He had just married a policewoman when he was diagnosed with criminal genius.

Lu Chen never expected that the two counterfeit bills Sun Dazhi received that day would turn out like this.

It seems that the day Sun Dazhi received the counterfeit money was just the beginning of a counterfeit money case.

The situation has become increasingly serious as more and more counterfeit banknotes enter the market.

Ding Jianguo recalled Old He, the pork vendor at the market, who had accepted three thousand yuan in counterfeit money and cried like a child. He said it was his daughter's tuition for the next semester.

Thinking of this, Ding Jianguo unconsciously clenched his fist.

"Can't we find out who spent these counterfeit bills?" Lu Chen asked.

Ding Jianguo shook his head: "We can't find anything. As I just said, their counter-surveillance capabilities are very strong."

"We have investigated 37 suspicious targets and visited hundreds of businesses, but every lead we follow has been cut off halfway through. It's as if the other party knows what we're going to investigate next and always manages to erase all traces of our investigation before we can."

"Actually, it's not just our Yuhua District; several other districts are in similar situations, but their circumstances are also similar to ours," Ding Jianguo said in a slightly hoarse voice.

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen realized the seriousness of the situation.

Ding Jianguo paused for a moment, then continued, "Moreover, the quality of this batch of counterfeit money is very good; it's not much different from real money."

"It's difficult for ordinary people to detect that these are counterfeit bills. Many people who report them to the police only discover that they have received counterfeit money when they go into the bank to deposit it."

"Chief!" Jiang Xue, who had been silent for a long time, spoke up. "Why don't we investigate out-of-province individuals who have rented short-term accommodations in these areas within the past three months, or who have frequently changed their whereabouts?"

Jiang Xue's tone was calm, but her mind was racing.

Ding Jianguo's eyes lit up, but then dimmed again: "We've thought of this idea, but we don't have enough manpower. Our current police force is already operating at full capacity, and we really can't spare anyone to do such a large-scale investigation."

The atmosphere fell silent again.

Lu Chen felt a pang of heartache seeing Jiang Xue's expression.

In a flash, he came up with a plan.

"Director Ding, have you considered luring the snake out of its hole?" Lu Chen asked.

"Luring the snake out of its hole?" Ding Jianguo was taken aback.

"Yes, you said this group is very vigilant."

After a pause, Lu Chen continued, "Then we can think of a way to throw them into disarray and force them to come out."

Ding Jianguo's eyes lit up.

Lu Chen had already surprised him several times before.

Moreover, his way of thinking is completely different from that of the police officers, so perhaps he really does have some good methods.

"Director Ding, what situation do you think would cause these counterfeiters to panic?"

Ding Jianguo had a guess, but he didn't speak, gesturing for Lu Chen to continue.

"That must be because it touches on the other party's core interests."

Lu Chen laughed and said, "The core interest of this criminal gang is naturally the counterfeit money they produce; it's their cash cow."

"If we smash their 'treasure trove,' do you think they'll get anxious?" Lu Chen asked Ding Jianguo.

Ding Jianguo was stunned.

"Did you smash their 'treasure trove'?"

"How should we smash it?"

Ding Jianguo couldn't believe it, and neither could Jiang Xue, who was standing next to him.

Lu Chen's thoughts were a bit unpredictable, and he couldn't quite keep up.

"Director Ding, you said that if another counterfeit banknote appears on the market, and that counterfeit banknote is not only cheaper than the original, but more importantly, that counterfeit banknote is more authentic than the original."

Do you think they'll get anxious?

Ding Jianguo was startled.

He knew that Lu Chen's ideas might be quite bold.

But he didn't expect Lu Chen to be so bold.

He now understood what Lu Chen meant; he wanted the police to use a sting operation to create a counterfeit bill that was even more cost-effective than the counterfeiters'.

And once it's released, those counterfeiters will surely be alerted and mobilized.

After all, this is tantamount to taking away their livelihood and cutting off their source of income.

They will definitely try to find new counterfeit money dealers, either to cooperate or to destroy them; in short, they will never stand by and watch their source of income be cut off.

Strictly speaking, Lu Chen's method is feasible.

However, this kind of fishing enforcement requires bait.

And the bait, of course, is counterfeit money.

Their police station is distributing counterfeit money; that's not compliant with regulations.

"I'm afraid this would require our police to lure them out with counterfeit money. Should the police release counterfeit currency?" Ding Jianguo hesitated and said, "That might not be a good idea."

Although Lu Chen wasn't part of the system, he understood the logic of the police needing to follow regulations.

He knew how urgent the matter was, but in a crisis, talking about rules at this point would only make things more uncontrollable.

"Chief Ding, if it were our police force releasing counterfeit money, it would at least be under control."

Lu Chen lowered his voice, but spoke quickly: "After arresting this criminal gang, we can also recall all the counterfeit currency we deliberately released."

"But if we leave this counterfeit money ring unchecked..."

Although Lu Chen didn't say the rest, Ding Jianguo already understood how serious the consequences would be.

Ding Jianguo remained silent for a moment; he was indeed tempted.

If they continue to follow the rules, then it's uncertain when they will be able to arrest that criminal gang.

The losses suffered by the people of Jiangbei City will only increase.

If we follow Lu Chen's method, we can indeed minimize the losses suffered by the people of Jiangbei City.

He could clearly distinguish between what was important and what was not.

Finally, Ding Jianguo made up his mind, gritted his teeth, and said, "Okay, let's use this method."

However, Ding Jianguo quickly realized a crucial problem.

Where do they get their counterfeit money?

Ding Jianguo raised a question.

Lu Chen was surprised that Ding Jianguo would be stumped by this question.

"Don't you have any of the counterfeit money you confiscated before?" Lu Chen asked, taken aback.

Ding Jianguo shook his head: "No, all the counterfeit money we seized before has been confiscated, and even if there is still some left, it doesn't reach the level of sophistication of the counterfeit money produced by this criminal group."

Lu Chen also felt that this was a bit troublesome.

What should I do? Should I make the counterfeit money myself?

Actually, Lu Chen wanted to do it himself.

After all, if you make counterfeit money yourself, you can definitely pass it off as real.

And you might even be able to complete the tasks assigned by the system while you're at it.

But after thinking about it, he decided against it. Putting aside whether Lu Chen could successfully exploit the system bug this time, even if he volunteered to say that he could make counterfeit money, Ding Jianguo wouldn't believe him.

However, there is a solution. Lu Chen felt that Ding Jianguo was blinded by his own involvement.

"Director Ding, you don't have counterfeit money, but you do have people who know how to make it, right?" Lu Chen asked.

Ding Jianguo was taken aback: "Who knows how to make counterfeit money?" He looked puzzled. "Does our bureau have someone so capable?"

Jiang Xue, who was standing to the side, shook her head. She didn't know that there was such a capable person in their department.

Lu Chen laughed: "Of course I'm not talking about your department. I'm saying you've never arrested any criminals who make counterfeit money?"

After Lu Chen's guidance, Ding Jianguo finally understood.

His eyes lit up, and he slapped his thigh. That's right! There were no people in their department who knew how to make counterfeit money, but there were quite a few such capable people in the prisons of Xia Country.

Bring them out and let them redeem themselves through meritorious service. These people would be absolutely willing to do it in order to get their sentences reduced.

"Great! Great!" He beamed with joy, not expecting Lu Chen to be so resourceful.

"Xiao Lu, you've done our bureau a huge favor again!" Ding Jianguo said gratefully.

Lu Chen smiled calmly and said, "Director Ding, I'm doing this for my wife's sake. I don't want her to work overtime every day."

Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, Jiang Xue's face flushed red.

"Hahaha." Ding Jianguo laughed heartily: "Okay, I'll go report this plan to my superiors right away."