After this less-than-welcoming welcome meeting, Luo Qing and Liu Jianbo independently revised their assessment of the assignment from the "smooth sailing" they had anticipated to "difficult"!
What happened next proved them right.
The criminal investigators from Qingyuan City went to the evidence room and requested the evidence related to Xie Bingyi's suspected contract killing, including the cellphone bearing fingerprints and call records, and the two imitation Type 54 pistols.
"Sorry, you need to apply to our superiors in advance to inspect or retrieve evidence," Captain Shao, who oversaw the evidence room, refused coldly, his face stern.
Meanwhile, Deputy Detachment Captain Yu Chuntian approached Li Linsen, who was handling the case, and requested the relevant case files. Li Linsen turned him down on exactly the same grounds.
Deputy Detachment Captain Yu was naturally extremely displeased, but he still followed procedure and submitted an application to Deputy Director Miao Jinwei, who oversaw criminal investigation.
"This is a major case. If anything goes wrong, every last one of us will face the consequences. So I'm sure you understand why we need to be strict about procedure, Deputy Commander Yu?" Deputy Director Miao signed promptly, seemingly without any intention of making things difficult, but his words were grating all the same.
His references to "every last one of us" and "we" facing the consequences were particularly loaded.
His expression dark, Yu Chuntian took Deputy Director Miao's signed approval and handed it to Li Linsen.
But that was not the end of it. Li Linsen produced a registration form, carefully recorded the number of files being retrieved, the time, and the personnel involved, then handed Deputy Detachment Captain Yu a fountain pen and seal ink to sign and affix his fingerprint. He even made a point of adding, "We've already made backup copies of the