Animal Detective

Chapter 127 Archives
Jigang Gaolin Rescue and Management Station.

There are two rescue and management stations in the entire Jigang area, also known as urban shelters.

However, the one in the city center only started operating at the end of 2013.

Previously, people in need of shelter in Chi-Kang were sent to Gao-Lin in the suburbs.

"This is all the information on detainees from 2010 to 2014. After 14, we will have electronic files," said Liu Liming, the head of the rescue station, pointing to several densely packed shelves in front of him.

There were six shelves, crammed full of documents.

He seemed to know that there were too many documents and a huge workload, so he added, "The main problem is that we don't have many people. Otherwise, we would have entered all these old documents into the computer."

"It's alright, we'll take our time," Shen Xin smiled.

Shen Xin said it was no problem, but after Liu Liming left, he couldn't help but sigh.

I randomly pulled out a folder, and it was filled with registration forms for inmates, along with other records showing where they were found, who brought them in, their physical condition, and how they were ultimately dealt with.

A single folder may contain dozens of identical files.

And there could be several hundred of these folders in one cabinet, and then there would be six shelves.

Shen Xin roughly estimated that the number of people who might need to be screened would be around 20,000 to 30,000.

The main reason is that Gaolin is located at the border of Jigang and Nanjiang. Sometimes Nanjiang will also send people to this area for shelter.

It would be an incredibly arduous task to review each case manually, one by one.

After Wen Yuan returned, the branch office held another case discussion meeting regarding Xiao Hong's case.

After discussion, everyone basically agreed with Shen Xin's speculation.

Before the meeting, Chen Chao made the same speculation and analysis.

If the perpetrator was a fake beggar robbing someone on the street, the probability of Xiao Hong stopping the car would be very small.

Once the direction was determined, the old method of visiting and investigating was used.

Finding a homeless person after six years is no easy task.

Sun Zhao divided the people into two groups.

A group of people visited the area near Dazhang Village, the main gathering place for people back then, to look for homeless people with similar physical characteristics.

Another group is searching the files of the three shelters that opened in 2011 throughout the city.

It is speculated that this person may have been detained.

If we go back a year, the investigation will begin in 2010.

First, investigate for four years. If you can't find it, then keep investigating until this year.

Shen Xin traveled all the way to Gaolin.

"It's alright. Everything is difficult at the beginning. The case has made a huge breakthrough. Now that we have a goal and direction, it's much easier." Ding Yuwei patted Shen Xin on the shoulder, encouraging him optimistically.

Before, I had no direction at all, like a headless fly. Now, at least I know the general direction and have places to look for information.

Although there are many files, they are finite, and sooner or later they will all be checked.

I've waited six years, what's a little more?

Shen Xin smiled wryly and said, "Actually, what I wanted to say was that we should seek support. With just the two of us, I really don't know how long we'll be able to get through this."

But there's no other way; the criminal investigation team only has so many people, and they can't all focus on just one unsolved case. There are many other cases as well.

Ding Yuwei tugged at Shen Xin and laughed, "Alright, let's clean up one area first, and then do some preliminary sorting."

"Just use the year and month, so as not to mess up their files."

"Then, after removing the women, and then the young and the old, there aren't actually that many left."

The age of the suspect was also analyzed and speculated upon at the case discussion meeting.

The composite sketch of Zhang Nanhai makes it impossible to discern his age. He personally speculates that the suspect is likely between thirty and forty years old.

Then, noting his swiftness in killing Xiao Hong, he had enough strength to drag Xiao Hong into the cockpit.

Xiao Hong weighed nearly 140 pounds, and after a person dies, they become extremely heavy.

It would take considerable strength to move Xiao Hong into the relatively high cab of the truck.

Therefore, the assumption that the young adults are the main group is correct.

However, to be on the safe side, the age range was expanded by ten years at both ends, selecting people between the ages of 20 and 50.

So, as Ding Yuwei said, age and gender can filter out a lot of people.

"Then come on."

Shen Xin sighed and moved the table with Ding Yuwei to make room.

Then it starts from 2010.

First, arrange them by month, then filter out any files that do not meet the basic requirements.

