Chapter 405: The Theft Case

At 1 p. m., the several police officers from the neighboring district branch that Han Fei mentioned arrived to learn.

These officers came mainly to visit Xu Mo and Han Fei, so the two did not have their subordinates receive them, but greeted them personally.

"Han Team, Team Leader Xu, I've long admired your reputations! I'm Zhang Songyuan, and these two are my colleagues, Xiao Wang and Xiao Li."

"Hello, Han Team; hello, Team Leader Xu," the two officers also greeted in turn.

After that, the three's gazes all turned toward Xu Mo.

Although they had never seen Xu Mo, they knew what he looked like, after all Xu Mo had once been a celebrity.

He's practically a deity, a star of the police world!

It is said that to date, there hasn't been a case Xu Mo couldn't solve.

What's even more exaggerated is that the cases handled by Xu Mo are almost always cracked the same day; his investigations take only a single day.

In contrast, other police stations take three to five days, a week, or even half a month to solve a case; talent like Xu Mo is truly rare.

If it weren't for this, the bureau's leaders wouldn't think to send them to learn from Xu Mo.

"Stop talking outside; come in, have a seat," Han Fei said with a smile, ushering the three inside.

Xu Mo also smiled and greeted the three.

In Han Fei's office.

After entering, the three immediately stated their purpose.

"Han Team, Team Leader Xu, the three of us are here mainly to seek guidance and learn some investigative techniques."

Although the other side also knew their intent, they still needed to state the purpose of their visit.

Han Fei remained silent and looked at Xu Mo, indicating that Xu Mo should communicate with the three.

Even though the three mentioned Han Fei in their speech, he was well aware that they had actually come to learn from Xu Mo; as for himself, his investigative ability was strong but still a notch below Xu Mo's, merely a step ahead of his peers, and his peers wouldn't travel far to seek his guidance.

However, just as Xu Mo was about to open his mouth modestly, the office door was pushed open.

The person who entered was Chen Ke.

"Han Team, Team Leader Xu, trouble!" Upon saying this, Chen Ke glanced at the three other district colleagues in the office, nodded at them, then turned his gaze back to Han Fei and Xu Mo: "There's a case!"

Han Fei was startled.

Damn, another case just came!

But after looking at Chen Ke, the "Broom Star," he felt at ease—sigh, he's become accustomed… What good news could this little "Broom Star" bring?

"What case? Tell us."

Chen Ke glanced at the three colleagues in the office, his expression somewhat hesitant.

"Speak directly," Han Fei said, "We're all peers, no need to hold back."

After speaking, he looked at the three and asked, "Are you all interested in investigating the case together?"

Whether their arrival was coincidental or not, there was probably no chance to teach investigative techniques, but since a case has just come in, he could take them along, which would also be a learning opportunity.

"Sure, sure! It's perfect to learn by following!" Upon hearing this, the three learning officers' eyes brightened.

Good fellows, they came with the purpose of learning, and unexpectedly the timing was so perfect that a case just arrived here!

Now they won't have to learn from words; following the investigation directly is far more intuitive, right?

If they could pick up even a single move from Xu Mo, they might never have to work overtime and stay up all night on investigations again.

Han Fei: "?"

From the three's expressions, Han Fei sensed a hint of schadenfreude.

What the hell is this eager and excited look?

"A case has come to our bureau; are you that happy?"

Seeing Han Fei frown, the three immediately realized their misstep and adjusted their expressions.

Han Fei's brow finally relaxed, and he nodded at Chen Ke.

The latter gave a brief description of the case.

"It's a theft case: an insurance company's vault was robbed, and everything inside every safety‑deposit box was completely taken. According to the insurance company's estimate, the total value of the stolen items is close to one billion."

At those words, several people in the office inhaled sharply, realizing the seriousness of the case.

An insurance company was robbed; every safety‑deposit box in its vault was emptied, and the amount involved reaches ten hundred million—a major case.

Someone capable of emptying an insurance company is certainly no ordinary person, and such a theft must have been meticulously planned for a long time.

This case will likely be hard to solve.

The three learning officers became even more excited—big cases are great! A big case lets them learn more; if it were a petty theft, they'd find it boring.

Of course, this time the three concealed their excitement to avoid further displeasing Han Fei… It's somewhat improper to show such enthusiasm when the bureau has received a difficult, high‑profile case.

Han Fei frowned, "Let's go check the scene first."

…

Huashield Insurance Company.

Several police cars stopped at the entrance, and as the officers stepped out, a manager in a suit from the insurance company approached to greet them.

"Comrades in police, you finally arrived!" the manager exclaimed upon seeing the officers.

The insurance company has always been renowned for its security.

Clients store valuable items with the insurance company because they believe it's safer than elsewhere; if those items are lost, the insurance company must pay compensation.

This time, the missing items aren't one or two, but everything.

If the stolen items can't be recovered, the insurance company might go bankrupt; as the on‑duty manager, he certainly doesn't want to lose his job, let alone cause trouble… The items in the vault were lost during his shift.

"What exactly happened?" Xu Mo asked, looking at the manager.

"Everything's gone, all gone!" the manager cried, "It was fine this morning, everything was fine, but after a power outage at noon, a huge hole appeared in the vault wall, all the safety‑deposit boxes were opened, and all the depositors' belongings vanished."

"A huge hole appeared in the wall?"

"Yes, comrade police, I'll take you to see.", the manager said, leading the way.

After taking the elevator to the basement level and passing through layers of security checks and password doors, a massive vault appeared before everyone.

Notably, one of the vault's steel-reinforced concrete walls has a large hole roughly one meter in diameter.

Presumably, this hole was made by thieves to steal all the treasures inside the vault.

The police officers stepped forward to examine it.

"Damn...", Chen Ke stared blankly at the neat cut in the wall: "This wall must be two meters thick—can it even be dug through?"