Courtyard House: The Long-Lost Eldest Son Returns with Military Merit

After hearing this, Qin Huairu gently reminded him, "Dongming, if the gate is closed when you come back, you can call me from outside the wall and I will come to the front yard to open the gate for you."

Jia Dongming recalled his earlier thought and said, "My job inevitably requires me to go in and out at night often."

It's fine in the summer, but in the winter, it's really inconvenient to keep troubling Uncle San to get up and open the door.

"When Master Lei comes tomorrow, I'll ask if we can open a small door in the courtyard wall near the alley, so that we won't disturb others when we go out at night."

Qin Huairu recalled the recent events and also felt that this method was appropriate: "Brother Dongming is right. It's fine once or twice occasionally, but if it happens too often, it will inevitably disturb people's peaceful sleep."

Having your own door makes things much more convenient.

Before long, Jia Dongming and Chen Qiang rushed back to the steel rolling mill.

Zhao Jun, the squad leader of the Third Brigade guarding the gate, immediately stepped forward to report: "Section Chief, Li Ping had to relieve himself while on patrol tonight. When he was looking for a quiet place to relieve himself, he saw someone trying to sneak into the logistics warehouse from afar."

"At first he thought he was seeing things, so he shone a flashlight on it, but he ended up startling the other party."

By the time we arrived, the shadowy figure had already vanished.

Fearing it might be related to enemy agents, I sent Chen Qiang to fetch you immediately.

Jia Dongming said solemnly, "I asked before I came, and the warehouse has not been storing any important supplies recently."

"But regardless of whether this person is an enemy agent or not, daring to target the warehouse at this time is clearly a provocation to the security department."

We must find this person.

Jia Dongming and his group quickly arrived at the warehouse wall where the shadowy figure had appeared. Zhao Jun pointed to the marks left by the shadowy figure and urgently reported to Jia Dongming, "Section Chief! The shadowy figure appeared here. Look at these marks on the wall; they were left when it climbed up."

After listening to the report, Jia Dongming used the light from Zhao Jun's flashlight to examine the climbing marks on the wall, and then activated the advanced tracking capability to conduct a detailed analysis of the marks on the wall.

Soon, the traces left by the mysterious black figure appeared before Jia Dongming's eyes like a thermal image.

Based on these traces, Jia Dongming was certain that the other party had been detected by the security personnel before even entering the warehouse.

Jia Dongming shifted his gaze from the wall to the ground, and a footprint stretching into the distance immediately came into his view.

Watching the footprints stretching into the distance, Jia Dongming immediately instructed Zhao Jun, who was holding a flashlight: "Zhao Jun, hand me the flashlight."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Jun handed the flashlight to Jia Dongming without much thought.

Jia Dongming took the flashlight, aimed its beam at the footprints left by the mysterious man, and then walked in the direction the footprints extended.

Following the light from Jia Dongming's flashlight, the group immediately discovered the footprints on the ground. Their faces lit up with surprise, and they followed Jia Dongming in the direction the footprints led.

After following Jia Dongming for about forty or fifty meters, the footprints on the ground gradually became blurred, but this was not a problem for Jia Dongming, who had mastered advanced tracking skills.

Soon, he led the group to a stop in front of a poplar tree next to the steel rolling mill wall.

Jia Dongming pointed to the friction marks on the poplar tree with his flashlight and said seriously, "If the deduction is correct, the suspect should have jumped from this tree to another tree outside the wall to escape the factory area."

Their method of entering the factory area is likely the same.

At this point, Jia Dongming turned the flashlight beam to a deeper footprint on the ground and continued, "This footprint is significantly deeper than the other footprints we've tracked here before. It must have been left by the other person when they jumped down from the tree."

After listening to Jia Dongming's analysis, the security personnel present all stared at the footprints illuminated by the flashlight beam, and were filled with admiration for his surveying skills.

Zhao Jun said excitedly, "Section Chief! It seems that the thief used these two trees by the wall to sneak into the steel rolling mill."

In response to Zhao Jun, Jia Dongming shone his flashlight on the tree trunk in front of him and solemnly said to the security personnel present, "Look at the trunk of this poplar tree again. In addition to the recent marks, there are also old marks, which shows that this is not the first time the other party has used this tree to sneak into the factory area."

