Chapter 1341

There were two pots of pothos in front of the door, their leaves fat and full of vitality.

The main gate was made of two large iron sheets, with welded steel bars in the middle; it rattled with every touch, showing a strong sense of age.

"Open the door, police!"

Wu Wu Junhao pounded hard on the courtyard gate, his eyes scanning both sides alertly, his hand resting on the grip of his gun.

The other side of the large iron gate remained silent, disguised as if no one were there.

Wu Wu Junhao knew the other party was a bit stunned; if it were someone the other party was familiar with knocking on the door, the probability of luring them to open the gate would likely be higher.

Unfortunately, Wu Wu Junhao didn't have that time or patience. There was no need to be so gentle with a former fence.

Wu Wu Junhao waved his hand backward, and a burly man with a shiny head stepped forward with a battering ram.

Boom.

With a muffled thud, the large iron gate, held only by an ordinary padlock, burst open. Wu Wu Junhao kicked it open, raised his Type 92 pistol, and shouted along with his team members: "Police! Hands on your heads, squat down!"

The bald team members holding shotguns and submachine guns took the lead and charged to the front.

The former fence in the courtyard watched this scene, even more stunned.

As a criminal who had worked on the front lines of crime for years, he had imagined the scene of his arrest and his response many times, but even the most magnificent scene among them was just police cars surrounding him, with imposing police officers blocking him from the front and back.

There was no need for guns! And so many of them, held in the hands of a large group of sweaty, bald fitness men—the overwhelming "Chengdu flavor" was simply suffocating.

He stared at the dark muzzle pointed at his forehead, breaking out in cold sweat all over his body, truly feeling that his life was counting down. Never mind that modern firearms were of good quality and wouldn't go off accidentally; modern police officers had less experience and were more prone to accidental discharge.

Anyone who has used guns for years knows that accidental discharge is very common—not to the point of encountering it often, but hearing about it often is no problem. Not to mention, this was his own life.

"Um, what's the matter?" the former fence probed cautiously.

"Liu Haozi, your crimes have caught up with you." Wu Wu Junhao naturally wouldn't answer. He first ensured the surrounding environment was safe, then put his gun away, and while personally detaining the fence himself, he arranged for his men to conduct a search.

This man used to be a fence, and after making money, he gradually began to transform, still engaging in activities on the edge of the law.

He stopped fencing mainly because the number of robbers and thieves had decreased, the risks of fencing were becoming greater, and he was earning less. As for why he still broke the law after transforming, it was because legal businesses were highly competitive, and the risk of criminal law was like a moat to him.

Of course, he also had to bear the consequences when the moat flooded the city.

"Captain Wu, found a batch of fake cigarettes." The team members searching in the initial phase quickly brought over a carton of cigarettes to show Wu Wu Junhao.

Wu Wu Junhao laughed with a "pfft": "Liu Haozi, you're quite an interesting person. You stopped fencing and started selling fake cigarettes? Is there something wrong with your brain?"

"Real cigarettes," Liu Haozi said weakly.

"Nonsense."

"They really are real cigarettes; it's just that the sales location might not necessarily meet the original requirements of the Tobacco Bureau." As Liu Haozi spoke, his hanging heart finally died. He had been hit by the iron fist before, and seeing so many guns, he knew he couldn't escape, so he simply confessed all his petty business. At worst, he'd sit in jail for two years; what else could happen?

Wu Wu Junhao chuckled: "I'll communicate with the Tobacco Bureau later to see if what you said is true, or if the cigarettes you made are fake."

In the time it took to say one sentence, Liu Haozi was upgraded from a fake cigarette peddler to a fake cigarette manufacturer. Liu Haozi began to understand, his face full of a bitter smile, and said: "That... whatever you want, just say it directly. I'm just a small fry; there's really no need for so many people to come..."

"I have my mission." Wu Wu Junhao first made a point, then took out several sketches of the killer from his pocket, handed them to Liu Haozi, and said: "See if you recognize this person. 15 or 16 years ago, you should have had dealings with him."

Wu Wu Junhao didn't know if they had dealings, but he only needed the answer that they did, so he bluffed Liu Haozi.

Liu Haozi looked at the man's face in the sketch and fell into deep thought.

What he first thought about wasn't who this person was, but why they were looking for him.

As a man who had struggled on the front lines of crime for years and had been grabbed by the scruff of his neck, the answer to this question was very likely related to the rest of his life.

Wu Wu Junhao also stared at Liu Haozi.

This wasn't the first fence he had caught. The method and path of questioning had been carried out more than once, and every time, Wu Wu Junhao would give the other party a trust score in his heart by observing the surface.

Screening such people is very different from screening ordinary people; it relies extremely heavily on the investigator's on-site ability, which is also the reason why Xu Xu Taining had to obtain Jiang Yuan's consent after widening the net.

Experienced investigators are actually very scarce; they are all honed through life and death. Every municipal or county bureau treats them as treasures. Without Jiang Yuan's call, it would be impossible for them to release these captains, squadron leaders, or deputy captains for the special task force to use. It would be better to keep them at home to handle theft cases.

