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

Chapter 1222 Excavator Driver Zhang Dianquan

“In the past two weeks, only one elderly person went missing in our community, and they have been found. There are no records of young people going missing. However, a resident from the neighboring ‘Peace Community’ came to inquire a couple of days ago, saying that her son hadn’t come home for several days. I can help you contact the director of the Peace Community.”

Half an hour later, the director of Heping Community, along with Xiao Zhou and others, found Liu Mei, the mother of the missing person. When Liu Mei saw the photo, her hands trembled uncontrollably: "These clothes... these clothes look like my son Zhang Dianquan's! He always wore a black jacket like this, and he had calluses on his left knuckles. He drove an excavator, and his knuckles were worn from holding the control lever all year round!"

"How long has it been since your son came home? Does he have a limp in his left leg?" Xiao Zhou asked hurriedly. Liu Mei's eyes were red. "He hasn't come back since he went out on the night of August 22nd. We can't get through to him on the phone. Last year, his left leg was crushed when he was operating an excavator, and he still walks with a limp, especially on rainy days." She took out a photo of Zhang Dianquan. The young man in the photo was wearing a black jacket and had a kind smile, which closely matched the deceased's appearance.

To further confirm the claim, Xiao Zhou took Liu Mei to the Criminal Investigation Division to have her identify the deceased's belongings. When she saw the silver Zippo lighter, Liu Mei instantly broke down: "This was a birthday gift I bought for him last year. He always carried it with him. There's even the character 'Quan' that I engraved on the bottom of the lighter!" Technicians examined the bottom of the lighter and indeed found a tiny engraved "Quan" character, perfectly matching Liu Mei's description.

Taking advantage of the situation, Xiao Zhou visited the excavator rental company where Zhang Dianquan worked. The owner, Wang Qiang, recalled: "Zhang Dianquan was still working at the construction site on the afternoon of August 22nd. He said he was going to see a friend that evening and left early. After that, we couldn't contact him anymore. He has a good personality and has never made enemies. It's just that recently he seems to be helping a friend collect a debt. Sometimes he would complain to me that 'collecting debts is too difficult, and the other party always drags their feet on paying.'"

"Do you know who he was helping to collect debts for? Who was the other party?" Xiao Zhou pressed, and Wang Qiang shook his head: "He didn't say a specific name, only that he was a former coworker, I think his surname was Liu, and he lived near Jiefang West Road." This information made Xiao Zhou realize that debt collection might be the motive for Zhang Dianquan's murder.

Afterwards, Xiao Zhou visited Zhang Dianquan's neighbors and coworkers. Neighbor Aunt Zhang provided a crucial clue: "Around 7 PM on August 22nd, I saw Zhang Dianquan leave with a man in a black coat. The man looked quite fierce, carrying a black bag. The two seemed to be arguing. Zhang Dianquan said, 'If you don't pay me back, I'll call the police.' The man said, 'Don't talk here, come with me.' Then the two walked towards Jiefang West Road."

Xiao Li, a fellow worker, added: "Zhang Dianquan told me before that he was helping a fellow worker named Liu collect a debt. Liu owed someone 10 yuan and asked Zhang Dianquan to help him get it back, promising to give him a 5000 yuan kickback. But it seems that Liu has never received the money and even had a conflict with Zhang Dianquan, saying, 'If you don't get the money back, you won't have an easy time either.'"

Combining all the clues, Xiao Zhou sorted out the key information: the deceased was confirmed to be excavator operator Zhang Dianquan. On the evening of August 22, he went to Jiefang West Road with a man wearing a black coat (suspected to be the creditor or Liu's accomplice) to help his coworker Liu collect a debt. He was subsequently murdered and his body was dumped in a sewer. Zhang Dianquan's old injury on his left leg, the lighter he was carrying, and the characteristics of his clothing all matched the scene investigation and witness testimonies perfectly.

Late that night, Xiao Zhou returned to the Criminal Investigation Detachment and reported to Li Ming: "Through interviews with residents and the community, we have confirmed the deceased's identity as Zhang Dianquan, 32 years old, an excavator operator. Before his death, he had a conflict with others while helping a coworker collect debts. We have identified Liu as a suspect and a man wearing a black coat as suspects. We recommend that we immediately launch an investigation into Liu and expand our surveillance review of Jiefang West Road on the night of August 22 to find the man who was with Zhang Dianquan."

After hearing the report, Li Ming immediately deployed the follow-up work: "Xiao Zhou, you lead the team to arrest Liu and verify his whereabouts on the night of August 22; Xiao Wang, continue to track the black van and focus on checking whether Liu has any related vehicles or accomplices; Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun, conduct a second investigation around the sewers to look for traces related to Liu or the man in black."

The lights in the Criminal Investigation Division shone brightly in the dead of night. Looking at Zhang Dianquan's photo, Xiao Zhou knew that confirming the victim's identity was only the first step. The next step was to find Zhang Dianquan's killer and bring justice to him and his family. He picked up the walkie-talkie and told his team, "Tomorrow morning, we'll go to Liu's residence. We must find him!"

At 9:8 AM on August 26th, the air conditioning in the Criminal Investigation Detachment's conference room blew cool air evenly across every corner. The long conference table was piled high with files related to the sewer corpse case—from crime scene photos to autopsy reports and interview records. Amidst the layers of paper, the words "Zhang Dianquan Murder Case" stood out prominently in large red characters. Li Ming sat at the head of the table, his fingertips lightly tapping the surface. His gaze swept over Xiao Yang, Zhang Lin, Xiao Wang, Xiao Zhou, and others present. After two days of investigation, although the victim's identity had been confirmed, the key suspect remained elusive. This case analysis meeting was precisely to sift through all the clues and find a way to break the deadlock.

“Everyone’s here. Report in turn according to your assigned roles. Let’s start with Xiao Yang. Tell us about the new findings from the expanded on-site investigation.” Li Ming’s calm voice broke the silence of the conference room.

Xiao Yang immediately stood up and projected the latest on-site investigation map onto the screen. The newly discovered traces were marked with different colors on the screen: "During the second investigation of the 500-meter area along the sewer line on Jiefang West Road, we focused on checking the back alleys of shops, abandoned factories, and green belts, and made three additional discoveries. First, in the corner of the abandoned factory in an unnamed alley, more black polyester fibers were extracted. The fiber composition was completely consistent with the fiber composition found in the inspection well earlier, and there was a small amount of machine oil residue on the fibers. After testing, it was found to be the same type of machine oil commonly used in excavators. It is speculated that the fibers were from Zhang Dianquan's clothing and were left behind when the suspect moved the clothes and brushed against the corner of the wall."

He switched to the next photo, which showed a metal rivet hidden in the soil of the green belt: "Second, in the depths of the green belt 30 meters from the sewer manhole, a metal rivet from a black jacket was found. After comparison, it was found to be completely consistent with the rivet model and material of the jacket worn by Zhang Dianquan. The rivet surface had obvious drag marks, indicating that the jacket had been pulled hard and may have been removed during the struggle between the suspect and Zhang Dianquan."

"Third, half a size 42 men's sneaker print was found at the drain in the back alley of the shop," Xiao Yang pointed to the mark on the survey map.