The long search made Gu Chen's team suffer a lot in the dense forest, but no trace of Zhou Xiaotong was found.

Seeing everyone searching from day to night, Gu Chen knew that staying in the woods at night was a dangerous thing.

Therefore, Gu Chen could only take everyone back the same way after marking the route.

…

…

7:20pm.

Furong Branch Criminal Investigation Team Office.

Gu Chen, Lu Weiwei and Officer Wang were currently lying on office chairs to rest, while Yuan Shasha was carrying several portions of steaming beef noodles and placing them on the table.

"Senior Brother Gu, Senior Sister Lu, and Senior Brother Wang, your dinner has arrived. Master Kang cooked it himself." After saying this, Yuan Shasha directly brought one of the beef noodles to Gu Chen.

"Thank you, Xiao Yuan." Gu Chen sighed softly, sat up straight and took the beef noodles from Yuan Shasha's hand.

Seeing that Lu Weiwei and Officer Wang did not move, Yuan Shasha could only bring the other two beef noodles to Lu Weiwei and Officer Wang respectively.

According to previous habits, if the two of them saw beef noodles, they would rush to them immediately.

But this time, Yuan Shasha deeply felt the tremendous pressure everyone was under.

There is no trace of Zhou Xiaotong, and there is no way to even investigate, and there is no definite evidence to prove that the mysterious person following everyone is He Xu.

In addition to the four trucks that spent great efforts to guard the scene in the early morning, and even police dogs were called in to assist, there was still no suspicion found.

All kinds of blows have exhausted the team physically and mentally. It's no wonder that Lu Weiwei and Officer Wang have lost their energy.

Especially after Yuan Shasha walked along the way, the other police officers who returned to the police dormitory to rest all looked tired.

"Hiss!" Gu Chen took a mouthful of beef noodles, looked at He Junchao, and asked: "Brother He, are there any unusual movements among these suspects?"

"No." He Junchao drank the milk he cheated from Lu Weiwei, crossed his legs, and said involuntarily:

"It's strange to say that Zhang Da, Zhuang Qiang and He Xu seem to have become very cautious."

"These people didn't go out much at all today. They all stayed in their work areas honestly."

"What about the owner of the spicy strip factory?" Lu Weiwei said casually after taking a bite of beef noodles.

He Junchao continued to shake his head: "The owner of the spicy strip factory doesn't go out much."

"This guy hasn't left his house since you took people to his spicy strips workshop to check the delivery quantity in the morning."

"In short, it seems that these people are becoming cautious now, for fear of getting into trouble."

"It is precisely because these people are overly cautious that it is difficult for us to find flaws." Officer Wang paused with his chopsticks, rolled the beef noodles in his chopsticks, took a bite, and then said:

"In our opinion, these people are quite cunning. It seems that everything they have done before is digging holes for us."

"Especially Zhang Da and Zhuang Qiang, both of whom have been in prison. Moreover, Zhang Da and Zhuang Qiang once had a duel in the woods because of He Xu's incident."

"But later, we went to Zhuang Qiang to verify that it was because Zhang Da had tampered with his master's car in order to seize his master's property, which led to the crash of his master's car and the death of everyone."

With a faint sigh, Officer Wang shook his head helplessly: "But now, so much time has passed, and the vehicle that was involved in the accident has probably been scrapped long ago."

"And if the witness who heard about this incident in prison now wants others to testify, the credibility of his testimony is not high."

"But now I am more willing to believe that Zhang Da and Zhuang Qiang are actually a team." As soon as Officer Wang finished speaking, Lu Weiwei couldn't help but say.

Officer Wang nodded silently: "Maybe, maybe they have been putting on a show for us and treating us like monkeys."

"The most intuitive feeling I have about this group of people is that they have a very strong ability to deal with the aftermath."

"Even if there are some mistakes before, they can use their expertise to quickly eliminate the clues and prevent our police from having a chance to investigate."

"In other words, they want to create some false impressions for us so that we can go in the wrong direction of investigation. This is their real purpose."

"Then is there no other way now besides closely monitoring these suspicious persons?" Yuan Shasha couldn't sit still.

Although he stayed in the office and provided various technical support to everyone, he did not directly participate in Gu Chen's team's clue collection work.

But from the tired eyes of everyone, Yuan Shasha also knew very clearly that this time she had encountered a tough situation.

Gu Chen shook his head and answered directly: "It's not impossible. For example, Hu Peng, the missing non-staple food distributor in Haidong City, I think this person is the key."

"Because no matter how good these people were at telling lies before, as long as there is something wrong with Hu Peng in Haidong City, all the previous statements made by these people will be overturned."

"As for why vehicles returned from Haidong City frequently come to Jiangnan City these days, I think this secret cannot be kept secret."

"But, there is no news from Officer Xiaoxuan yet," Yuan Shasha said.

