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

Chapter 1247 Zhang Haibin, Agricultural Machinery Company

Xiao Lin quickly left the autopsy room with the report in hand, while Zhang Lin remained inside, examining the puncture wound sections of the lung tissue under a microscope once more. The morphological characteristics of the wound could help the forensic team reconstruct the shape of the weapon used—a single-edged blade, approximately 5-7 cm in length—crucial for subsequent investigations into the suspect's weapon. He knew that every minute autopsy discovery could be the key to unlocking the truth of the case, leaving the murderer, hidden deep in the mountains, nowhere to hide.

At this moment, in the conference room of the Criminal Investigation Detachment, Li Ming was holding the autopsy report sent by Zhang Lin, discussing the next steps with Xiao Wang, Xiao Yang, Xiao Zhou, and others. "The time of death is precise to 2-4 a.m. on August 20th, and the fatal injury was a stab wound to the left lung," Li Ming pointed to the key information on the report. "Xiao Yang, you lead the team to follow up on the testing of the fiber and metal chain to confirm its source and brand; Xiao Wang, around this time period, investigate motorcycles and suspicious persons around the mountains, focusing on those with blunt or single-edged sharp objects; Xiao Zhou, you are responsible for investigating the dining records of restaurants around the mountains between 6-8 p.m. on August 19th, combining the last meal time with ibuprofen purchase records to find the deceased's possible activity trajectory."

As night deepened, the lights of the Criminal Investigation Division remained bright, and an investigative operation centered on the autopsy findings had been fully launched. Zhang Lin was still in the autopsy room organizing data. He knew that this autopsy report not only reconstructed the victim's death but also pointed the way for the investigation—as long as these clues were followed, the murderer would eventually be found, allowing this unidentified body in the mountains to rest in peace and ensuring that justice would prevail.

As soon as forensic pathologist Zhang Lin's autopsy report arrived at the Criminal Investigation Division, Xiao Zhou led five team members into the missing persons verification office. The clock on the wall pointed to 8 p.m., the air conditioner in the office hummed, and six computer screens lit up simultaneously, flooding in dense information about missing persons—according to the autopsy results, the deceased was a male aged 40-50, about 172cm tall, who went missing around August 20th, and may have been wearing stainless steel chain jewelry; these characteristics became the core basis for their screening.

"This system is so tedious. It doesn't even have a precise filtering function. We can only browse through the entries by age one by one," said team member Xiao Chen, rubbing his red eyes from working overtime. He mechanically slid the mouse across the screen. "The deceased's characteristics are too common. There are tons of middle-aged men in their 40s and 50s. How long will it take to find all these 1000+ entries?"

Xiao Zhou, holding a freshly brewed instant coffee, took a sip to perk himself up: "There's no other way. The more ordinary the characteristics, the more careful we have to be. We can't overlook any possible clues. Zhang Lin's report said that the deceased's last meal was between 6 and 8 pm on August 19th, and he also took ibuprofen. Everyone should focus on the missing person's 'last activity trajectory' and 'health condition,' which might lead to a connection."

Team member Xiao Li leaned back in his chair, stretched, and his bones cracked. "My eyes are almost crossed now. I've looked at nearly 300 cases, and either the age didn't match or the height was too different. How come the deceased didn't even have an ID card or a cell phone? The suspect is too ruthless; he didn't leave any clues about his identity."

"They're not just ruthless, they're also very good at counter-surveillance," team member Xiao Wang chimed in. "They emptied the victim's pockets and even tore off the metal chain on his wrist, just to prevent us from identifying him through his belongings. Now, we're like searching for a needle in a haystack, blindly looking through the database. If we keep searching like this, my brain will go numb."

Complaints echoed throughout the office, yet no one stopped working. The clock ticked away, and from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., the team members, except for the occasional sip of water or a trip to the restroom, remained seated in front of their computers, their eyes glued to the information entries on the screen. A row of empty instant coffee canisters sat on the desks, and the ashtrays were piled high with cigarette butts. The air was thick with the weary scent of caffeine and tobacco.

"I can't take it anymore, I need to stand up and move around for two minutes, or my cervical spine will break," Xiao Zhao stood up, walked to the window to stretch his body, and looked at the dark night sky outside. "It's almost midnight, and most of the city lights are off, and we're still stuck here. My wife just texted me saying that the child has a fever, and I can't even go back to see him."

“Who isn’t?” Xiao Chen said with a wry smile. “My mom specially made soup for me to drink when I got home today, but then an urgent task came up and I had to let her drink it herself. I just called her and she said, ‘Work is important, don’t overwork yourself.’ I really feel bad about it.”

Seeing his team members' exhausted appearance, Xiao Zhou felt bad too. They had been working non-stop for almost eight hours since receiving the assignment that afternoon, yet they hadn't found a single suspicious clue. "Hang in there, everyone. The closer we get to the time of death, August 20th, the easier it is to overlook clues. Let's be more careful; maybe the next one will be it." He refilled their cups with hot water. "If you're really tired, take turns resting for 10 minutes. Don't push yourself too hard."

At 1 a.m., when the information on the screen reached item 867, team member Xiao Wang suddenly shouted, "Team Leader Zhang, come and look at this one!" He pointed to the screen, his voice filled with barely suppressed excitement, "Missing person Zhang Haibin, male, 45 years old, technician at an agricultural machinery company, 173cm tall, went missing after leaving home on the morning of August 20th. His last known location was an agricultural machinery station near the mountains. The notes also mentioned that he 'usually wore a stainless steel watch chain,' which highly matches the deceased's characteristics!"

Everyone instantly perked up and crowded around Xiao Wang's computer. Xiao Zhou leaned closer to the screen and carefully examined the information: "Zhang Haibin, 45 years old, technician at the municipal agricultural machinery company, responsible for agricultural machinery repair in the surrounding towns. On the morning of August 20th at 8:00 AM, he said he was going to the agricultural machinery station near the mountains to repair tractors for the villagers, and then there was no further news. His family reported him missing to the police on August 22nd. The contact person is his wife, Liu Min, phone number 139XXXX7890."

"Are there any other similar clues?" Xiao Zhou pressed. Xiao Wang continued searching and found eight more suspicious clues: "Of these eight, five are men aged 40-50, between 170-175cm tall, who also went missing around August 20th, but either there's no record of them wearing metal chains, or their last known location is too far from the mountains; the other three are either too far apart in age or their health conditions don't match, but they are all somewhat suspicious and need further verification."

"Immediately contact the people involved in these nine leads and focus on verifying Zhang Haibin's situation!" Xiao Zhou made a decisive decision. "Xiao Li, contact Zhang Haibin's wife, Liu Min, and ask her about Zhang Haibin's specific clothing and items he carried when he went out on August 20th, as well as the style of his watch chain and whether he had a habit of taking ibuprofen."