Huaguang Street Police Station.

"What did you say? Wang Feng is missing!"

Yang Lin shot up from his chair, his expression full of disbelief.

How could that be?!

Opposite Yang Lin sat Lu Chuan and Zhang Hui.

Lu Chuan’s expression was extremely serious; for this case, Qin Yong had arranged for Lu Chuan and Zhang Hui to handle it first.

Three hours earlier.

Qin Yong’s office.

Since returning from Song Jiangguo’s office, Qin Yong had been pondering who to assign for the investigation of Wang Feng’s disappearance.

Wang Feng’s disappearance case was not like typical cases.

He disappeared while working undercover.

According to the discussion between Qin Yong and Cai Yongqiang, it would be best for local police officers to handle Wang Feng’s disappearance case.

Wang Feng had not appeared for three days, so his family reporting him missing was reasonable, and such cases are usually handled by the local police station.

Therefore, the level of the personnel sent from the Criminal Investigation Team should not be too high.

Because if the level is too high, for instance, someone like Ren Qiang or Sun Jun, who are well-known within the Haizhou public security system, it might alert the other party.

Zhang Hui hadn’t been in the force for too long, only recently started taking on more significant roles, and has rich case-handling experience, so he’s quite suitable to take the lead.

Qin Yong was considering Lu Chuan’s suitability regarding technical resources.

From a work standpoint, Lu Chuan assisting Zhang Hui to solve this case is very appropriate.

Lu Chuan’s technical assessment ability in crime scene investigation is well recognized, and his involvement might accelerate the case-solving process.

However, Qin Yong had another concern: Lu Chuan and Wang Feng were classmates, and given that they shared the same dorm, they likely had a very deep bond.

Emotional involvement is the most avoided pitfall in investigating cases.

Qin Yong was worried that Lu Chuan might not be able to maintain his composure during the investigation due to his short time in the force and lack of experience in such matters.

Years ago, before Qin Yong became the captain of the Criminal Investigation Team, he had a similar experience.

At that time, a victim was Qin Yong’s comrade.

However, during the investigation, due to emotional involvement, Qin Yong made mistakes while arranging to capture the suspect, almost allowing their escape.

Therefore, he was hesitant about Lu Chuan’s involvement in investigating Wang Feng’s disappearance.

But this is not a situation that legally requires recusal, so Qin Yong sought Lu Chuan’s opinion.

Lu Chuan was quite emotional upon hearing about Wang Feng’s disappearance.

The last time, Lu Chuan, Yang Lin, Zhao Tianyu, and Wang Feng had dinner together felt just like yesterday.

Back then, Wang Feng mentioned he might get expelled.

Over the past year, although they had been in contact, they hadn’t gathered to dine together.

Unexpectedly, the next news about Wang Feng was that he had gone missing.

"Captain Qin, are we sure Wang Feng is missing or... has he been harmed?"

Lu Chuan was most worried about Wang Feng’s undercover identity being exposed, leading to his harm.

"Currently, there’s no evidence showing Wang Feng was harmed; we learned the details from the Anti-drug Detachment."

"Captain Qin! I request to join this mission."

Lu Chuan’s attitude was firm.

"I understand, you’re worried I might act emotionally during the investigation, but Captain Qin, within our Criminal Investigation Team, I definitely rank among the top in crime scene investigation and discovering clues."

"Wang Feng is both my college classmate and roommate, and now that he’s missing, I must contribute if I can. I hope Captain Qin will give me this opportunity."

"Additionally, I know Wang Feng’s residence is within the jurisdiction of Huaguang Street Police Station. If his parents report the case, it would also be at Huaguang Street Police Station, and Yang Lin, who works there, is our classmate."

"Wang Feng’s disappearance, with Yang Lin, also a classmate, involved in the investigation, wouldn’t arouse suspicion."

"Even though Zhang Hui and I are from the Criminal Investigation Team, if Yang Lin asks for help and considering my shared history with Wang Feng, even if it’s discovered we’re from the Criminal Investigation Team, it’d still be explainable."

"Therefore, Captain Qin, my participation in the investigation is the best choice both from a case-handling perspective and for confidentiality reasons."

The decisive factor for Qin Yong permitting Lu Chuan’s involvement was Lu Chuan’s final words.

If the other party discovers that Zhang Hui and Lu Chuan are not from the local police station, Lu Chuan’s classmate relationship with Wang Feng would sufficiently explain their presence, even knowing they’re from the Criminal Investigation Team.

With Zhang Hui and Lu Chuan confirmed to be involved in the investigation, the related background material was handed to them.

Of course, it only contained information prior to Wang Feng’s disappearance and not details of his undercover mission.

Yang Lin was highly emotional; during the last dinner with the four of them, although Wang Feng hadn’t said it outright, everyone knew what Wang Feng was engaged in.

Now, after more than a year, Wang Feng had previously been in touch with them, everything seemed normal, so why did he suddenly disappear?

"Is it a disappearance... or..."

Yang Lin’s voice trembled slightly.

Wang Feng was on an undercover mission, so a disappearance implies certain grave implications.

"From the information we have, Wang Feng is missing and likely isn’t harmed yet."

Zhang Hui answered Yang Lin.

Clearly, Zhang Hui’s response carried more weight than Lu Chuan’s.

"Yang Lin, don’t worry yet, you’re surely aware of the case’s complexity."

"Wang Feng’s undercover mission is highly confidential; during the investigation, we must proceed as if unaware of his mission, treating it as a standard missing persons case."

"According to Wang Feng’s leadership, this might be a test imposed by the other party on Wang Feng."

"If we lose our composure and reveal our hand during this period, that would pose the greatest threat to Wang Feng."

"You and Lu Chuan are both Wang Feng’s classmates; handling this missing persons case at Huaguang Street Police Station personally poses no issues."

"Even if the other party discovers that Lu Chuan and I are from the Criminal Investigation Team, Lu Chuan’s relationship with you all means there won’t be much suspicion."

"So our next step is to analyze the information Wang Feng left before disappearing and locate him as soon as possible."

After Zhang Hui’s explanation, Yang Lin understood the situation more clearly.

Yang Lin was also a police officer, nearing two years on the job. The experiences he gained over time had fostered considerable growth compared to when he first graduated.

The reason for his earlier agitation was hearing about Wang Feng’s disappearance for the first time.

Knowing the nature of Wang Feng’s mission made him all the more agitated.

Following Zhang Hui’s explanation, Yang Lin’s emotions stabilized significantly.

"Brother Hui, I understand. Rest assured, I won’t let emotions cloud my judgment and will fully cooperate with your work."

Zhang Hui nodded, and with the three of them on the same page, their future work became much simpler.

"Alright, next, we need to orchestrate the act of Wang Feng’s parents filing a report."

"Yang Lin, since you’re with the Huaguang Street Police Station, you handle this."

"No problem, I’ll contact Wang Feng’s parents shortly to have them file a report at the police station, and I’ll manage the case."