TTB CH 1

Prelude

Chapter 1: “Welcome to the Missing Persons Investigation Division.”

North of M Country, Lily Park.

The setting sun was like molten gold, the last ray of sunlight slowly sank into the horizon.

The sun is setting and the stars are returning, and another long night is about to come.

Suddenly, a firework shot into the sky with a bang and exploded in the quiet dark night.

The dazzling flames were like broken stars, drawing arcs and illuminating the gray office buildings in the Lily Park. There were 19 buildings here, which could accommodate thousands of people, like a small city.

Then the second, the third… gorgeous fireworks rose into the sky one after another, with constant popping sounds.

In the open space of the park, those scums called “piglets”, “dog pushers” and “red sticks” have gone crazy. They are cheering and celebrating today’s “big harvest”.

This is the park’s unique way of celebrating after a big order is placed.

Every time $500,000 is received, a firework will be set off.

Tonight, thirty fireworks will bloom one after another.

All the ill-gotten gains stained with blood fell into the hands of these scammers. Behind them were countless families that had lost everything and were about to be broken up.

Behind the crowd, two park owners were chatting about something.

They are the famous Zhao brothers in M ​​North. The elder brother is named Zhao Zhanping and the younger brother is named Zhao Zhanqi. They have been engaged in this industry for more than ten years.

At this time, amidst the noise, Zhao Zhanqi was a little worried: “Brother, I’m still worried about those people who ran away the day before yesterday…”

“What are you afraid of?” Zhao Zhanping interrupted him, looking up at the fireworks in the sky, and said in a nonchalant tone, “There are more than one or two people who ran away from here.”

“They took engineer Yuan away, and didn’t we also arrest that…” Zhao Zhanqi looked around and lowered his voice, “Those people don’t look like ordinary undercover agents, could they be…”

“Don’t forget whose territory this is. Even if they want to take action, they are too far away to reach us.” Zhao Zhanping said confidently, “The development of the system has been completed. engineer Yuan is no longer of much use to us.”

He took a sip of wine and said proudly, “Bai Zang is really a little genius. He finally developed the system. As long as we have that thing, other parks will ask us to do things. Even the military here will have to give us some leeway. From now on, our happy days have just begun… those little ants before couldn’t shake anything.”

After hearing what his brother said, Zhao Zhanqi held his chest and said, “That’s good. I’ve been feeling a little uneasy these past two nights.”

“Don’t worry, Bai Zang will take care of it.” Zhao Zhanping said as he looked at the crowd, “But speaking of which, why have they been out on business for so long? They should be back by now, right?”

As the two people spoke to this point, the last firework rose into the sky and disappeared into the black sky, and the night returned to silence.

The celebration ceremony was over and the crowd was just about to disperse when the lights in the park suddenly went out and all the buildings were swallowed up by darkness.

Amid the people’s surprise, a helicopter came closer and appeared above their heads. The propellers stirred up gusts of wind, and amid the hum, several black figures locked onto the helicopter and descended, like a god descending from the sky.

“Police! Run!” In the darkness, someone shouted in fear.

People fled in all directions like frightened birds and beasts, but how could they escape?

The police officers had already obtained the internal map of the park, were familiar with the various passages and personnel distribution, and had already blocked all entrances and exits.

They were like turtles in a jar, with nowhere to escape.

Several Red Sticks in camouflage uniforms were the first to react, raising their guns and shouting: “Fuck, fight them!”

There was an exchange of fire between the two sides and gunfire continued to rang out.

Several bullets whizzed through the air, and several people who tried to resist were quickly shot and fell to the ground, and some were shot dead on the spot by the special police. Blood splattered everywhere, and others saw this and squatted with their heads in their hands, trembling.

The park, which they had thought was impregnable, turned out to be so vulnerable in the face of absolute force.

Looking at this scene, Zhao Zhanping no longer had the indifference he had just had.
His legs were shaking: “It’s over, it’s all over…”

Xia Yan is not here today, and the Red Sticks have no one to lead them, so they quickly become defeated.

Zhao Zhanping staggered to the back of the crowd and muttered, “Even if I die, I can’t fall into the hands of those people.”

As he spoke, he took out a gun while panting, put the muzzle to his temple, and closed his eyes nervously.

Before Zhao Zhanping could pull the trigger, a great force suddenly struck him, and the gun in his hand was instantly snatched away by the special police. Then someone handcuffed his hands and pinned him to the ground.

In a panic, Zhao Zhanqi took out a handful of banknotes and threw them into the air, trying to create chaos. Before the banknotes fell to the ground, a bullet hit his shoulder…

More law enforcement officers filed in and brought many criminals to justice.

