I'm not a genius detective

Chapter 5: Can there be two Han Lings?
"Um... could I have some water to wash my face? I'm Han Ling."

Upon hearing this, the command center fell silent instantly.

Everyone was stunned for a moment, their faces showing surprise. Even Deputy Director Zheng Hongyi didn't react immediately.

Han Ling?

How did he get out?
Didn't they say that if Han Ling tried to leave the film and television base, they should stop him immediately and declare him the loser?

The officers present were all experienced veterans. A few seconds later, based on Han Ling's blackened face, they quickly concluded that it was probably related to the fire that had just occurred.

The thought that the other party might escape from the film studio by setting fire to it made each leader's eyes reveal a strange look.

Deputy Director Zheng Hongyi remained silent, while Deputy Branch Chief Wu Bin narrowed his eyes slightly, scrutinizing him.

The first to speak was Ding Lingfeng. He stood up, beckoned Han Ling in, and asked, "Did you start the fire just now?"

Han Ling nodded obediently: "Yes."

Upon receiving confirmation, Ding Lingfeng flew into a rage: "Han Ling! What are you trying to do? Set fire to the film studio? What if it causes a fire! You have no organization or discipline!"

Han Ling explained: "Boss, there was no wind tonight. I only lit a small amount of cloth, plastic and wood. The location was in an open area with natural firebreaks around it. I also immediately covered it with soil, which greatly reduced the already weak fire."

There is only smoke, virtually no fire, so it is very safe.

According to the drill rules, the film and television base has a damage limit, meaning... a certain degree of damage is permissible.

“You…” Ding Lingfeng thought this was sophistry. He turned to Zheng Hongyi and said, “Director Zheng, this behavior is a serious violation of rules and regulations, and it is blatant cheating.”

Zheng Hongyi stared at Han Ling for a while, but did not express his opinion for the time being.

At this moment, Wu Bin spoke up: "Wait a minute, Lao Ding. Putting aside violations of rules and regulations, how can you talk about cheating?"

Ding Lingfeng turned his head: "Didn't we discuss this before? The drill will continue, but Han Ling cannot leave the film and television base. If he is found to be trying to leave, the drill will be declared a loss and will end immediately."

Wu Bin said, "But we didn't notice. He just swaggered into the command center."

Ding Lingfeng: "???"

He realized that Wu Bin seemed to be pleading for Han Ling.

“This…is not…” Ding Lingfeng wanted to refute something, but couldn’t find the words in a short time.

Wu Bin stood up: "Old Ding, think about whether this makes sense. I'll talk to him first."

As he spoke, he approached Han Ling.

Han Ling stood there quietly, looking at Wu Bin.

"He's neither arrogant nor humble; he certainly has guts," Wu Bin thought to himself, before speaking, "By leaving the film and television base in this way, you've essentially won against not only Zhang Yunhang but also the command center. Is that your goal?"

Arson was just a small trick, and he wasn't surprised.

It was just a drill; the police officers on guard at the gate wouldn't have any suspicions.

Han Ling replied, "I just didn't want to waste time with Zhang Yunhang at the film and television base. We needed to resolve the issue quickly; everyone was quite tired."

Wu Bin nodded slightly and said, "The plan is feasible, you have succeeded, but there is a loophole, or rather an uncertain point. If Zhang Yunhang and the others are attracted here, they will recognize you immediately."

From setting the fire to putting it out to leaving the film studio, it took about ten minutes? About ten minutes is quite a long time; the film studio isn't very large.

When asked about this, Han Ling laughed and said, "They won't be able to come anytime soon."

"Oh?" Wu Bin became interested and asked curiously, "Why?"

Han Ling: "You... you'll find out if you make a phone call, and you can also ask them to come back."

Hearing this, Wu Bin became even more curious and turned to instruct, "Call Zhang Yunhang to find out what's going on."

A police officer took out his phone and dialed Zhang Yunhang's number.

"Hello, this is the command center, where are you?"

"What?"

The officer looked puzzled: "Wait a minute, I'll put it on speakerphone, repeat it again."

With the hands-free switch on, Zhang Yunhang's voice rang out in the command center: "We've cornered Han Ling in a storage room. The door is locked from the inside, but Han Ling refuses to open it. We're breaking down the door."

Swish!
All eyes turned to Han Ling, who was standing in front of them. Deputy Director Zheng Hongyi also raised an eyebrow, his eyes gleaming strangely.

Ding Lingfeng's lips twitched, realizing that Zhang Yunhang had been made a fool of by Han Ling.

Wu Bin guessed what was going on and coughed lightly, saying, "Zhang Yunhang, Han Ling is in the command center. The drill is over. You can come over here."

Zhang Yunhang was a little confused: "You mean... the command center? That's impossible, are you sure you're not mistaken?"

Wu Bin: "Alright, hurry up and come over. What, are there two Han Lings?"

