Two hours after the incident, various leaders from the Huadu General Bureau, several team captains from the Criminal Investigation Division, and Vice Captain Shao Lin from the previous special task force attended the meeting together.
The conference room was filled with more than a dozen people, and sitting at the other end of the desk was Director Zou.
This newly appointed temporary bureau director was transferred from the provincial level. He had dealt with some major cases and had relevant experience. It was precisely because of this that the leadership had him temporarily take over the Huadu General Bureau.
Due to the recent unexpected event and the change in leadership, there was a slight tension in the atmosphere of the meeting room.
Director Zou first introduced his identity and resume, then began speaking, “I was temporarily brought here to handle this case. Let me make it clear in advance that I have no interest in the position of the bureau chief in Huadu. I am only acting as the temporary director as per the leadership’s request. We will assess Director Tan’s condition later, and if he recovers quickly, it would be best for him to resume his position. However, if he remains bedridden, I will also propose to the higher-ups to select a new leader from the bureau’s ranks.”
Upon hearing these words, the two deputy bureau chiefs, Deputy Director Jin and Deputy Director Wang, exchanged a glance. They understood Director Zou’s implicit message. If Director Tan’s health was not good, it seemed obvious that they were being considered for leadership positions.
“Now, the Fine Sand case has already had a severe social impact… The entire city is in a state of emergency. I emphasize once again that all criminal investigators in the bureau must keep their phones on 24/7 and be ready at any time.”
Then Director Zou turned his head and said, “I heard that this explosion case is related to the Fine Sand explosion case from two years ago. Since there were still doubts about the Fine Sand explosion case back then, why was it closed?!”
Director Jin’s eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing this. He caught something from Director Zou’s opening statement. It seemed that Director Zou was not on good terms with Director Tan. By starting off this way, he was shifting the blame to the former leader. In other words, the reason Fine Sand resurfaced was that Director Tan didn’t handle it properly back then.
When the Fine Sand explosion case was mentioned, the faces of everyone present didn’t look good.
The Fine Sand explosion case was not only complex and long-lasting, but it also involved multiple instances of criminal activity. It seemed like an enduring curse hanging over the city.
The Huadu General Bureau had always had a high crime-solving rate, but this case was like a dark cloud hovering above the city.
Now, two years had passed, and just when everyone thought they could forget about this case, it resurfaced.
Shao Lin was still grieving over the casualties among the team members, and with Director Tan absent, he felt a bit uncertain facing the new leadership. He hesitantly raised his head and said, “The mastermind behind the Fine Sand explosion case did die on the spot, and there haven’t been any related incidents for a long time… that’s why we closed the case. As for the bus explosion case and the Fine Sand case, we are still investigating… Currently, we only know that the materials used to make the bombs have similar sand.”
Director Zou interrupted his words, saying, “The issue of credit and blame can be discussed later. The key problem now is that we need to solve the case as soon as possible and find out the concrete connection between this case and the Fine Sand explosion case.”
Director Zou looked at the personnel resumes in front of him and finally flipped to the page of Lu Junchi, pausing for a while. Then he looked up and said, “Captain Lu, this case is of great significance. Let it be handled by your Major Crimes Unit, and you can also deploy the members from the previous task force. Continue your investigation.”
Lu Junchi nodded in agreement.
He had just received a message from Su Hui, and a word came to his mind.
Destiny.
Some things were unavoidable, no matter how much one tried to evade them. They would eventually meet with them.
Director Zou looked at him again and said, “Captain Lu, I have looked at your resume, and I know that you are capable. This case has a high level of public attention now, and I hope we can have a certain time limit for solving it.”
Lu Junchi pondered for a moment and said, “We will do our best, and within ten days, we will definitely have preliminary investigation results…”
Director Zou’s expression turned serious. “Can you do it in three days?”
Everyone present took in a sharp breath upon hearing these words.
This was a major explosion case.
Three days?
Even if they worked tirelessly without rest, it was uncertain if they could come up with any results from the investigation.
Lu Junchi fell silent for a moment. He understood the urgency to solve this challenging case in a timely manner. Many police officers were injured, including Xing Yunhai, whom he had a good relationship with. He also hoped to solve the case quickly to provide solace to the injured and offer tribute to the deceased.
Moreover, the Fine Sand case involved Su Hui.
Su Hui almost died because of it two years ago. If the perpetrator of this case was also connected to Fine Sand or those involved with it, Lu Junchi wanted nothing more than to swiftly solve the case and apprehend the mastermind behind these heinous acts.
However, there was a saying: “Haste makes waste.”
The Fine Sand case was extremely complex and involved many factors. It couldn’t be compressed within a specific timeframe just because they desired it.
Seeing that Lu Junchi didn’t reply, Director Zou softened his tone and said, “Alright, let’s make it five days then. Starting from tomorrow, I can’t give you any more time. Within my authority, you can mobilize all available resources. The Review Unit will help you organize all relevant case files, and by the end of the afternoon, the task will be handed over to your task force. The SWAT will assign a bomb disposal expert to accompany you.”
With the top leadership making such remarks, Lu Junchi could only nod.
The others looked at him with sympathetic eyes.
In their eyes, Lu Junchi had essentially taken on a hot potato.
Director Zou then changed the subject, saying, “In addition, I will provide full technical support to your Major Crimes Unit. I can also introduce you to a criminal profiling expert for the psychological aspect of the investigation. Let’s solve the case together.”
“Thank you, Director Zou,” Lu Junchi expressed gratitude but firmly declined, “However, we have our own consultant in the team, and he is highly specialized. We will make every effort to save time.”
Director Zou paused for a moment before nodding.
