There was only one pet store in all of Xianghong Village.
Perhaps because business was slow, the owner was a bit dismissive.
This was where a police badge came in handy.
"Doesn't ring a bell."
The owner frowned, thought for a full minute, and still shook his head.
The tenant always wore a mask when he went out. It certainly hid his identity, but it had also become an extremely obvious feature.
So if the owner said he hadn't seen him, he probably really hadn't.
Shen Xin then checked several nearby delivery stations. Some people there remembered the tenant, but they hadn't paid attention to what he'd bought.
The trail seemed to have hit another dead end.
Shen Xin also tried to find the stray cat.
But Xianghong Village was huge, and strays were usually active at night. The chances of finding this particular cat during the day were minuscule.
The only stray he saw was a tabby, which was rummaging through a trash can. Startled by Shen Xin, it met his gaze for a brief moment before instantly leaping onto a courtyard wall and vanishing.
The time was now a little after two in the afternoon.
Li Dongsheng called, telling Shen Xin to come to the station early for a meeting.
Shen Xin had no choice but to give up and hail a cab to the station.
On the way back, Shen Xin thought it over carefully. He felt that although he had found a lead, it was completely worthless.
It came back to the same question: if they found this tuxedo cat, would they really find the suspect?
He had specifically bought a bowl to feed the cat, but it was just a stray. Since he had moved away, he no longer had any connection to it.
The fruit stall owner had also said he'd seen the cat again later.
Back at the station, Zhang Jian and the others had already started arriving.
They met in the Criminal Investigation Squadron office on the second floor.
Compared to yesterday, there were fewer people at the meeting—only seven, including Zhang Jian.
Li Dongsheng wasn't even there.
Seeing Shen Xin, Zhang Jian waved him over to a seat and continued, "Song Suo has made it clear. We've come this far with the case, and we're just one step away from the finish line. We absolutely cannot leave it half-baked. If we're going to investigate, we see it through to the end."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
It was frustrating to have a case stall like this.
Shen Xin didn't see Chen Chao, and hearing Zhang Jian's words, he could roughly guess Song Liang's intentions.
The case would definitely continue.
But they couldn't devote all their manpower to it.
A local police station was incredibly busy; they wished they could split every officer in two.
Zhang Jian continued, "I went home and thought of a few possible directions."
He got up, walked to the whiteboard, and began writing as he spoke.
"First, assuming the suspect bought the phone and headphones for Wu Zhicun, we need to use the phone's serial number to check sales records. Find out where it was purchased. If it was online, whose account was used, and who signed for the delivery—we have to find all this out."
Shen Xin's eyes lit up.
'He really is a veteran. That's what experience gets you.'
Shen Xin, at least, hadn't thought of that.
Compared to this, the lead he'd found was completely worthless.
Zhang Jian went on, "Of course, the best solution would be to get through to Wu Zhicun and have him confess voluntarily."
"Old Zhang, that old man is as stubborn as a mule. The soft approach won't work, but if you get tough, aren't you afraid he'll try to frame you for something?" a middle-aged officer joked.
Zhang Jian shot him a glare and said bluntly, "Alright, Old Wu, three hundred years ago you two shared a surname. The job of handling the old man is yours. I want you over there every single day. I don't care if you have to sleep next to him at night. Your mission is over when he talks."
"No way!" the officer surnamed Wu yelped, quickly begging for mercy, which drew a round of laughter from the others.
He quickly waved his hands for them to stop laughing, then said, "Zhang Jian, I really can't. My mom just had bypass surgery and needs someone to look after her. My son is starting his senior year of high school this fall, which is a critical time. I really can't find the time at home."
Zhang Jian frowned slightly, but he knew this was all true.
So his gaze shifted to the others.
"Not me, Captain Zhang. My wife doesn't get off work until eight at night. I have to pick up the kids from school. Xianghong Village is too far, I'd never make it in time."
"Lao Lin, summer vacation is almost here, you'll have plenty of time. I'm the one who's really busy."
The men chattered all at once, each one finding an excuse.
Zhang Jian's expression soured. Just as he was about to urge them all to show a little more spirit, his gaze shifted and landed on Shen Xin in the corner.
And as if by telepathy, everyone else in the room turned in unison to look at Shen Xin.
Shen Xin was still wondering what the relationship between Wu Zhicun and the suspect was, and why he would help the suspect hide. Sensing something, he looked up and found everyone staring at him.
"How about... I go?"
'I'm the only one who's young, single, and a fresh-off-the-lot beast of burden.'
"Xiaoshen, you're the man!" The officer surnamed Wu immediately gave him a thumbs-up, pulled a bottled drink from under the table, and passed it over, motioning for Shen Xin to drink.
Shen Xin accepted it awkwardly, suddenly understanding why he had been told to come to the meeting.
'Zhang Jian probably planned from the start to have me wear down Wu Zhicun.'
"Shen Xin, then... this will be tough on you," Zhang Jian said, seeming a little embarrassed himself.
It had already come to this. What else could Shen Xin do but nod and say it was no problem?
With everyone happy, the meeting continued.
Zhang Jian said, "Finally, the canvassing. Yesterday's efforts weren't enough. I want to go through all of Xianghong Village, every household, every single person. And the surveillance footage—any footage from before June 2nd that hasn't been covered needs to be checked."
For tough cases with few leads like this one, the only option was to use the most painstaking method: canvassing door-to-door.
"Next, we need to coordinate with those electric vehicle manufacturers. Give them the hacking devices we confiscated and see if they can upgrade their vehicle software to patch this vulnerability."
"Also, Captain Chen said he will send out an assistance request bulletin to neighboring counties and cities. The suspect might not have sold the technology only to Fan Jie, so similar cases could be happening in neighboring areas. We might get a lead from there."
"Captain Chen will be in charge of that. Our main job is to do the canvassing well."
"Alright, that's it. Meeting adjourned. We'll head out in a bit."
Zhang Jian waved Shen Xin over again, leading him out into the hallway.
"Shen Xin, I'm sorry. I know this is a crappy job, but there's no way around it. The others all have families to look after, which makes things difficult," Zhang Jian said, apologizing right away.
Since he put it that way, Shen Xin could only show his good spirit. "It's no problem, Captain Zhang. I'm young. I've got plenty of time."
Ever since coming to a local station, Shen Xin hadn't expected to slack off or have any personal time.
"That's the spirit." Zhang Jian clapped Shen Xin on the shoulder. "I remember you can drive. Do you have a car? Xianghong Village is pretty far from here. It'd be more convenient for you to get back and forth with a car. The station can reimburse you for gas."
"Or you can just take my car."
Shen Xin had saved him, and Zhang Jian truly felt a bit bad about this.
"No need, Captain Zhang. I'll go home and get one of my cars," Shen Xin quickly refused.
Zhang Jian's beat-up Lavida was ancient. Li Dongsheng had even complained to Shen Xin before that you practically had to break the gear stick to shift it into gear.
Anyway, if his apartment wasn't so close to the station, Shen Xin would have been driving to work already.
His family had a spare car.
"Alright then." Zhang Jian nodded. He thought for a moment, then added, "Just chat with the old man. Go along with him a bit, wear him down. Once you've ground his temper away, maybe he'll talk."
When it came to Wu Zhicun, Zhang Jian wasn't holding out much hope.
But they had no choice. They had to try.
Shen Xin thought of Wu Zhicun's devil-may-care attitude and gave a wry smile.
'The next few days are going to be rough.'