Chapter 270: The Hunt Begins, Ghost is Doomed… Nowhere to Hide!

Su Ming’s deduction left everyone in the Criminal Investigation Technology Section momentarily stunned.

From his reasoning alone, it was clear to everyone just how outstanding and astonishing Su Ming’s criminal investigation skills were. This wasn’t a simple case of one plus one equaling two; it was more like one plus one equaling ten.

By connecting seemingly unrelated clues, from Qiang Wei’s Skin mask to the rental situation in the Urban Village, and even Chen Sheng’s mention of government efforts to prevent disorder in the Urban Village, Su Ming devised the most effective method to track down Ghost.

The most remarkable part was that he reached this conclusion in such a short time, which was truly commendable and shocking.

After a brief moment of awe, Chen Sheng immediately sprang into action. He glanced around at all the officers in the Criminal Investigation Technology Section and said, “You all heard what Team Leader Su said, right? Investigate. Immediately check with the sub-landlords in the Urban Village and find out if any suspicious individuals have rented rooms in the past ten days. Use our internal database to review social activity records and determine the identity Ghost used at that time, and which house he rented in the Urban Village. I want an accurate answer in thirty minutes!”

With Su Ming setting the direction for the investigation, the actual execution and filtering naturally fell to the technical officers. Compared to the usual detailed investigations, Su Ming’s bold deduction significantly narrowed the scope, greatly reducing the difficulty for the Criminal Investigation Technology Section.

Under the full-scale screening efforts, it took less than half an hour, only about twenty minutes, before Xiao Li from the Criminal Investigation Technology Section approached Su Ming and the others with a stack of paper materials.

Handing over the documents, he reported earnestly, “Our Criminal Investigation Technology Section conducted a very thorough and careful investigation. We’ve identified the specific identity Ghost used when renting and the house he’s currently staying in. According to the sub-landlord’s recollection, about five days ago, a young man with a buzz cut rented a house for six months. The landlord found it odd that a young man in his twenties sounded like someone in their thirties or forties. However, being profit-driven, the landlord didn’t pay much attention and had no reason to refuse a paying tenant. So, without further questioning, he photographed Ghost’s ID and handed over the keys. Ghost used the identity ‘Wu LiJun’ when renting, with an age listed as twenty-something and originating from the Chuanshu Region. As Team Leader Su mentioned, although this identity can be found in our police records, there are no traces of social activity. We checked Wu LiJun’s bank cards, credit loan apps, and online ID records. Over the past year, there hasn’t been a single transaction. His bank cards and loan apps are as clean as a blank sheet of paper. Not only are there no transaction records, but there’s also no internet cafe, tourist site, hotel, or hospital network activity. Even if someone lived in a remote rural area, in today’s age of information and technology, none of us in the Criminal Investigation Technology Section believe anyone could leave no trace unless they were imprisoned. But we checked his criminal record, and there’s no record of incarceration. To avoid any unexpected situations, after identifying Wu LiJun, we rechecked all recent renters and confirmed that Wu LiJun is indeed Ghost’s alternate identity. He’s currently hiding in room 301 of house 226 in the northern part of the Urban Village.”

Listening to this, Chen Sheng glanced at the materials briefly before handing them to Su Ming, saying softly, “Team Leader Su, take a look at this information. I believe Ghost is still hiding in the Urban Village. We should seize the opportunity to capture him. If there’s any place in Jiahe City that’s hidden enough to evade our police search, the Urban Village is definitely one of the best options. Other places wouldn’t offer the same level of concealment. Moreover, since Ghost has already disguised and relocated once before settling in the Urban Village, he likely plans to stay there for a while.”

Su Ming didn’t immediately respond to Chen Sheng’s reasoning. Instead, he carefully reviewed the materials, then rubbed his chin thoughtfully and said, “We should indeed take a look. From an investigative standpoint, Ghost wouldn’t frequently change locations. Since he can’t use the Skin mask, each time he disguises himself, it takes considerable time and can’t guarantee reliability. So, in Ghost’s mind, finding a suitable place to settle down is probably much safer than constantly moving around.”

After a brief pause, Su Ming looked seriously at Chen Sheng beside him and said, “Let’s go, Chief Chen. Let’s head out immediately and see if we can corner Ghost in that house!”