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

Chapter 1097 Taxi Driver Chen Miao

“Rule it out,” Xiao Zhouhui drew a thick line on the paper with his pen. “The brow bone features don’t match. Besides, this person was changing shifts in a neighboring city before disappearing, and the GPS records show that. It’s impossible for him to have died in the pond in our county.” He pulled up Chen Miao’s taxi operation records. “The last pickup location was the train station in the neighboring city, at 9:47 pm on July 12th, after which the signal disappeared.”

The clock in the information center struck 11 p.m., the fluorescent lights began to flicker, and everyone's faces looked exhausted in the dim light. Xiao Ma's fingers tapped slower and slower on the keyboard, the information on the screen for "males aged 35-45" appearing like an endless tide: "Item 912, Brother Hui," he yawned, tears blurring his vision, "This 'Zhou Jianming,' self-employed, owed high-interest loans, disappeared three days ago, 174cm tall, 67kg." He zoomed in on the photo; the man's jawline was somewhat similar to the deceased's, but there was a birthmark behind his left ear. "The deceased's left ear was clean; this one has to be ruled out too."

Xiao Zhou suddenly exclaimed "Ah!" and pointed to the screen at "Chen Miao, 38 years old, taxi driver": "Look! Although his disappearance location is shown as a neighboring city, his last refueling record was at a gas station in our county, at 10:15 pm on July 12th!" She pulled up the detailed information: "Height 173cm, weight 69kg, the driver's license photo shows a noticeable bend in the left ring finger—the forensic doctor said the deceased had an old fracture in his left ring finger!"

Xiao Zhouhui's heart skipped a beat. He grabbed the mouse and zoomed in on the photo; the man's features closely resembled the deceased's. "Check his medical report," his voice trembled slightly. "Any history of neck injury? Any first aid records related to drowning?" Xiao Ma typed rapidly, and Chen Miao's medical record appeared on the screen: "Last year's medical checkup showed high blood pressure and cervical spondylosis, but no history of neck injury." Social security records showed he worked for "Tongda Taxi Company," with license plate number Ji A?T3456.

“The most crucial thing is this,” Xiao Zhou pointed to the vehicle’s trajectory when it disappeared, “His taxi appeared near the pond in our county at 10:30 pm on July 12, and then the signal disappeared!” She compared the vehicle’s GPS with the pond’s location, “The straight-line distance is less than two kilometers, which fits the possibility of dragging and dumping the body.”

The printer in the information center suddenly started with a "buzz," spitting out a new comparison list. Xiao Ma glanced at it and cursed, "This system is acting up again! It identified '38 years old' as '58 years old,' producing a bunch of old men's information. I'm speechless." He crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it into the trash can, the metal can making a dull thud. "I should never have studied computer science in the first place. Coming to this crappy place as a technician, I might as well have gone to a construction site to carry bricks."

Xiao Zhouhui's gaze fell on the deceased's occupational information—"possibly a night shift driver." He asked Xiao Ma to filter missing persons in the "taxi industry," and 287 records instantly appeared on the screen. "Look at them one by one," he said, picking up his cold coffee, the bitter liquid sliding down his throat, "focusing on whether there are any cases of fractured left ring fingers and disappearances on the night of July 12th."

At 7 a.m., the 1003rd record flashed by. Xiao Ma was so sleepy he was nodding off, only waking up with his head hitting the keyboard: "Brother Hui, this 'Chen Miao,' from Tongda Taxi Company, matches the refueling record at our county's gas station!" He pulled up the business registration file, and Chen Miao's taxi had indeed refueled at 10:15 p.m. on July 12th, using 92-octane gasoline, which matched the gasoline residue found in a small puddle by the pond. "And in his driver's license photo, there's no mole on his left eyebrow; it's just a lighting issue!"

Xiao Zhou rubbed her aching shoulders and stuffed the last comparison sheet into the folder: "There are 5 similar cases, but either the characteristics don't match, or they have alibis, or the disappearance times don't match." Looking at Chen Miao's information, she suddenly exclaimed excitedly, "His taxi has an accident record. In March 2022, there was a rear-end collision by the pond in our county. He filed an insurance claim at the time, and the insurance company has detailed vehicle information!"

Xiao Zhouhui stared at the atom model jumping in the screensaver, suddenly remembering what the forensic doctor had said: "There were traces of rubber particles in the deceased's fingernails." "Get the tire model of Chen Miao's taxi," he tapped the table, "and his shift handover records, see who he should have handed over to on the night of July 12th."

Xiao Ma's fingers glided across the keyboard, displaying information that showed Chen Miao's taxi tires were "Giti 228" model, with the rubber composition perfectly matching the particles found under the deceased's fingernails; he was supposed to hand over his shift to his colleagues at 11 PM on July 12th, but his colleagues said he didn't show up and they couldn't reach him by phone. "Chen Miao's family situation is simple; his parents died early and are divorced, and he has a daughter living with his ex-wife in another city," Xiao Zhou read the information aloud. "He's currently in a lawsuit because the taxi company owes him three months' worth of fuel subsidies."

The sky outside the window began to lighten, and the fluorescent lights in the information center finally stabilized, ceasing their hissing. Xiao Zhouhui stood up, his back cracking. He looked at the mountain of scrap paper next to the printer, each sheet covered with exclusion marks. "It's him," he said, pointing to Chen Miao's photo on the screen. "Notify Xiao Wang that the deceased's identity is basically confirmed as taxi driver Chen Miao. Have him investigate Chen Miao's social connections, especially his disputes with the taxi company, and the information of the last passenger he picked up."

Xiao Ma and Xiao Zhou dragged their feet away, the chair legs scraping against the floor with a harsh sound. Xiao Zhou Hui took one last look at the screen; next to the name "Chen Miao" was a label of "highly suspicious," and the 1003 records beside it piled up like a small mountain, bearing witness to this tedious and lengthy comparison. As he shut down the computer, his bloodshot eyes were reflected on the screen, and he suddenly felt that this name, found in the ocean of information, was like a corpse floating in a pond, finally revealing its true face in the tide of data.

Morning light streamed through the information center window, landing on record number 1003. Xiao Zhouhui picked up Chen Miao's photo; the man wore a white shirt, his smile gentle, the slight bend of his left ring finger barely visible in the picture. He knew that confirming the deceased's identity was only the first step in the case. Next, they needed to find Chen Miao's taxi, find the last passenger, and find the person who pushed him into the pond. But for now, at least among these 1000+ pieces of information, they had grasped the most crucial one.

When Li Ming pushed open the wooden door to the conference room, it carried the dampness from the pond. Chen Miao's driver's license photo was spread out on the long table. The man's smiling face in a white shirt gleamed coldly under the fluorescent light, creating a stark contrast with the bag of fiber samples retrieved from the pond on the corner of the table.