"Five years ago, following orders from the top, the nation launched a serious crackdown on human trafficking issues."

"Every region had to enforce it and report their results."

"Jiang City was no exception, so during that period, a large amount of police resources were allocated, including but not limited to patrol officers and traffic police..."

"And in January 2000, on the eve of the New Year, there was a routine police deployment for street checks."

"We thought it would be like any other time, but...."

Sun Chuan paused and then said gloomily:

"A car suddenly sped up during the check and rushed through the barricade!"

"At that time, there was someone investigating in the trunk, and was dragged for a while unexpectedly, sustaining quite serious injuries. To this day, his hand has not yet recovered!"

As he spoke.

Sun Chuan seemed to recall the officer who was hit by the car at the time, and even now mentioning it, his forehead was full of dark lines.

Xu Liang listened patiently.

His counterpart continued:

"This car was running very fast, as if hiding something that shouldn’t be seen."

"Even several checkpoints couldn’t stop it!"

"It wasn’t until it ran to the riverside, with nowhere to escape, that the police caught it."

A car that suddenly sped up?

Straight through the checkpoint?

Why would he break through?

"Was something hidden in the car?" Xu Liang furrowed his brow, recalling the deceased Qi Yu and the shelter for disabled individuals, and began to ponder.

There are only two possible scenarios.

One, organ trafficking.

Two, human trafficking!

But transporting organs by truck? What a joke!?

As for the latter? Trafficking disabled individuals? A black factory might buy them, but how to explain the corroded mark on Qi Yu’s face?

Moreover, ordinary human traffickers would not resist so violently!

Unless there was something inside....

Something that shouldn’t be seen!

"Initially, the police thought the same thing."

Sun Chuan took a deep breath and spoke helplessly.

"Initially?" Xu Liang was stunned, did the other mean... they later thought differently!?

Sun Chuan nodded, confirming his speculation.

"After stopping the car, the police arrested the only driver."

"Simultaneously, they investigated all the truck’s contents, but ultimately found... nothing."

Sun Chuan expressed a helpless look on his face at this point.

"The driver had alcohol in his system, seemingly afraid of being caught for drunk driving."

"But based on the site investigation, the police speculated he drank temporarily before being apprehended."

"In other words, he was quite sober when breaking through the checkpoints!"

Thus, the fear of being caught drunk driving didn’t justify his escape, nor provoke him to break through the checkpoints.

Then why did he run?

"The police thought the cargo was suspicious; that night, the car was transporting a batch of pickled vegetables to other city districts for sale."

"The police later found fewer jars in the back, possibly removed before the arrest!"

"But... the driver claimed that during the checkpoint rush, due to the rear door being open, some goods bounced out, thus leading to missing items!"

"Subsequent investigations did find many on the road, but the numbers didn’t match, at least...."

As he spoke.

Sun Chuan paused, finally frowning and said:

"At least more than a dozen jars disappeared!"

More than a dozen jars?

"What kind of jars?" Xu Liang queried.

Sun Chuan gestured, indicating that the jar’s opening was about the size of a person’s waist.

Waist-sized jars, who knew what could be hidden inside them.

Like Qi Yu?

Xu Liang didn’t know, at least not right now.

"One last question."

He gathered his thoughts and asked:

"That officer whose hand hasn’t healed... who is he to you?"

Sun Chuan paused, and after a long while, he said somberly:

"He’s an orphan."

"I originally worked alongside his father as anti-narcotics officers, but later his father shielded me from a bullet and died, entrusting the child to me before he passed."

"Later, I was transferred to Jiang City due to injuries, and that child also became a police officer in Jiang City. But unexpectedly, this happened."

As he spoke, his face revealed an extremely complex expression.

His eyes faintly conveyed sadness.

Xu Liang, possessing a ’Seven-Aperture Exquisite Heart,’ knew that the other was not lying.

’Indeed, there is a difficult conflict to reconcile...’

After validating his hypothesis.

Xu Liang then put forward his second request, which was...

"Where is the captured person now?"

His gaze was like a torch, staring intently at Sun Chuan in front of him.

The other directly replied:

"He’s at Jiang City Detention Center, serving a fifteen-year sentence for intentional harm, drunk driving, and endangering public safety."

Sun Chuan stated.

The police didn’t find any additional criminal records for him back then.

The cargo had no issues, and the pickling factory had sales records.

No one was hit during the escape.

It was only during the checkpoint breach that the police were injured, thus the sentence was quite lenient.

"Still in the detention center..."

Xu Liang mumbled, beginning to ponder.

The case from five years ago was indeed perplexing, with no clue on how to investigate. It seemed akin to the arrested person having a sudden, inexplicable outburst.

But when connected with the current case...

The disappearing dozen-plus jars, they must have held something extraordinary!

’Related to Qi Yu’s death?’

’Jars big enough to hold a person... were those jars filled with people? People like Qi Yu!?’

’Were they sourced entirely from institutions for disabled individuals, and similar welfare facilities offering people with disabilities?’

Xu Liang’s mind was a blur, as a flood of information surged through.

Sadly, at this moment, he couldn’t discern which of this information was accurate.

After a long time, Xu Liang suddenly lifted his head, looking at the other with sincerity: