Chapter 952 - 492: To the Ever-Glorious Detectives (Part 2)

"Good, good, good!"

Director Liu continuously praised, then raised his wrist to check the time, saying, "It’s about time, you two have worked hard all morning, go back and have a good rest first."

"I have a meeting to attend later."

General Director Yang and several accompanying officers quickly waved goodbye to Director Liu with respectful attitudes.

After watching his figure disappear at the corner of the corridor, General Director Yang immediately turned around, heavily patted Jiang An on the shoulder, his tone full of admiration: "Brother Jiang An, this time you really did something extraordinary!"

"You are about to become a candidate for the top ten in the province, such an opportunity is rare, even I, the director, can’t help but envy you!"

Director Hou, standing nearby, also laughed and came forward with a thumbs-up: "Truly, the waves of the Yangtze River push the waves ahead!"

"Seeing you young people so energetic and accomplished, we all feel comforted."

"For those of us who are old comrades, it’s almost time to slowly step back from frontline duties! Haha, you’re still young, with unlimited potential!"

General Director Yang took over the topic, his expression gradually becoming serious: "But having said that, the province-wide homicide investigation tour is just beginning."

"You’ve only completed the second station, and there are more tough battles and difficult challenges ahead."

Director Hou laughed again after hearing this, teasing and trusting: "Hahaha, with Jiang An here, I feel I can rest easy and be lazy!"

"With his ability and determination, he can single-handedly conquer the world!"

Hearing the praise from the two, Jiang An couldn’t help but show a slightly helpless smile, his lips twitching gently, he humbly responded: "General Director Yang, Director Hou, you’re really overpraising me."

"The solving of cases is never the credit of one person, teamwork is indispensable, along with a bit of—luck and opportunity."

"Take this time for example, being able to dig deeper and connect from what seemed like an ordinary traffic accident hit-and-run case, eventually uncovering a deeply hidden criminal syndicate, the key breakthrough actually came from a chance discovery during our investigation along a mountain road."

"Without that ’coincidence’, the direction of the case might have been completely different."

After listening to Jiang An, General Director Yang nodded seriously, responding: "Indeed."

"In the criminal investigation business, sometimes you really have to believe in such ’serendipity’."

"The resolution of many major cases often links together, where an inconspicuous detail precisely becomes the key to unlocking the whole scenario."

"But having said that, while luck is important, what’s more crucial is the ability to keenly grasp and decisively act when opportunities arise."

"From discovering clues to the comprehensive closure of the net, your team organized meticulously and struck accurately, especially the strategy and coordination used in dismantling the criminal syndicate, which can be promoted as a standardized live case study."

After a brief pause, he continued with a solemn tone: "I’ve already arranged for a special person to systematically sort out your experience of ’seeing the big from the small, and going from surface to depth’, forming a detailed experience-sharing document."

"This will be circulated to public security bureaus across the province, for everyone to learn and refer to."

"Such a ’small entry point and deep breakthrough’ case-handling approach is precisely the kind of investigation concept we need to advocate and promote at present."

Director Hou interjected with a smile: "Haha, once this experience document is released, Jiang An’s nomination for the province’s top ten detectives is probably secured!"

General Director Yang also laughed, speaking with encouragement and affirmation: "Let’s not talk about the selection results for now, but once this document is widely promoted, Jiang An’s reputation and standing in the provincial criminal investigation team will definitely rise to another level."

"That’s good, that’s good!"

General Director Yang said while enthusiastically patting Jiang An on the shoulder, "Come on, I’ve prepared good tea in my office, let’s go up and sit for a while."

"We’ll just have a simple working lunch at noon, and plan a nice dinner later to celebrate the successful resolution of this case!"

After lunch, a heavy drowsiness hit, and Jiang An fell asleep immediately, waking only when the clock struck six in the evening.

Days of toil and travel seemed to have been thoroughly relieved on this soft and comfortable bed.

At 6:05 pm, the phone by his pillow rang.

The screen flashed, displaying the words "Director Hou."

