At this time, the entire criminal investigation detachment was under tremendous pressure.
On the one hand, they must continue to track Zhao Yu's whereabouts and cannot let go of this important clue; on the other hand, they must make every effort to solve this new fire case to prevent the suspect from escaping again. Lu Chuan re-deployed the investigation and divided the personnel into two groups. One group continued to investigate Zhao Yu, digging deep into his social relations and possible hiding places; the other group stayed at the new fire scene, expanded the scope of the visit, looked for more clues, conducted in-depth research on suspicious symbols, and tried to crack the secrets.
At the scene of the new fire crime, the pungent burnt smell has not dissipated, as if a layer of haze has been covered with heavy weight. Lu Chuan and his team members were advancing the investigation in a difficult and tense manner in this suffocating atmosphere. The group tracking Zhao Yu was like groping in the dark, finding nothing, Zhao Yu was like evaporating from the world, and all possible clues came to an abrupt end in the middle and were completely broken. The team responsible for the on-site investigation of the new case was also in a quagmire deadlock in a massive visit and investigation. Every effort was like a punch to the cotton, with no effort.
Just when everyone was so stressed out that they were breathless, Wang Shuai, who was responsible for sorting out the interpersonal relationships of the two deceased, walked into the conference room quickly with an unconcealed excitement on his face: "Lu Zhi, a major discovery!" Lu Chuan raised his head suddenly, and a sharp light flashed in his eyes: "Speak quickly, what's the situation?" Wang Shuai spread the information in his hand on the conference table, pointed to the information on it and said: "After several days and nights of cross-comparison of massive information about people, I found that the two deceased had participated in volunteer activities organized by a community and had frequent contact with the same small group during the event." Lu Chuan stared at the information, pondered for a moment and said: "This small group is likely to be the key, and a comprehensive investigation is launched immediately."
This small group consists of five people, with members from different life trajectories, and their professions cover couriers, supermarket cashiers, freelancers, etc. It seems to be as ordinary as it can be, but it has become a key node in case investigation. The team members acted quickly and conducted background checks and whereabouts on the five. However, things were far from as smooth as expected.
"Where were you on the night of the fire?" Zhang Hui asked one of the small group members seriously. The other party looked calm and replied calmly: "I have been at home that night, and my roommate can testify." Zhang Hui frowned and continued to ask: "I haven't been out all night?" "Yes, I haven't left a single step." The other party answered firmly.
After repeated verification, the alibi proof provided by the five people seemed to be flawless and had no flaws. The team members returned to the Criminal Investigation Detachment with some frustration, and the investigation was in a stalemate again, as if they were trapped in an invisible maze and could not find the exit.
On the other hand, Zhang Hui made great efforts to crack the meaning of the strange symbols on the wall. He turned around day and night, consulted a large number of professional books and historical documents, visited experts from various fields such as linguistics, semiotics, and cryptography, and even did not miss some niche academic forums and mystic research materials. However, all efforts were like rocks sinking into the sea, without causing a splash of water, and those symbols were still like mysterious spells, making people confused.
One day at noon, the exhausted Zhang Hui was having a meal in a small restaurant on the street. His long-term high-intensity work made him look haggard and his eyes were covered with bloodshot. He ate his meal mechanically, his eyes dazed at the pattern on the lunch box. Suddenly, his eyes seemed to be attracted by something, and he was frozen on a product logo on the packaging bag. This logo consists of several simple geometric figures, which seemingly random combinations, but has subtle similarities with the symbols at the crime scene.
Zhang Hui's brain was running at high speed instantly, and a light of inspiration flashed through his originally chaotic thinking. He slapped the table excitedly, and the diners around him looked at each other strangely, but he was unaware of it, and he took out his cell phone in a hurry, took out a photo of the symbols at the scene, and compared it repeatedly with the sign in front of him. Although the logos on the lunch box are not exactly the same as those symbols and there are obvious differences in the details, Zhang Hui keenly senses that they may follow the same coding logic.
He immediately called Lu Chuan, and his voice trembled a little because of excitement: "Lu Zhi, I seem to have found a breakthrough for symbols!" Lu Chuan was studying case information in the office. When he heard this, he was excited: "Really? Tell me quickly!" Zhang Hui said his discovery in detail. After listening to it, Lu Chuan said decisively: "Beautiful job! I will immediately organize technicians and semiotic experts to use your discovery as a breakthrough to launch a new round of analysis of symbols."
The experts sat around the conference table, with a focused look on their faces, revealing their persistent pursuit of the truth. "From the current analysis, these symbols are likely to be a simple Moss code that has been transformed." A semiotics expert said, pointing to the enlarged symbol on the computer. Another technician frowned and added: "But the number of symbols is limited, and the suspect has undergone special treatment. If you want to completely crack it, more clues are needed."
After pondering for a moment, Lu Chuan said: "We cannot just focus on symbols and combine the investigation of the small group of interpersonal relationships with symbol cracking. The suspect left symbols at both crime scenes. The meaning of this symbol must be inseparable from the case, and maybe it is also related to this small group."
So, the police again conducted an in-depth investigation into the five people in the small group. "How much do you know about Morse's password?" Wang Shuai asked in the eyes of the courier Li Yang. Li Yang's eyes flashed with panic in an instant, he lowered his head and said vaguely: "Just... I know one thing, how can I do this for delivery normally?" Wang Shuai noticed his strangeness and continued to ask: "Then did you really have a certain absentee proof on the night of the two fires as you said?" Li Yang's hand was unconsciously clenched, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead: "Why...of course." However, after further verification, the investigation found that his whereabouts when the two fires occurred could not be confirmed. The absentee proof provided before also had many loopholes that could not withstand careful consideration. Lu Chuan immediately listed Li Yang as a key suspect and increased the investigation into him. "Continue to dig deep into Li Yang's social relations and see what deep-seated conflicts or interests are there between him and the two deceased. Symbol cracking cannot be relaxed. Everyone should work harder and must thoroughly solve this complex case and give the victims and society a fair explanation!" (This chapter ends)