Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 364 Robbery
Everyone cheered Zhu Xiubo on, watching as he finally managed to pull Xu Yinghui out of the air conditioner unit duct after a great deal of effort.

Xu Yinghui, who was hanging in mid-air, seemed to have lost consciousness after a sudden loss of energy. A group of people hurriedly and clumsily pulled him into the room through the security window, laid him flat on the bed, handcuffed him, and then covered him with a blanket.

"We've already called 120, and they'll be here soon. But no matter what, Xu Yinghui is still alive, so he's basically caught. Now at least half of the fraud case can be closed. Next up is the Xu Yinghui murder case, which we'll have to solve together."

Xu Xiangjie instructed the police officers at Longquan Police Station to keep a close watch on Xu Yinghui and prevent him from escaping under any circumstances. He then dialed Wang Guofeng's number to ask whether the Criminal Investigation Division should be involved in the case.

"After all, they helped us arrest Zhang Yanxia and did a lot of work in the interrogation. Our Economic Investigation Department really doesn't have enough people to handle this murder case, so let's give the credit to Shao Yongkang. I heard that Shao Yongkang and that cat over there have a good relationship, so I hope they can solve this case quickly so we don't get distracted. Lao Xu, have Cao Chen stay there to make the liaison. After Shao Yongkang arrives, you bring Zhuang Tao back."

At this point, Wang Guofeng paused, seemingly considering how to phrase his words to avoid being misunderstood as a doting father. He quickly found an explanation and continued to Xu Xiangjie, "The case isn't completely closed yet. We still need to continue investigating the Kanke Brothers. Just now, I received the results from the Municipal Bureau's intelligence center; there's no indication that the Kanke Brothers left Zhang City. There's even surveillance footage of the two appearing in the jurisdiction of the Baimiao Police Station. In other words, these two rats are still hiding in our territory! Heh… If Xu Yinghui is just a guy who'd risk his life for money and women, then without a doubt, the Kanke Brothers are the mastermind."

"Of course, it's also possible that the Kaokao Brothers are just someone's lackeys. Otherwise, I really can't explain why they would do so much trouble from beginning to end."

Lin Ge pondered silently beside him.

In short, at this point, Xu Yinghui's fraud case can be considered closed on the surface.

The subsequent interrogations and such were never a concern for Lin Ge. He had arrested countless suspects in the past few months, but Lin Ge always focused solely on making arrests and ignored the follow-up.

How the interrogation was conducted, how the case was closed, how the report was written—Lin Ge neither cared about nor inquired about these things. After all, no one could steal his credit, and he had absolutely no interest in how or why the suspect committed the crime. At most, he might occasionally think about what kind of punishment someone deserved for their crimes. But these things usually didn't yield results in weeks or months, and after a few times, he became too lazy to pursue them further.

Soon, having received the news, Shao Yongkang led his muscular men to the foot of the building.

The methods used by the First Squadron of the Criminal Investigation Brigade are completely different from those of the Economic Crime Investigation Detachment. As soon as Shao Yongkang arrived, he forcefully announced the clearing of the scene. All irrelevant personnel except for the police support from Longquan Police Station had to leave.

This guy also set up a cordon nearly 100 meters long, prohibiting anyone from entering or leaving the cordon.

However, when he learned that this "community" consisted of only one building with just two units, and that the cordon had blocked all the residents upstairs, he cursed and shortened the cordon, but still sent a few people to block all the entrances and exits of the building.

"Hey! Mimi, long time no see!"

The first thing Shao Yongkang did upon arriving on the sixteenth floor was to greet Lin Ge.

As for Cao Chen and Xu Xiangjie from the Economic Crime Investigation Division, he pretended not to see them. After all, in his eyes, the Economic Crime Investigation Division was a bunch of spineless women, each one timid and afraid of this and that, not even as good as his nemesis Zhai Xiaojun.

"Captain Shao, Xu Yinghui needs to be taken to the hospital immediately; his frostbite is quite severe. As for the main suspect, Ai Qing, she has been apprehended in the next apartment. We'll have to leave the finding of her hidden accomplice to you."

Xu Xiangjie patiently reported the situation to Shao Yongkang.

"Alright, you can leave now! As for the fraud case, I'll give you a result once I close the case."

