New Case

Being valued by the boss is a good thing — at worst, there's always tomorrow! Jiang Xia comforted herself. She didn't refuse Wu Suo's kindness anymore.

Instead, she draped the police uniform over the chair, rolled up her sleeves, and started cleaning her new workstation. Quick and efficient, she sorted the messy papers and files in no time.

Seeing her, Wang Xuguang stacked the files from the empty desk opposite him to make room. 'Xiao Jiang, there's space here.

Put your files here for now.' 'Got it.' Jiang Xia moved the files over. 'Thanks, Brother Wang.' Wang Xuguang waved his hand.

'Hey, no need to thank me.' 'I'll get some water.' Hu Wei, quick on the uptake, ran out and soon came back with a basin, a rag floating in it. He wrung out the rag and wiped the dust off the desk without waiting for Jiang Xia.

In less than ten minutes, the workstation was all set. The clean desk still had a faint sheen of moisture. Jiang Xia glanced at Wu Suo, feeling a bit emotional.

Being valued by the boss had its perks. If not for Wu Suo's sake, who would be so proactive in helping her clean up? Jiang Xia quickly adjusted her mindset.

If she couldn't slack off, at least she could do less work. But she soon realized she was overthinking again. The police station was way busier than she imagined.

Probably thinking Jiang Xia was a top student who could write well, Wu Suo smoothly placed a stack of statements on her desk. 'Xiao Jiang, reorganize these statements according to this format.' Well, time to write.

At eight sharp, Wang Xuguang and Shen Huoda took their guns and went on patrol. Jiang Xia sat down and started writing furiously.

She had only been writing for a short while when the office phone rang. Xu Deputy Chief answered. 'Two groups fighting on Happiness Street?

Okay, okay, I got it. I'll bring people over now!' He hung up and hurried out with some officers. As soon as he left, two groups of people came into the station.

One group had three people, two of them arguing and occasionally shoving each other. Seeing the situation, Wu Suo stepped in with a stern face to stop them.

The other group was a man in his early thirties holding a piece of paper. He asked Wu Suo, 'Chief Wu, I'm going to Henan Province to visit relatives.

This is the leave approved by the factory. Can you write me a letter of introduction?' Wu Suo took the paper, checked the factory name and seal, then turned to Jiang Xia.

'Xiao Jiang, someone needs a letter of introduction. Copy the format from my desk and bring it over!' 'Okay.' Jiang Xia stopped writing, found the sample letter on Wu Suo's desk, and waved the man over.

'Comrade, please come over and give me the specific address and ID info.' Before she finished writing the letter, four more people came in noisily. Wu Suo handled them while calling out nonstop.

'Xiao Jiang, have them write an IOU later!' 'Xiao Jiang, copy the notice quickly — it's almost time!' 'Xiao Jiang...' 'Xiao Jiang...' ... In one morning, the station received seven or eight dispatch calls and several waves of people.

At the busiest, it was noisier than a vegetable market. At noon, the station finally quieted down. Jiang Xia shook her numb arm and wiped her face.

Wu Suo was right — the station had a ton of trivial matters. She wanted to slack off... haha, she hadn't stopped all morning!

Not just her — everyone in the station was running around, even Lü Fusheng wasn't idle, mediating disputes. But Jiang Xia felt that guy was slacking off.

'Tired, huh?' Other officers had gone home for lunch. Hu Wei, who stayed for duty, came over with his lunchbox. He ate while talking.

'I didn't expect the station to be this busy — one thing after another. My first few days were a mess, all mistakes!' 'But you're different.' Hu Wei grinned.

'I saw you writing all morning, and Wu Suo said your work was good. That's impressive!' He gave a thumbs-up. 'It's nothing.' Normally, doing the same task continuously is easiest.

Frequent interruptions only make things messier, especially for newbies. But Jiang Xia wasn't a newbie. In her previous life as a teacher, she often faced similar situations, so she handled it smoothly.

