Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 496 Encountering an Old Classmate

Since Shelly left, everyone has been rather listless these past two days when we meet for breakfast in the hotel lobby or when we return in the evening.

They don’t know if it’s just their imagination, but even though Shelly isn’t part of their team, over the years they’ve gotten used to the presence of this cheerful little internet celebrity.

Chen Shu recalled the day Shelly left, when she stood at the lobby entrance carrying a bag full of coffee she had ordered for everyone, saying goodbye to each of them.

The woman in the white dress, without any makeup, standing next to Lin Dakai and speaking softly, looked just like a student discussing academic matters with a teacher, like police cadet Jiang Hai.

The problem lies in the different social circles they belong to.

For most people, their birth truly limits their future growth. It determines not only their starting point but also, and often, in large proportion, their ending point.

Chen Shu, who was sitting in the hotel lobby with nothing to do, took out his phone and was scrolling through his WeChat Moments when he received a WeChat message from Zhao, the local criminal police officer.

A PDF was sent over, and Captain Zhao followed up with a very long voice message.

Envious of the speed of 5G, Chen Shu opened the document in a flash. He flipped through the first few pages and saw that it contained two cases that he had previously investigated with Lao Zhao and his team in the city bureau's forensic laboratory: the murder of a motorcycle driver and the kidnapping case.

Exit the PDF and click on Zhao's voice message.

"Officer Chen, this is Lao Zhao. Thank you for your help last time."

After listening for a short while, Wang Hao rushed in, shouting, "Sorry, there was a traffic jam on the way! Let's go! It'll take most of the day to get there, we have to leave right now! Otherwise we won't get to the prison until night!"

Chen Shu subconsciously locked his phone screen, picked up his travel bag, and quickly followed Lin Dakai and the others outside.

Zhao's voice abruptly stopped.

It was Wang Hao's mainland tour again, and this time the destination was a prison in the Gobi Desert far from the city, which was also the last stop of this NX trip.

The group traveled for about a full day.

Most of the road conditions are still good, but some sections are too hard because the gravel is too hard. Cars can't make potholes, but they can make small, wavy steps, like a washboard. It's not a strong bumpy ride, but a continuous, rhythmic, and jarring bump.

Such a vibration experience is fine for a few minutes, like getting a full-body massage in an electric chair, which seems quite comfortable. But after running for several hours in a row, it's a different story. Besides being dizzy from the vibrations, it feels like all your bones have been shaken apart.

Aside from a few occasional bad road conditions, we also encountered some impressive natural scenery. One particular red desert left everyone who ventured there in awe; the blazing sun shone on the red sand, creating a sunset-like hue that was unique and beautiful.

Because of the strong winds and dust here, we could see dust devils along the way that looked like tornadoes, only they were much smaller.

Besides the scenery, Chen Shu and his companions also encountered a local man named Shao Min who was herding a flock of sheep.

When Shao Min saw strangers slowing down or rolling down their windows, she would wave and greet them warmly. Jiang Hai, following Wang Hao's example, loudly expressed his goodwill in the few Wei dialect phrases he had just learned.

Julie brought a lot of fruits with her, including cantaloupe, walnuts, and raisins. She enjoyed them while admiring the scenery outside the car window, which was quite a unique experience.

Wang Hao and Chen Shu took turns driving, and the journey was relatively smooth. They finally arrived at the prison before nightfall.

Outside the prison area are vast Gobi Desert and sand dunes, but inside, flowers bloom in abundance, and the prison cells are brand new and bright.

While the car was parked outside the prison gate waiting to be registered, Chen Shu and the others got out of the car one after another to stretch their muscles and take a look at the exterior of the prison, as they were feeling uncomfortable from sitting in the car for too long.

Compared to coastal prisons like those in Donghai, this prison is characterized by its high and large outer walls, which are also very thick, and the top of the walls is covered with a dense network of barbed wire.

Four guard towers stood at the corners of the perimeter wall, each equipped with a high-wattage searchlight. As darkness fell, the searchlights were already at full power, slowly sweeping across the area below.

The surrounding environment was extremely quiet, with no sound except for the occasional whistle from the prison and the sound of the wind blowing across the Gobi Desert.

"Buzz buzz buzz." The electric iron gate slowly opened, and Wang Hao called everyone to get into the car and drive into the prison compound. Inside the prison, following the guard's instructions, Wang Hao drove the vehicle through another iron gate and stopped in front of a blue and white duty building.