Throughout 2010, the Gaolin Shelter shelter accommodated a total of 4184 people.

1742 female candidates were eliminated.

724 male adolescents under the age of 20.

908 samples were collected from middle-aged and elderly people aged 50 and above.

There are 810 remaining applicants who meet the basic age requirements.

“Look, only a little over 800 documents. Let’s look at one document per minute. Even if we spend five hours a day looking at them, after deducting the time spent setting up the documents, we can finish them in two days,” Ding Yuwei said. Shen Xin gave her a thumbs up.

I thought to myself, "You're really good at math."

The problem is that this is only for 2010.

"Come on." Shen Xin stretched his shoulders, sat down, and began to look at the documents.

Each inmate is photographed for record-keeping, but the tricky part is that they usually give the inmates a shower first before taking their photos.

They might even shave you and cut your hair.

These are all distractors.

Therefore, Shen Xin also had to cover the lower half of his face to see if it resembled a simulated portrait.

This increases the workload.

Moreover, homeless people are highly mobile, and you don't know when they were taken in or whether they have been taken in at all, so the Liyang Highway section cannot be used as a screening criterion.

We can only search for them one by one, looking at his containment records and whether there are any small knives such as folding knives or switchblades among his registered personal belongings.

Secondly, red snakeskin bags can also be used as a screening criterion.

Because the containment log will describe and record the situation of the inmates.

Ding Yuwei said she could look at one document in one minute, but that's simply not possible.

It takes only three to five minutes to read one, which is quite fast.

The two arrived at 10:30 a.m. They had lunch at the rescue station, and without resting, they immediately continued their work.

I watched until after six o'clock.

Excluding the time spent on moving files and other trivial matters, the actual time spent reading documents is probably only three or four hours.

The two of them looked at a total of about 130 documents.

Come early tomorrow and look around a bit more; you should be able to see almost two hundred copies.

That will take several days.

And importantly, you're not sure if you missed anything.

Because the selection criteria are not numerous or detailed.

If you miss the opportunity, then all your efforts will be in vain.

Thinking about these things really gives one a feeling of despair.

"I hope their investigation can find some useful clues." As Shen Xin walked out of the shelter, he twisted his waist.

Ding Yuwei stretched her neck and said, "They might not even be able to catch up with us yet. They are the ones who are truly looking for a needle in a haystack."

Go to Dazhang Village and ask if you saw a similar homeless person in the vicinity six years ago.

Ding Yuwei believes that most people, to avoid trouble, would definitely say, "I've never seen it before."

Even if the other party is kind and willing to help recall and identify, all the homeless people on the street dress and look pretty much the same, and six years have passed, so who can remember clearly?

So the visits there were the same—like finding a needle in a haystack.

"Stop talking, my head hurts." Shen Xin hurriedly waved his hand.

Ding Yuwei smiled and said, "Have some confidence. We put up a reward. If someone drives by and sees it, the probability is so small, but we still managed to find the person. That's already pretty lucky. So maybe we can really solve this case."

"Then I'll take your kind words." Shen Xinyi cupped his hands and gestured for Ding Yuwei to get into the car.

It took the two of them eleven whole days to read through all the files from the past four years.

Got nothing.

Not only on their side, but the other investigation team also found nothing.

Shen Xin approached Sun Zhao and proposed using the branch office's video account to issue a reward.

If we can find Song Shifeng, we might be able to find this homeless man.

The power of the people is still immense.

“I’m also considering this approach.” Sun Zhao looked up and thought for a moment, then said, “How about this, let’s go through all the files at the containment station, and if we still don’t find anything, then we can offer a reward.”

The files for the remaining two shelters haven't been reviewed yet.

Having seen the precedent of Song Shifeng, Sun Zhao found that this online reward was quite useful.

"Okay, Captain Sun."

Shen Xin nodded and left the office.

As I passed by Zhao Tianxing, he was writing a case file.

There was a portrait photograph on the unfolded file.

Shen Xin's heart skipped a beat.

Isn't that so-and-so?

After frowning and thinking hard, Shen Xin suddenly remembered.

Wang Lei!

The streamer who previously posted a prank video of himself, which he then edited out.

Has something happened to him?
(End of this chapter)