Next, Director Zou inquired in detail about the current condition of the police officers and the public, and gave instructions on how to report the situation. He also ordered the Criminal Investigation Division’s Second and Third Teams, along with several branch bureaus, to conduct a thorough investigation of bus safety. Plainclothes officers were to be stationed at major bus stations, and even preliminary security checks were to be conducted before boarding.
This leader had a completely different work style from Director Tan.
Director Tan was a leader with a personal touch. After many years in the Huadu City Bureau, he was familiar with his subordinates. He was known for being fair in rewards and punishments and was well-liked by his team.
During meetings, Director Tan didn’t monopolize the conversation. He often encouraged everyone to brainstorm ideas together before making a final decision.
However, this new leader clearly had his own judgments.
He organized everything, clearly assigned responsibilities, and reiterated instructions to everyone.
The primary task now was to investigate the Fine Sand case, but the other cases couldn’t be ignored either. The workload on the officers had almost doubled.
After the meeting, several officers walked out together with Lu Junchi.
One captain complained in a low voice with a gloomy expression, “If you want a mule to work, you have to dangle a carrot in front of it…”
Others were also somewhat displeased, but they didn’t dare to show it openly.
Qi Zhengyang noticed Lu Junchi and asked him, “Captain Lu, why did you refuse Director Zou’s suggestion just now? I was really worried for you. A new leader comes in with a lot of energy, and your implication was that you think your consultant is better than the one recommended by the leader. That’s quite a blow to the leader’s face.”
Lu Junchi replied calmly, “That’s exactly what I meant, and it’s the truth.”
Qi Zhengyang didn’t expect Lu Junchi, who had always been easygoing, to be so assertive on this topic. He tried to smooth things over, “Although Professor Su is competent, it’s good to have a second opinion. Moreover, it was Director Zou who suggested it. You could use both consultants; they might even collaborate. In case the case isn’t solved within five days, you can shift some blame…”
Lu Junchi said, “Thank you, Team Leader Qi, but I’ve already made my stance clear. Let’s focus on investigating the case. Maybe pushing ourselves a bit will be enough to catch up with time.”
After speaking, instead of heading directly back to the Major Crimes Unit, he went to the task force with Shao Lin and the others.
The entire task force was still immersed in a sense of grief and indignation.
Shao Lin briefly explained the results of the meeting.
Lu Junchi also kept it concise, “Everyone, please help. Move all the materials related to this case to the Major Crimes Unit.”
Several team members became excited upon seeing Lu Junchi taking on this case. One of them said, “The Criminal Investigation Division…”
“The hospital has already contacted experts from the provincial level for consultation,” Lu Junchi patted his shoulder and reassured him, “Keep track of these accounts. We’ll settle them one by one.”
The Fine Sand case resulted in the deaths of not just one or two police officers. Su Hui had been seriously injured before, and now Xing Yunhai had been added to the list. Lu Junchi was determined to apprehend the culprit.
A team member nearby was organizing things and asked, “Captain Lu, do you need these materials?”
Lu Junchi glanced at them and replied, “Yes.”
“What about this…” Shao Lin pointed to a whiteboard filled with clues.
Lu Junchi nodded and said, “We need all of them. Thank you for your help…”
Su Hui sat in his office, waiting for the result of the meeting. He had sent a message to Lu Junchi but hadn’t received a reply yet. He realized that Lu Junchi was probably still in the meeting.
He was feeling a bit impatient.
Su Hui lowered his head, lost in thought.
Since the beginning of the car explosion case, he had known that it might be connected to the Fine Sand case. However, he chose not to get involved in that case.
The first bomb that didn’t explode made him lower his guard.
Gradually, as memories resurfaced and he recognized Lu Junchi, he relaxed and instinctively avoided everything.
He even hoped that Xing Yunhai would uncover the truth, regardless of whether the current assailant was Fine Sand or not, and apprehend the mastermind behind it all.
But he overlooked one thing.
If this case was also related to Fine Sand, after two years, the bomb-making techniques of Fine Sand would only have improved, and the consequences would become even more insane and cruel.
Su Hui reflected on how his avoidance indirectly led to the current situation.
His fate was inevitable. Darkness would eventually engulf him, and he had a faint feeling that this darkness was connected to him.
While he was still lost in thought, Su Hui saw several robust detectives moving boxes and whiteboards as if they were moving houses. They entered the opposite meeting room, followed closely by Tao Lizhi from the Review Unit, who was carrying a team of people and data.
Su Hui walked to the entrance of the meeting room and, through his blurry vision, saw a whiteboard filled with clues.
He was finally going to confront the fate he had long avoided.
And this time, they would definitely uncover the hidden truth behind this case.
All the members of the Major Crimes Unit entered the meeting room, which was already filled with boxes. With the table as the dividing line, the left side contained the old Fine Sand case files, while the right side held the latest public transit case materials.
Lu Junchi stood in front of the group and briefly explained what had been discussed in the meeting, skipping the part about Director Zou recommending other consultants.
When it was mentioned that they only had five days, Zheng Bai exclaimed, “Really? Such a complex case, and only five days?”
The others frowned as well.
However, Su Hui, rubbing his cane with his fingers, said, “Five days is not too short. This time, the killer’s pattern of committing the crime no longer follows the usual ten-day interval. He might strike again within three to five days.”
The deadline given by the leadership wasn’t a sword hanging over their heads. The real urgency was to stop the perpetrator’s next crime before it happened.
Lu Junchi’s gaze fell on Su Hui, and Su Hui raised his head. Though he couldn’t see clearly, he could sense Lu Junchi’s gaze turning toward him.
He nodded at Lu Junchi. Time was extremely tight. They had to give it their all and find a breakthrough in this limited time.
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