1993, Pengcheng Police Affairs

"Ah Huai, what's wrong?"

Wu Feilin was startled by Gu Huai's shout.

Although he was somewhat dissatisfied, he wasn't particularly surprised.

He had also been a new police officer before, and he knew the aspirations that newly graduated police cadets had for solving cases.

With outsiders present, Wu Feilin couldn't easily lose his temper with Gu Huai.

I thought that once this matter was over, I would properly teach him the rules of police investigation.

So he put down the phone, looked at Gu Huai with a strange expression, and wanted to hear what the new young man had to say.

Gu Huai immediately sensed the strange look in Wu Feilin's eyes and realized that he had been somewhat abrupt.

Seeing that Wu Feilin was about to define the nature of the matter, he had no choice but to do so.

The more he thought about it, the more something seemed off. He felt that Zhang Zhenhua's disappearance was somewhat similar to the case in his memory.

In order to verify his hypothesis, he had to win back the authority to handle the case.

After a moment's thought, Gu Huai pretended to be very interested: "Captain Wu, why don't I take care of this? It's the New Year, and the police station isn't manpower enough."

"I see." Wu Feilin looked at Gu Huai's expectant eyes and remembered when he first joined the police force.

Back then, I would get incredibly excited whenever I heard about a case.

Thinking back to his past self, his anger subsided considerably.

After thinking for a moment, he slowly nodded: "You're right. It's the New Year, so let's not trouble the colleagues at the police station. It's good that you take charge of the investigation and visits."

With that, Wu Feilin stood up, walked to the door, opened the office door, and shouted, "Monkey, come here for a second!"

-----------------

Yinhu Village, Bao'an District.

A taxi and a police car stopped one after the other at the entrance of the village.

Zhang Shengli quickly got out of the car and ran to the police car.

"Young comrades, we've arrived. Zhenhua's house is inside. The road is difficult to walk on, so please get out of the car and walk a bit with me."

Unlike the skyscrapers and neon-lit nightscapes inside the Great Wall, Yinhu Village, located outside the Great Wall, presents a completely different scene.

The area around the village is filled with low-rise houses and factory areas.

As soon as he got out of the car, Gu Huai was choked by construction dust.

Looking up, the entire Yinhu Village resembles a giant construction site.

He then remembered that in 1993, Bao'an had just been changed from a county to a district. Due to the urban renewal, the Pengcheng government encouraged local residents to build buildings together. In addition, most of the surrounding factories were processing and manufacturing industries, so the buildings were not hard to rent.

Nowadays, almost all the villagers in Yinhu Village are demolishing their old houses and rushing to build new ones.

After forcing himself to adapt to the environment, Gu Huai put down his hand that was pinching his nose and opened the back door: "Brother Hou, this way."

The "Brother Hou" that Gu Huai mentioned is the same "Monkey" that Wu Feilin just called out.

His real name is Hou Hao. His family are genuine locals in Shenzhen. He entered the police force a year earlier than Gu Huai and is now Wu Feilin's apprentice.

According to regulations, police officers must work in pairs when handling cases.

Wu Feilin's idea was that this time the two of them were just visiting the home of the person who reported the case to conduct an investigation, and it did not involve handling a case, but it could be considered as gaining some experience.

After all, the monkey had been with him for a whole year, so he was relatively at ease about this little thing.

For Hou Hao, the first year he was the youngest in the entire brigade and was bossed around for a whole year.

He'd finally gotten a newcomer, and he was determined to show off his old-timer status.

Hearing that Gu Huai was an outstanding student, his desire to demonstrate his abilities grew even stronger.

"Ah Huai, when you come up with me later, watch carefully how I do it."

"Yes." Gu Huai nodded honestly, without saying anything more.

Gu Huai's reaction made Hou Hao feel like he had punched cotton, with no way to use his strength.

Little did he know that although Gu Huai was an outstanding student at the provincial police academy, ranking among the top three in the entire school, deep down, apart from having a good physique, he hadn't been exposed to police regulations for almost thirty years.

He was completely clueless about the guidelines for handling cases. Although he had been studying textbooks intensively for the past two months, it was still last-minute cramming, and there were some things he genuinely didn't understand.

