Chapter 1023 - 524: Is This a Hongmen Banquet? (Part 2)

"The teamwork between our Mr. Jiang and Mr. Qin from Guangling City’s criminal investigation team is quite seamless."

Li Yan heard this and asked, "Director Hou, you know this well?"

"Of course," Director Hou said casually, "the last time we handled that serial case in East City, it was Guangling who prioritized and expedited the analysis for over seven hundred blood samples we sent. They accepted the samples and delivered results the same day without any excuses—thanks to this rapport, our visit to Guangling for guiding the investigation will surely proceed smoothly."

After saying this, he paused slightly and then solemnly added: "However, collaboration aside, whether the case can actually be solved remains to be seen."

"No matter how well we cooperate, not solving the case still leads to nothing."

At this point, Jiang An chimed in: "Director Hou is right."

"Regardless of our good relations, if we go with the case and return empty-handed, it won’t be easy for us to report back."

"Exactly," Director Hou’s tone gradually turned serious, "so we need to be thoroughly prepared."

"Mr. Qin is expecting us to guide the work in hopes of making a breakthrough in the case."

"If our visit is only about formalities, enjoying meals and sights, and the case remains unsolved... Then we’re just freeloaders, and we can’t afford the provincial department to lose face."

Li Yan and Zhang Lei exchanged a glance, simultaneously gripping their notebooks tightly—the pages filled with notes now seemingly weightier.

From the provincial criminal investigation headquarters to Guangling City, the map marks the journey time at about four hours.

However, today’s driver is quite familiar with this route, and given the clear road conditions, he drove a bit faster than usual.

By half-past one in the afternoon, the vehicle approached the exit of Guangling Highway.

Similar to any previous visit to inspect or guide work at the grassroots level, as soon as the vehicle left the toll station, it spotted a police car quietly parked on the emergency lane inside the exit.

The driver skillfully turned the steering wheel gently, slowly approaching it.

As the car stopped, two uniformed officers stepped out from the police car—at the front was Qin Feng, the captain of Guangling City’s criminal investigation team, with a vigorous build and features exuding the inherent sharpness of an investigator.

A step behind him was Chen Guan, the deputy director in charge of criminal investigations at the municipal bureau, wearing thin-framed glasses, exuding a calm demeanor with a scholarly air.

Deputy Director Chen Guan was the first to come forward, warmly shaking Director Hou’s hand: "Director Hou, you must be tired from the journey!"

Then he turned to Jiang An, shaking hands with equal sincerity: "Mr. Jiang, well done! Welcome to Guangling for your guidance!"

Despite not meeting often, Director Hou and Chen Guan weren’t strangers due to work exchanges and hierarchical connections within the system.

He responded with a smile: "Mr. Chen, your welcoming gesture is too formal."

"Midday, and you specially came to the highway entrance to greet us—it puts quite a bit of pressure on us."

Upon hearing this, both Chen Guan and Qin Feng laughed.

Chen Guan waved his hand dismissively, speaking with a relaxed tone: "Director Hou, please don’t feel any pressure."

"Treat this visit as a tour of Guangling, while also looking into the case."

"This season is the best time here, with flowers blooming by the roadside and many great little restaurants in the city."

"Tonight, we can sit down for a drink and have an in-depth exchange."

"Whether the case gets solved is another matter, but the camaraderie between brother units must be strengthened!"

Hearing this, Director Hou exchanged a glance with Mr. Jiang beside him and looked at Qin Feng, his smile deepening: "Listening to Mr. Qin, my initial pressure has truly dissipated."

"It’s indeed more comfortable to converse with our own people; the personal bond is certainly different."

He paused, his tone turning earnest, "By the way, the case we handled in East City ultimately owes a lot to your strong support from Guangling."

"If not for your technical department thoroughly testing hundreds of blood samples and promptly identifying the key suspect, that case might still be suspended even now."

