Zhang Tao and Li Yunwei were university classmates, in the same class and same dormitory.
After graduation, the two went to different cities, with Li Yunwei staying in Yunfeng City.
"Stop it; I know you too well. Quickly check the Hero Leaderboard, that headless case of yours has been solved!"
Li Yunwei's expertise in fingerprint analysis ranks quite high among all experts.
From yesterday till now, he is among the few experts who matched two fingerprints, ranking fourth in points.
He was also one of the experts who did not return to the guesthouse last night.
This morning when Lu Chuan arrived, Li Yunwei was washing up, so he didn't see Lu Chuan comparing fingerprints, and thus he didn't know Lu Chuan chose the case from Yunfeng City.
Eight years ago, Li Yunwei was already working at the Criminal Investigation Team, but he wasn't the director back then, though he was a core member.
The crime scene investigation of the headless case was conducted by Li Yunwei, and the fingerprints on the murder weapon were collected by him.
Li Yunwei participated throughout the entire investigation process of the case, which over the years remained unsolved, requiring reevaluation almost every year.
That bloody fingerprint seemed etched in Li Yunwei's mind, never forgotten for a moment.
"Did it really match?"
Zhang Tao nodded affirmatively: "The Hero Leaderboard has been updated; take a look."
Li Yunwei hurriedly opened the blocked Hero Leaderboard, and after seeing Lu Chuan's name at the top, his score had become forty, and the number of cases solved had risen to four.
The last case was indeed the headless case in Yunfeng City.
"It's really... been solved..."
Li Yunwei abruptly stood up, looking towards where Lu Chuan was.
At that moment, Lu Chuan had just gotten up, stretched, and was chatting with Zhao Zhigao beside him.
Li Yunwei quickly left his seat and ran towards Lu Chuan.
Zhang Tao followed, as did others, including some experts who had just watched Lu Chuan handle the fingerprints, they followed as well.
What they just saw was the process; now, it's the result.
Li Donglin hadn't slept all night, the Meishan Mine case unfolded more than just a murder.
Last night, Li Donglin nearly rushed over.
In the office, Li Donglin yawned, having just napped for a while, only to be awakened by a phone call.
Seeing the caller ID, it was Sun Bing.
Li Donglin was quite satisfied with this doctoral student.
Diligent, energetic, never complains about fatigue or hardship, works and learns earnestly, unlike some PhDs who hold themselves aloof, thinking they should become leaders or experts upon graduation.
In reality, a PhD just has more theoretical knowledge, with still a lack of practical experience.
Sun Bing's excitement was evident in his tone: "Teacher Lu has matched another one!"
Sun Bing's words startled Li Donglin, instantly waking him up: "Another match?"
"Yes, yes, the headless case in Yunfeng City from eight years ago."
"Wait for me; I'm heading over now!"
Li Donglin glanced at the wall clock; it wasn't even half-past ten yet.
The fingerprint battle began at nine, and in less than an hour and a half, another case was solved?
Li Yunwei questioned the suspect result matched by Lu Chuan, clearly puzzled.
"This person wasn't in the range of suspects?"
Lu Chuan knew Li Yunwei was involved in the headless case investigation back then. Seeing his surprise at the suspect matched, it indicated this person had never been on the police's radar.
"Because the victim's identity was never confirmed, we had a very broad range of suspects."
Lu Chuan understood that without confirming the victim's identity, it was impossible to solve the case by investigating their interpersonal relations.
The range of suspects that Li Yunwei mentioned was indeed very broad.
"Within a three-kilometer radius of the scene?"
Li Yunwei shook his head: "Five kilometers; everyone within five kilometers of the crime scene was investigated."
"Over twenty thousand people, fingerprints, and DNA analysis were done, but clues were too scarce at the scene, and nothing was found."
Lu Chuan and others nodded. The victim's head was severed; generally, either there was deep hatred between the killer and the victim, or it was to hide the victim's identity.
In most cases, it was to conceal identity.
"When the body was discovered, giant panda phenomenon had set in, clues were virtually gone. If the weapon hadn't been encased in blood scabs, fingerprints might not have been collected at all."
Li Yunwei was very knowledgeable about the case specifics, sharing many details from the investigation then.
"Lu Chuan, another match?"
As several people were conversing, Li Donglin opened the meeting room door.
"Hello, Director Li."
Li Donglin hadn't slept the previous night and only rested a bit after midnight; he looked exhausted, with red eyes.
"Director Li, Teacher Lu just matched to our case, the headless case from eight years ago."
The case was from Yunfeng City, so Li Yunwei mentioned it first.
Lu Chuan nodded: "Got lucky, Director Li was just telling us about the case investigation from back then."
Though physically tired, Li Donglin was very excited.
The fingerprint battle had been less than two days, with sixteen cases matched in total.
Among them, four were unsolved murder cases!
In previous years, such results weren't even guaranteed at the end of the entire battle.
"Teacher Lu, on behalf of the Provincial Department, I congratulate you on your achievements!"
Even Li Donglin changed his address, calling Lu Chuan "Teacher Lu."
"I hope everyone keeps up the effort, and four days later, I'll commend everyone!"
Li Donglin swiftly departed, as every unsolved murder case matched in the fingerprint battle was a major focal point for the provincial department.
With the significant progress now, Li Donglin would personally follow up.
Additionally, Li Donglin sensed that in the next few days, they would witness surprises daily.
Yunfeng City's Criminal Investigation Team.
"First group, second group, all head to Number 32, Weimu Road!"
Chen Wu was excited, upon receiving notification from the provincial department, he immediately gathered the team, preparing to make an arrest.
Eight years ago, Chen Wu had just taken over as head of Yunfeng City's Criminal Investigation Team.
Poised to make major strides, Chen Wu was hit with a cold splash due to the headless case.
The headless case occurred and remained unsolved until now.
After eight years, Chen Wu had yearned to solve this case, and finally, the opportunity was here.
Number 32, Weimu Road.
Mingzhu District, Building 2, Unit 3, Number 501, the door's loud bang startled Zhang Yuhui awake from his sleep.
Over a dozen fully armed police officers stormed in.
Leaving Zhang Yuhui, utterly bewildered, in shock.