Chapter 346: Experience Mismatched with Age

Yu Dazhang was just about to notify Lu Zhongxin when he noticed Zhang Sen had already arrived at the middle of the parking lot.

No one knew where he'd gotten a woven bag, carried in one hand, while the other leaned on a crutch—he looked just like an old scavenger picking up empty bottles.

That's insane… Yu Dazhang couldn't help sighing inwardly.

This way, even if Zhang Sen peered into the cars, no one would get suspicious.

There were only five cars in total. Zhang Sen quickly figured out the situation inside each one, then made a subtle gesture with the hand holding his crutch.

No one in the cars!

Yu Dazhang had worked with Zhang Sen many times, so he could read his gestures at a glance.

This further confirmed the other party's location.

"Master, surround the vehicles on the west side of the parking lot."

Yu Dazhang picked up his phone and said quickly:

"Pay special attention to one of them—a black sedan with a Xiang B license plate. Assign two officers to inspect that car separately."

After Lu Zhongxin acknowledged, he immediately hung up, then called Captain Hua right away.

Captain Hua was currently staking out the parking lot, and his position happened to be on the west side.

Once the call connected, Yu Dazhang said immediately:

"Drive to block the exit now. The suspect is very likely near you."

There was no time to worry about rank—he spoke to Captain Hua in a commanding tone.

"Copy that."

Captain Hua didn't mind either. In his view, catching the suspect was what mattered most at a time like this.

Seeing provincial bureau officers approaching nearby, he didn't dare delay. He started the car at once and sped toward the exit.

Just as he was about to reach the exit, Captain Hua slammed the brakes and wrenched the steering wheel hard, skidding the car sideways across the exit.

By then, the provincial bureau officers had already closed in.

Behind them followed a hunched-over old woman.

Standing at a fourth-floor window of the hotel, Yu Dazhang kept his eyes locked on that sedan with the Jianning license plate, not daring to relax for a second.

As the officers were closing in, he suddenly saw that sedan rock slightly.

The movement was small, but he still caught it.

Someone's in the car!

He immediately shouted into his phone:

"Master, there's someone in that car with the Xiang B plate. Tell the officers to be careful!"

By now Lu Zhongxin had also arrived at the parking lot. Hearing Yu Dazhang's warning, he immediately ran toward that car.

"There's someone in that black Xiang B sedan!"

Just one brief shout was enough to put every officer present on high alert.

A dozen-plus criminal investigators from the provincial bureau swarmed toward that black Xiang B sedan.

"Get out of the car!"

"Whoever's inside, don't make any unnecessary moves!!"

"Get out of the car right now!"

As one shout after another rang out, a dozen pistols were aimed at the sedan.

After a standoff of several seconds, the car door opened, and a man wearing glasses and dressed in a sharp suit stepped out.

"Hands above your head!"

The officers didn't dare relax for a moment, keeping their eyes fixed on the suited man.

Was it really necessary for a dozen-plus criminal investigators wielding guns to be this cautious when arresting one person?

Absolutely necessary.

Criminal suspects were extremely dangerous figures in their eyes.

Any single oversight could lead to serious consequences.

So they couldn't afford to miss a single detail or movement.

Though surrounded by over ten criminal investigators, the suited man showed no panic at all—he even smiled.

"Relax, I'm not armed."

He cooperatively raised both hands and struck a surrendering pose.

"Cuff him!"

At Lu Zhongxin's command, two officers immediately stepped forward, each grabbing one arm, and cuffed the man's hands in front of him.

Even so, the officers didn't let up, still keeping their guns trained on him.

Only after a thorough pat-down confirmed there were no dangerous items did the officers finally lower their sidearms.

Meanwhile, officers on the other side had also searched the car.

"Check the other vehicles." Captain Hua walked over as well and quickly issued the order.

Five minutes later.

After a search, it was ultimately confirmed there were no other suspicious persons.

Throughout this process, Yu Dazhang had been standing at the hotel window, watching the parking lot below.

When he saw the officers finish checking every vehicle in the lot, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Going up to the front desk, he set his room card on the counter:

"Checking out."

The Young Lady at the front desk was briefly taken aback, then smiled and said:

"Sir, you booked a full-day room, not an hourly one. If you check out now, you'll still be charged at the full-day rate."

In fact, this was a well-intentioned reminder, meant to prevent any misunderstanding.

"I know." Yu Dazhang nodded:

"Please check me out as soon as possible and issue an invoice. Thank you."

Are all fat guys this willful these days… The receptionist couldn't help but steal another glance at the fat man in front of her.

He didn't look like someone with money.

After completing the checkout, Yu Dazhang strolled out of the hotel.

With the suspect caught, the tension he had been carrying eased considerably.

At the entrance, Captain Hua was standing by the car waiting for him.

"Sorry about that, I just checked out of the room."

Yu Dazhang quickly quickened his pace, reached the car, and glanced around:

"Did my master and the others leave?"

Captain Hua nodded and replied:

"I had them take the suspect back to the city bureau."

On the way back.

"How did you determine the suspect was in the parking lot?"

Captain Hua asked this while driving, eyes on the road ahead.

It sounded casual, but his tone was stern and serious.

"Process of elimination…"

Yu Dazhang then briefly recounted the reasoning process he had gone through earlier.

He had nothing else to do anyway, so he treated it as exchanging experience with colleagues from Province N.

"The one in charge of on-site command today, the criminal investigator named Lu Zhongxin — is he your master?"

Captain Hua's tone was a little odd, as if he were interrogating him about something.

Yu Dazhang grunted an "mm," though his expression wasn't entirely natural — there was a hint of awkwardness.

He knew in his heart that, given Captain Hua's sharpness, the man had surely already guessed that today's operation had actually been commanded by him.

There was nothing to be done about it — by the time Yu Dazhang arrived at the hotel, the operation had already begun.

And compared to leading operations, he was better at observation and analysis.

"All your case-solving skills — he taught them to you?" Captain Hua's tone sounded somewhat suppressed.

There was something of the anger of a man who had been deceived.

Why does it feel like he's angry? Yu Dazhang couldn't figure out where the problem lay, but still answered honestly:

"That's right, my master taught me."

The moment the words fell, the car suddenly slowed, and Yu Dazhang could clearly sense Captain Hua's emotions stirring.

"Liar!" Captain Hua suddenly demanded in a loud voice:

"How old are you this year?"

"Twenty-three." Yu Dazhang didn't understand why he was asking about age at this moment.

The car was driving along fine, the conversation had been pleasant — why the sudden anger?

Before he could figure it out, Captain Hua immediately followed up:

"How long have you been on the job?"

Hearing this question, Yu Dazhang caught on at once.

His investigative experience didn't match his age!

This Captain Hua was sharper than any criminal investigator Yu Dazhang had ever met.

Or rather, he thought through things more meticulously than others, and his logic was very clear.

"A little over half a year." Yu Dazhang answered vaguely.

The moment the words left his mouth, he clearly felt the car body sway.

(End of chapter)