Chapter 373: Leather Pants Over Cotton Pants — There Must Be a Reason

Just as he had expected.

The moment he heard that cameras had been installed in the house, Yu Dazhang knew his guess was right.

Eight cameras installed — they were clearly terrified of leaving any blind spots in surveillance.

Clever, but only with themselves... Yu Dazhang sneered inwardly, though he didn't let it show on his face.

Luring the snake out of its hole might look brilliant, but it can only succeed once.

Once they're on guard, that trick won't work on Yu Dazhang again.

"Good thing you warned me in advance to cut the network for the whole building, otherwise I'd have been exposed this time."

The way Qi Fang spoke was noticeably more respectful than before:

"The place looks like it hasn't been lived in for a long time — there's already a layer of dust on the floor, and the windows are all sealed shut."

"Looks like they deliberately left an empty house, just to wait for us to come."

You could tell he was a bit uneasy saying that.

Because long before he set out, Yu Dazhang had already worked out this situation through deduction.

You couldn't say it was similar — you could only say it was identical.

If before, Qi Fang still had doubts about Yu Dazhang's abilities, now he was completely won over.

When Zheng Ting was being interrogated, he was also watching live from the observation room.

He heard every single word in the interrogation room clearly.

But with the same testimony, he hadn't noticed anything off — yet this fatty had used those words to figure out the other side's entire plan.

Qi Fang was a veteran criminal investigator himself, but he had never seen anyone take logical deduction to such an extreme.

This freaking wasn't even deduction anymore.

In his eyes, this fatty was like someone who could foresee the future.

"Restore the house to its original state as much as possible." Yu Dazhang ordered:

"Not even a single footprint can be left, then restore the network and stand by in Liancheng."

"Copy that." Qi Fang acknowledged, then couldn't help asking:

"Are we just going to stay on standby in Liancheng from now on?"

This time, including himself, a total of six criminal police officers had gone — that many people couldn't just stay in Liancheng doing nothing.

So he had to get a clear answer.

"That's right." Yu Dazhang's tone was flat, but carried an undeniable hardness:

"You all stay there for now and wait for my next order."

After ending the call, he looked back at the map on the table.

With the rescue operation in Jianning wrapped up successfully, the next step was the other cities.

Yu Dazhang wasn't the least bit worried that the other side would tip off the factory owners in advance.

The monk may run away, but the temple cannot.

The main objective of the police operation was to rescue those enslaved cheap laborers, not merely to catch the factory managers.

Even if those factory owners chose to flee, they couldn't possibly take those mentally disabled workers with them.

Moreover, once the factory owners' personal information was exposed, it would no longer be difficult for the police to catch them.

In Yu Dazhang's view, Zhang Chao and his people were now like a clay Buddha crossing a river — barely able to save themselves, with no spare effort to look after others.

Besides, this wasn't exactly a legitimate business — there's no question of making a comeback.

If Yu Dazhang were in their shoes, he wouldn't notify those factory managers either — after all, they didn't know his side's information.

From this operation in Jianning, it was clear the factory owners hadn't been tipped off in advance — the vast majority had already been caught.

"Prepare the vehicles." Yu Dazhang ordered:

"All team members assemble downstairs, ready to move out at any moment."

He didn't say the destination, and his eyes never left the map on the table.

The other side already knew the police's main force was in Jianning, so their defenses here would be the tightest.

Besides, there was nothing left here to investigate.

Wait.

There was still one place he hadn't gone!

Twenty minutes later.

In front of an old-style residential building, an off-road vehicle pulled over by the road, followed by several police cars.

After Yu Dazhang got out, a police officer immediately stepped out of a police car behind him and hurried to his side.

"Zhang Chao hasn't gone home at all." he reported quickly:

"No one else has come by in the past two days either. According to the colleagues staking out locally, Zhang Chao's mother has a very regular routine."

"She leaves at six-thirty in the morning for the market, and basically doesn't go out after coming back. At night she comes out once more to take out the garbage."

Yu Dazhang said nothing, just nodded, then walked briskly toward the unit door, with Lu Zhongxin and Zhang Sen following close behind.

Arriving at the fourth floor, he raised his hand and knocked on the door, and soon a voice came from inside:

"Who is it?"

Yu Dazhang answered directly:

"Police."

The door opened, and a woman nearly sixty stood at the doorway:

"What is this about?"

"We've come to ask about something regarding Zhang Chao." Yu Dazhang said straight out:

"He's involved in a criminal case. We'd like your cooperation with the investigation."

The woman froze for a moment when she heard this, seemingly startled by Yu Dazhang's words.

But it was only for about a second before she regained her composure and stepped aside:

"Come in and we can talk."

Once inside, Yu Dazhang swept a glance around the room.

The decor here was very simple, but clean and tidy, giving a comfortable feeling—as if the space could make one unconsciously relax.

Actually, it's often those lavishly decorated, rigidly proper rooms that make people feel constrained and oppressed.

This kind of messy-but-orderly place is much more suited to living in.

"Have a seat anywhere."

After greeting them, the woman took three bottles of mineral water from the refrigerator and set them on the living room table.

"No need for pleasantries." Yu Dazhang waved his hand:

"We'll ask a few quick questions and then leave."

"Alright." The woman agreed, then sat down as well.

Yu Dazhang thought for a moment, then asked:

"How long has it been since Zhang Chao came back?"

"It's been about a week." The woman glanced at the calendar hanging on the wall:

"Last Friday the two of them brought the kid back, and I made chopped chili fish head and spicy crayfish for them. After that, they haven't come back."

After answering, before Yu Dazhang could speak again, the woman asked first:

"What happened to Xiao Chao? Did he get into a fight with someone?"

Her expression was a little tense, and she looked at Yu Dazhang with worry written all over her face.

This emotion didn't seem put on—it came through naturally.

"We can't disclose his situation yet." Yu Dazhang replied:

"The case is still in the investigation stage, so we can't draw any final conclusions."

As he spoke, he was also watching the changes in the woman's expression.

There's no mother who doesn't care about her child—especially upon hearing that her child may be involved in a crime, any mother would have emotional ups and downs.

"This kid has always had a bad temper. Ever since he was little, he's been fighting with classmates and causing a lot of trouble."

Zhang Chao's mother wore a look of regret:

"It's all my fault for not keeping a tighter rein on him when he was young."

She sighed repeatedly, seeming to blame herself, but even more so worrying about Zhang Chao.

"What year did Zhang Chao's father pass away?" Yu Dazhang asked again.

When he had interrogated Wang Hao earlier, he had already learned about Zhang Chao's family situation.

Only, what Wang Hao knew was just some basic information.

What year did Zhang Chao's father pass away?

What was the cause of death?

Wang Hao knew nothing of these more in-depth details, nor had he asked Zhang Chao about them.

"1988." The woman replied:

"Xiao Chao was six that year. Come to think of it, his bad temper has something to do with that too."

The woman sighed as she said this, and her complexion also turned somewhat ugly:

"Because of his father's sudden death, Xiao Chao was often mocked by his classmates at school, called a wild kid without a dad."

"That's why he's always been resistant toward his classmates and teachers."

(End of chapter)