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

Chapter 1295 The Deceased Zhang Jianxue

He paused, his tone growing heavier: "We still don't know who the deceased is, and his family is probably still anxiously searching. As police officers, we have a responsibility to find out the truth as soon as possible, find the murderer, and give the deceased and his family an explanation. Thank you all for your hard work. I hope we can crack the case quickly and ensure that justice is served."

At 9:30 a.m., the case analysis meeting officially ended. Attendees rose, grabbed their notebooks and materials, and quickly left the meeting room to head to their respective work stations. Some prepared materials for interviews, some contacted testing agencies, and some created suspect sketches. The entire criminal investigation team instantly sprang into action, everyone striving towards the goal of "identifying the deceased and identifying the suspect."

Li Ming remained in the conference room, staring at the photo of the deceased's old right hand injury projected on the screen, his fingers gently stroking his chin. He knew that this seemingly insignificant old injury might hold the key to unlocking the mystery of the deceased's identity; and

At 10 a.m., Xiao Zhou led two members of the investigation team to the "Dongsheng Labor Protection Supplies Store" near the Heping Community in the eastern suburbs, following the direction determined at the case analysis meeting. This store is located at the entrance of the urban village, and the storefront is filled with work pants, safety shoes, safety helmets and other goods. Most of the customers are workers from nearby construction sites, which fits the key scope of the "investigation of the sales channels of the deceased's clothing".

"Hello, boss, we're from the Criminal Investigation Division. We'd like to ask you about something." Xiao Zhou walked into the store, showed his police ID, and took out a photo of the dark gray jacket the deceased was wearing. "Have you sold this style of dark gray jacket recently? And the same style of black cargo pants?"

The shop owner, a middle-aged man in his fifties wearing reading glasses, took the photo and examined it carefully: "These jackets? We just got a batch last month, and they've been selling quite well. A lot of construction workers buy them; they're dirt-resistant and durable. The black work pants are also a regular seller; we get someone buying them almost every day. What's wrong? Is there something wrong with these clothes?"

“We are handling a case and need to find a customer who bought this outfit,” Xiao Zhou explained, while describing the deceased’s characteristics: “This customer was about 35-40 years old, about 170 cm tall, of medium build, and had an old scar about 1 cm long on the knuckle of his right index finger. Do you remember seeing someone like this come to buy clothes?”

The shop owner frowned and thought for a moment, then suddenly slapped his thigh: "Oh! I remember! About half a month ago, a man came to buy this outfit, and his features were similar to what you described! He said that his previous clothes had been torn at the construction site and he urgently needed a new set, so I recommended this dark gray jacket and black work pants to him. He did have a scar on his right index finger, and I asked him how he got it. He said he accidentally cut himself with a blade while cutting steel bars at the construction site."

Xiao Zhou's heart jumped instantly, and he quickly asked, "Do you remember his name? Or did he mention which construction site he worked at?" The shop owner shook his head: "He didn't say his name, but he mentioned that he worked at a construction site near the 'South Suburbs Building Materials Factory,' I think it was a building construction site. He also said that he would pass by here every day after get off work and sometimes he would stop by to buy a pack of cigarettes."

"A construction site near the South Suburb Building Materials Factory? Do you know which one specifically?" Xiao Zhou pressed on, afraid of missing crucial information. The shop owner thought for a moment: "It seems to be called the 'Happiness Home' residential complex construction site. It's about 500 meters south of the South Suburb Building Materials Factory. There's been construction going on recently, and many workers are working there."

Xiao Zhou immediately had his team members write down the contact information for the "Xingfu Jiayuan residential construction site" and the shop owner. Then he stood up and said, "Thank you for providing the clue. If you remember any other details, please contact us immediately." After leaving the safety equipment store, Xiao Zhou and his team rushed to the Xingfu Jiayuan residential construction site near the South Suburb Building Materials Factory.

A blue fence surrounded the construction site entrance, from which came the roar of machinery. Several workers, wearing hard hats, were resting at the gate. Xiao Zhou stepped forward, took out a photo of the deceased's clothing and a description of his features, and asked the workers, "Excuse me, sirs, do you have a male worker on your site who is 35-40 years old, about 170 cm tall, with an old scar on the knuckle of his right index finger, wearing a dark gray jacket and black work pants like this? Has he missed work in the last three days?"

A dark-skinned worker looked up at the photo and said in a puzzled tone, "This person you're talking about looks so much like Zhang Jianxue! He's the same height and build, and he does have a scar on his right index finger. He mentioned it when we worked together before; it was from cutting steel bars. And the clothes he's wearing are exactly the same as in the photo!"

"Zhang Jianxue?" Xiao Zhou's eyes lit up, and he quickly asked, "Has he not come to work for the last three days? Do you know where he lives? Do you have his family's contact information?"

The worker sighed, "That's right. He hasn't come to work since Monday night, the 18th. The foreman has been looking for him everywhere, saying that he still owes half a month's wages. He usually lives in a temporary dormitory next to the construction site. We don't know his family's contact information. We only know that he came from out of town and works here alone. He doesn't talk much. He just stays in the dormitory when he's working, and occasionally he goes to the snack shop at the entrance to eat."

Xiao Zhou immediately sent his team to check the temporary dormitory at the construction site, while he followed the foreman to the office to retrieve Zhang Jianxue's registration information. The foreman took out an employee registration book from a drawer, turned to Zhang Jianxue's page: "Look, this is Zhang Jianxue's information. He's 38 years old this year, his hometown is Zhoukou, Henan, and his ID number is 412726xxxxxxxxxxxx. He just started working at our construction site last month, responsible for steel bar tying."

After obtaining Zhang Jianxue's identity information, Xiao Zhou immediately called the Criminal Investigation Detachment and contacted Zhang Lin's forensic team: "Forensic Doctor Zhang, we found a person suspected to be the deceased at the Xingfu Jiayuan residential construction site. His name is Zhang Jianxue, 38 years old, from Zhoukou, Henan. He has an old scar on his right index finger from a steel bar cutting, and he is wearing the same clothes as the deceased. He has been missing since the evening of the 18th, which matches the deceased's time of death, which was between 7 and 9 pm on the 18th. Please immediately compare Zhang Jianxue's identity information with the deceased's DNA to confirm whether they are the same person."

Zhang Lin responded on the other end of the phone: "Okay, we will immediately retrieve Zhang Jianxue's household registration information and extract DNA samples from his relatives for comparison. The results should be available as early as this afternoon. I will notify you as soon as I have any news."

After hanging up the phone, Xiao Zhou led his team to Zhang Jianxue's temporary dormitory. The dormitory was a simple prefabricated house with four bunk beds inside. Zhang Jianxue's bed was on the lower bunk by the window. The quilt was neatly folded on the bed, and there was a well-worn novel next to the pillow. There was an enamel mug on the bedside table with the words "Happy Home Construction Site" printed on it. No unusual items were found.