"It's not necessarily so; a killer carrying a living person can't just vanish into thin air."

"And now, the main roads in the city have surveillance. No matter how the killer leaves, they will definitely leave some traces behind. The fact that the local police haven't found anything means they must have overlooked some details."

"I believe if we study it carefully a few more times, it's impossible not to find a clue."

Luo Fei said confidently, and the others were indeed persuaded.

If they can really find clues in the surveillance, it would save them a lot of trouble.

Liao Xingyu stood up directly, "Then I'll head to Huang Xu City immediately and copy all the surveillance from the surrounding roads!"

It's been less than two months since the incident, and ordinarily, the surveillance for these roads is cleared every three months.

The timing naturally works out perfectly.

Liao Xingyu immediately set out with Zhou Qian from the second team after saying this.

After he left, the others continued discussing the case.

Li Jun said, "I have another question. Zhou Lin disappeared in Huang Xu City, so why was her body finally found in the river on our side?"

Regardless of the downstream direction of Huang Xu relative to Jiangzhou, you can tell from the stones tied to her body that the recovery site is the first body-dumping site.

"There are two explanations for this. One is that the killer is from Huang Xu City and dumped the body on our side to avoid the local police's attention. To confirm this, we need to determine if all the victims are from Huang Xu City."

"The other possibility is that the killer is from Jiangzhou City, but the nature of his job requires him to commute between Huang Xu and other cities."

"Why do you think the killer frequently commutes between multiple cities?" Zhao Donglai asked.

"It's simple. We've verified before that there haven't been any missing women in Jiangzhou City in recent years, meaning these victims are most likely not local."

"This is also why the killer dares to dump bodies in the same place multiple times. With no locals missing, even if the bodies are discovered, the police would have a hard time investigating."

"But normally, even if someone wants to commit a murder, they wouldn't specifically travel to another city to kidnap, kill, and then bring the body back."

"This would not only increase work but also the risk of exposure. Because unfamiliar with a strange city, it's hard to know where to act or where there's surveillance."

"But from the way Zhou Lin was kidnapped, it's clear the perpetrator is very familiar with that stretch of road, which is why they could easily take Zhou Lin away without the police finding them."

Following his line of thought, Zhao Donglai indeed felt it made a lot of sense.

Luo Fei continued, "Moreover, based on the suitcase and backpack used to pack the body, I think the killer's financial condition is probably average. This allows us to narrow down the scope when investigating these types of jobs."

"Yes, this is indeed a clue. In that case, you should follow Luo Fei's analysis and investigate the jobs with these characteristics. Also, remember to get a copy of the surveillance footage from the dumping site for the week after March 25th."

"And check out the suitcase and backpack used for the body, especially the suitcase with Zhou Lin. Since she hasn't been dead for long, check the stores in town selling the same type of luggage based on the style to see if we can catch the killer's trail."

After Zhao Donglai gave instructions, everyone immediately split up to act.

Later, they also received news from the neighboring Wuyang City about four missing women, also with no signs of life or death.

The number, combined with the missing from Huang Xu City, closely matches the number of bodies retrieved from the river.

However, Zhao Donglai didn't rashly conclude the victims were theirs, so he asked them to send over the reports for verification and notify the families of the missing to come in for identification.

They kept busy this way until five in the afternoon.

Considering everyone had stayed up all night, Zhao Donglai decided it was best for everyone to have a good night's rest before continuing the investigation the next day.

Luo Fei had dinner in the cafeteria, called Wu Yan and Yang Mei once he returned to the dorm, and then went to bed early.

Everyone was recharged at work the next day.

It wasn't long before Liao Xingyu and Zhou Qian returned from copying surveillance in Huang Xu City, bringing along Zhou Lin's parents and her husband, Xu Yuan.

Upon hearing that a body suspected to be Zhou Lin's had been found, all three were visibly distressed.

Zhou Lin's body was not only dismembered but also unrecognizably damaged by water, so it was decided not to expose them to the sight.

Zhao Tian personally collected blood samples from Zhou Lin's parents for a paternity test with her remains.

The police also took brief notes with the three about Zhou Lin's usual habits and got a brief understanding of her disappearance.

Their accounts were consistent with previous ones.

After they left, Zhao Donglai gathered everyone together again.

"Although we can't confirm the body recovered is Zhou Lin, it's currently our biggest lead, so we'll follow this trail for now. Everyone, share your findings from yesterday."

Luo Fei spoke first.

"We did a quick check and found there are many jobs where one frequently travels between cities, like delivery workers, salespeople, taxi drivers, vendors... it seems like this might take some time to sift through."

Liao Xingyu also spoke, "Yesterday, Zhou Qian and I retrieved all the surveillance from the route where Zhou Lin disappeared and also visited some of her colleagues. Their statements lined up with previous notes."

"We visited several local luggage stores yesterday. They all said they hadn't sold that type of suitcase; it appears cheaply made, possibly purchased online or available in wholesale markets, so we plan to visit the wholesale market today." Li Jun said.

Finally, it was Zhou Fan's turn. "We also copied all the surveillance from the dumping sites and the junctions leading from Huang Xu to Jiangzhou City. We watched some of it yesterday, but so far haven't found any suspicious people or vehicles."

After everyone reported,

"Today, everyone should continue their assignments from yesterday. Liao Xingyu, your group should review the surveillance from Zhou Lin's disappearance route and try to identify suspicious vehicles."

After saying this, Zhao Donglai thought for a moment and added, "We're also not sure how the killer transported the body, so Lin Hua, take the K9 Unit and check around bus and train stations."

"Got it."

"Alright, let's all get to work."

The rest of the day saw everyone busy with either reviewing surveillance or conducting interviews.

Relatives of the missing individuals arrived at the police station, provided blood samples to Zhao Tian, and gave brief statements before returning to await news.

The results of Zhou Lin's paternity test came in by four in the morning.

Zhao Donglai was still groggy when he got the call.

The night before, they had worked overtime until eleven.

But hearing Zhao Tian say over the phone that the results were in, he jolted fully awake.

"What are the results?"

"The blood analysis comparison confirms the victim is Zhou Lin."

"Good, good, I know."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Donglai was very excited.

Confirming the victim as Zhou Lin meant their investigation was proceeding on the right track.

He slept a few more hours after hanging up the phone.

By seven in the morning, he was at the police station.

Everyone had been arriving early these days because of the ongoing investigation, but the earliest was still Luo Fei.

The first thing Zhao Donglai did upon arriving was to bring Zhou Lin's DNA report to the meeting room and gather everyone there.

"The forensic report on Zhou Lin's body came back last night, confirming the victim is Zhou Lin herself. This means our previous direction hasn't been wrong. Now let's go over the case again."

"Zhou Lin disappeared on March 25th, and on July 16th, which was a weekend, we found the fragmented remains suspected to be hers."

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