Chapter 360 - 360 327

Words : 2054 Updated : Oct 9th, 2025

360: 327 360: 327 Meng Chengbiao spent the whole morning organizing theft case files, and sneaked in a nap at noon. Investigating homicide cases is extremely exhausting, so taking the opportunity to sleep whenever possible is an essential skill if one is to survive without suddenly dropping dead or losing their hair. Meng Chengbiao mainly felt that Jiang Yuan’s plan might take several days, so he immediately started preparing for a protracted battle. When he woke up, he even took the time to take a shower, cleaning himself thoroughly, including his hair and groin. By the time he came out, several missed calls were already on his phone. Meng Chengbiao’s heart skipped a beat, and he instantly became alert. He dialed back while getting dressed and asked, “Wang Chuanxing? What’s up?” “Captain Jiang matched a lock trace to a small-time thief, well, he’s an old thief now. We’re preparing to head out and arrest him,” Wang Chuanxing shouted, also getting himself geared up. “That quickly?” Meng Chengbiao hurriedly got dressed as well. “Nine months prior to the case, there were more than four break-in attempts by him, but we never caught him. In one case, we found half a fingerprint, and Captain Jiang made a match, which led us to lock down this old thief.” “So, he’s completely self-sufficient, huh?” Meng Chengbiao said speechlessly. In essence, Jiang Yuan used the traces from the tumblers inside the locks from thefts within the nine months before the case, matched them to four thefts, and then used the traces from those thefts to find the suspect. He could imagine that the reason for matching to four thefts was definitely that evidence left from the first three thefts was not enough to directly match to the suspect. In other words, Jiang Yuan would take one case, collect all evidence from it, and if that wasn’t enough, pick another case. By that calculation, just during the time Meng Chengbiao slept, Jiang Yuan had already thoroughly gone through at least four or five cases. Meng Chengbiao didn’t know how to describe the feeling, but his spine felt rather chilly. “Where are you guys?” Meng Chengbiao, now fully dressed, began to sprint out the door. Wang Chuanxing said, “Wait for us at the Gui Shui Road intersection, see if you can catch us. If not, wait for us on our way back.” “Okay,” Meng Chengbiao said, running and asking, “What’s the situation with the suspect? What’s his name?” “Wang Kedian. He was 23 when the crime happened and now he’s 31. He’s been in jail twice, once for a year and once for a year and a half. After his release, he opened an inn by the river on the outskirts of the city...” Wang Chuanxing gave the rundown. Meng Chengbiao uttered an “Mhm,” planning to do his own search later on. He was known as the interrogation expert of the team; it was best for him to be present when arresting significant criminals. At this very moment, Wang Chuanxing and others also got dressed in stab-proof vests, put on their gloves, hung their police gear, and fully armed themselves before hopping into the police car, speeding away rapidly. The equipment of police officers in the provincial capital compared to those in county towns is not just a little bit better. For a Criminal Investigation Squad in Ningtai County, what they normally wore is what they would wear for arrests too, without any second set of gear to change into. The police in Changyang City were different; for slightly more significant arrests, they would wear equipment like stab-proof vests. In small-scale urban arrests or combat, stab-proof vests were akin to divine artifacts. Though they slightly encumbered movement, they could withstand knife slashes and jabs, and even bayonets were no issue—they protected nearly all vital organs except for the head and the groin, which makes it seem rather useless when put that way. One could imagine that if street gangsters back in the day could have donned stab-proof vests, a dozen or so spirited young men lined up for a charge could win a street fight on the spot, as the opposing blades could only tear their clothes. The police, wearing simple gear, knocked on the inn’s door, and once it was opened, they rushed in and pinned the innkeeper against the wall. The innkeeper was chubby with a head of long, black braids, the tail of which was wrapped into a big bun, embellished with trinkets similar to a string of beads. The police officers, ready for any potential resistance, pushed everyone they saw away from the yard. “It’s alright, it’s a mistake. The police have gone crazy catching drug dealers; they jump at shadows. Perhaps it’s just a malicious tip-off from competitors...” The innkeeper was still comforting the guests. “Wang Kedian, you’ve committed a crime, come with us,” Wang Chuanxing recognized this namesake, although the photo and the person had noticeable differences, but it was a basic identification skill for the police. The innkeeper’s first instinct was to call out his real name. He hesitated, flustered, and said quietly, “You’ve got the wrong person.” “No mistake.” Wang Chuanxing lifted up his hair and pulled out a photo to compare, then showed it to him, saying, “Take a look for yourself, do they match?” Years had passed; Wang Kedian had gotten fatter, older, and uglier. Just judging by the photo, one might even argue that they looked like brothers. But Wang Kedian, who had been reformed by the government, seeing over a dozen people bursting in, was on the verge of collapse, without the energy to argue anymore. This was not simply a thief’s apprehension setup. “I’ve already washed my hands of it,” Wang Kedian said quietly. “Just answer if it’s you. What’s your name?” Wang Chuanxing’s voice grew louder and more severe. He really needed to confirm if they had caught the right person. With no will left to resist, Wang Kedian lowered his head and said, “I’m Wang Kedian.” “We’ve got the right guy,” Wang