Chapter 658: Chapter 626 Mr. Zhao’s Live Deduction_1
Huang Yubin left with his team, leaving Guan Jian still in the cave, while Fang Dongsheng was held back. The archive room wasn’t very spacious, with so many files piled on the floor, making it difficult to accommodate more people.
A few clerks were helping to organize the files, which really involved directly entering the data into computers during the search process, scanning all the documents, and creating related records.
Mr. Zhao and Zhou Ning also started to help. Of course, they began their search from the year 2010 since Liu Yufei had already started this order, and disordering it would only make things worse.
Xu Dayuan glanced around without actually reaching out to check anything; Fang Dongsheng and the others didn’t waste words, and so they each focused on their task, bringing anything they that felt might be slightly related or involving missing persons of similar age to Xu Dayuan for a look.
They even ate lunch there, with boxed meals for everyone, and continued working after the meal was finished.
When Zhou Ning looked up, he noticed that Xu Dayuan had, without realizing it, positioned himself in front of the revolving cabinets for the years 1993 and 1995, with a small gap left between the two cabinets, and Xu Dayuan was standing with his hands behind his back, looking at something.
Without actively searching, just scanning around, Zhou Ning narrowed his eyes slightly. He always felt that Xu Dayuan seemed to be looking for something, and as if sensing Zhou Ning’s gaze, Xu Dayuan looked across at him.
"Found anything?"
Zhou Ning shook his head, while Fang Dongsheng was at his side, rubbing his sore neck.
"It looks like we’re in for a tough battle here. It’s not a matter of searching with the knowledge of time, place, and the names of the involved. We have to analyze each case to see if it’s related to the cave, with no clear standards, which is very difficult. The key point is that we can’t have many people come over to assist with the search."
Xu Dayuan laughed, by now somewhat familiar with Fang Dongsheng, and didn’t spare his feelings at all.
"Less talking, get back to it. You couldn’t have not finished three years’ worth of files, could you?"
Fang Dongsheng smiled and shook his head.
"Not yet, I’d better hurry and arrange dinner, so we can continue working through the night."
Upon hearing this, Mr. Zhao quickly stood up.
"I’ve looked at this all day, and we have to keep going through the night? My eyes are going to go blind."
Zhou Ning didn’t say a word but cooperated with a yawn; indeed, after an afternoon of looking at these files, it was truly exhausting, especially when the occasional waft of mold from the documents made it even harder to stay awake.
Xu Dayuan grunted and picked up four file boxes, walking straight to the archive manager.
"What can be done one by one? You, come here and make a record. I’ll take these four file numbers home and continue looking through them tonight. Fang Dongsheng, you take four as well. There’s no need to make the archive room staff stay overtime unnecessarily."
The administrator gave Xu Dayuan a grateful look and quickly helped him record the details.
Fang Dongsheng, seeing his protest was futile, also picked up four boxes next to where Xu Dayuan had taken his, while Mr. Zhao and Zhou Ning exchanged glances and headed towards the door. Mr. Zhao said straightforwardly:
"Chief, we’re going to the secondary building to look at six bodies that have been dissected. Zhou Ning should at least show his face there, get the facial reconstruction and autopsy information; that’s the most critical part, isn’t it?"
Xu Dayuan grunted and waved them off, and Mr. Zhao quickly led Zhou Ning away.
Having reached the door of the secondary building, Mr. Zhao let out a sigh of relief as if he had escaped a disaster. Seeing that Zhou Ning was still looking towards the skirt building in the west, he waved his hand in front of Zhou Ning’s eyes.
"What’s with you, Zhou Xiaozhou? I feel like you’ve been acting a bit strange today?"
Zhou Ning redirected his gaze and hesitated before speaking.
"Never mind me for now, but haven’t you noticed that Director Xu has been acting a little odd today?"
Mr. Zhao blinked, as if trying to think hard.
"I didn’t notice. What did you sense? Just say it."
Zhou Ning was silent for a long time.
"It seems, Director Xu is looking for something, and those files he took away... our so-called file search is just a ruse by Director Xu. The specific reason, I don’t know, but it seems like he doesn’t want the local police to know what he’s investigating?"
Mr. Zhao took a deep breath, his face growing stern.
"What do you mean, you think Director Xu came here on a mission? But now that you mention it, I also feel something off. When we were in the cave and contacted Director Xu, we hadn’t found the Thirteenth Pacification District destruction plan, but he had already arrived. Normally, the things from the past wouldn’t require him to come in person, right?"
