CHAPTER 1271: CHAPTER 1198: SUNSHINE SUPERMARKET THEFT CASE

The sunset was yellow and red, hanging on the horizon like a star that seemed like it could fall at any moment.

Pang Jidong arrived at the Ningtai County Criminal Police Detachment just before getting off work, running quickly.

"Captain Pang? You came so quickly." Wu Junhao was smoking in the lobby and immediately walked out when he saw an older man.

In Building 9, the oldest police officer was Meng Chengbiao. Seeing someone older, he instinctively thought an external leader had come for an inspection.

Pang Jidong frequently directed various strike missions in Luo Jin City and could chat at length with Wu Junhao. Seeing a familiar face, he naturally relaxed a bit and said, "I was afraid I wouldn’t make it in time. Has the master’s class officially started? Has today’s lesson finished?"

"No, today we just standardized the extraction of various forensic botanical evidence." Wu Junhao seemed a bit annoyed, pouted, and said, "I can’t handle this; let the young people learn it."

Pang Jidong, who studied forensic botany under Jiang Yuan, reluctantly said, "Forensic botany isn’t just something for young people to learn; it’s the direction for future development. Think about it, our city construction is getting better and better, with all kinds of garden plants all over the city. It’s such a great method for trace tracking. Besides, our equipment is also getting better, and the police station can afford all kinds of microscopes. If everyone can learn forensic botany, wouldn’t it make solving cases easier?"

"If everyone learned forensic botany, you would at least be a deputy commissioner, if not a full commissioner. By then, I’d come to you, no need for much; a deputy position would suffice." Wu Junhao joked with a smile.

Pang Jidong waved his hand, like a kindly middle-aged man, and said, "What promotion do I need? I just want to solve cases now, see bad guys brought to justice, watch them regret to no avail, and in the end have no choice but to meet their end... Ah, satisfying!"

"Ah..." Wu Junhao also took a sharp breath. If Pang Jidong weren’t wearing a police uniform, this could very well be the lines of a major villain in a European and American drama.

"No more talking, I’m going up to study. By the way, there’s another botanist flying in later; you should arrange for them." Pang Jidong habitually handed Wu Junhao a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes as he spoke.

Wu Junhao glanced at it and said, "Jiang Yuan’s Zhonghua?"

Pang Jidong coughed twice, "Zhonghua doesn’t have a brand, they’re all the same."

"You haven’t seen Jiang Yuan in a while, right? How could there be so much left?" Wu Junhao was surprised.

"Shh..." Pang Jidong gestured, then whispered, "It’s from my master and their father."

"What?" Wu Junhao didn’t quite understand the term Pang Jidong used.

"It’s from my master’s father. That’s why it’s called master-father." Pang Jidong explained, "The master-father is a very nice person. When he heard I became an apprentice, he sent me a gift for that, and during festivals he would send cash gifts. I said I couldn’t accept it, so he sent a lot of beef, cigarettes, and alcohol, forcing me to send something back. What’s left, I just gave to others."

Although he was explaining, Pang Jidong seemed to be enjoying himself.

Wu Junhao clicked his tongue twice, internally mulling over it, and was somewhat envious that Pang Jidong had a master-father.

Upstairs.

Jiang Yuan was by the whiteboard, explaining.

Under the whiteboard were more than thirty members of Jiang Yuan’s Accumulated Case Team of detectives, all listening attentively.

Wu Junhao was older and not one for studying in his early years. His biological knowledge was limited to reproduction and DNA; he didn’t even know what adenine and guanine were, so learning from Jiang Yuan was very tough.

The detectives seconded to the Accumulated Case Team were different, especially those from various Criminal Police Brigades. Whether it was Wang Chuanxing and Tang Jia from the Changyang City Criminal Police Detachment or Gao Yuyan and Dong Bing from the Guqi City Bureau, they were all from good schools, had built a solid foundation, and had strong comprehension and learning abilities. Naturally, they picked up new things quickly.

Most importantly, they voluntarily seconded to the Ningtai County Bureau specifically to learn things.

