Chapter 1195 - 610: One Wave Has Yet to Subside, Another Rises! (Part 2)

"Mr. Zhang!"

"Just now, the top leader from Guangling called me,"

The Chief’s voice carried obvious praise, "specifically commending your performance in handling the Guangling case, saying you did a good job."

The phrase "did a good job" felt like a heavyweight medal, steadily settling on Director Hou’s heart. He felt a surge of excitement—everyone knows, when a top leader at the Chief’s level says "did a good job," it’s not mere politeness, but a carefully considered, highly valued evaluation.

Director Hou composed himself and responded with humility and sincerity, "The case resolution was indeed fairly smooth, mostly thanks to the close cooperation between the provincial department and grassroots criminal investigation departments, especially Jiangcheng’s criminal investigation captain Jiang An, who played a crucial role at key moments, advancing the case very quickly."

Mr. Zhang responded with a smile, "I specifically approved Jiang An to join the special investigative team at the time, hoping to increase the success rate of solving the case.

Now it seems, the effect is truly immediate. I’ve already reported to the department leaders, people like you who have contributed must be acknowledged and those who gave efforts should get their due rewards."

He paused, his tone more solemn, "I discussed with the personnel department too. This year there are still slots for personal second-class merit, I plan to recommend you both—each of you one personal second-class merit."

Upon hearing this, Director Hou became instantly excited, even his hand holding the phone trembled slightly.

It’s well known in the police circle, there’s a saying: "Third-class merit is received standing, second-class merit is received lying down, first-class merit is received by family members."

The value of second-class merit is self-evident. Those who receive it are almost either dead or wounded, possibly with permanent disabilities. Yet now, this heavy honor is truly presented before them.

At this moment, both Director Hou and Jiang An were lively and unharmed.

This is where intelligence surpasses physical effort.

He quickly said, "Thank you, leader. We are on our way back, once we return, we’ll promptly report to you."

"Alright, take care, and be safe on the road."

At this point, Mr. Zhang hesitated for a moment, then said, "Director Hou, there might be another case that needs you to continuously follow up on."

Upon hearing this, Director Hou felt a jolt in his heart.

Could it be that another case has occurred in Guangling?

This feels like going back again!!

Although Guangling ranks first in population in the province, the frequency of cases isn’t this high.

While he was still puzzled, Mr. Zhang said, "Five days ago, the deputy director in charge of criminal investigation at Pudong City Police Bureau sent us a request, saying that a worker was found hanging dead in a small lawn inside a factory six months ago by Pudong City police."

"The case was identified as suicide, but male components were detected in his body, and those components do not match with the people around him."

"After investigation, it was traced to another person, but this person does not have a clear time of committing the crime."

"The matter was identified as suicide by hanging, but the problematic male components have been a persistent issue, and the family’s reaction is extremely strong."

"So, the department decided to ask you to go there and provide some guidance."

With these words, Director Hou was slightly taken aback.

The second-class merit mentioned earlier suddenly seemed less appealing.

Originally, he wanted to rest for two days upon returning, spend time with family and children, and have a drink with old friends, but now he’s about to wander away again.

However, Director Hou showed no emotion and calmly replied, "No problem, Mr. Zhang."

"Our duty is to fight crime, maintain social stability, and seek the truth of cases."

"Jiang An and I will immediately head to Pudong City."

"Alright, then I thank you both."

"You two represent the image of the provincial department solving cases on this journey; the criminal investigation team’s image is established through your efforts."

"Do a good job, the future will surely be promising, and please convey to Jiang An that his efforts are recognized by the leaders."

"If he is willing to come to the department, we will certainly make every effort to coordinate."

"Such talent completely aligns with our department’s standards for criminal investigation personnel."

Once the words were said, Director Hou replied, "Mr. Zhang, I will definitely convey this message."

"After we arrive in Pudong City, we’ll stay in touch with you and report our work promptly."

"Alright, go ahead."

"I await your good news, but make sure this case is resolved clearly, whether it’s homicide or suicide, we need to be reasonable, well-founded, convincing to the family and authorities; our conclusion must be able to withstand legal scrutiny."

"Got it, keeping this principle in mind."

After hanging up, Director Hou turned to look at Jiang An beside him.

Jiang An had his eyes slightly closed, dozing off.

The efforts of recent days had pushed Jiang An’s body to its limits.

Although he wasn’t directly involved in the front-line arrests, the brainstorming undoubtedly consumed a lot of energy.

It’s like, one might expend less energy playing a game of basketball than studying for two hours a month before exams; after all, the mental exertion far exceeds physical exertion.

Just as he was about to speak, Jiang An suddenly opened his eyes and said casually, "Director Hou, another work instruction, right?"

Director Hou chuckled and said, "There are two pieces of news, one good and one bad, which do you want to hear?"

Jiang An chuckled, "Being a man, let’s hear the bad one first."

"The bad news, it’s not really bad stuff, the department told us to immediately head to Pudong City to handle an intriguing hanging case."

"The family has raised significant doubts about the male component detected in the deceased’s body, and the case conclusion hasn’t been acknowledged by the family, so the department decided to send us there for further verification."

"Oh, this is not really bad stuff. We just need to adjust our direction a bit."

Seeing him downplay it, Director Hou’s mental burden eased somewhat.

After all, Jiang An is Captain of Jiangcheng’s criminal investigation, now going on trips mainly to support his work.

Then he smiled and said, "Your perspective is high, when we get there, I’d appreciate your guidance."

Jiang An chuckled, and Director Hou continued, "Next is the good news."

"Our performance in the Guangling case received high recognition from the department, and the department decided to nominate us for personal second-class merit."

Upon hearing this, Jiang An also perked up.

Being engaged in criminal investigation for years, he deeply understood that for ordinary case investigations, personal second-class merit isn’t easily granted—great work performance and sometimes a bit of luck are needed.

"Really?" he quickly asked.

"No doubt about it!"

"Why would I joke about this? This trip is truly an unexpected gain."

"Besides solving the case, uncovering the truth, and gaining fair justice, we also received high recognition from the department. What does this mean? Going out with Director Hou means there is wine, there is meat, and there’s honor."

Hearing this, Director Hou chuckled and said, "Captain Jiang, you are being modest."

"During our investigations, our main contribution was helping local police agencies greatly; otherwise, wouldn’t we be freeloaders?"

Director Hou looked ahead at the GPS and said, "Immediately adjust the map to head to Pudong City."

Soon, the driver turned the steering wheel right, and the vehicle switched lanes from a ramp.

However, at this moment, Director Hou frowned deeply, thinking to himself: Although there’s only one case this time, the involved person is quite unique—a 25-year-old female with male components in her body, and oddly, this male doesn’t have a clear time of committing the crime.

This is indeed rather bemusing.

Upon hearing this, Jiang An chuckled and said, "This matter..."

A series of images flashed in his mind, and he began to ponder: If a woman was found hanging with other male components in her body, how should one solve the mystery of the scene?