"It makes sense." Gu Chen sighed softly and shook his head helplessly:

"Actually, I have guessed this before. I once told Officer Xiaoxuan that it might be difficult for them to find the dealer Hu Peng again."

"Because if I were one of these people, then I would definitely not let Hu Peng see the sun tomorrow."

"Because once Hu Peng is caught, the truth about Jiangnan City's statement and the vehicles shipped by Haidong City Freight Company will be revealed."

"Hu Peng, if he is a dead person, then it is more in the interests of these people."

"So Brother Gu, do you think Hu Peng is dead?" After listening to Gu Chen's analysis, Yuan Shasha asked him out of curiosity.

Gu Chen nodded slightly: "You can understand it that way. At least these people have done a very clean job in dealing with Zhou Xiaotong's issue."

"There are almost no useful clues left for us, the police, to investigate in depth."

"We could only find the empty mineral water bottle with Zhou Xiaotong's fingerprints in the dense forest. Other than that, we gained nothing at all."

"That at least proves that Zhou Xiaotong has been there before, and we haven't learned anything." Seeing that Gu Chen was also pessimistic, Lu Weiwei couldn't help but encourage her.

But Gu Chen didn't answer. Instead, Officer Wang took a sip, sucked the last noodle into his mouth, then smashed his mouth and said:

"In my opinion, these people are really capable of handling the aftermath. Zhou Xiaotong, it will definitely be difficult for us to find him."

"Because from the beginning, they have decided to get rid of Zhou Xiaotong on the boundaries of Jiangnan City."

"This way, it will be safer than getting rid of Zhou Xiaotong in Haidong City."

"However, they were in Haidong City and got rid of the dealers in Haidong City, even the dealer Hu Peng who had communicated with his employees the day before."

"I think they may leave some traces, at least in terms of time. These people may not have enough time."

"So?" Yuan Shasha's eyes suddenly lit up after hearing Officer Wang's explanation.

Officer Wang glanced at Gu Chen and reminded him: "Gu Chen, I think it is better to go to Haidong City and find the dealer Hu Peng yourself than to do useless investigations here."

"You and I both know that all the links in this seem to be interconnected. Regardless of this group of people now, everyone has an alibi."

"In other words, we can't prove that they were not at the scene. As a result, this place has become a dead end."

"No matter which aspect you investigate, a chess game has been arranged for you and a sack has been prepared."

"No matter how we investigate, we are very passive, but it is different when we go to Haidong City. Because we are short of time, we may not be able to cover up the traces of their crimes well there."

"Maybe, with the cooperation of Officer Xiaoxuan and the others, we can find some suspicious clues on our own, what do you think?"

In fact, Officer Wang knew Gu Chen very well, and the reason why he said this was actually speaking out what was in Gu Chen's heart.

According to Zhao Chen's habit, when a period of investigation reaches a dead end, it is necessary to find a breakthrough.

Once clues are found from the breach, it can be said that the dead situation will be revitalized.

After working with Gu Chen for so long, Officer Wang could already guess Gu Chen's intentions.

However, this time I used my own words to tell the story.

As soon as Officer Wang finished speaking, everyone looked at Gu Chen with curious eyes.

After Gu Chen ate the last noodle, he picked up the disposable bowl and drank the noodle soup in one gulp.

Putting the empty bowl on the table, Gu Chen took out a tissue, dipped it in his mouth slowly, and then said calmly:

"If possible, we will leave for Haidong City tonight."

"Leaving tonight?" After hearing Gu Chen's words, everyone was stunned.

But think about it, this is Gu Chen. At least Gu Chen has clearly defined the direction of the investigation, which is a good thing for everyone.

Although Lu Weiwei was a little tired, she still agreed happily: "Then let's set off tonight. After all, time is of the essence. Being able to find clues as soon as possible is a good thing for everyone."

"If the investigation of Haidong City dealer Hu Peng is simply left to Police Officer Xiaoxuan, they may just be investigating with a cooperative attitude, and there may not be so much sense of urgency in terms of time."

Seeing everyone nodding frequently, Lu Weiwei quickly clarified for herself: "Let me explain first, I don't mean to look down on my colleagues in Haidong City. I just want to say that our investigation here may be the most urgent.

of."

"Don't say anything." Gu Chen took out his phone and said directly to Lu Weiwei:

"Senior Sister Lu, help me book a high-speed rail ticket with Senior Brother Wang, Xiao Yuan, and yourself. I will communicate with Officer Xiaoxuan, and then we will set off immediately."

"Okay." Seeing that Gu Chen had said this, Lu Weiwei felt like what else could she say? She took out her phone and opened the train ticket booking software.

…

…

At 6 o'clock in the morning, exit of Haidong North Station.

When Gu Chen, Lu Weiwei, Officer Wang and Yuan Shasha appeared at the entrance of the passage, Officer Xiaoxuan waved to everyone: "Gu Chen."
To be continued...