Video 125 (Third Update!)

One hour later, inside the office of the Second Squad.

Han Bin stretched his back and made a cup of coffee. He hadn’t slept well in the car last night and felt rather lethargic. He wasn’t the only one; Zeng Ping, Li Hui, Tian Li, and Zhao Ming looked even worse.

Zeng Ping walked over to a desk and reached for a box of chewing gum, but it was empty. He put it down with a sigh. "How did your interrogations go?"

Han Bin and Li Hui had been questioning Li Zhichao, while Tian Li and Zhao Ming handled Chen Jinbo. Zeng Ping hadn't been idle either; he had brought Wang Deli to the station to review the evidence he had gathered.

"According to Li Zhichao, he and Chen Jinbo were cheating together. They acted separately just to avoid drawing attention," Li Hui said, shrugging. "None of these people are any good."

"Chen Jinbo said the same thing. It seems this was a misunderstanding; neither of them has any connection to the robbery case," Tian Li added.

"Are there any other leads?" Zeng Ping pressed.

"Chen Jinbo claims he has a good sense of direction and was observant enough to keep track of the casino's location. He says he’s willing to cooperate with the police to help us find it," Zhao Ming reported.

"How confident is he?" Zeng Ping asked.

"He said if we give him a little time and let him travel that road a couple of times, he can definitely pinpoint the exact location of the casino," Zhao Ming replied.

Zeng Ping smiled. "That’s a significant lead. If we can catch them in the act, it would be ideal; it would save a lot of unnecessary paperwork when closing the case later."

"Captain Zeng, I suggest we proceed with caution," Han Bin said, frowning.

"What do you mean?"

"According to Li Zhichao, this 'Brother Biao' is cautious. He has people stationed around the casino, and they notice anyone approaching the area," Han Bin explained.

"But the mountain doesn’t belong to him. Other people use that road, too. If we don't take a police car, how would they know we’re cops?" Zhao Ming asked.

"There’s a difference between a passing vehicle and someone actively searching," Han Bin said, taking a sip of tea to soothe his throat. "Besides, even if we find the casino, once the police start setting up a perimeter, it will cause quite a stir. They’ll notice, and we’ll end up alerting them."

Zeng Ping pulled out a cigarette but didn’t light it, instead holding it under his nose to sniff. "Han Bin makes a valid point. If there are people constantly watching the area, it will be very difficult for the police to set up a containment and arrest operation."

"Man, we worked so hard yesterday. Was it all for nothing?" Zhao Ming sighed.

"Not necessarily. Li Zhichao did disclose some information," Li Hui said with a mysterious grin.

"Brother Hui, stop teasing. Just tell us."

Li Hui opened his notebook. "According to Li Zhichao, Brother Biao lives in the residential buildings of Beiwatun Village in Lianbei Town. If we catch the ringleader, surely we can round up the entire gambling ring?"

"Damn, why does Li Zhichao, the one who lost money, know more than Chen Jinbo, the one who won?" Zhao Ming asked, puzzled.

"He didn't just lose money; he was also feeding cards to Chen Jinbo. You can't do that job without a sharp eye," Han Bin said, drawing on his own experience with gambling raids from his time as a patrol officer. "Captain Zeng, how about Wang Deli? Did he manage to get any evidence?"

Zeng Ping produced a USB drive and tossed it to Zhao Ming. "This is the footage Wang Deli recorded."

Zhao Ming plugged the drive into a tablet and connected it to a projector.

The video began near the Xiangyun Bus Station. Thanks to a microphone, the audio was synced. It started with Wang Deli chatting with some familiar gamblers at the meeting point. Not long after, a young man with dyed yellow hair led Wang Deli and the others onto a bus. Shortly after, the yellow-haired man collected their phones, and the group spent the rest of the trip chatting and joking.

Once they stepped off the bus, it was pitch black. Led by the yellow-haired man, the group walked into the woods for over a hundred meters until they found a row of houses in a mountain hollow. The area around the houses was dark, making them hard to spot from a distance. Inside, however, the place was brightly lit, filled with rows of gambling tables. There were snacks and fruit scattered around for the gamblers to eat whenever they got hungry.

Soon, Brother Biao appeared on screen—a man in his thirties with a crew cut, a gold chain around his neck, and a sturdy build. He spoke with a loud, authoritative voice.

Following Zheng Kaixuan’s instructions, Wang Deli had come with a mission. He walked around the casino twice, recording the layout and the people present. The video was long, spanning nearly two hours, from 9:50 PM to midnight, documenting the entire process from the meeting and bus ride to the start of the gambling.

After reviewing the footage, Li Hui looked pleased. "Captain Zheng, with this video as evidence, plus the statements from Brother Rong and Wang Deli, we have enough to convict Brother Biao."

"Since we have his address, shouldn't we just move in and arrest him?" Tian Li suggested.

"Once we take down the ringleader, the illegal gambling case will be solved," Zhao Ming said, sounding excited.

Zeng Ping observed everyone’s reaction and then turned his gaze to Han Bin. "Binzi, what do you think?"

Han Bin thought for a moment. "We are handling two cases here. Aside from the illegal gambling, there’s also a robbery. I think the order of operations is crucial."

"Brother Bin, are you saying that if we break the gambling case first, it will impact the robbery investigation?"

"If the person who robbed Wang Deli is someone who participated in these gambling games, then once the casino is shut down and the gamblers are arrested, we effectively eliminate their opportunity to commit further crimes," Han Bin said, holding an unlit cigarette in his mouth. "There are very few leads on the robbery. The Han Family Village police station hasn't found the suspect's motorcycle yet. If the suspect stops committing crimes, this case might become a cold case."

"Zheng and I are worried about the same thing," Zeng Ping said with a grave expression. "The gambling ring involves many people, and we have enough evidence to charge Brother Biao once we get statements from the gamblers. But we can't yet judge whether this will affect the robbery case."

"But what if the robbery suspect doesn't commit another crime? Or what if the two cases aren't even related?" Zhao Ming countered.

"It won't drag on too long. Two or three more gambling sessions at most," Zeng Ping said. "If the robber strikes again, we kill two birds with one stone. If the robber never appears, we’ll have to proceed with the gambling case."

"I agree with that proposal," Han Bin said. "Holding a few more sessions will allow us to collect more evidence and identify more suspects, minimizing the number of people who slip through the net."

Seeing that Han Bin, Zheng Kaixuan, and Zeng Ping were in agreement, the others offered no further objections. Besides, would their objections have mattered anyway?