In order not to appear weak, he naturally had to keep a low profile.

Since Hou Hao was willing to teach, Gu Huai, who always believed in learning from those who were accomplished, was happy to observe and learn.

Seeing that Gu Huai's response was appropriate, Hou Hao didn't want to be too pretentious, so he simply shut his mouth and walked quietly with his head down.

After walking for about five minutes, led by Zhang Shengli, they turned and twisted their way into a small alley and finally stopped in front of a shed.

"Officer, this is Zhenhua's house."

"This..." Hou Hao looked at the dilapidated shack and said in disbelief, "Master Zhang, you taxi drivers must earn a decent income, right? How come Zhang Zhenhua's house is so run-down?"

"The old house was demolished before the New Year, and the new house is still under construction. We're only staying here temporarily." Zhang Shengli sighed. "Sigh... If it weren't for the need to build a bigger new house, Zhenhua wouldn't have to drive day and night like this. I tried to persuade him, but he wouldn't listen."

As he spoke, Zhang Shengli pointed to a house that was half-built in the distance.

"That building is Zhenhua's new house. Once it's built, his family's life will be much easier."

Gu Huai, standing at the back, nodded silently.

Zhang Shengli may not understand the significance of this new house, but as someone who has been through it, he knows it very well.

Although they had never met, Gu Huai could tell that Zhang Zhenhua was a person with great foresight.

If he really builds this house, he will become a landlord in Shenzhen that everyone envies.

He can live a life of complete comfort for the rest of his days, making a living simply by collecting rent.

"Bang bang bang".

After a few knocks, a slightly weak female voice came from inside: "Coming, who is it?"

"Jenny, it's me."

"Second Uncle, what brings you here?" The door opened, and a pale-faced woman poked her head out of the room.

When she saw the two people behind Zhang Shengli, especially Hou Hao's police uniform, Yan Ni's already pale face turned even paler.

She stood there, stunned, her lips trembling slightly as she struggled to calm herself: "Zhenhua has been found?"

"Not yet." Zhang Shengli quickly waved his hand. "These two police officers are here to find out what's going on."

A sliver of color returned to Jenny's pale face, and she hurriedly turned to the side, saying, "Officer, please come in."

The house was temporary and very small, only a dozen square meters.

There was no distinction between the living room and the bedroom; there was only a partition in the middle of the room.

There was a bed in the room, and a cradle next to it, in which a child was sleeping peacefully.

A small dining table was placed on the bed, with a dish of pickled vegetables and a bowl of porridge on it.

A family photo hangs on the wall. In the photo, Jenny's belly is protruding, and the man beside her is carefully supporting her. The family members' faces are filled with happy smiles.

Gu Huai was still observing the room when a frail, aged voice came from inside: "Yanni, who has come?"

"Sister-in-law, it's me." Zhang Shengli winked at Yan Ni, then got up and walked into the house.

"This is..." Hou Hao asked in a low voice.

Yanni walked to the bedside and sat down, rocking the cradle as she said, "Inside is Zhenhua's mother. I haven't told her about Zhenhua yet."

"So...should we talk outside?"

"No need," Jenny shook her head. "The old lady's hearing isn't very good. Let's speak quietly; it won't be a problem."

"Alright." Hou Hao nodded, took out paper and pen from his bag and placed them on the table, then said seriously, "Madam, was there anything unusual about your husband before he disappeared? For example, was he short of money recently...?"

"Officer, what do you mean by that?" Yanni raised her head, her gaze fixed on Hou Hao, and said, word by word, "You also think my husband fled to Hong Kong?"

"I..." Hou Hao was clearly at a loss for words when asked this question. "I was just asking routinely, I didn't mean anything by it."

"That's what the police at the station said before," Yanni said, her voice rising with emotion. "After questioning him, they concluded that my husband had likely fled to Hong Kong. He's been missing for almost three days now, neither alive nor dead. Aren't you police going to do anything about this?"

"I'll manage! Of course I'll manage." Seeing that Yan Ni's emotions were getting more and more agitated, Gu Huai felt that he could no longer stand by and watch the show, so he quickly interrupted.

"Lady, I believe your husband absolutely did not flee to Hong Kong. Please calm down and don't get agitated, or you'll scare the child."