Early the next morning, Li Jian sent a message in the criminal investigation team group.

"Any brothers interested in joining for breakfast?"

"If so, please head to the soup dumpling shop across from the police station as soon as possible."

"I'll be waiting there, treating everyone to soup dumplings."

Even though it was 7:05 AM, everyone's response was remarkably quick.

In less than a minute, 30 people had already signed up.

At this moment, Li Jian was sitting inside the dumpling shop, picking up a dumpling with his chopsticks and placing it in his mouth.

The soft wrapper, coupled with the tender meat filling and a hint of grease, was very tasty.

He glanced down at his phone screen, smiled, and shook his head.

Last night, everyone worked through the night investigating. They were especially exhausted from the gas station fieldwork.

Everyone else was also working tirelessly.

You could say they really worked around the clock.

As the team leader, he wanted to reward everyone for their hard work this way.

By 7:15, in the dumpling shop across from the police station, the owner was all smiles.

If it weren't for him having a lot of ingredients in stock, the officers would have cleared out his dumplings.

The owner's father came out from the kitchen.

He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and handed one to each officer present.

His face was full of smiles.

While handing out cigarettes, he quickly said, "Thank you!"

"Thank you all for coming."

"This morning's business far exceeded their past week's income."

When the father got to Li Jian, he smiled and said, "Captain Li, you're a regular here. Thanks for bringing so many people over for breakfast."

Li Jian reached for the cigarette, "No need for thanks, Mr. Li."

"We come for the dumplings, partly to support your business."

"And also because your location is so convenient."

"If you were ten miles away, we wouldn't come!"

The old man nodded in agreement, "Exactly! Exactly!"

"However, seeing dozens of people come in at once like today is rare for us."

After a brief pause, the old man said, "Mr. Li, if you bring your team over for dumplings next time, let us know in advance so we can stock up on fresh ingredients."

"Next time..."

Just as he said those words, Li Jian stopped himself.

Thinking back, he only brought his team for dumplings when they encountered difficult cases.

He only invited everyone out when they were particularly tired.

So, with the case yet to be solved, he avoided saying "next time."

Otherwise, they might be faced with another case right away.

Though as a detective, he believed in science, there remained a hint of superstition.

As they often said, better safe than sorry.

Thinking of this, Li Jian smiled and said, "Mr. Li, I'll tell the guys to come here often to support your business."

The old man laughed, "Thanks a lot, Captain Li."

"In the future, anyone who mentions your name gets a 20% discount."

Li Jian chuckled, "Really? My name is quite valuable!"

"Haha, we strive to provide healthy and delicious breakfasts for you all."

"That way, you'll have more energy to strategize and confront criminals, keeping Jiangcheng peaceful."

Sitting at a nearby table were Jiang An, Zhang Yean, and Wan.

Despite picking up their chopsticks at the same time, Wan was much faster.

While Zhang Yean was commenting on the dumplings' taste and appearance, Wan was focused on eating.

He hadn't even taken a sip of the soy milk beside him.

Watching Wan eat ravenously, Zhang Yean chuckled.

"Senior, you can't be that hungry, can you?"

Wan nodded quickly.

"We finished work past 4 AM, and my stomach was already growling."

"Even farm mules get better treatment!"

"A rare delicious breakfast to satiate my hunger."

"Today's going to be another tough day."

Zhang Yean said, "Take your time eating, senior. If need be, we can pack some to eat in the car."

Wan waved it off, "Soup dumplings are called that because of the soup inside."

"Once packed and cold, the soup solidifies and they're no longer tasty."

Zhang Yean looked at the dumpling he held. "That's true."

At the moment, Jiang An sat across from Zhang Yean.

Though he was eating dumplings, his mind was entirely on the case.

If not for Zhang Yean reminding him to eat, he'd probably forget.

This was Jiang An's habit as a forensic scientist.

Often he'd get so absorbed in thinking, he'd forget to eat, even getting lost on his way home.

Currently, many questions occupied his mind.

One of the most perplexing was why the two deceased were related by blood.

How did a third person enter the room?

By 8:30 AM, the investigation team's meeting room was packed.

Most faces looked extremely tired, with prominent eye bags.

Li Jian took out a pack of cigarettes and passed them to the investigators present.

Li Jian said with a smile, "I hope the ladies here will understand."

"Last night's investigative work was tiring. Many of you had less than two hours of sleep."

"I'm sure everyone is struggling to keep their eyes open, and only a cigarette can help."

Within five minutes, the room was filled with a strong nicotine smell.

Captain Li Jian said, "Comrades, let's start the meeting now."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.