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

Chapter 1320 The Deceased Deliveryman Chen Gang

"Team Leader Li just reported the preliminary autopsy results for Zhang Lin. The deceased was male, between 40 and 50 years old, about 168 cm tall, and of slender build. He died approximately 12 days ago, around last Sunday, and the cause of death was mechanical asphyxiation. We need to find a match among the missing persons as soon as possible; this is crucial for identifying the suspect later." Xiao Zhou rubbed his throbbing temples and pushed a freshly brewed cup of strong tea in front of his team member, Xiao Li, his voice slightly hoarse—he hadn't had a proper rest since participating in the site visit to the shantytown that afternoon.

Xiao Li yawned, his fingers weakly tapping on the keyboard: "Brother Hui, this is the 300th one already. Either the age difference is too big, or the height and body type don't match, and some of the disappearances were six months ago, which is too far from the 12-day time of death of the deceased. Staring at the screen for too long makes my eyes blurry. This job is too exhausting."

Team member Xiao Wang also started complaining. He rubbed his sore eyes and pointed to a piece of information on the screen: "Look at this one. The missing person is named Liu Jianjun, male, 55 years old, 175 cm tall, a retired worker. He's only been missing for 3 days, which is 9 days less than the deceased's time of death, and his height is also 7 cm different. It can't possibly be him. This is like looking for a needle in a haystack. There are over 1000 pieces of information. When will we ever finish checking them all?"

Xiao Zhou's own eyes were bloodshot. He picked up a piece of bread from the table, took a bite, and reassured his team members as he chewed: "I know you're all tired, but the identity of the deceased is key to solving the case. The sooner we confirm it, the sooner we can find a breakthrough. Let's adjust our division of labor. One team will be responsible for screening missing persons aged 40-45, and the other team will be responsible for those aged 46-50. We'll focus on noting information such as 'height 165-170 cm,' 'slender build,' and 'missing for 10-15 days.' If there are any suspicious cases, we'll write them down first and then compare them together at the end. That will be more efficient."

Although the team members still looked troubled, they straightened their backs again and focused their attention on the screen. The sound of keyboard typing echoed in the silent verification room, and the clock on the wall slowly ticked past midnight. Xiao Zhou stared at the screen and suddenly pointed to a message, saying, "Look at this one. The missing person is named Wang Qiang, male, 48 years old, 167 cm tall, thin build, and works as a construction site laborer. He was reported missing 11 days ago, and was wearing a gray shirt and dark trousers when he disappeared."

Xiao Wang leaned closer for a look and immediately frowned: "His height, build, time of disappearance, and clothing are all quite similar, but he works as a construction site laborer and had a drinking problem before he disappeared. According to his family, he often got into arguments with people because of drinking. However, his DNA information is not entered into the database, so it cannot be compared with the deceased's DNA. We can only list him as a suspect for now and cannot confirm his identity."

Xiao Zhou nodded and wrote down Wang Qiang's information in his notebook: "You're right. Without DNA comparison, we can't draw conclusions easily. Continue the investigation."

At 2 a.m., the verification room was filled with the strong smell of coffee, and the team members' eyelids began to droop uncontrollably. Xiao Li rubbed his eyes, his voice heavy with exhaustion: "Brother Hui, we've checked 800 records already, and still haven't found a perfect match. Many missing persons' information is incomplete; some only have a name and age, without even a photo. How are we supposed to compare them? Should we take a break and continue checking when it's light?"

Xiao Zhou glanced at the dark night sky outside the window, then at the mountain of investigation records on the table, and shook his head: "No, Zhang Lin is still waiting for our results. If we can confirm the deceased's identity as soon as possible, they can adjust the focus of the subsequent autopsy. Hang in there a little longer, there are only 200 more cases to investigate, and maybe the key clue is at the very end."

The team members gritted their teeth and forced themselves to continue the search. Time ticked by, and the clock on the wall pointed to 4 a.m. Just when everyone thought the night would be fruitless, team member Xiao Zhang suddenly exclaimed, "Brother Hui! Come quick, look at this! The missing person's name is Chen Gang, male, 45 years old, 168 cm tall, thin build, works as a food delivery driver. He was reported missing 12 days ago. When he disappeared, he was wearing a gray polyester shirt and dark trousers, and he has a 3-centimeter-long old scar on his left wrist!"

Xiao Zhou and the other team members immediately gathered around. Xiao Zhang pointed to the information on the screen and continued, "Look, his disappearance time is exactly 12 days ago, which perfectly matches the time of death of the deceased. His height and build are also exactly the same, and the material of his clothing is consistent with the material of the deceased's clothing mentioned by the forensic doctor! And this old scar might correspond to some characteristic on the deceased's body!"

Just then, team member Xiao Li also discovered a suspicious piece of information: "Brother Hui, there's this one too! The missing person is named Zhao Wei, male, 47 years old, 169 cm tall, thin build, and works as a courier. He was reported missing 11 days ago and was wearing a gray shirt when he disappeared. Moreover, he had previously delivered packages near the shantytown in the north of the city and is very familiar with that area!"

Two highly suspicious pieces of information suddenly appeared, and the atmosphere in the verification room instantly became tense. Xiao Zhou took a deep breath to calm himself down: "Xiao Zhang, contact Chen Gang's family immediately to confirm the details of Chen Gang's disappearance, especially the location and specific characteristics of his old scars, and whether he had contact with any special people or visited the shantytown in the north of the city before his disappearance; Xiao Li, contact Zhao Wei's family and confirm the same information, focusing on verifying his whereabouts 12 days ago; Xiao Wang, quickly send the information of Chen Gang and Zhao Wei to the technical department and have them prioritize comparing the DNA information of the two men with the DNA sample of the deceased. We must get the results as soon as possible!"

The team members immediately sprang into action. Xiao Zhang dialed Chen Gang's wife, Li Mei's, phone. Li Mei's voice, trembling with tears, came through the line: "Officer, have you found my husband? He's been missing for 12 days. I've been waiting for news every day..."

"Please calm down. We need to confirm some things with you. Does Mr. Chen Gang have a 3-centimeter-long old scar on his left wrist? Was he wearing a gray polyester shirt and dark trousers before he disappeared?" Xiao Zhang tried his best to keep his voice steady.

Li Mei answered, her voice choked with emotion, "Yes! The scar on his left wrist was from when he was delivering food last year; it was about 3 centimeters long and he was accidentally scratched by an electric scooter. The morning he went out to deliver food, he was wearing a gray polyester shirt and dark trousers. I even bought that outfit for him..."

After hanging up the phone, Xiao Zhang excitedly told Xiao Zhou, "Brother Hui! The information confirmed by Chen Gang's wife matches the deceased's characteristics perfectly! The location of the scars and the material of the clothing all match!"