Sun Aiguo’s words left Zhang Hui and the others stunned.

More than two years without coming back, how is that different from being missing?

"During these two years, how did your son Sun Baojun keep in touch with the family?"

"All through WeChat, he typed and talked to me."

Sun Aiguo sighed, "I don’t know what happened to this kid over the past two years. He only talks to me once or twice a month, and he’s always saying he’s busy, never answers the phone."

"Actually, it’s kind of okay like this. In the past, when Baojun went out to work, he didn’t earn much in a year. But in these two years, it’s gotten better. He sends money home every month. I figured it’s good for him to work outside for a couple of years, save up a little bride price to get married later."

"Can I see the phone you use to chat?"

Sun Aiguo took out a silver-gray off-brand smartphone from his pocket and handed it to Zhang Hui.

"Is something wrong with my son...?"

Although Sun Aiguo had trouble walking, his mind was sharp. Zhang Hui kept asking about his son’s situation, and this made him think about how his son hadn’t come home in two years, wouldn’t answer calls, and only typed messages on WeChat without ever speaking.

Sun Aiguo had a foreboding feeling.

Zhang Hui took the phone that Sun Aiguo handed over, opened WeChat, and started scrolling through the chat history between Sun Aiguo and Sun Baojun.

In the past year or so, there were indeed no voice records. Sun Aiguo had tried sending voice messages several times, but they were never answered.

Zhang Hui had no way to answer Sun Aiguo’s question.

Because he was there to find Sun Baojun too.

Moreover, regarding Sun Baojun’s whereabouts, he had a suspicion, but it was hard to verify.

"We are not entirely clear about Sun Baojun’s specific situation right now, and we’re here to investigate. We’ll inform you once we make more progress."

Zhang Hui didn’t continue this topic and pointed at the transaction records in WeChat: "Does Sun Baojun send money home through WeChat transfers every time?"

"Yes, in the past, when Baojun went out for odd jobs, like carving stone statues, he barely earned enough for himself and didn’t send money to me. But these past two years, although he hasn’t come home, it seems he’s saved some money, sending me one or two thousand yuan a month. Sometimes less, but at least eight or nine hundred."

Most of the information about Sun Baojun that Sun Aiguo could provide was from two years ago.

And over the past two years, Zhang Hui found through the WeChat chat history on Sun Aiguo’s phone that Sun Baojun would send a text to assure his safety roughly once a month.

But he generally wouldn’t reply to the texts from Sun Aiguo or answer the voice or video calls, only transferring money at the start of every month.

After staying at Sun Aiguo’s house for less than an hour and understanding the basic situation, Zhang Hui and the team left.

In the car.

A team member was sorting the blood sample collected from Sun Aiguo just now: "Brother Hui, why did we collect Sun Aiguo’s blood before we left?"

The question was asked by Wang Haoran, who joined the Criminal Investigation Team with Lu Chuan last year and became official last month.

Zhang Hui brought him out this time to gain some experience.

Before Zhang Hui could answer, an experienced police officer beside them patted Wang on the shoulder.

"Kid, this here is experience; you’ll have to learn more in the future."

"Huh?"

Wang Haoran was quite capable, clear-headed, and had strong execution skills. His drawback was that he had just graduated from school, with very little experience.

Many things were still at the theoretical level, with weak practical application ability.

While Zhang Hui was on a call with the team, the experienced officer explained to Wang Haoran.

"Sun Baojun used to go out to work during the off-farming season and return home during the busy farming season. But ever since he went out two years ago, he hasn’t returned. Is that normal?"

Wang Haoran shook his head, then nodded: "It seems okay. Didn’t his father say he went out to earn more money and sends money to him every month? As for not going home for two years, that seems okay too. I haven’t returned home in over a year since I started working."

The experienced officer: "..."

"Let me put it differently. You haven’t been home in over a year, never called or video-chatted with your parents?"

Wang Haoran shook his head: "No, I hardly ever call or video with my parents."

"Hmm?"

Wang Haoran continued: "My parents are retired. They bought a house in Haizhou City and moved from our hometown to live there."

The experienced officer: "..."

I might as well have said nothing.

A blockhead impossible to carve!

Zhang Hui was reporting to Qin Yong.

"Captain Qin, we’ve found a significant lead at Sun Baojun’s home."

"Based on the information provided by his father Sun Aiguo, we can confirm that Sun Baojun hasn’t returned home since October two years ago."

Sun Baojun left home to work after finishing the harvest in October two years ago and never returned.

"According to the chat history between Sun Baojun and his father, they only communicated via text, never through phone or video."

In the Criminal Investigation Team office in Haizhou City, Qin Yong furrowed his eyebrows. More than two years without calling home?

What’s going on?

"Are there any other clues?"

"There aren’t any more clues for the time being. We’ve collected a blood sample from Sun Baojun’s father, Sun Aiguo, for DNA analysis when we return."

"Alright, stay safe on the road!"

After hanging up, Qin Yong called Liu Guodong, asking him to prepare for the blood DNA analysis.

Zhang Hui’s meaning was clear. He suspected that the missing, never-returned-for-two-years Sun Baojun had actually been missing or worse, been a victim of foul play.

And it’s very possible that this missing person is the mummified remains inside the statue.

The DNA analysis of the mummies had been completed, but there was no match in the missing Persons database, and the fingerprint analysis hadn’t yielded a definitive result yet.

Now it seemed that after killing Sun Baojun, the killer might have continuously communicated with his father using WeChat, making Sun Aiguo believe nothing had happened to avoid alarming the police.

By the time Zhang Hui returned, it was already afternoon.

Liu Guodong had finished all the preparatory work and started material purification and separation after taking the blood.

"It’ll take about two hours."

After telling Zhang Hui the duration, Liu Guodong went into the lab.

This time, it was Lu Chuan doing the DNA analysis.

Two hours later, Zhang Hui received the analysis results. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"It’s him, indeed!"

The investigation had finally made significant progress, positively identifying the deceased.

A case analysis meeting was underway in the conference room.

Qin Yong was presiding over the meeting.

"Comrades, upper management is highly concerned about this case, and public opinion is gradually building."

The discovery of a mummy inside a statue at a campsite was a highly sensational case, one that couldn’t be concealed.

The police were under immense pressure.