The crackdown on organized crime began with the arrest of the mother-in-law.

Chapter 827: Another New Discovery, Wang Jianjun's Ex-Wife

Wang Yutong lowered her head, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Yes... we are in contact. We grew up together and have some connection." Li Ming stared into her eyes and continued to ask, "I heard that you two used to be lovers, but you broke up because your father didn't approve. Is that true?" Wang Yutong's body trembled slightly, and she nodded, saying in a low voice, "Yes, my dad... he felt that Liu Er was not good enough for me."

"After your divorce, did your relationship with Liu Er change?" Li Ming pressed. Wang Yutong was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "We...we started chatting again, confiding in each other, after all, we've been through a lot."

After leaving Wang Yutong's house, Li Ming fell into deep thought. The complex emotional entanglement between Liu Er and Wang Yutong seemed inextricably linked to Wang Jianjun's death. He decided to interrogate Liu Er again, hoping to extract more clues from him.

In the interrogation room, Liu Er sat in a chair, his eyes darting around. "Liu Er, we've investigated your relationship with Wang Yutong thoroughly," Li Ming said bluntly. "You've been holding a grudge because Wang Jianjun didn't approve of you being with Wang Yutong, right?" Liu Er looked up and hurriedly defended himself: "I was unhappy, but I didn't do anything. How could I kill someone?"

Li Ming pressed on: "Then why did you threaten to kill Wang Jianjun? What were you doing before and after the incident?" Liu Er's face turned ashen, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. He lowered his head and remained silent.

“Liu Er, now that there’s more and more evidence, you’d better tell the truth,” Li Ming said sternly. “Hiding the truth will only put you in a more unfavorable situation.” Liu Er gripped the armrests of the chair tightly, his knuckles white, his heart churning with inner turmoil. After a long while, he finally spoke slowly: “I hate Wang Jianjun, but I really didn’t kill him… Yu Tong and I just wanted to talk to him and get his permission to be together. We went to his house that day, but he wouldn’t listen at all and even yelled at us and kicked us out…”

Li Ming stared intently into Liu Er's eyes, trying to discern the truth from his expression and words. Was Liu Er's confession the truth, or a lie fabricated to evade responsibility?

Liu Er's investigation had reached a stalemate, showing no signs of significant breakthrough. Li Ming frowned, his heart filled with anxiety, but he knew that it was precisely at times like these that he couldn't afford to lose his composure. He adjusted his strategy, instructing his subordinates to continue digging deeper into Wang Jianjun's network of relationships, leaving no possible clue unexplored.

The criminal investigation team members dispersed again to Hongxing Village and the surrounding area to conduct a more detailed investigation. Among them, criminal investigation team members Xiao Zhang and Xiao Li were responsible for investigating Wang Jianjun's interpersonal relationships in his hometown. They traveled all the way to Wang Jianjun's hometown—a remote town. The streets were narrow, the houses were old, and it exuded a rustic atmosphere.

Xiao Zhang and Xiao Li first found Grandpa Zhang, Wang Jianjun's former neighbor. Grandpa Zhang was quite old, with gray hair, but he was still very spry. In his slightly dilapidated courtyard, Xiao Zhang offered him a cigarette and politely asked, "Grandpa Zhang, hello! I'd like to ask you about Wang Jianjun. Do you know if he's recently gone back to his hometown?"

Grandpa Zhang took the cigarette, lit it, took a deep drag, and slowly said, "He came back, just a while ago. I even saw him with his ex-wife. They looked like they were discussing something, and they both looked quite serious."

"His ex-wife?" Xiao Li's eyes lit up, and he asked, "Uncle Zhang, do you know how his ex-wife is doing now?"

Grandpa Zhang frowned and recalled, "His ex-wife isn't doing very well. I heard she's racked up a huge debt with loan sharks and they're chasing her for the money. I also heard that those debt collectors are really fierce; they've even come to our small town."

Xiao Zhang and Xiao Li exchanged a glance, realizing this might be a crucial clue. They questioned Grandpa Zhang about more details regarding Wang Jianjun's ex-wife, and then immediately began searching for her. After some twists and turns, they finally found her in a dilapidated rented room on the edge of town.

Wang Jianjun's ex-wife, Tian Rong, looked haggard, her eyes filled with exhaustion and fear. She trembled slightly upon seeing the police. After showing his identification, Xiao Zhang said gently, "Ms. Li, hello. We are investigating Wang Jianjun's case and have some questions for you. We heard you recently met with Wang Jianjun?"

Tian Rong lowered his head, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Yes... I've met him. He heard that I owed money to loan sharks and was being pressured, so he came back to see me."

"So what did you talk about when you met?" Xiao Li pressed.

Tian Rong bit her lip. "He said he would find a way to help me pay back the money and told me not to worry. But I know he doesn't have much money either, so what can he do?"

"Do you know if he's been associating with any suspicious people recently? Or involved in any unusual activities?" Xiao Zhang continued to ask.

Tian Rong shook his head. "I'm not too sure. I'm too busy with my own things to pay much attention to his situation."

Emerging from the hut, Zhang and Li felt the trail had gone cold again. But they didn't give up and decided to continue investigating the usury lead. They visited several private lending institutions in the town and, after making numerous inquiries, learned that Tian Rong did indeed owe a huge sum of money in usurious loans, and that the lenders were ruthless and had repeatedly come to collect the debt.

Meanwhile, the investigation at the crime scene continued. Forensic investigators used advanced technology to analyze every minute trace. Xiao Zhao, the technician in charge of DNA testing, was intently operating the equipment. During a thorough examination of the bloodstains at the scene, a startling discovery shocked him.

Xiao Zhao immediately found forensic doctor Zhang Lin and excitedly said, "Forensic doctor Zhang, please come quickly! The DNA test results for the bloodstains at the scene are in, and they are closely related to Wang Yutong. After further comparison and analysis, this DNA information belongs to Wang Jianjun's ex-wife, Tian Rong."

Zhang Lin frowned and carefully examined the test report. "Are you sure there's no mistake? You used the latest STR typing technology and mitochondrial DNA sequencing, right? This is no small matter."

Xiao Zhao nodded quickly, "Absolutely right. I tested it several times. We used our most advanced technology to extract DNA from white blood cells in the bloodstains, amplify and sequence the STR loci, and the results showed that the DNA similarity with Wang Yutong was as high as 99.9%, which is consistent with the genetic characteristics of direct relatives."

Zhang Lin pondered for a moment and said, "That's strange. How could Wang Jianjun's ex-wife's blood be found at the crime scene? There must be something going on behind this." She immediately reported this important discovery to Qin Chuan.

Upon learning the news, Qin Chuan immediately convened an emergency meeting with Li Ming and others.