Redundancy

The surrounding space was desolate but not silent. The closest place to these coordinates with people passing by was the national highway not far away, from which the faint sound of car horns drifted.

Liang An sat on the ground, fiddling with some weeds by the roadside, his face carrying a hint of sadness. "I don't know what to say either. Perhaps we should just observe the proper etiquette and have a moment of silence."

His action just now—searching for Liu Zhe's phone from the dead man without hesitation—was still fresh in the mind, showing no sign of seriousness or apprehension.

"What are you doing?" Jiang Qiu felt extremely puzzled.

"We only have a few people here; the others are either absent or have been sent to the hotel scene. Another detachment will arrive shortly." Liang An pointed toward the parked car, finally telling the truth with an innocent face: "They'll bring a forensic pathologist. Mo Yunwan has been particularly fond of studying our team's cases lately, so she'll definitely come. Do you want to avoid her?"

"Why should I avoid her?" Jiang Qiu was even more confused, his expression blank. "I'm not a fugitive, nor am I a suspect..."

"Fine." Liang An agreed decisively, letting out a sigh. "Then later, just act naturally. Just don't let her notice anything..."

Liang An understood well that if that girl knew he had pointlessly dragged the "Senior Jiang" she admired into this dangerous case, there was no telling what disaster she might cause out of anger or curiosity. Some things were fine for a smart person who knew the weight of matters like Shao Zi to know, but for someone both smart and without a direct connection like Mo Yunwan, if she investigated randomly, she would likely bring trouble upon herself.

Risking contact with these people was enough for him alone; adding another person was more than he could calculate. Jiang Qiu had a special status; he wasn't entirely unaware of the danger, but even Jiang Qiu himself didn't know that behind his back, Mo Yunwan had secretly shown immense curiosity about what happened to him, thereby setting countless traps for Liang An, who was intentionally hiding the truth.

Truly a person who caused headaches.

The backup vehicle arrived quickly.

"Identity temporarily unknown—no identification documents found on the body." Liang An patted Du Yingjie's shoulder and spoke earnestly: "Work hard, Captain Du. The capable people in my team are all busy; I'm counting on you guys."

Because they handled special cases, Team 3 was the team with the fewest professional staff and assistants—because these types of special cases were truly rare. Normally, a small headcount was to avoid redundant manpower when there were no new missions; even when handling backlogs, they could utilize personnel effectively—Liu Zhe's business trip was also due to the recent lack of work. But in extraordinary times, Team 3 also had the privilege of seeking help due to lack of manpower.

Du Yingjie put his hands in his pockets and gave a lazy yawn. Then he waved his hand to signal the intern with him to step back, and stood in the corner with Liang An to prevent others from overhearing the conversation.

The whole city had three criminal investigation teams in charge of cases, but Team 3 was the only one where the Captain directly took the field frequently. Unless it was a case with extreme social impact, it was rare for the Captain of Team 1 or Team 2 to go in person—because they truly didn't have the time. But this time was purely for personnel support. Du Yingjie came in person largely because his old friend Shao Zi, following Liang An's instructions, had requested support, and it involved the protection of an anonymous witness. For such high-security issues, direct exchange was naturally most appropriate, so Du Yingjie stopped by on his way.

Team 2 personnel were surrounding the body to take photos, collect samples, and exchange preliminary information. This was the first body discovered; although the first person to find it was the Captain of Team 3, when Team 2 took over the support, they still needed to perform repeated confirmation procedures.

"Forgot to mention, to mark the tracking target, Xiao Liu's phone from my team is currently on the victim's person." Liang An said as if suddenly remembering, "At that time, I temporarily threw it into his coat pocket to act as a GPS tracker. Remember to return it to him later; it can't be seized as evidence." Saying that, he even pulled out the "sky blue" phone he had quickly retrieved.

"Don't act like I'm going to demand it from you." Du Yingjie still looked sleepy, even rubbing some essential oil on his temples; the tuft of hair on top of his head was still unkempt. "The compiled data will be sent to you later. Now let's talk about the main thing Shao Zi mentioned. I'm not saying anything, but your team really lacks people at the right time. Even the official phone is given to someone else to keep. I had just laid down to nap for a bit when the other side called repeatedly, insisting I come in person to ask you for the details..."

Liang An wasn't in a hurry, letting him complain, then handed over some requirements and notes, especially emphasizing that the police protection must not be exposed.

"Not only do we need a stranger who is reliable, but ideally it should be a woman?" Du Yingjie finally had some spirit and opened his eyes. "Give me a break, friend. A female officer in any team is considered the face of the team. Are you looking for a bodyguard or a special agent?"

"Those conditions don't need to be too strict." Liang An thought for a moment. "Just someone reliable, who can naturally make themselves not stand out too much, and can play the role of an ordinary person unrelated to the police. Ideally, they shouldn't be exposed at all; the main goal is still to ensure the safety of their family..."

"At the drop of a hat, you're thinking about family extermination. It sounds like your case is quite wicked and chaotic..." Du Yingjie, though grumbling, agreed decisively, already having a suitable person in mind. He didn't pry too deeply; after all, the case he was currently holding was enough to give him a headache.

With the personnel issue resolved, the most important thing was still the body before them. There were surveillance cameras near the main road, but the movement trajectory couldn't be fully recovered. Although the long stretch of road ahead clearly showed vehicles, the later part was mainly on foot. It was likely the killer also chose this method to escape detection.

The forensic van drove up from a distance.

"Captain Du," Liang An suddenly remembered Jiang Qiu, whom he had told to walk around nearby, "Who is the forensic pathologist coming? Is it Mo Yunwan?"

"It's her. Why?" After finishing his instructions, Du Yingjie fell back into a lazy state; even the essential oil couldn't save him. He painfully lifted his drooping head: "She heard she was going to support Team 3 and immediately got in the car. She's very proactive."

Liang An cursed inwardly. That girl still hadn't changed her ways. He didn't believe for a second that she was just purely curious.