Chapter Twenty-One: Wait for Me—I’m Coming to Find You

Let us first clarify what a special investigation task force is.

It is essentially similar to a major crimes unit, but not the kind of fixed-personnel team often depicted in television dramas. The show "Major Crimes Unit," which features a permanent group of people working on major cases every day, does not exist in reality.

True special task forces are assembled on a temporary basis, comprised of elite personnel drawn from various departments. Once a case is closed, the task force is naturally disbanded. The core lies in the word "special." Members must set aside all current duties to focus entirely on this single case. Furthermore, individuals outside the group are prohibited from interfering in any aspect of the investigation, or even viewing the case files. For any homicide, the confidentiality level is raised to the maximum, and not a single word is permitted to leak to the outside.

At this moment, Yu Dazhang and Lu Zhongxin were in a car, heading to the Criminal Investigation Detachment to rendezvous with the other team members.

"Master, do you know all the team members?" Yu Dazhang asked, seemingly casually.

Lu Zhongxin kept his hands on the steering wheel, eyes fixed on the road ahead. "There's only one I don't know—someone who arrived just last year. As for the others, even if we aren't close, we know each other's names."

So, they aren't very familiar with each other... Yu Dazhang realized instantly that this task force was loosely organized, pulled together from various branches of the detachment. There were certainly some among them just there to fill the ranks.

The direction of the current case was quite obvious; once the primary suspect, Kong Lingjie, was apprehended, the case would be essentially solved. It was precisely because it was so simple and straightforward that it had become a piece of "fat meat" for certain interested parties to covet.

Unfortunately, this piece of meat was not as easy to chew as it looked. Yu Dazhang had already made up his mind: the first step was to turn this piece of fat meat into a hard bone. Anyone who wanted to take a bite was welcome to try, but they had better be prepared to chip a tooth.

Before long, the police car pulled up in front of an office building. Yu Dazhang followed Lu Zhongxin to a conference room on the third floor, where six people were already seated. One of them, seeing Lu Zhongxin enter, immediately called out, "Old Lu, come sit over here. We were just waiting for you."

Yu Dazhang swept his gaze across the room; including himself, there were eight people in total. Under normal circumstances, a task force would not exceed five members. Even for a homicide, a team leader, a deputy leader, and two or three members were sufficient. This facilitated better communication and collaboration, effectively increasing the efficiency of the investigation. Yet, the situation here was the exact opposite: for a seemingly uncomplicated case, an eight-person task force had been established. The reason was self-evident—those who knew, knew.

After everyone was seated, the team leader spoke first. He briefly explained the current situation and emphasized the importance the higher-ups placed on the case.

After the platitudes were finished, he expressed his determination, and finally, he offloaded the investigative work onto the deputy leader, Lu Zhongxin.

Following this entire routine, Yu Dazhang nearly fell asleep. In reality, the leader had only spoken for about five minutes, but for Yu Dazhang, the hypnotic effect was no less potent than taking five sleeping pills. He had heard these kinds of empty words far too many times. In his eyes, the leader wasn't speaking; he was just helping everyone count sheep.

"Ahhh..." Yu Dazhang couldn't help but let out a yawn, and then he felt a sharp, painful pinch on his thigh. The strength behind it was clearly full-force, causing him to gasp and nearly cry out in pain. He turned to see Lu Zhongxin glaring at him.

"I'm sorry, my apprentice just transferred to the First Division and hasn't adjusted to the new environment yet. He's been pulling all-nighters for the past few days," Lu Zhongxin said, biting the bullet to explain away Yu Dazhang's rude behavior.

"Yes, yes, I haven't slept more than a few hours in the last few days," Yu Dazhang added hurriedly. One couldn't afford to offend the team leader; it wouldn't be good if he started making life difficult for him later.

"It's good for young people to have drive," the leader said, appearing unbothered and even taking the opportunity to praise him.

Lu Zhongxin then began assigning tasks. Because the team was overstaffed, every duty was broken down into minute detail. Yu Dazhang's assignment was to investigate Kong Lingjie's social circle and potential contacts.

As soon as the task was assigned, Yu Dazhang spoke up: "There's no need for such trouble. I suggest we directly deploy officers to search the surrounding small inns."

Lu Zhongxin, seeing it was him again, reached out toward him. Yu Dazhang blocked him with his hand. "Master, I have my reasons for saying this."

The other members looked on with varying degrees of dissatisfaction. While Yu Dazhang was a bit chubby, he had a youthful face; it was obvious at a glance that he was just a naive kid fresh out of school. In their eyes, this kid was just here to pad his resume. A greenhorn with no experience should just sit still, yet here he was, offering suggestions. Hearing him call the other man "Master," it was clear he was a product of nepotism.

However, Lu Zhongxin grew serious. He had already experienced this apprentice's capabilities firsthand. "Tell us your reasoning first." He sat up straight, signaling for Yu Dazhang to continue.

The other members suddenly realized something was off and shifted their gazes to Yu Dazhang, though the skepticism in their eyes remained. Could this chubby kid actually be here to work the case?

Yu Dazhang ignored their stares and said in a calm tone, "You have all heard the case briefing; the crime scene is the rental room where Kong Lingjie lived."

"Generally, people who live in these kinds of temporary rentals aren't in good financial shape."

"Furthermore, he is not a local."

"According to the household registration records, he is a migrant worker from another province who came to Songhai to work. He has no relatives here to rely on."

"Most importantly, the records show both his parents are deceased, and he has no siblings or children."

"In other words, he is the only person on his household register."

"In this situation, where else could he go?"

"With no one to turn to and no money to flee, besides staying at small inns that don't require an ID, he has no choice but to end up on the streets."

"Let's put ourselves in his shoes. If we were in this position, what would we choose?"

Upon hearing this, the expression on everyone's faces shifted from confusion to something else. Their gazes were no longer dismissive, replaced by a look of contemplation.

It was true; this chubby kid's logic was clear, his reasoning well-structured, and his analysis entirely consistent with the current situation. In reality, analyzing a case is a process of subtraction. You integrate the known information, eliminate the meaningless parts, and the conclusion naturally follows. In his previous life, Yu Dazhang had read the case file and knew Kong Lingjie was caught at a small inn. Therefore, his entire speech was improvised. However, he had tailored it to the contents of the case briefing; otherwise, those present wouldn't have believed him. There might have been some people in the room just filling seats, but none of them were fools. If he didn't produce something substantial, it would have been impossible to skate through.

"You are absolutely right," Lu Zhongxin said, expressing his approval first. He recognized his apprentice's logical analytical skills—the previous kidnapping case had been proof enough.

"Very well." Seeing Lu Zhongxin's stance, the team leader responded immediately: "I will go deploy officers to canvass the surrounding small inns right now."

That was enough. Yu Dazhang sighed in relief. He knew that Kong Lingjie was waiting, too. He was waiting for the police to come to the small inn to catch him.

After the meeting concluded, Yu Dazhang stood by the conference room window, gazing into the distance.

Keep waiting. I'm coming for you. In this life, it's my turn to face you.