Provincial Public Security Department.
This was an intensely solemn conference room, occupied by just over twenty people. Apart from Ding Xiongwei, who had brought Jing Ping, You Mingxu, and Xu Mengshan from the local police station, the rest were top experts from various specialized fields within the provincial department.
The series of cases codenamed "10," due to their severe nature and the large number of criminals involved, had been formally handed over to the leadership from the provincial level.
An experienced veteran criminal investigator took the stage, presenting the latest conclusions and findings:
First, the identification of the criminals.
The six suspects who were either blown up or shot dead in the parking lot had all been identified. Among them, four, like Gu Tiancheng, were fugitives with homicide records, originating from various provinces and cities. The additional crimes they had committed while on the run required further verification.
One of the six was a police officer from a certain branch, holding a relatively high rank. This fact greatly shocked the attendees. According to the officer's personal records, his daily performance had been outstanding, with numerous arrests to his name. However, he also had a blemish—he had once assaulted a suspect, though the matter was eventually dropped. He had also had a close partner who was severely injured by criminals and forced to leave the force. This incident had left him despondent for a period, but he later regained his resolve, adopting an even harsher approach to handling cases.
The house where they lived had been rented by this police officer, which explained how they had remained so well-hidden, evading police searches.
How this officer ended up aligning himself with criminals was a question worth deep reflection.
It could also be inferred that much of the internal police data had been leaked by this officer to the organization, enabling them to operate freely from the shadows.
In addition to these six individuals, forensic personnel had discovered fingerprints of four other people in the house. Through fingerprint database comparisons, two were confirmed to be wanted criminals, one was an ordinary company employee, and the fingerprints of the fourth were too blurred and incomplete to identify. The police immediately launched manhunts for the three identified individuals at their possible locations, but they had already vanished without a trace.
In other words, the currently known criminal group consisted of ten people. Six were dead, and four were at large. It remained uncertain whether there were others involved.
"Second," the criminal investigator continued, "based on the stack of photos found at the crime scene, we made a startling discovery. There were twelve people in total, all of whom were either wanted for unsolved cold cases over the years or key suspects."
The projection screen at the front displayed photos of the twelve individuals. Each photo was marked with a large red "X."
"After verification, six of them have already died, and their bodies were previously discovered by the police. The death scenes all exhibited characteristics of suicide or accidents. Since they were either key suspects or wanted criminals, the cases were closed without raising suspicion among the investigators at the time.
I dispatched teams to re-examine all relevant materials related to these six individuals and compared them with the data on the members of the '10' case criminal organization. Footprints of organization members were found at three of the crime scenes, and surveillance footage from the vicinity of three other crime scenes showed organization members appearing around the time of the incidents."
A murmur of discussion filled the room.The criminal investigation expert, unlike You Mingxu and her team who had been tracking the organization all along, had the foresight to conduct such a comparative cross-analysis in the investigation. This not only earned You Mingxu's admiration but also yielded results that aligned with her expectations.
In other words, Gu Tiancheng and his gang were likely using information provided by the corrupt police insider to systematically hunt down other fugitives. They then disguised the killings as suicides or accidents, leaving the cases for the police to close.
The virtuous had perished, while the wicked prevailed.
The criminal investigation expert continued, "Four more individuals have been missing for some time. Additionally, two key suspects are still alive."
Another wave of discussion swept through the room.
You Mingxu thought to herself that the four missing individuals were probably also in grave danger. The two still alive had likely been targeted in the hunting plan but had not yet been dealt with.
The expert's expression showed a flicker of emotion, as such a criminal organization was unheard of in the careers of most detectives. He solemnly stated, "This case was initially pursued by the Yuelu District branch. I've discussed it in detail with Ding Xiongwei and also consulted relevant criminal psychology experts…"
You Mingxu lifted her head slightly.
Today, a certain criminal psychology expert was neither present at the meeting nor had he contacted her. So far, no one had even mentioned him.
"We unanimously believe that we can make a bold hypothesis and characterization of this organization:
This is a 'Punisher' organization, composed of a group of heinous criminals who fancy themselves as righteous. They are organized, disciplined, live as a collective, and adhere to the same twisted values. They must have underlying mechanisms to discover and groom members within the organization, as well as to identify their targets. They plan meticulously, act swiftly, possess strong individual assault capabilities, excel in counter-surveillance, and operate with high efficiency. They are a group of illegal 'enforcers.'
In a society governed by the rule of law, the emergence of such an organization is absolutely impermissible. Their dark, distorted values must be eradicated. I believe the recent raid by the Yuelu District branch has dealt a heavy blow to the organization and was highly successful. We must press our advantage. The discovered hideout was the residence of three criminals, meaning they have at least two more such locations. The provincial authorities will prioritize this case, deploying extensive police resources to rigorously crack down and pursue the suspects, aiming to capture all remaining members of the organization and prevent similar instances of 'vigilante justice' from recurring!"
—
After the provincial meeting concluded and they returned to the Yuelu District branch, Ding Xiongwei held a confidential briefing for You Mingxu and the two others. The main point was that he had been privately debriefed by the deputy director of the provincial bureau. The case was now being handed over to a provincial task force. Their work had been outstanding and was now considered complete for the time being.
However, their mission was not over.
The connection between the "Punisher" organization and Luo Yu, as well as its ties to the Kaiyang Group, remained unresolved mysteries. The Kaiyang Group was also suspected of involvement in drug trafficking activities, though there was no concrete evidence yet. Moreover, the investigation into drugs initiated by Jing Ping could not be disclosed openly, for fear of alerting the suspects and leaking information. Hence, it hadn't been mentioned at the provincial meeting, and the three of them were to continue investigating this lead covertly. While focusing on drug enforcement, they were to report any information related to the "Punisher" organization immediately.This outcome was within the trio's expectations. The crucial piece of evidence lost by Guo Xing had yet to be recovered. The dual suspicions surrounding Luo Yu remained unresolved for the time being.
Because of this matter, Ding Xiongwei had specially allocated a separate small room for the three of them to use as an office, instructing them to move in immediately.
Thus, the entire afternoon was spent by the three moving their belongings into the secluded, dim little room tucked away in the corner of the hallway. To an uninformed observer, it might have seemed as if these three esteemed figures had been exiled by their superiors.
OpenNovel