There were cries and gunshots, and the ground was covered with debris, coins, blood, and wine.

In just a few minutes, this place changed from a place of revelry to a place of doom. The former scenery was gone, and only a mess remained.

“Police! Stop, don’t move!”

“Put your hands on your head! Get down!”

The square was full of people squatting, bundles of banknotes were carried out, and computers and mobile phones were confiscated.

After tonight’s action, the largest industrial park in northern M Country will no longer exist.

.

At the same time, not far from here, there was a dark and eerie cemetery with broken limbs and piles of bones everywhere.

This is the burial site in the Lily Park, and several Chinese special police officers are searching anxiously.

“Found it!” A shout broke the silence of the night.

Rong Qing ran towards the sound, took a few steps to a shallow pit that had just been dug, and jumped down.

His hands were trembling as he carefully pushed away the loose soil in the pit, revealing a pale face underneath the soil.

He found him…

Half buried in the ground was a young man covered in wounds. His eyes were tightly closed, and large patches of flesh and skin were torn apart. Scars crisscrossed and blood was flowing out. The most shocking thing was the wound on his head. Red blood mixed with brain matter flowed out, forming a winding river of blood.

Looking at the scene before him, endless grief seemed to be like a tide that was about to swallow Rong Qing, but he still suppressed the heartache and leaned over to check the man’s injuries.

“He Lin… He Lin…” Rong leaned on him, calling the man’s name again and again.

His companion pulled him aside and said, “Captain Rong, calm down. He has already…”

Tortured all over the body and shot in the head, no one could survive such serious injuries.

Rong Qing stubbornly broke free from his companion’s hand: “No! The blood hasn’t coagulated yet, he’s still alive…”

Perhaps because those people were too panicked when they were running away, the bullet did not enter the man’s forehead, but deviated slightly and hit the side of his head.

Rong Qing lightly covered the scary wound with one hand, and slowly reached under the man’s nose with the other hand.

An extremely weak breath gently brushed across his fingertips, and Rong Qing’s heart, which had sunk to the bottom of the valley, seemed to see a glimmer of hope again. He turned around and said anxiously, “He’s still alive! Quick! Bring the ambulance over!”

After making all the arrangements, Rong Qing called out repeatedly: “He Lin! Wake up…” His usually calm voice was now trembling. His heart was torn into pieces by the scene before him. He was like a machine that was about to be scrapped. On the outside, he was calmly executing the final procedure, but on the inside he had already collapsed, his body and soul destroyed.

Finally, at his call, the person in front of him slowly opened his narrow eyes, with a blurred and weak look, and looked back at him.

He Lin stared at his face for a moment, his thin lips slightly opened and closed, wanting to call someone’s name. Someone passed by them, bringing a breeze that completely broke the string of He Lin’s memory, and then blew a voice into He Lin’s ears.

The name and the memory that were about to come out were carried by the blood in the wind, soaked into the soil, and sealed in this hell.

The trembling and shaking words: “I’m Rong Qing.” were isolated in the last part of consciousness.

He Lin only had time to ask one last question before his consciousness faded: “Who is Rong Qing? Rong Qing, you’re late…”

The voice was light, more like a sigh, as if it was dispersed in the wind as soon as it was spoken, but it was also like an oncoming steel blade, piercing into the chest. The huge pain from the heart tore Rong Qing in half alive. He looked at his soul covered in blood, his liver and gallbladder were broken, but his body was fixed in place.

From then on, his soul was separated and there was no hope for survival.

.

“Recently, under the deployment of the Ministry of Public Security, our public security organs and relevant law enforcement departments of Country M jointly cooperated to launch a special operation targeting the Lily Park in the northern region of Country M. This operation successfully arrested more than 2,000 cross-border fraudsters.”

“Among the four main criminals, the Zhao brothers have been arrested, the other two are still at large, and the rest have all been brought to justice. Currently, the suspects and items involved have been successfully handed over to us through the port. The police have issued an international arrest warrant for the fugitives.”

“The success of this operation demonstrates the firm determination and efficient results of our public security in combating cross-border electronic fraud.”

“So far, more than 50,000 fraudsters have been transferred to us, and we have made significant progress in combating crimes committed by Country M against us…”

Whatever shore the storm may carry me to, I will go ashore a master.

—Horace

Two years later, early in the morning, Building No. 7 of the Yuncheng Public Security Bureau.

It’s not even time to go to work yet, but there are already people busy at work in the Missing Persons Investigation Section.

The phone in the office rang, breaking the silence.

The phone rang once, and the man picked up the receiver immediately, quickly and efficiently.

