Chapter 128 Sun Wei: We need the center's support
The golden rays of the setting sun serenely bathed the streets of Yancheng, and the flow of people leaving get off work continued as usual, as if that thrilling afternoon had never existed.
Inside the Yancheng Public Security Bureau, however, there was an indescribable sense of excitement and exhilaration.
A serious armed bank robbery was successfully prevented before it could occur, and thanks to the efforts of all parties, the news was quickly relayed among members of the Party Committee and heads of core departments.
There was no massive publicity campaign, no public commendation ceremony. Three days later, a special, highly confidential expanded meeting of the Party Committee was held in the small conference room of the Municipal Bureau. The attendees were solemn, the atmosphere heavy yet filled with an indescribable joy.
On the conference table in front of Director Zhong, two detailed reports were laid out: one was a complete report from the Criminal Investigation Detachment on the investigation process of the "March 11 Major Premeditated Bank Robbery Case," and the other was an analysis and effectiveness evaluation of the first practical application of the early warning system submitted by the Data Center.
"...Comrades," Director Zhong's voice was not loud, but every word carried immense weight, striking the hearts of everyone present, "This is a war without gunfire, a victory in nipping crime in the bud! Its significance is no less than that of solving any major case!"
He picked up the report from the Criminal Investigation Detachment: "The arrest operation led by Comrades Lei Xiao and Zhao Tiezhu was precise, efficient, and resulted in zero casualties. It was clean and efficient, demonstrating the excellent combat skills and on-site command capabilities of our criminal investigation team, and deserves full recognition!" His gaze turned to Zhao Tiezhu and Lei Xiao, whose backs were straight and their eyes were resolute.
Then, Director Zhong's gaze fell on another report, his tone more solemn than ever before: "However, what I want to emphasize today is this report from the data center, which is the outstanding work of Comrade Jiang Ling and her team."
The conference room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, and all eyes were on Jiang Ling, who was in attendance.
Jiang Ling sat in the back row, dressed in a neat police uniform, her expression calm, only her tightly clenched fingers revealing the turmoil in her heart.
"Based on the data center-driven early warning system, and grounded in scientific data analysis and precise psychological profiling, high-risk targets were identified in advance, and the time, location, and method of the crime were predicted. It even pinpointed the crucial detail that key figure Wang Bing was carrying a deadly weapon!"
Director Zhong's voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement: "It was this early warning that bought us precious time to set up a control operation, laid a decisive foundation for the success of the operation, and prevented a potentially serious case that could have caused major casualties and social panic from happening."
He surveyed the entire room, his gaze sharp: "Comrades, what does this mean? It means we are no longer just firefighters after a crime occurs; we have the ability to warn of fires and extinguish them before crimes happen! This is a major success in the practice of crime prevention concepts, and a forward-looking and revolutionary breakthrough in the model of public security work!"
"Comrade Jiang Ling," Director Zhong's gaze fell on Jiang Ling again, filled with undisguised admiration, "the data center team you led, including the original members of the psychological profiling group and the criminal investigation profiling group, technical backbones such as Li Bin drawn from the Economic Investigation Brigade, and that crucial external technical support—Comrade Liang Jiushan from Star Shield Company, you have fought a brilliant preliminary battle with your wisdom and hard work, and with your boundless loyalty to the public security cause! This internal report is the highest and most pragmatic affirmation of your work by the Party Committee of the Bureau!"
The meeting room erupted in enthusiastic applause.
This applause is for the swift and decisive actions of frontline officers like Lei Xiao and Zhao Tiezhu, and even more so for the unseen yet crucial early warning and profiling provided by Jiang Ling's team.
Zhao Tiezhu nodded vigorously, his gaze towards Jiang Ling filled with satisfaction and a sense of pride that "there is a successor." Lei Xiao's expression was much more complex, showing admiration, relief, and a hint of enlightenment after being completely convinced.
After the meeting, Lei Xiao did not leave as quickly as usual, but deliberately slowed down and waited in the corridor.
“Director Jiang,” Lei Xiao said, not addressing him as “Little Jiang” as usual, but using the title “Director.” His voice was less rough than before, and more sincere. “This time, I, Old Lei, am completely convinced! I used to think that your data analysis and psychological analysis were like scratching an itch through a boot, but now I know that this stuff can really save lives.”