Zhou Ning sighed, having some ideas but not knowing the exact reason, and he was sure that even if he were to ask Xu Dayuan now, he wouldn’t tell him.
At this moment, Mr. Zhao snapped his fingers as if he had thought of something.
"I’ve got a theory. Maybe Director Xu knew some girl twenty years ago who encountered something here and it’s been on his mind, so he thought to check into it once he arrived. Haven’t you noticed that ever since Director Xu came to Ganzhou, he’s been preoccupied, and it’s not just with the case or the collaboration?"
Zhou Ning raised his hand, wanting to push Mr. Zhao away and scold him for spouting nonsense, but he stopped his motion mid-air.
Honestly, he had noticed something off about Xu Dayuan as well. It wasn’t clear how actively involved Xu was in the collaboration, but his proactive visit to Ganzhou City did surprise Zhou Ning. After all, Xu had arrived before the discovery of the archives, and even if he had come just to accompany the representatives of Qin University and the municipal government, there was no need for him to tag along.
After much consideration, even though he thought Mr. Zhao’s theory was unreliable, he genuinely couldn’t muster a rebuttal. Thinking about the archives Zhou Ning had obtained, he narrowed his eyes.
"How old is Director Xu this year?"
Mr. Zhao thought for a moment.
"He was one of the earliest soldiers under my father’s command. Let me calculate this... he should be forty-two this year, born in 1971 under the sign of the dog. Why, you want to figure out where he was twenty years ago?"
Zhou Ning nodded, and Mr. Zhao waved his hand and said:
"Ask me, man. He joined the army through special recruitment in 1989. Don’t be fooled by his current size; back then, he was an ace at swimming, could easily and happily hold his breath underwater for a minute and a half without any training.
Five years after entering the workforce, he went straight to the Qidong County Public Security Bureau. His wife was introduced by my dad, so he’s been quite close to our family. I’ve never heard of him having any romantic history, you know?"
At this point, Mr. Zhao shook his head, then continued:
"No, that’s not right. Even if he did have a romantic history, he wouldn’t tell my dad, the matchmaker."
Zhou Ning didn’t pick up the conversation but closed his eyes to recall. Xu Dayuan, at that time, had sent everyone away and had stood in front of the file cabinet for a long time, which meant he had been searching intentionally, not aimlessly. When they had stayed late to work overtime, he had carried out four boxes.
That spot was where two cabinets met, likely covering the period between 1994 and 1995, over the turn of the year.
He chose four, either to mislead others or because he was uncertain, which one it was—after all, there were many files from those years.
"The archives taken by Director Xu are from the four files at the end of ’93 and the beginning of ’94. Based on that timeline, was he already working at the Qidong City Bureau at the time you mentioned his army service?"
Mr. Zhao bit his lip, pondering.
"Let me think... he enlisted in 1989, so six years later would be 1995, but the exact demobilization time in the military is between September 1 and September 30 each year, and the resignation period is November to December. According to what you said, from the end of 1994 to the beginning of 1995, he was still in the military.
When he left the service to join the civilian sector, he didn’t let my dad pull any strings for him. He really started from the bottom and climbed up through lots of hardship, but also gathered quite a bit of practical experience. He made the most of his ability in the criminal police team. Though he made quite a few enemies along the way, I’ve never heard of him having a special lady friend.
Could it be an unforgettable old flame? Knowing there was trouble but never having the chance to come investigate in Ganzhou City, enduring in silence, he might have only recently learned that she had met with misfortune here, so he took the opportunity to come to Ganzhou, eager for a chance to investigate."
Mr. Zhao pointed firmly at his chest with his finger, a conviction in his expression.
"It’s got to be it; those once-unattainable, beautiful girls that he thought were already happily married, only to suddenly discover one day that she had been harmed years ago—if the circumstances allowed, he’d certainly want to look into it closely. That must be it!"
Zhou Ning looked at Mr. Zhao, at a loss for what to say, and finally just sighed after a long silence.
"With that level of imagination, if you don’t become a screenwriter, I’d say it’s a waste of talent. Which of your eyes saw Director Xu pining for an old flame? He’s happily married!"
Mr. Zhao spread his hands, adopting an indifferent attitude.
"Come on, if I’m wrong, then give me your analysis. I’m all ears!"
