"Do you remember the Chuan City Criminal Investigation Team?"

"Isn't that where we transferred someone back from?"

Jiang An nodded, "Of course I remember."

"They've invited you over to guide and assist in an investigation."

"Oh? They want me to guide an investigation?"

In an instant, Jiang An's eyes widened, and the thermos cup in his hand almost slipped.

The news came so suddenly that his first reaction was to doubt if he had misheard.

Jiang An was utterly overwhelmed, as if for a moment he believed his ears were deceiving him.

What have I done to deserve an invitation from the Chuan City Criminal Investigation Team?

It's known that the Chuan City Criminal Investigation Team ranks as an elite force nationwide.

Besides, even if they were to invite external assistance, typically they would invite criminal investigation experts from the provincial department or experienced detectives from nearby areas.

If it were someone from the Jiangcheng Public Security Bureau, it ought to be Li Jian or the instructor Wang Jia, who are both much more experienced than I am.

Thinking of this, Jiang An pointed at himself.

His voice trembled slightly, "Is there a mistake? Am I really up to this?"

Li Jian chuckled, "I've heard a bit about this headless female corpse case; they say it's quite a troublesome cold case."

"When I went to Chuan City, I saw no signs; why the sudden invitation to me?"

"Are they very familiar with us?"

Jiang An muttered to himself, trying hard to recall the last time he went to Chuan City for an exchange.

At the time, it was merely a routine work exchange with no particularly deep interaction.

Li Jian took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and deeply inhaled twice, the smoke slowly rising in the corridor.

"Based on my judgment in criminology, I think in such a case it's mostly because you are too outstanding."

He paused, "Or, perhaps this case was inherently very difficult."

"From the viewpoint of a criminal investigation captain, generally, a case wouldn't be handed over to others, let alone invite a peer department to guide the case."

Upon hearing this, Jiang An nodded, his professional acumen quickly calming him down.

"I know this."

"If it's a peer department, wouldn't that imply I'm not capable?"

"If one were to invite support from the provincial forensic or technical department, that would actually align with protocol, as support from superior agencies is no disgrace."

"But if it's from a peer department, it might not sound good if spread around."

With this in mind, Li Jian spoke in a deep voice, lowering it further.

"I guess they've run into tricky problems and have no ideas."

"Otherwise, they wouldn't humbly request our support."

Jiang An nodded gently, saying, "Mr. Li, what you said makes sense. I think this matter might indeed be very tricky."

After a brief pause, Li Jian said enigmatically, "I heard that almost no valuable clues were left on the scene."

He patted Jiang Dong's shoulder, "Go ahead, Mr. Ma has already agreed to your trip."

"This trip represents Jiangcheng's outreach."

"This is a good opportunity to showcase Jiangcheng's criminal investigation prowess."

Just as he finished speaking, Jiang An's phone suddenly rang, displaying an unfamiliar number, with the location being in the Chuan City area.

Jiang An and Li Jian exchanged a glance, and he pressed the answer button.

"Hello, how may I help you?"

"Hello, may I speak to Mr. Jiang?"

A slightly hoarse male voice came from the other end of the line.

"Hello, who is this?"

"This is Chen Biao, the Deputy Captain of the Chuan City Criminal Investigation Team."

"Hello, Mr. Chen."

Jiang An immediately straightened up, his tone becoming formal.

"We just contacted your unit's secretariat, and the fax has already been sent to you."

"Could you assist us in our investigation?"

Chen Biao's voice contained an unmistakable urgency.

Jiang An glanced at the invitation letter in his hand, saying solemnly, "I just received the fax, and leadership has agreed. I will proceed immediately."

"That's great!"

The relief in the voice on the other end was palpable, "It's a long journey; I think flying would be faster."

"Just give me the ID numbers of those coming, and we'll arrange the tickets."

Hearing this, Jiang An raised an eyebrow, looking at Li Jian.

Li Jian nodded, mouthing 'alright'.

"Okay then, I'll contact you once I've confirmed the personnel," Jiang An replied.

"Great, thank you, Mr. Jiang."

"You're always welcome to come and guide our work."

After hanging up the phone, Jiang An said, "I didn't expect them to be so enthusiastic, even covering the flight ticket."

"It seems this case indeed has them quite troubled."

Li Jian extinguished his cigarette, "By the way, are you going alone? Or are you taking a few others with you?"

Jiang An pondered for a bit, "Opportunities to handle cases externally like this one are hard to come by."

"If there are no special arrangements here, I'd like to ask my senior sister and brother to accompany me."

He looked up, "Firstly, the three of us work well together; secondly, we can look out for one another."

"Senior sister's knowledge in trace evidence is solid, and senior brother is an expert in interrogation."

At this, Li Jian nodded and said, "No problem, I'll fully support it."

"Having the two of them with you would be a good opportunity for them to broaden their horizons, meet some peers from other places, and facilitate work exchanges and connections."

Hearing this, Jiang An earnestly said, "Captain, rest assured, we will not tarnish Jiangcheng's criminal investigation reputation."

"I'll go organize the case files now and prepare for handover work."

Li Jian smiled, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes smoothing out, "I'm definitely assured."

"You guys are indeed the all-star lineup of the investigation team."