118 Unexpected Clue

Kangping Residential District.

Zhou Tianrong yawned, sat on the bed to put on his socks, and urged, "Is everything packed?"

"Are you really leaving today?" A woman in her thirties walked over.

"You heard my mom on the phone last night. The police are looking for me; I have to lay low for a while," Zhou Tianrong said.

"I'll go get you something to eat." The woman sighed, unable to hide her disappointment.

"Li Fen, don't bother. Once the bags are packed, I'm heading out."

"Tianrong, when will you be back? I really hate to see you go," Li Fen said, clinging to him.

"The police are looking for me, but it’s probably nothing major. Once this blows over and they can't find me, it'll all be fine. I'll come back for you then," Zhou Tianrong comforted her.

Li Fen was not particularly beautiful; she was a few years older than Zhou Tianrong and even had a child. Logically, Zhou could have found someone with better prospects. However, he was fond of her. She knew how to cherish him, took good care of him, and being with her felt comfortable and at ease.

Li Fen gripped Zhou Tianrong’s arm tightly. "Tianrong, I'll wait for you."

"Yeah."

Zhou Tianrong felt a warmth in his heart. "Take good care of yourself. I’ll be back soon."

With Li Fen’s help, Zhou Tianrong finished packing. He grabbed his travel bag and prepared to leave. However, the moment he opened the door, before he could even step out, he saw a group of people standing there.

They stared at him intently, like hawks eyeing their prey.

Experienced as he was, Zhou Tianrong immediately realized who they were. "How... how did you find me?"

...

Yuhua Branch.

Han Bin leaned back in his chair and stretched his legs. "Finally, a moment to rest. I’m exhausted."

"Tell me about it. We watched the place half the night, and then got up at the crack of dawn today. My eyes are swollen," Li Hui said, rubbing his temples.

"We caught him, so at least the hard work wasn't in vain," Tian Li said.

"Zhou Tianrong is a slippery one. We almost let him slip right under our noses," Zhao Ming remarked.

"Zhou Lixia talked a big game yesterday," Li Hui mimicked her: "'I’d rather he go to jail than run wild out there.' And yet, she tipped off her son that very night."

"Li Hui, how did you two track down Zhou Tianrong’s phone number?" Zhao Ming asked curiously.

"That’s a long story..." Just as Li Hui was about to launch into a long-winded explanation, footsteps sounded outside.

Zheng Kaixuan and Zeng Ping walked in.

"I heard you caught the guy?" Zheng Kaixuan asked directly.

"Just brought him in. We haven't had a chance to interrogate him yet," Han Bin replied.

"Good." Zheng Kaixuan nodded. Neither he nor Zeng Ping had gone on the arrest; Han Bin had led the team. Although Li Hui had joined the criminal investigation team earlier, his rank was the same as Han Bin's, and since his investigative skills weren't as sharp, Han Bin usually took the lead.

"I have some good news. The branch leadership has approved the plan to use Wang Deli as an informant," Zheng Kaixuan announced.

"Tsk, tsk. Looks like my dream of going undercover is officially dead," Zhao Ming sighed.

"It’s not that easy to go undercover. Without an introduction, you’d never get into the gambling ring," Zeng Ping added.

"Captain Zheng, should we interrogate Wang Deli again?" Han Bin asked.

"Old Zeng and I will handle Wang Deli’s interrogation ourselves."

There were twenty or thirty people involved in the gambling ring. Since the location was in the mountains and it was at night, the arrest would be difficult and require a large number of officers to set up a perimeter. Zheng Kaixuan needed to understand every detail of the setup. Otherwise, a single error during the operation could lead to a massive failure.

"Han Bin, Li Hui, you two are responsible for interrogating Zhou Tianrong."

"Yes, sir."

...

Twenty minutes later, in the interrogation room, Han Bin saw Zhou Tianrong again.

Han Bin turned on the law enforcement recorder, opened his notebook, and was just about to start questioning when Zhou Tianrong spoke up on his own.

"Zhou Tianrong, male, 31, Han ethnicity, from Han Village, Qingdao City."

"You're quite self-aware, aren't you?"

"Cooperating with the police is a citizen's duty, and it's what I should do," Zhou Tianrong smiled.

"None of that smirking. Be serious," Li Hui barked. In any interrogation, someone has to play the bad cop.

"Yes, sir," Zhou Tianrong responded. "What should I call you two officers?"

"My surname is Han."

"Officer Han, nice to meet you."

"Zhou Tianrong, do you know why you were brought in?"

"I honestly don't have a clue. Could you give me a hint, Officer?" Zhou Tianrong probed.

