Chapter 76: Hands Behind the Head

“Monthly sales: 48 units.” Jiang Yuan found a Taobao seller through the image.

Seeing the sales figure, everyone breathed a sigh of relief—the volume wasn’t large; likely only one had been sold within the city.

But if it had been brought in from elsewhere, that would be more troublesome.

Jiang Yuan searched again and compared once more, and could basically confirm that the pattern on the short knife was unique to this seller.

At this moment, Jiang Yuan hesitated slightly and tapped on Taobao Wang Wang, asking: “Should I just contact the seller directly via Wang Wang?”

He hesitated because he wasn’t sure how to phrase it—if the seller didn’t believe him, how could he prove his identity?

Huang Qiang blocked him and said: “This robbery case still needs serious attention. Here’s what we’ll do—first contact Taobao’s official team and get the seller’s formal contact details. We’ll question him officially, to avoid him withholding information or causing other problems.”

Huang Qiang immediately pulled out his phone and began arranging things.

Today’s Taobao sellers are all registered companies with official addresses; if you call and speak politely, they’re usually willing to provide information. Occasionally, if you hit a stubborn one, you just send a team out—no hesitation. Only someone like Jiang Yuan could solve cases sitting in his office.

Wang Zhong and the others excitedly scrolled through the seller’s store.

As a police officer who had been involved in the case from the start, Wang Zhong had once thought there would be no leads. Who could have imagined that Jiang Yuan had found the breakthrough simply by examining the pattern on a knife?

Although the suspect likely wouldn’t mail the weapon directly to his home, with this lead, investigating materials and courier records would bring them very close to solving the case.

In fact, Wang Zhong believed these three robbers probably hadn’t thought this deeply.

Criminals who still used such crude methods to make money in this day and age couldn’t possibly be that meticulous.

If someone was truly meticulous, even if they wanted to commit a crime, robbery wouldn’t be their first choice.

There were far more profitable, lower-risk crimes—criminals who risked over three years in prison for just a hundred thousand yuan had to have somewhat simple thinking.

This time, although the three robbers had left him helpless, it was only because they’d encountered heavy rain and a murder case at the same time, giving them a sliver of chance to escape punishment.

At any other time, this case would have drawn full attention from the First and Second Platoons, with a team of detectives scrutinizing every angle. Back then, they might not have cracked it through the knife—but through interpersonal connections, vehicle records, fencing channels, or simply sweeping through surveillance footage with a full squad.

Of course, now Jiang Yuan had delivered the critical blow in this case.

Purely through technical means, relying on two part-time forensic officers and an ancient, outdated machine, and spending little time—such a high return on investment was why Huang Qiang’s expression had softened.

Day three.

Noon.

After lunch, the courtyard below began to buzz with noise.

Partial officers from the Second, Fourth, and Sixth Platoons, along with the entire K-9 Unit, had been assembled—nearly fifty people, armed with various police equipment, standing in the large courtyard, behind them more than a dozen police cars, imposing and formidable.

Jiang Yuan was also fully dressed, cap properly worn. At Huang Qiang’s command, amid a rapid series of camera flashes, he boarded the central vehicle.

Wang Zhong followed and took the driver’s seat; the backseat held Yan Ge and Wu Jun.

More than a dozen police cars drove out in sequence from the Criminal Investigation Corps.

Wu Jun lit a cigarette as the convoy left the main road, gazing out the window with a sense of nostalgia: “It’s been days since I’ve seen such a big operation—feels great. Kind of awe-inspiring, huh?”

Wang Zhong, driving with excitement, added: “Group operations are awesome—I just saw Chief Liu even brought his gun.”

“The scene won’t be fun,” Wu Jun casually dampened the mood. “The spectacle ends halfway. Once we get there, you’ve got dozens of people running around like chickens and dogs—some trying to fly, others trying to burrow underground. You’ll have to chase them down, scrambling all over the place.”

Jiang Yuan pictured the scene and burst out laughing.

The large force stirred up clouds of dust, rising and falling.

The convoy drove all the way to Zhonghe Village, far north of the northern suburbs, when Huang Qiang’s voice crackled over the radio: “All teams, attention. All suspects are concentrated at the Xiaolin Nongjia Le. All teams, take your assigned positions and report. Once inside the village, move quickly. One more reminder: we’ve confirmed seven suspects total—none of them must escape.”

The standard for police arrests was three to four officers per suspect.

In the Criminal Investigation Corps, tales of a single officer fighting dozens of bandits were considered reckless and condemned.

The operational manual’s rules were hard-won lessons paid for in blood and lives: overwhelm the few with the many, use disciplined, orderly squads to capture petty criminals, and publicly demonstrate the law’s authority, clearly drawing the line of human conduct.

This case was no exception.

After the investigation achieved a breakthrough, Huang Qiang decided to arrest not only the three robbery suspects but also those involved in fencing the stolen goods.

But this greatly increased the number of targets.

Following the principle of overestimating the enemy, Huang Qiang deployed three platoons: those responsible for containment, those responsible for arrest, and armed officers ready for contingencies.

Huang Qiang demanded a clean, swift arrest.

The orders were clear, the preparations thorough—but as the moment of arrest approached, anxieties inevitably surfaced.

Wu Jun and Yan Ge, veteran officers, remained in the vehicles, ready to provide backup.

Jiang Yuan and Wang Zhong, as young technical officers—essentially young, expendable assets—were assigned to the checkpoint.

The moment they took position, they heard shouts from the courtyard.

“Let go.”

“Get down!”

“Move again and we shoot.”

As Wu Jun had said, the once silent, imposing force instantly descended into chaos the moment the arrest began.

The threats of gunfire made Jiang Yuan’s eyelids twitch.

Though online rumors claimed police handguns couldn’t kill a person with a single magazine, forensic workers knew: some people, if you truly touch them, will genuinely die.

If they brought back a corpse, it wouldn’t count as a clean arrest.

Creak.

The back door of the Nongjia Le was gently pushed open.

A young man, around twenty, didn’t even notice his shoelaces were untied—he tiptoed quietly out the door.

Jiang Yuan and Wang Zhong exchanged a glance, then silently stepped forward, blocking the checkpoint.

On either side of them, two officers each performed identical actions: advancing to block the alleyway, hands reaching for batons, eyes locked on the young man exiting the back door.

The young man took two more steps, calmly glanced behind him, nervously pulled out his phone to check it, then firmly clenched his teeth, straightened his back, and raised his head—

And locked eyes with six police officers.

More precisely, he first met Jiang Yuan and Wang Zhong’s gaze, then the officers on the left, then those on the right.

Creak.

The young man retreated back into the Nongjia Le.

“Get on the ground! Hands behind your head!” The shouts from inside resumed.