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

Chapter 1352 New Clues, Folding Knife

What's more troublesome is that there's no record of Zhao Gang using his ID card, and the surveillance cameras at the train and bus stations didn't capture him.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yang's investigation also reached a stalemate. After expanding the search area, they found the bloodstained folding knife in the irrigation ditch, but the bloodstains on the blade had been washed away by the water and were indistinct. They could only confirm that it was human blood, but could not extract complete DNA. The comparison results of the blue dye composition showed that it was completely consistent with the dye on the outsourced team's work clothes, but this dye is very common on the market, and it is impossible to identify specific personnel through the dye.

In Zhang Lin's lab, the DNA comparison results of the human skin tissue found under Liu Qiang's fingernails also came back—partially matching the DNA samples of Zhao Gang's family members, confirming it was Zhao Gang's skin tissue. This result excited all the team members; they had finally found direct evidence pointing to Zhao Gang. "The skin tissue under Liu Qiang's fingernails indicates that he had a fierce argument with Zhao Gang before his death, and it's very likely that it was left when he resisted Zhao Gang's attack," Zhang Lin analyzed. "Combined with the conflict between Zhao Gang and Liu Qiang, his motive is very clear—revenge against Liu Qiang for encroaching on his farmland, and possibly also coveting the wages owed by the mine."

However, a new problem arose. Zhao Gang's whereabouts became a mystery. Xiao Wang and his team visited all the construction sites and scrap metal collection stations around the Xipo Coal Mine, but they couldn't find any trace of Zhao Gang. Zhou Dafa recalled that on the morning of October 16th, he saw a man wearing a black coat at the entrance of the collection station. The man's build was very similar to Zhao Gang's, and he was carrying a bulging bag as he walked towards the train station. "I called out to him, but he didn't turn around and ran very fast," Zhou Dafa said.

Xiao Wang immediately retrieved the train station's surveillance footage from the morning of October 16th and indeed captured a man resembling Zhao Gang at the entrance. The footage showed that he purchased a train ticket to Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, and boarded the train at 10:05 AM that day. Xiao Wang immediately contacted the Shijiazhuang police, requesting their assistance in locating Zhao Gang. The Shijiazhuang police responded that after getting off the train at Shijiazhuang Railway Station, Zhao Gang transferred to a bus bound for Xingtai and then disappeared.

The case reached another impasse. Although all the evidence pointed to Zhao Gang, he had already fled back to his hometown. The rural areas of Xingtai are vast, making the investigation extremely difficult. Xiao Wang led his team to Xingtai and launched a joint investigation with the local police. They interviewed all of Zhao Gang's relatives and friends, all of whom stated they had never seen him. Zhao Gang's ex-wife said that Zhao Gang had never contacted her and their children since his release from prison. "That man is ruthless and has offended many people. Maybe he's hiding, or maybe he's gone somewhere else."

In Zhao Gang's hometown, Xiao Wang made an unexpected discovery. Zhao Gang's cousin, Zhao Qiang, revealed that around October 20th, he received an anonymous transfer of 10 yuan. "The sender left a message saying, 'The money I borrowed from you has been paid back.' I was puzzled at the time, wondering who would transfer money to me. Now that I think about it, it was probably Zhao Gang." Xiao Wang immediately checked Zhao Qiang's bank statements and found that the transfer came from an anonymous third-party payment account with forged account information, making it impossible to trace the specific person.

What troubled Xiao Wang even more was that Xingtai police discovered during their investigation that Zhao Gang had met a group of unemployed people after his release from prison, and frequently participated in gambling and debt collection activities. "He may have multiple hideouts, or he may have changed his identity and is living in another place under a false name," said the head of the local police. "We have issued a notice for assistance in the investigation and are searching for Zhao Gang's whereabouts throughout the city, but so far we have not received any leads."

Back in Xicheng, Xiao Wang gave Li Ming a detailed report on the investigation. Li Ming looked at the clues on the case analysis board, his brow furrowed: "Zhao Gang is currently the only suspect; we must catch him. On one hand, continue cooperating with the Xingtai police to expand the scope of the investigation, focusing on Zhao Gang's previous whereabouts and social circles; on the other hand, re-examine Liu Qiang's network of relationships to see if any clues have been overlooked, especially regarding the unpaid wages at the mine, and whether anyone else has had conflicts with Liu Qiang because of this."

Xiao Wang nodded, understanding that this case was like a tug-of-war. Although Li Jianjun had been ruled out as a suspect, finding Zhao Gang as a new breakthrough was already a significant step forward. He returned to his office, pasted Zhao Gang's photo on his desk, and picked up the DNA comparison report again, secretly resolving: no matter where Zhao Gang hid, he would bring him back and make him pay for killing Liu Qiang.

Night fell once more over Xicheng District, but the Criminal Investigation Division's office building remained brightly lit. Xiao Wang and his team were meticulously examining all the clues surrounding Zhao Gang, leaving no detail overlooked. The coffee on their desks had gone cold, and the ashtray was piled high with cigarette butts, but no one slackened in the slightest. They knew the truth might be hidden in some overlooked detail; if they persisted, they would surely find Zhao Gang's trail and bring this case to a close.

In Li Ming's office, the ashtray was overflowing with cigarette butts, and the sky outside the window had turned from a pale dawn to a deep inky black. Xiao Wang stood at the desk, clutching Zhao Gang's file, his knuckles white from the pressure. "Zhao Gang's social network must be completely dismantled, from his relatives and friends to his gambling buddies—not a single one can be missed." Li Ming pushed a freshly brewed cup of strong tea in front of Xiao Wang; the tea stems stood upright in the boiling water, much like the taut lines of the investigation. "The skin tissue under Liu Qiang's fingernails, the land dispute in his hometown, and his movements in Xicheng at the time of the crime—all three lines point to him. Without catching him, this case cannot be closed."

Xiao Wang tilted his head back and gulped down the strong tea. The bitter taste spread from the tip of his tongue to his throat, but it cleared his muddled mind a bit. "I've divided the team into three groups. One group is checking Zhao Gang's employment records and rental information in Xicheng. The second group is contacting the prison system to retrieve his fellow inmates' files. The third group is going to Xingtai, Hebei, to conduct in-depth visits to his hometown." He spread out Zhao Gang's interpersonal relationship map, on which more than a dozen key nodes were circled in red. "After Zhao Gang was released from prison, he didn't have a proper job. He made a living by doing odd jobs and gambling. His social circle is very mixed, but at its core there are only two types of people—fellow inmates and gamblers. These people are highly mobile, so we need to find them as soon as possible."

The investigation by the first team members quickly ran into difficulties. Zhao Gang had no fixed place to live in Xicheng. He sometimes stayed in temporary prefabricated houses on construction sites, sometimes squeezed into rented rooms in the homes of fellow villagers, and even slept under bridges a few times because he was chased and beaten for gambling debts.