They returned to the courtyard.
Captain Chen stood for a moment, collected his thoughts, and said, "Lao Zhao, you know Wu Zhicun. Go try to persuade him again."
Zhao Shouchuan nodded and went into the house.
Captain Chen added, "Zhang Jian, get all our people over here. Canvass the surrounding area. I refuse to believe that kid lived here for three months without leaving a single trace."
Solving cases wasn't as magical as it was on TV. Canvassing and security cameras were the sharpest weapons.
Zhang Jian nodded.
Since things with Wu Zhicun were difficult, they could only start from other angles.
And from the looks of it now, this tenant was very likely Fan Jie's supplier.
People leave a name behind, just as geese leave their cry when they fly past. He didn't believe the kid could have left no trace at all.
After notifying the officers outside the village, Zhang Jian was about to start canvassing the area immediately.
Shen Xin was about to go with him when Captain Chen stopped him.
"Xiaoshen, you want to be a criminal detective?" Captain Chen asked.
Shen Xin didn't know why Captain Chen would care about this, but he nodded anyway and said, "It's my dream."
Captain Chen snorted, his expression seeming a little disdainful, but he quickly reined it in. "Follow me," he said.
He led Shen Xin to the kitchen on the right.
After entering, he said, "From your perspective, take a look and see if there's anything wrong."
Shen Xin let out a noncommittal "Oh," finding it hard to guess Captain Chen's intentions. He focused his attention and surveyed the room before him.
It was less than twenty square meters, with only one window next to the door.
The floor was concrete, and it had a drop ceiling.
There wasn't much furniture in the room: a bed, a wardrobe, and a desk, none of it very new.
No air conditioner, but there was a standing fan.
A mosquito net was set up over the bed. A summer quilt was messily bunched up on it. On the headboard sat a four-yuan iced tea bottle serving as an ashtray, a power strip, and a phone charger still plugged into it.
The wardrobe door was half-open, with messy clothes about to spill out.
The desk was covered in miscellaneous items, mostly disposable chopsticks and spoons from trendy takeout places.
Shen Xin could picture the kind of person who lived here.
'Young, probably just entered the workforce. Sloppy, eats takeout often. The type to just flop onto the bed after work, smoke, and scroll through his phone.'
'Other than that, there was nothing unusual at all.'
Shen Xin voiced his thoughts, concluding with, "Captain Chen, if the suspect has strong counter-surveillance awareness like you said, then he must have cleaned up when he left."
Captain Chen nodded. He had also looked earlier and found nothing.
The two of them backed out of the room. Shen Xin hesitated for a moment, then asked with a smile, "Captain Chen, are you testing me?"
'If I perform well, will he want to transfer me to the Criminal Investigation Division?'
'That would be sweet.'
An internal transfer wasn't an easy thing to get.
In Shen Xin's situation, the normal procedure would require him to grind it out at the station for two years before he'd even be qualified to apply for a transfer to the Criminal Investigation Division.
Captain Chen gave a noncommittal smile and turned to question the middle-aged couple.
Shen Xin felt a little empty inside. He lowered his head and suddenly noticed a bowl on the ground to the left of the doorway.
It was one of those one-piece double bowls used for feeding cats and dogs.
But it was empty now, dirty and covered in dust.
Shen Xin glanced at it but didn't think much of it.
Li Dongsheng and the others had also arrived.
There was nothing else for it but to start canvassing.
Shen Xin was grouped with Li Dongsheng. Along the way, Shen Xin asked, somewhat vexed, how he should strike up a conversation in a situation like the undercover reconnaissance from before.
That previous investigation had been a total failure.
And if he wanted to become a detective, this was definitely an area he needed to learn and improve in.
Li Dongsheng thought for a moment and said, "There's no magic formula. You just have to think it through, put yourself in that situation and role. Basically, the more you do it, the more experience you'll have, and it'll get better."
He was a man of experience. After so many years as a beat cop, he was a master at handling public security cases.
Shen Xin let out a disappointed "Oh." He had been hoping for some kind of trick.
"Don't overthink it. Some things just come with time," Li Dongsheng said encouragingly, sensing Shen Xin's disappointment and patting him on the shoulder.
'He doesn't even have his first stripe yet. It's too early to be thinking about this stuff.'
The canvassing continued until almost eleven at night.
The result was… nothing.
This guy's counter-surveillance awareness really was strong.
