374: Chapter 374 Comrade Qin Chuan, are you serious?

Bureau Chief Gu Hanlin had a bit of a strong reaction. "There's a problem, of course there's a problem!"

"Oh? What's the problem?" Qin Chuan was slightly surprised.

Bureau Chief Gu Hanlin said, "Comrade Qin Chuan, you might not know this, but when the Shanhe University Poisoning Case occurred, I happened to be the Director of the Haicheng District Branch. I participated in the investigation of that case myself."

Shanhe University was located in Haicheng District.

Qin Chuan said, "What a coincidence. Then you must be very familiar with this case. Why don't you tell me about it?"

Reading the case files could never be as comprehensive or in-depth as hearing it from someone who was there. Qin Chuan wanted to get more profound insights from Bureau Chief Gu Hanlin.

Recalling the events for a moment, Bureau Chief Gu Hanlin sat on the sofa and began to recount the case while drinking tea, speaking for a full twenty to thirty minutes.

After finishing, Bureau Chief Gu Hanlin said with regret, "The victim, Zhu Lin, was confirmed to have thallium poisoning. Her intelligence is now only that of a six or seven-year-old, and she is completely paralyzed, confined to a wheelchair for life."

"The most infuriating part is that the antidote for thallium poisoning is actually very simple; you just need to spend a few yuan at a pharmacy to buy a bottle of Prussian Blue. But no one expected Zhu Lin to be suffering from thallium poisoning. By the time it was diagnosed, the poisoning was too deep, and her nerves were damaged. A former prodigy of Shanhe University became a 'useless person' who can only lie in bed all day. It’s truly heartbreaking."

Qin Chuan nodded solemnly. "In that case, we must find the murderer and bring them to justice."

Bureau Chief Gu Hanlin gave a bitter smile. "That's the theory, but we spent a massive amount of manpower and resources back then and still failed."

"The most suspicious person was Zhu Lin's roommate. She had both the motive and the opportunity, but we could never find any evidence, so the case became a cold case. As far as I know, that roommate has already gone abroad, obtained foreign citizenship, and even changed her name."

Qin Chuan said, "Although it will be difficult, I still plan to give it a try. What if I succeed and find the murderer?"

Bureau Chief Gu Hanlin said, "Comrade Qin Chuan, then I wish you success."

If the case could be solved, not only could the murderer be brought to justice, but it would also wash away the past humiliation and remove the label of incompetence from the Haicheng District Branch.

Back then, this case caused a sensation nationwide and was a hot topic. However, the failure to solve it led not only to the public's disappointment in the Haicheng District Branch but also to certain leaders slamming tables and cursing them for their incompetence.

After seeing off Bureau Chief Gu Hanlin, Qin Chuan looked up the information regarding the suspect.

She was Zhu Lin's roommate at Shanhe University back then. Her original name was Gong Jie, but she had now changed it to Sun Tao. She had obtained Australian citizenship and was enjoying a beautiful life abroad, while Zhu Lin suffered from the torment of illness every day.

He entered Sun Tao's relevant information into the system to perform a query.

As expected, the murderer was indeed her.

The entire process of the crime was clear and detailed to the extreme.

Why hadn't the police brought her to justice back then? Because there was a lack of evidence.

Thallium poisoning is chronic; by the time Zhu Lin was discovered to be poisoned, two or three months had already passed.

At the beginning, some strange symptoms appeared. Zhu Lin's hair fell out in clumps, her body became extremely weak, and her vision gradually blurred. At the time, it didn't attract enough attention, and no one thought of thallium poisoning.

During a performance, Zhu Lin suddenly fainted. After being sent to the hospital, the cause of the illness still wasn't identified.

Her parents sent her to the Union Hospital West Campus, hoping to find the cause. But even the top-tier medical level of Union Hospital couldn't find a clue for a while. At that time, the internet was just emerging, and Zhu Lin's classmates sent her symptoms to a website for foreign doctors. Finally, a foreign doctor judged that she might be suffering from thallium poisoning based on the symptoms.

The police opened a case for investigation and first locked onto the suspect, Sun Tao.

The research topic Sun Tao was working on happened to be related to thallium, and she frequently had access to thallium salts.

Furthermore, according to other roommates, the person in the entire dormitory who got along least with Zhu Lin was Sun Tao. The two often argued over trivial matters, nearly coming to blows.

However, despite the police locking onto Sun Tao, they were unable to convict her due to insufficient evidence. During the investigation, Sun Tao consistently maintained that she had nothing to do with Zhu Lin's poisoning, and she wasn't the only person in the school who could obtain thallium salts.

This was complete sophistry. She indeed wasn't the only one who could access it, but she was the only one with both a motive and the time to commit the crime.

But even though everyone knew she was the killer, they couldn't convict her without solid evidence. Additionally, Sun Tao had some 'background.' After the Zhu Lin case happened, she went abroad to study.

The police released her, and Sun Tao left the country immediately after. Everyone knew she was likely the murderer, but so what? In a society ruled by law, they simply couldn't do anything to her.

After reading the entire poisoning process, Qin Chuan felt a weight in his heart.

Even if he knew the detailed process and who the killer was, catching her and finding all the evidence would still be extremely difficult.

Despite the difficulty, he still planned to try.

After thinking for two full days and sorting through every detail, Qin Chuan prepared to establish a special task force to reinvestigate the case. He would serve as the task force leader, with Wei Xinglong as the deputy leader.

Upon hearing the news, the most stunned person was Bureau Chief Gu Hanlin.

He came over in person, a look of disbelief on his face. "Comrade Qin Chuan, you're planning to do this for real? I heard you're even preparing to set up a special task force."

Qin Chuan nodded. "Yes, I'm preparing to establish a task force. I believe the murderer is Sun Tao."

Bureau Chief Gu Hanlin gave a bitter smile. "I also believe the murderer is Sun Tao, but there's no evidence. We couldn't find evidence back then and were helpless against her. Now that so many years have passed, the possibility of finding evidence is zero. I advise you not to try, lest you end up disappointed."

This was the advice of a veteran criminal investigator, and the logic was indeed sound.

If they couldn't solve it back then, now that so many years had passed, the probability of solving it was infinitely close to zero.

Qin Chuan still looked confident. "Comrade Hanlin, if we don't try, how will we know?"

Bureau Chief Gu Hanlin shook his head bitterly, thinking to himself that he was just a young man after all.

Then go ahead and try; once you hit a wall, you'll naturally give up. As an experienced veteran investigator, Bureau Chief Gu Hanlin even reminded him that if this case were reopened, it would inevitably spark a firestorm of public opinion, and he should be mindful of that.

The case would surely not be solved, and once public opinion rose, it was inevitable that some people would say all sorts of things. Some might say Qin Chuan was just using this case to increase his own popularity, calling it a sinister motive.

Qin Chuan remained relaxed. "Thanks for the reminder, I'll be careful."

If the case isn't solved, of course some people will say that. But what if it is solved? What will they say then?

Soon, the special task force was established with Qin Chuan personally serving as the leader. Relevant documents and official letters were also sent down to the Haicheng District Branch.

Shanhe University was in their jurisdiction, so there were certain things they needed to do. The task force's level was too high; it mainly played a guiding role, leading them in the investigation.