I'm not a genius detective

Chapter 3 Locking Yourself Up

“Zhang Yunhang is a bit arrogant. Being smart is both an advantage and a disadvantage. This matter is not difficult. It depends on the actual conditions. Let’s look for it and see. There’s no rush.”

Daydreaming is useless; Han Ling needs to make the best choice based on the reality and the available environment.

He reconfirmed the location and search direction of Zhang Yunhang and his group of six before disappearing into the darkness.

Ten minutes later, Han Ling strolled along the street, occasionally looking back to keep the distance between herself and Zhang Yunhang and the other six.

There were pedestrians on the street, and even some people sitting and drinking outside several shops.

They glanced at Han Ling's passing casually, then quickly looked away, showing no interest whatsoever.

The extras were very dedicated and professional.

These people played a crucial role in the recent drills for handling mass incidents, and we need to express our gratitude to them for their dedicated support of the public security organs' work.

Han Ling walked around, stopping and starting, going in and out of the buildings on both sides, looking for a suitable location.

Given the current situation, there are only two options to trap Zhang Yunhang and his six companions in a short period of time.

First, lock the six people inside.

Second, lock yourself in.

Arriving at a coffee shop, Han Ling pushed open the door and went inside.

The coffee shop is fully equipped and very clean. There is a bar counter directly in front, and the tables and chairs are neatly arranged. The shelves and the bar counter are empty, so they must be set up when filming a movie.

Han Ling glanced at it and, finding it didn't meet the requirements, turned to leave, but then turned his gaze to his right.

There was a corridor there, and at the end of the corridor was a window, directly facing the entrance to the corridor.

He stepped closer and, by the dim moonlight, finally saw the sign for the washroom.

That's the restroom.

Han Ling continued walking forward, and he could see another passageway on one side of the middle of the corridor. He wanted to know what it was.

Upon approaching, you see a five-step staircase leading forward, ending at a door.

Han Ling took out his Nokia phone and turned on the flashlight. Under the light, he could see a piece of paper with white background and black lettering on the door, which read "Storage Room".

The paper was quite old, with curled edges and a slightly yellowish color.

A key was tucked into the lock on the storage room door.

If the door lock is intact, then the door can be locked from the outside.

Han Ling stood there for a while, then turned the flashlight to the stairs. The stairs were not properly decorated; the floor was still bare and covered with a thick layer of dust. It seemed that no one had been here for a long time and it had been abandoned.

Looking at the corridor floor, it is made of shiny ceramic tiles. As long as the soles of the feet are clean, it is difficult to obtain footprint information without professional trace inspection equipment.

Time was of the essence; Zhang Yunhang and his group were catching up quickly, and Han Ling didn't want to waste any more time.

He turned around and went to the entrance of the corridor, pressing the switch on the wall.

Snapped!
The lights above the corridor were turned on, illuminating the entire corridor. The lights were very close to the stairs, illuminating half of the staircase, so any footprints would be very clear.

After confirming that the light was working properly, Han Ling turned it off and went back to the stairs. She rushed down as fast as she could, her shoes leaving clear footprints in the thick dust.

Arriving at the door of the storage room, Han Ling turned the handle and opened the door. He didn't care what was inside; he simply left his last footprint in the middle of the door frame.

When the door closed again, two-thirds of the footprints remained inside the door, and one-third remained outside.

Even without footprints, Zhang Yunhang and his six companions would investigate. If there were footprints, they could be certain that the person was inside, greatly reducing the chances of anything happening.

Han Ling locked the door from the inside and shook it vigorously for a while; it was very sturdy.

What if Zhang Yunhang chooses to break down the door directly? He had observed that the six men were empty-handed. Even if they chose to break down the door directly, they would need time to find tools, and there were none in the coffee shop.

Moreover, given Zhang Yunhang's personality, he might not be able to resist saying a few more words when victory is imminent, and thus be defeated by talking too much.

After doing all this, he took out his phone and turned on the flashlight again. He carefully backed away, illuminating the footprints on the ground as he went, making sure each step overlapped with the footprints he had taken earlier.

It's impossible for everything to be perfectly aligned, but this is a drill. After confirming that the person was in the storage room, Zhang Yunhang and the other five couldn't possibly conduct a footprint analysis.

