Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
,. Five days after the informant was released, extensive investigations yielded no results, and Case Situation returned to its original point. Guo Wei and Guan Yiqing finally saw Shen Lingchen start handling the case normally. The police station we arrived at was for evidence collection. The instructor Gao Xinming was looking for the case file in a pile of documents that looked like an old warehouse. It was hard to find things that had been lost for a long time. Moreover, there had been an incident at this police station not long ago, and the police officer was arrested. District Government official, who is the victim of Theft Case, Wang Zihua, has implicated the Director of this police station, suspended Shuanggui, and may not be able to get out. "Oh... I really found it." Senior Instructor said, more than an hour of hard work paid off, he dug it out from the corner, patted the thick dust on it, pulled it away, took a look, and handed it over Guan Yiqing, the two of them looked through the transcripts at that time, plus the sealed property surveillance video at that time. The instructor explained: "I really didn't find anything. At that time, Director Liu arranged for people to watch the surveillance several times, what? I couldn't find it either... After a few days of searching, District Chief Wang said hello, stop searching, and then threw it away. Fortunately, I was more cautious and didn't destroy it. ""Whose record is it?" Guan Yiqing? ask. "It's the nanny's... but she definitely didn't find it. I couldn't tell for a long time," the instructor said. "Who went to conduct the on-site inspection?" Guo Wei asked. "I went with Liu Suo. I was originally going to inform the police force, but the district chief held back because he was afraid of making things worse," the instructor said. Guan Yiqing and Guo Wei can only be speechless. The victim dared not speak out and informed the police not to investigate further. This weird thing may only be encountered in the current harmonious environment. The anti-corruption campaign Under the circumstances, those wealthy officials with rich families are more courageous than Rascal. After answering the phone, Guo Wei invited the Senior Instructor to the scene. Where was Shen Lingchen waiting? At this time, it was the instructor's turn to feel guilty. He kept asking Case Situation along the way, and swore that he would definitely It has nothing to do with Wang Zihua. They probably regarded the two as investigators investigating the old case of Director Liu. Guan Yiqing was too lazy to explain and the group of people drove directly to the crime scene. The crime scene two years ago: District Government The location of the early fund-raising housing: New Garden Community. When he arrived, Shen Lingchen was already waiting at the door. He nervously parked the car outside, compared the architectural drawings of the community, and asked the two apprentices to simulate the possibility of committing crimes in this community. You won’t know if you don’t look at it, but you will be shocked when you see it. There are six security guards on duty at the entrance, and there are 23 buildings. The wall is 2.7 meters high. Don’t expect to climb. There are too many cameras all over the corners. ShenLingchen gave an exact number: 208 including those inside each unit. Senior Instructor took the opportunity to interject: "Yes, we also felt at the time that committing crimes here was simply seeking death. The government's infrastructure fund invests hundreds of thousands in security here every year. Look outside the wall. There's not even a small advertisement." "It's true. I've thought about it in many ways, but I still can't find a reasonable explanation... Come and check it out."
Shen Lingchen led the group into a property building not far from the east exit. Two security guards, who were quite competent, systematically introduced the management of the area. They even mentioned that the retention period for surveillance footage was longer than in other places—six months. Regarding the theft incident involving Wang Zihua's family, the property management vehemently denied any possibility, stating that it would be easier to rob a bank than to steal something from here.
The evidence was all within this room. From the three exits to the unit doors, everything was clearly visible. The security guards explained that most of the residents here were families of District Government officials, some even transferred to the capital city. This community had been recognized as one of the safest neighborhoods in the city for ten consecutive years. The properties here, if sold, could command prices five thousand higher per square meter than surrounding areas, and even rentals were twenty percent higher than other developments.
The implication was clear: safety was the biggest selling point.
"What do you think?" Shen Lingchen asked his two stunned apprentices.
Guo Wei chuckled, "The more I hear, the more I admire those thieves."
"Me too. I initially thought it would be simple, but the more I look at it, the more impossible it seems," Guan Yiqing added.
"Either they should have brought me in; it's not that there are no experts in Binhai's police force, but rather that they are all highly skilled. I doubt anyone wants to get involved in this... Do we have any surveillance footage from that time?" Shen Lingchen inquired.
Guo Wei pulled out a file and confirmed with them that it was indeed the footage retained from that time. After the theft, Wang Zihua's wife had even blamed the property management, which had kept a copy of the footage out of fear that these affluent owners might seek retribution.
