Chapter 1375

There were two pots of pothos by the gate, their leaves plump and vibrant.

The gate was made of two large iron sheets, with steel rebar welded in the middle; even a light touch made it rattle, giving it a distinctly aged feel.

"Open the door, police!"

Wu Junhao pounded hard on the courtyard gate, eyes alert as he scanned both sides, his hand resting on his pistol grip.

The other side of the iron gate remained silent, pretending no one was home.

Wu Junhao knew the other party was a bit dazed; if someone familiar to them had knocked, the chance of getting the door opened might have been slightly higher.

Unfortunately, Wu Junhao didn't have the time or patience for that. For a former fencer of stolen goods, there was no need to be so soft and sentimental.

Wu Junhao waved his hand backward, and a bald, muscular man with a gleaming forehead stepped forward carrying a battering ram.

Thud.

With a dull bang, the iron gate, merely latched with an ordinary lock, burst open. Wu Junhao followed through with a kick, holding his 92 pistol, and shouted along with his teammates: "Police! Hands on heads, squat down!"

The bald team members wielding shotguns and submachine guns surged ahead, leading the charge.

The former fencer of stolen goods in the courtyard stared even more dazedly at the scene.

As a criminal who had long operated on the front lines of crime, he had imagined many times what his arrest would look like and how he would respond, but in those fantasies, the most spectacular scene was merely police cars surrounding him, with swaggering officers blocking him front and rear.

Guns weren't even necessary! Still, so many of them, held by a large group of sweaty, bald fitness men, the Chengdu-style assault hitting him in the face—it was utterly suffocating.

He stared at the dark muzzle pointed at his forehead, cold sweat breaking out in large patches across his body, truly feeling his life was counting down. Never mind that modern firearms are reliable and won't discharge accidentally—today's police have less experience and are more prone to accidental discharge.

Anyone who regularly uses guns knows that accidental discharges are fairly common, not so common as to happen constantly, but frequent enough to be heard about often. And besides, this is his life we're talking about.

"Um, what's going on?" the former fencer asked cautiously.

"Liu Haoshu, you're in trouble." Wu Junhao naturally wouldn't answer; first he confirmed the surrounding area was secure, then holstered his gun, personally escorting the fencer while arranging personnel for a search.

This man had previously dealt in fencing stolen goods; after making money, he gradually shifted gears, still engaging in legally borderline activities.

He didn't fence stolen goods mainly because the number of robbers and thieves had decreased, making fencing riskier and less profitable. As for why he turned to other illegal activities despite the risks, it was because legitimate business competition was fierce, and the criminal law's risks to him were like a moat.

Of course, if the moat flooded and drowned the city, he would have to endure that too.

"Wu Da, we found a batch of fake cigarettes." The search team members quickly brought over a pack of cigarettes to show Wu Junhao.

Wu Junhao let out a "pfft" laugh: "Liu Haoshu, you're quite the character—you quit fencing stolen goods to make fake cigarettes? You got a screw loose?"

"Real cigarettes." Liu Haoshu said weakly.

"Nonsense."

"They are indeed real cigarettes, just that the sales location might not fully comply with the tobacco bureau's original requirements." Liu Haoshu spoke, and the weight on his heart finally lifted. He had been struck by an iron fist before; seeing so many guns, he knew escape was impossible, so he might as well confess this petty matter—worst case, he'd serve two years, what else could happen?

Wu Junhao chuckled: "I'll check with the tobacco bureau later to see if what you're saying is true, or if your cigarettes are fake."

In that moment, Liu Haoshu went from being a fake cigarette vendor to a fake cigarette manufacturer; he began to understand, wore a bitter smile, and said: "Um… you want something? Just say it directly—I'm just a small fry, really don't need all these people…"

"I have my mission." Wu Junhao first stated that, then pulled out several sketches of the suspect from his pocket and handed them to Liu Haoshu: "See if you know this person. Around 15 or 16 years ago, you should have had some contact with him."

Wu Junhao didn't know if they had actually interacted, but he only needed the answer to be yes, so he was bluffing Liu Haoshu.

Liu Haoshu stared at the man's face in the sketch, falling into deep thought.

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

As a man who had long struggled on the crime front lines and had someone grab him by the back of the neck, the answer to this question likely related to the rest of his life.

Wu Junhao also stared at Liu Haoshu.

This wasn't the first fencer of stolen goods he had arrested. His questioning methods and routes had been used more than once, and each time, Wu Junhao would observe the surface and inwardly assign a trust score.