Jiang Ling stopped and looked at him with a smile: "Team Leader Lei, it was your decisive action that turned the early warning into a victory."
Lei Xiao waved his hand, his expression becoming serious: "Don't be modest. What I really want to know is how to integrate this early warning system more closely with our traditional methods of investigation, surveillance, and interrogation? For example, if an early warning alerts us to a high-risk area or group of people, how can we on the front lines quickly intervene to effectively prevent such incidents without alerting them? Can your data help us filter out more precise directions for investigation?"
Jiang Ling's eyes lit up.
Lei Xiao's initiative to seek advice signifies that even the most "stubborn" traditional forces are beginning to embrace change. She immediately invited Lei Xiao to the data center for a detailed discussion: "This is exactly what we need to focus on next. Captain Lei, your practical experience is invaluable. We need senior criminal investigators like you to help us optimize processes so that early warning information can be transformed into frontline combat effectiveness more smoothly and efficiently."
Watching Lei Xiao and Jiang Ling walk side by side towards the technology building, Zhao Tiezhu smiled with satisfaction. The fusion of old and new forces foreshadows a more comprehensive and efficient future for criminal investigation in Yancheng.
One evening in May, Liang Jiushan arranged to meet Jiang Ling at the Heshun Hotel. Liang Qiqiao, whose face radiated tranquility and happiness, also accompanied them.
Chen Anping had been thinking about the steamed male fish head with tea oil and chopped chili that Jiang Ling hadn't finished eating yet. As soon as he heard that Jiang Ling was coming, he immediately served the dish.
The fish head is large, topped with golden-red, glossy tea oil and chopped chili peppers, exuding a rich aroma and offering a smooth and delicious taste.
Fortunately, nothing happened this time, and Jiang Ling and the Liang siblings had dinner in a relaxed manner. All three of them were native Hunanese and were not afraid of spicy food. After finishing their meal, they soaked their rice in fish soup, which was delicious. Jiang Ling ate two bowls of rice in one go.
Liang Qiqiao was assigned to be a teacher at Yanshi No. 1 Middle School, where her work was stable and fulfilling. She looked radiant, her eyes were bright, and her words conveyed satisfaction with her current life and anticipation for the future.
As she served Jiang Ling food, she softly recounted amusing anecdotes from school. The peaceful and tranquil happiness she exuded filled Jiang Ling with a sense of accomplishment, making her feel warm and fuzzy inside. The girl who committed suicide in her previous life because of the fear of gossip had now become a responsible and dedicated teacher, which gave Jiang Ling a tangible meaning to her rebirth.
Liang Jiushan picked up his teacup, using tea instead of wine, and looked at Jiang Ling with clear and sincere eyes: "Sister Ling, this time, there were no gunshots, no victims, no overwhelming media coverage. But I know it's even more meaningful, isn't it?"
Liang Qiqiao also put down her chopsticks and gently chimed in, "Yes, Officer Jiang. Although Jiu Shan can't go into details, I can sense that what you did prevented the tragedy from happening at its source."
She paused, her voice softening, with a sense of relief at surviving a disaster: "Sometimes, timely intervention can change the entire trajectory of the fate of several people, or even several families."
Upon hearing her words, Liang Jiushan and her sister exchanged a glance. No words were needed; their shared gratitude and lingering fear—a feeling born of being cruelly torn apart by fate yet miraculously reborn—were clearly visible in each other's eyes. Having personally experienced the abyss of darkness, they understood better than anyone the immense compassion and power contained within the word "prevention."
Memories flooded back, and Liang Qiqiao's voice trembled slightly: "Sister Ling, thank you. Without you, I don't know if I would have been able to get into university."
As a teenage girl without her mother's gentle guidance, Liang Qiqiao felt ashamed of her developing body and was constantly harassed by Qian Darong. At that time, she was filled with despair and helplessness. If Jiang Ling hadn't stood firmly by her side, teaching her correct sex education, telling her that being beautiful was not her fault, and helping her fight against Qian Darong, she really didn't know what her future would have been like.
Liang Jiushan looked at Jiang Ling: "Sister Ling, if it weren't for you, I'm afraid I would have really fought that bastard Qian Darong to the point of mutual destruction. Even if I had killed that bastard, I would have had to pay with my life, it wouldn't have been worth it." Even if he were lucky enough to survive, his life would have been plunged into darkness forever.