"Listening to you, it sounds like you've done so many things you don't even know which one to confess to?"

"No, no! I've been very well-behaved lately, living my own quiet life. I haven't done anything wrong," Zhou Tianrong defended himself.

Han Bin knew this was an old hand; he wouldn't confess anything without some pressure.

"Do you know someone called Sandezhi?"

"Are you talking about that character from the TV show 'The Travels of Kangxi'?"

"Bang!" Li Hui slammed the table and glared at him. "Zhou Tianrong, what are you spouting? Do you want to confess or not?"

"I do, I do," Zhou Tianrong nodded quickly, then hesitated. "Are you talking about the Sandezhi who gambled with me?"

"Yes, that's the one."

"Damn it! So that kid sold me out. What a piece of trash," Zhou Tianrong spat.

"Doesn't sound like you two are very close."

"If we were close, would he have turned me in?" Zhou Tianrong sighed. "I’m just unlucky. Not only did I lose money, but I also got double-crossed by that kid. When I get out of here, humph..."

"Zhou Tianrong, who are you saying that for?" Han Bin asked.

"I didn't mean anything by it. I just think the guy is shameless," Zhou Tianrong said with a forced smile.

"You lost a lot of money that night, didn't you?"

"Yeah, the little brat won it all, and then he sold me out anyway," Zhou Tianrong said, looking disgusted.

"So you robbed him."

"What? What did you say?" Zhou Tianrong thought he had misheard.

Han Bin stood up, walked over to the table, and asked, "Did you rob Sandezhi yesterday morning?"

Zhou Tianrong’s eyebrows shot up, his eyes widened, and his mouth fell open slightly—a reaction that lasted less than half a second.

"Sandezhi got robbed!"

In terms of micro-expressions, this was a classic look of surprise. It indicated that Zhou Tianrong had no prior knowledge of the robbery. In other words, he was not the suspect who had robbed Sandezhi.

"Don't play dumb. Do you own a motorcycle?" Li Hui pressed.

"No." Zhou Tianrong shook his head. "This has nothing to do with me. I never robbed Sandezhi."

"Where were you between 6:20 and 6:40 yesterday morning?"

"Eating breakfast, right downstairs from where I live. Plenty of people can vouch for me."

"Officer Han, you’ve really got the wrong guy this time. The robbery has nothing to do with me," Zhou Tianrong said, spreading his hands.

"What about the gambling?"

"I’ll admit to that. That was my fault," Zhou Tianrong said, his attitude being extremely cooperative.

Although Zhou was likely not the robber, Han Bin still hoped to learn more about the gambling operation from him.

"Then tell us about the gambling ring."

"Are you trying to bust the casino?" Zhou Tianrong countered.

"Isn't that obvious? Do you think the police would just ignore something like that?" Li Hui scoffed.

"Heh, begging your pardon, but you really can't bust this casino," Zhou Tianrong said with conviction.

"Why not?"

"Well..." Zhou Tianrong hesitated, his eyes darting around. "If I tell you, does it count as an act of merit?"

"As long as the information is useful to the police, it counts."

Zhou Tianrong smiled. "I’d like to ask you two: how do you plan on taking down this casino?"

"Do we need to report our police operations to you?" Li Hui sneered.

"I’m not going anywhere, am I? You don't have to worry about me leaking it," Zhou Tianrong shrugged.

Li Hui thought for a moment and said, "We will mobilize our forces to surround and control the perimeter of the casino." Li Hui knew what was at stake; he naturally wouldn't reveal anything about the informant.

"If I may be blunt, that casino is deep in the mountains. Even if you went there, you might not even find the way," Zhou Tianrong laughed.

Li Hui was unperturbed. "Don't you worry about that. We will ask the local police station to assist in the arrest."

"Slap!" Zhou Tianrong clapped his hands, feigning mystery. "That’s exactly how you’ll fail."

"What’s that supposed to mean?"

"Do you know who the organizer of the gambling ring is?" Zhou Tianrong asked instead of answering.

"Brother Biao."

"You don't know his real name, do you?" Zhou Tianrong grinned.

"You do?"

"Of course I do. And I also happen to know that he has a distant cousin who runs a small convenience store right near the local police station. If the police make any big moves, she sees it immediately," Zhou Tianrong said.

"Are you telling the truth?" Han Bin demanded.

This information was critical. Since the casino was in a remote area, they would certainly need to request assistance from the local police. If they mobilized a large force from the local station, Brother Biao’s cousin would surely notice. Once the grass was startled, the snake would escape, and catching them would be impossible.