"Here, take a look. If there are no problems, just put your thumbprint at the end."
Shen Xin stepped forward and showed the printed statement to Li Jin.
When Zhang Jian took out that circuit board, Li Jin confessed, voluntarily admitting to everything.
He was the "man of few words but ruthless action" from online, the one who had tinkered together the technology to crack the anti-theft systems of smart electric bikes. He then sold it to Li Hao and Fan Jie for 20,000 and 200,000 yuan, respectively.
He admitted to everything without reservation, and the evidence could now be fully substantiated.
Zhang Jian breathed a sigh of relief.
He really hadn't expected that just as they were about to hand the case over to the sub-bureau, they had somehow managed to solve it themselves.
With the case solved, Shen Xin wanted to breathe a sigh of relief too.
But for some strange reason, the image of Li Jin's unnatural smile kept flashing in his mind.
'There was no mistaking it. My eyes weren't playing tricks on me.' For that one instant, from an angle invisible to both Zhang Jian and the ceiling camera, Li Jin had smiled.
It wasn't a bitter, self-deprecating smile, but one of pure contempt.
That smile was like a fishbone stuck in his throat, preventing Shen Xin from relaxing. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was still wrong.
'But there aren't any problems!'
Li Jin had confessed to everything he was supposed to.
The details of the transactions, the illicit funds... he had spent tens of thousands lavishly, and the rest wasn't in a bank. He had packed it in a small bag and hidden it in a locker at the high-speed rail station.
Everything checked out.
But Shen Xin just felt that something was wrong.
Li Jin hurriedly scanned the statement and pressed his thumbprint on it without hesitation.
He handed the statement back to Shen Xin and suddenly asked, "That grandson of Uncle Wu's... have you helped look for him?"
He had also explained his relationship with Wu Zhicun.
Li Jin was an orphan. His parents died young, and he grew up in the countryside of Xu Province, relying solely on his grandmother.
He was a good student, always one of the top in his school, but his family was poor. Just as his compulsory education ended, his grandmother suffered a stroke that left her paralyzed and bedridden.
Gritting his teeth, Li Jin chose to drop out of school to support his family and take care of his grandmother.
He rushed around trying to get her medical treatment, but in the end, his grandmother passed away after only a year and a half.
From then on, he was truly an orphan.
He missed his chance to go to college and entered the workforce early to make his own way in the world.
He was only seventeen at the time, all alone, and he had tasted the full spectrum of human kindness and indifference.
According to him, he felt that Wu Zhicun was a lot like his late grandfather, and since they were both lonely souls, they got along very well.
When he learned that Wu Jiawang had been missing for seven years and the police weren't helping to find him, he gave Wu Zhicun a crooked idea: if the police came to investigate, Wu Zhicun should hold firm and not say a word, threatening them to find his grandson first.
He was smart. He knew that once Fan Jie was caught, it was only a matter of time before the police tracked him down.
On this point, Li Jin claimed he was acting out of good intentions.
But Shen Xin didn't think so.
It wasn't that Shen Xin wanted to assume the worst of people, but he felt Li Jin was definitely trying to kill two birds with one stone: helping Wu Zhicun find his grandson while also concealing his own tracks.
Zhang Jian said, "If there's an issue, we will investigate it. That's not something you need to worry about right now."
He opened the door and called out, signaling for someone to take Li Jin to a holding cell.
Li Jin seemed a little dissatisfied with this answer, but he just furrowed his brow slightly before obediently getting up and leaving.
After he had left and was some distance away, Zhang Jian suddenly spun around and hugged Shen Xin tightly, thumping him on the back repeatedly.
"Captain Zhang, ow, ow, ow!"
Shen Xin grimaced.
Zhang Jian laughed heartily and let go, the gloom on his face completely wiped away. "Xiaoshen, we really have you to thank for this one!"
Without the final clue provided by Shen Xin, the case wouldn't have gone so smoothly.
Then tomorrow, it would be transferred to the sub-bureau, and Yunlin Police Station would be completely done with it.
"No, we have to celebrate this properly," Zhang Jian added.
The case was handled by the station and ultimately closed by the station. Perfect.
As soon as he finished speaking, Song Liang and Chen Chao pushed the door open and came in.