Liu Haozi also clearly felt the pressure, staring at the portrait, looking deep in thought...

Suddenly, Wu Wu Junhao said: "No, you've made this place so secretive, with a large iron gate, henchmen, and sentries in front of the village—would you be content just doing a little cigarette smuggling business?"

Wu Wu Junhao said this and called someone over, saying: "Bring the metal detector over and search the place."

"Yes." The called criminal police officer saluted in cooperation. The metal detectors had already been brought; they were prepared to be used, and now it was just adding layers of pressure.

Liu Haozi was wealthy and lived in luxury. Even if he sensed something was wrong, with a group of police officers entering with guns, if they were still racking their brains to deceive him, he could only calmly reveal the appearance of being deceived, acting anxious, and saying: "Please don't mess with me; whatever you want, just ask."

"I want this person." Wu Wu Junhao pointed and continued to act.

Different teams have different working styles. Wu Wu Junhao brought the "Bald Strike Team" out, focusing only on the severity of the situation, and then acting for all he was worth.

If the acting succeeded, everyone would be happy; if it failed, it would just be considered training the team.

However, even if it was acting, it was a weight Liu Haozi couldn't bear.

The most important thing was that he really recognized the person in the picture.

"How did you investigate a case from 15 years ago? For ordinary cases, the statute of limitations should have passed, right?" Liu Haozi probed again.

"What do you think?" Wu Wu Junhao looked at him.

"It must be a major case, huh."

Wu Wu Junhao didn't speak.

Liu Haozi lowered his head and thought for a long while, almost going through all the legal knowledge and practical stories he knew, before saying: "Um, if I say I know him, doesn't that mean I'm admitting to what I did 15 years ago?"

"You're going to jail anyway, doesn't that just help you clear your cases?" Wu Wu Junhao wasn't too excited. In the process of his previous investigations, he had encountered people who claimed to know the person in the picture. Or rather, there wasn't a single guy caught who would say they didn't know him.

These were sketches of faces, which already had a certain discrepancy, and it was 15 years ago. Randomly saying a few names was the most normal choice for these lambs waiting to be slaughtered who didn't blink at crime.

If there's a lie, make one up; if there's no lie, perform a meritorious service—this was the experience summarized over many years by criminals who had gone for "advanced studies."

Liu Haozi thought for a moment longer before whispering: "If the information I provide can lead to catching the person, does it count as a meritorious service?"

"Of course it counts, and it counts as a major meritorious service." Wu Wu Junhao became more serious at this moment, his eyes locking onto Liu Haozi: "Do you really know him?"

"I might have seen him; after all, it's been 15 years."

"Tell me, what is this person's name?"

"Fire Ox. It's a nickname he gave himself. I don't know his real name; he should be a Northeasterner. He usually doesn't speak with a Northeastern accent, but it slipped out during a chat once."

"Once? Have you seen each other many times?"

"He came three times. The things he brought were too 'hot'—I guess some places didn't dare to accept them, so he circled back to find me." Liu Haozi said, glancing cautiously at Wu Wu Junhao.

"Are there things you recognized?"

"I'm guessing he either stole or robbed them." Liu Haozi sighed deeply at this point.

Wu Wu Junhao listened, his eyes lighting up, and he asked questions one after another.

This Northeastern accent issue alone could greatly narrow down the special task force's search range.

Liu Haozi only knew it was a major case and didn't know exactly how major it was. At this point, he started talking and became unstoppable:

"This person is tall, must be 1.8 meters. Of course, children nowadays are all tall, but in our era, 1.8 meters was a super tall height; you wouldn't see one in a whole class."

"He came directly to the door. He had a hot temper, but his asking price wasn't high. It sounded like he was a thief, but he was too tall and strong, so being a thief wasn't easy either. It would be better to be a henchman for some boss, although being a henchman for a boss isn't comfortable either."

"Every time he came, he would exchange a few thousand yuan worth of things; I don't recall it ever being over ten thousand. He came three times, each time a few months apart; I don't remember exactly how many months."

Wu Wu Junhao interrupted Liu Haozi at this point: "I want the specific time!"

"I really don't remember," Liu Haozi said.

"Don't you have an account book? The time of every transaction should be on it. If you really can't remember, think about what happened at that time. I want the specific time." Wu Wu Junhao said unquestioningly. This was the core requirement of the special task force. Knowing just a nickname still required multi-party verification to find the person, which was far less convenient than checking hotel records. Even if hotel records couldn't be found, checking from the nickname wouldn't waste any effort.

And as far as this moment was concerned, requiring Liu Haozi to state the accurate time and hand over the account book also had the effect of verifying the truth.

Liu Haozi was naturally unwilling to hand over the account book, as this would be equivalent to confirming his crimes. But at such a time, Wu Wu Junhao had too many resources; he only needed to find someone else to explain the policy to him, making him understand that the result would be the same, and his final struggle would disappear.