Meanwhile, there was no progress with Wu Zhicun. Zhao Shouchuan had talked himself hoarse, but the old man just kept repeating one thing: "Go on, arrest me. Send me off to enjoy the good life."
It made Zhang Jian so angry he really wanted to just drag him back to the station.
It was getting late, so Zhang Jian had no choice but to call it a day.
On the way back, the team's morale was low.
Especially Zhang Jian. He had been thinking that after today's operation, they'd successfully catch the suspect, close the case, report it up the chain, and then just wait for a commendation from their superiors.
Who knew they would run headfirst into a dead end?
And this person was crucial. He was the one who developed the technology to crack the anti-theft systems on smart electric bikes.
Most importantly, if he could sell it to Fan Jie, couldn't he sell it to others?
If this thing got out, the potential for harm was enormous.
Shen Xin was worried too.
Song Liang had been clamoring to submit a merit report for him.
If the case wasn't closed, how could there be a merit report?
And how could he get his probationary period ended early?
Back at the station, Song Liang and Wang Shuwei hadn't left yet. They had specially arranged for the cafeteria to leave them a late-night snack—a feast, really. It looked like they were preparing to hold a celebration for the team.
Instead, they were greeted by a dejected, crestfallen group.
After hearing the debriefing, Song Liang also sucked in a sharp breath. "The old man really said that?"
Zhang Jian nodded and said, "I was so mad I really wanted to bring him in."
"Don't!"
Song Liang quickly waved his hand, warning, "Zhang Jian, don't even think about it without concrete evidence."
And even if there was concrete evidence proving Wu Zhicun was an accomplice to the suspect, that they were connected, they would still have to handle it with extreme care.
The station had encountered situations like this before. They always had to prepare several contingency plans and have an ambulance on standby at the scene before they dared to take someone in.
"Forget it. Let's eat first. We'll figure out what to do tomorrow."
Song Liang called everyone over to eat.
Shen Xin was hungry too. He took his bowl and went outside to play with Million.
He really was a good boy.
But he was always tied up, with no space to move around.
This was a police station, with people constantly coming and going. No matter how well-behaved he was, who could guarantee he wouldn't suddenly go wild and bite someone?
'If someone got bitten by a dog inside the police station, they'd extort the station for all it's worth.'
That's why Shen Xin was conflicted about whether he should ask Song Liang to let Million stay.
'Even if he did stay, it might not be a good thing for him.'
'It would be better to find a suitable family to adopt him. Someone as busy as me might not have much time to take care of him.'
Just as he was thinking this, he realized Song Liang had appeared beside him at some point.
"Song Suo," Shen Xin quickly greeted him.
Song Liang waved his hand, also stepping forward to smile and pat Million's head. Then he said, "I heard from Lao Li that you want to keep this dog?"
Shen Xin was taken aback. 'Li Lin, some friend he is. He's the one who wanted to keep the dog,' he thought.
"Song Suo, I just think he's a very well-behaved and smart dog. Maybe he could even be used as a police dog," Shen Xin said. Since Song Liang had asked, he decided to just bite the bullet and say it.
Police dogs were a rare resource; most local stations couldn't afford to have one.
Song Liang laughed. "You think just any dog can be a police dog?"
But then he looked down at the obediently sitting Million, and his tone changed. "How about this: we'll keep him for now and observe him. If he's really well-behaved, it might not be out of the question. I saw in the news that some stations in the capital are being assigned police dogs. We can consider it keeping up with the times."
"Thank you, Song Suo!" Shen Xin was overjoyed, quickly saluting and standing at attention.
"It's a small thing."
Song Liang waved his hand with a smile. "Alright, tomorrow, go to the door and window shop next door and have them weld a dog cage. He can't be without a proper kennel. Then go online and buy one of those anti-bite muzzles. See if he's willing to wear it. The station will cover the cost; just go to finance for reimbursement."
Shen Xin thanked him again. After Song Liang left, he squatted down and said to Million, "Million, you have to be on your best behavior. Who knows, maybe you'll even land a permanent position."
Million seemed to understand. He let out a WOOF, nuzzled Shen Xin's hand, and the icon above his head filled up by another notch.
Three notches now.
Seeing the icon, Shen Xin smacked his forehead, suddenly remembering Da Mei back home.
He figured he'd be staying out all night again. He wondered how Da Mei was doing.