Chapter 49: A Born Worker

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Those words were quite harsh, and Zhou Yi immediately furrowed his brow. But he couldn’t possibly argue with the other person over this; it would be meaningless and against the principles of the disciplined force.

“Then, Xu Jiaguang, come to the Municipal Public Security Bureau to see me at 3 p.m. this afternoon,” Zhou Yi said loudly.

Upon hearing “Municipal Public Security Bureau,” whispers spread among the crowd.

“Wow, working at the municipal bureau at such a young age.”

“Not simple at all. I thought he was just a small-town police officer at a local station.”

Zhou Yi continued, “When you come, just say you’re here to see Officer Zhou from the Third Squad Homicide Division.”

The moment the words “Homicide Division” left his mouth, the crowd erupted. To be so young and already at the municipal bureau was impressive enough, but to be part of the homicide division was extraordinary.

Upon hearing Zhou Yi’s words, the man almost dropped to his knees, but Zhou Yi was quick and steady, catching him before he fell.

As Zhou Yi left the crowd, he deliberately glanced at the old man who had spoken sarcastically earlier; this time, the man didn’t dare to utter another word.

Seeing that the time was nearly upon them, Zhou Yi mounted his bicycle and swiftly headed straight for the bureau.

On the way, he couldn’t help but complain to himself that he was destined for a life of toil.

The other day, Chen Yan had said that although he hadn’t arrived yet, the case had.

And now, on his very first day en route to his new post, he was already picking up a case — truly unprecedented.

Just as Zhou Yi passed through the front gates of the bureau, he spotted a familiar figure.

“Brother Yan!” Zhou Yi greeted warmly.

“Hey, Zhou Yi, you’re here! Welcome, welcome,” Chen Yan quickly approached and shook his hand.

“I’ll need your guidance a lot from now on.”

“Don’t tease me. Captain Wu has already said that I should learn a lot from you. He said you have quite a talent for solving cases.”

Zhou Yi thought to himself, talent? No, I just happen to have been drilling on “test questions” for twenty-three years and have accumulated experience.

“Don’t listen to Captain Wu; he’s just saying that to put pressure on me.”

“No, I personally witnessed your skill on the Du Xiaolin case. I truly admire you,” Chen Yan said sincerely. “Do you know what Sister Qiao calls you?”

“What?”

“The Little Detective.”

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Zhou Yi was at a loss for words. Little did he know that his previous several predictions had earned Qiao Jiali’s utmost admiration.

“Is Captain Wu around?”

Chen Yan shook his head. “Captain Wu went with Director Xie to the provincial capital.”

“To the provincial capital?”

“Yeah. The things uncovered behind Zhu Xuejun’s case are huge. The provincial department leaders have requested a special case report. So last night, Captain Wu was suddenly notified by Director Xie and went with him to the province.”

“But he specifically instructed me to help you get familiar with the environment first. When he returns in a few days, he’ll give you a proper welcome.”

As they walked and talked, Chen Yan suddenly lowered his voice, “But Brother Biao is already eager to get started because Captain Wu hid two bottles of Moutai liquor, which he’s been eyeing for a long time.”

Upon hearing Jiang Biao and alcohol, Zhou Yi grimaced as the terrifying memory resurfaced.

Chen Yan took Zhou Yi to the personnel department to complete the onboarding formalities. Wu Yongcheng was true to his word — Zhou Yi was indeed a “temporary worker.”

However, unlike ordinary temporary workers, Zhou Yi’s file had already been transferred from the police station to the municipal bureau.

This meant that this “temporary worker” was not being seconded temporarily but was in a “probationary” phase.

Presumably, this was something Wu Yongcheng had fought for.

After completing the paperwork, Zhou Yi received his new ID card. Looking at the young photo on it, he felt full of ambition.

From now on, it was time to truly show what he could do.

Following the formalities, Chen Yan, following Captain Wu’s instructions, took him to meet the various departments.

Actually, Zhou Yi was more familiar with the bureau’s layout than Chen Yan was, but he still humbly followed behind, greeting his new colleagues in the posture of a rookie detective.

When they reached the forensic lab, they saw Xu Nian in a white coat and mask, busy inside.

“Medical Examiner Xu,” Chen Yan called out.

Xu Nian turned her head, glanced briefly at the two at the door, nodded, and turned back to her work.

Chen Yan hesitated, then awkwardly said to Zhou Yi, “Looks like Medical Examiner Xu is a bit busy. Anyway, you’ve met.”

Zhou Yi didn’t mind and simply greeted her before following Chen Yan along.

Finally, they arrived at the office of the Third Squad, where Qiao Jiali was waiting. She greeted Zhou Yi with great enthusiasm.

After some small talk, Zhou Yi asked Chen Yan, “Brother Yan, any progress on the Li Youqiang missing person case I asked you to investigate?”

Chen Yan couldn’t help but laugh, “Captain Wu really called it, huh?”

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“Called what?” Zhou Yi looked puzzled.

“Captain Wu said you wouldn’t sit still. On your first day reporting, you’d be eager to jump into a case. He was right.”

Zhou Yi sighed wryly. It seemed not only did he know he was a hard worker, but Wu Yongcheng knew it too.

“As for Li Youqiang’s case, we sent his ID details to our colleagues in Anyuan City to assist with the investigation. So far, no feedback.”

Anyuan City was the place Li Youqiang’s mother mentioned — the city in the neighboring province where he went to work, about five hundred kilometers from Baicheng.

“But we did get a lead on another front: that ‘Melon Brother.’ We found out that Melon Brother’s real name is Fu Daqing, a local from Baicheng who earned the nickname because he once ran a fruit wholesale business.”

“However, a few years ago, his business failed, his wife left him for someone else, and since then, he’s had no regular job.”

“What exactly his relationship with Li Youqiang is, we don’t know yet. But one thing is very suspicious.”

“What is it?” Zhou Yi asked eagerly.

“Fu Daqing has also gone missing.”

“What? How long has he been missing?”

“We can’t determine the exact time. Fu Daqing has no children; his wife left him. He only has an elderly father with dementia, currently in a nursing home. We learned from the nursing home that Fu Daqing hasn’t visited his father for almost two months, and the home has repeatedly tried to contact him due to unpaid fees but couldn’t reach him.”

“Over two months? That means Li Youqiang and Fu Daqing went missing around the same time.”

Zhou Yi hadn’t expected that the mother’s well-meaning act at the hospital might actually unravel a case.

At the same time, he realized something else: besides cold cases, there might be many similar missing persons cases—headless mysteries—that have been buried deep in the riverbed of history.

Before his rebirth, Zhou Yi had spent eight years in the archives department, where, besides countless cold case files, he was familiar with many closed cases.

Therefore, he was certain that neither the Li Youqiang disappearance nor the Zhang Hui case from that morning had ever been investigated as criminal cases.

Such cases might have just been filed as ordinary missing persons reports.

They might also be out-of-province cases beyond Zhou Yi’s reach.

Or worse still, cases where the person vanished without a trace, neither alive nor dead—forgotten by all.

Their fates unknown.