My Life with Narration

Chapter 710: Chapter 701: Southwest Direction

The address of Shanghe Village is quite remote. Even though they didn’t waste any time, the journey itself took nearly three hours.

Fortunately, this was no small case. Before they arrived, the bureau had already contacted local police stations in each township, and the public security bureau had dispatched personnel to start sealing off every road, setting up checkpoints to intercept suspicious individuals.

But even so, the effect wasn’t significant. After all, by the time they received the news, the incident had already occurred, and the coordination took time.

Simply put, it seemed they only spent less than three hours rushing here, but in reality, the crime happened much earlier.

Sure enough, when they arrived at the scene, the target location was already deserted.

Shanghe Village is a rural village outside Jiangcheng City. Just how remote is it? Well, let’s put it this way, the entire village has just over twenty households, mostly elderly people, with almost no children.

It’s not that the village is particularly small, but rather due to recent societal developments, most of the young people have moved to the city. Even if they can’t afford a house in Jiang City, they’ll go to nearby towns and counties, with few living in the countryside.

This is a common phenomenon across the country; when we were kids, the countryside was actually quite populated, and in the summer, every household would have people sitting outside their yard, chatting in small groups.

But as the young people moved to the city for a living, some of the elderly were taken by their children, some aged and passed away, leaving only over twenty households left in Shanghe Village.

The location was at the very edge of the eastern side of the village, in a very old house, yet the yard was quite large.

When Su Qing and the others arrived, the place was already surrounded by layers of police personnel.

"Old Wang, what’s the situation?" As soon as he got out of the car, Zhao Minghui asked the team leader Wang, who arrived earlier.

"There’s no one here; those bastards are like rats, they ran so fast!" Old Wang spat as he walked over.

Then he continued, "But it doesn’t matter, the entire area is blockaded, they can only run into the mountains. I’ve already had Fu Qi take the police dogs up there, and with so many people, I don’t believe they can hide without a trace! By the way, where’s Little Su? Quickly get your Criminal Investigation Department inside, the crime scene is preserved for you!"

"Are we sure it’s safe?"

"Don’t worry, given the situation, they wouldn’t dare stay; they wouldn’t have time to run if we hadn’t arrived yet."

"True, Old Lin, you take Xiao Li and Xiao Su to have a look!"

"Okay"

Soon, Su Qing and Li Zijun got out of the car and, alongside Lin Chengcai, were led by a police officer to a large courtyard.

The courtyard was surrounded by stone walls, the gate was wooden and dilapidated, the yard was unkempt with cigarette butts scattered everywhere, and the corners piled with empty instant noodle boxes and liquor bottles. Despite being outdoors, the smell was unpleasant.

The yard was large, with a main housing unit and a wing room. At the entrance stood the two rookies, He Wendong and Yu Mingyuan.

"Team Lin, Sister Li, Brother Su!"

The two greeted them, and the three nodded in acknowledgment.

"Why are you two here?" Su Qing asked.

"Uh, Team Lin said we lack experience, so we’re not allowed to go up the mountain. They asked us to help out here!" He Wendong replied.

The two were only wearing duty uniforms, without firearms, clearly auxiliary personnel.

At this time, Du Qiang, Yan Lie, and others had already gone up the mountain with the anti-drug division and many police officers. Even Lin Chengcai had to stay behind due to his work here.

"Brother Su, you have to teach us a thing or two this time!" Yu Mingyuan chimed in.

They had heard about Su, the consultant at the bureau, and his impressive skills. The last mission was too simple and not challenging at all. This time was a big case, and the two were determined to learn some real skills.

"Sure, follow Team Lin, he has plenty of experience," Su Qing agreed to their request, thinking that what he had wasn’t experience but a cheat code, which couldn’t be taught anyway.

Then, the group of five put on gloves and walked into the courtyard.

"Xiao He, collect the cigarette butts and take them back for testing," Lin Chengcai instructed.

"Got it, Team Lin!"

The five of them entered in single file, careful not to destroy the scene. The doors were left open, and the three of them stepped in, while the two rookies collected cigarette butts outside.

As soon as the three entered, they wrinkled their noses at the smell inside.

"Xiao Li, you go to the west room, Xiao Su and I will take the east room," Lin Chengcai directed.

"Alright!" *2

Entering the east room with Lin Chengcai, the smell was even stronger. Mahjong tiles and playing cards were scattered on the table, cigarette butts littered the floor, and there was even a bowl of instant noodles that was prepared but untouched.

"Xiao Su, what do you think?" Lin Chengcai asked.

Meanwhile, Su Qing listened to the narration in his mind.

[The target group left in a hurry about an hour and a half ago. The instant noodles still have some warmth, and they were likely in a panic at the time, leaving behind a package they couldn’t take in the wardrobe lining.]

Hearing this, Su Qing couldn’t help but say, "They left in a hurry, the scene must have been chaotic. They probably found out we were setting up checkpoints but weren’t sure of our movements.

Look at the chairs and table, there must have been a small conflict, likely someone thought it was an overreaction and didn’t agree to leave. Also, the noodles aren’t cold, so they haven’t been gone long. When I came in, I saw embers in the stove, so it must have been about an hour ago."

Hearing this, Lin Chengcai put his hand into the noodle bowl, finding the water had no temperature but wasn’t cold either, then nodded.

"Anything else?"

"I think, given their haste, they might not have taken everything. Maybe some things were left behind," Su Qing suggested while glancing around, finally focusing on the open wardrobe.

Seeing this, Lin Chengcai stepped forward, stuck his head inside, and found old clothes. Soon enough, they found some white powder, and his face lit up with joy.

He cleared the clothes and finally found a package of leftover white powder.

"We really found something; you have quite an eye!" Lin Chengcai exclaimed with some excitement.

Su Qing’s observations matched, but he hadn’t anticipated the white powder. Of course, it wasn’t a big deal. Even if they hadn’t found it, others coming in later would find it during a thorough search. But Su Qing deduced this right away, which was impressive.

"Master, Master, come quickly, I’ve found something here!"

At this moment, Li Zijun’s voice came from the west room. Hearing this, the two hurried over and discovered a makeshift drug use device. Needless to say, it could definitely trace someone’s DNA.

"Master, someone must have used this, and if we chase closely, they won’t get away. Once their drug addiction kicks in, they’ll be helpless," Li Zijun said.

Hearing this, Lin Chengcai looked pleased, as this was indeed a good lead.

At that moment, Su Qing was already in the courtyard when the narrative in his mind provided a prompt, concise with just two words:

[Southwest]

’Southwest?’ Su Qing thought to himself, then looked in that direction and saw a rather large mountain, even spotting some maple leaves on it.

An escape route?

"Brother Su, we found a line of footprints in the backyard!" He Wendong yelled as he ran over.

Hearing this, Su Qing was pleased. Wasn’t this the excuse he needed?

"What is it?" At this moment, Lin Chengcai and Li Zijun came out to inquire.

"Team Lin, Xiao He just found a line of footprints behind us, heading southwest. I think they fled in that direction!" Su Qing indicated by pointing.

Hearing this, Lin Chengcai quickly ran over to check: "Xiao Su, are you sure? If we scatter our people and let them get away..."

"I feel that direction is more probable, but I can’t guarantee it," Su Qing replied.

Are you kidding? I’m just making suggestions; you want me to guarantee it? No way.

After some thought, Lin Chengcai said, "Xiao Li, go call Elder Zhao over."

...