The next day.
In the parking lot of the Huaihai Criminal Investigation Division.
Seven or eight police escort vehicles with J Province license plates were parked early in the morning.
Clearly,
after Huaihai Criminal Investigation Division confirmed that the three suspects were fugitives from J Province, they immediately notified the local police to come.
Since the crime occurred in J Province,
all trials and case conclusions would be handled there, so escorting the suspects back was necessary.
Furthermore,
with the mandate to solve murder cases at all costs, the prolonged fugitive status of these three murder suspects must have put considerable pressure on the police in J Province.
After a formal round of thanks,
the police from J Province escorted the three fugitives into the transport vehicle, waiting for further court judgment.
Or rather,
for the day when the death sentence would be handed down.
...
At this moment,
in the office of the head of the Criminal Investigation Division.
Lin Tian looked at Su Ming and Wang Hu in front of him, took a sip of tea, and praised them.
"Yesterday's arrest operation, Xiao Xu who works with you has already given me a detailed report. I understand the situation quite well now."
"So, Su Ming, I really have to commend you."
"To be able to accurately identify issues with the suspect in such a situation, prevent the capture operation from proceeding and waking up the fugitive,
and even keep your composure to lure out the hiding spots of the other two fugitives. That requires incredibly strong psychological resilience!"
"Not bad, really impressive!!!"
"Achieving the first-ever perfect score in the criminal investigation exam certainly means you have something special."
"Of course, Wang Hu did well too. In yesterday's operation, he also did his part."
"Catching and arresting three Class-A fugitives is indeed a great achievement, so I just gave it some serious thought."
At this point,
Lin Tian paused briefly and then continued, tapping lightly on the desk.
"You two will sign the formal employment contract later, transitioning from interns to trainees."
"According to standard procedure, every newly regularized officer requires one year of training. But given your achievements in capturing these fugitives,
Su Ming, you only need a three-month training period before becoming fully certified with a firearm. Wang Hu will have his period shortened by half, becoming certified after six months."
"Also, the J Province police have a reward for this. Each of you will receive a 5,000 reward."
"Don't consider it too little."
"After all, capturing criminals is our duty, so the reward amount will not be excessive."
From any angle,
the rewards given by the Huaihai Criminal Investigation Division this time were quite generous.
Early promotion and reduced training time.
These are real benefits, not just hollow promises or motivational words.
The 5,000 reward is just a bonus on top.
Su Ming and Wang Hu exchanged glances and saluted in unison, saying,
"Thank you, Director Lin."
Lin Tian waved his hand, indicating they didn't need to be so formal.
"It's just rewarding according to merit; this is what you deserve, no need to thank me."
"Also, I remember…"
"Are you two still living in the school dormitory? If commuting is inconvenient, you can move into our division's dormitory."
"The division's dormitories are vacant; moving in would make it easier for you to commute and handle various tasks in the future."
"Of course, during this training period, you two should also consider whether you want to focus on frontline investigation or on criminal investigation technology."
"In any case,
the importance of forensic technology is just as significant as frontline investigation."
"All right, there's nothing more for now. Go ahead and get to work."
After saying this,
Lin Tian turned his attention to a thick stack of case files on the desk, ignoring Su Ming and Wang Hu.
Just as Su Ming was about to leave the office,
Lin Tian suddenly remembered something, looked up and continued.
"Oh, Su Ming."
"I heard from Xiao Xu that your attention to detail in cases is quite impressive. So, I have a temporary task for you."
"When you have some time these days,
look through the files of the dismemberment case at Modu University from 5.13, twenty years ago, and see if you can find any new clues or information."
"Of course, this case is very old. Just do your best."
"It'd be great if you could find some clues, but if not, that's fine too."
"Because the crime was so well-planned, it's nearly impossible to find key evidence."
Clearly,
this extremely brutal and horrific dismemberment cold case, which has gone unsolved for twenty years, had become a thorn in Lin Tian's mind.
Otherwise,
among so many unresolved cases, he wouldn't have specifically mentioned this dismemberment case, pinning his hopes on Su Ming, who had a strong talent for solving cases, to discover something from the files.
Su Ming paused at the door.
Hearing about this case, which was not only infamous in Modu but also throughout the entire country, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, feeling a strange sense of curiosity and anticipation, and nodded in agreement.
"Understood, Director Lin."
"I'll start reviewing the detailed files of this dismemberment case shortly and see if I can uncover any new leads."
...
After leaving Lin Tian's office,
Wang Hu, who had held himself back earlier, became excited in the hallway, throwing a fist in celebration.
"Damn, Ming, I really owe this one to you!"
"I can't believe I'm skipping the internship period, going straight to training without having to wait until graduation, and I only need to train for six months!"
"This is amazing!"
"If our classmates find out, they'll be so envious. I mean, this shortens things by a lot!"
"While they're still in internships, we'll be certified with firearms!!!"
"By the way, Ming, should I focus on frontline criminal investigation, or lean towards forensic technology?"
Since college,
Wang Hu had always followed Su Ming's lead, and with the friendship they'd built over the years, he didn't feel the need to be overly polite about sharing credit.
Moreover,
the fact that Wang Hu was asking Su Ming for advice on his specialization showed the strength of their relationship.
Su Ming looked Wang Hu over and sighed with regret.
"Hu, buddy."
"I think you should let go of frontline investigations. Based on my observations over the past few years..."
"You're really not cut out for it, but you actually have a knack for monitoring systems and forensic technology, so you might want to specialize in that."
"And crucially, forensic tech officers get firearms too, so it'd still fulfill your wish."
These words
made Wang Hu pause. Just as he was about to argue about his investigative skills,
he recalled how Su Ming had single-handedly tracked down the three hiding fugitives the day before.
After a moment of silence,
he sighed, looking up at the ceiling camera, and muttered to himself.
"Fine, I'll work with the surveillance cameras."
"As long as I get a firearm, I'm good."
While Wang Hu was talking to himself,
Su Ming had already returned to his desk and accessed the internal system to pull up the files of the dismemberment case from Modu University twenty years ago.
When the loading screen completed,
Su Ming narrowed his eyes as he looked at the thousands of pages of digital files and murmured to himself.
"Here we go."
"Let me have a look and see just how 'perfect' this twenty-year-old cold case really is!!!"