Han Ling was certain that Zhang Yunhang would not be able to see through the deception.

Reaching the top step, Han Ling took off her shoes, supporting herself against the wall with one hand. Not minding the dirt, she carefully wiped the dust off the soles with her clothes before putting them back on and returning to the corridor.

The flashlight beam shone over, revealing two clear rows of footprints on the stairs, extending all the way to the storage room at the end.

The door to the storage room was locked.

This accomplished the goal: locking "himself" inside. The remaining task was to lure Zhang Yunhang and his group of six here, while simultaneously "disappearing" from the coffee shop.

Back in the main hall, Han Ling searched for a hiding place.

Under normal circumstances, there are many places in a coffee shop where people can hide, such as ventilation ducts, access doors, the mezzanine above the restroom stalls, and false wall partitions.

Han Ling checked everything and finally came to the bar. He squatted down and tapped the inside of the bar; it was hollow.

He quickly found the partition switch.

The purpose of the film and television base is simply for filming, so the decoration is not that fancy. The focus is on efficiency and low cost, and the hollowed-out design of the support frame is very economical, which actually helped him.

With everything ready, Han Ling arrived at the coffee shop entrance and turned to observe the situation outside.

“Many of the extras had seen me when I arrived. If Zhang Yunhang and the others are smart, they won’t overlook the role of the extras.”

"In the drills, the extras are the masses, and seeking assistance from the masses is one of the teaching contents of the police academy."

Meanwhile, Zhang Yunhang and his six companions had already arrived. They weren't searching aimlessly; just as Han Ling had predicted, they were asking every extra they encountered.

Although it was a drill, it was very close to actual combat.

"Hello, we are police officers. Have you seen a young man wearing a gray t-shirt walk by?"

"I saw it, it went that way." The extra pointed in the direction Han Ling left.

"Thank you."

The six quickened their pace, asking questions as they went; the coffee shop was not far ahead.

Just then, a figure walked out of the coffee shop.

Zhang Yunhang saw it and subconsciously slowed his pace. The two were dozens of meters apart, gazing at each other from afar.

"Han Ling!"

Zhang Yunhang shouted.

Han Ling was clearly stunned for a moment, then turned around and rushed into the coffee shop without any hesitation.

"Han Ling! Stop right there! What time are you wasting here?!"

Zhang Yunhang rushed forward, and as he passed through the alley, he turned his head and saw a window on the side of the building. He shouted as he ran, "There's a window! Two people, block it!"

Upon hearing this, two of the five young men changed direction and went to stand guard by the window.

The remaining four rushed into the coffee shop.

The coffee shop was dark, so Zhang Yunhang immediately looked for the light switch and turned it on.

In an instant, the entire coffee shop was brightly lit, but Han Ling was nowhere to be seen.

"Han Ling! Come out! This place is so small, we don't need to look for you, right?"

Got no response.

"One person stays at the door, the rest of you search!" Zhang Yunhang, already displaying the qualities of a leader, issued the order.

The three dispersed.

Actually, there's no need to search at all. The entire coffee shop is laid out before you, and any hiding places are not visible from the outside.

Snapped!
Zhang Yunhang turned on the corridor lights, quickly went to the window, and seeing nothing unusual outside, turned back and stopped in front of the stairs to the storage room.

Under the lights, the footprints on the cement floor were extremely eye-catching.

He took out his flashlight and turned it on; the light led to the door of the storage room.

The footprints extended all the way inside the door.

I crouched down to take a closer look; the footprints were brand new, just left.

Zhang Yunhang was speechless and almost burst out laughing.

"Come here, everyone! Han Ling is here!"

Upon hearing the shouts, the three people guarding the windows and the coffee shop door quickly arrived. Peng Yao and her companion, who had finished their search, also came over and gathered in front of the stairs.

“Look, they’ve hidden inside.” Zhang Yunhang shone his flashlight on all the footprints. “This is a negative example. Many suspects think they’re clever, but little do they know they’ve left behind a lot of traces.”

Upon hearing Zhang Yunhang's voice, Han Ling, who had slowly emerged from behind the bar, rolled her eyes, gently lowered the partition, and quietly slipped out of the coffee shop.

(End of this chapter)