It wasn't just the police station that reviewed the surveillance; the property management had done so as well. The person in charge quietly mentioned that there was nothing unusual on it unless it was an invisible person—there was no way such surveillance could miss anything. Moreover, he added, you might not know this, but the District Chief's Wife had been unreasonable, unable to specify what exactly was missing or how much had been taken or when it happened. She simply threatened to sue them. But just a few days later... she claimed nothing was lost after all. What on earth was going on? Why were they investigating again after two years?
Of course, he wouldn't receive an explanation. The group continued to ask questions as they walked down the stairs. Shen Lingchen encouraged everyone to use their imagination and envision themselves as master thieves. Regardless of how they got here, they should try to figure out how someone could steal without making a sound.
"Shut off or deceive the surveillance?" Guo Wei suggested.
"That's one possibility; make a note of it and take a closer look at the timeline around when the incident occurred to see if there were any alterations," Shen Lingchen replied.
"If there are issues, it could indicate insider involvement—like an electrician or plumber—or even security personnel from this community... Such things aren't uncommon," Guan Yiqing remarked.
"You've made progress, young lady... That's one angle; keep going. You've solved the entry issue, but have you considered how they escaped? Look up—it's impossible to lower oneself down from above; these old buildings have slanted roofs with no support points, and doing so would make them too conspicuous... Or if that's how they did it, then there would be no need to pick locks," Shen Lingchen noted.
"If there's internal assistance involved, that complicates matters. The property staff is entirely temporary; who knows how many have changed in two years?" Senior Instructor added.
"Then check the time frame around the incident. See if there were any new hires or departures, or if anyone from the inside brought someone in... If there’s surveillance, and if outsiders were involved, they wouldn’t need to tamper with the cameras before committing the crime, right?" Shen Lingchen said.
"We hadn’t thought that deeply," the High Instructor replied, a bit embarrassed.
"It’s fine; we can think deeper now... Senior Instructor, let’s focus on the case at hand. Based on your experience, what is the clearance rate for thefts that have occurred around New Garden?" Shen Lingchen asked.
"Not high, about sixty to seventy percent, but..."
"There haven’t been any cases of prying open an Insurance cabinet?"
"Exactly. The last case was a theft at the Law School building ten years ago. We don’t have major Merchants in our jurisdiction, and the Police Force is concentrated elsewhere, so there are rarely major cases."
"That’s it then. Even if something did happen, you wouldn’t believe it."
After a few exchanges, the Senior Instructor fell silent, though he still looked somewhat unconvinced. Wang Zihua had taken his wife and son inside; who could know if he was hiding assets or making up stories?
At the entrance of the building, the power lock was continuously engaged. Shen Lingchen remarked that this wasn’t difficult; even on the street, one could unlock such a lock in five seconds. Entering the building, there were cameras at both entrances. The elevator going up became a blind spot; each floor had two units, and with twenty-three floors total, the incident occurred on the nineteenth floor. By the time they reached that level, the door had already been sealed with tape, and a man in a suit was waiting for them.
This room had already been searched by the Disciplinary Committee. Don’t underestimate their search capabilities; they could find things stuffed in toilet lids, under beds, or embedded in ceilings—every inch would be thoroughly examined. After opening the door, they provided Shen Lingchen with a list of what had been found during their search. This Corrupt Official had eight properties uncovered, and this particular one was bought under his mother-in-law's name; it wasn’t even his primary residence.
The contents no longer matched what was recorded in old case files. The Insurance cabinet embedded in the wall had been replaced; the old lock and cabinet that were discarded in the basement became crucial evidence. As Shen Lingchen had anticipated, this room featured double-glazed windows and plastic-steel doors. If someone were to enter through a window, it would require breaking it; according to records at that time, the window was intact.
"Shen Commissioner, the stolen items from this case may relate to evidence for future convictions. Besides those already known to be stolen, there are several others that are unaccounted for. Our task force has high hopes for you," said a Comrade from the Disciplinary Committee politely as he approached Shen Lingchen, who was staring blankly out of the window. Shen Lingchen sighed heavily and said, "It’s been too long—over two years now. Who knows how much has happened? If we had investigated thoroughly back then, at least we could have left behind fingerprints or footprints as clues. Now that we’ve been tasked with this investigation, we’re struggling to know where to start."
"The situation is special; he himself is a corrupt official and all that was stolen are ill-gotten gains. If he tries to recover them while still in office, he won’t be able to justify it," replied the visitor from the Disciplinary Committee.
