Chapter 37: Expected to Arrest Ten, Actually Arrested Twelve

Li Xuewu’s words instantly ignited the team members’ enthusiasm.

That shot Li Xuewu fired this afternoon had opened their eyes.

Cases involving firearms are never small—they come with generous subsidies and bonuses.

The team members followed Li Xuewu to collect guns and ammunition—each received a Type 56 rifle and twenty rounds.

After collecting the ammo, the sound of a truck arrived outside the building; Li Xuewu had earlier called the transport team’s duty office to request a GAZ jeep and a truck.

Seeing the vehicles arrive, he ordered the team to board.

With a single “Depart!”, the two vehicles sped out of the steel mill’s main gate.

After driving over ten minutes, they reached the Guanlian Branch’s premises, where the deputy director was already waiting.

Seeing the mill’s vehicle, the deputy director didn’t waste time—he parked his bicycle, grabbed three men, and climbed aboard.

Li Xuewu and the deputy director sat in the back of the GAZ jeep, while a familiar guard sat in the front passenger seat.

Only now did Li Xuewu and the deputy director have a moment to introduce themselves.

The deputy director’s name was Shen Fang.

Damn, “reviewed then released”—sounds like a job title.

Shen Fang carried a stack of summonses, showing each one to Li Xuewu for confirmation of the names.

After reviewing them, Li Xuewu shook hands with Shen Fang and said, “Thanks for your help in apprehending and interrogating these men.”

Shen Fang instantly understood Li Xuewu’s meaning—the steel mill wanted the interrogations held on-site to minimize public impact.

This young security officer at the steel mill might be young, but he’s got plenty of cunning.

Shen Fang didn’t mind—as long as the credit went to him.

The arrests by name went smoothly; with no entertainment options, everyone was fast asleep at home.

Each time, Li Xuewu led Shen Fang’s men over the wall to open the door, then the team surrounded the perimeter; once the door was kicked in, three or four men rushed inside to execute the arrest.

Arresting Gu Ke was particularly thrilling—he wasn’t cuddling his own wife, because when the door was kicked in, the woman screamed: “Even stealing a person? You need armed men for this?!”

Li Xuewu easily found the ledgers in the drawer—five of them—and also uncovered over three thousand yuan in cash, a pile of receipts, and a small box of gold ingots.

The room looked modestly furnished—he wondered if Director Gu ate plain noodles with garlic.

While packing up, Li Xuewu slipped a bicycle ticket into his space—he had too many items to carry.

All cash and vouchers were logged and signed by Shen Fang’s men and team members, then sealed in document bags.

The large group’s arrest operation startled neighbors, who lit lamps and came out to watch.

Trouble arose during the arrest of Wang Jindong—he fired a shot.

Li Xuewu had guessed right.

He knew the moment the team entered the courtyard; when they surrounded him, Wang Jindong hid behind a corner with his gun. As the men kicked in the door, he fired.

Thanks to Li Xuewu’s planning, the men kicking in the door didn’t rush in—the ones ready to charge hadn’t even moved when the gun went off, and everyone outside dropped to the ground.

These guys are all... well-trained!

As the door hung half-open and Wang Jindong couldn’t see outside, Li Xuewu and Shen Fang coordinated, kicked in the window, and lunged in to tackle Wang Jindong; they pinned him down, and Li Xuewu punched his wrist holding the gun, knocking it loose.

Only then did the others enter and cuff him.

Looking at Wang Jindong’s murderous glare, Li Xuewu felt deeply satisfied.

“Never let a grudge last past night”—that’s Li Xuewu, through and through.

Li Xuewu crouched before Wang Jindong, who was being forced to kneel by guards, and sneered: “Wang Jindong, your crimes are exposed!”

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After uttering this dramatic line, he leered at the naked woman hiding under the quilt; Shen Fang asked and learned she was his sister-in-law.

Men turn evil when they get rich! How despicable!

Li Xuewu studied Wang Jindong’s face again.

Hey! A toad playing with a frog—ugly-looking, but fancy in his ways!

The mill’s guards searched thoroughly—even the woman under the quilt was ordered to stand up, wrapped in a cotton quilt, and jump vigorously.

That trick was Shen Fang’s idea—they’d arrived in a hurry and hadn’t brought any female officers, so body searches were impractical; this was the only option.

Surprisingly, it worked—after seven or eight jumps, a gold necklace fell from under the quilt.

The woman, fearing discovery, had taken off the necklace and hidden it somewhere on her body; the forced jumping made it fall out.

Watching Shen Fang hold the gold necklace, Li Xuewu wrinkled his nose in disgust.

Sure enough, women turn evil and get rich!

Seeing Shen Fang still inspecting it closely, Li Xuewu nearly vomited and whispered: “Stop sniffing—it’s not a good smell no matter where she hid it.”

Shen Fang realized his method of identifying gold was sleazy, and sheepishly stuffed the necklace into a cloth bag for the clerks.

Wang Jindong’s home also yielded large sums of cash and gold ingots; the receipts were searched under Shen Fang’s orders, but this time there was no chance to retrieve them—so they left them.

As they shoved Wang Jindong into the vehicle, the truck’s rear bed held ten thieves, mouths gagged, heads covered with military cotton caps, plus two women in floral cotton coats, their faces wrapped in scarves.

Half the mission was complete; the rest would be handled at the mill.

Honestly, this arrest was both satisfying and unexpected.

Satisfying because the two men who’d threatened him were now crouching in the back; unexpected because they’d caught thieves and stumbled upon prostitution.

Who said I only hate gambling and drugs?

The convoy returned to the steel mill as dawn broke.

The gate guards didn’t stop them—they recognized the mill’s vehicle.

At the office building, the team escorted the twelve suspects inside one by one.

The first floor had been temporarily requisitioned; Wei Tong had already arranged interrogation tables and chairs.

First, interrogate the five transport workers; Shen Fang, with one guard, re-interrogated Hu Jinbu; each of his other three subordinates handled one guard, while Liu Fusheng and Wei Tong each handled one, going through them one by one.

Li Xuewu went to Dong Wenhua’s office to report.

Dong Wenhua had arrived the moment they left and had been waiting in his office for news.

Seeing the ashtray on Dong Wenhua’s desk overflowing with cigarette butts, Li Xuewu knew Dong’s inner state wasn’t as calm as his face suggested.

Li Xuewu entered, stood at attention, saluted, and reported: “Teacher, according to the interrogation records, we were supposed to arrest ten, but we caught twelve.”

Dong Wenhua’s hand paused as he lit a cigarette, staring blankly at Li Xuewu, wondering if he’d slept poorly and was babbling.

Li Xuewu felt a bit embarrassed—he’d always shouted the loudest slogan in his past life: “I hate gambling and drugs with all my heart.”

Who knew he’d one day accidentally catch a yellow rabbit while gathering grass?

“Teacher, when we arrested Gu Ke, he was with his mistress; Wang Jindong was even worse—he was in bed with Wang Weidong’s wife, his own sister-in-law...”

Dong Wenhua’s face twisted in disbelief and cursed: “What the hell is this?!”

Li Xuewu was also annoyed—how the hell were they supposed to report this scandalous subplot during a major theft case?

Dong Wenhua slammed the table and roared: “Investigate thoroughly—pin it down!”

Li Xuewu stood at attention and replied: “Yes!”

After reporting, Li Xuewu returned to the office building to supervise.

Two team members kept their rifles and stood guard on the first floor; the rest returned their weapons to the armory.

All team members returned to their dormitories and were given strict orders of silence.