Vetting such people differs greatly from vetting ordinary people, relying heavily on investigators' on-site skills—which is why Xu Taining expanded the net, yet still needed Jiang Yuan's approval.

Experienced investigators are actually very scarce, forged through human lives; any municipal or county bureau treats them as treasures. Without Jiang Yuan's call, they wouldn't hand over these battalion, company, or deputy company leaders to the task force. Even keeping them for theft cases would be fine.

Liu Haoshu also clearly felt the pressure, staring at the sketch, lost in grim thought…

Suddenly, Wu Junhao said: "Wrong—you're operating so secretly, with an iron gate, henchmen, and even lookouts at the village entrance—would you really feel at ease doing a little business selling smuggled cigarettes?"

Wu Junhao said, calling someone over: "Bring the metal detector over, search everywhere."

"Yes." The criminal detective who was called responded with a salute. The metal detectors had already been brought—they were prepared to use them; now it was just adding layers.

Liu Haoshu was well-off, lived comfortably; even sensing something amiss, with a group of police barging in guns drawn, if he still tried to deceive himself, he could only feign being ducked, acting anxious: "Don't bother with me—just tell me what you want, and I'll lay it out straight."

"I want this person." Wu Junhao pointed, continuing the act.

Different teams have different styles; Wu Junhao brought the bald squad out, emphasizing only one thing: the situation is serious, then going all out in performance.

If the act succeeds, everyone's happy; if it fails, it's just training the team.

But even acting, this was a burden Liu Haoshu couldn't bear.

The top priority was whether he truly recognized the person in the sketch.

"How did you even investigate a case from 15 years ago? Ordinary cases, the statute of limitations has expired, right?" Liu Haoshu probed again.

"You tell me." Wu Junhao glanced at him.

"Can only say it's a major case, huh."

Wu Junhao said nothing.

Liu Haoshu lowered his head, thought for a long while, nearly running through all the legal knowledge and practical stories he knew, then said: "Um, I want to say I know him, but that doesn't equal admission—did I do anything 15 years ago?"

"Either way you're going to jail, so isn't that helping you clear the case?" Wu Junhao wasn't overly agitated; during his earlier investigation, he had also encountered people claiming to know the person in the sketch. Or rather, no one ever caught would say they didn't know.

This is a face from a sketch, inherently somewhat inaccurate, plus it's from 15 years ago—just throwing out a few names, for these crime-unblinking lambs awaiting slaughter, that's the most normal choice.

Lie upon lie, no lie no merit—this is the years-long summary experience of those criminals who've undergone further training.

Liu Haoshu thought again, then whispered: "If the information I give leads to an arrest, does that count as merit?"

"Of course it does, and it counts as major merit." Wu Junhao grew more serious, eyes locking onto Liu Haoshu: "Do you really know him?"

"Possibly seen him—after all, it's been 15 years."

"Tell me, what's his name."

"Fire Ox. That's his self-given nickname; I don't know his real name, but he should be from Northeast China. He usually doesn't speak with a Northeastern accent, but once it slipped out in conversation."

"Another time? You've seen him many times?"

"He came three times. The things he brought were all too hard; I guess some places wouldn't accept them, so he circled back to find me." Liu Haozu said, glancing cautiously at Wu Junhao.

"Do you recognize any of the things he brought?"

"I'm guessing he stole or robbed them." Liu Haozu said this, then let out a long sigh.

Wu Junhao listened, and his eyes lit up, asking repeatedly.

Just this Northeastern accent issue alone could greatly narrow the search scope for the task force.

Liu Haozu only knew it was a major case, not how serious exactly; once he started speaking, he couldn't stop.

"This person is tall, probably around 1.8 meters. Of course, kids these days are tall, but back in our day, 1.8 meters was super tall—you wouldn't see one in a whole class."

"He came straight to the door, had a short temper, but his prices weren't high. Sounded like a thief, though he was too tall and sturdy to be a good thief; it'd be better to be a lackey for some bosses, though, of course, being a lackey isn't comfortable either."

"Each time he came, he exchanged a few thousand yuan worth of stuff—I don't recall anything over ten thousand. He came three times, with intervals of a few months each, though I don't remember the exact months."

At this point, Wu Junhao interrupted Liu Haozu: "I need the exact time!"

"I really don't remember." Liu Haozu said.

"Don't you have a ledger? The time of each transaction should be on it. If you really can't recall, think about what happened back then—I need the exact time." Wu Junhao said firmly. This is the task force's core requirement: merely knowing a nickname isn't enough; multiple verifications are needed to find someone, which is far less convenient than using hotel records. Even if hotel records aren't found, tracing back from the nickname or similar won't waste much effort.

