Transmigrating Back to 2007 (14)

The sound of barking dogs grew closer, and before long, three shepherd dogs burst out from the forest.

Two of them, upon seeing Lian Chi, immediately ran to his side, wagging their tails and circling him.

Weren't these three shepherd dogs the service dogs of the Liucheng City Police Bureau and the Wanmin County Police Bureau?

So, not long after, Captain Song and the others also emerged from the forest.

Seeing Lian Chi, Captain Song, who had been worried throughout the journey, was instantly relieved. "Captain Lian, it's truly wonderful that you all are alright."

The medical personnel behind him also immediately ran toward the boy.

Watching the medical staff take several vials from the medical kit, mix them, and then inject the boy, Lian Chi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Captain Song asked, "By the way, where is Qi Zhengmin?"

Lian Chi turned and pointed toward Qi Zhengmin's corpse, recounting everything that had happened earlier.

After hearing the whole story, Captain Song couldn't help but give a thumbs up. "Captain Lian, you're truly amazing. I truly admire you most in this life."

He then kicked Qi Zhengmin's corpse, which had died with eyes wide open. "But letting him die like this is truly too easy for him."

Lian Chi smiled. "Alright, let's head back."

Too much had happened today; now he just wanted to go home, take a clean bath, and then sleep until this time tomorrow.

Captain Song said, "Alright, you all head back first."

"As for cleaning up Qi Zhengmin's body and settling matters in Chigang Village, just leave it to us."

Lian Chi replied, "Okay."

Afterward, he and the medical staff carried the boy back.

It wasn't until the afternoon of the following day that Lian Chi met Captain Song again.

Captain Song was unshaven, with mud all over his sleeves and pant legs—it was clear he was still wearing yesterday's clothes.

Obviously, to interrogate the people of Chigang Village, he hadn't rested since yesterday.

Seeing this, Lian Chi handed him a bottle of energy drink.

Captain Song, having just finished the food on his tray, took the energy drink, opened it, and gulped it down in one go.

"Captain Lian, I have two pieces of good news and one piece of bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"

Perhaps because they had cracked a major case, the food at the Wanmin County Police Bureau cafeteria was excellent today, featuring not only braised beef but also simmered shrimp.

Lian Chi tasted a piece of braised beef; the flavor was quite good. "The good news."

Captain Song said, "The first piece of good news is that most of the Chigang villagers have been arrested, and Qi Long, Qi Zhengmin's eldest son who escaped earlier, was also caught by the Shangmin County Police Bureau."

"The second piece of good news is that the boy has passed the critical stage."

So these were indeed good news.

Lian Chi asked, "And the bad news?"

Captain Song said, "You really shouldn't have killed Qi Zhengmin."

"It's too easy for him."

He continued, "Do you know how many people Chigang Village has trafficked in these twenty-odd years?"

"Because the entire Chigang Village—except for a few families who didn't participate—over three hundred people were involved. To facilitate the year-end profit sharing, Qi Zhengmin recorded all the transactions."

"Last night, we found all the ledgers in Qi Zhengmin's basement."

"In over twenty years, they trafficked a total of 985 women and 1,131 children, totaling 2,116 people. Among them, 835 were kidnapped by themselves, while the remaining 1,281 were bought from other human traffickers."

2,116 people?

Behind that were 2,116 broken families.

Lian Chi took a deep breath.

Captain Song was right; he shouldn't have killed Qi Zhengmin so easily.

So this case was still far from over.

Although Qi Zhengmin was dead, since seven or eight years ago, he had gradually handed the business over to his three sons. Therefore, his three sons knew all of Qi Zhengmin's connections.

Furthermore, two years ago, on Qi Zhengmin's 70th birthday, many human traffickers who had long-term cooperation with him came to Chigang Village to celebrate, and many villagers had seen those people.

Since most Chigang villagers were only minor members of the criminal gang, according to the law, they would ultimately only be sentenced to over ten years in prison.

Since they wouldn't face the death penalty, they naturally all wanted to serve fewer years.

So, to earn merit, they competed to expose the leaders of the human trafficking ring.

With their cooperation, the Liucheng City Police Bureau and the Wanmin County Police Bureau quickly drew portraits of seven human trafficking kingpins based on their testimonies.

Afterward, the Liucheng City Police Bureau sent these portraits to local police bureaus.

And so, there was nothing left for Lian Chi and the others to do.

Captain Song could finally rest.

No, wait—he still had one matter to settle before that.