“Hey, Captain He, the DNA test results you sent last time are out, and they are completely consistent with the missing child.”

Hearing this news, the man’s frown gradually relaxed, and he said with relief: “Thank you.”

Another missing person has been identified.

In the sunshine, the man hung up the phone, opened the file in front of him, and signed his name at the end of the case. His handwriting was vigorous and powerful, very beautiful, and you could recognize it without careful reading. It was the two words “He Lin”.

After signing, He Lin printed out the entire case file and wanted to check it again to make sure there were no mistakes or omissions.

It was a record from a few years ago, the paper had turned slightly yellow, and it was written by a police officer from the police station at that time. He Lin stared at the words on the paper and read carefully for about ten minutes. Gradually, the words on the paper began to dance. He rubbed his temples and read the paragraph three times before he could barely understand its meaning.

He Lin knew that this was the aftereffects of his previous injury that were causing trouble again.

He didn’t bother with the documents and got up to make a cup of instant coffee.

The steaming coffee was brought to the table, filling the office with a faint aroma.

.

This is the Missing Investigation Section of the Yuncheng Public Security Bureau, and He Lin is the team leader.

He used to belong to a special police team and has been working as a criminal policeman in the Municipal Bureau for just one and a half years.

He Lin participated in a mission two years ago and was seriously injured, especially a bullet pierced his head. After recovering from his injuries, he was left with some sequelae, including amnesia, dizziness, headache, tinnitus, insomnia, and dyslexia.

His amnesia is intermittent, and his memory is like a broken line. He remembers some things very clearly, but he can’t remember some things at all.

He Lin tried hard to search for his memory, and the area with the biggest gaps was the years he spent in the special forces.

Later, he learned from his former colleagues that during that period he had been carrying out various special missions, had traveled abroad more than a dozen times, and signed many confidentiality agreements.

He Lin could only comfort himself helplessly, thinking that by not remembering the past clearly, he could avoid the risk of leaks.

Another serious side effect is that when he reads, his brain cannot input large amounts of handwritten text very well. He becomes distracted as he reads, and a fog seems to appear in his brain, making it impossible for him to understand the meaning.

During the long recovery period, in order to solve these problems, He Lin has seen many doctors and tried many medicines and folk remedies. He tried imported medicines, Chinese medicine, and took handfuls of DHA and fish oil, but the effect was not satisfactory.

After the half-year rest period, the situation improved slightly and He Lin no longer fought against the sequelae.

He passed the public security examination and transferred to the Yuncheng City Bureau, taking over the missing persons investigation section that no one cared about.

The Missing Persons Investigation Section is mainly responsible for managing and archiving missing case files submitted by various branches, investigating and handling difficult missing persons cases instructed by leaders, and accepting case coordination applications from branches.

The circumstances of missing persons cases are ever-changing, and many cases involve complicated clues, complex circumstances, and long time spans. Often, only a few cases are solved in a year.

So in the past, this department was joked to be just a save point, and was even mocked as the cold palace of the Municipal Bureau.

After He Lin arrived, the progress of the missing persons investigation was greatly improved. On average, two cases were solved every month, and the most in a month was four cases, which was an efficient pace of almost one case solved every week.

This sudden dark horse shocked the entire Yuncheng City Bureau.

During the work summary at the end of last year, Director Chen, the head of the Municipal Bureau, awarded him several awards in succession.

During the conversation after the meeting, Director Chen spoke highly of He Lin’s investigative ability. The leader thought that he was a bit underemployed in such a small department, so he asked him if he was willing to be promoted and transferred to other departments.

After a brief thought, He Lin politely declined. Although the Missing Investigation Section was a fringe department, it was unusually quiet and was more suitable for his current situation.

He mentioned to Director Chen the inconveniences he was experiencing after recovering from his injury, especially his dyslexia, and expressed that it was difficult for him to take on the heavy responsibility.

“Is it that serious?” Director Chen exclaimed, “But since you took over the investigation department, the crime solving rate here has increased several times. If you hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have noticed it at all.”

He Lin responded: “It’s okay to read a small amount of handwritten documents, but it gives me a headache when I encounter a large number of files and documents. Sometimes I need others to read it for me.”

Fortunately, his dyslexia was limited to handwritten text, and once those clues were converted to computer fonts, it was much better. Sound, images, and videos were not affected at all.

This does not have much impact on daily life, but the key point is that it is very inconvenient at work, especially when faced with mountains of case materials.

After He Lin finished the preparation, he began to complain to Director Chen: “I can still overcome these. The biggest problem at the moment is that there are not enough people in the team and we can’t handle it.”