But for now, demanding Liu Haozu state the exact time and hand over the ledger, etc., also has the effect of verifying authenticity.

Liu Haozu naturally didn't want to hand over the ledger—it would amount to admitting his own guilt. But at this time, Wu Junhao had too many resources; he only needed to find someone to explain the policies to him, make him understand the outcome would be the same, and his last struggle would fade.

Two days later.

In the task force's hands, various materials had been gathered—some true, some false, some unclear—with much time spent on verification.

But with the cooperation of criminal investigators from various regions, even if many details needed tracing back to ten, fifteen, or even more years ago, some content was still confirmed.

Among them, the most notable was the phone number Liu Haozu provided.

Although long discontinued, the records from that time still exist; extracting the relevant information made the suspect's location range and time limits much more specific.

The next day, a tattered notebook was solemnly delivered to the case of the three leaders.

"Look here." From countless worn-out notebooks, Shen Yaowei, who found the key information, still wore his mask, completely forgetting to take it off, spoke unclearly: "This is the time and place record from a hotel in Liyuan, all matching Huo Niu. Crucially, a phone number was filled in here—probably requested by the staff. Look, the first few digits match what Liu Haozu gave us; only the last three differ. I guess it's either from the same batch of phone numbers, or just made up."

Phone numbers from 15 years ago were often unregistered; some people would use up the credit on a card and throw it away, and buying multiple SIM cards at once for certain groups is also quite reasonable.

Jiang Yuan carefully examined the evidence Shen Yaowei found and asked: "Can we find the registered person? Sang Gengwei? Is that his real name?"

"It is his real name. The person has been found, matches the physical description and build, age fits, Northeasterner, currently living in Dongping City, hasn't gone abroad." Shen Yaowei said, his face slightly flushed: "Liyuan City was conducting a hundred-day campaign back then, hotel management was strict, so I estimate Sang Gengwei hadn't committed the crime yet."

"Arrest him." Xu Taining came over, took one look, made a decision, and turned to continue communicating with the team.

Unless the case is declared solved, his net will never stop—no matter how reliable the suspect sounds, unless solid evidence is presented, Xu Taining trusts no one.

Wu Junhao still set out in armor.

Song Tiancheng helped contact the local police.

Under Xu Taining's strong request, Wu Junhao brought two fully equipped bald strike teams, totaling 72 people, equipped with bulletproof vobs, stab-resistant vests, shotguns, submachine guns, and pistols, etc. The Dongping City Police Bureau, seeing this, cooperated by providing half a squadron of criminal investigators and corresponding vehicles, shields,, wolf-tooth spikes, police steel forks, first-aid kits, tear gas, hand-foot cuffs, etc. Both sides conducted a rapid but effective pre-battle mobilization; the young officers were high-spirited, eager for merit.

Suspect Sang Gengwei is now 45, lives in a 140-square-meter commercial apartment in Dongping's bustling district, height 180 cm, weight 210 jin, raised a corgi, lounging on the sofa, with a thick-bottomed beer cup beside him that could be called a super dangerous weapon.

Wu Junhao made a complete plan and solemnly submitted the attack plan to the task force.

Jiang Yuan, Liu Jinghui, and Xu Taining each reviewed it and signed their approval.

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

"We caught him." Wu Junhao's voice full of pleasure: "Request on-site interrogation!"

"Agreed!" Jiang Yuan said.

On the other side, Meng Chengbiao immediately pulled him aside, followed the planned procedure, and began the interrogation.

Two hours later, two more names were spit out.

As Liu Jinghui and others had guessed, the three knew each other, contacted during the crime, freely combined, and the Li Huimin case was exactly committed by Sang Gengwei and another person.

Thus, Xu Taining no longer hesitated, paused other teams' investigations, deployed four reconnaissance units, and began arresting people based on Sang Gengwei's confession.

Huang Qiangmin also appeared in the meeting room, gripping his neck, panting heavily, as if reborn after a disaster.

"Looking at it this way, the case is basically solved, right?" Huang Qiangmin asked Jiang Yuan for confirmation.

"Sang Gengwei's footprints match the killer's features; they can be identified as the same." Jiang Yuan said.

"Alright, next is arresting the other two." Huang Qiangmin's mental state visibly improved.

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

"Mm." Huang Qiangmin let out a light sigh, stiffened for a moment, then said: "When Old Wei got married, we all went to drink, I even went to his place to mooch a meal; his wife usually doesn't like cooking, but when we came, she still cooked, and made a full table of good dishes."

The criminal investigators in the meeting room fell silent.

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