Chapter 488: Your City Folks' Schemes Are Too Deep

After the next few wild‑fishing trips, the man, each time he came up empty, would think of catching a wild chicken to have a snack.

Those wild chickens were already scarce, and with his catching one, the whole area's wild chickens were essentially wiped out.

After that, the man never went back to that lakeside to fish, not for a full ten years.

Consequently, the man had long forgotten that ten years ago he had killed a National First-Class Protected Animal.

Fortunately, Xu Mo reminded him, otherwise he truly would have forgotten this incident.

Even after recalling it, the man had no intention of confessing.

He should know that he killed a National First-Class Protected Animal, a clear violation of the law, and he had hunted several of them over time; if this got exposed, he feared he'd spend half his life in prison.

Another reason he didn't want to confess was that when he caught that wild chicken, nobody saw it; as long as he kept his mouth shut, the police couldn't prosecute him because there was no evidence.

It's been ten years; after such a long time, could the police possibly find evidence of his killing a National First-Class Protected Animal?

As long as there's no evidence, there's nothing to fear; once time runs out, the police will naturally release him.

The next second, the man reverted to a bewildered expression.

"What wild chicken? I don't know what you're talking about; you can't slander me."

Even though the man now tried his best to act clueless, the seasoned Han Fei still read a clue from his previous expression.

Having spent so long in Criminal Investigation, Han Fei's eyes aren't easily fooled; hardly any criminal can lie to him.

As for the multicolored wild chicken Xu Mo mentioned, unsurprisingly it must be a protected animal… Though they hadn't discussed it beforehand, Han Fei instantly understood; after working together so long, they already had a tacit understanding.

After all, if that weren't the case, Xu Mo wouldn't have brought up the matter on his own.

"Do you think we'd summon you here without any evidence?" Han Fei sneered, retorting.

Han Fei's expression and tone were perfectly calibrated, so that a single sentence made the man panic.

For a moment, he even doubted whether anyone had actually seen him catch the wild chicken.

While the man wrestled with the question, Han Fei spoke again.

"We've received a public report; the informant says you bragged to him about having eaten a protected animal. Should I bring the informant here to confront you?"

At those words, the man's mind buzzed.

"Bragged about it to anyone? No! I've never told anyone about that."

He was convinced he hadn't told anyone, since he knew killing a protected animal was illegal, and he wasn't sick, so why would he trouble himself?

Without thinking, he blurted out, "I didn't! I never told anyone, I..."

That sentence was a subconscious reaction under pressure, not a thought; after saying it, the man suddenly realized he'd been set up, and his complexion turned sour.

A fine sweat immediately broke out on his forehead.

"You never told anyone... meaning you actually did kill a protected animal?" Han Fei said with a half‑smile, staring at the man.

The man immediately shook his head in denial, his head wobbling like a tambourine, his thoughts nearly in sync.

"No, no, no, I didn't, I didn't... I mean I never killed any protected animal at all."

He never imagined that the broad‑eyed, thick‑browed officer could set a trap so easily, exposing a flaw with a single sentence.

Your city folks' schemes are way too deep!

At the same time, the officer sitting nearby couldn't help but give Han Fei a thumbs‑up.

He thought, Jiang really is still sharp, Han Team is awesome!

Han Fei, a veteran Criminal Investigation officer skilled in interrogation, found the man's statements riddled with holes, flaws everywhere.

Later, under Han Fei's barrage of questions, the man finally broke down and confessed his crime.

……

This man's case is not an isolated example.

In fact, among the criminals Xu Mo captured, many were similar: the crimes were so long ago they forgot they'd broken the law, so no matter how the officers questioned them, they wouldn't confess.

Under Han Fei's lead, Xu Mo met several other criminals he had apprehended.

The two applied the same method, and in just over half an hour, they dealt with those stubborn criminals.

After the interrogations concluded, the officers could finally relax a bit.

Taking advantage of the time, they gathered to have lunch.

During the meal, the officers began showering Han Fei with praise.

"No wonder Han Team is the Criminal Investigation Team Leader; their thinking is truly meticulous—those criminals can't get past even a few moves under Han Team's hand."

"Yeah, Han Team is awesome; just their interrogation techniques would take us ages to learn."

"So, Jiang is still sharp, right?"

"Exactly, Jiang is still sharp!"

「……」

"By the way, Team Leader Xu, how did you catch so many criminals? How did you know they were breaking the law?" an officer turned the conversation to Xu Mo.

At that, the officers all looked at Xu Mo, Han Fei included.

Everyone was very curious how Xu Mo pinpointed so many criminals.

It should be noted that many of those criminals had even forgotten their own past offenses!

Given that, it's puzzling how Xu Mo could still identify the culprits.

Xu Mo scooped a bite of rice and said calmly, "Intuition."

"Intuition?" Han Fei blinked slightly, then nodded silently, "That's true; after working this long, you can tell a person's nature at a glance."

As a veteran of the police station with years of Criminal Investigation experience, Han Fei knows a good officer's intuition is highly accurate.

He had encountered such a case himself before.

Back then, Han Fei was driving his patrol car on a mission; while waiting at a traffic light, he locked eyes with a passenger in the neighboring car. In that single glance, Han Fei instantly sensed something was off and stepped out to question the person without hesitation.

Later, he found a makeshift gun in the detained man's car; the man indeed had a problem.

Xu Mo's so‑called catching people by intuition, unsurprisingly, must be this kind of situation he once experienced.

But as soon as he thought of this, Han Fei suddenly realized, no, among the people Xu Mo captured, many had committed their deeds so long ago that they themselves have forgotten that batch; under such circumstances, even if they encounter a police officer they wouldn't show fear.

You can catch people by intuition even in this situation?!

Han Fei couldn't help but furrow his brow and look at Xu Mo.