In the hospital, Captain Song looked at the boy lying on the hospital bed and asked again, "Have you truly lost your memory? You don't remember who your parents are? Nor how you were kidnapped?"

This time, they had rescued over forty women and children who hadn't yet been sold by the Chigang villagers.

The others had all contacted their families and returned home with their help.

Only this boy said he had amnesia and forgot everything from before.

The boy nodded.

Captain Song spoke again, "If that's truly the case, then we can only take you to an orphanage first. You must know that an orphanage isn't exactly a wonderful place; at most, it can only guarantee you finish your compulsory education and don't go hungry."

The boy's tone immediately became much lighter. "I know."

Captain Song fell silent, then glanced at the boy's body.

The boy was not only thin, but his body was covered in wounds, many of which were very deep. It was clear they weren't from a recent beating, and the person who hit him back then had clearly used great force.

So for the boy, having no one to worry about and a full stomach might actually be a good thing.

Therefore, Captain Song finally said, "Then after I return, I'll notify the Women's Federation to come and handle the registration procedures for you."

The boy's tone completely relaxed. "Thank you, Uncle."

"Oh, right."

The boy clenched his hand resting by his side. "How has Captain Lian been lately?"

Hearing this, Captain Song fell silent again, though his answer was: "Not bad. If nothing unexpected happens, when the cases of Shimo Village and Chigang Village are completely concluded, he will surely be awarded a First-Class Merit."

But in truth, Lian Chi hadn't been doing very well lately.

Because just this morning, the Provincial Higher People's Court declared Liu Shengli innocent in the rape and murder case due to lack of evidence, releasing him immediately in court.

So if nothing unexpected happens, tonight this news will appear on the evening news of the Mou City television station. At the latest by tomorrow noon, this news will spread across most of China.

At this moment, Lian Chi was calling Bureau Chief Cheng of the Liucheng City Police Bureau.

Bureau Chief Cheng: "... You want to reinvestigate Liu Shengli's rape and murder case?"

"This case happened ten years ago. Not only has the crime scene been destroyed long ago, but even many witnesses from back then can no longer be found. We couldn't find the truth back then, and it's even harder now..."

If Lian Chi couldn't find the truth by then, the Chinese government would lose face once again.

"So as your leader and your teacher, I advise you to follow the province's arrangement and take a rest for a while to avoid the storm."

"But I'm not reconciled."

Lian Chi said, "I've been a policeman for over a decade. The number of cases I've cracked is at least three or four hundred, if not five or six hundred. I believe I've fulfilled my responsibility to the uniform I wear. But now I have a stain."

"If I don't wash away this stain, I won't be able to eat or sleep peacefully for the rest of my life."

"So I must investigate the truth of this case. If it's finally proven that Liu Shengli isn't the killer, then for the rest of my life, I will work like an ox or a horse for him to atone for my mistake, while also finding the real killer—only then will I be worthy of the victim. If it's finally proven that Liu Shengli is indeed the killer, then at least I can continue to live with my head held high for the rest of my life."

"So Teacher, please help me!"

Bureau Chief Cheng was silent for a long time, finally sighing and saying, "Alright, since you've said that, I'll help you speak with the province."

"Thank you, Teacher."

After hanging up, Lian Chi couldn't help but sigh.

Afterward, he picked up the case file for Liu Shengli's rape and murder case.

Ten years ago, on the early morning of September 21, 1997, Jiang Liangping, a resident of Jiangjia Village, Wanmin County, Liucheng City, discovered a naked female corpse in his peanut field.

After arriving at the crime scene, the original host discovered a very fresh cigarette butt on the ridge two meters away from the body.

But it wasn't a commercial cigarette sold on the market; it was a type of hand-rolled tobacco used by farmers.

Therefore, the original host concluded that the case was committed by a local.

The original host conducted a screening investigation within a five-kilometer radius of the crime scene, performing DNA tests on all males of suitable age within that range.

Ultimately, the DNA left on that cigarette butt matched the DNA of Liu Shengli, a resident of Xiaping Village, one kilometer away.

Furthermore, Liu Shengli had no alibi.

The most important thing was that Liu Shengli and the victim had a prior conflict.

Liu Shengli had once gone on a blind date with the victim; he liked her, but she didn't like him. Not long after, rumors spread that the victim was having an affair with an older widower in Xiaping Village.

The victim believed Liu Shengli spread the rumor to take revenge on her, so she asked her two brothers to give him a beating.