Rebirth 2014: I, the King of Criminal Investigation

Chapter 622 What True Friends Can You Have at the Card Table?
Province S.

Captain Xu walked out of the office building and got into a police car.

"A middle-aged man was found at the Xinhaiwan Bathing Center. He is suspected to be the missing school bus driver, but his ID card is registered under someone else's name."

A police officer, with a grim face, reported to Captain Xu in the passenger seat as he drove:

"Police officers at the scene have secured the front and back entrances of the bathhouse and are waiting for the order to make the arrest."

Team Leader Xu remained calm and gave a soft "hmm".

It's clear that he wasn't surprised at all.

Since that school bus driver dared to stay in a place like a bathhouse, he must have another legal identity.

More than a week has passed since the school bus went missing, and the task force is under increasing pressure.

Everyone is on edge right now, and the slightest disturbance can raise their alarm.

The police car sped along the road and stopped in front of the Xinhaiwan Bath Center ten minutes later.

As soon as Captain Xu got out of the car, he saw the other officers from the task force already waiting at the gate.

"team leader."

The team members greeted Team Leader Xu.

"Is everyone here?" Captain Xu asked.

"All team members have arrived." The deputy team leader immediately reported the situation on site:
"Police officers from the nearby police station have also come to provide assistance. They have surrounded the entire bathhouse, not just the front and back entrances."

It's not that they're making a mountain out of a molehill, but now every clue must be taken seriously.

If the person above is indeed the missing school bus driver, he likely has accomplices.

Having committed such a serious crime, these individuals are highly likely to resort to extreme measures such as jumping out of a window if they find themselves surrounded.

Just as they were talking, the deputy team leader's phone rang.

"Okay, I got it. You guys keep an eye on the target."

It was clear from the voice that this was a call from a police officer who was secretly monitoring the bathhouse.

After ending the call, the deputy team leader immediately reported to Team Leader Xu:

"The target has returned to his room from the restaurant, and it is not yet clear whether he has any accomplices."

Captain Xu nodded and walked into the bathhouse first, with the other officers following behind.

An investigation revealed that the school bus driver's name was Ren Yupeng, 32 years old, from another province, and he came to S province to work ten years ago.

Because the work I did was all easy and simple, my income was never high.

He's had a few girlfriends here, but they all broke up for various reasons.

Logically speaking, such a person should have had their edges smoothed out by life and would hardly do anything outrageous.

But this time, he deliberately committed a major case that ordinary people wouldn't even dare to dream of.

That's right, the task force has now listed Ren Yupeng as the main suspect.

Road surveillance footage from the day of the incident shows that the school bus only picked up fourteen deaf and mute female students, and no one else boarded the bus during the journey.

Moreover, after picking up the students, Ren Yupeng's school bus did not stop along the way, but drove directly to a blind spot in the suburbs where surveillance cameras were not monitoring.

"Grasp."

After observing the surroundings in the lobby, Captain Xu made a decisive decision and issued the order to make the arrest.

The team members immediately drew their sidearms and rushed upstairs.

At the door of a guest room on the third floor, two armed police officers entered the room as the card swipe sounded.

Immediately afterwards, a man's terrified scream came from inside:

"Who are you! What do you want?"

He was answered by the police officer's cold voice:
"Don't move, stay still! Is there anyone else in the house?"

"Don't press down on me, I can't breathe!" The man didn't answer, but shouted loudly:

"Let me go first!"

During this break, Captain Xu led the other officers from the task force into the room.

What appeared before Captain Xu was a man in his early thirties wearing only shorts.

He was lying face down on the bed, pinned down by a police officer's knee, while another officer was handcuffing him.

Captain Xu stepped forward, grabbed his hair, and turned his face towards him. "What's your name?" Captain Xu asked coldly.

The man gritted his teeth and replied:

"Lin Bin."

"I'll give you one more chance." Captain Xu's voice grew even colder.

"What is your name?"

This time, the man avoided eye contact, not daring to look Xu in the eye, and finally spoke slowly:

"Ren Yupeng".

Once the suspect reveals his real name, his identity is confirmed.

"Put his pants on, take his clothes, and take him back."

Twenty minutes later.

In the interrogation room.

After asking for basic information, Captain Xu got straight to the point:
Where are those fourteen female students now?

Everything else should be put aside for now; the most important thing right now is to find the whereabouts of those female students.

"I do not know."

Sitting in the interrogation chair, Ren Yupeng was pale, his eyes filled with fear, and his body trembled slightly.

"My only responsibility is to drive the car to the designated location; I don't care about anything else."

This was the last thing Captain Xu wanted to hear, but it was also within his expectations.

Since the other party dared to make a move on the female student, they must have made a detailed plan beforehand.

One of the most important aspects is how to evade police detection.

"Who asked you to do this?"

Since they couldn't find the female student's whereabouts immediately, Captain Xu had no choice but to start asking from the beginning.

“A friend of mine,” Ren Yupeng replied.
"Well... to be precise, he's one of my card-playing buddies. I don't have many hobbies, I just like playing cards, but I don't play for much, just for fun, you could say it's a little gambling for fun."

With that initial start, his emotions gradually stabilized, and he spoke more fluently than before.

"Actually, I don't know much about him, not even what he does for a living. We usually call him Lao Si."

A look of reminiscence crossed his face:
"I first met him at a small supermarket. I would often go there to play cards. The supermarket provided the space and charged 20 yuan for a deck of cards, which was considered a space fee."

"Over time, we became familiar with each other. Sometimes after playing cards, we would go out for a late-night snack and have a few drinks together."

He paused here, seemingly afraid that he was being too long-winded. He looked across at the other side, observing Captain Xu's reaction.

Little did they know, veteran detective Xu preferred talkative suspects.

Because these kinds of people tend to describe things in exceptional detail, and important clues are often hidden within these details.

Seeing that he had stopped, Captain Xu seized the opportunity and asked:
"Even if you're familiar with each other, your relationship can't be described as confiding in each other, let alone working together. You don't even know the other person's real name, yet you dare to commit crimes with him?"

Even if a suspect confesses, they still need to be guided.

If you let the other person keep talking, it's easy for them to stray from the topic, so you need to guide and correct them in a timely manner.

He is very generous.

Following up on what Captain Xu said, Ren Yupeng continued:
“When we ate out in private, he almost always paid for everything. Sometimes when I lost a lot of money, he would even return some of it to me.”

"As time went on, my impression of him improved, and I inexplicably felt very close to him."

"He who eats another's food is bound to do his bidding..." Captain Xu sighed as he looked at Ren Yupeng across from him.

That's so pathetic.

After eating a few meals and receiving a small amount of money from someone, you start to consider them a good friend.

This shows that Ren Yupeng is a naive and inexperienced person, easily won over by small favors.

As the old saying goes: "Trying to gain a small advantage will lead to a big loss."

That's absolutely right.

Still not right… Captain Xu thought for a moment and pressed for an answer:

Even if you consider him a friend, does that justify committing a crime with him?

(End of this chapter)