Shen Lingchen smiled lightly and stopped making unnecessary promises. After taking several photos with his phone and glancing around once more, he hurriedly left with his two disciples. His attitude left the Comrade from the Disciplinary Committee feeling very dissatisfied.
Even after starting their investigation, they kept things under wraps. It was only after this visit that Guo Wei and Guan Yiqing realized it wasn’t that their master didn’t want to go to the scene; rather, formally taking over this case and investigating such sealed locations required approval from the Disciplinary Committee. With Wang Zihua and the district police director both having fallen from grace, anything related to them belonged to topics of "don’t ask too many questions" according to the Comrade from the Disciplinary Committee.
Finally, they had made some progress, albeit with great difficulty.
The investigation office was finally established in the unit of Captain Xu Fei, within the Top Ten Team, where a large and simple office space was allocated.
The analysis of the evidence began. Guo Wei, Guan Yiqing, and several internal staff from the Top Ten Team spent three days and nights meticulously reviewing the surveillance footage provided by the community property management. The only issue discovered was that on November 12 of that year, the building where the incident occurred experienced a power outage for over an hour. The outage happened in the morning, affecting four connected buildings simultaneously. A review of the maintenance records revealed that it was due to a tripped air switch.
How could it take over an hour to restore power? In the morning, when there were the fewest residents?
This raised a red flag for Shen Lingchen. If the crime had indeed taken place during daylight hours and if there had been intentional sabotage of the power supply, then all surveillance and security measures would have been rendered useless. However, this power outage occurred just five days before the report was made. Further verification through the Disciplinary Committee revealed a comical result from Wang Zihua and his wife: they were unaware of the exact time of the theft, as their house was merely a storage place for bribery gifts, and they generally didn’t pay attention to it.
Shen Lingchen was so furious he felt like throwing his phone.
His thoughts circled back to square one. Using his usual method, he spread out a map and began to retrace possible methods of operation based on his years of experience in catching thieves.
If someone had entered during the day, there should be records of unfamiliar personnel or vehicles entering and exiting, right?
Check.
If there had been sabotage to the power supply, where would they have struck?
Check.
To execute a theft accurately, what would be the source of their information? It must have come from Wang Zihua's social connections or places he frequented for entertainment.
Check.
At this point, both Guan Yiqing and Guo Wei could see that their mentor was on the verge of losing control. He spent every day curled up in the team’s office sleeping like a possessed person. Whenever he thought of something, he would jump up to compare terrain features or even rush to verify something at the scene. He had already reviewed the surveillance footage around the time of the power outage countless times; what started as an hour had now extended to a week’s worth of footage.
One thought after another led him down dead ends. Frequent mobilization of the Police Force yielded no results, and even Captain Xu Fei began to express dissatisfaction.
One evening during dinner, Captain Xu Fei and Detective Shen Lingchen discussed the case. Based on his experience, Captain Xu emphasized the need for a more focused direction and a general scope; otherwise, they would be like headless chickens running around aimlessly, unable to make any progress even after ten years.
It was akin to pouring cold water on everyone. The captain knew they were in a difficult position and chose not to elaborate further. As he left, Shen Lingchen's expression had turned extremely grim. Guan Yiqing and Guo Wei exchanged glances, both unsure how to offer comfort. They had gone in circles and ultimately found themselves in a pit, now understanding why no one dared to take on such cases.
"Don't look at me... I can't do anything either. We need a breakthrough, a turning point, a glimmer of hope... When I was a cop, my mentor told me not to overthink cases; they are often quite simple. It's like Columbus balancing an egg—when the answer is right in front of us, we can't help but slap ourselves for being foolish," Shen Lingchen said.
The reasoning was straightforward, but the execution was incredibly challenging; discovering that tiny bit of darkness beneath the light was no easy feat.
Guan Yiqing hesitantly murmured, "The blind spots in our thinking aren't something we can easily overcome."
"Right... Oh, yes!" Shen Lingchen suddenly seemed to have an epiphany. He took out his phone and began dialing while muttering about forgetting that person. At the mention of that individual, Guan Yiqing and Guo Wei chuckled; they were supposed to contact Ma Yubing, but who knew that he had somehow ended up in the business of pimping.
When the call connected, Shen Lingchen asked, "Hello, Young Master Mu, what are you doing? Any progress?"
