Chapter 81 This case is from 11 years ago

"Surprised? Unexpected?" Perhaps because Guan Xia's expression was too striking, Wang Yu teased her before saying with a smile, "Director Ren made this decision based on your talent and strength. But frankly, Director Ren also has his own selfish motives, so don't feel pressured. What was the past will remain the same."

Guan Xia came to her senses and subconsciously began to ponder Wang Yu's words, but before her mind could process them, Xu Nian suddenly said, "Of course, if you feel anything is inappropriate or makes you uncomfortable, you can speak up directly. After all, you are different from us. Solving cases is just your hobby, not your career. Director Ren specifically instructed us to have a good talk with you before we came. We must ensure that you do not misunderstand. If you disagree, we will adjust again."

Looking at Xu Nian's sincere expression, Guan Xia did not speak immediately, but fell into deep thought.

To be honest, the development of the matter was beyond her expectations, but she did not feel any pressure as Wang Yu said. Instead, after being surprised, she began to think about the impact of Director Ren's decision on her.

After thinking about it, Guan Xia felt that it was a win-win situation for both parties. The branch where Xu Nian and his team were located had improved the crime-solving rate, and it was more convenient for Guan Xia to continuously charge the halo to ensure safety. Another point was that since contacting Xu Nian and his team's second squadron, it had always been very pleasant. Before Xu Nian and his team came to Fu'an City, Pang Le sighed that it was indeed easier to get things done with acquaintances. Now they don't have to worry about it in the future. No matter which city they go to investigate, even if they don't have acquaintances in the local area, acquaintances will soon arrive.

Thinking of this, Guan Xia smiled and said, "There's nothing inappropriate. We've known each other for a few months and have always gotten along well."

Seeing Guan Xia's relaxed expression and smile, Xu Nian and Wang Yu, who had been observing her, breathed a sigh of relief.

Wang Yu hurriedly wiped the stains off his hands, extended his hand to Guan Xia, and said, "Then we'll have a happy cooperation in the future."

Guan Xia smiled and shook his hand, "It's a pleasure to work with you."

After finishing the serious business, the rest of the time was just about eating, drinking and having fun.

Although Qi Bairen is a bit eccentric, as Wang Yu said, his cooking skills are indeed good. Not only is the barbecue cooked to the perfect temperature and the taste is just right, but even the homemade side dishes are crisp and refreshing. There is just one thing that people really can't tolerate, and that is his singing is too bad.

Even out of politeness, when Qi Bai finished singing the third song and was about to sing the fourth, Guan Xia could no longer sit still. She hurriedly found an excuse and ran to another lounge to find a chair to sit down.

When she sat down, there were already two people sitting in the lounge. Wang Yu was playing games with a lollipop in his mouth, and Jiang Yingyao was holding his mobile phone, playing Candy Crush while listening to a video. Guan Xia happened to overhear when she passed by: Friends who often kill people know that it is easy to kill but difficult to dispose of the body.

They were listening to some criminal cases, and Guan Xia was immediately intrigued. He closed his eyes and listened attentively with his ears perked up.

Only after listening to the entire case did Guan Xia contentedly reopen the file bag Xu Nian gave her. Since she had nothing to do anyway, she might as well flip through it. The system might be triggered at any time, and it just so happened that there were police officers around her today.

Guan Xia was just flipping through the books casually at first, and only took the photos seriously. But as she read on, she became more focused. It was a case that happened in a village under the jurisdiction of Quming City in 2013, 11 years ago, when she was in junior high school. A body with an unrecognizable face was found in the woods two kilometers away from the village. Neither DNA nor fingerprints could reveal the identity of the deceased. The criminal police team in charge of the case conducted a large-scale investigation and visit, but no missing person who matched the physical characteristics of the deceased was found, so it became an unsolved case.

The reason why Guan Xia was looking so intently was that the photo of the deceased's body with its face blurred inexplicably attracted her attention. She had no impression of him, but she had an intuition that she had seen this person before.

This feeling was strange and familiar. Guan Xia thought about it carefully, and recalled that she had the same feeling when she saw the criminal suspect Wei Jianming in the crowd in the previous case. Before Guan Xia could continue to think, Wang Yu, who had just finished playing a game, noticed the change in Guan Xia's state and couldn't help but come over curiously and ask, "What's wrong? What did you see that made you look like that?"

As Wang Yu finished speaking, the system interface suddenly popped up as Guan Xia had expected.

You were questioned by the police, and you suddenly remembered that at 5:23 pm on August 12, 2013, on your way back to the orphanage after finishing your painting course, the bus you took passed two people, one older and one younger, with a somewhat strange relationship when passing through the Chengbei Bus Station. You noticed that the younger boy had a look of hatred on his face from time to time, and his eyes kept scanning the bag in the middle-aged man's hand. You keenly sensed that something was wrong, and you decided to tell the police.

After the handwriting disappeared, there was another video. This time the video was very short, only a dozen seconds. In the video, Guan Xia was sitting in a seat by the window, looking out the window casually. In her sight, a man with half-white hair and a wrinkled face walked out of the bus station with a boy who was only in his teens. Both of their faces were marked with obvious red frames.

