1995, Starting as a Criminal Investigation Expert

Li Shu then recounted the case in Su'an.

Ji Chunyang interrupted Li Shu as soon as he heard the beginning, got up and went to the filing cabinet, quickly finding a file.

"Yes, that's it. I remember seeing it before."

He handed it over and said, "It was reported on the 19th of last month. I've seen it and given instructions. What's the status of this case? Have you made any discoveries?"

Since the report has been submitted to the ministry, it is necessary to send the materials to the Second Institute and request technical support.

Especially in cases involving firearms, the two countries have the only national database of firearms and ammunition, which is indispensable.

No, not at all.

Li explained the situation with the video, and then said, "I tried to make a composite sketch from the video, but the conditions were too poor, and I couldn't do it."

He paused for a moment, then changed his tune, saying, "Or rather, I can't do it in the short term."

The case file mentioned the video recording, which Ji Chunyang knew about. He asked curiously, "What do you mean by 'can't be done in the short term'?"

Li Shu gave a brief explanation of the feasibility of single-frame image processing algorithms, and finally said: "The algorithms I proposed should make the picture better, and maybe we can make some discoveries, but it will take too long. I estimate that no matter how fast we go, it will take at least a month to develop it."

The algorithm, the program, and the repeated testing and adjustments will probably take a month.

Ji Chunyang's knowledge of image processing algorithms was really limited. He nodded and said, "Indeed, if we go by what you said, the suspect might have already been caught in a month."

Upon hearing this, Li Shu asked, "What, is there a lead in Su'an?"

The information I have is incomplete, so even if I get the case file, I won't be able to see the investigation records.

On the contrary, Ji Chunyang, since Su An had reported it, would definitely inquire about it and would have a better understanding of the situation.

Having collaborated on several cases, Ji Chunyang was no longer surprised by Li Shu's keen insight. He nodded and said, "That's right. After the incident, Su'an set a direction for the investigation: Wu Liqun."

The male homeowner's name is Wu Liqun.

"He's quite cautious. Think about it, many banks don't install surveillance cameras, but he thought of installing them. So whenever it involves a large sum of cash, he will deposit it into a savings bank as soon as possible to avoid keeping too much cash at home."

"Then on the day of the incident, they had just hauled away a truckload of goods and settled the payment of 21,000 yuan. Normally, after settling the payment, he would have delivered it directly to the savings bank."

"But the truck arrived late that day, and loading didn't start until the afternoon. By the time it was finished, it was already dark, and the savings bank had already closed. That's why I left the payment at home."

At this point in Ji Chunyang's speech, Li Shu had already understood and interjected, "That means the suspect had scouted the location and was keeping an eye on the purchasing station."

Ji Chunyang said, "That's right. Su'an has set a direction: based on the account books, they will go back a month and visit all the people who came to sell cotton, asking them if they noticed anyone acting strangely while selling cotton."

It was the peak season for cotton purchasing, with people coming and going, leading to the speculation that the suspect might be among them, observing Wu Liqun's situation.

On the day of the incident, after confirming that Wu Liqun had settled the payment for the goods and had not gone to the savings bank, they decided to take action at night.

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"Just last week, we actually found a clue. An old man remembered something. It must have been November 7th. He went to the purchasing station to sell cotton and saw a man standing at the gate. He thought the man was from the purchasing station and asked about the purchase price."

"The man said he didn't know and that he wasn't the person who bought the goods. The old man didn't think much of it. But when he was waiting to weigh the goods, he noticed that the man was wandering around in the yard."

"There were many people at the scene, busy with their work, and no one noticed him. But this old man had participated in the guerrillas when he was young, so he was very vigilant. He suspected that this guy was a thief and even reminded Wu Liqun."

"Wu Liqun went up to ask the man, and the man left immediately. The old man was almost eighty years old, but his memory was still good. He remembered the incident, but he only saw the man once and didn't remember what he looked like. He just remembered that the man was not short, probably almost 1.8 meters tall."

"He's a bit stocky, with a round face, medium-length hair, and rather large ears that are a bit protruding. I can't say for sure about other aspects."

Li Shu quickly thought for a moment and said, "Then this should be suspect number two."

Wearing size 43 shoes, one would guess the person's height is 178cm or even higher.

The features such as round face, protruding ears, and medium-length hair also match.

The second suspect, who was following behind, was captured in one of the frames, showing his profile.

Li Shuyou noticed that the shape of the ears was a bit strange, and now that he thinks about it, it's because they have protruding ears.

Ji Chunyang nodded. Su'an also analyzed that it was the second suspect. Then he said, "Dangshan County has a large area, but not many people. The task force initially focused on people with criminal records, starting with the fact that they had guns. They investigated this aspect, but they haven't found anything yet."

"After getting this lead, I heard that they started investigating again and expanded it to the entire city of Su'an. I don't know if they've found anything yet."

"The case was only reported because Dangshan County is located at the junction of four provinces, and we were worried that coordination might be needed in case. However, the actual investigation was mainly handled by Su'an County, and the Anhui Provincial Department only sent experts to guide the investigation."

"What's wrong? Do you have any ideas about this case?"

