Chapter 57 Dongfeng Residential Area!

The next day.

The sun was high in the sky.

At the entrance of the Municipal Bureau, Chen Mo took the soy milk and fried dough sticks handed over by Long Hao and began to eat.

"I have some good news for you." Long Hao sucked the last drop of soy milk from the cup and turned to look at Chen Mo seriously.

"What good news?"

The two of them chatted as they walked inside.

"You remember Wang Chongyang, right? You discovered the bomb and immediately organized people to transfer and defuse it."

"The Bureau Chief has approved a Third-class Merit. The certificate will be officially issued in a few days."

He was genuinely happy for Chen Mo.

In times of peace, although a Third-class Merit is at the bottom of the rankings, it's not easy to get without risking one's life.

Moreover, at Chen Mo's age, having just joined the police force for half a year and already earning a Third-class Merit—how many people could achieve that?

In his memory, there wasn't a single person who had received this honor after only half a year on the force.

Chen Mo was the first one he knew of.

Not to mention others, he himself only earned it in his third year, and that was by risking a fatal injury.

Each generation is truly stronger than the last.

Something once unthinkable had actually been accomplished by Chen Mo.

"That's wonderful."

Chen Mo couldn't help but feel delighted as well.

Just as Long Hao thought, how many people could earn a Third-class Merit within half a year of joining?

Even the Bureau Chief would probably be surprised when seeing his enlistment date during the approval process.

Although he already knew he would get a Third-class Merit, knowing it and holding it in his hands were two different feelings.

It's like knowing a million will arrive in your account tomorrow; the knowledge is different from the feeling of seeing it in your card.

"Keep up the good work. I feel the heights you'll reach in the future will be beyond my imagination."

An image of Chen Mo wearing a white shirt flashed through Long Hao's mind, and he sighed with emotion.

Someone like Chen Mo is like gold—he will always shine.

Don't be fooled by the fact that he's currently just a Third-class Police Superintendent; his future prospects are limitless.

"You have that much faith in me?"

"Then Captain Long, do you want to start currying favor with me now? Once more people start sucking up to me in the future, you won't have the chance."

Chen Mo believed his future was limitless, but he didn't expect Long Hao to be so convinced of it as well.

Since they were close, he joked around casually.

"You brat..." Long Hao was a bit annoyed.

"Talk to me again when you actually become a leader!"

With that, he quickened his pace and left.

Chen Mo shook his head with a laugh and tossed the trash into the bin.

The morning passed quickly.

In the blink of an eye, it was noon, and the temperature soared abruptly.

Fortunately, the office had air conditioning.

"Chen Mo, weren't you looking for a case?"

"Take a look at this one and see if you want to handle it."

Long Hao placed a stack of documents in front of Chen Mo.

Around ten o'clock, Chen Mo had started rummaging through old unsolved cases from the past.

He even asked if there were any cases to work on.

This attitude was practically that of a model worker for the police station.

"I'll do it!"

Chen Mo nodded without a second thought and began reading.

Seeing that no cases had occurred all morning.

What about the betting agreement?

There were only two days left; was he just going to watch it fail?

He had no choice but to take the initiative.

But he had searched for a long time without finding a suitable one.

Now that a case had suddenly been delivered, there was no reason not to take it.

As long as it was Grade D or above, he would take it!

"I knew you would!" Long Hao gave him an appreciative look.

He added, "I'll have Xiao Zhang come find you later; I need to keep an eye on Yamamoto Hidetoshi."

He left after saying that.

Suddenly, only a few scattered criminal investigators remained in the office.

Chen Mo turned his attention to the case.

To be precise, this case had been transferred up from a local police station.

Two days ago, a subordinate police station received a missing person report. Five officers searched for an entire day but couldn't find anyone.

Just as they were about to enter the name into the missing persons database, they received another report of an assault. A neighbor heard someone crying for help, but by the time the police arrived, they found that the tenant had also disappeared.

They couldn't be contacted at all.

Upon comparing the two cases, they found that the circumstances of the woman who went missing two days ago and the one who went missing yesterday were strikingly similar: both were women living alone who vanished after returning home from work.

Combined with the cry for help heard by the neighbor.

It could basically be determined to be a criminal case.

That's why it was transferred up.

"Brother Mo, when do we head out?"

Xiao Zhang had approached him at some point and asked excitedly.

Working on a case with Brother Mo was refreshing, not depressing!

Because Brother Mo could figure out the problems he couldn't solve.

But working with Captain Long made his hair fall out in clumps; it was pure torture.

So, the moment he heard Captain Long tell him to find Brother Mo, he dashed over.

"We're going now. Are you familiar with this place?"

Chen Mo pointed to the address in the second missing person case.

"Dongfeng Community near Muhe Park, right? It's in the East District. I'm very familiar with it!"

He patted his chest as he spoke.

...

...

At the same time.

Muhe Park.

Uncle Wang parked his pink electric scooter at the entrance.

He looked left and right cautiously, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't see Chen Mo.

Twenty minutes ago, he had received a call from an old comrade-in-arms who lived nearby.

They said a child had drowned in the park's artificial lake.

After much consideration, he came over by himself.

He wanted to see if the problem was his own bad luck, or if that kid Chen Mo had handled a wrongful case and been haunted by something bad.

Soon, it would be the moment the mystery was revealed.

"What are you doing, Old Wang? You look like a thief, not a veteran at all."

A teasing voice sounded from behind him.

Uncle Wang immediately turned around and sighed in relief after seeing who it was.

"You walk without a sound; you gave me a fright."

"Haha, the officers from the East District police station will be here any minute. If we don't go in now, we won't get a chance."

Yang Shengli urged him with a smile.

He knew his old comrade's hobby very well; his love for watching scenes would never change.

If they dawdled until the police secured the scene, he probably wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.

"Right, right, right. Let's go see!"

Uncle Wang trotted toward the artificial lake in the park.

Ahead was a large crowd of onlookers, making noisy accusations.

"What's the use of crying now? Why didn't you think about the child being by the lake while you were on your phone?"

"So incompetent. The child is so unlucky to have a mother like you."

..."

A middle-aged woman was sitting on the ground, crying loudly.

She must be the mother of the drowned child.

Beside her were two old men about his age, soaking wet; it looked like they had just gone in to search but couldn't find the child.

"What a pity!"

Uncle Wang muttered.

A vibrant life was gone just like that.

Just then, the sirens of a fire truck and a police car suddenly wailed.

—Wuu-waa, wuu-waa.

Hearing this sound, Uncle Wang shuddered.

Then he realized.

This wasn't a car from the Municipal Bureau, and the policeman driving wasn't Xiao Liu.

It seems it really was that kid Chen Mo's problem.

He had really been miserable because of him lately.

"Come on, let's go sit at my place for a while. My son-in-law sent me some good tea; you should try some too."

"Which residential area is your home in again?"

"Dongfeng Community! Your memory is fading way too fast!"