Chapter 412 - 412 379 Not a Match

Words : 1860 Updated : Oct 15th, 2025

412: Chapter 379 Not a Match 412: Chapter 379 Not a Match Jiang Yuan’s team reacted swiftly, and after quickly gaining control of the hotpot restaurant, three policewomen stepped forward to articulate the consequences to the staff and collected everyone’s cellphones. Jiang Yuan left a few people behind and allowed the hotpot restaurant to continue its business, mainly to prevent any surprises and to avoid startling the snake by hitting the grass. Meanwhile, all the police officers from the Ningtai County Criminal Investigation Brigade were called to assemble in the police compound, ready to mobilize at any moment. Huang Qiangmin even unlocked the armory, taking out all four available Type 92 handguns and equipping Wu Junhao’s squadron with them. The remaining Type 64s and Type 05s were allocated as well, but nobody held much hope for them. More detectives donned bulletproof vests and stab-resistant clothing, armed with shields, batons, and stun guns. Huang Qiangmin also sought help from the riot control brigade and managed to borrow around a hundred men from three squadrons before he finally felt somewhat reassured. As per normal police division, the riot control brigade is responsible for handling unrest and riots and provides armed support to the police force. After all, like the current detective department, half of the detectives are already immersed in paperwork and procedures. Coupled with age and other factors, their combat prowess is actually rather weak. However, the Ningtai County riot control brigade wasn’t particularly strong. There was nothing special about it; it was just an ordinary riot control brigade in the county, with average personnel selection and training standards. Moreover, since Ningtai County seldom encountered serious criminal cases, the riot control brigade lacked experience in dealing with such situations. When Huang Qiangmin mentioned it was a drug trafficking case, they initially responded in a flurry of confusion. Fortunately, their basic training standards were upheld, and in a short time, they organized their gear, got into vehicles orderly, and stood by at the training base. Wu Junhao led a squad of detectives straight to the express service point mentioned by Li Qingsong, taking control of all the couriers and the station manager. Although Li Qingsong only implicated one courier, Wang Luo, as far as the police were concerned, everyone at the express service point was unreliable. An insider could smuggle drugs through the service point; it might be just one person or several people involved. Anyway, with the sufficient manpower available, everyone was first subjected to drug testing, and then their statements were recorded. Meng Chengbiao personally took to the interrogation, and after questioning the group, he began to suspect another young courier. He didn’t wait to interrogate him further when the forensics team matched his fingerprints to those of a former convict, Zhan Yadong. “Come here. Sit down,” Meng Chengbiao started with Wang Luo, but after finding him to be just a minor lackey, he turned his attention to the former convict Zhan Yadong. Zhan Yadong appeared to be in his early twenties and sat down nonchalantly across from Meng Chengbiao. “Why did you steal someone else’s identity?” Meng Chengbiao skipped the usual step-by-step interrogation process and posed the crucial question directly. Zhan Yadong was taken aback, and his expression became less arrogant. After a while, he replied, “Nobody wants to hire someone with a criminal record, so I borrowed an ID card from someone in my village and used it.” “Does the villager know you also use his ID card for drug trafficking?” asked Meng Chengbiao, continuing his assertive interrogation approach. Zhan Yadong looked stunned again, hastily saying, “I’m not involved in drug trafficking.” “You think you’re safe because you’ll pass the drug test, right?” Meng Chengbiao calmly asked, “And if we search your dormitory, we won’t find any drug-related items, correct?” “No,” Zhan Yadong firmly replied, “I don’t touch that stuff.” “So, we won’t find drugs if we search your rental place either?” Meng Chengbiao persisted. Zhan Yadong’s composure slipped again, and then he said, “I only live in the dormitory...” “You don’t usually stay at the Qidong Road Hongyuan place?” Meng Chengbiao gave Zhan Yadong a small smile. Qidong Road is a prime location in Ningtai County, and Hongyuan Residential Area is a relatively new complex. Living there would be incongruous with a courier’s income. Although Zhan Yadong never openly boasted about this aspect of his life nor did he make excessive efforts to hide it, in reality, he often brought women back there. In a small place like Ningtai County, where colleagues who work together for a long time come to know each other’s business, it was common knowledge among his associates that he had an apartment in Hongyuan and frequently changed female companions. It’s often said that people fear both your misfortune and your sudden display of wealth—Meng Chengbiao had just asked around, and it was easy to receive feedback that pointed towards something suspicious. Zhan Yadong, on the other hand, seemed taken aback, still not understanding how his secret had been revealed, and fell into silence. Meng Chengbiao glanced at his phone, as if he had just received some new information, and said, “We’re searching your room right now, just to let you know.” “Do you have a search warrant?” Zhan Yadong blurted out. “You’ll see it shortly,” replied Meng