"That's right. This time, we really do need to celebrate properly," Song Liang said with a broad smile.
Zhang Jian, Wukaishan, and the others had barely slept for three days, investigating over eight thousand people. Someone had even been hospitalized after their high blood pressure flared up from exhaustion.
"And Xiaoshen, although your way of investigating is a bit unconventional, that's exactly the kind of unconventional thinking I like to see. Good job!" Song Liang clapped Shen Xin firmly on the shoulder.
Shen Xin hadn't even finished his probationary period yet. For a trainee officer to make such a crucial contribution to such a major case—who would believe it if you told them?
"Song Suo, don't just praise me. How about something more tangible, like a day off?" Shen Xin asked tentatively.
These past few days, ever since the case began, Shen Xin hadn't had a single good night's sleep.
Although the entire investigation had only taken a few days, he felt mentally exhausted.
Racking his brains every day for clues and ways to solve the case was a truly draining experience, both physically and mentally.
"This kid," Song Liang said with a laugh. "No problem. Tomorrow it is. You get a good day off to rest up. And Zhang Jian, you and your guys too. You've all been working yourselves to the bone these past few days."
"Thank you, Song Suo."
Shen Xin quickly thanked him.
True to his word about celebrating, as soon as things wrapped up, Zhang Jian dragged everyone out to a restaurant.
They had all gotten approval, so they were allowed to have a couple of drinks to unwind.
Shen Xin had a low tolerance for alcohol, so he declared right from the start that two liang of baijiu or two bottles of beer would be enough to knock him out.
As it turned out, he did indeed drink that much, but it was the two combined.
Baijiu plus beer. The moment he stepped out of the restaurant, a wave of hot summer air hit him, and the world instantly started to spin.
Zhang Jian and the others were saying their goodbyes.
Shen Xin stood rooted to the spot, silently trying to get his bearings and figure out how he was going to get home.
Just as he was thinking, someone slung an arm over his shoulder.
It was Zhang Jian.
He was drunk too. He had one arm slung drunkenly over Shen Xin's shoulder while waving with the other toward the side of the road. "Over here!"
Through his blurry vision, Shen Xin looked up and saw a girl.
She was quite tall, wearing a white sailor-collared blouse with puff sleeves and black wide-legged shorts that revealed a pair of long, fair, pencil-slim legs. She was also carrying a small bag.
What kind of shoes she was wearing, Shen Xin couldn't tell; his head was spinning too much to see clearly.
But those fair legs had certainly made an impression.
So slender, and so long.
And so fair!
She walked briskly toward them, the summer night breeze lifting her long hair and revealing a neck as white as jade.
Shen Xin blinked, trying hard to see the girl's face clearly, but he was just too dizzy to make it out.
He just had a hazy impression that the girl's features were particularly striking and well-defined. She was definitely a beauty.
"Dad!" the girl called out complainingly.
Shen Xin froze. 'Who is she calling?'
"Qianqian."
Zhang Jian grabbed the girl's arm with his other hand and pointed at Shen Xin. "My little brother, Shen Xin. Call him Uncle."
His head throbbing, Shen Xin felt that form of address wasn't quite right.
Fortunately, the girl didn't actually call him that. She grabbed Zhang Jian's arm and chided, "Dad, just how much did you drink?"
"Not much. I'm happy today."
Zhang Jian pointed at Shen Xin. "Qianqian, I'm leaving Xiaoshen in your hands. You have to get him home safe and sound for me. The kid can't hold his liquor. I'm going to walk around a bit more with your Uncle Wu and the others to sober up."
As he spoke, he slapped Shen Xin's back forcefully a couple more times, then pointed proudly at the girl and introduced her, "Zhang Qian, my daughter. A college student!"
Shen Xin vaguely sensed the girl rolling her eyes. Then, after being slapped twice by Zhang Jian, he couldn't hold it in any longer. With a "BLERGH," he bent over and threw up.
A startled cry rang out beside him.
Snot and tears streaming down his face as he vomited, Shen Xin dimly saw that he seemed to have thrown up on the girl's pair of "ice cream" shoes.
'Fuck, this is beyond embarrassing.'
At that moment, only that one thought filled Shen Xin's mind.