After finishing his statement, Jia Dongming shone his flashlight on the footprints on the ground again and further analyzed them to the security personnel: "Based on visual estimation, these should be footprints left by size 40 shoes. The owner's height is about 1.65 to 1.75 meters, and the weight is about 60 to 70 kilograms."

Furthermore, based on the difference in depth between the left and right footprints, the shoe owner's right foot had been injured, which likely caused them difficulty walking.

Upon hearing the analysis, Zhao Jun looked surprised and asked curiously, "Section Chief! These two footprints seem to be of similar depth. How did you determine that the suspect has a leg ailment?"

Upon hearing the question and seeing everyone's curiosity, Jia Dongming smiled and explained, "Please observe these two landing points. Does the heel of the right footprint appear slightly outward?"

Following Jia Dongming's suggestion, everyone aimed their flashlights at the footprints on the ground.

Previously, nothing unusual was noticed, but after being reminded, it was realized that the suspect's right foot did indeed show obvious signs of tilting outwards when it landed.

After examining the footprints, Chen Qiang looked at Jia Dongming with admiration in his eyes and replied with respect, "Section Chief! We didn't find anything unusual when we checked the footprints just now, but now that you mention it, the right footprint clearly leans outward when it landed."

This situation should not have occurred unless the suspect had a pre-existing condition in his right foot.

After listening to Chen Qiang's words, Jia Dongming said to the security personnel present, "Let's go! Let's check outside the factory area and see if we can find his hiding place based on the traces left by the suspect."

Soon, Jia Dongming led several subordinates to the other side of the wall.

He first used a flashlight to examine the tree trunk and confirm the suspect's traces. Then he shone the beam on the ground and quickly found the marks left by the suspect.

Using advanced tracking skills, Jia Dongming followed the suspect's trail deeper into the alley opposite the wall, continuing his advance amidst the questioning gazes of several security personnel.

After walking for about seven or eight minutes, the trail disappeared in front of the gate of an old courtyard.

Jia Dongming stared at the courtyard before him and immediately activated his Eagle Eye ability to investigate the situation inside. He eventually located a middle-aged man with mobility issues in the east wing of the front yard.

Upon seeing the limping middle-aged man inside the house, Jia Dongming was almost certain that this man was the suspect who had broken into the steel rolling mill. He then used his Eagle Eye skill to conduct a detailed scan of the limping middle-aged man's residence.

Jia Dongming discovered a large amount of hidden scrap steel under the bed in the bedroom of the middle-aged man with a limp.

Seeing these scrap steel pieces, Jia Dongming could almost certainly conclude that the other party was not an enemy agent.

"Section Chief, why are you stopped here?"

Seeing Jia Dongming standing in the middle of the alley, his eyes fixed on a two-courtyard siheyuan in front of him, Zhao Jun couldn't help but lower his voice and ask.

Zhao Jun's voice brought Jia Dongming back to his senses. He looked at his subordinates, pointed to the courtyard, and whispered, "Zhao Jun, based on my tracking, the suspect who broke into the steel mill tonight is very likely hiding in this courtyard."

Upon hearing Jia Dongming's words, Zhao Jun and the others showed expressions of disbelief.

Chen Qiang went even further and asked, "Section Chief, are you sure? The suspect is really here?"

Facing the questioning looks from the crowd, Jia Dongming calmly replied, "If my tracking method is correct, the suspect must be inside the courtyard."

After saying that, he immediately gave Zhao Jun the order: "Zhao Jun, arrange for two people to go around the yard to check if there is anything there, and then send another person in to open the gate from the inside."

Soon, a nimble guard entered the courtyard and quietly opened the gate.

After Jia Dongming led his men into the courtyard, he first looked down at the ground, then pointed to the east wing and instructed Zhao Jun: "The suspect should be in the east wing."

It is unclear whether he is armed; we must act swiftly and catch him off guard.

Zhao Jun was both surprised and curious about Jia Dongming's performance along the way—what clues did he use to track the suspect all the way from the steel mill to here, and even accurately pinpoint the room where the suspect was located?

Thinking that Jia Dongming had cracked a spy case not long after taking office, Zhao Jun subconsciously chose to trust his judgment.

He drew his sidearm and replied in a low voice, "Don't worry, Section Chief, we will definitely complete the mission."

