National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 592 - 538 Hang

Chapter 592: Chapter 538 Hang

"Go ask around, see if there are any surveillance cameras."

Jiang Yuan noticed there were several small shops across from the park; if they were lucky, perhaps there would be surveillance cameras capturing the comings and goings at the park entrance.

Mu Zhiyang immediately arranged for two pairs of people to make inquiries, and whispered, "If we reveal our identities while checking the surveillance cameras, the kidnappers might get wind of it."

"Just record the shop owners’ mobile numbers and WeChat IDs, and warn them not to spread any information through groups or Moments. That should suffice." Jiang Yuan, having dealt with many cases, didn’t believe anyone would dare to actively tip off the three kidnappers now.

The relatives and friends of the three had already been checked, and legal education had been provided to them. If anyone dared to leak information, they would be making trouble for themselves. The Cybersecurity Brigade probably wouldn’t mind earning some merit as well.

In the current environment, the only ways for the trio of kidnappers to obtain information would be through their own surveillance or public channels like mobile groups or Moments.

Even if they conducted their own surveillance, Jiang Yuan felt it wouldn’t be easy. Assuming they could work shifts monitoring areas outside their hideout, it would be akin to standing guard, and without any military discipline, how could they endure that?

This was also the foundation for their search. If the kidnappers had the means to have eyes and ears everywhere, they would have fled the moment the hostages were discovered.

The two teams visited each shop in turn, and soon sent back the message: there were no cameras that captured the park’s entrances.

Here, they were all small shops, and only three had installed cameras; not one of them was aimed at the park’s entrance.

Jiang Yuan nodded upon hearing this.

Mu Zhiyang was more worried than Jiang Yuan and said, "It’s so crowded, and there’s even a public toilet. Dazhuang will find it challenging, too."

The success rate of police dogs tracking within the city wasn’t particularly high, and the capabilities of different police dogs varied greatly.

Like hunters in the mountains, the success rate of a pack of dogs tracking prey was also limited, and it certainly involved a bit of luck.

The trail of footprints had also gone cold, and while Jiang Yuan was thinking about this, the image of the pollen lifted from the pickup truck surfaced in his mind.

The pollen obtained through legal botany was the most significant evidence he had gathered recently. The search for the hostages relied on the pollen found in the foot mat and pedal area, essentially providing an indirect indication of the passengers’ stops.

Besides these two areas, pollen and spores were also found in other parts of the pickup truck, with varying degrees of differentiation.

Jiang Yuan asked for a tablet and opened the local satellite map, studying it carefully.

"Morning glory, hydrangea, violet..."

These were the types of pollen found on other parts of the pickup truck, not in great quantities, which meant they held less evidentiary power. However, trying to use them to guide the way seemed feasible.

But looking around at the surrounding residential areas, Jiang Yuan was unable to determine where these flowers might or might not be.

After searching once, he searched again, and at that moment, Jiang Yuan saw a patch of corn poppies on the roadside greenery to the south.

For detectives, this flower, which bears a striking resemblance to the poppy, is somewhat conspicuous. Upon closer inspection, the roadside plants were covered in coarse hair—definitely corn poppies.

And during the search for pollen in the pickup truck, the corn poppy pollen was also identified.

"Let’s go check the south side." Jiang Yuan guessed that the pollen had been picked up by the pickup truck as it passed the greenbelt to the south, so he decided to have a look in that direction.

The group moved at a walking pace, observing as they went.

Jiang Yuan paid careful attention to the patch where the corn poppies grew, ensuring there were no poppies among them before he continued on.

Some fools like to plant poppies in their yards and mix them in with a bunch of corn poppies as a form of camouflage. But in reality, ordinary people can’t even recognize poppies, let alone professional narcotics officers who can easily distinguish between corn poppies and poppies.

After passing the greenbelt with the corn poppies and continuing forward for a bit, they came to a fork in the road; to the right, a brand new residential area with twenty or thirty tall buildings stood erect. To the left was a village in the city by the river, made up of self-built houses.

Without question, they must’ve headed to the village in the city.

In Luo Jin City, new residential complexes with access controls, security guards, and surveillance cameras were clearly not conducive to the secretive lifestyle favored by the trio of kidnappers.

As for the village in the city, Jiang Yuan was all too familiar with it...

"Let’s go have a look," Jiang Yuan muttered, and Mu Zhiyang caught on immediately.

As they walked past the entrance of the urban village, although a few old grandpas were chatting nearby, no one paid any attention to the people coming and going. If one were to drive, it would be even easier.

Inside the urban village, the roads were narrow, but there was a certain order to the parking spots. Jiang Yuan and his group made their way inside and soon arrived at the riverside.

The river was unnamed, but it stretched over ten meters in width; its green waters hid any indication of depth.

There were two or three food stalls or teahouses by the river, and several speedboats and fishing boats moored at the water’s edge. Seeing this, Jiang Yuan didn’t hesitate, he pulled out his phone and called Huang Qiangmin.

Once the reinforcements arrived, Jiang Yuan, leading Mu Zhiyang and the others, took control of the boats, especially the speedboats.

A man with a bare chest came over, asking in an unfriendly tone, "Who are you?"

"Police," Mu Zhiyang showed his badge and asked, "Whose boats are these?"

"They’re all boats from our village," the man’s tone softened considerably upon seeing the police badge.

"All of them belong to your own village? Are there any that are rented out, or bought by outsiders?" Mu Zhiyang inquired.

"Yeah, these days the boats aren’t used for work; they’re all for fun. If you want to rent one, we can rent to you," the shirtless man replied.

Jiang Yuan said, "Show him the photos."

So, Mu Zhiyang took out photos of the kidnappers to show the man, asking, "Did they rent any boats?"

The shirtless man frowned as he looked for a while, not too sure, "I can’t really tell... but two of them look a bit alike... These two, always wearing masks, occasionally take the boat out, say they’re going fishing and stuff..."

"Don’t you watch the news?" Mu Zhiyang asked as he put away the photos.

"Decent folks don’t watch that stuff," the man laughed.

"These two, do you keep records of them renting boats or mooring them? Do you usually write anything down?" Mu Zhiyang pressed further.

The shirtless man nodded, "We have to pay mooring fees, and there are charges for washing the boats too."

"Show us your logbook," Jiang Yuan and Mu Zhiyang followed him to have a look, and saw the man pull out a registration book.

The registration book’s records were very simple, just boat numbers, times, and amounts of money, but at the end, there was a string of numbers.

Jiang Yuan, finding them familiar, asked, "Is this an apartment number?"

"Yes."

"1307030, what does that mean?"

"Building 13, 7th floor, Apartment 3, 0 means it’s a whole rented apartment, if it’s sublet then we write additional numbers after that."

Jiang Yuan nodded; the habits in Luo Jin City were similar to those in Ningtai.

Jiang Yuan called Huang Qiangmin again, and then cautioned Mu Zhiyang, "Keep a good watch, beware of any desperate actions."

"Don’t worry," Mu Zhiyang replied with a serious expression.

The few people by the shore were also kept behind, looking bewildered on the side.

After about 10 minutes, Huang Qiangmin sent a message to Jiang Yuan: "It’s started."

Then there was a thud from within the village. The specifics sounds were unclear, but one could hear a variety of noises emerging in chaos.

Following that, Huang Qiangmin called, "Caught them, all three are here, they were actually cooking noodles."