With good results, you will naturally have the confidence to ask your leader for more people.

The uncertainty in searching for missing persons is much greater than in ordinary homicide cases.

Due to the complexity of the cases and the mobility of the population, not only are their jobs very busy, but they sometimes also need to travel to various places to investigate.

Director Chen nodded in understanding, patted He Lin on the shoulder, and handed him a cigarette as a sign of comfort: “I’ll tell Lao Bai that I’ll add a vacancy to your investigation department and assign an investigator. This will not only ease your case handling pressure, but also help you organize your archival materials.” The leader paused here, and then continued, “It’s just that I estimate that you will have to hold on for a while before someone can take up the work.”

Although the pie has been drawn, it is common knowledge in the bureau that the Yuncheng Public Security Bureau is short of manpower.

Which area of ​​criminal investigation, economic investigation, drug enforcement, and anti-fraud does not lack people?

Even if it was just a small intern, it was enough to make the captains fight over him.

In short, more than half a year has passed since the beginning of this year, and it is already autumn, but I still haven’t seen the newcomer.

We’ll have to wait until next year.

.

He Lin had just finished half of his cup of coffee when Fang Jue, the youngest policeman in the team, ran in. He didn’t even have time to put the soy milk on the table before he hurriedly said, “I just saw Lao Bai… brought a new person.”

Old Bai’s name is Bai Yurong. He is the deputy director of the Municipal Bureau, in charge of personnel affairs.

He Lin put down the coffee in his hand: “Where did they go?”

Fang Jue took a breath and said, “It was a young man. He took him to the office for a talk.”

He Lin was ready to strike first, so he picked up his phone and called Deputy Director Bai, and straight away he brought up the matter of adding more staff to the investigation department.

Lao Bai laughed at him on the phone, “Ah, Captain He, there really aren’t any new people joining the Municipal Bureau recently.” Then he added, “Director Chen has reminded me of your needs, and I’ve already taken them to heart. With our relationship, how could I not think of you if there was someone else?”

He Lin laughed and was not fooled by him.

He hung up the phone and stood up: “I’ll go over and take a look.”

.

At the same time, Bai Yurong hung up the phone and returned to the office. With a smile on his face, he sat down opposite a young man with a slightly stiff look.

The young man in front of him was thin, with handsome features and a naturally cold temperament.

But it was this seemingly ordinary young man who made Lao Bai, the deputy director of the Municipal Bureau, sit upright and even answer questions carefully.

The person opposite Bai Yurong was from the Tianning base. He held a high position before the transfer, and the transfer was only temporary, so the base did not send his file to him. The leader of Tianning also specifically reminded him that he was not in good health and needed special care.

Tianning Base has a special status in the public security system, and is considered to be half of their superior unit. Lao Bai doesn’t want to mess up this job.

As soon as he got off the phone, Bai Yurong was afraid that the young man might be suspicious, so he quickly explained, “Someone got the news when I brought you in, and they misunderstood, thinking that you were a new graduate and asked me for help.”

The young man asked casually, “Which department is so short of people?”

Lao Bai replied, “The Missing Persons Investigation Division is in need of an investigator. When there are interns, I will pick a capable one and send him over.”

The young man hummed and continued to look down at the information in his hand.

What he was holding was the organizational structure list of Yuncheng Public Security, which was marked with red letters behind the departments with vacancies.

The young man silently turned to the page of the Missing Investigation Department and lightly ran his finger over the name of the captain He Lin.

Seeing that he hadn’t spoken for a long time, Lao Bai respectfully suggested: “Have you made your choice? Which department should you go to? The Finance Department, the Legal Brigade, or the Political Work Office? There are vacancies for the heads of these departments.”

Those are clerical office jobs, which are very stable, relatively easy, and not very dangerous, and can be considered “good jobs.”

The young man said nothing.

Lao Bai continued with a smile: “There are still two vacancies for the chief officer position in the branch, and the deputy chief is currently serving as the deputy chief officer.” The implication is that if he is willing, he can be arranged to take over. Although the director of the branch will be busier, it is a high position after all.

The young man’s gaze lingered on that page for a long time before he blinked, closed the roster, and said calmly, “The Missing Persons Investigation Department.”

Lao Bai: “?!”

His eyes widened, and it took him a moment to realize what the other person said: “Management position or…”

The young man interrupted: “Didn’t you just say that it was in need of an investigator?”

Lao Bai was so anxious that he was sweating. “Boss, please don’t make it difficult for me. That’s a grassroots position. How do you want me to arrange it? The salary for this position doesn’t match the rank. And that job is just to investigate missing persons. If you got here, you would be wasted”

He couldn’t understand why this young man with a solid background and great potential for promotion would give up his good leadership position, suffer at the grassroots level, reduce his salary, and go to a department that was busy, tiring, and had no prospects.

