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

Chapter 72: Let Me Play a Robber?

At 2 p.m., the small conference room of the Jiangbei City Police Department was filled with smoke.

Ding Jianguo, Wang Feng, and several other branch office leaders sat around the conference table, each with a solemn expression on their faces.

It wasn't because of a difficult case, but because of a seemingly simple question: who would play the robber?

"Old Wang, do you have any suitable candidates in your Criminal Investigation Division?" Ding Jianguo asked Wang Feng.

Wang Feng frowned, thought for a moment, and shook his head: "Our group is all experts at catching thieves. Why would we let them play the thief..."

He gave a wry smile. "They all stood there with straight faces, like door gods, their eyes barely moving. They didn't look like robbers at all!"

"That's right." Director Li sighed as well.

"Who hired the robbers for last year's exercise? They were beaten to a pulp in less than three minutes, without even having a chance to take hostages."

"The exercise is not just a formality; it has to be realistic."

The robbers need to be cunning and clever enough to truly test the capabilities of our police force.

"If we send in someone who's completely clueless, they'll be subdued by bank security before we even get to the scene. What's the point of the drill then?"

"That's what I mean," Director Zhang stubbed out his cigarette, "The purpose of this exercise is, on the one hand, to train our police force's combat capabilities, and on the other hand, to test the emergency response capabilities of bank employees."

When faced with a truly "high-IQ robber," can they remain calm, correctly call the police, and protect their own and their clients' safety?

"It also involves public safety awareness and self-rescue capabilities," Ding Jianguo added. "The drills will be recorded and broadcast on the media for safety education and publicity."

Therefore, this "robber" can't be too incompetent; he has to look the part.

Silence fell over the meeting room.

The group of people looked at each other, but none of them had a better idea.

Ding Jianguo picked up his teacup, took a sip, and a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

He put down his teacup, his eyes lighting up: "I've remembered someone."

"Who?" Everyone turned to look at him.

"Lu Chen".

"Lu Chen?" Wang Feng was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized.

"It's him." Ding Jianguo nodded.

"Just think about it, how clever is this kid? He managed to get 86 pickpockets to handcuff him all by himself."

Frankly speaking, who among us here possesses the skill to employ such psychological tactics?

Director Li nodded thoughtfully: "You mean, let him play the robber?"

"Yes." Ding Jianguo became more and more excited as he spoke. "What we need for this exercise is a 'smart' robber, an opponent that the police and banks will find troublesome."

Lu Chen, that kid, is quick-witted, has a sharp mind, and is quite daring. If you let him play a robber, he could definitely capture the feeling of a "high-IQ crime."

"Moreover, he is a senior advisor to our police station, so he's one of our own, making it easier to cooperate," Wang Feng added.

"That makes sense." Ding Jianguo stood up.

"However, we need to ask him what he thinks first. After all, he's an actor now, and if he already has acting contracts, we can't force him to do it."

He picked up the phone and dialed Lu Chen's number.

The phone rang for a long time, but no one answered.

Ding Jianguo frowned.

"He's probably busy." He put down the phone, thought for a moment, and then dialed another number, Jiang Xue's.

She has been busy with a case lately and hasn't had a proper rest for several days.

She was organizing case files in her office when she received Ding Jianguo's call.

"Director Ding? You wanted to see me?" Jiang Xue pushed open the door to Ding Jianguo's office, somewhat puzzled.

"Xiao Jiang is here, have a seat." Ding Jianguo gestured to the chair opposite him with a smile. "There's something I'd like to discuss with you."

Jiang Xue sat down, looking at Ding Jianguo's expression, and felt that something was amiss: "Director Ding, please speak."

"It's like this." Ding Jianguo briefly explained the joint police-bank exercise, then changed the subject, "We need someone to play the robber. This person has to be smart and quick-witted, otherwise the exercise will be pointless."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xue had already vaguely guessed what was going on.

"After thinking it over, I think your Lu Chen is the most suitable," Ding Jianguo said with a smile. "He's quick-witted and is our senior advisor. If he's free, he can definitely take on the role of the robber."

Jiang Xue's first reaction wasn't "Is it okay?", but rather "Is there any danger?"

"There's no danger, absolutely no danger." Ding Jianguo quickly waved his hand, his tone very certain, "It's just a formality."

He explained in detail: "The whole process is like this: Lu Chen plays the role of a robber and enters the bank to simulate a robbery scene."

Bank staff followed the emergency plan, activated the alarm system, calmed the "robber," and evacuated customers.

After receiving the report, our police arrived at the scene according to the actual police response procedure, negotiated and confronted the "robber," and finally subdued the "robber."

The entire process used fake guns and props; there were no real guns or props involved.

Jiang Xue remained silent for a while.

She knew Ding Jianguo's character and knew that this exercise didn't pose any real risk. But as a wife, she still couldn't help but worry.

"Then... what preparations does he need to make?" Jiang Xue asked.

"No need," Ding Jianguo said with a smile. "There's nothing to prepare. Just have Lu Chen pretend to be a vicious robber."

Jiang Xue thought for a moment and finally nodded: "Then I'll go back and ask him if he has time recently."

"Okay, thank you for your help." Ding Jianguo stood up.

"Give me an answer as soon as possible. The exercise is scheduled for 10:00 AM next Wednesday at the business hall of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) headquarters in Jiangbei City."

……

That evening, Jiang Xue returned home and told Lu Chen what had happened.

After hearing this, Lu Chen was taken aback for a moment, then laughed.

"Seriously? You want me to rob a bank?"

"It's a drill!" Jiang Xue emphasized. "It's a mock robbery, not a real one."

"I know." Lu Chen sat down on the sofa and crossed his legs.

He nodded thoughtfully.

"This job is really interesting."

Jiang Xue looked at Lu Chen with a strange expression.

If someone asked him to play a robber, he probably would refuse without even thinking.

Why does my husband find it interesting?

Jiang Xue thought that the man in front of her was sometimes ridiculously bold.