’s mainly because Director Hou’s leadership provided us the chance for exchanges and mutual learning."

Director Hou laughed heartily: "Alright, let’s skip the pleasantries, let’s go."

"We must seize the time and strive to uncover as many potential key clues as possible in the shortest time."

Soon, the four drove to the place where the three deceased were buried together.

This case’s most troubling aspect is that we have yet to pinpoint the location of the initial crime scene.

Clearly, the site where the three bodies were buried is indeed a disposal site, specifically a burial site.

The murderer buried them together, but the exact murder scene remains unknown, posing tremendous challenges to the ongoing investigation.

After 40 minutes, the four arrived by the mountainside once again, the surroundings were exceptionally quiet, and no one could be seen in sight.

Due to rugged and tricky mountain paths, vehicles could not pass, so they alighted and trekked up the mountain.

The four men walked slowly while discussing case details.

Qin Feng turned and surveyed the surroundings, saying: "This place is deserted, the murderer likely chose it for its remoteness and tranquility, making it hard for passersby to notice. You wouldn’t see anyone during the day, let alone at night."

After he finished speaking, Chen Guan nodded agreeably: "Agreed, from the standpoint of crime cost and risk avoidance, this place is indeed an impeccable burial site."

Director Hou also joined in the analysis: "Though criminal investigation often observes the pattern of ’far discard, near bury,’ this murderer was adamant on concealing the bodies, hence choosing such a secluded site."