Inside the stifling conference room.
Zhou Ran, the chief of the Qingcheng Police Bureau, wore a stern expression. With his hands clasped together, he looked squarely at Liu Changshan.
“So, that Desert Eagle was a real gun?”
Liu Changshan nodded emphatically. “Yes, Chief. But whether what Zhang Songyang said is true or not, we can’t confirm that yet.”
Zhou Ran gave a slight nod but remained silent.
A Desert Eagle that had long been discontinued had now appeared within the borders of Jiuzhou—and right under his nose, no less. That alone spoke volumes.
Someone was definitely pulling strings behind the scenes.
If things really were as Zhang Songyang claimed, and the other party was suspected to be a big shot from the underground world, then it would actually make sense. Only someone like that could get their hands on a brand-new Desert Eagle.
But would a big shot from an underground organization really mail a Desert Eagle to someone just because he’d been scammed out of a few hundred thousand—and then send a hitman, making the guy fight it out with the gun, all for the sheer fun of it?
By normal logic, shouldn’t he have just taken Zhang Songyang out directly, so the guy never even had a chance to turn himself in?
No matter how you looked at it, the logic just didn’t hold up. And on top of that, the most pressing issue was this: if that big shot had been keeping tabs on Zhang Songyang all along, then he’d definitely know that Zhang Songyang had already come to the police station to surrender.
Under those circumstances, would that big shot still make a move? Obviously, that was highly unlikely. Even if he was some underground world kingpin, he wouldn’t dare commit murder inside a Jiuzhou police station.
But then again, he wasn’t an ordinary person, and you couldn’t use normal logic to figure out how people like him thought.
“Chief, what do we do now? Should we go make an arrest?” Liu Changshan raised the most critical question.
Zhou Ran’s lips parted a few times, but he held back his words.
The situation wasn’t clear yet. Rushing in to make an arrest could be dangerous.
And besides, if the other party really was the head of some underground organization, then this was no longer something the regular police could handle on their own—they’d have to bring in the special tactics unit for a joint operation.
But before taking any action, they had to find a way to figure out the other party’s true identity.
“Think of something. Have that Zhang Songyang get in touch with the person who sent him the gun, and try to extract as much information as possible,” Zhou Ran said after a moment of deliberation.
Liu Changshan nodded. “So, let him earn credit for his crimes?”
He also thought that was the best approach. After all, the clearer the picture they had, the better it would be for the police’s next steps.
“Earn credit for his crimes?” Zhou Ran considered it, then slammed the table. “Fine. Let Zhang Songyang earn his redemption. As long as he can dig up more useful intel and help us catch the criminal, I’ll count it as him turning himself in!”
“Understood, Chief. I’ll go tell Zhang Songyang right now.”
“Hold on. I’ll go with you.”
——-
Inside the interrogation room.
Clunk!
The heavy door swung open from the outside. Zhang Songyang, who had been sitting on the freezing metal interrogation chair, jolted. When he saw that the person walking in was a middle-aged man accompanied by the older officer from before, he broke into tears of joy.
“Officer! Does this mean I can be arrested now? Please, hurry up and lock me away. I’m begging you!”
Liu Changshan picked up the evidence bag in his hand—it contained a cellphone. Without a word, he tossed it right in front of Zhang Songyang.
Staring at his own phone inside the evidence bag, Zhang Songyang froze, his pupils immediately dilating.
Could it be… the police were planning to let him go?
And then use him as bait to lure out that Jiang Chuan?
No! Please, no!
His voice cracked with a sob as he shouted, “Officer, please don’t let me go! I—I just want to be locked up! I’m begging you! If I go back out there, I’ll die for sure. That Jiang Chuan will never let me off—he’ll kill me for certain.”
Liu Changshan rolled his eyes. “Let you go? Dream on! The amount you scammed alone is over a million. All that’s waiting for you is prison.”
“This here is our Chief Zhou. The reason we’re here is to give you a chance to earn credit for your crimes.”
Zhang Songyang’s sobbing came to an abrupt halt. He stared blankly at Zhou Ran and Liu Changshan. “Huh? E—earn credit for my crimes?”
“That’s right. In your name, send a text message to that Jiang Chuan and get as much information out of him as you can. If you help us catch this Jiang Chuan, I can count it as you turning yourself in,” Zhou Ran added.
Hearing this, Zhang Songyang’s tear-streaked face broke into a grin so wide it nearly reached his ears. “Okay, okay, Chief Zhou. I—I’ll do exactly as you say. You don’t even have to count it as me turning myself in. As long as—as long as you catch that Jiang Chuan, that’s enough. Once he’s locked up, I’ll really be safe.”
Inside the interrogation room, Zhang Songyang had been doing a lot of thinking. He realized he’d overlooked one critical point earlier: even if he got thrown in prison, with Jiang Chuan’s connections, offing him behind bars would be a piece of cake.
That’s how it always went in the TV dramas—some big shot would deliberately have a henchman commit a crime, then find a way to get that henchman into the same prison as the target. Once inside, the hitman would start a riot and use the chaos to take the guy out…
So, even if he ended up in prison, he still might not be safe.
Only if the police actually caught Jiang Chuan could he finally breathe easy.
Zhou Ran didn’t say anything further. Instead, he gestured for Zhang Songyang to take out his phone.
“Chief Zhou, what—what should I send him?” Zhang Songyang asked, his voice trembling with nervous excitement.
Zhou Ran thought for a moment. “Just tell him you want to return the gun and ask him how to give it back.”
Liu Changshan nodded in agreement.
On their way over, the two had already discussed exactly what message to send, as well as mapped out various possible scenarios and run through them in advance.
They needed to observe Jiang Chuan’s reactions through these texts.
After all, with Zhang Songyang now inside the police station, this was a perfect opportunity to test Jiang Chuan.
If things really were as Zhang Songyang described—that Jiang Chuan had people watching him at all times—then Jiang Chuan would definitely know that Zhang Songyang was at the station.
So when Zhang Songyang texted him at this very moment, Jiang Chuan’s reply would reveal his attitude toward the police. It would also help them determine whether this guy really could be some mysterious big shot from the underground world.
“Alright, alright. I—I’ll send it right now.” Zhang Songyang picked up his phone, opened the messaging app, and immediately fired off a text to Jiang Chuan, exactly as Zhou Ran had instructed.
After sending it, he held up the phone. “Chief Zhou, Officer—I sent it. I sent it.”
“Mm. We can see that.” Zhou Ran gave a small nod.
Now, all they had to do was wait for Jiang Chuan’s reply.
——-
Inside the rental apartment.
Jiang Chuan sat up in bed, stretched lazily, and let out a big yawn.
After Zhang Songyang had paid back the money, Jiang Chuan had settled all his own debts, wired 320,000 yuan to his parents, and told them it was money he’d earned from investments—that he hadn’t been scammed, and it had all been a misunderstanding.
Then he’d gone to sleep.
He hadn’t slept very deeply—only about an hour—and when he woke up, it was already the middle of the night.
Gazing out at the nightscape through the window, he was in a pretty good mood.
After all, the money had all been recovered, his parents’ retirement funds were safe, and he was about to come into possession of a military factory. From here on out, things were bound to go smoothly and keep getting better.
Anyone would be thrilled in his shoes.
Ring, ring, ring.
But just then, the phone rang, cutting through his thoughts.
