In the office of the Major Crimes Unit, sunlight shone through the blinds of the French windows, and the whiteboard in front of the desk was covered with clues.
Su Hui continued: “We now know that the next potential victim’s family is likely to be an active user on the forum, so they will certainly pay attention to the recent popular posts on the forum. I think we can have a dialogue with the victims through the internet.”
Qiao Ze was excited: “Professor Su makes a lot of sense. Can we post some warnings on the forum?”
Qu Ming shook his head: “Issuing a warning directly on such a large public forum will cause social panic. Moreover, we cannot disclose the details of the case, which is a violation of the regulations. And don’t forget, while the victims are paying attention to the forum, the perpetrators are also likely to be watching the words and data on these forums. Once the perpetrators sense the intention of the police and change their methods of attack, our previous efforts will be in vain.”
Lu Junchi said, “I agree with Qu Ming’s opinion. We can only have discreet one-way output.”
Xia Mingxi frowned: “Then how should we write these posts?”
For a while, everyone was silent. Su Hui’s words seemed to point them in a direction, but it was very difficult to make good use of it.
Qu Ming thought for a moment and said, “First of all, we need to increase some safety tips, such as recommending more secure door locks, home-use panic buttons, and one-button alarm settings on mobile phones. Secondly, we need to teach them how to set up one-touch alarm on their mobile phones and how to set up commonly used contacts. Finally, privacy settings on mobile phones and computers are also important. We can also provide some tips on self-defense…”
These were the common warning methods that most people could think of.
Lu Junchi nodded and said, “We can post these on the forum and even contact the administrator to conduct some security protection equipment lottery activities. But I estimate that many people may go to see it and even queue up to participate in the lottery, but they may not necessarily take immediate action.”
“Collective consciousness is not capable of feeling pain, only when the knife falls on an individual’s body will there be a sensation.”
Su Hui pondered for a moment and raised his head, saying, “I think we can use some psychological suggestive methods. For example, using the recent effect, we can induce people’s subconscious through these hot posts.”
Qu Ming asked, “What about the content and direction?”
“About family, perseverance, love, and sacrifice. If you want your victims to persevere and fight for enough rescue time, you must make them believe in each other.” Su Hui’s voice was very calm.
In this era, when it comes to true love, there are always people who scoff at it.
Spinsterism is prevalent, and divorce rates are rising, but in fact, every era has true love and many deeply moving stories.
Love is not a vague and elusive thing.
If his analysis earlier was correct, love and perseverance might be the way for those victims to face the robbers.
Real happiness, real trust, is not floating on the surface of show-off, but buried deep in people’s hearts.
When faced with such extreme and perverted criminals, the thoughts of each family member can determine their own fate.
Lu Junchi nodded, “I think it’s worth a try. Xia Mingxi, go to the cyber police and then contact the website to choose some content to publish. Everyone else, hurry up and conduct big data screening of all registered users on the website.”
Xia Mingxi was stunned for a moment, “Captain Lu… I’ve been single for more than twenty years and don’t know anything about love…”
Lu Junchi looked at his subordinates, “Then Xia Mingxi will be in charge of communication, and as for the content, let Old Qu help find it.”
Qu Ming hurriedly grunted in agreement.
The whole case had come this far, but Lu Junchi still felt that something was not right.
The police are still passive, too passive.
Su Hui’s method seems feasible to him, but that is only the last line of defense, a way for the victim to protect themselves passively when there is no other option.
As the police, they cannot just wait and do nothing, they must take some action, be more proactive, and find the robbers, find the victims…
As Lu Junchi thought of this, he fell into contemplation. He turned to look at the whiteboard filled with clues. There must be some way, they just haven’t thought of it yet.
The other side is very careful, using false identification cards, and the mobile phone card is not in their name. They don’t have a good method to find them among millions of people…
Su Hui looked up at Lu Junchi, who was standing not far from the whiteboard, leaning against the table. Although Su Hui couldn’t see the details, he could feel that Lu Junchi’s whole body was tense.
