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

Chapter 1380 Missing Person Wang Hao

"What exactly did he and Zhang Biao argue about? Did he threaten him?" Xiao Wang asked. "It's because Zhang Biao withheld half a month's wages, saying he wasn't working hard enough. Wang Hao was indignant, so he argued with Zhang Biao and even said he'd sue Zhang Biao and make him regret it. Zhang Biao isn't one to be trifled with either; he threatened Wang Hao that if he dared to sue him, he'd make sure Wang Hao couldn't stay in this area anymore," another coworker added. "We all know Zhang Biao isn't a good person; he associates with some shady characters. Wang Hao offended him, and maybe this is his revenge."

Then, Xiao Wang found the foreman, Zhang Biao. Zhang Biao was a burly middle-aged man with a scar on his face, looking somewhat menacing. Upon hearing that Xiao Wang was there to investigate his conflict with Wang Hao, Zhang Biao's eyes flickered, but he quickly regained his composure: "Officer, Wang Hao and I did have a little conflict, but it was just about wages. We only exchanged a few words. How could I possibly retaliate against him? His disappearance has nothing to do with me."

"Where were you on the night of September 11th, the day before Wang Hao went missing? What were you doing? Can anyone testify to that?" Xiao Wang pressed. Zhang Biao thought for a moment and said, "That night I was drinking in the dormitory at the construction site with some coworkers. We drank until midnight before going to sleep. They can all vouch for me." Xiao Wang immediately questioned the coworkers who had been drinking with Zhang Biao at the time, and their accounts matched Zhang Biao's, temporarily ruling out Zhang Biao as a suspect. However, Xiao Wang did not let his guard down and arranged for his team to continue secretly observing Zhang Biao's movements.

Meanwhile, the team members investigating Li Erzhu also reported back. Li Erzhu, 42 years old, is unemployed and habitually idle, frequently getting into fights. According to villagers, after a feud with Wang Hao over a land dispute, Li Erzhu did indeed repeatedly threaten revenge against Wang Hao in the village. However, between September 11th and 12th, Li Erzhu was helping out at a relative's house in a neighboring city; relatives and neighbors can testify to this, and he had no opportunity to commit the crime.

The investigation reached a temporary stalemate, and Xiao Wang could only wait for the DNA comparison results to confirm whether the deceased was Wang Hao. At 3 p.m., the technical department reported that after DNA comparison, the unidentified male corpse in the cornfield of Wangjia Village was not related to Wang Baojun and his wife; the deceased was not Wang Hao. This result disappointed Xiao Wang and his team, who had thought they had made a major breakthrough, only to find it was all for naught. Upon hearing the news, Wang Baojun and his wife were devastated. Li Xiulian collapsed to the ground in tears, crying, "It's not my son... then where is my son? Has something happened to him too?" Xiao Wang quickly comforted them, "Uncle and Aunt, don't worry, we will continue to help you find Wang Hao. It seems he may only be temporarily out of contact. We will intensify our search and will definitely give you an explanation."

After comforting Mr. and Mrs. Wang Baojun, Xiao Wang led his team back to the village committee to continue investigating missing persons. After a careful afternoon of review, they identified five eligible missing men from household registration files and village records. Three of them were villagers from Wangjia Village, and two were migrant workers. Xiao Wang immediately arranged for his team to visit and verify the identities of these five individuals with their families and relevant contacts.

The first missing person was Wang Qiang, a 42-year-old villager from Wangjia Village. He lost contact three years ago after leaving to work elsewhere, and his family had reported him missing. However, according to his family, Wang Qiang is 180cm tall, left-handed, and his physical characteristics do not match those of the deceased. Furthermore, the length of time he has been missing makes him a likely candidate for the deceased in this case. The second missing person was Li Lei, a 36-year-old migrant worker who went missing two years ago while working at a construction site near Wangjia Village. The team found Li Lei's coworkers at the time, who stated that Li Lei was about 170cm tall and had a severe hunchback, which did not match the deceased's "proportionate build," thus ruling him out as a suspect as well.

The third missing person was Wang Chao, a 39-year-old villager from Wangjia Village. He left home a year ago due to gambling debts and has not returned. Information provided by his family indicated that Wang Chao had a severe stutter and six fingers on his right hand, completely inconsistent with the deceased's characteristics, and he was also ruled out. The fourth missing person was Zhao Gang, a 40-year-old migrant worker who went missing six months ago while working at a brick kiln in Wangjia Village. The team investigated the brick kiln; the owner stated that Zhao Gang was 172cm tall and had a noticeable scar on his face, while the deceased had no scars on his face, so he was also ruled out. The fifth missing person was Wang Jun, a 45-year-old villager from Wangjia Village, who went missing two months ago after going hunting in the mountains. His family reported that Wang Jun had a disability in his left leg and walked with a limp, inconsistent with the "stable gait" of the deceased's footprints found at the scene, and he was also ruled out.

At 6 PM, after a day of door-to-door inquiries and investigations, Xiao Wang led his team back to the Criminal Investigation Division to report the findings to Li Ming. "Team Leader Li," Xiao Wang said gravely, "we've investigated five missing men from the past three years, centered around Wangjia Village, and all have been ruled out as having any connection to the deceased. Among them, Wang Hao, the son of Wang Baojun, a villager from Wangjia Village, has physical characteristics that closely match the deceased, but DNA testing shows they are not the same person. Currently, the deceased's identity remains unconfirmed, and no direct leads related to the suspect have been found."

After listening to the report, Li Ming fell into deep thought. He picked up the crime scene investigation report and the forensic autopsy report on the table and carefully reviewed them: "Any new progress from the technical department regarding the suspect's footprints, black fibers, and brass metal buttons extracted from the scene?" Xiao Wang shook his head: "The technical department reports that the black fibers have been confirmed to be from the deceased's clothing; the brass metal buttons, after further testing, have been confirmed to be ordinary clothing buttons, but no production markings or sales channel information were found; the comparison of the suspect's footprints is still ongoing, and no matching information has been found in the database yet. In addition, I sent people to investigate Li Erzhu and Zhang Biao, who had conflicts with Wang Hao, and both of them have alibis and have been ruled out as suspects."

"It seems this case is indeed very difficult to solve," Li Ming sighed. "The victim's identity is unknown, the motive is unpredictable, and the clues left at the scene are very limited. But we can't give up; we must continue to expand our investigation. Tomorrow, you will lead your team to the labor market, bus station, train station, and other places with high population density in the town to distribute information about the victim's physical characteristics. At the same time, you will retrieve surveillance footage from the surrounding area to find the victim's whereabouts before death. In addition, contact the public security bureaus of the surrounding counties and cities to request their assistance in investigating missing persons information and strive to confirm the victim's identity as soon as possible."