"There's a missing person case, and I feel something's off. But as you know, the local police station isn't really keen on investigating suspicious disappearances, so I had to come to you to see if we can find any useful clues."

Li Xiang handed Wu Qiufen's incident report over. Mao Ji glanced through it and immediately understood why the police station wasn't handling the case. It's just children having a conflict and then running away from home. They really don't have time to help find people for this, and he too thought it was making a fuss over nothing: "This is just a normal case, no need to investigate, right?"

"Nine days have passed without any news, and I find it unreasonable. Now her phone is turned off too, so we can't rule out the possibility she's been harmed."

Li Xiang expressed his judgment, and after hearing him out, Mao Ji nodded with pursed lips: "You have a point. All I can do now is help you check a bit. As you know, without an official case, we're not supposed to get involved. Ultimately, it'll likely be up to you to investigate, but I can provide some intelligence support in the background."

"That'll be enough. What we're lacking right now is information."

Mao Ji's involvement was crucial for Li Xiang. His intelligence was like eyes; without it, investigating the missing person case would be incredibly difficult, not to mention they wouldn't even know where to start.

"I'll first check if she left Jinghai using public transportation. IDs are usually registered for high-speed trains and buses. If there's any record, we'll know where she went."

Mao Ji sat before the computer, fingers dancing rapidly over the keyboard, then input Wang Liping's ID number: "Found it. On January 29th, at 6 AM, she took the earliest bus to Jinling."

"Jinling?"

"Yes, there's a record of her bus trip in the system, and no other travel records. You should ask her family if they have any relatives or friends there, and investigate further."

Mao Ji confirmed once more if there were any high-speed train or airplane travel records but found nothing, so he suggested Li Xiang go visit the family.

"Okay."

With that in mind, Li Xiang took out his phone, called Wu Qiufen, and turned on the speaker.

"Hello, Ms. Wu, this is the police station. I'm the one who attended to you today when you reported the case. Any news about your daughter?"

"Not yet. Do you have any updates?"

"Here's the thing. We've found that your daughter's last stop was Jinling City. Do you have any relatives or friends there she might have gone to?"

"Jinling? No, we don't have any relatives there."

On the other end, she sounded surprised, not expecting her daughter to have gone to Jinling City without a word.

"Really? Think again, even about friends. If there are any, give them a call – they might know your daughter's whereabouts."

Over the phone, Wu Qiufen pondered momentarily before saying with certainty: "No, our family has never been to Jinling. My daughter went to university in Nanhua City and has never been to Jinling. She must have been tricked into going there. Please help me find her. Could she have been lured into a pyramid scheme?"

Pyramid scheme? It's not impossible. Many students seeking internships are drawn by the high returns promised by such organizations and get trapped inside, cut off from family contact while being brainwashed, until they're considered integrated and allowed outside contact.

"Rest assured, ma'am, we will investigate thoroughly. If you have any updates, please contact me first. This is my number."

Li Xiang hung up the phone and asked everyone, "Do you think Wang Liping might have been ensnared by a pyramid scheme?"

"It's possible. I'll check her bank records for any anomalies."

Mao Ji, being an experienced officer, immediately thought of checking Wang Liping's bank transactions. In today's world, money is indispensable, and nothing can be done without it.

In the past few days, she must have spent something. Checking her bank statements can reveal any unusual activities.

This showcased Mao Ji's value. Modern policing heavily relies on information technology for solving cases. Many leads are derived from data analysis, and nobody can completely detach from big data.

"Strange, she hasn't had any transactions recently? The last one was the deduction for the traveling platform on January 29th."

"Could she really be under the control of a pyramid scheme?"

Reportedly, pyramid groups provide room and board. Some even offer 'wives' and not just one, causing envy among numerous internet users.

"If it's a pyramid scheme, then this case indeed needs to be cracked. But for now, all this is just our speculation. To open an official case, we'll need concrete evidence."

"How about this – I'll consult with the station chief before making another trip to Jinling for a field investigation. If it's indeed a pyramid scheme, there should be some findings."

"Sounds good. I'll reach out to the platform to see if we can access her travel records."

Location information from platforms is typically linked with police networks. The public security system can access this data, although it might take some time.

Half an hour later, a message came back: January 29th, 09:31:42, Jinling City Passenger Terminal → 77 Changxing Street, Liuhe District, Jinling City.

"The case isn't officially open yet, so your actions won't get local police station support. All you can do is rely on your investigation. But don't worry, I'll support you from Jinghai."

"Okay, thanks, Brother Mao."

"No need to thank me, just doing my part. There might be times when I'll need your help too. I know you're quite capable."

Capable?

Sun Zhidong was puzzled. Li Xiang capable? Perhaps he had caught a criminal, making everyone think he's highly skilled.

He knew for sure that Li Xiang didn't even have the money to go to a gym, so how could he be skilled?

Being skilled requires practice. Sitting in an office sipping tea every day only enlarges the belly.

Back at the police station, the first person Li Xiang sought out was Chief Zhao, intending to request time off.

"Time off? To Jinling?"

"Yes, today I received a missing person report. I find it suspicious. I brought it up with Chief Cai, but he didn't take it seriously. Judging by the situation, this missing person case indeed has significant issues. I'd like to follow up on it."

Li Xiang reported the situation to Chief Zhao, who took the materials Li Xiang handed over and began reading them.

If it had been another auxiliary officer, Chief Zhao would've flung the file in their face and scolded them for lacking discipline. "Just a missing person case, and you want to investigate it? This time it's Jinling, next time it'll be Northern Myanmar, are you going to ask for leave to go there too?"

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