Chapter 260: Su Ming Unveils His Criminal Sketching Skills, Facial Comparison Exposes Ghost!

The internet’s memory can be fickle.

Just like those celebrities and influencers who’ve committed crimes—throw some money at PR, send out a few so-called legal letters, and it’s as if the internet forgets everything. They’re still able to show up on screen and rake in millions.

But sometimes… the internet remembers forever.

As long as something was once recorded or reported online, no matter how many times it’s deleted, there will always be traces left behind.

Just like now.

After deducing that the Ghost couple had once used cheating techniques to win a massive amount of money at a casino in the United States, Su Ming immediately concluded that this incident had definitely been covered by the media, with photos and reports circulating online.

After all, there aren’t many people who can walk away from a casino with tens of millions of dollars.

Back in the Macau of the Dragon Country, there was a group called the Dragon Slaying Group from Fujian Province. They pooled money together and started off winning tens of millions, only to lose everything in one long losing streak.

Casinos are like bottomless pits. Out of every hundred people who go in hoping to win, ninety-nine end up losing it all.

So when the Ghost couple not only won tens of millions but also managed to walk away without getting sucked back in and losing everything, it was a rare feat. The media coverage would’ve been extensive.

…

At this moment.

Su Ming clicked into a news article, studied the photos taken at the scene, then handed his phone to Chen Sheng and Xu Changsheng with a confident glint in his eyes.

“Chief Chen, Brother Sheng.”

“Take a look at these photos taken by the U.S. media. I think… they can help further confirm our earlier deductions.”

Hearing this, Chen Sheng and Xu Changsheng immediately leaned in, taking the phone from Su Ming and reading the news article published by the U.S. media.

A few seconds later.

Chen Sheng let out a long breath, visibly relieved, and spoke with barely contained excitement.

“It all checks out!”

“The incident, the location, the amount—it all lines up perfectly with what we deduced earlier.”

“No wonder they’re being hunted down. They won fifty million dollars. That’s insane.”

“Ghost and his wife really had guts. And they pulled this off at a newly opened casino? Weren’t they afraid of bankrupting the place right off the bat?”

“Looks like Ghost did his homework, picked a casino that had just opened, with weak security systems and inexperienced dealers—perfect conditions for cheating.”

“Also, Team Leader Su, I think this might tie back to K as well.”

“Judging by the timeline, this probably happened not long after K established his drug trafficking organization in the Dragon Country. Is it possible…”

“That after K set up the foundation of his drug network, he needed a criminal organization in the U.S. to work with, so he helped establish this casino?”

“If that’s the case, it would explain why K was able to get Ghost to take care of Lan Cai’er.”

“Because, in a way, he really did have the clout to make the casino stop going after Ghost.”

At this point, Xu Changsheng, who had been standing nearby, picked up the thread.

“Besides what Chief Chen just said…”

“I took a closer look at the Chinese couple featured in the report. Their disguises were extremely convincing—Magician must be very skilled in this area.”

“But if you analyze features like the ears and fingers, you can still very accurately determine…”

“That the middle-aged man in the photo is actually Ghost in disguise, using sleight of hand to cheat the casino out of fifty million dollars.”

“If we go by Xiao Ming’s earlier theory, Ghost didn’t dare use the skin masks Qiang Wei gave him after that intercepted phone call during the arrest attempt.”

“Then it makes sense that he’d reuse this disguise.”

“He’s clearly familiar with it—probably used it multiple times during his operations in U.S. casinos.”

“And yesterday, when he escaped, he didn’t have much time.”

“Not only did he have to destroy all evidence in the house, he also had to disguise himself and find a safe place to hide.”

“With the time constraints, even if Ghost wanted to use a different disguise, it probably wasn’t feasible.”

“Reusing a disguise that already helped him escape successfully in the U.S. would be the optimal choice. And with K’s help, the casino wouldn’t be after him anymore.”

“So when you add all of this up, it’s clear that Ghost most likely used this same disguise to leave the neighborhood and go into hiding.”

Su Ming nodded in agreement with their analysis. Based on all the clues so far, it was highly likely that Ghost had fled in a similar disguise.

However, with the passage of time, there would inevitably be some differences in appearance.

With that in mind, Su Ming picked up a pen from the table, pulled out a blank sheet of paper, and began sketching while explaining.

“It’s been five years since Ghost cheated that casino in the U.S., and he’s also spent several years in prison.”

“His face and body have definitely changed since then.”

“So when he disguises himself now, it won’t be exactly the same as it was back then. If we rely solely on those old photos, we might miss the mark.”

“That’s why I’m going to try combining the old casino photos with how he likely looks now, and guess what his current disguise might be.”

“It sounds difficult, but if we focus on his disguise habits and blend them with his current facial structure, it’s not impossible.”

“The key point is… this neighborhood doesn’t have strict access control. Delivery drivers, food couriers, maintenance workers—they can all come and go without registration. The population here is incredibly diverse.”

“If we don’t have a likely image to work with, trying to identify him through surveillance will take an unimaginable amount of time.”

“But if I can get this sketch accurate enough, and we use it to run facial comparisons on surveillance footage, we could cut down the search time by several times—maybe more.”

At that moment.

Chen Sheng and Xu Changsheng both nodded in agreement.

Su Ming had a point. Even though they had a general idea of what Ghost’s disguise might look like, the neighborhood was crowded, and five years had passed.

Finding Ghost quickly wouldn’t be easy.

And time was the most precious resource right now.

Though both men were curious about when Su Ming had learned to sketch criminal portraits, they didn’t ask. They didn’t want to interrupt his process.

As the seconds ticked by, their expressions gradually shifted to astonishment.

Su Ming’s portrait skills were nothing short of extraordinary.

With just a few simple strokes, he could render a lifelike image that captured Ghost’s key features and subtle details.

A few minutes later.

Su Ming finally put down his pen and handed the portrait to Chen Sheng, speaking in a calm voice.

“Chief Chen.”

“Have the guys in the Criminal Investigation Technology Section use this sketch to run comparisons against surveillance footage from the neighborhood and nearby roads. See if there’s anyone who matches.”

“I can’t guarantee anything, but I believe… there’s a real chance we can dig Ghost out using facial recognition.”