Reborn in 97, I solved a cold case at the Municipal Bureau

Chapter 293 Sleeping on the Floor Today

Chen Yan added, "It's just too far and inconvenient. I used to only come back during winter and summer vacations, and it would take a whole day and night to get there on the old-fashioned green train."

Zhou Yi quickly said, "I definitely have to find one that's closer, otherwise I won't be able to take care of both."

“I understand, but unfortunately the police academy in Hongcheng only offers associate degrees. How about this, I'll ask my classmates later to see if any of my seniors are working at universities in our province, and then I'll inquire about it.”

"Okay, thank you, Brother Yan."

"It was nothing, don't be so polite."

From this point of view alone, Zhou Yi discovered the difference in social connections brought about by the gap in educational background.

Of my classmates from the provincial police academy, apart from a few with connections who managed to get into a branch office, most of them are stuck at the grassroots level.

In my memory, most people were already quite accomplished if they could become a director by middle age.

Graduates from the Public Security University are highly sought-after talents in prefecture-level cities, and Zhou Yi estimates that Chen Yan's classmates all have excellent career prospects.

Back at the station, Jiang Biao and Qiao Jiali had not yet returned.

Chen Yan first told Wu Yongcheng what he had learned, and Wu Yongcheng immediately made a hands-free call to the phone number left in Anyuan City.

"Hello, who is this?" The phone was answered after a while, and the person who answered sounded a little hurried.

"Hello, I am Wu Yongcheng, deputy head of the Criminal Investigation Detachment of Hongcheng City Public Security Bureau. I am looking for Officer Xia. It is about the investigation information regarding the missing person Li Youqiang."

Upon hearing this, the other party excitedly said, "Deputy Chief Wu, hello, hello. I am Xia Yu's superior, Pan Hongjie. You can speak directly to me. I am the captain of the Second Team of our Municipal Bureau, and this case happens to be under my jurisdiction."

"That's great, Captain Pan. After receiving your request for assistance today, we immediately visited Li Youqiang's family and learned some information. First of all, Li Youqiang is 1.72 meters tall and weighs about 58 kilograms."

Pan Hongjie nodded and continued listening.

“He himself doesn’t have any distinctive features such as tattoos or birthmarks, but his family provided us with a crucial piece of information: seven years ago, Li Youqiang broke his left lower leg and underwent surgery. We have his medical records and X-rays from that time, which we can fax to you, but the X-rays might be a bit difficult to fax.”

As soon as Wu Yongcheng finished speaking, Pan Hongjie exclaimed on the other end of the phone, "Oh my god, what a coincidence!"

The three people on the other end of the phone looked at each other in confusion. Wu Yongcheng asked, "What's going on?"

Pan Hongjie said, "Deputy Chief Wu, you don't know, just before I answered the phone, I received the official autopsy report from our forensic doctor, which mentioned that the deceased's left lower leg had been fractured and surgically treated to show signs of healing."

All three looked surprised. What a coincidence? Was it really Li Youqiang who died?
Pan Hongjie added, "We were just about to go to several major hospitals in the city to screen our medical records when your call came. Thank you so much, you've really been a great help."

"Okay, Captain Pan, we'll fax you Li Youqiang's medical records and detailed personal information first. We'll take a picture of the X-ray and fax it to you later. Please confirm whether the deceased is indeed Li Youqiang. If so, we may need to work together on the case."

Pan Hongjie nodded repeatedly and thanked Wu Yongcheng.

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Yi said, "It's probably pretty close to the truth. The location matches, the height matches, and now the fracture point matches too. It must be Li Youqiang."

Wu Yongcheng said, "Chen Yan, fax Li Youqiang's information to them first. Although the possibility is high, we still need to wait for them to confirm it before we proceed."

"Yes, Master, I'll go right away."

Wu Yongcheng added, "However, judging from the situation, it is indeed not optimistic, and we probably need to make preparations as soon as possible."

Zhou Yi had already guessed this outcome when Sister Niu first mentioned Li Youqiang's situation at the hospital.

There was no telecom fraud in 1997, otherwise Li Youqiang's situation would be very much in line with the characteristics of telecom fraud.

However, even during the era when telecom fraud was rampant, it mostly took place in industrial parks outside the border. After all, if it were in China, it would have been a major crime and the whole operation would have been shut down.

"Zhou Yi, what are your thoughts on this case? It's another one you took on."

What else could Zhou Yi do but smile helplessly?

“Captain Wu, I think the most crucial issue is to figure out why Li Youqiang went to Anyuan. We know from his mother and wife that Li Youqiang has no relatives or friends in Anyuan and has never been to Anyuan City before.”

“I previously suspected that he might have been silenced after trafficking drugs, but now it seems less likely.”

Wu Yongcheng asked, "Why?"

"If the body found in Anyuan City is indeed Li Youqiang's, it means that Li Youqiang died about twenty days to a month ago. But Li Youqiang actually left Hongcheng for Anyuan on February 12th, which was still the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, before the Spring Festival holiday was over."

“When Niu Fengxian said two months, she was actually calculating it as February and March. When I learned that Li Youqiang had disappeared, he had only been gone for a little over a month.” “He might still be alive then, if that body is Li Youqiang.”

