Chapter Seventeen: Investigation

After driving for more than thirty minutes, they finally arrived at Shangkou Street.

Shangkou Street was called a street, but it was really more like an ordinary alley. The road was a narrow, uneven stone path, flanked by low, one-story houses and two-story buildings. The tallest structure was a three-story elementary school building less than a hundred meters from the supply and marketing cooperative.

The cooperative itself was an old compound showing its age. After getting out of the car, Qiu Jiang looked ahead and found it hard to believe that three million yuan could be stored here.

Her expression was easy to read. Zhang Tianguang from Xulin City smiled and explained, “You don’t know the situation. Don’t be fooled by the dull appearance. Not far from here are newly developed commercial buildings and shopping malls where business is bustling and the crowds are thick. This side takes advantage of that convenience to build up restaurants and convenience stores.”

Qiu Jiang glanced around and sighed, “There are so many shops and so many people.”

“That’s why more shops mean more money. Who would feel safe keeping such a large sum on their own? But which merchant can afford to send someone to the bank every day to deposit money?”

“So everyone deposits their money here first?” Qiu Jiang asked curiously.

“Yes. This cooperative uses its geographical advantage to attract many local merchants to store their money here, then the cooperative deposits it in the bank on their behalf, providing great convenience,” added Li Mingyue.

At this, Qiu Jiang understood.

It’s not thieves stealing that’s the problem, but thieves coveting. Everyone living nearby surely knows this. But most people are decent; no one dares rob the cooperative. Besides, the cooperative is armed now—no one would risk such folly without some real capability.

Yet, if one encounters cold-blooded, fearless criminals—as happened six months ago when the cooperative was robbed—then one can only hope for the best.

Fortunately, it seemed the cooperative had not been much affected by that incident. It was just after one in the afternoon, yet the cooperative’s gate was already busy with comings and goings.

Not only curious, Qiu Jiang actually asked about it. A young man passing by glanced at her twice and couldn’t resist speaking, “Who says there was no impact? After that incident, for over a month no one dared deposit money. If the police hadn’t recovered the money in time, do you think anyone would still dare to store it here now?”

“Because the money was recovered, people dare to deposit again?” Qiu Jiang blinked.

“Exactly.” The young man’s eyes never left her after seeing her, his intentions obvious.

Zheng Zhiyong gave Ji Mingcheng a knowing look and whispered, “Your girl is popular. Young girls are easily deceived. As a leader, you must keep a close watch.”

Ji Mingcheng raised an eyebrow, smiling with hidden meaning, “Are you sure she’ll be deceived?”

“Uh?” Zheng Zhiyong thought back to how she tricked Lin Hai’s mother earlier and hesitated, scratching his head to defend himself, “She’s smart, but not necessarily immune to being fooled.”

Though he said this, his tone weakened, clearly doubting his own words—especially after watching her casually extract information from people.

Spotting someone familiar with the situation, Qiu Jiang eagerly pressed on, “Wow, so that’s how it is. But aren’t people afraid someone might try to rob the money again?”

“Since that incident, our manager applied for several guns and hired more staff. I’d like to see who’s foolish enough to come again,” He Zhiguo blushed slightly under her gaze, speaking with bravado.

“Wow, no wonder. If it were me, I’d definitely want to keep my money here.”

“If you want to deposit, come find me—I’ll put you at the front of the line, fastest service guaranteed.”

They exchanged a few more words until the cooperative’s manager, Lu Jiafu, hurried over and cut off their conversation.

Seeing him, Lu Jiafu urged, “Hurry inside, everyone’s been waiting anxiously.”

---

“Oh, okay.” He Zhiguo wanted to chat more, but with the manager here, he dared not linger and quickened his pace while glancing back repeatedly.

Lu Jiafu, oblivious to He Zhiguo’s slow pace, strode quickly toward Zheng Zhiyong and the others.

“Captain Zheng, isn’t the case closed already? Is there anything else you need from us?”

Zheng Zhiyong didn’t hide anything. Hearing this, Lu Jiafu’s mind reeled and his legs trembled. “D-Dead?”

He swallowed hard, holding onto a sliver of hope, “Are you sure this isn’t a mistake?”

“Have you been in contact with him recently?”

Lu Jiafu’s face paled as he stammered, “I thought he quit. We hired new people here, so I stopped contacting him.”