The process of solving each case is a process of solving puzzles and problems.
What other methods are there to quickly find those people?
Lu Junchi lowered his head and thought for a moment, then raised his head and said, “Qiao Ze, you said before that the Lincheng police have confirmed one of their previous residences.”
“Yes,” Qiao Ze nodded, “but they went there too late, and the whole room was empty.”
“They must have left something behind somewhere…” Lu Junchi turned his head and said, “But… the Lincheng police said they didn’t leave anything behind. The room was cleaned, everything was moved out, and all the doorknobs were wiped clean. The floor was also swept clean.” Zheng Bai checked the information and said in a dilemma.
“I’m not talking about these actual pieces of evidence, but those intangible things…” Suddenly, Lu Junchi had an idea. His sword-like eyebrows flashed with light as he pressed his arms onto the desk. “Such as those online data.”
Even the most cunning fox leaves its mark in the forest.
Somehow, the internet has become the oxygen that people rely on to live.
Even robbers must often go online and observe the world on the internet.
The room can be cleaned up, but the data left behind is stored in the operator’s servers and cannot be cleared.
They traveled from Lincheng to Qincheng, and now they have come to Huadu. There won’t be too many phone numbers that follow this kind of movement trajectory.
They may have connected to Wi-Fi or 4G, and there must be traces left in the operator’s servers, which can help them trace the people they are looking for from thousands of pieces of information data.
And this will be the sword in their hands.
Lu Junchi said, “You and the police in Lincheng and Qincheng will need to compare their dates of arrival and departure and then conduct reverse tracking to see if you can find out the phone numbers and computer device information used by these people. Mi Shu is a programmer and may have added some settings, but Zhang Xiaocai and Qin Yongchen are not so vigilant, so there shouldn’t be too much defense.”
Upon hearing Lu Junchi’s words, Su Hui couldn’t help but feel a flicker of excitement and turned to look at him.
His method can only provide psychological assistance, but Lu Junchi’s method is a feasible means of criminal investigation. Although he is not very clear about the technical steps required, he thinks that this method should be feasible.
Lu Junchi pointed out the breakthrough point, and the entire task force became excited.
They now have the whereabouts of the phone numbers during a certain period of time, and can retrieve data, compare and find communication devices, and conduct reverse orientation. This can be achieved with modern criminal investigation technology, but it is rarely used in practice.
Qiao Ze exclaimed with surprise, “Captain Lu! Technically it’s completely feasible! However… this requires cooperation from the mobile company to retrieve the data, and we also need some time.”
Lu Junchi said, “We’ll do our best.”
We must prevent the tragedy from happening again.
The meeting ended, and everyone immediately started working efficiently in their respective roles.
Now, the case had finally found a direction for investigation. Next, they needed to follow the steps and work against the clock.
With the issuance of the wanted order, the special investigation team was divided into several groups. Zheng Bai was responsible for answering the hotline, Qu Ming was responsible for screening forum posts, Qiao Ze was responsible for checking the suspect’s phone information, and Xia Mingxi was responsible for communicating with the cyber police and forum moderators to complete the release of online information.
As a steel-hearted woman who is slow in matters of love, Xia Mingxi couldn’t help but shed tears after posting several rounds of messages. After work, she even forwarded several posts to the general work group: “Everyone must see this, 5555555, it’s so touching that you can believe in true love again.”
Several female police officers discussed it one after another, and the male colleagues followed suit: “What, Xiaoxia, have you finally opened up?”
“Do I have a chance?”
“What’s so moving about reading posts? I’ll show you real love in this world!”
“Xiaoxia, are you openly looking for a marriage partner?!”
“I can do what’s in the post! I just need a girl now!”
Xia Mingxi was jumping in the group, “It’s for the case! Don’t overthink it!”
