Chapter 696: Accommodation Doesn't Necessarily Mean Lying Down

After speaking, Yu Dazhang immediately pulled the phone away and glanced at the time on the screen.

2:20 AM.

If Captain Hua called at this hour, it must be to report something important.

"No."

Captain Hua's voice sounded somewhat dejected:

"We checked every small inn in the Qingpu District and found no trace of Zhang Jiangke."

No? This result surprised Yu Dazhang.

Based on Zhang Jiangke's modus operandi and his patterns for booking rooms, he would definitely choose to stay in either Hongkou or Qingpu District.

Hongkou District was cleared during the day, so now only Qingpu District remains.

Why wasn't he found?

Could he have received advance warning?

Yu Dazhang's mind raced, quickly ruling out that possibility.

There was no possibility of information leakage.

The decision to search Qingpu District was only communicated to Captain Hua by him just before the night operation began.

Even if Zhang Jiangke obtained the information later, he absolutely would not have had time to escape.

Because once the operation started, the entire Qingpu District would be under martial law, all intersections would be blocked, and he would have nowhere to run.

Was the judgment wrong?

It seemed that was the only possibility now.

But where was the error?

Holding the phone, Yu Dazhang let his mind work, rapidly analyzing various possibilities.

Was the initial judgment wrong, or did something go wrong in some intermediate step?

He went through it from the beginning again and quickly confirmed it.

Zhang Jiangke must be in Songhai!

If so, he would definitely choose to stay in Hongkou and Qingpu Districts, because he already had room-booking records in other districts.

Following this logic, the overall deduction was not wrong.

But both districts were searched, so why wasn't he found?

He held the phone and thought, and Captain Hua on the other end, knowing he was analyzing the case, did not urge him but simply waited quietly.

Moments later, Yu Dazhang's eyes cleared.

I know!

The problem lies with the small inns.

I took it for granted... At this moment, Yu Dazhang realized he had still fallen into the trap of underestimating the enemy.

He clearly thought of Zhang Jiangke as someone who had suffered hardships and could adapt even to harsh living conditions, yet he only pinpointed small inns as his hiding spots.

In reality, there are many places with conditions worse than small inns.

For example, parking lots, parks, under bridges...

As long as one doesn't care about the environment, there are plenty of places to stay.

Yu Dazhang hadn't considered these places before because they are places only vagrants would live in.

Zhang Jiangke would not stoop to competing with vagrants for a place to stay.

Moreover, nowadays, for the sake of the city's appearance, many city management personnel drive away those vagrants or send them to relief stations.

If he were truly sent to a relief station, it would mean exposure of his identity for Zhang Jiangke.

He could not have failed to think of this layer, therefore, he would not disguise himself as a vagrant.

So where else could he be staying?

At this moment, Yu Dazhang suddenly felt a sharp pain in his brain; countless thoughts flashed through his mind, yet he could grasp none of them.

"Besides small inns, where else can Zhang Jiangke stay?"

Yu Dazhang chose to seek help from outside, holding the phone and asking:

"Places like parks and under bridges need not be considered; excluding places where vagrants live, think again, where else can he stay?"

He could not just think blindly by himself; at such a time, having more people think means having more lines of thought.

After hearing this, Captain Hua on the other end did not answer but asked in return:

"Do you still believe Zhang Jiangke is in Songhai?"

"Yes." Yu Dazhang answered with a tone of certainty:

"Either in Hongkou or in Qingpu; not finding him only means we searched the wrong locations."

After these words, Captain Hua fell silent and began to think.

He trusted Yu Dazhang, and this trust was built upon recognition of his abilities.