It was late at night, and the moonlight shone like water!
The county bureau’s office was once again packed with people, but just like before, the atmosphere remained heavy.
Not only were the captains and deputy captains of the Criminal Investigation Division present, but the county bureau’s director and deputy director, as well as the heads of the Armed Police and the militia, were all there. Everyone was troubled by the “June 15” major case.
“Comrade Anguo, please update us on the progress of your Criminal Investigation Team!” Director Zhang said in a deep voice from his seat at the head of the table.
Wang Anguo replied immediately: “Reporting to the Director, over the past few days, our Criminal Investigation Team, together with colleagues from the township police stations, has verified and compiled data on every village in all the townships and communes across the county. We have finally confirmed that the number of missing children has reached 19—11 boys and 8 girls!”
“Furthermore, we have confirmed that June 15 was not the date of the first incident. In fact, as early as June 11, a child went missing from a family in Daliu No. 6 Commune—they simply did not report it to the police in a timely manner!”
“Over the past few days, by analyzing the case details, we’ve essentially confirmed that this is an organized crime operation involving a gang of approximately 10 suspects. They likely have well-established channels for child trafficking. A significant portion of the gang likely consists of outsiders, and there must be local accomplices acting as lookouts—or perhaps local residents are involved in this case as well…”
At that moment, Director Zhang cut Wang Anguo off and asked again, “I don’t want to hear about how you’re solving the case. I just want to know if you’ve found those suspects yet?”
“No!”
“What about the children? Have you found them?”
“No!”
“Never mind if the children haven’t been found—what about leads? Do you have any?” Director Zhang asked again.
“No!” Wang Anguo replied, sounding somewhat dejected.
Director Zhang slumped back in his chair, sighed, and said, “Comrades, the county and city authorities have given us one week to solve this case, but we don’t have a single lead right now. Do you realize the consequences?”
Having worked in public security for so many years, how could they not know the consequences of this?
The situation had escalated to such a degree that it had sparked panic throughout the entire region. If they couldn’t quell the turmoil in time, someone would have to take responsibility.
At that moment, Deputy Director Ye spoke up: “This afternoon, Director Zhou from the Municipal Bureau called the County Bureau. If we haven’t made any breakthroughs by nightfall tomorrow, he’ll personally lead a team to Qing Shan County to oversee the investigation. At that point, whoever needs to be dismissed will be dismissed, and whoever needs to be investigated will be investigated!”
“Comrades, we’re all in this together now. If we fail to solve this case, every single one of us here will face disciplinary action!”
Director Zhang said in a heavy tone, “Whether we face disciplinary action or not is secondary. I’m just frustrated. We’ve mobilized so many people—not only top graduates from the police academy but also combat heroes who’ve transferred from the military. How is it that we still can’t find those children? Do you think they’ve become invisible?”
“Furthermore, the uniforms we wear represent our duty to protect the people. If we fail to solve this case, we will not only have failed the nation that trained us, but we will also have betrayed the trust the people have placed in us!”
Wang Anguo suddenly stood up and declared, “Director Zhang, Director Ye, I, Wang Anguo, will catch those human traffickers. If this case remains unsolved, I will resign in disgrace!”
“Good, that’s the spirit!”
Then Director Zhang spoke again: “But that doesn’t solve the problem. Our top priority right now is still to apprehend the traffickers and rescue the children. Does the Criminal Investigation Division have any suggestions?”
“Director Zhang, our military, police, and militia have already searched every possible hiding place, but we’ve still found nothing. Clearly, the location where they’re hiding the children is far too well-concealed. Rather than continuing this search, which is like looking for a needle in a haystack, why not mobilize the public to help us search?” Wang Anguo said.
Director Zhang frowned and said, “Mobilizing the public to help search? That’s tantamount to telling them that we, the police, are at a loss. It’s bound to cause even greater panic!”
Wang Anguo immediately replied, “This is our only option now. Only by enlisting the public can we possibly uncover more useful leads…”
“All right, I’ll think it over some more!”
Director Zhang cut Wang Anguo off, and the conference room fell silent once more!
…….
After returning from the conference room, Wang Anguo walked back to his office, looking exhausted.
He hadn’t slept a wink in three days; not only were his eyes dry and watery, but he also had a severe headache.
He knew this was caused by overwork; if it got serious, it could even lead to sudden death.
But he couldn’t sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he heard the traffickers’ maniacal laughter and the children’s terrified cries, which kept him from getting any rest.
“Knock, knock, knock…”
“Come in!”
The office door swung open, and his good friend Li Gang walked in carrying a large bowl.
“Where did these dumplings come from?” Wang Anguo asked in surprise.
“My wife brought them!”
“My wife came by? When was that?”
“While you were at the meeting! She knew you hadn’t been eating or sleeping well these past few days, so she made some dumplings and sent them over. I’m so jealous!” Li Gang said with a laugh.
“I’m jealous that you’re not married yet. Your dad even chased you down the street with a belt over this. Isn’t that embarrassing?” Wang Guo’an couldn’t help but tease.
His friend was great in every way, but for some reason, he just didn’t know how to get along with girls. He was already 24—other people’s kids were old enough to run errands—and he didn’t even have a girlfriend.
“Women are too much trouble. I can’t be bothered to look for one!”
“You…”
Before Wang Guoan could say anything, Li Gang cut him off and said, “I heard you made a pledge at the meeting—that if you can’t crack the case, you’ll resign in disgrace. Are you serious?”
“I’ve already made a solemn pledge—what’s there to be serious or not about!” Wang Anguo said, stuffing his face with dumplings.
“What are you thinking? This case is already quite difficult. How could it possibly be solved in just a few days? Do you really want to take off this uniform?” Li Gang said in a grave tone. dxmbang
“It’s not necessarily unsolvable!”
“Do you have a lead?” Li Gang asked urgently.
“No!”
“If you don’t have any leads, where does your confidence come from?”
“I plan to go see that person tomorrow!” Wang Anguo suddenly blurted out this baffling statement.
Li Gang was taken aback for a moment, then blurted out, “You… you don’t really think that charlatan can help you solve the case, do you?”
Wang Anguo smiled and said, “That’s not necessarily true. He can even predict whether I’ll live or die—he might just be able to help me solve the case. Besides, he warned me about this right from the start. There’s no harm in going to see him!”
“Well… then I’ll go with you tomorrow!” Li Gang said.
“Sounds good! Have him read your fortune while we’re at it. Who knows, maybe the guy will tell you you’re in for some bloodshed too!” Wang Anguo said with a laugh.
“If he really dares to say that, I’ll slap him right across the face!”
“Come on, even if he really did say that, you can’t lay a finger on him—he’s the man who saved my life!”
“Got it…”
…….