Captain Lu was aloof again today.

Chapter 110 Food
A victim who was a kind-hearted person in ordinary times, and a box of snacks that had disappeared from the sight of surveillance cameras.

The possibilities that can be derived from this are simply too numerous to list.

Lu Jingming pondered for a moment, his brows furrowing: "This case is probably not easy to solve."

"I just hope it's not a random killing." Wei Qingsong frowned, looking quite troubled. "Random killings are the easiest to become cold cases because the connection between the killer and the victim is unknown, and the investigation cannot follow that relationship. Especially in poisoning cases like this, it is very difficult to find relevant evidence. If the killer is clever enough and leaves no clues, the case will be even more difficult."

"So what should we do now?" Chen Jin sensed the seriousness of the situation and was also very troubled. "Should we continue to follow Xu Caihong's trail? Should we just rule her out as a suspect like this?"

Without hesitation, Lu Jingming replied, "Of course we should follow her. Although there is no evidence to suggest that she is the murderer, we cannot dismiss her as a suspect."

Wei Qingsong pondered for a moment, his gaze growing increasingly deep, and his voice low and somber: "Now we can only pray that the worst will not happen before sunset tomorrow."

Chen Jin was startled by the sudden chill emanating from her, and involuntarily shuddered, asking in a trembling voice, "What's the worst possible outcome?"

"If a second person dies from cyanide poisoning due to food poisoning tomorrow, it will prove that this is a case of indiscriminate poisoning and murder." Lu Jingming explained the situation succinctly with a solemn expression.

If that's the case, it could cause even bigger problems.

Although no strong evidence has been found in this snack poisoning case at present, it can at least effectively limit the suspects to a certain range, allowing for a more efficient investigation.

But if this is just the beginning, the consequences could be unimaginable.

Murphy's Law tells us that if you worry about something happening, it's more likely to happen.

The next day, the criminal police officers of the municipal bureau worked all morning, trying every possible way to investigate the source of the cyanide.

According to the precise conclusions drawn from the forensic autopsy, the poison in the body of the deceased Cheng Dafu was potassium cyanide, also known as cyanide. Because of its fine coating and strong conductivity, it is widely used in the electroplating industry.

There is an electroplating industrial park in Tangzhou City, which contains more than a dozen electroplating plants of various sizes. There are also other electroplating plants in the suburbs that are not in the park. Checking them one by one would be a huge workload.

Lu Jingming and Chen Jingang had just returned to the Municipal Bureau from the suburbs and hadn't even had a chance to sit down and catch their breath when Wei Qingsong hung up the phone and came to greet them.

Her expression was solemn: "Something has happened. Just ten minutes ago, a middle school student bought a bread and a bottle of milk at the Tiantian Convenience Store in the food court, sat down to eat in the store, and died on the spot from poisoning."

Lu Jingming frowned deeply: "Food court?"

“Yes, it’s the food court where Xunji and Xingmang are located.” Wei Qingsong also frowned. “Perhaps we have indeed been too optimistic about the problem.”

This poisoning case was not actually a murder targeting Cheng Dafu personally, but rather an indiscriminate attack on everyone through food.

Cheng Dafu was simply unfortunate enough to become the first target of the attack.

If the poisoner truly intended to use food poisoning to kill indiscriminately, then he had far too many opportunities.

Food is the most important thing for people; everyone needs to eat.

We no longer live in an era of self-sufficiency; most people get their food from supermarkets and convenience stores. If the poisoner isn't found soon, panic will likely spread quickly.

No one can predict whether the food in their hands is safe.

One second you're enjoying the delicious food, the next you might lose your life because of it.

"Let's go to the scene and take a look first," Lu Jingming decided immediately.

Tiantian Convenience Store is located in the second phase of the food court, just across the street from Xunji and Xingmang Restaurant.

Police and forensic personnel quickly arrived at the scene to collect evidence.

Chen Jin checked the deceased's ID: "The deceased's name is Meng Yanan, 16 years old, and she is a first-year student at Tangzhou Middle School."

A young girl in the prime of her life, who should have had a bright future, died innocently and tragically, which is truly regrettable.

The police officers present all looked grim.

This indiscriminate poisoning killer is utterly inhuman.

Forensic personnel found the leftover bread and packaging from Meng Yanan at the scene.

"Captain Lu, there's a toxic reaction in the bread. Also, there's a small hole in the bread packaging. I suspect the killer poisoned it by injection."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work." Lu Jingming took the evidence bag from his hand and nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

"Wait a minute!" Wei Qingsong, with her sharp eyes, noticed the trademark on the packaging.

She took the evidence bag, pointed to the trademark, and said, "This looks like the trademark of Xunji Foods."

The box of pastries that Xu Caihong gave to the kitchen staff was also bought from Xun Ji.

Was it a coincidence? Or did the poisoner intend to target Xun Ji?
Chen Jin glanced at it and said in surprise, "So Xunji also produces this kind of affordable bread? I always thought Xunji only had that one pastry shop. They don't even have any branches, and their bread is so expensive."

"Businessmen don't get up early for nothing. Just like some hot pot restaurants, after becoming famous, they set up catering companies, built production lines, and produced and sold hot pot base." Wei Qingsong patiently explained the subtleties. "Xunji is the same. It's very difficult to stand firm in a food court where every inch of land is precious just by relying on the title of a century-old store."

Although the food court area is not the CBD, it is surrounded by large commercial districts. Xunji does not open branches, but it has become a well-known "noble afternoon tea" in Tangzhou. Even though a box of pastries sells for a high price of one hundred to several hundred yuan, many people are willing to pay for it.

It is precisely because Xunji does not open branches and creates a perfect label of "unique" and "one of a kind" that Xunji's business has remained booming.

This must have involved a lot of marketing effort, and in addition, it requires the capital to be capricious.

Prior to this, Wei Qingsong was unaware that Xunji actually produced affordable bread.

A box of handmade pastries costing 100 yuan seems to have an insurmountable gap with a bag of cheap bread costing 3 yuan.

But that makes sense. For fast-moving consumer goods like bread, few people care what brand it is or what manufacturer it comes from.

The convenience store owner, a young woman, was also encountering something like this for the first time. Her face turned pale, and her throat became dry: "Um, officers, when I was checking the surveillance footage, I found a strange person. I suspect he has something going on."

The young boss pulled up the surveillance footage.

Surveillance footage shows that around 10 a.m. today, a person wearing a black hoodie walked into the convenience store. He was wearing a mask and sunglasses, so his face could not be seen.

He went straight to the bread shelf. Since his back was to the monitor, it was impossible to see what he did, except that his elbow seemed to move.

He lingered in front of the bread shelf for about two minutes, picked up a loaf of bread, and went to the cashier to pay.

Cash was used.

Thank you to Kongye and Jiu for the monthly tickets. Thank you to Molan for the donation.

This case was inspired by two real cases in Japan: the Poisoned Cola incident and the 21-faced Phantom incident. Both cases are unsolved mysteries, and those who are interested can look them up.

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(End of this chapter)