In the past, they didn’t learn systematically, but now that Jiang Yuan had time to hold classes, they all studiously attended.

Pang Jidong quickly sat at the back, ready to listen intently.

Jiang Yuan nodded at him and said, "Jidong is here."

"Master." Pang Jidong quickly stood up.

Jiang Yuan nodded again, then turned to Wang Chuanxing and said, "Chuanxing, introduce the case to Jidong so he can catch up."

As Jiang Yuan spoke, he picked up a teacup, just in time to take a break.

"Yes." Wang Chuanxing stood up, saluted, and opened his notebook: "Currently, as an example, we have the unsolved Sunshine Supermarket theft case. The suspect used an electric tricycle at night to steal 22 boxes of milk, 7 boxes of citrus fruits, 12 boxes of beverages, and several boxes of snacks from the Sunshine Supermarket, 20 meters north of the east gate of the Xuefu Road Sunshine Green Garden Community. Items such as the computers and cash registers in the supermarket were intact..."

"No cigarettes or alcohol?" Pang Jidong was astonished.

"It’s a newly opened community supermarket, hasn’t received its tobacco license yet, and hasn’t started selling alcohol," Wang Chuanxing said.

"So they only stole food?"

"From what we see, the perpetrator seemed to have only stolen boxed items."

Pang Jidong listened, slightly bewildered. He looked at Jiang Yuan, then at the thirty-some young and vigorous detectives with numerous major cases under their belts, and was filled with retorts, not knowing where to start.

"Captain Jiang is now focused mainly on teaching, not pursuing major cases or compelling case types," Tang Jia knew what Pang Jidong was thinking and said it first in a soft tone.

Pang Jidong exhaled and hurriedly said, "That’s great, that’s great, I’ll catch up quickly."

Wang Chuanxing glanced at Jiang Yuan and continued: "This case also has some complexity. The crime occurred at 3 AM. The streetlights in front of the supermarket, managed by the community, were turned off at the time. The surveillance quality was poor—the images only showed blurry silhouettes of a person and the electric tricycle, making it impossible to identify specific models or suspect appearances."

"The U-lock used by the supermarket was cut with hydraulic pliers by the perpetrator, and the transfer took about a quarter of an hour. From the speed and number of items moved, the suspect’s body seems to be alright, but not very strong, as two boxes of milk and fruits were carried each time..."

"As of today, it’s been 40 days since the incident, and the community police’s investigation has led nowhere."

Pang Jidong’s lips curled up, "The value isn’t even 5,000 yuan, hasn’t reached the Criminal Police Team?"

For property-related crimes, the filing threshold is generally 3,000 yuan, or 2,000 yuan for poorer areas, but even if filed, cases involving three to five thousand yuan are typically handled by the local police station itself.

Wang Chuanxing chuckled and continued, "The primary investigation direction by the local police was fence work, visiting some local businesses for clues."

At this moment, Jiang Yuan stood up and said, "Even small cases are not necessarily easy to crack. This case also deserves our serious attention."

"Yes, Master," Pang Jidong quickly sat upright.

"Chuanxing, show the case-related photos," Jiang Yuan nodded.

"Yes," Wang Chuanxing immediately stood up and displayed the PPT he had just prepared.

Pictures from the crime scene appeared before everyone.

"Lots of footprints," Pang Jidong first looked at Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan coughed twice and said, "As for the footprint analysis, I will write a report later and put it in the safe. We’ll try not to use it now; once we’ve caught the person, we can make a comparison. For now, our focus remains on forensic botany, precisely because it is a more challenging field. When others from different units come tomorrow, we can form groups so that those who want to learn footprint analysis can analyze footprints, and those who want to do Image Investigation can work on that..."

Pang Jidong felt a sense of urgency rising within him.

It seemed that hurrying to get here was the right decision today.

He focused his gaze on that towel, guessing that must be the reason Jiang Yuan chose this case.

The towel was originally an item sold in the supermarket, used by the perpetrator to wipe an unknown substance and then discarded at the scene. This was not a typical criminal investigation.