A police officer with two poles slung over his shoulder stood on the steps in front of the building, waving enthusiastically.

The first floor of the duty building is a canteen exclusively for prison police officers and staff.

The canteen was large and clean. Following the method that Lin Dakai had specifically instructed Wang Hao to arrange with the prison authorities, the group entered a small private room. However, this was only out of respect and courtesy, and the food they ate was the same as that of the prison police.

According to the police officer who received us, the canteen here is contracted out to third-party companies through open bidding. The quality of the food is secondary; the main priority is to ensure cleanliness and hygiene. Because the prison is located in the Gobi Desert, raw materials have to be transported daily by truck from the city, so it's impossible for them to be of high quality or fresh.

After finishing their meal, the group was led by the police officer on foot into the first prison area. They happened to see a large procession of more than 100 prisoners walking behind a four- or five-meter-high iron fence amidst the clanking of their shackles.

They were all dressed in blue prison uniforms, some of them wearing iron shackles. There were quite a few Han Chinese among them, but the majority were Wei people with deep-set eyes and high noses.

Chen Shu and the others all stopped in their tracks, watching the line of prisoners pass by. After they had all passed, they followed the prison police officer who had greeted them into the office building, and then went around to the innermost conference room.

This was another exchange of experiences.

Having spent so much time in the meeting rooms of various government agencies and business units lately, Chen Shu was getting a bit tired, but he couldn't resist the politeness and had to stay patiently.

Privately, Chen Shu put himself in their shoes. Despite their smiling faces, the group of police officers sitting opposite him were probably also complaining about the sudden overtime.

During the conversation, Chen Shu learned that this prison was essentially like a local public security bureau. It had guards, special police, inspectors, prison investigators, and administrative offices—basically everything a branch bureau had. It also had features the branch bureau lacked, such as a resident procuratorate, disciplinary inspection commission, police, and a hospital.

The prison warden's rank was also one level higher than that of the head of the Zhengming District Public Security Bureau, where Chen Shu worked; he was a Level C official.

"By the way, the police officers from our Seventh Prison District who came to Xinjiang to provide assistance are from your Donghai Province. I think they came from..." A female police officer with middle-aged hair and wheat ears draped over her shoulders, who looked like a prison leader, chatted with Lin Dakai after the meeting.

“Zhang Wei from the traffic police team in Dongzhou City,” a policeman standing nearby reminded him.

"Yes, yes, Zhang Wei." The female leader realized what she meant and smiled awkwardly. "Every year, batches of people come to help, but every time we remember their names, they're gone. I'm ashamed."

Zhang Wei? Could it be him? Chen Shu, standing behind Lin Dakai, was a little surprised. Could it be that he just happened to run into an old classmate after traveling such a long distance?

Lin Dakai gripped the female leader's hands tightly, saying, "We're only staying for a short time, but you've dedicated your entire lives to this Gobi Desert. It's so hard, so incredibly hard."

"No, no, now that the road is open, it's easy to go back home if something really happens."

Sigh, Chen Shu wore a smile on his face, but sighed repeatedly in his heart. He could only go back home when there was something going on at home.

Such working conditions are understandable given the low admission scores of the local provincial police academy. In contrast, police academies in coastal provinces across China have increasingly higher admission scores.

For example, the Donghai Police Academy, which Chen Shu attended in his early years, was a junior college at the time, but the admission scores of the students were close to those of first-tier universities, and even the scores of the female students were dozens of points above the first-tier university admission line.

After the meeting, the police officers in charge of hospitality in the prison ward led Lin Dakai, Chen Shu, and their group to a special guesthouse. The rooms weren't large, but they had hot water, air conditioning, and even Wi-Fi, and each person had their own room. In this desolate place, these were excellent conditions.

It is said that the drinking water problem was only resolved last year.

After returning to his room, it was already late. Chen Shu took a shower and lay on the bed, casually sending Zhang Wei a WeChat message asking for his opinion. Unexpectedly, the other party immediately sent a video call.

When the video call was answered, Zhang Wei, dressed in a police uniform, appeared on the screen with a smile on his face, but the fatigue hidden in the corners of his eyes was hard to conceal.

"Chen Shu, you've arrived?"

(End of this chapter)