Shao Yongkang waved his hand impatiently, not accepting Xu Xiangjie's approach to the case. The First Squadron of the Criminal Investigation Brigade had its own methods for solving cases; the Economic Crime Investigation Division didn't need to worry about it. Besides, this kind of case, where even the main suspect had been apprehended, would at most involve thoroughly investigating her interpersonal relationships and movements—it was really pointless. As for any possible hidden accomplice or gigolo, did they really think they could get away with something like this?
"Is this the guy who's keeping three mistresses at once?"

After Xu Xiangjie left the room, Shao Yongkang looked curiously at Xu Yinghui, who lay unconscious on the bed. To be honest, as a man, he admired Xu Yinghui quite a bit! A middle-aged man trying to handle three women—could he manage?
"Boss, look at this!"

Quan Chenghai pulled a bottle of medicine from the bedside table and winked at Shao Yongkang.

"Damn! He relies on drugs, huh? All that admiration I had for nothing. Speaking of which, according to the Economic Crime Investigation Division, this guy's motive for swindling money was simply to support women? He opened a health product store for Zhang Yanxia. Pei Yuling, is that her name? He helped her set up a courier station. Du Wei, he even arranged a kindergarten for her! And this suspected Ai Qing, is it just a house? Oh wait, the house was rented to her! This is so unfair, no wonder people want to kill!"

Shao Yongkang stroked his chin as he analyzed the cause of the case. Even though he spoke disdainfully of the Economic Crime Investigation Division, he wouldn't let go of these clues.

Furthermore, murder for money is one of the most common motives encountered by criminal investigation departments. Next is murder for love, including familial and romantic love, as well as crimes of passion arising from minor conflicts. On the other hand, random killings like those depicted in movies and TV dramas are quite rare in reality. After all, to be honest, everyone has their own life, and aside from those with antisocial personality disorder, who the hell has the time to think about murder all day, let alone find it exciting?

"So this case is actually quite simple. Ai Qing is young after all, and she certainly wouldn't want to spend her whole life with a middle-aged man without any status or recognition. Besides, this middle-aged man has several other women, so it's understandable that she would find another lover or boyfriend."

Chen Liang has also completed his training during this period, and he can now analyze the causes of cases very clearly.

"Then I'll leave the interrogation of Ai Qing to you! You must find the people behind her as quickly as possible, lest she really escape and make the brothers work overtime before the Lantern Festival, causing trouble for everyone."

Upon hearing the sound of the ambulance downstairs, Shao Yongkang gave Chen Liang the order.

Soon, doctors and nurses rushed upstairs and arrived at the scene. With Quan Chenghai watching over and accompanying Xu Yinghui, they took him to the hospital. This guy was still carrying tens of millions of yuan in fraudulent funds. Shao Yongkang said he didn't care, but he wouldn't give him a chance to escape.

Then he heard arguing coming from next door.

"Why do I have to give up halfway again? This case isn't over yet, why should we pack up now? Even if a murder occurs along the way, my Economic Crime Investigation Division shouldn't immediately go from being the main character to a supporting character cooperating with the investigation!"

In the next room, Zhuang Tao glared angrily at Xu Xiangjie and the embarrassed Cao Chen beside her.

She couldn't understand the Economic Crime Investigation Division's investigative approach. How could they hand over a case they were investigating so thoroughly to someone else? There had to be a proper order to things, right? It was clearly the Economic Crime Investigation Division that should have solved the case and then done the Criminal Investigation Division a favor! She had heard everything the other side said clearly. What did they mean by "we can leave and just wait for the results"? The Economic Crime Investigation Division wasn't some beggar eating the Criminal Investigation Division's leftovers!

“Hey! Zhuang Tao, that’s not how it works. We’re all police officers from the Municipal Public Security Bureau, just with different duties and responsibilities. When it comes to handling cases, teamwork is key. It’s a bit unreasonable for you to deliberately separate criminal investigation from economic investigation.”

Xu Xiangjie tried to explain helplessly, but he couldn't do anything about Zhuang Tao. This isn't about performance-based pay or piecework; why be so specific?

When it comes to solving cases, the criminal investigation department is undoubtedly more professional! And even in cases handled by the criminal investigation department, don't they still need the economic crime investigation branch to help recover the victims' losses? There's no such thing as a protagonist or a supporting character.

"But I'm just not reconciled! It's always the same. I finally get involved in a case, and then they immediately call me back! What does Wang Guofeng mean by this? I don't want his protection!"