"None. I'm out on the street right now. I'm at the bottom level; it will take some time and distance to reach higher-ups. Don't rush me," Mulin Shen's voice came through unexpectedly excited.
Shen Lingchen couldn't share in his enthusiasm and lowered his voice, saying, "I mean, Mu Shao, we can't be paying you informant fees just so you can go into the pimping business! You need to have some ambition; you can't keep doing that."
"This... this is already quite ambitious! Who can guarantee that pimping won't lead to a bright future?" Mulin Shen replied.
Guo Wei was left speechless, while Guan Yiqing chuckled quietly with his head down. Frustrated, Shen Lingchen hung up the phone.
Everything had gone awry—the thought process had derailed, and so had their focus; they didn't even know which direction they had veered off into...
………………………………………
………………………………………
Meanwhile, Ma Yubing also felt himself drifting off course.
Every evening, as part of his routine, Ma Yubing arranged the night shift vehicles at the company. One of his subordinates cheerfully placed two bottles of Wuliangye on his desk, warming Ma Yubing's heart. He smiled and said, "You’re too kind, no need to be so polite with me."
"No, no, Ma Ge, it’s not from me."
"Then who sent it? If relatives or friends want to find some work, they can just come over; there’s no need for pleasantries."
"You misunderstood. This is a thank-you gift from Old Cripple. He delivered it this afternoon."
"Old Cripple? He sent this to me?"
Ma Yubing was taken aback. Old Cripple had been crippled by an attack; he used to be the leader of their group. Now, he was considered a retired member of the organization. Not only did Ma Yubing feel indebted to him, but he was also curious and asked, "What’s this about?"
His subordinate laughed heartily and reminded him, "You forgot about that Pretty Boy who came seeking your help?"
"Oh right, what was his name again... Wait, he hasn’t been caught yet?" Ma Yubing recalled.
In the area around Dunhuang Hotel, no one knew better than the Underworld how dangerous it was. The street was filled with hotels and bustling with tourists from all over the country. Every day, numerous joint patrols and undercover officers conducted checks there. Everyone knew it was profitable but equally perilous, especially for low-level pawns in Pimping; they were essentially expendable.
His subordinate continued to chuckle, and Ma Yubing became intrigued. He joked, "Sounds like there might be a surprise? But I doubt it’ll be anything substantial; Old Cripple’s crew is just street-level talent; they won’t bring in much."
If the quality of the goods wasn’t up to par, there was little hope for profit—just enough to scrape by. To his surprise, his subordinate laughed even harder and said to Ma Yubing, "I thought the same at first, but you wouldn’t believe how eager Lame Brother is! You have no idea; he insists on treating us... He says your people are incredible—absolutely amazing."
"That guy? The one who can do anything?" Ma Yubing was skeptical.
"Absolutely! Lame Brother said that on his first day alone, he brought in twenty-seven people," his subordinate exclaimed.
"Really? That impressive?" Ma Yubing was shocked. Pimping wasn’t an easy job; even seasoned hands could only manage ten or eight in a night. Hearing that number made him stand up in surprise.
"This was just on his first day! After two days, he even managed to convince two Black Tour Guides to bring in out-of-town guests for Lame Brother," his subordinate added with a grin.
Ma Yubing's expression froze for a moment, and after a long pause, he burst into laughter, gasping for breath as his shoulders shook and his whole body trembled.
"There's something even crazier," one of his subordinates said.
"Can it get any crazier?" Ma Yubing laughed even harder.
"Lame Brother said that kid is making him several thousand a day now; otherwise, why would he send you such a heavy gift?" the subordinate replied.
Ma Yubing plopped down into a chair with a thud, gasping slightly as he nervously asked, "He didn't pull off any big jobs, did he? What on earth is going on to earn that much money?"
"Later, Lame Brother was grinning from ear to ear and didn't tell me... Hey, Ma Ge, that kid seems a bit wicked. Did we miss out on a money tree?" the subordinate said, even feeling a twinge of envy.
Ma Yubing stared blankly for a long time before suddenly jumping up and calling to his subordinate, "Let's go, let's go! This is too bizarre; I've been in this game for so many years and I actually overlooked this."
From his experience, he thought this newcomer was just cannon fodder. Tossed into that chaotic place, he would either get beaten up by rivals or chased around by the neighborhood watch and the police. He wouldn't mind watching this guy fail at all. But if he didn't fail and instead shot to fame like a rocket, then that would leave him utterly baffled…
Comment 0 Comment Count