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

Chapter 1456 All Clues End

Identifying individuals among these people who match the characteristics of the perpetrator is extremely difficult. Moreover, most of these individuals have distant relationships with Zhou Qiang, and many have not been in contact for years, making the investigation exceptionally challenging.

While investigating Zhang Tao's debt relationships, Xiao Wang's team discovered that Zhang Tao's bank account had seen three large transfers totaling 5 yuan within the past month. The receiving account was an anonymous account opened in another city, using false identity information. The team contacted the police in that city to assist in verifying the transaction history of this anonymous account. However, due to the extremely limited transaction records and the fact that all withdrawals were in cash, no valuable clues were left, making it impossible to determine the identity of the person withdrawing the money. Zhang Tao's wife, Li Juan, and his younger brother, Zhang Lei, were also unable to provide more information about the debt disputes; they only knew that Zhang Tao owed money to others, but did not know specifically who he owed money to or how much he owed.

Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun re-examined all the physical evidence from the scene, re-testing the bloodstained kitchen knife, fragments of the black backpack, acrylic fiber samples, and stainless steel metal residue. Technicians examined the kitchen knife more closely, finding that in addition to bloodstains and human tissue residue, the blade also contained small amounts of rust and oil, but these were common and their specific source could not be traced. Even after technical processing, the brand logo on the black backpack fragments remained unidentifiable; it could only be determined to be from a niche outdoor brand, and the purchaser's information could not be found through sales channels.

The testing of the acrylic fiber samples yielded a new finding. Further analysis revealed that the fibers contained trace amounts of fluorescent whitening agent, commonly used in the manufacture of industrial protective clothing. "This suggests the perpetrator may have worked in an industrial field or frequently handled industrial protective clothing," said Xiao Yang. "However, this scope is still too broad. Many factories and construction sites in the city require industrial protective clothing, making it very difficult to pinpoint the specific individual."

There has been no new progress in the testing of the stainless steel metal residue. Technicians have confirmed that the residue was indeed left by stainless steel products, but they cannot determine the specific type; it could be a watch, ring, key, or other industrial stainless steel tools. Trying to find the culprit through these metal residues is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

The surveillance investigation team expanded its coverage area, examining all white vans within a 3-kilometer radius of Heping Road between 8 PM on October 25th and 2 AM on October 26th. The team reviewed over 500 hours of surveillance footage, identifying more than 200 white vans, but after verifying each one, none were found to be suspicious. These vehicles either had clear alibis or did not match the clues from the crime scene investigation. Even more perplexing was the fact that the white van driven by the perpetrator completely disappeared after leaving the surveillance blind spot on the west side of Heping Road, never appearing in any surveillance footage again, as if it had vanished into thin air.

The investigation team also ran into difficulties. The interviews surrounding Zhang Tao yielded no new leads. Market vendors and Zhang Tao's neighbors all stated that aside from being depressed, Zhang Tao had shown no other unusual behavior recently, and they hadn't seen him in contact with any other overweight men in black. The interviews surrounding Zhou Qiang also yielded no results. Zhou Qiang's relatives and neighbors all stated that although he had a criminal record, he had indeed reformed in recent years, had no enemies, and they didn't know who would imitate his vehicle's characteristics to commit a crime.

Time passed day by day, and the investigation made no substantial progress. All previous leads had gone cold, and no new leads could be found; the investigation had reached a complete dead end. The investigators were all very depressed. The high-intensity work over the past few days had not only exhausted them physically but also placed them under tremendous psychological pressure.

Sitting in the surveillance analysis room, Xiao Wang's eyes were bloodshot. The monitor in front of him repeatedly played the surveillance footage of the suspicious white van. He had been watching the footage for over ten hours straight, his eyes were sore and aching, but he still refused to give up. He was filled with self-reproach. If he had been more careful, if he had noticed the vehicle's anomaly earlier, the investigation wouldn't have taken so many detours, and the murderer wouldn't have remained at large for so long.

Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun were in the technical department, repeatedly studying the physical evidence collected from the scene. They tried various forensic methods, hoping to find a clue that had been overlooked, but the results were unsatisfactory. "The murderer is too cunning; he left almost no valuable clues," Xiao Sun said with a hint of helplessness. "He not only cleaned up the scene but also deliberately disguised the vehicle to mislead our investigation. Catching him is too difficult."

Zhang Lin also went to the technical department. He reviewed all the details of the autopsy report, hoping to find any previously overlooked clues. He examined the deceased's body parts again, and apart from the previously discovered tetracycline teeth, an old fracture of the left index finger, and stainless steel metal residue on the right ring finger, there were no new findings. "The deceased's identity has been confirmed, but his social relationships are very simple. There are no obvious enemies. The only clue is a debt dispute, but we can't find the identity of the creditor." Zhang Lin's brows were tightly furrowed. "Now our only hope is to find a breakthrough from the physical evidence collected at the scene; otherwise, this case may very well remain unsolved."

Li Ming's mood was equally heavy. He sat in his office, looking at the thick stack of case files on his desk, going through all the clues again and again. He knew that the team members were all in low spirits, and he had to cheer them up and give them confidence. "The more difficult the case, the less we can give up," Li Ming muttered to himself. "No matter how cunning the murderer is, they will always leave a loophole. As long as we persevere, we will definitely find that loophole."

On the morning of October 31st, Li Ming convened another case progress meeting. The atmosphere in the meeting room was oppressive; all the team members had their heads down, their previous fighting spirit gone. Li Ming looked at everyone and said in a deep voice, “I know that everyone has been working very hard lately, and the investigation has encountered great difficulties, reaching a dead end. But I want to tell you all that solving serious crimes is never easy, and encountering difficulties is normal. We are police officers, and upholding social fairness and justice is our duty. No matter how great the difficulties, we cannot give up.”