Zhuang Tao was still unwilling, but the main reason was still that damned old man. She was an adult now, not a child anymore, and didn't need to be pampered like a baby! Why could Cao Chen stay, but she had to go back?
Shao Yongkang, who had just walked in, saw Zhuang Tao's depressed look and suddenly laughed with schadenfreude.

Seeing Cao Chen and Xu Xiangjie looking at him helplessly, he waved his hand casually and said, "Hehe... So, in the end, you just want to stay, right? It's no big deal! Cao Chen, you and Xu Xiangjie can go do something else. Xiao Tao'er can handle things here. Hehe... Our First Squadron really lacks female police officers, and we're quite hesitant when dealing with female suspects. Hehe... I'll talk to Lao Wang about this. Xiao Tao'er can stay and help me. As for Ai Qing, Xiao Tao'er is in your hands now? Is that okay? Don't say I didn't give you a chance. If you can interrogate her and get all the details out of her, I'll immediately give you credit!"

"Yes! Leave it to me!"

Zhuang Tao's eyes lit up, and she immediately bowed to Shao Yongkang. She glared at Xu Xiangjie, then continued to deal with the two women in the room with a fierce demeanor.

"Captain Shao, Zhuang Tao is from our Economic Crime Investigation Detachment."

Xu Xiangjie looked at Shao Yongkang helplessly. This guy actually wanted to kidnap Wang Zhidui's own daughter? Who doesn't know that your First Squadron is a den of men? How could Zhuang Tao go to such a hellish place?

"Xiao Tao'er has a fiery temper and an impatient personality, which is not suitable for your Economic Crime Investigation Detachment."

Shao Yongkang shook his head nonchalantly and said cheerfully, "It's good that she stayed in our criminal investigation team. She can only use her skills here. Alright, alright, stop nagging. Don't you guys have things to do? Go get to work. It's the New Year, so finish up and go home early."

"..." Are they just kicking us out like that?
Xu Xiangjie was speechless.

However, as an ordinary policeman, Xu Xiangjie had absolutely no way to deal with Shao Yongkang.

Or rather, within the entire municipal bureau, there are very few people who can suppress Shao Yongkang.

As for his own boss, Wang Guofeng, Xu Xiangjie was also skeptical about whether he had the ability to deal with Shao Yongkang.

So he ignored Shao Yongkang's attempt to drive him away and quickly called Wang Guofeng.

To Xu Xiangjie's surprise, when he heard that Shao Yongkang, the captain of the first squadron of the criminal investigation brigade, had left his beloved daughter behind, Wang Guofeng was not angry or caused him any trouble.

Wang Guofeng remained silent for a long time on the other end of the phone, and finally only ordered Xu Xiangjie and Cao Chen to return to the Municipal Bureau to conduct an investigation into the "brothers with a troubled past." The matter of Zhuang Tao being taken away by Shao Yongkang was left unresolved.

"Does the boss also think that Zhuang Tao'er should go to that shitty men's gang instead of staying in our Economic Investigation Detachment?"

On the way back, Cao Chen was completely baffled.

“A little bird must eventually fly alone. If she stays in the Economic Crime Investigation Division, Captain Wang will always want to protect and help her. Only by going to other departments can she truly face the difficulties and hardships of police work and truly mature.”

Xu Xiangjie sighed, realizing he could understand Wang Guofeng's thoughts.

Cao Chen rolled his eyes and gave a helpless bitter smile: "But boss, don't you know what kind of people the First Squadron is? I'm worried that when I see Zhuang Tao'er again in a while, she'll have turned into a female bodybuilder! Sigh! I was planning to take advantage of being close to her, but now I have nothing."

Xu Xiangjie rolled his eyes: "Maybe it was just to keep Zhuang Tao'er away from you that Captain Wang had no choice but to agree to this. Speaking of which, you have the nerve to look down on Xu Yinghui. The only difference between you and him is that you don't have as much money as him."

"Hehe... Don't talk nonsense, I only date one girlfriend at a time."

Cao Chen gave a shameless smile.

On the other hand, in the First Squadron, which had a terrible reputation in the Municipal Bureau, Zhuang Tao integrated very quickly.

She's a straightforward and outspoken person who says whatever comes to mind. During the interrogation of Ai Qing, she glared at and yelled at Shao Yongkang for barging in, not to mention Chen Liang, who was taking notes but always wanted to interrupt.

But it was precisely this straightforward personality that easily won him the approval of everyone in the First Squadron.

