246: Chapter 246 I, Lei Zhen, guarantee to help you get promoted.

Qinghe Police Station Special Task Force Temporary Office

"What? Only two more days?"

Hearing that the Municipal Bureau would take back the case in two days, everyone was shocked.

"I've already agreed with Captain Wan that if we can't solve the case by noon the day after tomorrow, we have to hand over this case along with all the files."

Lei Zhen said while lighting a cigarette: "I fought for these two extra days."

Hearing this, everyone's mood plummeted to rock bottom.

"Master, how should we investigate from here on?" Zhu Xiaojun asked with a hoarse voice.

Lei Zhen said: "We've pretty much investigated everything that needs to be checked. Now I don't even know which direction to go. How about this, everyone has been working overnight continuously and is tired. I'll give everyone a half-day break, and we'll be back to work at 8:00 tomorrow morning."

"A break?" Everyone was stunned.

Gu Qingcheng was also confused: "Lei Zhen, we have less than 48 hours left, and you're actually giving everyone a break?"

Lei Zhen smiled indifferently: "The more it's like this, the more everyone needs to relax. How about we go on a date later?"

Gu Qingcheng's eyes widened, completely unable to figure out what Lei Zhen was up to.

"At such a critical moment, you actually have the mood to play?"

Lei Zhen stood up from his chair and stretched: "How about this, let's find a place this afternoon and go camping together? National Day is almost over, and we haven't rested at all."

"Camping?" Everyone was shocked again.

Lei Zhen wasn't joking; he actually picked up his phone and asked Doubao which camping site in Jiangcheng had the most beautiful scenery.

Doubao recommended a resort called [Starry Sky Camping Base], which was only 80 kilometers away from Jiangcheng, so Lei Zhen announced that there would be no talk of work today, and everyone should go out and relax.

Seeing that Lei Zhen had already booked a camper van, Gu Qingcheng had no choice but to compromise.

So everyone packed up, went to the farmers' market to buy barbecue ingredients, and headed to the Starry Sky Base to camp.

Outside, the sun was shining, and the temperature was around 25 degrees—truly great weather for camping.

The entire temporary Special Task Force set off in three cars, making a grand procession.

On the way, Tan Lin, who was sitting in the back row, grabbed the back of the driver's seat and asked: "Xiao Jun, is our team leader giving up? Can this case really not be solved?"

Zhu Xiaojun was driving, and he sighed: "I don't know either, but one thing is certain: our Special Task Force has indeed hit a dead end."

Liao Anqian, who was next to Tan Lin, also said: "Do you think we might have gone in the wrong direction? You know, once there is a problem with the direction in a murder case, and you take the wrong path, there is no turning back!"

"I'm a bit confused now too," Zhu Xiaojun said. "This case is really too strange. Everyone who appeared at the crime scene has an alibi. Could it be that Ou Mingquan was strangled by a ghost?"

This statement stunned everyone.

Although they were all atheists, the current situation was indeed a bit surreal. The killer was truly like a ghost, or they used some method to turn themselves into a 'ghost'.

Zhu Xiaojun was driving Lei Zhen's car, while Lei Zhen was driving Gu Qingcheng's xiaomi u7.

"Lei Zhen, what do you think about Ou Mingquan's death..."

Before Gu Qingcheng could finish her sentence, she was interrupted by Lei Zhen: "I said we're out to have fun, no talk of work. I get a headache just hearing the name Ou Mingquan now. Can you spare me?"

Gu Qingcheng curled her lips: "Fine, fine, no talking about it, okay?"

"Then let's talk about something else." Lei Zhen turned his head to glance at Gu Qingcheng: "By the way, is your mom still making you go on blind dates?"

Gu Qingcheng was stunned: "Blind dates? Why would I need to go on blind dates?"

Lei Zhen chuckled: "That guy called Zhao Mingxuan from before—didn't you two meet on a blind date?"

Speaking of Zhao Mingxuan, Gu Qingcheng's face was full of disgust: "Him? He was the son of one of my mom's high school classmates. Isn't he already caught by you? I heard he was sentenced to 12 years."

"He deserved it. That guy scammed so many retail investors. 12 years is enough for him to reflect inside," Lei Zhen said.

Gu Qingcheng suddenly thought of something: "Lei Zhen, tell me honestly, when you went undercover at that scam company, did you already know that Zhao Mingxuan was the match my mom introduced to me, so you used public office for private revenge?"

