Evidence of Guilt

[Crime Investigation] [Pre-release: Crime Investigation: Lost, blurb at the bottom.] ---This Novel's Blurb 1983. In an era with no Skynet, no fingerprint-matching system, no facial recognition system, and no comprehensive identity verification and statistics system, when even getting a blood-type DNA test meant taking a six-hour train ride to the provincial capital, waiting in line for a number, finding an expert to write a report, and then waiting another seven or eight days for the results, how were major criminal cases supposed to be solved? Lu Qinghe looked at the huge stack of files piled on his desk and said, "What else can we do? Compare them by hand." He'd heard that the bureau had a new criminal investigation expert, someone who had even studied abroad. The people Lu Qinghe looked down on most in this life were those who said "hello" and "OK" every other sentence. Then one morning, as he opened his door, he happened to see the expert who'd returned from overseas coming out of the apartment opposite. He greeted him with, "Good morning!" The expert ignored him, rolled his eyes, and took the Phoenix-brand bicycle leaning against the wall. Lu Qinghe took a bite of the plain steamed bun in his hand, then hurried after him, calling, "Shen Changyan, wait for me! My tire blew yesterday. Give me a ride." With his overseas education and professional criminal investigation expertise, Shen Changyan joined the force as a team captain. He was a highly skilled intellectual, but there was one person in the criminal investigation squad who looked down on his education and credentials. The man would secretly call him a "little foreign devil" behind his back, and that was bad enough. Recently, Lu Qinghe had even heard rumors like this: "The criminal investigation captain? Shen Changyan? He's my childhood sweetheart." One night, Lu Qinghe was walking home after work. As he passed the door opposite his, where there were no streetlights, he suddenly heard someone ask, "I heard someone's looking for their childhood sweetheart. Is that you, Lu Qingmei?" Lu Qinghe was completely baffled. "Who the hell is Lu Qingmei? My name is Lu Qinghe." Note: DNA testing technology was first used in a domestic criminal investigation in 1987. Pre-release novel in the author's collection: Crime Investigation: Lost 1. Jiang Wenzhou first noticed Lu Huaizhi because of a gruesome dismemberment case that sent shockwaves through the entire city. Thanks to the squad's increasingly advanced investigative techniques, they solved the case and arrested the suspect in three days. But before the interrogation could even begin, the suspect started shouting, "I've got a mental illness! I'm not legally competent, so I can't be held criminally responsible!" Jiang Wenzhou: "..." What the hell was he talking about? Later, Jiang Wenzhou heard that the suspect came from a wealthy family. He'd initially worried that someone might exploit a loophole to escape punishment. But when the assessment results came in, alongside all the explanations and analysis filled with professional terminology, someone had added four words in elegant handwriting: "Nothing wrong. Faking it!" Jiang Wenzhou was astonished, then thought, Interesting. His gaze fell on the signature line for the assessing physician, and he murmured Lu Huaizhi's name. 2. Lu Huaizhi had known Jiang Wenzhou for a long time. It had taken some effort to become his neighbor. The trouble was, Jiang Wenzhou was always busy with work and often got called out in the middle of the night, keeping everyone awake and on edge. Aside from Lu Huaizhi, nearly every neighbor upstairs and downstairs had filed a complaint against him. Back then, though, the crime-solving-obsessed captain was blind to everything around him and barely noticed Lu Huaizhi. No one knew when he started paying attention to him. Lu Huaizhi was holding firm to his professional principles, offending people and facing relentless revenge, threats, and intimidation, with no peace in sight. At last, his handsome neighbor across the hall couldn't hold back and knocked on his door. "If you're really scared, why not come stay at my place?" Lu Huaizhi remained unfazed. "..." He glanced down at the fourth anonymous package he'd received that month, then looked at Jiang Wenzhou. Only then did he abruptly let go, put on a frightened look, and say in a steady, even voice, "Ah, I'm so scared." (P.S. In a high-stakes hunt, the true hunter often appears in the guise of prey.) Theme: Seek truth and the facts along the way. Justice will ultimately triumph over evil.