"The basic logic of drug trafficking is to transport drugs from the place of production to other places for sale in order to make a profit. But in Hongcheng, as far as I can recall, there haven't been any major drug lords or any major drug-related cases, have there?"

Wu Yongcheng nodded. There were quite a few drug addicts, and it was also common for them to sell drugs to support their addiction. But large-scale drug manufacturing and wholesale was something he couldn't recall ever doing in Hongcheng; after all, that wasn't something ordinary criminals could do.

Zhou Yi had no recollection of this, and such a thing never happened again. After all, how many places like Tazhai could possibly emerge in the whole country?

A large amount of drugs flowed in from abroad, and both Hongcheng and Anyuan are sales areas.

"Moreover, if Li Youqiang was working with mules, he either died in an accident during transport, but in that case the local public security authorities would definitely be able to find out and contact us."

A mule is a person responsible for transporting drugs; they are usually either drug addicts or people who take risks for money.

Moreover, there are many ways to transport goods. Hiding the goods on one's person is the most basic operation. Many people put the goods in a condom, tie it tightly, swallow it, and then pull it out when they arrive at the destination.

This method is called human poisoning, and the mules used for transport are not allowed to drink water or eat throughout the entire journey.

But what's scary isn't that; it's that if the condom breaks halfway through, the mule will die instantly.

If a large amount of drugs is absorbed instantly by the gastric or intestinal mucosa, it will cause acute poisoning, something even a divine being would have to shake their head at.

Zhou Yi remembered seeing a news report before about a mule in South Korea whose body was ruptured by dozens of ecstasy pills. He instantly convulsed and died. The final test showed that the amount of drugs in his body was two hundred times that of a normal drug user.

Zhou Yi continued, "Either they would be silenced after being delivered. But it wouldn't take a day to get from Hongcheng to Anyuan, even by bus. How could they be silenced more than a month later?"

Wu Yongcheng said, "Is it possible that Li Youqiang saw money on the way and decided to steal it and run away? His wife said he has many bad friends, so it's quite reasonable for someone like him to come into contact with drugs."

“I think it’s unlikely. Li Youqiang told his mother and wife that he was going to Anyuan City to make money, and that he could earn 10,000 yuan a month. This means that Li Youqiang already knew how much money he was going to make before he went. Although I don’t know how much money you can make as a mule, even if he could really make that much as a mule, the fact that he revealed the amount to his family in advance shows that he was quite satisfied with the amount. Why would he change his mind halfway and cheat them out of their money?”

“From the information we have so far, there is no record of Li Youqiang having a history of drug use. If he’s not even a drug addict, even if he steals the goods he’s transporting, he won’t be able to cash them out,” Zhou Yi said with a smile. “He can’t exactly go out on the street and hawk them, can he?”

Wu Yongcheng nodded: "That makes sense, and it makes sense when you think about it. If he really double-crossed the drug dealers, they won't be able to find him and will definitely retaliate against his family."

Drug dealers are unlike any other criminals; they are people who risk their lives to make money at all times. If they were truly betrayed by a drug dealer, they would definitely tear Li Youqiang's family to pieces to vent their anger.

Although Wu Yongcheng wasn't in the narcotics enforcement field, he had witnessed firsthand the brutal reality faced by narcotics officers.

"So what do you think might be the situation?" Wu Yongcheng asked.

Zhou Yi said, "The situation I can think of right now is probably pyramid selling."

"A pyramid scheme? I don't think there have been any pyramid schemes in Hongcheng before."

It's understandable that Wu Yongcheng didn't know much about pyramid schemes, because at that time, pyramid schemes were still in their infancy and in their early stages, a time when chaos was rampant.

In the early 1990s, pyramid schemes were introduced from overseas, and then entered a stage of slow growth and lack of regulation.

It wasn't until 1998 that the government officially issued a document to completely ban pyramid schemes.

However, there are too many people with low awareness who are eager to get rich quick, which makes pyramid schemes not only difficult to eradicate but also increasingly rampant.

Zhou Yi remembers that the most rampant period was around 2005. At that time, the public security department held special legal education lectures, and a lot of information was learned from those lectures.

Initially, pyramid schemes were like infectious diseases, spreading from person to person. They recruited people, tricked them into investing money, and then used sunk costs to lure people in to continue developing downlines and recruiting more people.

Later, this industry also got involved. The free-style pyramid scheme had too many variables and was too unstable. It developed into a detention-style pyramid scheme, which means luring people there under various pretexts, locking them up, making them sleep on the floor and eat cabbage, and brainwashing them with slogans every day. Once they've been brainwashed enough, they're made to call their relatives and friends to solicit investments and scam money.

Trying to run away? No way. Once you're inside, you usually won't get out. They'll confiscate your ID and all your personal belongings. You'll have no freedom until you've scammed them out of money.

In his previous life, Zhou Yi had solved a murder case, and by following the clues, he eventually uncovered a pyramid scheme.

When the police went in and arrested them all, there was still a huge, eye-catching slogan on the wall.

"Sleep on the floor today, be the boss tomorrow!"

　Regarding the case in this volume, many experienced readers recognized the male corpse in the well as being the prototype for the Yan Suo Funeral Home—that's incredible.

　　Yes, the Li Youqiang case is based on the Yan Suo Funeral Home, but as usual, it will be significantly altered. Although the original case was already outrageous, my adaptation will make it even more complex.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)