From the previous photos, the young man was clearly feeding this tuxedo cat.
'So, is it possible he's the suspect I'm looking for?'
'It's only a possibility.'
There were plenty of cat lovers, and a single stray might be fed by several different people.
But after three straight days of taking pictures, a chaotic mess of all sorts of shots, he had finally gotten a clear one of the man's face. He couldn't just ignore it.
Shen Xin immediately checked the recorder's GPS track.
The photo of the young man was timestamped at 11:21 AM today.
He then searched for the GPS location at that exact time.
He found it.
It was in Houzhuang Village, across from National Highway 372.
The recorder wasn't cheap, so its GPS was very accurate. The associated map showed that at 11:21 AM, when the photo was taken, the tuxedo cat was at 74 Houzhuang Village.
"Xiaoshen!"
While Shen Xin was checking his phone, Song Liang, who was walking ahead, saw he had stopped and called out to him.
Shen Xin snapped back to reality, quickly waving his phone. "Song Suo, I think I have a lead."
"A lead?"
Song Liang froze for a moment, then rushed over, eagerly asking what the lead was.
"Song Suo, let's head to Houzhuang Village first. I'll tell you on the way," Shen Xin said urgently.
'Assuming the young man accidentally caught on camera is the suspect I'm looking for... then he must have incredible counter-surveillance awareness.'
'If I were him and I saw the stray cat I regularly feed wearing a recorder that could take pictures, I'd definitely think I was being watched.'
'And if I'm being watched, I need to get out.'
'He was photographed at 11 AM, and it's already past 2 PM. Several hours have passed. If he's fast, he might have already fled.'
'So we have to get over there right away.'
"Alright!"
Song Liang didn't know what lead Shen Xin was talking about, but any lead was a good thing.
He immediately led Shen Xin to where the car was parked.
Wang Shuwei and Zhang Jian were waiting by the police car. Seeing Shen Xin and Song Liang running over, and hearing there was a lead, Zhang Jian, who had been squatting on the ground in frustration, shot to his feet.
"What lead?"
He was getting antsy.
Shen Xin waved his phone as he got into the car. "A cat."
Song Liang also got in right away. "We'll talk on the way."
Zhang Jian and Wang Shuwei exchanged a look and quickly got into the car.
"74 Houzhuang Village."
Shen Xin gave the address before taking out his phone to explain to everyone.
"This kid?" Zhang Jian snatched Shen Xin's phone and studied the young man in the photo, his expression flickering with uncertainty.
For three days, they had investigated over eight thousand people. His legs were about to break, and he was so exhausted he felt like he could piss blood, yet there had been no leads. Nothing.
Wang Shuwei and Song Liang exchanged a strange look.
"Xiaoshen, so you're saying you used that stray cat you feed to find this tuxedo cat, and then you put a recorder on it?" Wang Shuwei looked a bit baffled.
'This whole thing sounds like a joke.'
'Did Shen Xin's stray cat become a spirit or something? It can help find other cats?'
'And it actually found one.'
More importantly, Wang Shuwei couldn't even imagine what kind of thought process Shen Xin must have to come up with such a method.
'Discovering that the suspect fed a stray cat... anyone with a normal thought process would think it was a dead end, a useless clue.'
'But Shen Xin, he actually came up with the idea of finding that tuxedo cat.'
'What was even more incredible was that he used a cat to find a cat.'
'Not even the wildest imagination could come up with a plan like that.'
"Xiaoshen, your brain is really something else!" Song Liang turned his head and gave Shen Xin a thumbs-up.
'At any rate, I could never have thought of a method like that.'
'The key thing is, Shen Xin actually pulled it off and got a genuinely useful lead.'
Shen Xin omitted part of the story and said, "Song Suo, I wasn't really thinking that far ahead. I just thought, this is a lead, after all. I wondered how I could investigate it, and then this idea came to me. But we shouldn't get our hopes up too high. This might just be another ordinary person who feeds the tuxedo cat."
He had to manage their expectations.
"Ah."