Ji Chunyang countered with a question, then smiled and said, "We just got back not long ago. You have a lot on your plate and are very busy. Take a rest, and we'll look into this case again and wait for further news."

When Li Shu approached him, Ji Chunyang thought that Li Shu probably had ideas and wanted to take over.

The problem is that Li Shu just returned from Hong Kong last month. He was away on a business trip for more than a month, running around everywhere. Yue Changlin's idea was to let Li Shu rest for a while.

The Chinese New Year is just around the corner.

Furthermore, the original purpose of establishing the inspection team was to investigate major cases that involved cross-provincial criminal activity and were extremely serious in nature.

Although the Su'an case involved the extermination of an entire family, resulting in the deaths of five people, frankly speaking, it didn't reach the level where an inspection team would have to be dispatched.

The ministry can pay close attention and urge the handling of the case.

Li Shu understood Ji Chunyang's meaning and said, "I just think that these two have guns and they're so ruthless that they only managed to steal more than 20,000 yuan. They're unlikely to stop now."

"And as you also mentioned, Dangshan is located at the junction of four provinces, so the probability of people crossing provincial borders is actually quite high. I'm worried that after this murder, the crime will escalate."

Ji Chunyang understood. Leaning back on the sofa, he pondered for a moment and said, "How about this, I'll contact Wanyang and have their department organize technical experts to conduct another on-site investigation. You can provide remote guidance and see if we can find anything else."

Some new technologies, such as nanotechnology, may not be known to the local area, which may lead to omissions during the exploration process.

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Or rather, even if it was extracted, no one knew if any clues would be found.

"Then send the documents over, and you can take a look at them for me."

As the year draws to a close, Ji Chunyang decides it's best not to let Li Shuzhou travel so far to the site again.

Li Shu thought for a moment and nodded slightly.

That works too; the technicians in the hall are reliable.

Ji Chunyang added, "As for the mobile crimes, I'll coordinate and see if we can find anything. This case has been going on for almost a month, and it's time to urge them on."

"But I estimate the probability is not high. After all, we now have a gun and bullet comparison system with a high accuracy rate. When there are shootings, we will contact you to conduct comparisons."

"Since there was no match, it can only mean that this was the first time the two of them committed the crime, or that they had committed the crime before, but the gun did not fire."

"As for the video recording, a month is fine, or we can just get it started now, since we were going to do research anyway."

Li Shu thought about it and felt that there was nothing wrong with Ji Chunyang's arrangement.

"Okay, I'll handle the recording." Li Shu stood up, ready to leave.

Ji Chunyang grabbed Li Shu and said, "Why are you leaving? It's lunchtime already. Come on, let's find a place to eat. It's on me."

When the two went out and went downstairs, they bumped into Yue Changlin.

"Director Yue."

Li Shu hurriedly greeted them.

Yue Changlin was about to leave, but when he saw Li Shu, he stopped and asked Li Shu why he had come.

"The case in Su'an, right?" Yue Changlin suddenly realized.

Since the case has been reported, he must know about it.

After listening to the progress and situation, Yue Changlin pondered for a moment and said, "Then let the local authorities handle it first. Just like Chunyang said, urge them on. After all, it's been almost a month."

He still approved of Ji Chunyang's arrangement.

"Oh, right."

As he turned to leave, Yue Changlin suddenly remembered something and said, "Li Shu, they're quite eager from Hong Kong. They've contacted us again, saying they want to purchase your bullet comparison system."

"We've discussed it in a meeting, and we can sell it. The problem is how much to sell it for. You'll have to give us some advice on that."

He looked at Li Shu.

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Li Shu wanted to ask what the higher-ups were thinking, but considering his own "money-making plan," he said, "My idea is that we'll sell as much as B sells for."

"I saw in the data that Boston purchased a B system last year for $54, which included all workstations, software maintenance, and staff training. So why don't we just buy that many as well?"

Yue Changlin raised an eyebrow and said in surprise, "Li Shu, isn't this... a bit expensive?"

If he remembered correctly, the hardware cost of the bullet comparison system that Li Shu deployed at the Second Institute was 67 yuan, and the cost of the storage units, which numbered in the hundreds of thousands, was 178 million yuan.

Adding both of them together, it would only amount to two million, or about two hundred thousand US dollars.

Li Shu is really something else. Even after deducting the storage unit, he still wants to sell it for 500,000 US dollars, which is 4 million.

Mainly because Hong Kong people are considered our own, selling it at such a high price feels like ripping off our own people.

Li Shu is now only thinking about making money. Even though the bullet comparison system still requires a share of profits with the Ningjiang Provincial Department, the extra money from sales goes to the ministry. If the ministry has money, he will have money too.

"Director Yue, what's so expensive about it? You don't need to worry about buying from Canada in Hong Kong. Their system isn't as good as ours, so why should we sell it cheaper than them?"

"Besides, Hong Kong isn't short of money."

Lin Zhenhui earns 110,000 yuan a month; his salary for three years would be enough to buy it.

Yue Changlin thought for a moment and nodded, saying, "That's right, why should we sell it cheaper than them?"

He smiled and left first.

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