<h4>Chapter 1220: Chapter 1148 Tree Diagram</h4><h4></h4>


    Early morning hours.


    Jiang Yuan held a cup of green tea, sitting upright in front of theputer, watching the surveince footage on the screen.


    To Jiang Yuan’s left were Wang Chuanxing and three technicians from the Image Reconnaissance Brigade, all of them busy converting his direct orders into executable ones, often overwhelmed. Many times, a simplemand from Jiang Yuan would take one of them a while toplete the search.


    On Jiang Yuan’s right were Yuan Bomian from the Narcotics Squad and two other anti-drug officers. Yuan Bomian was the direct leader of this case, and the two other officers were familiar with the environment around the Five-point Pavilion and the drug dealers.


    Behind them were several leaders, including Huang Qiangmin and Dai Mingsheng, all with serious looks and furrowed brows. Frontline officers only need to solve cases, but the leaders have to consider much more.


    Wei Shikan was like a breath of fresh air in themand room, holding a cup of iced Americano, sitting in front of theputer, casually ying a mini-game while asionally ncing at a novel. He had no active role in the operations here, and no one expected him to contribute, but Wei Shikan himself was so interested in the investigation that he naturally didn’t want to miss Jiang Yuan’s special surveince operation.


    Jiang Yuan didn’t move very quickly. Although he had several monitors before him, he mainly stared at the main screen, using the other screens intermittently, often requiring them to be switched back and forth.


    Neither Wang Chuanxing nor Yuan Bomian couldprehend Jiang Yuan’s operations, and only the three technicians from the Image Reconnaissance Brigade understood somewhat what Jiang Yuan was doing, although they were too busy rushing around to bother looking up.


    This way, they worked until past 2 AM. Jiang Yuan felt that the tea leaves had lost their vor, so he waved his hand, saying, "Let’s take a break, 10 minutes."


    Yuan Bomian, smoking one cigarette after another, became anxious upon hearing Jiang Yuan’smand.


    But upon seeing the three technicians from Image Reconnaissance copse in their chairs like a great burden was lifted, Yuan Bomian suppressed his urgency and sat sullenly on the ground.


    By now, Huang Qiangmin was quite familiar with him, and handed over a bottle of water, saying, "Trying to find someone without clues is like finding a needle in a haystack. Don’t get too worked up."


    "I know," Yuan Bomian said with a bitter smile, "We haven’t been idle these past three days either, but we haven’t found any new clues... I’m just worried because in three days, anything could happen. I really shouldn’t have sent Lao Hong undercover on the spot just because I saw an opportunity. I was too greedy."


    "Don’t dwell on such things..." Huang Qiangminforted him a bit further. "Why not have a chat with Jiang Yuan? From what I know of him, if he hadn’t made some progress or found some leads, he wouldn’t be taking a break so soon."


    Yuan Bomian, worried about disturbing Jiang Yuan, couldn’t sit still after hearing Huang Qiangmin’s suggestion. He thought that if there truly were some leads, his side could assist offline as well.


    Yuan Bomian quickly approached Jiang Yuan and asked, "Captain Jiang, can I ask about the progress, if it’s convenient?"


    "Oh, let’s talk standing. I’ve been sitting too long; might as well brew some tea," Jiang Yuan said as he poured tea leaves into his cup next to themand desk.


    Yuan Bomian politely offered, "Let me do it."


    "No need, I treat it as a break, a chance to clear my mind," Jiang Yuan declined and then waved Wang Chuanxing over, saying, "Print out the tree diagram I just filled in."


    "Yes," Wang Chuanxing replied immediately. In two minutes, he brought over a sheet of paper.


    Jiang Yuan spread it out in front of him and said, "Mr. Yuan, take a look. This tree diagram I filled out casually. It’s a bit messy right now, and it only shows the branches without the trunk. So, let’s just take a look for now..."


    Yuan Bomian nodded repeatedly as he nced at it, noticing names and codes of over a dozen people on the first page. Some were familiar, others were not. They were either interconnected with lines or stood independently aside. Additionally, in front of each code name, there were numbers 1, 2, 3, 4.


    "What are these?" Yuan Bomian could guess but dared not presume.


    Jiang Yuan poured hot water, saying, "These are the drug dealers just confirmed. The bottom row on the left, marked with a 2, are small-time dealers at the Longsword level, and those marked with a 1 are junkies. The 3 are Redface-level dealers, and 4 are Brother Li-level dealers."


