Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 14 Working with Peace of Mind
Dongzhou City, Zhongshan Police Station, Gongyuan Road, duty room.

When Chen Shu arrived at the police station, he went straight to the changing room, changed into his police uniform, put on his police gear, and then went to the duty hall. He leaned against the front desk and chatted with Li Chaoyang, who was on duty yesterday.

"Xiao Li, I've found the vehicle information of the kidnappers from yesterday's kidnapping case... Achoo!"

Perhaps he caught a chill early in the morning, or perhaps he was startled by Zhu Chaoran, but Chen Shu sneezed several times since arriving at the police station that morning.

Li Chaoyang, sitting behind the desk on duty, looked at Chen Shu with concern, but Chen Shu didn't seem to care at all and continued to discuss the case.

"Okay, no problem, let's continue. There are three suspect vehicles. This is a photo of the vehicles at the checkpoint, this is a captured license plate, this is a scene simulation diagram, and this is a summary of the investigation report. You can check the vehicle information on the internal network later, and then contact the traffic police... Achoo!"

"Have them provide checkpoint information for these three vehicles over the past two weeks. The kidnappers' car should only have a few days of records in our city. Check it out; the car is definitely among these three. Once everything is ready, print it out, take photos, and send it to the Criminal Investigation Department... Achoo!"

While sneezing, he handed Li Chaoyang the results of his all-night review of video surveillance footage: "By the way, remind them to contact the highway company and check the photos of the entrances and exits. The kidnappers will most likely leave through our city's North Expressway Station."

"Okay. Senior, did you stay up all night?" Li Chaoyang took the documents, looked at Chen Shu who was sneezing incessantly, and said with admiration, "It's not time for shift handover yet, why don't you go to your dorm and lie down for a bit?"

Perhaps because police officers at the police station often work shifts and overtime, they generally have an inexplicable obsession with staying up all night or working through the night.

"Mmm." Chen Shu chuckled, seemingly unconcerned, tapped the front desk with his index and middle fingers together, and continued:
"By the way, after you send the photos, just say it's most likely this car, but not guaranteed. Yeah, this is to leave us a way out."

"Senior brother, I know about this. But I trust you, I'll get on it right away." Li Chaoyang got right to work, picked up his phone and carefully photographed the entire document, then began to organize the relevant information step by step.

Afterwards, Chen Shu took out his phone and sent a WeChat message to Li Meng, informing him that Zhao Hu was very likely at the scene of the crime and might have seen the kidnappers' license plate that night.

Given Li Meng's abilities, she should be able to quickly identify Zhao Hu's weakness. By comparing the two vehicles, she should be able to pinpoint the vehicle soon. Hopefully, checkpoints can be set up at highway entrances and exits as soon as possible to catch them off guard and potentially bring them to justice.

After thinking it over, Chen Shu calmed down and stopped thinking about the kidnapping case.

Next, I'll have to handle the calls and responses properly. After all, there are over thirty reports every day. Look at Xiao Li's huge dark circles under his eyes; he was just laughing at me…

He stood to the side, watching Li Chaoyang's busy figure, and couldn't help but think to himself. Then he got up and left the duty hall, going to the steps at the entrance of the police station.

Standing on the steps, gazing at the peaceful street in the distance, and closing his eyes to feel the warm morning sunlight, he felt as if something was missing in his heart, but in the end he still breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

As if possessed, he turned around and glanced again at the instructor's office on the third floor.

Even in broad daylight, it was impossible to tell if the lights were on inside. However, he had a feeling that Zeng Hong must not have slept well last night either, and was probably sitting in a chair drinking tea, brooding over his affairs.

Chen Shu involuntarily shrank back. In his heart, he was both annoyed by the instructor's nagging and afraid of his silence.

"...Brother Shu!" Zhu Chaoran, who had rested for a night, was full of energy and ran towards Chen Shu with a small transparent plastic bag in his hand. "Steamed buns and milk! Let's eat some while they're still hot."

Seeing Zhu Chaoran panting, Chen Shu felt embarrassed to refuse, so he took the breakfast and asked, "Which leader is on duty today?"

"Teacher Zeng," Zhu Chaoran mumbled, stuffing a xiaolongbao (soup dumpling) into his mouth.

Chen Shu was a little confused: Wasn't Old Zeng in the office all night? Wasn't he on duty yesterday? Could he have spent the night at the station because of this kidnapping case?
Chen Shu was thinking about something when he turned to look at Zhu Chaoran. Considering that Zhu Chaoran had gone straight back to the police station dormitory last night, he should know something.

He considered asking more questions, but seeing him wolfing down his xiaolongbao and occasionally pausing to slurp up milk, he suppressed his curiosity and stood quietly to the side waiting.

Seeing that Zhu Chaoran had finally slowed down his eating pace, Chen Shu asked curiously:
"Fatty, why don't we go to the cafeteria to eat later? Let the auntie make you a bowl of your favorite pork chop noodles, with an egg. Wouldn't that be nice?"

Zhu Chaoran, who was busy enjoying his meal, looked up at Chen Shu and grinned sheepishly, saying lightly, "I'm hungry, I can't wait."

Immediately, he lowered his head and began to eat noisily again.

In the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, he stuffed the last steamed bun in his hand into his mouth, chewed it twice, swallowed it, and then licked his lips left and right with a lingering sense of satisfaction.

Seeing this, Chen Shu felt a pang of guilt. He glanced at the police station compound and realized he had been too selfish, only thinking of his own obsession with solving the case, forgetting the silent support of everyone who had been standing behind him.

Zhu Chaoran didn't get back to his dormitory until midnight last night. Before 5 a.m. this morning, he called Zhu Chaoran and asked him to come over. Li Chaoyang, who was on duty yesterday, spared no effort to assist in handling the kidnapping case during his spare time from receiving the call. Zeng Hong, who was about to retire to the second line and was on duty the next day, also stayed overnight at the station without saying a word.

Chen Shu was preoccupied with the case, his mind constantly focused on the details, the kidnappers, and the hostages. He was so engrossed in the case that he forgot about the people around him who had been working tirelessly behind the scenes.

They were selfless and resolute, even facing countless difficulties with a smile.

It is these individuals who are the true components of a police station; and it is these individual police stations that are the important cornerstone of social prosperity and stability.

He himself was just one of them.

Chen Shu smiled, put the uneaten buns and milk back into the plastic bag, greeted Zhu Chaoran, and walked towards the duty hall with the bag.

Arriving at the front desk of the duty hall, he smiled and pushed the bag to Li Chaoyang before turning back to the main entrance. He and Zhu Chaoran squatted on the steps, offering each other cigarettes and enjoying the moment of tranquility as the sun rose.

'刑大' is short for Criminal Investigation Brigade.

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(End of this chapter)