379: Chapter 379 This is a provocation

The Cold Case Task Force was established, with Qin Chuan serving as the leader.

Investigations were reopened for long-unsolved cold cases and major cases across various provinces. As the news spread, it received strong support from the public, who cheered the move.

"It should have been done long ago; those people cannot be allowed to remain at large!"

"A gruesome family murder happened in our province five or six years ago and remains unsolved. I hope they can crack it this time!"

"We'll wait and see. Those killers hiding in the shadows must be trembling by now!"

"..."

Many people posted and left comments online, sparking a heated discussion.

Qin Chuan took Wei Xinglong and a few others, making Northwest Province their first stop.

In a spacious reception room, Secretary Wang Dafei, the Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission of Northwest Province and concurrently the head of the Provincial Public Security Department, personally received them. Sitting on the sofas, everyone was discussing work matters in a pleasant atmosphere.

Secretary Wang Dafei personally stated, "Rest assured, Comrade Qin Chuan. Our Northwest Province police will go all out and strive to solve those years-long cold cases one by one."

Qin Chuan smiled. "With a statement like that from Secretary Wang, I am relieved. I don't expect every single one to be solved; if half of them are cracked, I would be very satisfied."

Cold cases from years ago were never easy to solve; cracking even a portion of them would already be a significant achievement.

Qin Chuan and several others arrived in Northwest Province to oversee cold cases and suspicious cases, and they were featured on that day's Northwest Province News and Xizhou News.

The Xizhou News report, in particular, lasted a full three or four minutes, covering not only the arrival of Qin Chuan's group in Xizhou City but also the news of the province-wide launch of the Cold Case Task Force operation.

That same day, the Northwest Provincial Public Security Department held a general meeting. Qin Chuan spoke at the meeting on behalf of the Criminal Investigation Bureau in his capacity as the task force leader.

The authorities in Northwest Province were very hospitable. Not only did they show Qin Chuan ample respect, but they also specially prepared a temporary office for him. It was located within the Provincial Public Security Department's office building, on the same floor as Secretary Wang Dafei's office.

Per Qin Chuan's request, the case files for the series of cold cases to be solved were mostly placed on the large desk in the temporary office, forming a tall stack.

Among the many unsolved cold cases, the Xizhou City Serial Murder Case topped the list of cases that had to be solved.

Today was Qin Chuan's second day in Xizhou City.

Sitting in the spacious temporary office, Qin Chuan was once again flipping through the files. After about ten or twenty minutes, there was a knock at the door.

Secretary Wang Dafei knocked and entered.

His expression looked a bit off, and he appeared quite angry.

Qin Chuan knew something must have happened and couldn't help but ask, "Secretary Wang, what's wrong?"

Secretary Wang Dafei shouted fuming, "It's absolutely lawless! Too arrogant! This is a provocation, a blatant provocation! Just now, we received a report that someone was killed in a rented apartment. The victim is a young woman. Her carotid artery was severed, her pants were removed, and her clothes were pushed up above her breasts. There are twenty-six knife wounds all over her body, and there are signs of sexual assault."

After hearing this, Qin Chuan understood why Secretary Wang Dafei was so furious.

The modus operandi was exactly the same as the previous serial murders.

He had just arrived in Xizhou City to oversee a series of cold cases, including the Xizhou City Serial Murder Case, and the culprit had immediately given him a show of strength.

Qin Chuan's expression turned solemn as he said slowly, "The method is identical to the previous serial murders. It must be the work of the same killer."

Secretary Wang Dafei fully agreed with this deduction and nodded. "It's almost certainly the case. Our forensic experts are conducting an identification, and the criminal investigators are already at the scene. We should have a conclusion soon."

Qin Chuan thought for a moment and then suggested, "Secretary Wang, I'd like to go to the scene and take a look."

Secretary Wang Dafei waved his hand. "Let's go, we'll go together. This is just too lawless. The killer had been silent for several years without committing another murder, and now he's actually openly provoking us!"

Qin Chuan nodded. The killer likely saw on the news that the Northwest Province police had launched a Cold Case Task Force operation and that the Xizhou City Serial Murder Case was on the list. That's why he committed the murder so openly, as a challenge to the police.

"Catch me if you can!"

"I'll keep killing, and what are you going to do about it?"

No wonder Secretary Wang Dafei reacted so strongly and was so angry. He personally accompanied Qin Chuan to the crime scene.

It was an old, dilapidated residential compound. Aside from some elderly residents, a large portion of the inhabitants were renters. There were very few surveillance cameras, and no access control system.

The victim was a young woman with simple social connections, making a revenge killing unlikely. The cash, mobile phone, and other items in the rented room were untouched.

Criminal investigators and forensic experts were carefully conducting a field investigation. Leading them was the Head of Criminal Investigation Detachment of the Municipal Bureau.

"Secretary Wang, Secretary Qin, the preliminary determination is that the time of death was around 1:30 AM. There are no signs of the door lock being forced; the culprit is an expert at picking locks, which is consistent with the previous series of serial murders."

Secretary Wang Dafei's face was grim. "Any clues or findings from the crime scene?"

The Head of Criminal Investigation Detachment shook his head bitterly. "Nothing so far. No fingerprints, no footprints, nothing at all. But we are still investigating thoroughly, hoping to find something."

After hearing this, Secretary Wang Dafei thought to himself: Could it be just like before, impossible to solve?

As for Qin Chuan...

After listening to the report, he began to look around carefully. Although he wasn't a professional, he had the System and Fiery Golden Eyes; his vision was far superior to that of an ordinary person.

Crucially, he had seen a message pushed by the System this morning, one of which was related to this murder case. The System provided a very important piece of information: the killer had snuck in through the balcony, placed a note under one of the flower pots on the balcony, and left a short strand of hair on the edge of the balcony.

Finding a strand of the killer's hair at the scene would be a major breakthrough. Through a DNA database comparison, there might be a match.

Qin Chuan walked over to the balcony and said to Secretary Wang Dafei and the others, "Secretary Wang, is it possible the killer climbed in through the balcony?"

A criminal investigator pointed out, "Secretary Qin, this is the fifth floor. It would be quite difficult for the killer to climb in from here."

Why bother climbing up the balcony with such effort when there's a perfectly good door? It didn't seem likely.

Qin Chuan just smiled, then observed carefully before pointing at a flower pot on the balcony. "Look, this flower pot has clearly been moved!"

Hearing this, Secretary Wang Dafei, the Head of Criminal Investigation Detachment, and the others all came over.

Qin Chuan pointed at the pot. "See, this flower pot has been sitting here for a while, leaving an old mark underneath. But the pot is no longer aligned with that mark, so it's clearly been moved."

"Oh? Look under the pot, there seems to be a note," Qin Chuan said as he moved the flower pot aside with a look of shock.