Jiang Ling looked at the brother and sister in front of her.
In their past lives, one withered away in the prime of their youth, and the other fell into depravity in their youth. Now their fates have been rewritten, and they have both found their own peace and stability under the sun. How wonderful!
Using this topic as a starting point, Jiang Ling elaborated on her understanding of "crime prevention" to Liang Jiushan in a deeper and more systematic way, which is not just about dealing with the bank robbery at hand.
“Jiu Shan, I think that stopping a specific criminal plan is only the first step, a temporary solution. True prevention requires using massive amounts of data to dig deep into the soil that breeds crime.”
"What we need to analyze is: which communities and groups are more likely to become breeding grounds for crime? Is it economic hardship, lack of education, broken families, or social alienation? Which individuals, due to personality, experience, or environmental factors, are on the verge of sliding into crime? What are the potential, predictable patterns and connections in the evolution of crime patterns, such as property crimes, violence, and cybercrime?"
Speaking of her ideals, Jiang Ling's eyes shone like stars: "Only by mastering these things can we intervene at a more proactive stage. For example, we can work with communities, civil affairs, and education departments to provide targeted assistance to high-risk communities and improve their environment; we can provide early psychological counseling, skills training, or necessary monitoring for identified potentially high-risk individuals; and we can strengthen protection in advance against systemic crime loopholes, such as defects in certain financial processes or weaknesses in online platforms. This is how we can fundamentally reduce the possibility of crime, little by little."
Liang Jiushan listened quietly, his eyes shining.
Jiang Ling's vision and passion far surpassed the Star Shield team's initial technical concept for the "crime early warning system." What she saw was not cold code, but vibrant individuals, and the family environments and social conditions that shaped them.
A deep sense of emotion and intense admiration welled up in his chest. Liang Jiushan picked up his teacup, looked directly into Jiang Ling's eyes, and spoke with unprecedented solemnity.
"Sister Ling, I understand what you mean and support your ideals. Technology, in the end, is just a tool. Wherever you want to use it to illuminate, I will pave the way for you. Database architecture, data mining, iterative updates of early warning models... I will continue to work on it and keep optimizing it. Come, to prevent crime, I toast you!"
Jiang Ling's heartstrings were gently plucked.
Undoubtedly, the person who understands her ideals best is her mentor Ying Xuanji, and the person who supports her the most is her parents; but what Jiang Ling did not expect was that on the road to pursuing her ideals, there would be Xiao Jiu Shan, who used to pester her with questions at the police station and bring her a bouquet of gardenias in the summer, firmly following her by her side.
Jiang Ling nodded slightly, saying nothing more, simply raising her teacup and lightly clinking it against Liang Jiushan's. The soft sound of the cups touching spoke volumes. Where their eyes met, there was unspoken understanding and appreciation, and a deep, quiet affection that had quietly blossomed under the illumination of shared ideals.
Meanwhile, within the Yancheng City Public Security Bureau, the evaluation of Jiang Ling, the data center she led, and that mysterious early warning system was also quietly undergoing a qualitative change.
The officers of the Criminal Investigation Division, especially those who participated in Operation 3.11, no longer referred to Jiang Ling as "that talented woman who did psychological profiling" or "Lin Weidong's daughter," but with genuine admiration: "Director Jiang's system is amazing!" "If we hadn't known beforehand, and that madman Wang Bing had actually fired the gun, I don't even want to think about the consequences..."
Li Bin, from the Economic Crime Investigation Team, who was among the first technical backbone selected to participate in the data center construction, stood even taller. Speaking at an internal technical exchange meeting, he was full of confidence: "Facts have proven that our direction in data integration and model building is correct! The early warning system has enormous potential; this was just a small test."
Even the leaders of other business teams spoke with more importance and expectation in private: "Old Zhao and his team really benefited from the early warning this time... It seems that this data center is not just for show. Jiang Ling is a girl with ideas and even more ability! The bureau made the right move."
The morale of the entire data center team, tempered by the "3.11" battle, has become more cohesive, filled with high morale and boundless confidence in the future.
This confidence soon faced a formidable test.
One day in May.
As night deepened, the city of Yancheng outside the window was brightly lit, exuding a peaceful atmosphere.
The data center suddenly received an urgent call: "A high school girl is missing, we need the center's support!"
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