Song Liang waved his hand. "Don't worry about the final result. The fact that you held onto a lead, refused to let it go, and found a way to pursue it—that spirit alone is worthy of praise."
Then, he added with a grin, "I have to say, you're really cut out to be a detective, kid."
Wang Shuwei nodded in agreement.
In his view, the most important quality for a detective was perseverance.
Even with the tiniest clue, you had to sink your teeth in and not let go, pursuing it until the suspect was brought to justice.
Even Zhang Jian reached out and patted Shen Xin on the shoulder.
He didn't say anything, but his approving expression said it all.
Song Liang stepped on the gas again, and a few minutes later, they rushed to their destination.
Houzhuang Village was also right next to the national highway, near a logistics park. It had been developing slowly over the past two years. Although it wasn't as prosperous as Xianghong Village, it was also home to a large number of migrant workers.
Number 74, located in the northwest part of the village along a concrete road, was a residential house with a front and back yard.
Song Liang slammed on the brakes. Before the car had even come to a complete stop, Zhang Jian had already thrown open the door and charged out.
"That guy," Wang Shuwei cursed under his breath and hurried to follow.
Shen Xin also got out of the car, phone in hand, to check the location.
This was the place.
The front gate was open, revealing a small two-story building. The yard was planted with flowers and plants, but the iron door to the house was shut tight.
Zhang Jian was already craning his neck, peeking into the yard.
"It's probably the backyard," Shen Xin said, glancing toward the back.
The front yard was clearly a single, self-contained unit. The backyard area seemed to be a later addition, with its own separate side entrance.
Song Liang quickly gave a hand signal, indicating they should split into two teams to investigate the front and back.
Zhang Jian grabbed Shen Xin and ran toward the backyard.
The back gate was also locked, and the wall wasn't low, so they couldn't see what was inside.
Zhang Jian hesitated for a moment, then without another word, began to POUND on the door.
Shen Xin silently took out his retractable baton, ready for action.
There was no response.
Just then, from the front yard, Song Liang and Wang Shuwei walked over, accompanied by a middle-aged woman.
"Officers, is there some misunderstanding? Xiaoli is a good kid; he wouldn't get into any trouble," she said, taking out her keys.
Song Liang quickly said, "Ma'am, we're just here to conduct a simple investigation. Please don't overthink it."
The middle-aged woman nodded and used her spare key to open the door.
Zhang Jian was the first one to rush in.
It was a single-story, self-contained flat with a bathroom and a kitchen.
"The cat bowl!"
Zhang Jian darted to the kitchen entrance on the right, snatched the cat bowl from the floor, and said, "This is it, no doubt about it."
The background matched the photo, too.
With that, he was about to rush into the main room.
Song Liang quickly stopped him.
"Don't be rash," he warned.
Right now, there was no evidence linking this young man named Li to the e-bike theft case. They could only investigate; barging in was inappropriate.
Shen Xin took the opportunity to ask the middle-aged woman if the young renter, Li, had left his ID card, phone number, or other information when he rented the place.
"Yes, he did."
The middle-aged woman took out her phone and showed Shen Xin a photo of the ID card.
It was the same person from the photo: thin, with a gaunt face, medium-length hair, and a very honest-looking appearance.
His name was Li Jin.
Born in '96, he would be turning 22 this year.
From Gongyang, Xu Province.
She had his phone number too.
"Song Suo, no need to look any further! It's this kid, it has to be!" Zhang Jian suddenly shouted, pointing at the bedroom window.
Shen Xin and Song Liang moved closer to take a look.
The flat had a three-room layout. The window of the room on the left was closed, but the curtains weren't drawn.
Through the window, they could see a desk piled high with all sorts of circuit boards, electronic components, and tools like a soldering iron and a multimeter.
It was obvious that Li Jin was skilled in electronics.
On that point alone, he was a definite person of interest.
"Fuck, we finally found him." Zhang Jian's eyes lit up.
Shen Xin couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.
'I went to so much trouble, bringing Da Mei over every day, changing the recorder's battery, and having to wheedle and plead with Wu Zhicun, enduring all that mockery.'
'At least all that effort wasn't for nothing!'