"How is that possible? I'm not a fortune teller. How could I calculate that Zhao Mingxuan was your blind date?" Lei Zhen said. "That was purely a coincidence. You should thank me for this. If I hadn't brought that guy Zhao to justice, you might be the wife of a fraudster right now."

"That would still be better than being the wife of a street loafer," Gu Qingcheng pouted.

"Fine, fine. In your eyes, no matter what my status is now, I'm just a street loafer," Lei Zhen sighed.

"You're engaging in class discrimination, Gu Qingcheng. Don't forget you're a police officer; you can't look at people through colored glasses like that."

"My eyes are on me; I'll look at whoever I want," Gu Qingcheng retorted.

After arriving at the campsite, Lei Zhen announced that whoever mentioned anything related to work today would be punished by drinking a bottle of beer.

At first, everyone wasn't used to it, as they had pulled so many all-nighters for this case, but after several people were punished with drinks, no one mentioned it again.

Night soon fell, and everyone set up the barbecue stand. Lei Zhen even grilled a chicken wing for Gu Qingcheng himself. Everyone had a great time.

Then came drinking, singing karaoke, and playing games. No one talked about anything related to work anymore. Tan Lin and Zhu Xiaojun both drank until they threw up.

By midnight, everyone was still full of energy.

A group of people lay on beach chairs looking up at the starry sky. Tan Lin suddenly sighed: "My biggest wish right now is to be like the team leader and be promoted from an Auxiliary Police Officer to a real police officer."

Zhu Xiaojun had heard about what happened to Tan Lin some time ago. He had a girlfriend, but her parents disliked that he was an Auxiliary Police Officer without an official establishment, and they strongly opposed their daughter dating him.

The final result was that his girlfriend of three years took the initiative to break up and turned around to marry a civil servant from a district government.

When the brothers were drinking, Tan Lin cried his eyes out.

Hearing this, Lei Zhen immediately took advantage of the alcohol and said: "Don't worry, guys. I guarantee that within half a year, if I, Lei Zhen, haven't managed to get you all promoted to official police officers, I... I'll do a handstand and eat shit!"

Everyone was stunned on the spot.

Especially Tan Lin, Liao Anqian, Li Shangjun, and Li Wenjie—they were all stunned silly.

"You... what did you say? You want to help us become official police officers?" Tan Lin's eyes widened on the spot.

Perhaps many people don't know that the difficulty of an Auxiliary Police Officer becoming an official police officer is, without exaggeration, hell-level.

Let me give you two real examples. Last year, an Auxiliary Police Officer at Huaxi Police Station was patrolling the street with a police officer during the Chinese New Year and happened to encounter people drinking and fighting.

Seeing that there were many people on the other side, the police officer didn't dare to go up. That Auxiliary Police Officer, fueled by some passion, rushed up and was stabbed, finally subduing the ringleader.

Did you think he got a third-class merit and became an official officer? It was indeed a third-class merit, but at the commendation conference, this third-class merit was awarded to the police officer who chickened out and didn't dare to go up, while the injured Auxiliary Police Officer only received a 500-yuan reward.

There is another example. An Auxiliary Police Officer who had been working for seven years at a police branch in Guangdong Province assisted in solving more than 460 criminal cases through video research and judgment capabilities, and assisted the police in capturing more than 800 criminal suspects.

This achievement had already been ignored by the local police department. Did you think he could become an official officer?

However, the fact was that this Auxiliary Police Officer comrade was sent to the Beijing Advanced Migrant Worker Commendation Conference as the sole representative of the Guangdong police and received an excellent migrant worker title.

As for becoming an official officer, their leaders didn't mention a single word.

So when they heard Lei Zhen make such a bold statement, everyone's first reaction was disbelief.

Lei Zhen said with high spirits: "Once this case is solved, I will specifically request the Municipal Bureau to authorize us to establish a Criminal Investigation Team in Qinghe. By then, you will be the backbone."

Everyone looked at each other, stunned by Lei Zhen's words.

A Police Station establishing a separate Criminal Investigation Team? This is really a boast that couldn't be made without drinking half a bottle of Old White Spirit.

Gu Qingcheng, who had drunk more than two bottles of beer, stood up abruptly: "Lei Zhen, you broke the rules. Who told you to talk about work? Penalty drink!!"