Chapter 355: Money‑Laundering Crew

A second ago, the private room was still bustling.

Everyone was discussing tomorrow's plan to team up and get freebies.

But this second, the private room was unusually quiet; no one mentioned the bank‑fleece plan anymore.

Because it wasn't a fleece at all—if they went, they'd just get fleeced themselves. The bank on Huaihai Road… was fake!

Depositing a hundred thousand could get you a decent phone, but that hundred thousand ends up in someone else's pocket, meaning you spend a hundred thousand to buy a four‑ or five‑thousand‑yuan phone, and they're still damn happy about it.

Glancing at the time, Li Yunfei said.

"We've got a little over half an hour before the shift change; let's handle this case ourselves so we don't bother the day‑shift colleagues."

"Fine!" The police officer who, like Li Yunfei, had been duped was the first to nod.

Looking at the man with his hands cuffed, he heard only one thought inside: "Damn! Return the money!"

He'd be more than happy to personally punish the guy who swindled his hard‑earned money.

Li Yunfei glanced at Xu Mo and Chen Ke: "Together? This case is simple; the mastermind's already in custody, and the follow‑up should be straightforward."

Li Yunfei asked that mainly because Chen Ke had mentioned several times today, subtly or not, that he was looking for cases to help with; Chen Ke was just too bored! He'd rather investigate with the local police than lie idle in a hospital ward smelling of disinfectant every day.

So it was no surprise that, after Li Yunfei's invitation, Chen Ke immediately nodded: "Sure!"

Xu Mo also nodded: "I'm fine with it."

He was genuinely curious what that ICBC on Huaihai Road actually looked like, that it could even fool a police officer's eyes.

And it wasn't just one officer who got duped, but two!

Could that bank really pass off a fake as the real thing?

"Alright, let's go. I'll settle the bill; you wait for me at the Ting Che Chang, and keep an eye on this guy so he doesn't run away," Li Yunfei said, then handed the cuffed Hai Ge to his colleague.

After settling the bill, the group reconvened at the Ting Che Chang.

Just as when they arrived, Xu Mo and Chen Ke got into Li Yunfei's car.

The other police officers boarded two other cars, and the two captured men were taken away with them.

Halfway, when they passed the Police Station, the officers released the slightly thinner man, briefed the on‑duty colleague on the gist of the case, reminded him to give the man a verbal warning, and then took the mastermind Hai Ge straight to Huaihai Road.

Huaihai Road.

Inside an ICBC with its doors half‑closed, the staff were still busy counting and bundling cash.

The three cars parked one after another at the fake ICBC's entrance, and the group stepped out of the police vehicle.

After getting out, Xu Mo surveyed the fake ICBC's façade and had to admit, the counterfeit looked truly authentic! At least from the outside it was identical to the real ICBC, no wonder people were fooled.

Chen Ke also looked up at the bank: "It really does look just like the real thing, no wonder you two were duped."

Li Yunfei: ……

Well said, don't bring it up again next time.

At that moment, the bank's grille‑type roller‑shutter door was only half‑down, not fully closed; business had stopped, but entry was still possible.

Li Yunfei led the way, ducked under the half‑down shutter, and entered the bank.

"If you want to deposit, come back tomorrow; we're not serving today, we're off work," a staff member said as soon as someone entered.

Yet the crowd at the door ignored him, one after another slipping inside, eyes darting around, brows furrowed as they curiously surveyed everything inside.

So many people—are they planning a bank robbery? The staff looked bewildered.

"What are you doing? Get out! If you cause trouble I'll call the police!"

The next second, everyone pulled out their Police Badges.

"We're police officers."

"Huh? Police comrades, what are you doing in our bank?" As they spoke, the staff saw their bank president—Hai Ge.

The president was wearing Handcuffs at that moment.

"President Wang? This… "

"Impressive." Xu Mo looked around, surprised: "It's a one‑to‑one replica; no wonder it can fool people, a lot of work went into this."

"I now understand why you two were duped; the décor matches the real bank perfectly, it's a fake‑as‑real trick!" Chen Ke said, equally astonished.

It seems this counterfeit bank could swindle money for a reason—it looks too much like the real one!

So much so that none of the many police officers present could spot any difference in décor or details between the fake and the real bank.

If you didn't know in advance, who could tell this is a counterfeit bank!?

The bank staff, hearing this, began to feel their brains weren't keeping up, faces full of confusion.

What scam? What fake‑as‑real? The police officers' words made no sense to them.

Li Yunfei also looked at Hai Ge at this point: "Is the swindled money still in the bank?"

Hai Ge shook his head.

"No, the money we received will only stay here for one night; early tomorrow I'll have a Cash Transport Vehicle come to take it away."

"A Cash Transport Vehicle? That's fake too, right?"

Hai Ge, looking guilty, replied: "Yeah… it's fake. I rented a car and modified it a bit into a Cash Transport Vehicle."

"So only today's money is here? Where did the money from previous days go, home?" Li Yunfei asked.

"None." Hai Ge shook his head: "I deposited all that money in a real bank, but it's not in my account now. I'm afraid the money isn't clean, so I hired people to launder it; they haven't finished yet, the cleaned money will be transferred in batches from overseas accounts to my card tomorrow morning."

Good guy, money laundering?

The police officers instantly perked up; this was a big haul!

Not only did we catch this Counterfeit Financial Institution Fraud, we might also expose a money‑laundering gang!

It's an unexpected delight—a win‑win!