The crackdown on organized crime began with the arrest of the mother-in-law.

Chapter 1302 Vague Clues

“It seems we won’t find any clues by relying on surveillance footage for now. The coverage and clarity of these two cameras are too limited.” Xiao Wang turned off the computer and said to his team members, “Let’s go to the activity area on the north side of the park and ask the elderly people who often exercise here. They come here every day, and they might be able to find something unusual.”

At 4 p.m., the afterglow of the setting sun shone on the park's walkways. A number of residents had gathered in the small square on the north side—some were dancing, some were practicing Tai Chi, and others were chatting on benches. Xiao Wang led his team over and first approached an elderly man, Mr. Zhang, who was practicing Tai Chi. He offered him a cigarette and asked in a gentle tone, "Mr. Zhang, do you often exercise here? I'd like to ask you something. Have you noticed anything unusual about the unused lawn on the north side in the last six months? For example, has anyone been digging there at night, or have unfamiliar vehicles been parked nearby?"

Grandpa Zhang took the cigarette, lit it, took a puff, and slowly recalled, "I come here to exercise at 5 a.m. every morning and go back around 7 p.m. I often pass by the lawn on the north side, and I haven't noticed anything unusual. That lawn has never been maintained and is overgrown with weeds. Occasionally, children go there to play, but it's always during the day. It's pitch black at night, so who would go there?"

An elderly woman named Li, who was doing square dancing nearby, also came over. Hearing Xiao Wang's question, she shook her head and said, "I also come to do square dancing in the evening, and I haven't heard any noise from the lawn. If someone were digging, there would definitely be a sound. We have very sharp ears when we do square dancing; we can hear the slightest rustling sound, but we've never heard any digging."

Xiao Wang then walked over to the bench and asked a few elderly people who were chatting. "Young man, are you talking about the lawn where the body was buried? We all heard about the construction team digging up the body this morning, it was terrifying!" said an elderly man wearing glasses. "But we come here to exercise every day, and we really haven't noticed anything unusual about that lawn. I even went there to collect branches half a year ago, and the lawn was fine then, I didn't see any signs of the soil being disturbed."

Another woman added, "Yes, the paths around that lawn are dark at night because there are no streetlights. Except for the occasional person taking a shortcut, nobody wants to go that way. Once, I was taking a shortcut home around 9 p.m. and when I passed the lawn, I saw a blurry figure in the distance. I was so scared that I ran away immediately and didn't even see who it was. I still feel scared thinking about it now!"

"Do you remember when that was? Did that figure carry anything?" Xiao Wang quickly asked, a hint of expectation flashing in his eyes. The old lady tried hard to recall: "It seems to have been about three months ago, but I can't remember the exact date. It was drizzling that night. The figure was too far away from me to see if it was carrying anything. I only saw a general outline, like a man, not very tall."

This vague clue gave Xiao Wang a glimmer of hope, but when he pressed for more details, the woman couldn't remember anything. Xiao Wang then asked more than a dozen residents who frequently exercised there, and their accounts were largely consistent—they hadn't seen any unusual disturbance on the lawn, hadn't heard any digging sounds, and only a few had seen blurry figures while passing by at night, but none could provide further details.

At 6 p.m., as darkness fell, Xiao Wang led his team away from the park. "The surveillance footage investigation yielded no breakthroughs, and our interviews only provided a vague silhouette, which we can't verify yet," Xiao Li said, sitting in the car with a frustrated tone. "This case is too difficult; we don't even have a decent lead."

Xiao Wang rubbed his temples, looked at the streetlights gradually coming on outside the window, and said, "Don't be discouraged. At least we've identified a few key points—no one has seen any obvious disturbance to the lawn in the past six months, few people have approached it at night, and only a few people have seen blurry figures. Next, we'll expand our search area and ask residents in the surrounding communities if they've heard or seen anything unusual at night. We'll also contact the technical department to see if there are any new findings in the soil sample testing."

As the car drove away from the park, Xiao Wang took out his phone and sent a message to Li Ming: "Team Leader Li, the park's surveillance footage and visits to residents exercising there have yielded no leads. Only one person reported seeing a blurry figure on the lawn three months ago at night. We have expanded our search to surrounding residential areas and are awaiting the soil sample test results."

Soon, Li Ming replied: "Continue to follow up, be sure to keep records of the visits, and report any progress in a timely manner." Xiao Wang put away his phone, his eyes firm—although there were no clues at the moment, he believed that as long as he persisted in the investigation, he would eventually find a breakthrough and uncover the truth behind the Dongshan Park corpse case.

On Friday evening at 8 PM, Xiao Wang and his team visited the Dongshan and Chenguang residential areas near the park, going door-to-door. Most residents said they rarely paid attention to the park; only a few residents on lower floors mentioned occasionally hearing square dance music from the park, but never any digging sounds or unusual noises. The visit didn't end until 11 PM, and they still hadn't found any valuable clues.

Xiao Wang finished organizing his interview records and leaned wearily back in his chair. The night outside was dark. Looking at the case files on the table, he made a silent vow—no matter how difficult, he would continue the investigation. He couldn't let the deceased remain buried in obscurity; he had to give the deceased and his family closure. Meanwhile, the lights in the technical department were still on, and staff were working through the night to test soil samples, hoping to find crucial clues in the smallest details that could bring a turning point in the case.

While Xiao Wang was conducting his investigation, Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun, following Li Ming's instructions, began to expand the scope of their on-site investigation.

At 8 a.m., the morning mist in Dongshan Park had not yet completely dissipated, and the air carried the damp scent of earth. Li Ming stood beside the planting pit where the body was found, watching Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun walk over with their investigation bags. He said in a serious tone, "Xiao Wang's surveillance and interviews haven't yielded any breakthroughs yet, so now it's up to you guys to do the on-site investigation. Don't limit yourself to the area around the planting pit; expand the search to the entire unused lawn on the north side, as well as the paths and woods around the lawn. Carefully check for any traces you might have missed, especially tool marks, vehicle tracks, and any leftover fibers or items. Be meticulous."

Xiao Yang nodded and put his survey cap on securely: "Don't worry, Captain Li. This time we've brought an electrostatic adsorber, a tire track measuring instrument, and a metal detector to ensure we don't miss any details. Xiao Sun, we'll divide the survey into areas. You're in charge of the woods and paths on the west side of the lawn, and I'll be in charge of the unused area on the east side. Mark every trace you find and keep in touch."