    "Is the dealer behind the number 4 called ’Fat Muscle’?"


    "That’s the name I gave him because his weight and muscle mass are clearlyrger than normal, and he looks quite stout. He probably used steroids or something simr..."


    "Does marking someone with a 4 mean he’s a Brother Li-level dealer or Brother Li himself?"


    Jiang Yuan nodded, saying, "I think they’re about the same level but probably not the same person. ording to the information I just saw, they operate in different sales regions. Currently, we have confirmed two of his subordinates, which are shown at the bottom of the tree diagram."


    "How... how did you find them?" Yuan Bomian was incredulous. Capturing Longsword-level small-time dealers, marked as level 2, was routine for them, but capturing level 3 dealers like Redface wasn’t always guaranteed. It often required careful investigation over a long period, investing significant time and energy.


    Of course, capturing someone like Brother Li would be even more challenging. Though they’d hastily made a major misstep this time.


    For anti-drug squads, following leads like a trail often exhausts itself after three tiers; climbing higher is nearly impossible. Of course, this applies mostly to non-guerri outfits, where drug operations have a certain organization and size.


    Drug traffickers each have survival strategies. Capturing a small fry or two at the lower level is normal, but once a level 3 dealer is caught, those on the fourth and fifth tiers of thework surely enact self-protection measures.


    Additionally, unlike small-time dealers below, therger dealers have lower transaction frequencies and the financial means to prepare all around. They minimize exposure not just in quantity but also in vignce.


    This is something the level 2 dealers can’tpete with. Those level 2 dealers are basically the workhorses of the drug trade,rgely working hand-to-mouth. Many are selling to fund their usage, and if they don’t work for a few days, not only their suppliers and buyers get anxious, but they also run out of money.


    That’s why Yuan Bomian couldn’t understand how Jiang Yuan confirmed the individuals.


    Jiang Yuan understood Yuan Bomian. He’d been working with an extra level of skill tonight, using his lv7 skill set, particrly in image reconnaissance, so it was normal that Yuan Bomian couldn’tprehend it.


    Jiang Yuan thought briefly and exined, "I actually traced it step by step upwards. It sounds simple: first identify the confirmed drug addicts you have, then validate their dealers by tracking their transactions."


    "Even with new cameras, I doubt they’d transact directly under surveince."


    "You don’t need to see the transaction outright. Just observe the state of these people. Say a junkie wobbles out, passes a certain intersection, and returns brightly spirited fifteen minutester. His eyes filled with expectancy—what’s that imply?"


    Yuan Bomian paused: "Got high, or at least bought drugs?"


    "Reasonable inference, right?" Jiang Yuan nced at Liu Jinghui ahead, continuing, "That’s basically the principle. I then watch the area around this junkie’s transaction spot. If more addicts show up there to buy drugs or if transactions ur elsewhere, then I canpile and consider when the dealer arrived and what route they must have taken..."


    Jiang Yuan gestured for emphasis, "When checking vehicle records now, it’s basically the same strategy. Vehicles have license tes with distinct features, and there’re fewer of them than people, so the software can tackle it directly. As for people, even though we have gait recognition systems now, the sess rate is still not high enough, easily missing targets."


    "But... that must be quite slow, right?"


    "Was I slow tonight?" Jiang Yuan chuckled.


    "No, not slow at all." Yuan Bomian shook his head repeatedly but hesitated, "I’m still having trouble understanding..."


    "Image investigation to find people or vehicles doesn’t track every camera sequentially. If you see a vehicle heading east, you don’t actually need to trace it continuously to know where it goes. Simply look for this vehicle at critical points on the eastbound path. In fact, most of this work is now aided byputer software."


    Jiang Yuan briefly borated on his grasp of gait analysis, instantly bringing life to Yuan Bomian’s face.


    "I’ll organize the team to apprehend them!" Yuan Bomian said with augh, "Had you stated this directly, we would’ve had the people back by now."


    "I suggest holding off on the arrests, or perhaps targeting one or two just to confirm this Fat Muscle’s identity," Jiang Yuan stopped him, adding, "For most of them, don’t touch them for now; just keep track."


    Yuan Bomian hesitated, "If this Fat Muscle you mentioned isn’t Brother Li, perhaps he still knows where to find him?"


    Jiang Yuan replied, "Finding out horizontally is tough, but give it a bit more time. Once I’ve confirmed Fat Muscle’s superiors, he might reveal Brother Li’s whereabouts!"