Chapter 734: Chapter 395: Instructions from the Leadership (2)

.....

Facing this barrage of questions, the officers from the substation in charge of maintaining order all replied using standard phrasing: "Thank you for your concern and support for this case, but the case is currently under investigation, and many details are not convenient to disclose."

"When the time is right, we will definitely hold a press conference and release all information about the case."

"No, we want to know right now, even just a little bit!"

"Sorry, we are in the middle of an active investigation,

sorry!

Sorry!"

....

Not a single officer maintaining order revealed any inside information to them.

To be honest, they couldn’t possibly know what was going on inside from the perimeter; they were probably only at the very initial stage themselves.

Just as the reporters were firing off questions like a machine gun, Mr Li’s car pulled up.

When they saw the police car’s license plate read "Jiang 007,"

many reporters instantly realized it had to be a leader from the Municipal Bureau.

Very quickly, their attention shifted from the scene of the case to the inside of the car.

The vehicle was forced to stop. The driver turned his head to glance at the rearview mirror and said, "Mr Li, look at this..."

Mr Li let out a sigh: "Yes, there’s nothing we can do. Right now we’re all operating under the pressure of public opinion, so we must be careful with our words and actions.

Here’s what we’ll do: park the car properly, and I’ll get out and explain things to them."

The vehicle came to a halt, and Mr Li opened the door and got out.

When they saw their former Criminal Investigation Team leader Li Jian, everyone hurried forward.

"Mr. Li! Mr. Li! We’d like to know the basic situation of the case."

At this moment, a reporter suddenly noticed with a sharp eye: "He’s not Mr. Li anymore, he’s now Mr Li, the deputy director in charge of criminal investigation!"

In an instant, everyone surged forward, changing their wording and how they addressed him: "Mr Li! I’m a reporter from Jiangcheng Evening News."

"Mr Li! I’m a reporter from Jiangcheng Morning News. We want to know the situation of the case. Exactly how many people died inside?

Is it a homicide? Was it murder by someone else?

Or was it an accident, or suicide?"

Mr Li looked around and then turned his head, saying, "Friends from the media, this case has just occurred. You could say that less than two hours have passed since we received the alarm call."

"You can see that the scene has been burned beyond recognition. By rough estimate, the entire burned area is no less than 200 square meters."

"With such a large area, our Scene Investigation personnel are still conducting intensive work at the scene."

"Whether what you’re concerned about is the number of deaths or the nature of the deaths, I believe both have to be established on the basis of meticulous Scene Investigation and thorough field inquiries before they can be determined."

"So, if you ask me now what the situation inside is, I honestly don’t know how to answer."

"And I just came straight here from a meeting I’d only just finished."

Hearing this, all the reporters immediately lowered their voices considerably.

Mr Li then continued, "However, I believe that since ancient times evil has never prevailed over good."

"No matter how complex a case is, we can always find a breakthrough."

"I ask all media friends to trust us, and I also hope to make use of your platform so that all the people of Jiangcheng can have confidence in Jiangcheng Criminal Investigation. We have the ability to capture the killer and bring him to justice in the shortest possible time."

For a moment, the sound of shutters clicking filled the air.

Mr Li spoke with passion, but inside he still felt some hesitation and uncertainty; there was nothing he could do about that.

In this situation, all he could do was calm the reporters and reassure the people of Jiangcheng; only then could the work proceed more smoothly.

If his remarks were to spark a huge public controversy, more serious problems might arise down the line.

Mr Li had already spoken very clearly just now, so the reporters saw no need to keep pressing him—after all, he had only just arrived.

If they kept pestering him, wouldn’t that be completely unreasonable?

After getting out of the car, Mr Li walked up to the police cordon. The officers from the substation immediately raised the tape, and Mr Li stepped inside.

"Mr Li!"

"Mr Li!"

"Mr Li!"

As soon as he entered the building, many people looked up and greeted him.

At that moment, he saw Jiang An standing in the living room, looking around, lost in his own thoughts.

He walked over and patted Jiang An on the shoulder: "Mr. Jiang?"

Feeling the touch on his shoulder, Jiang An came back to himself: "Mr Li, you got here this fast?"

Mr Li’s brows were tightly knitted; in a setting like this, no one could be in a relaxed mood.

He took a look around and said, "This fire was no small matter; the bodies are already carbonized."

Jiang An nodded: "Yes, Mr Li. We’ve already carried out a preliminary handling of the remains."

After looking around once more, Mr Li sighed: "With the scene burned like this, I’m afraid a lot of trace evidence has already been lost."

"And with a case involving four deaths at once, the pressure on us is enormous."

Hearing this, Jiang An nodded. When their eyes met, each could see the pressure in the other’s heart.

Mr Li then said softly, "On my way here just now, there were a lot of reporters at the door waiting to interview us."

"I believe that very soon, public opinion on the internet about this case will explode."

"There’s nothing we can do—paper can’t wrap fire."

Mr Li gave a wry smile and said, "In this situation, I’m not so worried about myself. What I’m worried about is that our director will issue a time-limited order to solve the case, a deadline for cracking it..."

"The impact of this case is huge. By rights, we ought to be requesting the Provincial Department’s involvement."