The thought that Jia Honghe might really be dead almost brought him to tears. “What kind of mess is this?”

It wasn’t that he cared much for Jia Honghe—the man was lazy and insolent, often insulting others openly. If he weren’t officially on staff, Lu Jiafu would have kicked him out long ago. But no matter how much he disliked him, he never wished him dead.

Moreover, the cooperative had only just shaken off the shadow of the previous incident. Another death would be devastating.

“Now we need you to contact the three people involved in the robbery night.”

What else could Lu Jiafu do? Obstruct the criminal police? No matter how depressed he felt, he cooperated actively and found them a room in a row of houses west of the cooperative for questioning.

When Wang Ziyi, Chen Feng, and Li Qiushan were individually summoned by Lu Jiafu, they immediately sensed something was wrong. Seeing Zheng Zhiyong and the others confirmed their fears, and their faces darkened.

“Comrades, we’ve told you everything we know. What else do you need from us?”

“About Jia Honghe’s situation on the night of the robbery.”

The three exchanged glances, puzzled. “Didn’t he quit and start working at sea?”

“Yes, he said many times he didn’t want to work here anymore. Could he be in cahoots with the robbers?”

“Don’t jump to conclusions,” Zheng Zhiyong said, sometimes admiring their imagination, bluntly, “Tell us everything about Jia Honghe that night.”

Seeing his grave expression, they tried their best to recall.

“The four of us were on duty. During dinner, Jia Honghe was grumbling about quitting again. We didn’t pay attention—it wasn’t the first time he said that. After dinner, we were watching TV when the robbers came.”

“Right, we were caught off guard, but that guy Jia Honghe was clever. While the robbers were distracted, he climbed over the yard wall and took off.”

“Two of them chased after him, and two stayed behind threatening us with knives. Oh, and one carried an old-fashioned homemade gun. Knives were scary enough, but with a gun, we were terrified. We hoped Jia Honghe would bring backup, but less than an hour later, the two came back pretending to have the money and ran off.”

At that time, the three had been beaten black and blue for not revealing the money’s location. They couldn’t stop the robbers, and before fleeing, the robbers even beat them again to prevent pursuit.

“Those people were ruthless—terrifying.”

Just recalling that night made their teeth chatter in fear.

---

“So your statement was that Jia Honghe successfully escaped?” Qiu Jiang asked, puzzled.

“One of the four muttered before running that they couldn’t find him, then they disappeared.”

Zheng Zhiyong was puzzled, “They had the money and could have just run. Why mention whether Jia Honghe escaped? It sounds like they wanted someone to overhear.”

Zhang Tianguang agreed, “It’s definitely unusual.”

“Anything else you forgot to mention?” Zheng Zhiyong asked.

The three shook their heads, “We were in too much pain to care, and they ran away so fast. That was all we heard.”

Ji Mingcheng had been silent until now, then asked, “Did Jia Honghe often skip work?”

They all nodded in unison.

“He was sly and lazy, never wanting to work or stand watch. Whenever he was on duty, he’d slip out. He’d worn a path on the back wall from climbing over so often.”

“How many escape routes did he have?” Ji Mingcheng pressed.

“Just one.”

“Right. There’s the street in front. Our manager lives nearby and likes to chat and play cards in front of his house after work. If Jia Honghe went out the front door, the manager would see him—day or night. So he always climbed over the back wall and ran home through the big dirt pit behind.”

“A dirt pit?”

“Yes. Behind us is an empty lot where soil was dug for construction nearby, creating a large pit that’s never been filled in. It’s been years, and now it’s overgrown with weeds and small trees.”

At that moment, Li Mingyue and the others returned.

“Captain Zheng, Captain Ji, we’ve asked the neighbors. No one heard running that night. An old lady who’s a light sleeper said the street was very quiet; she slept through till dawn. She was surprised to hear about the robbery the next day.”

“Looks like the person we’re looking for was at the back.”

Just as they prepared to leave, Wang Li rushed in with earth-shattering news.

“Captain Ji, a body has been found.”

“Let’s go—”

At Ji Mingcheng’s command, a group surged out, heading straight for the back mountain.

Meanwhile, Qiu Jiang, who discovered the body and was staying behind, felt chilled to the bone, still reeling from the images she’d just seen and the pain in her lower abdomen.

Squatting on the ground, gasping urgently, she was unaware of someone quietly approaching from behind.

“Who—”