Everyone deliberately stayed in the First Squadron because they disliked the underhanded dealings. It was also because there were so few simple and straightforward girls that the First Squadron didn't even have a single policewoman. Now that someone with a compatible personality had finally arrived, everyone immediately treated Zhuang Tao'er like the team's darling. Even if Shao Yongkang and Zhuang Tao'er got into a fight, everyone would cheer and drive Shao Yongkang away, quickly making Zhuang Tao'er the true leader of the First Squadron.

Zhuang Tao'er didn't seem uncomfortable or arrogant about it. She was very clear about her position and was very polite to her colleagues outside of work.

"Ai Qing, are you sure you want to take the blame for this murder all by yourself?"

Staring intently at Ai Qing, Zhuang Tao said expressionlessly, "Everyone knows that a woman couldn't possibly have the strength to shove Xu Yinghui into that kind of place. He weighs over 100 kilograms; even two of you might not be able to lift him! Not to mention that the incident occurred on the exterior wall of the sixteenth floor; the level of danger is unimaginable! To be honest, based on your personality as I see it now, I don't think you have the guts to do something so risky!"

"..."

Ai Qing sat on the sofa without saying a word.

She glanced at Zhuang Tao; the girl looked even thinner than her. But Chen Liang, standing next to Zhuang Tao, was not someone to be trifled with; his muscular arms were almost as thick as her thighs.

Even so, she refused to reveal her boyfriend's identity. They had worked so hard to get to where they were today, and he had finally landed a great job with a promising future—how could she let it all be ruined by some scumbag?

Her boyfriend made it very clear when he left that as long as she denied it to the death, the police couldn't do anything to her.

After all, the policewoman herself said that killing Xu Yinghui was not something a woman could do alone, and legally, it didn't make sense for her to be a murderer. Furthermore, Xu Yinghui had already been given sleeping pills and had no idea that someone else had entered the room afterward.

Witness testimony! Physical evidence! Logic! Theory! None of it is sufficient! Therefore, as long as her boyfriend is not caught, it's only a matter of time before she is acquitted.

"..."

On the other sofa, Du Wei glanced at Ai Qing in surprise, not expecting this girl to be so strong.

She occasionally entertained the thought of killing Xu Yinghui, but ultimately lacked the courage to act on it. Besides, although her kindergarten was nominally hers, she had no real control over its finances and finances, and it remained entirely under Xu Yinghui's control. Ultimately, being a teacher was her dream, and sacrificing love for it wasn't a big deal. Although Xu Yinghui was a silver spoon in his mouth, he had at least treated her fairly well.

It's a pity! Dreams must eventually come to an end.

Xu Yinghui's crimes were discovered by the police, and it was only a matter of time before the kindergarten was seized. In that case, it would have been better if Ai Qing had killed him; all that effort he had put into covering for the girl was for nothing.

"?"

Lin Ge wandered into the room, where three women and one man were all silent, an atmosphere that puzzled him.

"Who! Hey..."

Zhuang Tao was pondering her words when the sound of the door opening interrupted her thoughts. Rarely having such an opportunity to practice on her own, she turned around, ready to unleash her fury, only to see a cat walk in, leaving her stunned and speechless.

"Silly woman, I'm here to help you!"

Lin Ge glared at Zhuang Tao, then looked at Ai Qing.

Once Xu Yinghui's location is confirmed, it becomes logical to determine that there is another person present. For Lin Ge, it wouldn't be difficult to detect the other person's scent at the scene; he had simply ruled him out earlier because he recognized that the scent wasn't Xu Yinghui's.

Even the cat was surprised that Xu Yinghui's lover would actually be determined to kill him! Wow! What an eye-opener.

"What does this cat mean?"

Zhuang Tao noticed that Lin Ge was staring intently at Ai Qing, which puzzled her. After all, she wasn't familiar with Lin Ge and didn't know the extent of his capabilities.

"Hehe...so that means Mimi is planning to make her move. The guy who helped Ai Qing murder Xu Yinghui won't escape Mimi's nose! Judging from the time Xu Yinghui returned to this building, the downstairs surveillance footage, and the extent of Xu Yinghui's frostbite, he couldn't have been stuffed into the air conditioner unit for very long. The murderer definitely didn't have time to escape far. And for our Zhang City's star police cat, tracking the scent is a piece of cake."

As Chen Liang spoke, he watched Ai Qing's expression grow increasingly worse.

(End of this chapter)