To do so is tantamount to “voluntary exile”.

The last person in the Municipal Bureau to be chosen in this way was He Lin…

Lao Bai couldn’t help but frown, wondering in his heart, what happened to the people from Tianning Base? Why did they all have a special liking for the small Missing Investigation Department?

The young man looked straight at him and said in a low but firm voice: “As for that position, you can arrange it normally.”

From these words, Lao Bai felt an unquestionable sense of pressure. He was sweating and hurriedly found a document to print out.

The young man took the document without any hesitation, glanced through it quickly, and after confirming that it was correct, he picked up the pen and signed his name.

The matter was settled, and Bai Yurong finally regained his spirit. He cleared his throat and said, “Let me introduce the situation to you…”

.

A few minutes later, He Lin arrived at the deputy director’s office and knocked on the door.

Bai Yurong opened the door.

He Lin’s eyes passed him and looked directly inside.

Sure enough, there was a handsome young man sitting at the table. He looked back when he heard the voice.

The moment their eyes met, He Lin was slightly stunned.

It was just a quick glance, he didn’t even see the other person’s face clearly, but He Lin felt that the person was inexplicably familiar. But he couldn’t remember where he had seen him before.

The young man was also stunned when he saw him, then quickly turned his head away and avoided his gaze.

At this moment, He Lin felt that something was trying to struggle out of his head.

However, when he tried to think carefully, a sharp pain arose in his brain. The pain was like a sharp needle piercing his head, and it also drowned his consciousness like a surging tide.

He Lin couldn’t help but hold his breath for a few seconds.

This was also a sequelae of his injury. Fortunately, the pain was not severe this time and did not last long. He quickly came back to his senses and regained consciousness.

“Hey, Captain He, I was just looking for you.” Bai Yurong warmly pulled He Lin a few meters away, then whispered, “I’m really not kidding you. This person is not a newcomer, he has transferred here. You have to respect his ideas.”

He Lin listened to Bai Yurong’s explanation and expressed his understanding. He put back the question he had prepared: “Then why are you looking for me…”

“But…” Lao Bai changed the subject and patted his shoulder. “Considering the special situation of your investigation department, I did some psychological work for a long time, and he finally agreed to go to your department. The handover procedures have been completed. It’s just right that you’re here. Take him back on the way.”

He Lin did not expect this turn of events. Although he had some doubts in his heart, he still thanked him.

He intuitively guessed that Lao Bai would not be so kind, and there must be something he didn’t know. But he didn’t ask further, because having more people on the team was always a good thing.

He Lin asked: “Where is the file?”

“He was transferred from outside. I don’t have his information here. I only have his basic information. He has passed the physical test and exams with excellent results.” Lao Bai handed him a form and said, “You can talk to him yourself. He is yours anyway. You can get to know him slowly in the future.”

There were only a few lines of text on the form, and the work experience column was left largely blank.

He Lin took a glance and saw that the newcomer’s name was Li Shang.

When he looked at him just now, he thought that person would be younger, but he didn’t expect that the age filled in on the form was 30, the same age as him. Looking at the ID number, the birthday was a few months older than his.

He Lin walked back. Lao Bai was shorter than him, so he moved his legs quickly to keep up with his pace. He reminded him worriedly, “Also, don’t work overtime casually, don’t give heavy work, don’t go on business trips too often… Be patient, have a better temper, assign work more slowly, and don’t bully the newcomer.”

“Is he here to be a leader?” He Lin couldn’t help but ask back.

“Uh, that, of course not…” Lao Bai answered stutteringly.

“I’m not a cannibal… I can’t eat you” He Lin raised his eyebrows, “Also, if you’re afraid of being tired, don’t be a policeman.”

Bai Yurong was afraid that the person inside might heard it, so he quickly made a gesture to He Lin to keep quiet.

He Lin pushed open the door of the conference room and said loudly: “Hello, my name is He Lin, and I am the chief of the Missing Investigation Section. Lao Bai has told me the situation, and we will be colleagues from now on. Welcome to join the Missing Investigation Section.”

Now standing opposite, He Lin finally saw what the man looked like. His first impression was that he was clean and good-looking. The man had handsome eyebrows, a thin face, and very white skin. It was the kind of cold white that lacked blood color, and the blue blood vessels could be faintly seen, giving people a cold feeling.

“My name is Li Shang.” The man raised his eyes and greeted politely, his eyes bright and quiet, “Hello, Captain He, please take care of me in the future.”