Chuanxing nodded, and the police officer beside him cuffed Wang Kedian. The guests at the inn were terrified, watching Wang Kedian being taken away, when someone suddenly shouted, “Boss, what about the deposit?” “Wait for me to come back, I’ll be back tomorrow!” Wang Kedian struggled violently for a moment. The tenant whispered, “What if he can’t come back?” His companion replied softly, “Then we’ll just have to wait for time to reverse.” Wang Kedian listened to their conversation, his emotions suddenly collapsing: “Without me, who’s going to clean your toilets, who’s going to make your breakfast? I’ve cleaned up my act, turned over a new leaf running this guesthouse; I’ve cleaned more toilets than the bags I’ve snatched, ending up so indebted I don’t even recognize myself anymore. If you guys can clean a toilet cleaner than a pocket, I’d accept it, I’d accept it all!” A group of detectives let him vent, knowing that now was the perfect time to gather information. Just like now, he had already confessed to the flow of funds. It was a good start. The squad. Meng Chengbiao ultimately didn’t make it to the arrest, so he went straight to the interrogation room at the squad headquarters to prepare. After Wang Kedian was searched and brought in, Meng Chengbiao was fully briefed on the background and current situation. Thud. Meng Chengbiao placed a thick stack of files on the table, pretending they were case files and evidence. It was the most basic psychological tactic for the pretrial investigation. Coincidentally, it almost always worked. Wang Kedian also shuddered. He was a seasoned thief who had done stints in prison and detention. He was considered a high-level criminal, an LV2 and above. But the environment of the interrogation room, coupled with the circumstances he found himself in, could easily confuse him. It was like those who traded stocks or gambled on sports; when they weren’t actively buying stocks or betting, they often made clear and accurate judgements. But once they actually joined in, the more they spent, the less clear their minds became. Wang Kedian felt the same way. He didn’t know how much Meng Chengbiao knew, but his psychological defenses were already under immense pressure due to the hefty consequences. “Do you know what case we’re investigating?” Meng Chengbiao began slowly after his colleague had made a routine inquiry. Wang Kedian chuckled and shook his head lightly, “I really don’t know. I’ve turned over a new leaf, decided to be a good man. Look at my guesthouse. Although not many people come by, the income isn’t low. I’m lacking nothing now...” “Nine years ago, on April 11th, apartment 1507 in Block B of Longhua Tiandi in Changyang City was burglarized, losing 2,700 yuan in cash, 21 pieces of jewelry, and one camera...” “May 3rd. Apartment 702 of Building 16 in phase two of Sunshine City was burglarized, two laptops, one external hard drive, one iPad, and one cell phone gone...” “June 15th. Apartment 1801 in Building 3 of Phoenix Lake was burglarized, suffering a loss of 7,200 yuan, seven pieces of gold and silver jewelry, twenty unopened beauty products...” “July 1st, apartment 701 in the building number 8 of Shuidong Water Affairs Family Courtyard...” Meng Chengbiao listed four cases in one breath, which made Wang Kedian breathe a sigh of relief—for thefts, there were four of them... Wait, how long would four theft cases get him? While Wang Kedian was still pondering, Meng Chengbiao slammed his hand on the desk, “I don’t care about these four cases.” “Huh?” Wang Kedian looked up, confused. If you don’t care, then why are you interrogating me? “Where were you on November 2nd?” Meng Chengbiao’s eyes were sharp, cutting right to Wang Kedian’s Achilles’ heel. Wang Kedian was stunned, then his face started to turn a waxy yellow. He had been a reformed man for a few years now and his expression management wasn’t as poised as it used to be. Most importantly, as a former high-level criminal, he knew the police’s tactics and interrogation methods. But because he knew, when he thought about it, he could link the cases Meng Chengbiao mentioned together in his mind. At that moment, Wang Kedian’s thoughts grew complicated. “You can’t escape,” Meng Chengbiao’s voice was deep, “Confess and you’ll be treated leniently, resist and you’ll be dealt with severely. You’re an old hand at this; I don’t need to educate you on the policy, do I?” Wang Kedian chuckled hollowly, unclear if there was sarcasm in his laugh. “How did you... What makes you think that I committed these cases?” Wang Kedian asked again, almost as if to challenge. Meng Chengbiao couldn’t help but smile inwardly. To him, when a suspect says that, it’s like a young shopper asking “Can it be cheaper?”—it’s the last struggle before giving in to pay the price. “Just tell me, did you commit these cases or not?” Meng Chengbiao wouldn’t reveal any information. If this went into litigation, a suspect could hire a lawyer and gain access to details by examining the files, which could be used to debate the validity of the evidence. However, in China, a suspect can’t acquire this information during the interrogation stage. For Meng Chengbiao to disclose even a fraction of the cases was already quite rare. He did this partly because he had a great deal of evidence, especially since the hooks and picks Wang Kedian used had been found during the search. There was already enough evidence to convict him even without Wang Kedian’s testimony. Jiang Yuan could also use the same method to trace and find more cases. And Meng Chengbiao’s main target was a homicide case. To extract a confession for the murder, he was willing to give away the theft cases to Wang Kedian. It was all the death penalty either way; why split hairs over a bit of sentence length? Wang Kedian also realized this and his complexion shifted from waxy yellow to deathly pale.

Chapter 360 - 360 327

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