Two days later.

The special task force had already gathered information from many sources, some true and some false, some vague and unclear; a large amount of time was spent on the verification process.

However, with the cooperation of criminal police from various places, even though many details had to be traced back 10 years, 15 years, or even longer, some content was still verified.

Among them, the most noteworthy was a mobile phone number provided by Liu Haozi.

Although it had been abandoned, the records from that year were all there. After extracting the corresponding information, it made the suspect's location and time limit even more specific.

Another day later, a dilapidated notebook was solemnly delivered to the desks of the three leaders.

"Look here." Shen Shen Yaowei, who had found the key information from countless dilapidated record books, was still wearing a mask, completely forgetting to take it off, and said unclearly: "This is the time and place recorded at a hotel in Miao Liyuan, all consistent with Fire Ox. The key is that a mobile phone number was filled in here; it should have been requested by the hotel clerk. Look, the first few digits he filled in are the same as the ones Liu Haozi gave us, only the last three digits are different. I estimate it's either the same batch of mobile phone numbers or he just made one up."

15 years ago, many mobile phone numbers were anonymous. Some people would throw away the card after using up the top-up amount. Buying multiple SIM cards at once was also a very reasonable situation for certain groups of people.

Jiang Yuan carefully read the evidence Shen Shen Yaowei found and asked: "Can we find the person who registered this? Sang Gengwei? Is it a real name?"

"It's a real name. The person has also been found, matching the description of his appearance and build, and the age also matches. He's a Northeasterner, currently living in Dongping City, and hasn't gone abroad." Shen Shen Yaowei said, his face flushing slightly, "Miao Liyuan City was conducting a 'Hundred-Day Action' at the time, and hotel management was relatively strict. I estimate Sang Gengwei hadn't committed the crime yet."

"Let's make the arrest." Xu Xu Taining came over, took one look, made the decision, and turned back to continue communicating with the team.

Unless the case was declared solved, his "big net" would never stop for a moment. No matter how reliable the suspect sounded, unless hard evidence was placed in front of him, Xu Xu Taining wouldn't believe anyone.

It was still Wu Wu Junhao who donned his armor and set out.

Song Song Tiancheng helped contact the local police.

At Xu Xu Taining's strong request, Wu Wu Junhao brought two fully equipped "Bald Strike Teams," totaling 72 people, equipped with bulletproof vests, stab-proof vests, shotguns, submachine guns, pistols, and other conventional weapons. Seeing this, the Dongping Public Security Bureau cooperated by providing half a squadron of criminal police and corresponding vehicles, shields, wolf-tooth spikes, police steel forks, first-aid kits, tear gas, hand and foot shackles, etc. Both sides conducted a quick but effective pre-battle mobilization; the young police officers were in high spirits, eager for meritorious service.

The suspect, Sang Gengwei, was 45 years old, living in a 140-square-meter commercial apartment in the downtown area of Dongping. He was 1.8 meters tall, weighed 210 jin, kept a Corgi, and was lying on the sofa, with a thick-bottomed beer mug by his hand that could be called a super-dangerous weapon.

Wu Wu Junhao produced a complete contingency plan and solemnly submitted the attack plan to the special task force.

After Jiang Yuan, Liu Liu Jinghui, and Xu Xu Taining reviewed it separately, they signed their approval.

Five minutes later, the phone on the special task force's desk rang again.

"We've caught him." Wu Wu Junhao's voice was full of joy: "Requesting an on-site interrogation!"

"Agreed!" Jiang Yuan said.

Meng Meng Chengbiao on the other side immediately pulled the person aside and, according to the planned steps, began the interrogation work.

Two hours later, two more names were spat out.

Just as Liu Liu Jinghui and the others had guessed, the three knew each other successively, contacted each other when committing crimes, and formed free combinations. The Li Liu Huimin case was precisely committed by Sang Gengwei in cooperation with another person.

With this, Xu Xu Taining no longer had any hesitation. He paused the investigations of other groups, sent out scouts, and began to make arrests based on the information Sang Gengwei provided.

Huang Huang Qiangmin also touched his neck, panting heavily, and reappeared in the conference room like a survivor of a disaster.

"Looking at it this way, the case is considered solved, right?" Huang Huang Qiangmin confirmed with Jiang Yuan.

"Sang Gengwei's footprints match the characteristics of the killer; we can confirm they are the same person." Jiang Yuan said.

"Good, next, it's a matter of catching the other two." Huang Huang Qiangmin's mental state visibly improved.

Until Jiang Yuan spoke again: "We can notify Captain Wei."

"Hmm." Huang Huang Qiangmin sighed softly, stiffened for a moment, and said: "When Old Wei got married, we all went to drink, and I also went to Old Wei's house for meals. His wife didn't like to cook usually, but when we went, she would still cook, and she made a table full of good dishes."

The criminal police in the conference room all fell silent.

After a long while, Huang Huang Qiangmin said: "Notify Old Wei, and Wei Yin too."