Lu Junchi came out of the shower and wiped his hair with a towel while looking at his phone with one hand. When he saw this paragraph, he chuckled and said, “I thought Xiaoxia had a breakthrough…”
About 80% of the police officers in the group are single, and they are usually very serious at work, with many rules and regulations. Their skills in pursuing girls are really poor. Before anything has even begun, they are already making vows of eternal love.
Su Hui sat on the sofa, also looking at his phone. He had been forcibly added to a large group by Qiao Ze and had been lurking inside. Seeing the flood of messages, he couldn’t help but comment, “It’s all nonsense driven by hormones, too low-end…”
Lu Junchi asked, “Then Professor Su, what do you think is a high-end way to pursue someone?”
Su Hui replied, “Well, of course, you have to first have a secret code.”
He put down his phone and said seriously, “In the process of courtship, there is a moment, maybe a gesture, maybe a sentence, maybe a look, or an action. If you can recognize this secret code, it means you and the other person are the same type, and you have a chance to further develop your relationship. Confirming this point doesn’t take long, really, falling in love with someone only takes a moment. That’s why there’s the saying love at first sight.”
Lu Junchi asked, “So do you believe in love at first sight?”
“Slowly falling in love is also the same principle, the so-called gradual affection is the accumulation of countless moments, a change in quality caused by quantity. In any case, with this one point, you can have further development, without it, even if you persist, it’s useless, it will only make the other person increasingly disgusted.” Su Hui spoke with the seriousness of discussing an academic problem.
Lu Junchi’s heart stirred, and he remembered a certain moment, then asked, “And then what?”
“Then you have to slowly work your way through, starting with communication, and then from interests and hobbies. But this is just theoretical analysis.” Su Hui said, lifting his head to look at Lu Junchi, his gaze flashing for a moment before settling on Lu Junchi’s waist.
It was only then that Su Hui noticed that Lu Junchi was wearing a white T-shirt that was thin and almost hugged his waistline. His eyesight wasn’t good, but even if he was blind, he could tell that Lu Junchi had a superior figure. He even remembered the warmth he felt when he was close to Lu Junchi’s body before. He glanced a few times before turning his head away.
Lu Junchi completely didn’t notice Su Hui was looking at him. He had just casually asked a question earlier and now, after finishing drying his hair, he lowered his head and carefully read through the posts that Xia Mingxi had written. “The forum is already discussing it, several posts have been marked as HOT.”
Su Hui said, “It would be good if they can have an effect…”
“Even if I read those stories, I can still feel the subtle influence on my beliefs,” Lu Junchi said. He particularly liked the story of the couple from the snowy mountains, who supported each other and left hope for each other in life. Suddenly, he thought of something and asked Su Hui, “Professor Su, have you ever been in love?”
Su Hui hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.
From birth until now, he had no shortage of pursuers. He had received many confessions from girls and also from men. However, it seemed as though he had been insulated from love for the past two years.
Lu Junchi asked again, “So you must believe in true love if you brought up this suggestion today, right?”
Su Hui suddenly panicked, coughed a few times, and replied with a non-answer, “Uh… that… love is one of the most important emotions for humans.”
In fact, human emotions were already in his blind spot.
Su Hui never questioned the existence of true love.
It would exist between certain people.
He could analyze the worldviews of those criminals recklessly, describing the sex, madness, love, and ideas in their world.
But Su Hui didn’t believe that a beautiful love would happen to him.
As Su Hui thought like this, he didn’t know why, but he felt a slight pain in his chest…
TN:
Aaw don’t worry Su Hui🥺. You’ll definitely find your true love!
The tactical moves the team pulled here are very intriguing. Captain Lu and Professor Su are very smart.
Certified member of the IIO(International Introverts Organization), PhD holder in Overthinking and Ghosting, Spokesperson for BOBAH(Benefits of Being a Homebody), Founder of SFA(Salted Fish Association), Brand Ambassador for Couch Potato fall line Pajama set.
I think they should also investigate the ppl who abandoned them, if they r on the site, it maybe what triggered this but idk
Awww Su Hui:((
Thank you for the chapter!