When Sun Guangtian arrived with the special investigation team, Fang Rui also led his people to greet them at the entrance.
The members of the special team were all renowned criminal investigation experts from Linzhou City, including the experienced Forensic Doctor Cheng, criminal psychology expert Professor Qi, and forensic trace expert Wang Qiang.
Sun Guangtian was a middle-aged man in his forties, with a stern expression on his face.
His deputy was Fang Rui's classmate from the police academy, so as soon as he saw Fang Rui, he greeted him enthusiastically: "Fang Rui, long time no see!"
"Song Haiyang, you've gotten fatter!"
Fang Rui then greeted Sun Guangtian: "Captain Sun, I've heard so much about you. My mentor used to tell me about your exploits all the time. I'm finally meeting you today. I hope we can work well together."
"Hmm." Sun Guangtian's expression remained cold.
"Our director said to invite the experts to the reception room to rest first," Zhang said, "Please, this way everyone."
"We haven't solved the case yet, what rest? Always focusing on these unnecessary formalities. Let's have a meeting first to sync up on the progress of the investigation." Sun Guangtian interrupted Zhang.
The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.
The forensic experts also felt uncomfortable, knowing Sun Guangtian's domineering personality, and didn't dare to voice any objections.
Wang, Li, and the others felt that Captain Sun was trying to assert his authority on their turf, and their expressions turned sour.
Only Mu Mian kept forcing a bright smile.
Zhang looked helplessly at Fang Rui, and seeing him nod, Zhang said, "Then let's go directly to the conference room for the meeting."
Sun Guangtian glanced at the people Fang Rui had brought, all looking quite young. Their faces all showed defiance, indicating they wouldn't cooperate well.
His piercing gaze fell on Mu Mian; this young girl was smiling brightly, but she didn't look very intelligent.
Mu Mian's face was tired from smiling. Feeling Sun Guangtian's gaze, she quickly forced her smile again.
Song Haiyang pulled Fang Rui aside and explained quietly, "Fang Rui, don't misunderstand. Captain Sun has a peculiar temper, but he's actually a good person."
"I know that. My mentor used to complain to me about his nasty temper all the time." Fang Rui shrugged helplessly.
The conference room was packed. Fang Rui had Zhang distribute case files to each expert, including autopsy results and the clues they had gathered so far.
"The cause of death for these two victims was actually electrocution?" Forensic Doctor Cheng frowned as he looked at the autopsy report. "How could it be electrocution? Where are the victims' bodies? I need to perform a new autopsy."
"I wrote that report. Do you think there's a problem somewhere? I can explain it to you," Mu Mian, who happened to be sitting next to him, spoke up.
Forensic Doctor Cheng, a kindly old man with a balding head, looked at Mu Mian in surprise. He had a strong impression of her because she was the one smiling most brightly among that group of young people earlier. He hadn't expected her to be a forensic doctor.
"Your report is very detailed. I don't have any questions about it. But I'd like to examine the bodies again to see if there are any new clues," Forensic Doctor Cheng sighed. "You know, the bodies from the two previous cases were severely decomposed, and I couldn't find any useful clues."
"Yes, you were quite unlucky. Unlike me, I saw fresh bodies, so I found many useful clues," Mu Mian said with a hint of pride in her voice.
"..."
"After the meeting, I can take you to the autopsy room. I can be your assistant," Mu Mian remembered Fang Rui's directive: cooperate well with these experts and smile brightly at them.
"Thank you, young lady."
"Please call me Dr. Mu," Mu Mian corrected him.
"Alright, thank you, Dr. Mu."
"You're welcome!"
While Mu Mian and Forensic Doctor Cheng were getting along well, the atmosphere between Fang Rui and Sun Guangtian was tense.
"You didn't find any clues at the crime scene? It was a forest, didn't you find any footprints or similar traces?" Sun Guangtian looked at Fang Rui's report, his tone very dissatisfied. "Why did you focus your investigation on the victims' chat records? This is a serial killing case. How can you possibly track down the killer by investigating the victims' social relationships?"