Zhao Jun, along with two team members, quietly approached the door of the east wing. After gesturing, he suddenly kicked the door.

"Bang!"

The door opened in response.

Zhao Jun, flashlight in one hand and gun in the other, rushed in first. Seeing a middle-aged man startled awake from bed, he immediately raised his gun and shouted, "Don't move!"

Upon seeing this, the two guards who were following behind pounced on the middle-aged man and pinned him firmly to the bed.

Jia Dongming went inside, found the light switch, and turned on the light.

The moment the lights came on, a security guard exclaimed in surprise, "That's Qian the Cripple from the boiler room!"

The cripple, Qian, who was pinned to the bed, was shocked when he saw who it was, followed by fear. He struggled and shouted, "What are you doing? I didn't do anything, why are you arresting me?"

The guards present recognized Qian the Cripple almost simultaneously, and they all looked surprised—the poplar tree was located behind the boiler room, and the characteristics that Jia Dongming had deduced from the footprints matched Qian the Cripple very well.

At this moment, everyone looked at Jia Dongming with more admiration.

Seeing that Qian the Cripple was still struggling and crying out for his innocence, Jia Dongming shouted sternly, "Qian the Cripple, you say you didn't do anything? You really didn't do anything?"

He then ordered the guards, "Search!"

The group immediately began searching the east wing.

"Comrades, which unit are you from? Why are you arresting Qian San?"

Just then, a middle-aged man wearing a coat walked into the east wing, looked at the guards who were searching, and asked Jia Dongming a question.

Jia Dongming eyed the man warily and asked seriously, "Who are you? We're from the steel rolling mill's security department."

The middle-aged man quickly introduced himself: "Comrade, I am the old man in this courtyard, my name is Guo Bingfa, and I work as a level six welder in the machine repair shop."

What did Qian San do wrong? Why are you all...?

"Section Chief! We found a lot of scrap steel under Qian the Cripple's bed!"

As they were talking, Chen Qiang pulled a burlap sack from under the bed and excitedly reported it to Jia Dongming.

Upon hearing this, Qian the Cripple on the bed turned ashen-faced, and his struggling body suddenly went limp.

"Section Chief! There are two more bags of scrap steel under the kitchen cabinet!"

Another guard ran out of the kitchen to report.

Upon hearing about these two discoveries, Guo Bingfa, an elderly man in the courtyard, could guess the origin of the steel without even thinking.

Guo Bingfa stared sternly at the restrained Qian the Cripple, his tone filled with anger as he rebuked him: "Qian the Cripple! I've been wondering for a long time where you get so much money to gamble. Turns out you're stealing scrap steel from the steel mill to use as gambling capital."

Upon hearing Guo Bingfa mention that Qian the Cripple stole scrap steel for gambling, Jia Dongming immediately thought that there might be something hidden underground nearby, and his heart stirred.

He secretly planned that once he brought Qian the Cripple back to the steel mill, he would interrogate him overnight to find out the details of the underground operation, and then lead his men to wipe him out in one fell swoop.

After the security guards had thoroughly searched Qian the Cripple's house inside and out, Jia Dongming immediately ordered Zhao Jun: "Zhao Jun! Take Qian the Cripple back to the factory now."

The residents in the courtyard were awakened by the commotion at Qian the Cripple's house. They all put on their clothes and came out to watch, just in time to see Qian the Cripple being escorted out of the house by security personnel.

Seeing this scene, and recalling Qian the Cripple's usual behavior, the neighbors gathered around couldn't help but whisper among themselves.

After Jia Dongming led his team to escort Qian the Cripple out of the courtyard, Zhao Jun, who was following beside him, couldn't help but ask, "Section Chief! Your tracking skills are really amazing. From the steel mill to where Qian the Cripple lives, it's at least two kilometers, and you actually followed him all the way here."

Upon hearing Zhao Jun's praise, and recalling the old man in the courtyard mentioning Qian the Cripple's gambling addiction, Jia Dongming lowered his voice and instructed, "Zhao Jun! After we return to the factory, I will interrogate Qian the Cripple. Send someone to notify the comrades who are resting in the department to assemble in the department immediately."

If I'm not mistaken, there's a high chance of a major operation tonight.