But that didn't make her happy. It only proved she was already a mature workhorse — the kind that pulls the mill voluntarily.

A sad conclusion. 'You're too modest.' Hu Wei sat down excitedly. 'Yesterday when I saw you solve the case, I wanted to say you're amazing.

You shut Lü Fusheng up so he didn't dare say a word. You don't know how much I hate that guy bossing people around. Hey, Jiang Xia, are all police academy students as good as you?' 'Not all.

I'm better at this aspect.' One good man needs three helpers. To get along better in the station, she needed more than just Wu Suo's support.

She had to make friends. Hu Wei was her peer and had taken the initiative to be friendly, so Jiang Xia naturally accepted the olive branch.

She asked back, 'What's Lü Fusheng's background? Why does he act so high and mighty?' 'He's a connection hire.' Hu Wei curled his lip.

'But not a strong one. His family paid to get him in. No one wants to offend him, so he just throws his weight around with newbies.' 'I figured.' Jiang Xia nodded, not surprised.

It matched her guess from yesterday. 'He just relies on his age and acts like a senior. See how the old cops ignore him.' Hu Wei slapped his thigh.

'Exactly!' Gossiping about the same annoying person easily builds rapport. Jiang Xia was grateful for Lü Fusheng's contribution.

Now Hu Wei looked at her like a comrade. Remembering what the older sister had asked yesterday, Jiang Xia said, 'By the way, Brother Hu, do you know where there are stalls in this area or nearby?' 'Yeah, there are vegetable sellers on Happiness Street.' Hu Wei said.

'But the vendors there often fight, and there are pickpockets. You'd better not go alone.' That dangerous? Jiang Xia frowned slightly.

'Is there a safer place?' 'Safe?' Hu Wei quickly caught on. He thought for a moment. 'I don't really know. But I have some classmates assigned to other stations.

If you're not in a hurry, I'll ask around for you.' 'That would be great.' That was much faster than her asking around slowly, and she could have some backup. Jiang Xia sighed in relief.

'When I get my salary, I'll treat you guys to a meal!' 'It's nothing, no need.' Hu Wei waved grandly, then stopped halfway. He put his hands together and said a bit sheepishly, 'Um, Jiang Xia, can you teach me that footprint tracking you learned at the police academy?

I'd really like to solve a case too...' 'Sure.' Jiang Xia agreed readily. 'I have the book. I'll bring it for you tomorrow.' The station was so busy; she was happy someone wanted to learn more.

More learning meant more work done! 'That's great!' Hu Wei was delighted. He patted his chest. 'If you need any chores, just ask me.

I may not be good at much, but I have strength!' After that exchange, Jiang Xia and Hu Wei became familiar. The next day, she brought the footprint tracking book and the criminal investigation textbook.

The textbook had a cover, and the footprint tracking book was handwritten, also with a cover — clearly well cared for. Hu Wei specially washed his hands.

He was a military transfer to police. Every cop dreams of solving cases. As a rookie, Hu Wei's dream was even stronger. Especially after seeing Jiang Xia solve the case at Dong Aihua's house — the way she calmly looked for clues and spoke confidently was super cool!

He didn't ask for much; just half her skill would do. He hadn't gone to police academy, but he had studied up to eighth grade before joining the army and ranked in the top few in class.

With that foundation, he couldn't be too bad, right? Early in the morning, before others arrived, Hu Wei confidently opened the footprint tracking book he was most interested in.

He randomly flipped to a page to skim. Neat handwriting caught his eye. 'Height calculation formula for three-dimensional footprint analysis: Height = (barefoot length - difference between three-dimensional and planar) × body-foot ratio coefficient.

Among them, the difference in calculating barefoot length from shoe print length... Calculation method for three-dimensional and planar difference...

Difference in body-foot ratio coefficient...' As he read, Hu Wei's expression gradually stiffened. He recognized every Chinese character, but when put together, he couldn't understand them!

