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

Chapter 890 The Female Corpse in the Mine

A week after Chen Xiaoyu's case, the provincial government's conference room was brightly lit and the atmosphere was serious.

Qin Chuan was fully focused on the meeting, his pen occasionally jotting down important notes in his notebook. Suddenly, his phone vibrated slightly in his pocket. He frowned slightly, quietly took out his phone, and saw that it was a call from Li Ming. Answering a call during a meeting was inappropriate, but based on his years of criminal investigation experience, Qin Chuan instinctively felt that the call was related to the case. Given the urgency, he gave a slight bow to his superior next to him, then quickly stood up and tiptoed out of the meeting room.

"Hey, Li Ming, what's going on?" Qin Chuan asked urgently, lowering his voice. On the other end of the phone, Li Ming's voice was slightly grave: "Director Qin, something big has happened in Nanwan Town, Dongchuan City. A woman's body has been found in an abandoned mine. Preliminary assessment is that it was a homicide." Qin Chuan's heart sank, and his eyes sharpened instantly: "How's the scene secured? Have you conducted a preliminary investigation?" Li Ming quickly replied: "We sealed off the scene immediately. Technicians are conducting a preliminary investigation, but there aren't many clues yet."

Qin Chuan pondered for a moment, then decisively instructed: "Li Ming, immediately organize police forces to conduct a search of the surrounding area, interview nearby residents, and see if anyone has seen any suspicious persons or vehicles. Have the forensic doctor perform an autopsy on the body as soon as possible to determine the cause and time of death. Remember, be meticulous and don't overlook any clues." Li Ming firmly replied: "Understood, Director Qin, we will do our utmost."

After hanging up the phone, Qin Chuan returned to the conference room, briefly explained the situation to his superiors, and after receiving permission, hurriedly packed up the materials and rushed back to Dongchuan City to oversee the investigation.

The murder case must be solved in Dongchuan City. It was already a high-crime area, and while the situation had improved somewhat since Qin Chuan's arrival, the improvement was mainly in the investigation itself; the high frequency of crimes remained unchanged. This meeting was a training session for key leaders of the municipal bureau organized by the provincial department. Since a murder had occurred in his jurisdiction, his request for leave to return to Dongchuan City meant his superiors wouldn't object.

As dusk fell, the last rays of the setting sun bathed the highway in its glow as Qin Chuan's car sped towards Dongchuan City. Inside, his expression was grave, his mind racing with possibilities for the new case. The abandoned mine in Nanwan Town, a place rarely visited by humans, was where the killer chose to dump the body, clearly to cover up his crime. The identity of the female victim, her relationship with the killer…

Meanwhile, a cordon had been set up around the abandoned mine pit in Nanwan Town. Li Ming rushed over with the criminal police officers conducting the on-site investigation. They saw Old Li, a shepherd, standing to the side, his face pale, still in shock from discovering the body.

"Uncle Li, please don't worry, tell us in detail how the body was discovered," Li Ming said gently.

Old Li swallowed hard, his voice trembling: "I came here to herd sheep as usual this morning. When I passed the mine, I smelled a strange odor. I didn't pay attention at first, but then I saw something that looked like a human figure by the mine. When I got closer, oh my god, it was a dead person. I was so scared that I immediately called the police."

Li Ming patted Old Li on the shoulder: "Thank you, Uncle Li. Please rest for a while. We'll contact you if anything happens."

After speaking, Li Ming turned and walked towards the corpse. At this moment, the corpse had reached a gigantic state, its entire body swollen, its skin bluish-green, and its veins bulging, resembling a bizarre map covering its entire body. Its face was highly deformed, its eyeballs bulging, and its lips everted, as if telling of the suffering it had endured in life.

"The gigantism of this corpse is so obvious, the time of death must have been quite some time ago," said Xiao Zhang, a young detective standing nearby, frowning.

Zhang Lin, who was in charge of the forensic work, squatted down and carefully examined the body. While examining it, she said, "Based on the degree of decomposition, the time of death is estimated to be about four to six days ago. The exact time will have to wait for the autopsy, which will involve a comprehensive assessment of the digestion of the stomach contents, body temperature, and other factors."

Li Ming nodded and looked around: "Everyone, search carefully and see if there are any other clues."

The surveyors began a thorough search of the surrounding area. A moment later, one of the surveyors shouted, "Team Leader Li, there are tire tracks here!"

Li Ming and the others rushed over and saw two clear tire tracks on the dirt road next to the mine pit. "These tire tracks are relatively new, and they were left by a heavy vehicle. They are very likely related to the case," said Officer Zhao, a trace evidence expert, as he crouched down to observe and analyze the tracks.

Xiao Zhang asked, "Officer Zhao, can we determine the type of vehicle by looking at the tire tracks?"

Officer Zhao shook his head: "Not yet. The dirt road is soft, and the tire tracks are a bit blurry; we can only tell it's a large vehicle. We'll have to take rubbings of the tire tracks when we get back and compare them with the vehicle tire information in the database to see if we can find a match."

Li Ming then asked, "What about the footprints? The murderer should have left footprints after committing the crime."

Officer Zhao sighed: "It's rained in Nanwan Town these past few days, the ground is muddy, and the shepherds often walk around here, so their footprints are severely damaged, making it difficult to extract any useful information."

At this point, forensic doctor Zhang Lin made a new discovery on the body: "Team Leader Li, there are signs of binding on the wrists and ankles of the body, and abrasions on the skin, indicating that the deceased was bound before death. In addition, there are obvious ligature marks on the neck, which means that the person was likely strangled."

Li Ming looked at the corpse, pondered for a moment, and then said, "The murderer first tied up the victim, then strangled him, and finally dumped the body here. Judging from the choice of an abandoned mine pit as the dumping location, the murderer was quite familiar with this area and knew that it was usually deserted."

Xiao Zhang asked, "Captain Li, could it be a local who committed the crime?"

Li Ming did not answer immediately, but said, "We cannot rule out this possibility. But it is too early to draw conclusions now. We need to investigate from multiple perspectives. Send out notices to check vehicles in and around Nanwan Town, paying particular attention to large vehicles that have recently entered or exited the area. At the same time, visit nearby residents to see if anyone saw any suspicious vehicles or people during the time of the incident."

Just as everyone was busy, a police officer came over with a nearby villager: "Captain Li, this man says he has something to report."

The villager was a little nervous and said, "Officer, a few nights ago I passed by this area and saw a large truck parked next to the mine pit. I thought it was strange at the time, since no one usually comes here, so why would there be a truck? I also saw two people get out of the truck and walk into the mine pit. But it was too dark, so I couldn't see their faces clearly."

Li Ming's eyes lit up: "Do you remember which night it was? Around what time? What color was the truck?"