Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 229 Arrival at the Scene
The following afternoon at 2 PM, at the Starbucks opposite Building 1 of Xingyun Building on Qiantang Road.

Li Chaoyang deliberately chose an outdoor table and chairs to sit down with Xu Lei. The two chatted casually, but their attention was fixed on the other side of the road.

"Brother Chaoyang, I was so excited last night when I found out I was being assigned to a field mission that I couldn't sleep all night!" Xu Lei said excitedly.

Li Chaoyang glanced at the other person, expressionless: "This case involves so many people, it's a sure thing we'll have to work through two nights. You've already worked through one night here, I hope you don't collapse from exhaustion in the next few days."

Xu Lei changed the subject: "Brother Chaoyang, I couldn't sleep last night anyway, so I memorized all the photos of that group of people. I have a photographic memory!"

Li Chaoyang joked, "That's perfect. You sit here and keep watch, I'm going to lie down in the car for a while to rest. We're going to have a big fight tonight."

The police profession inherently means that there are no normal, regular rest periods. Seizing every opportunity to rest is one of the most basic skills for a frontline police officer.

"Brother, sit down for a bit, I'll go get the coffee from the front desk, it should be ready soon!" Xu Lei pushed aside the table and chairs, got up and ran into the shop.

Li Chaoyang glanced back at Xu Lei's retreating figure. To be honest, he couldn't help but envy the passion Xu Lei had for his police profession.

He had experienced that same excitement during his internship. Unfortunately, after graduating and working in the police station for so many years handling cases big and small, he had long lost the mindset he had when he was young.

All I want every day is to live peacefully and without too much overtime or shift work. I'd be content with that. At most, I just hope to have more free time to go on blind dates and find a wife soon.

But with this relentless work schedule, even finding a silly woman is difficult for him!

Li Chaoyang looked around the road and, not seeing many people, took out his phone and took a few quick glances at the suspect's face when no one was around.

Knowing that the case was being handled today, he went to bed very early last night.

Qiantang Road, a corner a few hundred meters from Building 1 of Xingyun Building

Inside the Santana!
Two tall, sturdy young men in blue work clothes were sitting in the back row, looking down at the multi-functional hardware bags slung across their chests.

"This outfit is not bad, it looks decent enough. But the items are a bit too new, it's not quite there yet," Chen Shu said with a smile from the driver's seat.

Yu Yu, who was squeezed to one side by two young workers in work clothes, leaned against the car door, examining their attire with a smug look: "This is the real deal, genuine electrician's uniform from the Xingyun Building. Hehe, the building's property management bought it from Xiao Zhang on Feixiaqiao Road!"

The reporter sitting in the passenger seat, Zhang Yang, had an oval face and large eyes, flawless from both afar and up close. She lacked a certain feminine softness, but possessed a pure and lively beauty characteristic of a young woman. Such a serene Zhang Yang clearly didn't seem like a seasoned online celebrity reporter.

From beginning to end, she simply sat quietly to the side, listening or watching, completely unlike the reporters Chen Shu remembered who always showed off or tried to attract attention.

Chen Shu glanced furtively at his neighbor, then said seriously, "If Li Chaoyang discovers that a suspect has brought a victim into the company, we'll begin preparations. Once the victim leaves the company, we'll proceed according to plan."

"Yu Yu, I'll trouble you to go directly to the power room in their company building and cut off the power to apartment B on the 13th floor; Wang Chongming will take a few people to the lobby reception and offices on the first floor to take over the property management's landline."

Yu Yu: "Okay, no problem. I practiced yesterday while the building was being inspected for fire safety and plumbing, so I won't make any mistakes."

Chen Shu said sincerely, "Yu Yu, thank you so much for bringing you along to help with this case."

Yu Yu is a community police officer at Zhongshan Police Station. His daily work mainly involves basic community management, such as door-to-door investigations, fire safety inspections of businesses, and management of key personnel in the community. He does not need to participate in case investigations. His direct superior is Wu Haojie, the deputy director of the station in charge of community affairs. He came here purely to help out.

Yu Yu: "We're from the same station, we see each other all the time, no need to be polite! Look at my Xiaoqiang, now people in the station who don't know him think he's been transferred to your plainclothes team. To be honest, if I were younger, I would have gone to work for you in the security department too."

Xiaoqiang's main job is as a community assistant at the police station. This is mainly because the station doesn't manage auxiliary police officers very strictly. Xiaoqiang often goes to the plainclothes team and the security team when he's not busy, and he also works overtime without pay when things get busy. Everyone treats him like one of their own.

"Xiao Qiang is a good kid! But isn't 996 good enough for your community? Why do you have to come here and work 007? Hehe, that's definitely the thinking of someone who's never worked a case before."

Chen Shu tugged at his newly worn Country Garden five-star general's uniform: "I'll take these two electricians straight upstairs in a bit. Zhu Chaoran, Xiaoqiang, have you checked all the equipment in the bags?"

Zhu Chaoran zipped up his bag, patted it, and said with satisfaction, "Leaving aside Xiao Qiang's bag, this one bag of mine is enough to take care of a small casino."

Xiao Qiang scoffed: "You're just stuffing handcuffs, fingernails, and evidence bags into your bag, but not any weapons? Are you planning to hide in the back when we rush into the scene later?"

Zhu Chaoran blushed and was about to argue when Chen Shu, who was sitting in the front row, pressed him down.

Chen Shu sternly criticized, "Xiao Qiang, what's with the 'hiding' between colleagues? It sounds awful. I've told you several times, you must follow behind the police officers on these kinds of missions."

Xiao Qiang glared at him: "Damn it! You're looking down on us! What, why can't we auxiliary police officers rush in first! I'm a retired reconnaissance soldier!"

The atmosphere inside the carriage suddenly plummeted to freezing point. No one expected that Xiao Qiang, who usually respected Chen Shu the most, would suddenly start arguing back.

Yu Yu, who was standing nearby, quickly tried to smooth things over: "Last year, Xiao Qiang borrowed two thousand yuan because of a predatory loan scheme, but was forced to repay five thousand yuan. He's still upset about it."

Xiaoqiang got tricked too??

The others in the car were momentarily dazed, but their gazes toward Xiao Qiang now held a hint of pity.

Zhu Chaoran reached out and patted Xiaoqiang on the shoulder: "I forgive you."

"Pah!" Xiao Qiang slapped Zhu Chaoran's hand away, opened the car door, and fled in panic.

Zhu Chaoran laughed and ran out with Yu Yu.

Only Chen Shu and Zhang Yang remained in the car.

At this moment, Zhang Yang finally spoke up and asked, "I'm a little curious, since Xiao Qiang is ambitious, why can't you give him a chance?"

Chen Shu felt a pang of sadness: "What's the use of ambition? They're not on the official payroll, so there's practically no room for advancement. As a police auxiliary officer, they work overtime every few days, and they only earn a little over four thousand yuan a month. Do you expect them to risk their lives for you?"

Therefore, when there's a case, the police have to be on the front lines. If a police officer gets injured, the state will cover for them. Xiaoqiang is young and naive. If he gets really injured, he'll be the one suffering in the long run.

(End of this chapter)