Fighting increasing dizziness, Hu Wei bravely looked further. 'Subordinate formula: P?(U?) = 1 - [(X?? - X??) ÷ 100 + (X??...' Hu Wei fell silent.

He suddenly realized that closing his eyes felt really good when looking at these letters. Wu Suo walked into the office.

He was about to get a cup of water when he turned and saw Hu Wei leaning back in his chair, eyes tightly shut, as if completely dead asleep. Huh???

Sleeping so early in the morning? He walked over and saw the book — it must be from Jiang Xia. Since it was legitimate course material, Wu Suo didn't say much, but he couldn't resist flipping through a few pages.

Then he silently closed the book. No way, this stuff made him sleepy too! * A few days passed in a flash. Today Jiang Xia was on noon duty.

She was lucky — no calls during the break, and no one came to the station. She had a peaceful meal. In the office, the older Wu Suo couldn't hold out.

He lined up four chairs and lay down for a nap. Jiang Xia was still energetic, but for the afternoon's work, she took some tea leaves from Wu Suo's drawer to make a cup.

Over the past few days, her work had settled. She mainly did copying, and when not busy, she learned mediation from Wu Suo.

She handled it smoothly and even found time to practice the skills she had upgraded with the System. The twenty experience points from lockpicking had all been added to her footprint tracking skill.

That gave her brain several more detailed calculation equations and a lot of cases, and improved her eyesight and spatial perception. She filled her cup from the hot water jug in the corner and walked back, blowing on the tea.

Hu Wei was still at his desk, flipping through papers with bare footprints. These were materials he had collected over the past few days for basic practice.

He hadn't given up; he was still struggling with footprint tracking. Truly, you don't know until you learn — he realized how arrogant he had been.

The gap between him and Jiang Xia was like heaven and earth. Even if he studied hard for a few years, reaching one-tenth of her level would be something to celebrate.

After calculating some values, Hu Wei saw Jiang Xia passing by and couldn't help asking, 'Hey, Jiang Xia, what do you make of this footprint data?' Jiang Xia glanced at it, blew on her tea, and said casually, 'Male, height 176 to 178, age 33 to 35, weight around 74 kilograms.

This person is quite sturdy.' The conclusion came too fast. Hu Wei was stunned for a moment, then checked the records by the serial numbers on the paper.

All correct. 'No way, Jiang Xia, you didn't even use a precision ruler and you knew the length at a glance?' Comparing with the data he had spent over twenty minutes calculating, Hu Wei couldn't help but groan.

'And you narrowed the range so tightly! How do you do it? I'm happy if I can get height within six centimeters!' 'The gait features are very obvious.

The heel and arch have outward pressure, the toe-off has a digging mark, and the thumb impression is long — it's a tall person, no need to reduce the size.' Jiang Xia explained. 'As for age, the center of gravity isn't obviously shifted to the second toe by two-thirds, so converting gives around thirty-four.' Hearing Jiang Xia, Hu Wei looked back at the paper.

The footprint on it was pitch black, seemingly no different from any other footprint. He had to strain to see the center of gravity shift to the second toe, but couldn't tell how much.

He looked up at Jiang Xia like she was a god. How were her eyes built?! Jiang Xia calmly sipped her tea. Basic move, no need to praise.

Her footprint tracking skill was at LV2, but the progress bar had reached 52%, far stronger than an average veteran criminal investigator. She was approaching LV3 expert level.

Getting a conclusion from a complete bare footprint was a piece of cake. More than the skill, Jiang Xia cared about her improved eyesight.

She could see finer details. To give a rough analogy, before she could only tell that a shoe print was about three or four millimeters thick; now she could accurately say it was 3.4 millimeters, and the heel edge had a five-to-six-millimeter drag mark.

Very insane. Was this the world as seen by experts? And Jiang Xia felt this improved eyesight could be used for more than just footprints.

She just hadn't figured out what else yet. 'Ring—' The station phone suddenly rang. 'Phone!' Before Jiang Xia could answer, Wu Suo, who had been lying down, sat up abruptly, knocking the chair backward with a clang against the wall.

