Chapter 296 - 169: The So-called Elixir of Immortality! The Sacrificial Ritual! Physical Clues

"But the fact that so many children disappeared at the same time proves the other party has the capability and the channels to handle such a large volume."

"Transporting people, escape routes, monetary transactions—these are all clues."

"Let’s start by investigating the traffickers’ abduction channels. We just need to uncover a single lead."

Xu Huo nodded. He was inclined to agree with this plan.

"Then let’s focus on investigating the traffickers’ channels for now."

They agreed instantly and immediately dispersed, each heading off to handle their respective tasks.

The traffickers’ own information network is often much more detailed than anything the police have.

Just knowing where the clients are and the channels of communication puts them far beyond the police’s reach.

Therefore, Xu Huo and Li Jianye decided to focus on a few traffickers who had already been arrested.

「In the records room.」

"How should we go about this?"

"Should we look for the ones who trafficked the most people?"

Li Jianye flipped through the case files, feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of documents.

"Let’s take our time."

Xu Huo sighed.

Human trafficking cases were inherently troublesome.

Why?

’First, there are jurisdictional limitations. A person could be abducted in the north and show up in a southern city a few days later, a journey of over one to two thousand kilometers!

’How are the police supposed to track someone over that distance?

’Look at surveillance footage?

’Sure, looking at footage is a good method.

’The problem is, the police are also restricted in how they can view surveillance footage!

’The concept of jurisdiction is a perfect explanation. Each region’s law enforcement authority is handled by its own designated personnel.

’The police from the area where the child was abducted might follow the surveillance footage to another city, but then they need to communicate with the local authorities there before they can continue the investigation.

’Then a third city, a fourth city...

’Investigating bit by bit, by the time they get to an unfamiliar place, how much time will have been wasted?

’And that’s just one of the factors that makes it hard to investigate, and that’s assuming the streets were blanketed with surveillance cameras like in my previous life.

’These days, the Capital City barely has any cameras... so it’s even more hopeless.’

Of course, it wasn’t like there was nothing at all.

"Should we look at the cases from the ’83 Strike Hard Campaign period?"

Li Jianye opened a few dusty old file folders, glanced at them, and looked over at Xu Huo.

"A lot of the files on traffickers in the records room are from arrests made during that period."

"Is there any point in looking at these?"

Xu Huo thought for a moment, then nodded. "Let’s check them all."

"The main filtering criterion for our search will be cases involving the purchase of a large number of children within the same period."

"Okay."

Li Jianye nodded and began the tedious search.

The government’s crackdown on human traffickers was actually quite severe.

Individual cases were hard to investigate, but what if everyone across the country conducted a sweep of their own territory, not to solve specific cases, but just to make arrests?

That’s what happened once, twenty years ago.

Yes, during that period, traffickers were nearly wiped out. But the problem was...

...it wasn’t long before they sprang back up like weeds, growing even more rampant than before.

Kidnappings in broad daylight or breaking into homes at night to steal people were common occurrences in the nineties.

’That’s why, in my previous life, the government launched several more campaigns in the 21st century. They continued right up until I lost that close-fought battle, and by then, the number of traffickers was a tiny fraction of what it is now.’

As for whether the ’83 files were useful...

’To be honest, they probably aren’t very useful. Judging by the transfer records, this case happened two years ago.

’And these people were arrested twenty years ago.

’But then again...

’The punishments for trafficking are tiered. There are always a few who get lighter sentences, get out after a few years, and go right back to their criminal ways.

’And the channels, those don’t just disappear unless the police manage to take down the entire trafficking network in one go.

’So, if they had the ability to sell a large number of children before they went in, they’d naturally have the ability to do it again after they got out. It’s not exactly a skilled trade, after all. You don’t need a special team; the only thing that matters is the contact network.’

"Zhang Jiahu, forty-three years old. His gang abducted and sold thirty-seven people in six months."

As Xu Huo was lost in thought, Li Jianye spoke up, reading the information from the file in his hand.

"Is this guy a suspect?"

Hearing this, Xu Huo pulled his attention back and focused on the file.

He looked at it for a moment, then shook his head.

"He wasn’t selling children."

Human traffickers also specialized.

Some specialized in selling children, others in selling women.

What about men?

They’re sold too. Don’t think you’re safe just because you’re an adult male!

Online scam operations, illegal brick kilns—they all need adult men!

If your luck is bad enough to get snatched up by an illegal organization’s drug testing facility... then you’ve hit the jackpot of misfortune.

Of course, the pharmaceutical companies within the Eastern Country are on the up-and-up. The main problem is overseas.

Some traffickers specifically target tourists because if they disappear, it’s very difficult for the authorities to track them.

And then there are the drug trials at those facilities... Simple medical drugs?

No. As I said before in the Capital City, things like morphine and painkillers—addictive substances—are also considered drugs.

So, narcotics... those also need to be tested by someone.

Never mind using them—if you even touch that stuff, your life is ruined!

Quitting?

According to statistics from rehabilitation centers, even if you manage to quit, there’s a 99.99% chance you’ll relapse!

Therefore, when adults are abducted, the threat to their lives is often much greater than for children!

It’s just that the probability of being abducted is lower.

And the people trafficked in the file Li Jianye had found were...

"People with disabilities?"

Xu Huo stared at the list of victims and clicked his tongue in astonishment.

"No wonder he was able to traffic so many people and get away with it..."

He was trafficking intellectually disabled adults—what people commonly call fools.