Zhang Yunhang: "..."

ten minutes later.

Outside the film and television base.

All the leaders and the remaining new police officers gathered here. Most of the new officers were looking at Han Ling, who had now washed away the grime, revealing his well-defined face. They basically understood the situation: Han Ling, as the Blue Team member, had fled immediately after his "murderer" identity was exposed. Not only had he fled, but he had also escaped the film studio without being spotted by the police on guard duty.

This is truly... bizarre; they wouldn't dare to do that.

Upon seeing that Han Ling was indeed in the command center, Zhang Yunhang lost control of his expression and remained in a daze for a long time. Peng Yao was also stunned.

How can it be?

"Tell me, what happened?" Wu Bin asked. "Start from the beginning."

Zhang Yunhang remained silent for a while before giving a detailed account of what had happened during the exercise.

Wu Bin understood and laughed out loud. His gaze towards Han Ling changed again. Setting fire was a simple trick, but tricking Zhang Yunhang and the other six people required some skill.

"Storage room key." Wu Bin held out his hand to Han Ling.

Han Ling took the key out of his pocket and handed it to Wu Bin.

Upon seeing the key, Zhang Yunhang realized he had fallen into a trap set by Han Ling.

"You...you deliberately left footprints, and walked backwards when you left?" Zhang Yunhang couldn't help but ask.

Han Ling nodded.

"So... when we saw you at the coffee shop, it was because you deliberately exposed yourself?"

Han Ling continued to nod.

Zhang Yunhang: "..."

No, it's just a drill, why are you making such a fuss?

They spent half a day trying to persuade and mock the storeroom at the door, but to no avail. When they finally decided to launch a full-scale attack, they found that there was no one inside!

The other new police officers didn't know whether they admired Han Ling or what, but they certainly wouldn't have been able to do such a thing, given how short their time was.

The trap sounds simple, but that's hindsight; in reality, given their experience and mental fortitude, it would be very difficult for them to pull it off.

Han Ling was completely invisible throughout the entire exercise, but unexpectedly he pulled off a big surprise at the very end.

"I heard it's because of Lin Rong."

"School beauty? Really? Is the power of love that great? Tell me more."

Everyone whispered.

"You were hiding in the bathroom at the time, weren't you?" Peng Yao stared at Han Ling, her tone slightly cold. "If Zhang Yunhang hadn't misjudged, I definitely would have searched the bathroom. Your plan had a lot of luck involved."

The coffee shop was completely visible; she had looked for everything except the restroom.

Zhang Yunhang looked both sullen and somewhat embarrassed.

Han Ling chuckled: "The restroom is too dangerous; it's easy to be discovered. I'm in the partition behind the bar."

Peng Yao and Zhang Yunhang were stunned.

How could someone hide behind a bar?
Thinking of Zhang Yunhang's previous comment about "negative examples," Peng Yao glanced at him. This was truly a slap in the face; six people had been fooled by one person.

Thankfully it was just a drill.

Wu Bin spoke up: "Han Ling, your handling of the crime scene was very sloppy, which allowed Zhang Yunhang to quickly discover the problem, but your escape method was very clever, which makes me wonder... was it intentional?"

He meant that Han Ling wasn't paying attention at the crime scene at all; she was just trying to escape.

Zhang Yunhang and the other five also looked over. If Han Ling really did it on purpose, wasn't he just playing them for a fool? How could they tolerate that?
Han Ling immediately denied it: "No."

Wu Bin didn't ask any further questions, but instead sought Zheng Hongyi's opinion: "Director Zheng, how should we handle this?"

For Zheng Hongyi, this was just a farce. That Han Ling... was indeed somewhat interesting, but far from enough to make him cherish talent.

"The drill is over. Everyone, go back and rest, and then summarize your experience."

Zheng Hongyi spoke.

"Han Ling's behavior is just the tip of the iceberg of the cunning of criminals. Although it was just a drill and has no reference value, we should take it as a warning and never think that we are smarter than criminals."

"Oh right, so... if the Blue Team wins, then the police have failed as long as they haven't caught the criminals."

Indeed, it has no reference value.

If the fugitive is indeed apprehended, the locks on the storage room will be broken immediately, and anyone leaving the film and television base will be subject to strict questioning.

Zhang Yunhang felt that these words were directed at him, which made him feel quite frustrated and depressed.

However, he didn't have much negative feelings towards Han Ling. It was just a drill, and they would be colleagues in the future. Besides, he would be joining the Municipal Criminal Investigation Detachment, while Han Ling would be going to a police station.

The two sides are destined to have little interaction, and their professional careers will differ significantly.

As for Lin Rong, he was quite certain that she was just fooling Han Ling. After four years of being single, how could she possibly give in so easily?

Moreover, among all his suitors, Han Ling was not competitive at all.

(End of this chapter)