A month ago, there were a total of 17 missing persons around Haizhou City.

Among them, 6 were women.

Out of these 6 people, three were between the ages of thirty-five and forty, matching the target profile of the missing person.

What finally drew the police’s attention to the target missing person was her occupation.

Zhang Cuiying, female, 38 years old, from Tang County, Haizhou City.

She owned a small chemical factory and was reported missing a month ago.

The chemical factory run by Zhang Cuiying manufactured fluorides.

If Zhang Cuiying was frequently exposed to fluorides, she could indeed risk developing skeletal fluorosis.

Soon, the Criminal Investigation Team obtained the case file on Zhang Cuiying’s disappearance and other related information about her.

"The person who reported the case was Zhang Cuiying’s husband, Qin Tao."

"Here is some information gathered during the initial investigation."

Due to time constraints, they hadn’t managed to make multiple copies of the case file, so the technical officers projected Zhang Cuiying’s disappearance case file onto a screen for analysis.

"Is this Qin Tao only 23 years old?"

When one spouse goes missing and the other reports it, detectives often suspect the reporting spouse first.

This kind of disappearance, especially when it leads to a death, is often perpetrated by the surviving spouse.

The phrase "the thief cries thief" comes from this.

Moreover, Zhang Cuiying’s husband further surprised the officers.

Qin Tao was only 23, while Zhang Cuiying was 38.

"Additionally... they’ve only been married for a year?"

According to the investigation by the police in Tang County, Zhang Cuiying had a complex social circle.

Tang County in Haizhou City is a well-known hub for the chemical industry.

It has two large chemical factories and numerous upstream and downstream enterprises relying on them.

Zhang Cuiying’s small chemical factory was one of them, and it was among the bigger ones.

Locally, Zhang Cuiying was somewhat famous, with a nest egg in the millions, undeniably a wealthy woman.

Despite not being very old, Zhang Cuiying was widowed ten years ago when her husband died in a chemical accident, leaving her to manage the factory alone.

38-year-old Zhang Cuiying had an attractive figure and a clean appearance and was considered fairly attractive.

Wealthy, not very old, and good-looking, reestablishing a family wouldn’t be difficult for Zhang Cuiying.

In fact, it wasn’t difficult at all.

"After receiving the report, the Tang County Public Security Bureau immediately suspected Zhang Cuiying’s husband, Qin Tao."

"However, the investigation revealed that Qin Tao had no opportunity to commit the crime."

"On the day Zhang Cuiying went missing a month ago, Qin Tao was at the gym all day."

Zhang Hui began to introduce the situation in detail.

"Qin Tao was a gym instructor whom Zhang Cuiying met at the gym."

"After marrying Zhang Cuiying, Qin Tao continued working as a gym instructor, but ceased personal training."

"Zhang Cuiying would go to work during the day, and Qin Tao would spend the day at the gym."

"Moreover, Qin Tao had a very regular fitness routine."

"The police in Tang County checked the surveillance footage around the time of Zhang Cuiying’s disappearance and confirmed that Qin Tao was indeed at the gym, with many witnesses vouching for him."

After a brief report, Zhang Hui presented his suggestions.

"Based on the current situation, the possibility that Zhang Cuiying is deceased is quite high, but further confirmation is needed."

"I think we should approach this in two steps."

"First, send someone to Tang County to investigate Zhang Cuiying’s disappearance."

"Second, use the clues discovered in the bone ash by Lu Chuan’s team to determine whether the deceased is Zhang Cuiying."

Qin Yong nodded in agreement.

The bone fragments found within the bone ash were not viable for DNA testing.

However, Lu Chuan’s team discovered other clues, such as the titanium bone pin used for a fracture treatment.

Now that they had narrowed down the victim to Zhang Cuiying, they just needed to check her hospital surgery records for matching evidence.

"Alright, investigating in Tang County will be led by you, Zhang Hui."

"As for the hospital, the Crime Scene Investigation office and the first action team will handle it."

"Understood, Captain Qin!"

The brief meeting ended quickly, and each group went about their tasks.

With a target in mind, the investigation progressed much faster.

Less than three hours after Zhang Hui led the second action team to Tang County, they reported back with very valuable clues.

Zhang Hui had already met with Zhang Cuiying’s husband, Qin Tao, in Tang County.

According to Qin Tao, Zhang Cuiying recently had surgery for a tibia fracture.

The surgery was performed at Haizhou City’s First People’s Hospital.

It was half a year ago.

With confirmed information, Lu Chuan and Sun Jun immediately went to Haizhou City’s First People’s Hospital.

They quickly obtained Zhang Cuiying’s medical records from the orthopedics department.

"I remember this patient, she came in about half a year ago."

The surgeon who operated on Zhang Cuiying remembered the surgery from six months prior.

This was quite unusual.

Haizhou City’s First People’s Hospital is the highest-rated public hospital in the city.

They handle a substantial number of patients daily.

While orthopedics sees fewer patients than internal medicine, neurology, or emergency surgery, Lu Chuan observed quite a crowd while waiting for the doctor.

By comparison, the queue wasn’t as severe as in other departments.

However, on a rough estimate, they must still see dozens of patients in a day.

With so many patients, how could this doctor remember one from six months ago?

"Dr. Zhao, you have a remarkable memory, recalling patients from six months ago?"

"Oh, with dozens of patients daily, it’s impossible to remember specifics six months back unless the case was unusual."

"Oh?"

Lu Chuan and Director Sun exchanged glances, sensing there might be more to this.

"What made this patient special to Dr. Zhao?"

"This patient broke her leg while rock climbing outdoors."

"People from our city rarely break their legs rock climbing, and most do it indoors. This was the first outdoor rock climbing injury I encountered."

"Her husband brought her in; they were climbing together. Luckily, he saved her, or she’d likely have died from the fall."

"Is this bone pin yours?"

Lu Chuan showed the bone pin found in the ashes.

The doctor nodded upon seeing it, "This is a titanium bone pin, definitely ours. Our First People’s Hospital is the only one in Haizhou City performing titanium repairs."