"Mr. Jiang, pack up and come downstairs, we’re heading to the restaurant together."

"Tonight General Director Yang is treating us, especially wanting to thank us, haha!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang An smiled slightly and politely responded: "It’s all part of the job, how can I let the leader spend money."

Director Hou joked: "A leader’s wallet, why not use it!"

"Besides, it’s just home-cooked dishes, won’t cost much."

"If we don’t go, wouldn’t we be letting down General Director Yang’s good intention?"

Jiang An got up, washed his face with cold water, and instantly felt refreshed.

He swiftly changed clothes, walked quickly out of the room, and took the elevator downstairs.

At six thirty in the evening, the "888" private room of the Jiangnan Water Village Hotel was already brightly lit.

General Director Yang hosted today, inviting Jiang An, Director Hou, and a few colleagues from the provincial criminal investigation line.

The private room was elegantly decorated, with a spacious round table, but upon closer inspection, the seating arrangement was somewhat special—General Director Yang sat at the main seat, with Jiang An immediately to his left, and Director Hou to his right.

This seating arrangement clearly demonstrated Jiang An’s importance in this occasion.

At the beginning of the banquet, General Director Yang took the lead in raising his glass, speaking sincerely and steadily: "Come, brothers, tonight we gather to have a little drink and chat."

"However, I must say in advance, this meal is on my personal expense, and the wine is homemade by my father-in-law."

"So today’s meal is purely about the camaraderie between us brothers, unrelated to the unit."

"Feel free to eat and drink, this wine is smooth and not strong, and the dishes are all home-style, should suit everyone’s tastes."

He paused slightly, his gaze slowly sweeping over everyone present, remarked emotionally: "The hardships of your work are all seen by me and felt in my heart."

"You are always on the frontline, often unable to take care of your family or rest, all these efforts, I keep in mind..."

But such is reality, our criminal investigation front line always insists on cracking down on crime and safeguarding peace as the fundamental purpose and ultimate goal.

Between crime and crackdown, there always exists a dynamic balance of increase and decrease—like the yin and yang, interdependent and mutually balanced.

Once we relax in our crackdown efforts, criminal forces will certainly take advantage of the situation, and gaps may appear in the defense line of social security.

Therefore, no matter when or where, we must never slack off, and must always maintain high vigilance.

This is what is called "when the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy is tired, we attack", the strength and weakness of.

Is always relative and fluid, with us being one step stronger, crime becomes one step weaker; if we relax an inch, the risk may grow a foot."

At this point, General Director Yang paused slightly, his gaze slowly sweeping over the entire venue, finally landing on Jiang An and Director Hou.

"In fact, in our long-term criminal investigation work, there are still many unsolved cold cases and difficult cases."

"This is not just a problem in a certain area, but a challenge that is generally present throughout the province."

"Just last month, my preliminary collation and statistics found that there are still more than eighty major and difficult pending cases, some of which involve extremely cruel criminal methods and particularly heinous circumstances, presenting great difficulty in solving, truly ’the most difficult of difficulties’."

"For this reason, we have resolved to draw elite forces and set up a ’Task Force for Homicide Tough Case Investigation’ with Director Hou as the leader, and Comrade Jiang An as deputy leader—this matter, I believe most of those present are already aware of."

His voice gradually rose, carrying gratification and encouragement: "Director Hou and Comrade Jiang An went out to handle cases this time, solving two major cases in less than a week, especially in one of them, they followed the clues from a traffic accident case and not only linked a long-standing unsolved case but also uncovered a deeply hidden major criminal syndicate."

"Such a breakthrough is indeed exciting and fills us all with genuine admiration!"

"Their success isn’t accidental, but a combination of solid skills, keen insight, and innovative approaches, with experiences and methods that are worth learning and promoting across our entire criminal investigation line!"

After saying this, he smilingly raised his glass towards everyone present, his voice resonant and powerful: "Come, comrades, let us raise our glasses!"

"This toast is to our shared glorious years of struggle, and to the everlasting police investigators."