The boy was wearing brand new clothes and sneakers. He was dark and thin, and his ordinary-looking face was full of irritation and resistance. He walked slowly and was extremely reluctant. When he walked out of the bus station gate, he kept looking around and looking back. The clothes worn by the man in the video were exactly the same as those of the deceased in the photo.

As for what the system interface said about the hatred on his face, Guan Xia didn't see it, but it was true that the boy's eyes kept scanning the bag in the man's hand.

Without taking the time to complain, Guan Xia sat up straight and handed the photo to Wang Yu, saying, "I've seen this person before. I recognize his clothes. He was with someone else at the time. He looked like a boy of about fifteen or sixteen."

Wang Yu had only casually asked, but he hadn't expected such a surprising answer. He sat up straight and took the photo from Guan Xia's hand, examining it as he spoke. "I remember this case. It seems to be from Quming City. The deceased couldn't be identified. The local police even tried to find experts to reconstruct his appearance through the skull, hoping to identify him, but they came up empty-handed. When did you encounter the deceased and the other person?"

Guan Xia said with certainty, "The afternoon of August 12, 2013."

"August 12th..." Wang Yu frowned as he recalled the incident. After a moment, he said, "If I remember correctly, the body was discovered by nearby villagers on the morning of August 14th. So, the boy you saw with the deceased at the time is very likely the suspect."

Guan Xia recalled the childish appearance of the boy in the system video and couldn't help but say, "Such a child, still a minor, what deep hatred could he have to be so cruel as to kill an adult?"

Guan Xia didn't doubt whether the boy was the murderer. She had solved several cases and had never missed the system prompts. She just subconsciously began to analyze the relationship between the big and the small.

Father and son? They don't look alike, not only in appearance, but also in their awkward demeanor. Could they be relatives? It's possible, but if they were relatives, whether the man brought the boy home or the boy brought the man home, they would surely have acquaintances in the local area. Even with facial disfigurement, there wouldn't be a missing person missing person who couldn't be identified, unless the man was a complete stranger to the locals.

Guan Xia even thought that the man might be a human trafficker, but this idea was denied within a few seconds. The boy looked about fifteen or sixteen years old, and his bright eyes showed that he had normal intelligence. Moreover, they were in such a public place. If she had not voluntarily followed the man, it would have been impossible for her to leave the bus station. The boy could have pinned the man down with just a shout.

The more Guan Xia thought about it, the more she felt that the relationship between the two might be more complicated than she had imagined.

Wang Yu said, "In fact, many juvenile criminals have simpler and more brutal motives for killing. For example, they may be curious or simply dislike someone. I believe this case is no different."

Guan Xia recalled some juvenile murder cases she had learned about. The motives were indeed very simple. She had just listened to Jiang Yingyao's video and it was the same. Just because he was jealous of a girl in the same class who was prettier, more studious and more likable than him, he found an excuse to trick her into his home, killed her, and tried to dismember the body. Of course, because he was young and his method was immature, he was quickly discovered and the police were called. The whole case was successfully solved in less than two days.

Guan Xia quickly found some blank paper and a pen, and while quickly sketching, she asked Wang Yu, "This case occurred near a village in a county under the jurisdiction of Quming City. How can we investigate? Should we go there?"

Wang Yu was about to respond when Jiang Yingyao suddenly spoke up, "Guan Xia, if you remember the appearance of the deceased and the suspect, you could try to identify them first. Once you confirm their identities, you'll have a clearer path for the investigation. Then you can contact the local police to reopen the case."

That was similar to the process when Sister Ji was here. Guan Xia nodded and said, "I remember what both of them looked like, but it's been 11 years since the case happened, so it might not progress as quickly as the previous cases."

While Guan Xia was sketching, Wang Yu quickly informed everyone else about the discovery of the new case. After a sketch was completed, everyone, including Qi Bai who was obsessed with singing, appeared in the lounge and sat around Guan Xia.

After handing the finished painting over, Guan Xia drew the next one. The others were also busy. Some were trying to understand the case, while others were contacting their colleagues. Although they were still at the team-building location, the investigation into the case had already begun.

Qi Bai was overly emotional. When he saw the location of the crime, he said angrily, "It's not in Yongquan City. Honestly, even though I'm lame, my eyes and brain are fine. Can't I go with you? For example, I can watch the surveillance footage. Just like the 611 incident, I can't go out on the field, but I can watch the surveillance footage in the office with Guan Xia and the others. I'm very useful."

As Qi Bai spoke, he looked towards Guan Xia expectantly, but unfortunately Guan Xia was busy sketching with her head down and didn't see anything at all.

Wang Yu took the time to pat Qi Bai's shoulder sympathetically and said, "This case happened 11 years ago. Generally speaking, the traffic police and municipal surveillance footage is kept for 10 years. This case happened to be overdue, so I guess there isn't much surveillance footage for us to review."

Qi Bai's expression became even sadder.

Xu Nian and Pang Le were both reading the case-related information seriously. Only Jiang Yingyao, seeing how pitiful he was, consoled him and said, "If you're really bored, you can go and help out at the Third Squadron. They have a case on hand and are short of staff. If you're willing to go, they'll definitely welcome you."

Qi Bai curled his lips and said nothing. He was not bored, he just wanted to solve the case with everyone, especially the case discovered by Guan Xia, it would be more exciting to solve it together.