After working for two straight days and a night, Han Bin was completely exhausted. As soon as he got home, he collapsed into bed and slept for a full twelve hours.
The next morning, after waking up, he went downstairs to his parents' place for breakfast.
Knowing how hard Han Bin had been working, his mother, Wang Huifang, prepared a hearty breakfast for him: milk, egg pancakes, crispy sausages, lettuce, and apples—a very nutritious and well-balanced meal.
"Binzi, I heard your team is in charge of that murder case in the urban village?" asked his father, Han Weidong.
"How did you know?"
"The city was under lockdown the other day—we even sent some officers from our precinct."
"You guys joined the search on the Hengding Line too?" Han Bin asked.
Han Weidong nodded, then asked with some confusion, "Why did the search suddenly stop? Did you guys find a new lead?"
Han Bin opened his mouth to reply, but hesitated: "Comrade Han Weidong, you're a veteran officer—used to be a criminal investigator. Did you forget about the confidentiality rules?"
"You little rascal, playing smart with me now?" Han Weidong snorted but didn't push the question further.
After breakfast, Han Bin left the house and headed to the entrance of his apartment complex.
Not long after, a red QQ car pulled out from the underground garage and honked twice: "Beep beep."
Han Bin opened the door and got into the passenger seat. The driver was his colleague, Li Hui.
The two were officially starting a carpool routine.
"Man, you've got some energy. After all that yesterday, you still had time to move house?"
"No choice. My lease expired." Li Hui tapped the steering wheel and pointed proudly at himself with his thumb. "Besides, I've got a car now—moving stuff isn't hard."
"With that tiny car of yours, you managed to haul everything in one trip?" Han Bin asked skeptically.
"Hey, don't knock my car. Small or not, it fits you just fine," Li Hui shot back.
Han Bin shifted the seat back and stretched his legs. "That's better."
"Listen to you, acting like a VIP," Li Hui teased.
"Of course. I'm paying my share for the carpool—I better ride in comfort."
"Pfft."
"Alright, focus on driving. I'm gonna catch a quick nap," Han Bin said.
…
Once they got to the police station, everyone resumed their respective tasks.
Tian Li went out to investigate the pyramid scheme members.
Li Hui went to check on Sun Qifeng's friends.
Zhao Ming headed to the telecom company to pull phone records.
Han Bin stayed behind at the station, sipping tea and waiting for Sun Qifeng's parents to come identify the body.
The three colleagues were out all morning and didn't return until noon. Seeing Han Bin relaxing in the office, they were a bit envious—but no one resented it.
Everyone recognized Han Bin's role and contributions to the second team. In a police unit, each person has their own duties. Han Bin's job was technical—they didn't have his skills, so all they could do was run errands.
After lunch, Captain Zeng Ping walked into the office with his briefcase.
"Captain Zeng, where've you been?"
"The higher-ups are taking this case seriously. They called me in to report on the situation." Zeng Ping set down his briefcase and said in a serious tone, "Comrades, the revolution is not yet complete. We still need to work hard to wrap this case up in one go."
"Captain Zeng, I believe with your wise leadership, we'll crack the case for sure," Han Bin said with a smile.
Zeng Ping pointed at him. "You're not just good at solving cases—you've got some top-notch flattery skills too."
"All thanks to your fine example," Han Bin joked.
"Get outta here. Don't pin that on me," Zeng Ping chuckled.
"Hahaha…"
The other team members burst into laughter.
Police work is tough and intense, so cracking jokes now and then helps keep morale up.
Clap clap. Zeng Ping clapped his hands. "Alright, enough jokes—let's get back to business. Time to report your progress."
"Captain Zeng, I went to the telecom company and got Sun Qifeng's call and message records," said Zhao Ming. "He didn't make many calls and didn't have any frequent contacts."
Tian Li frowned. "Then how did he communicate with his accomplice?"
"Could've been through WeChat or QQ," Li Hui guessed.
"I already checked with Tencent. His QQ account hasn't been used in ages, and his WeChat is tied to his phone number—no suspicious contacts there," Zhao Ming replied, shrugging.
"Maybe they communicated face-to-face," Han Bin suggested.
"Even so, they'd still need to arrange meetings—unless they saw each other regularly," Zeng Ping said thoughtfully. Then he turned to Li Hui. "How's the background check on Sun Qifeng's social circle?"
"Sun Qifeng's an out-of-towner. He came here for work and was doing manual labor at a grain and oil market. I visited his workplace—his boss said he was pretty quiet and didn't have many connections."
"Any of his coworkers match the profile? Male, around 35 years old, about 180 cm tall?" Zeng Ping asked.
That was the suspect profile Han Bin had developed based on footprint analysis.
"No one matches that description."
"Any leads on your end, Tian Li?"
"I checked the list of pyramid scheme members arrested with Sun Qifeng and reviewed their physical characteristics. One guy fits—35 years old, 181 cm—but he's currently working down south."
"Is it possible he snuck back, committed the murder, and left again?" Li Hui asked.
Tian Li shook her head. "I confirmed with local police. He didn't have the time window to do it."
"Han Bin, any update on Sun Qifeng's parents?" Zeng Ping asked.
"They're on their way—should arrive this afternoon."
Zeng Ping sighed. "So we're still not making progress."
"Any updates from forensics?" someone asked.
"The suspect's DNA has been extracted and submitted to the database," Zeng Ping replied.
"How long until we get results?" Zhao Ming asked, still new to this part of the process.
"Hard to say. If the suspect doesn't have a criminal record, the system won't find a match," Zeng Ping explained.
Li Hui stretched and grumbled, "This is so frustrating."
"That's why I told you all to keep digging—find out who the suspect is so we can match the DNA manually," Zeng Ping urged.
"Captain Zeng, maybe we should adjust our investigation strategy," Han Bin suggested.
"What kind of adjustment?"
"Before the crime, Sun Qifeng and the killer must have had contact. But we haven't found any communication between them. I think we should trace Sun Qifeng's movements before the crime to find out how they connected."
"Good thinking. That could be our breakthrough," Zeng Ping said, after a pause. He began assigning new tasks:
"Tian Li, head to the Huilongguan neighborhood and pull surveillance footage. Track Sun Qifeng's movements in the days before the crime."
"Li Hui, check his workplace's surveillance—see who he interacted with frequently."
"Zhao Ming, canvas the area around his residential compound."
"Han Bin, coordinate with Sun Qifeng's parents for body identification."
"Yes, sir," everyone replied.
"Any other questions?"
"Captain Zeng, once the parents arrive, I'd like to ask them a few questions," Han Bin said.
"They'll probably be very emotional—handle the conversation carefully," Zeng Ping reminded him.
"Understood."
(End of Chapter)