"It had been raining heavily in Jiangzhou for days. All traces in the forest were washed away. The body was only discovered because the rain had washed away the top layer of soil," Zhang retorted.
"Our investigation of the victims' chat records wasn't fruitless either. We at least know that the killer created a phishing website. He used that site to contact the two victims and lured them out under the pretense of participating in an activity," Li also argued.
"So has your case made any progress?"
"We were about to, but then you guys..."
Fang Rui interrupted Zhang and the others, "Captain Sun, what do you think we should investigate first?"
Sun Guangtian ignored Fang Rui and instead pointed at Mu Mian, his tone sharp: "And that young girl, how can you still smile with such a serious case? Can't you be more serious during work hours?"
Suddenly singled out, Mu Mian was stunned for a moment, then became flustered. She looked helplessly at Fang Rui, not knowing what she had done wrong or why Captain Sun was so angry with her.
It was Fang Rui who had told her to smile brightly.
Besides, people die tragically in this world every day. Does that mean she can never smile?
"Mu Mian, it's okay. He's not talking about you."
Fang Rui turned to Sun Guangtian, "Captain Sun, I've always respected you as a senior, but there's no need for you to try to assert your authority over us like this. If you think our investigation approach is problematic, then you can investigate according to your own methods."
"Of course we'll investigate according to my arrangements."
Fang Rui interrupted him: "We'll also continue investigating according to our own approach. I think it's better if we investigate separately. Mu Mian, Zhang, you guys come with me."
Seeing the situation, Song Haiyang tried to ease the tension: "Fang Rui, don't be rash. Let's talk this through."
"It's fine. You investigate your way, and if you need any information or assistance from our personnel, we'll be generous in sharing with you."
Fang Rui knew that even if he was willing to cooperate with Captain Sun, Sun might not appreciate them anyway. It was better for them to investigate on their own. After all, everyone had different investigative approaches, and forcing them to work together might actually affect efficiency.
As for the director, worst case scenario, he'd get a scolding.
Outside the conference room, Mu Mian looked cautiously at Fang Rui: "Fang Rui, did I mess something up?"
This was the first time Mu Mian had seen Fang Rui so angry.
"He was targeting me, it has nothing to do with you," Fang Rui patted Mu Mian's head. "I don't think they need our cooperation anyway."
Because of the confrontation with Sun Guangtian, Fang Rui was severely reprimanded by the director, but the director also felt that it wasn't entirely Fang Rui's fault.
He knew this kid Fang Rui well; he was good at handling interpersonal relationships and generally wouldn't fall out with others unless they went too far.
"Since that's the case, you just investigate according to your own approach. I'll transfer people from other teams to assist them," the director was still protective of his own.
"Thank you, Director."
Director Wang then had a talk with Sun Guangtian. They were college classmates, and Sun Guangtian's case-solving ability was much stronger than his. He had become the director, while Sun Guangtian hadn't been promoted, largely due to his temperament.
"Old Sun, why are you picking fights with a bunch of young people? It looks bad to create such a scene."
"I was just worried I couldn't keep them in line, so I wanted to show them who's boss. Wasn't Fang Rui supposed to be quite level-headed? His mentor used to praise him in front of me all the time. Why is his temper so bad now, exploding at the slightest provocation?"
"What did you say to him?"
"Nothing much. I just said their investigation approach was problematic, and I scolded a young girl. Then Fang Rui blew up and started arguing with me. This kid's mentality isn't stable enough yet, he still needs more tempering."
"I see why now. Haha, this kid, he's hiding it deep."
"Why? Don't tell me that young girl is his girlfriend? Why didn't you say so earlier? If I had known, I would have picked someone else to scold."
"Old Sun, you need to control your temper. For this case, you might not be able to solve it without their help!"
"That's impossible! No one understands that killer better than I do. If I can't catch him, there's no way Fang Rui and his team can!" Sun Guangtian declared with unwavering confidence.