"Perhaps Mr. Jiang and I would still be tied up in East City."

Upon hearing this, Qin Feng quickly waved his hand and laughed: "Oh, don’t thank me! We are brother units, it’s only right to support each other."

"Besides, this equipment was procured with three to four million—thanks to Mr. Chen’s thorough coordination with the finance department, repeatedly applying for the targeted funding."

"Without Mr. Chen’s dedication and persistence, our criminal investigation team wouldn’t have the current experimental testing conditions, and our efficiency in solving cases wouldn’t have improved this fast!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Guan’s face instantly bloomed into a gratified smile.

He glanced sideways at Qin Feng, feeling quite pleased: this young man has not only strong professional skills but also high emotional intelligence.

This statement both acknowledged the facts and offered recognition, naturally sounding sincere and precisely touching on what he values most.

So, he chuckled and continued, his tone humble yet containing strength: "For criminal investigation work, we always closely follow the provincial investigation team’s annual key deployments to implement and advance."

"This set of experimental equipment was indeed a response to the provincial department’s repeatedly emphasized requirements in meetings—we simply executed the direction pointed out by the higher-ups and completed the tasks assigned to us, really no credit to speak of."

"If credit is due, it’s to the provincial headquarters for its strategic planning and strong deployments; we just followed their lead and tried to make the work solid and detailed."

The moment these words were said, Director Hou smiled broadly, repeatedly waving his hand: "Ah, this statement... Guangling City’s criminal investigation team indeed has a high standing and broad perspective!"

"I’m almost embarrassed hearing this."

"If this case can’t be solved, Mr. Jiang and I genuinely won’t have the face to leave Guangling City, haha!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Guan also laughed and joked: "Then it’s just right; if you really can’t leave, just join our Guangling police force—the doors of the criminal investigation bureau are always open to you two!"

After the laughter subsided, Director Hou officially introduced his two colleagues standing beside him: "Come, let me introduce, these two are the technical experts from our criminal investigation team—this is trace examination engineer Zhang Lei, and forensic technical expert Li Yan."

"Welcome, welcome!"

"It’s good to see you both!"

After a round of brief but warm exchanges, everyone boarded the vehicles again.

Approximately thirty minutes later, under the leadership of Mr. Chen and Qin Feng, the convoy arrived at the Guangling City’s criminal investigation team’s courtyard.

As soon as the car stopped, Mr. Chen was the first to speak: "Director Hou, Mr. Jiang, please move over to the main building’s conference room."

Director Hou, however, smiled and modestly declined: "It’s no trouble, we’ll use the conference room at the criminal investigation team."

"This afternoon is just an initial meeting to sort through the case details, without delving into in-depth analysis and judgment."

His words were deliberately low-key and cautious—those in criminal investigation know that the last thing you want is to make premature conclusions when first encountering a case.

Especially when assisting local case handling, you’ll invariably face cases where the local colleagues have repeatedly gathered evidence and conducted analyses without breakthrough.

Making rash comments or impulsive assertions is akin to being an outsider giving orders; it’s not only unprofessional but also risks affecting subsequent collaboration.

Therefore, although Director Hou might have some judgments in mind, his words remained deliberate and reserved.

Chen Guan smiled: "It’s okay, today’s appraisal meeting is of fairly high specification—in addition to our municipal bureau, colleagues from other relevant departments like the petition bureau and safety supervision bureau will also attend."

"It’s pretty much considered a multi-departmental joint meeting, so holding it at the main building’s conference room is more convenient."

Upon hearing this, Director Hou turned around, exchanged a look with Jiang An, and then looked at Qin Feng, half-jokingly saying: "Such a big formation? Feels a bit like a ’trap feast’... If we can’t articulate our strategies today, we really won’t be able to leave!"

Chen Guan laughed heartily, patting his arm: "Don’t worry, take it easy!"

"It’s just sitting down to talk things through and touch base."

"Come on, let’s go in and discuss further."