Sitting up, he wiped his face and asked, 'Xiao Jiang, what's up?' 'I'll ask.' Jiang Xia picked up the receiver. 'Hello, this is Zhouying Police Station.' A middle-aged male voice came through, urgent.

'I'm Liu Kezhang from the Beifu Factory Security Section. Is Chief Wu there? I have an urgent matter, extremely urgent!' 'Beifu Factory?

Isn't that in the neighboring jurisdiction? Why call me?' Wu Suo looked puzzled. He walked over to Jiang Xia and took the receiver.

'I'm Wu Zhenguo. What's the matter, Liu Kezhang?' 'Big trouble!' Liu Kezhang spoke rapidly. 'Our factory was shipping goods today and found four whole bundles of bed sheets and pillowcases missing from the warehouse.

Market value over 1,500 yuan! We're frantic! I reported to the city bureau, but they said they have urgent business and can't come right now.

Some criminal police suggested I ask you to come take a look first. I had no choice but to call you, Chief Wu!' Well, this must be Chen Dong's bad idea!

Wu Suo immediately understood. He looked at Jiang Xia. That sly Chen Dong wasn't really asking him to go — he wanted Jiang Xia to go, but was afraid she was too young to handle it, so he had Liu Kezhang invite him instead.

Jiang Xia also figured it out. She got excited. A new case! After so many days as a clerk, she finally had another case!

Come on, Master, say yes! Say yes and she could go out for some fresh air this afternoon! 'Hmm...' Wu Suo thought for a moment and agreed.

'Alright, preserve the scene. I'll bring someone over to take a look.' 'Master, I'll get the tools!' Seeing Wu Suo agree, Jiang Xia quickly ran out of the office.

'I didn't even say you were going...' Wu Suo shook his head helplessly. 'Forget it.' After all, he wasn't much use anyway.

A minute later, Jiang Xia returned, now carrying a green crossbody bag. 'Let's go.' The ride was silent. The Beifu Factory was a bit far — it took over half an hour by bike.

When they arrived, it was already time for work to start. No workers were coming in or out of the factory gate. Only a middle-aged man in olive green top and blue pants stood at the entrance, looking around anxiously.

Jiang Xia could tell from a distance that he was Liu Kezhang, the one who had called. 'Oh, Chief Wu, you're finally here!' Before they reached the gate, Liu Kezhang came forward and shook Wu Suo's hand warmly.

'You don't know, these were all goods to be delivered today. With such a big shortage, the factory leadership and the supply cooperative can't be satisfied!' 'I understand, I understand.

Everyone has a hard time...' Wu Suo comforted him. Jiang Xia interjected at the right moment, 'Liu Kezhang, can you give us the specifics?' Only then did Liu Kezhang notice Jiang Xia.

A new police officer, with a face too young — it was hard not to underestimate her. But since she came with Wu Suo and was asking about his urgent matter, he didn't say anything.

'Ah, I'm so flustered.' He slapped his head and turned. 'Come, come, I'll take you to the warehouse.' He explained as they walked.

'Yesterday, our factory's accountant Wang did an inventory. Everything was fine. It was only when we were shipping out at around ten this morning that we found a discrepancy.' 'Old Xiao, who manages the warehouse, came at 8:30.

He said everything was normal — the door was locked, the windows weren't broken. He opened it and stayed at the entrance.

No one went in.' Liu Kezhang paused slightly, then added, 'We also asked the female workers who passed by early. They said the door lock and windows were fine.' Jiang Xia gathered the information.

Since it was only Liu Kezhang's account, with subjective elements, she didn't take it all at face value. Instead, she asked from his tendency, 'So, Liu Kezhang, do you suspect an inside job?' Liu Kezhang shook his head, his face troubled.

'If only that were the case!' Eh? Jiang Xia raised an eyebrow. There was a twist?