The crackdown on organized crime began with the arrest of the mother-in-law.

Chapter 1345 Results of the Villager Visit

As Xiao Wang left the "Honest Workshop," he received a call from Xiao Zhou, who informed him that the investigation at the coal mine had yielded no results, making him even more disheartened. He instructed his team to send samples from all three workshops to the technical department, while he and Xiao Li went to visit the villagers of Lijiazhuang. "Does Sun Chengxin from your village really only make children's clothing? Has he ever secretly made work clothes?" Xiao Wang asked several elderly people sunbathing at the village entrance.

“Sun Chengxin is an honest boy; he only makes children’s clothing. Our grandchildren all wear clothes he makes,” an old woman said. “If he made work clothes, we would definitely know. But about six months ago, a strange man came to the village to buy coarse cloth, saying he wanted to make bed sheets. He bought several from several households; the color was gray.” Xiao Wang immediately perked up: “What did that man look like? How old was he? Did he have any distinctive features?”

"He was in his forties, about 1.7 meters tall, wearing a dark blue jacket and carrying a black bag," the old woman recalled. "His accent wasn't local; it sounded like he was from Hebei. He only accepted coarse cloth, not new fabric, and he offered quite a high price." Another old woman added, "He even asked Sun Chengxin if he could make clothes with coarse cloth, but Sun Chengxin said it wasn't durable and wouldn't make them, so he left."

Xiao Wang asked Xiao Li to write down the stranger's characteristics and inquired about the time he collected the coarse cloth. It was exactly half a year ago, roughly coinciding with the time the deceased disappeared. "Did he say what he was going to do with the coarse cloth? Or where he was going to deliver it?" "He didn't say, only that he would use it himself." The old woman shook her head. "He left after collecting it and I've never seen him again."

Back at the brigade, the technical department's test results came out: the fabric samples and semi-finished product samples from the three workshops did not match the fibers of the deceased's clothing; Sun Chengxin's fabrics were all pure cotton and polyester-cotton blends, without any polyester fibers; the gray work clothes brought in by "Limin Labor Protection" were coarse cloth, but the material was pure cotton, and the lining was also pure cotton, which was completely different from the deceased's.

Xiao Wang, holding the test report, walked into Li Ming's office. Xiao Zhou was also there. "We've ruled out all three small workshops; none of them produced the gray work clothes the deceased was wearing. However, an elderly person from Lijiazhuang provided a clue: about six months ago, a strange man with a Hebei accent collected gray coarse cloth in the village and asked Sun Chengxin if he could make clothes." Xiao Wang pointed to Lijiazhuang on the map. "This man's height and build are similar to what we deduced from the footprints at the scene."

Xiao Zhou immediately chimed in, "The outsourcing team at Xipo Coal Mine came from Hebei. They left when the mine closed down six months ago. This man who's collecting coarse cloth is likely connected to the outsourcing team." Li Ming nodded and drew a circle on the map: "Xiao Wang, continue investigating this stranger's whereabouts. Visit the villagers of Lijiazhuang and Wangpo Village to see if anyone remembers his license plate number or other characteristics. Xiao Zhou, contact the Hebei police and inquire about the Xipo Coal Mine's outsourcing team, focusing on men in their forties and over 1.7 meters tall."

As Xiao Wang left the office, it was already dark. Looking at the investigation records in his hand, although the investigation of the three small workshops had yielded no direct results, the stranger who bought coarse cloth was undoubtedly a new breakthrough. He recalled Sun Chengxin's words that "coarse cloth is not durable," and the deceased's work clothes were indeed tattered, very likely made of coarse cloth. This clue might connect the coal mine's outsourcing team with the deceased—this was currently the most promising direction. Xiao Wang clenched his fist and decided to resume the investigation first thing the next morning.

At 2:15 PM, the forensic transport vehicle carrying the unidentified body smoothly drove into the backyard of the Technical Section of the Municipal Criminal Investigation Detachment. The light blue body bag was carefully unloaded by two forensic assistants and pushed along a dedicated passage into the autopsy center—the city's most authoritative forensic identification facility. The cold stainless steel autopsy tables, neatly arranged autopsy instruments, and anatomical diagrams hanging on the walls together create a professional space for peeling away appearances and seeking the truth.

"Teacher Zhang, the body has been delivered. Preliminary records indicate a level three degree of decomposition, with some soft tissue loss." Assistant Lin, dressed in full protective gear, stood beside the autopsy table awaiting instructions, holding a list of evidence transferred from the crime scene. The "Teacher Zhang" she referred to was forensic pathologist Zhang Lin, who had worked in forensic medicine for twenty years and handled over three thousand autopsy cases. He could even find crucial clues from the most difficult, highly decomposed corpses, and was recognized by the team as the "corpse whisperer."

Zhang Lin nodded, put on double-layered latex gloves, and gently pressed his fingertips against the surface of the body bag. "First, conduct a surface examination of the body. Ambient temperature 18°C, humidity 55%. Record every data point." His voice was steady and calm as his gaze swept over the number on the body bag—"West Suburbs 2024-011," the unique identifier for this case. Two assistants worked together to unzip the body bag, and a strong odor of putrefaction instantly filled the air. Even with the ventilation system running at full capacity, Assistant Lin instinctively held his breath.

The body lay curled up on the autopsy table, its entire body covered with a thin layer of putrefactive green spots, mainly concentrated on the abdomen and inner sides of the limbs. Due to prolonged burial in damp soil, the skin had become translucent and waxy, with some epidermis peeling off during transport, revealing dark red subcutaneous tissue. "The deceased is male, of medium build, 176 cm tall, and weighs approximately 68 kg, which basically matches the build inferred from the footprints at the scene." Zhang Lin held a measuring ruler, measuring from head to toe. "Assistant Lin, record the body length, shoulder width, and head circumference. Pay attention to any special markings on the body surface."

Assistant Lin quickly picked up calipers and measured and recorded the data one by one: "The body is 176.2 cm long, 42 cm wide at the shoulders, and 56 cm in circumference. There are no tattoos or scars on the body, the nails are neatly trimmed, the nail on the right index finger is broken, and there are fresh tear marks at the break point—this is consistent with the on-site investigation record." She gently wiped the sutures between the fingers with a sterile cotton swab. "The residue has been sent for testing, and the preliminary judgment is that it is soil and weed fibers, and no human tissue was found."

Zhang Lin's attention was focused on the corpse's clothing. The gray coarse cloth shirt and dark blue work pants were tattered, with multiple irregular tears. He carefully cut the clothing open with scissors, avoiding damaging the fiber structure: "There is a 3.5 cm x 2.8 cm tear on the left chest area of ​​the shirt, with jagged edges and unevenly broken fibers, consistent with the characteristics of a sharp object cutting. Assistant Lin, extract fiber samples from the tear and compare them with the foreign object fibers found at the scene."

While checking the pockets of his clothes, Zhang Lin made his first discovery: a small piece of transparent plastic was stuck to the inside of the back pocket of his pants, with obvious heat-melting marks on the edges.