Chengbiao with a smile, then glanced down at his notebook, pretending to write something down before saying, “If you want to take the fall for this case, we can leave it at that. You must be aware of the country’s strong stance against drug trafficking...” Listening to Meng Chengbiao’s unchanging tone, Zhan Yadong felt a chilling draft rising from the base of his spine. The threats of ordinary people might be negligible, but a policeman’s warning is genuine. “Wait, wait...” Sweat had already begun to bead on Zhan Yadong’s forehead. “Who’s your supplier?” Meng Chengbiao didn’t give him time to think. Zhan Yadong hesitated for a few seconds, then started to haggle, saying, “If I tell you, they’ll kill me...” At this point, Meng Chengbiao changed his tone, beginning to explain the policy to Zhan Yadong... In the evening. Wu Junhao, with a gun slung over his shoulder, led three platoons of police officers and drove out 30 kilometers in one go, cleaning out the warehouse Zhan Yadong had disclosed, leaving it completely empty. Although it was already the wee hours by the time they had emptied the warehouse, Wu Junhao was too impatient to wait and called back immediately, “We found about 2 kilograms of drugs. We caught one guard.” The figure of 2 kilograms ranked quite high even in Shannan Province. Huang Qiangmin, who hadn’t slept all night, couldn’t help but reveal a 66.6-degree smile. “Step up the interrogation! Let’s work hard today and try to crack the case,” said Director Huang, rarely speaking with a smile, causing those around him to be somewhat stunned. When Director Huang’s gaze shifted their way, everyone quickly pretended to be very busy. The next day. Early in the morning. Liu Jinghui got up early and rushed to the police station. At this time, he saw Huang Qiangmin, who had not slept all night, brewing a strong cup of tea, wandering around and talking to people. “Director Huang,” Liu Jinghui quickly greeted, asking, “I heard there’s new information about the two homicide cases too.” “It’s more like adding some details to the cases,” Director Huang saw it. From his perspective, those two homicide cases were essentially solved—the first victim was killed by the second, and the second committed suicide. Once they had found the perpetrator, the police’s job was done. As for the specific details of the cases, such as the love and hatred between the two parties, the police weren’t very concerned. Of course, if the second victim hadn’t died or there was another murderer, the police would likely investigate more thoroughly and provide further proof regarding the motive, among other things. Beyond that, the cases were more or less closed. However, Liu Jinghui clearly wasn’t satisfied with this and eagerly said, “Tell me, why did the second one commit suicide?” “Rumor has it, according to what Zhan Yadong disclosed, that the second was trafficking drugs for another group. Moreover, his family had been detained, and he feared he couldn’t provide a clean account if caught. Additionally, he didn’t want to undergo forced drug rehabilitation, so he killed himself,” explained Director Huang with a shrug, saying, “He was supposedly here to establish a drug trafficking route.” “Establish a trafficking route?” Liu Jinghui, unfamiliar with this, repeated it. Director Huang continued, “Whether it’s people or goods that are being transported, the more a route is used, the higher the risk. The second started moving goods from Ningtai, but just as he began, he encountered the first, whom he had known beforehand. The first warned the second to leave, but he didn’t know that the second had already started using drugs and couldn’t control himself. Ultimately, he simply killed the first.” Director Huang paused here, then added, “Of course, this is what the gang associates of the first speculate; it can’t be confirmed anymore.” “That means the first had some humanity,” Liu Jinghui sighed. To him, such details of the case were not boring, yet they were filled with too much of the harsh reality. Director Huang was about Liu Jinghui’s age. He relaxed a bit and sighed, then said, “The first hadn’t started on drugs after all, at least he was a person.” “He treated the second as a human, so it’s not unjust. A drug trafficker was killed by a drug addict. At least, we helped to solve his case,” stated Liu Jinghui, then asked, “What about the goods the second was carrying, were they found?” “They must have been sent away. The remaining clues are all gone, and the case has been taken over by the higher-ups,” said Director Huang, feeling a bit more relaxed. Drug trafficking cases were a heavy burden for him as well. Considering this, Director Huang reminded Liu Jinghui, “Don’t go back before New Year’s for now. Since this was gang-related, we don’t know if one or two small fry have slipped through the net. It’s better for the special task force members to stay in the police dormitory.” Liu Jinghui didn’t mind, and after thinking for a moment, asked, “Staying in the police dormitory is fine. Can we still work on cases then?” “I don’t see a problem. It depends on what cases you all can find,” Director Huang suddenly felt like the cat that was denied its mouse because the barn was empty. Given the current state of Ningtai County, even the cold cases of homicide had been cleared up to more than 20 years ago, and the remaining serious cases were those with severely missing clues. Considering Liu Jinghui’s provincial bureau identity, Director Huang felt somewhat embarrassed.

Chapter 412 - 412 379 Not a Match

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