Chapter 449: Sometimes the Victim is More Hateful

From the tears Seeing Qu Tuotuo just shed, it was clear her relationship with the Zhou family's daughter was anything but ordinary.

When Seeing Qu Tuotuo first went abroad to study, the Zhou family's daughter was only around thirteen or fourteen.

By all rights, people that age apart shouldn't be able to get along.

What could a college student and a middle schooler possibly do together? Their interests didn't match.

"I watched her grow up."

Seeing Qu Tuotuo sighed:

"I always treated her like my own little sister. I never thought something like this would happen to her."

Over the next week, Yu Dazhang accompanied Seeing Qu Tuotuo twice more. Each time, Zhou Dong was very enthusiastic, seeming quite pleased that the two of them visited so often.

He even offered to have two rooms renovated inside the castle for them, letting them decide the style.

Naturally, Yu Dazhang and Seeing Qu Tuotuo did not agree to such an arrangement.

A golden nest or a silver nest is not as good as one's own dog kennel; they understood this principle.

The First Squad had been very quiet lately, with no particularly urgent cases requiring attention. Every day, Yu Dazhang followed his master on various missions to increase the precinct's police visibility.

For him, days like these were hardly different from a vacation—pleasant and relaxed.

Then, on a day in mid-January, Yu Dazhang accompanied his master to handle a robbery case.

"You were robbed by the husband of an online friend?"

Inside the hotel, Lu Zhongxin looked curiously at the slightly overweight man before him:

"So, you came here to meet an online friend?"

For matters like this, the police naturally could not speak too bluntly; they had to consider the victim's dignity.

"Yes." The slightly overweight man nodded in admission:

"I chatted well with that woman online. I'm not from around here; she invited me here."

That's truly addictive... Yu Dazhang, listening from the side, curled his lip.

Traveling all that way just for that? It's no wonder you're unlucky.

What happened next was very vulgar. The moment the man arrived, he suggested opening a room, and the girl readily agreed.

But just as they were about to get to the main point, two people suddenly burst in, beat him up badly, and stole all the cash on his person.

Before leaving, they even photographed his ID card and threatened him not to call the police.

"Didn't you open the door for each other?" Lu Zhongxin quickly spotted the oddity.

Once a hotel room door is closed, it cannot be opened from the outside without a key, unless the door was left ajar and not fully shut.

"No." The man shook his head:

"No one opened the door; they just walked right in."

After hearing this, Lu Zhongxin exchanged a glance with Yu Dazhang; they both guessed what had happened.

The girl had deliberately left the door open for the people outside.

Unprofessional.

The master and apprentice had already realized this was a typical "immortal's jump" scam.

The suspects set a trap by exploiting the victim's desire for romance, then robbed him.

Scams like this "immortal's jump" constitute two types of crimes:

1. Robbery.

2. Extortion.

It depends specifically on whether violence was used on the spot.

If non-violent means are used to force the victim to hand over property, it falls under extortion.

For example, threats involving privacy.

The suspects would propose a private settlement, otherwise they would tell the victim's family and workplace about the incident.

If violence is used or the victim is directly controlled to obtain property, it constitutes robbery.

What we see here is exactly that: beating someone up immediately upon entering the room is definitely robbery.

Anyone even slightly professional wouldn't use this method.

However, this method has one advantage: a thief never leaves empty-handed.

Compared to privacy threats, violent means make people submit more easily, greatly increasing the success rate of obtaining money.

"Do we need to check for injuries?" Lu Zhongxin asked, staring at the man before him.

On the surface, he saw no obvious injuries on the man; even his hair wasn't messy. "No need." The man waved his hand, acting indifferent:

"They just hit me a few times. They weren't heavy-handed; I wasn't hurt. Just help me get my money back."

While the man spoke, Yu Dazhang stood quietly beside his master, not interrupting.

But he kept observing the changes in the other man's expression.

Lying!

Just now, while the man was speaking, his eyes darted around, and his head unconsciously swayed slightly. This indicated the other man was currently very nervous and panicked.

"What exactly did they rob you of? Be as specific as possible."

While Lu Zhongxin asked, the two team members behind him also took out paper and pens to record simultaneously.

"They only took the money on my person."

The man thought for a moment and replied:

"About twelve thousand, all cash."

Now even Lu Zhongxin sensed something was wrong.

"Why were you carrying so much money on you?"

It's already 2015, electronic payment has become widespread, and very few people carry that much cash on them anymore.

Besides, the man looked to be under thirty and was using a smartphone, making it even less likely he'd be carrying a large amount of cash.

"When you're out and about, having a bit more money on you puts your mind at ease."

The man's explanation made every officer present knit their brows.

Treating people like fools, huh... Yu Dazhang really couldn't hold back any longer, and cut in from the side:

"Could we have a look at your bag?"

"Of course." The man was very cooperative, handing over the bag he carried with him.

Yu Dazhang didn't take it, but instead pointed at the big bed inside the room:

"Take the things out of the bag one by one and put them on the bed, count them all out in front of us."

The man didn't seem surprised by this request; he nodded obediently, then placed the items from the bag onto the bed one by one.

Phone, keys, cigarettes, tissues, wallet...

"Open the wallet." Yu Dazhang ordered.

The man did as he was told.

Soon, a stack of red bills appeared before everyone's eyes, estimated at over a thousand.

Yu Dazhang said with a stern face:

"Care to explain why the other party didn't take this money? Was it because they didn't spot the wallet, or because they deliberately left it for you?"

"Well, you see..." The man was tongue-tied for a moment, looking as though he didn't know how to answer.

Yu Dazhang wasn't in a hurry either; he just stood to the side, watching him quietly.

Lu Zhongxin and the other two team members also darkened their faces, staring hard at the man.

They already had the answer in their hearts, but as police officers they couldn't just say it out loud.

"I took advantage of the chaos and hid the wallet under the pillow."

The man finally found an excuse, and stammered out his explanation:

"After they left, I took it out and put it back in the bag."

The excuse was a bit of a stretch, but it could just barely pass.

Yu Dazhang didn't want to deal with him anymore; he stepped back and gestured for his master to continue.

"You mean they searched your bag?"

Lu Zhongxin of course knew what his apprentice was thinking, but the questions still had to be asked.

"Yes." The man nodded, his gaze firm.

Lu Zhongxin, who hadn't wanted to make more trouble, finally couldn't help but offer one last reminder:

"I'll confirm with you one last time—is everything you've said true?"

The man didn't even think, answering immediately:

"Of course."

Hopeless... Yu Dazhang turned away, not wanting to look at him anymore.

Sometimes the victim's face is even more repulsive than the suspect's.

(End of chapter)