Chapter 404: Chapter 332: You Economic Crime Investigators Are Too Tight-Lipped
Having gotten the answer he wanted, Zhang Songhao immediately stood up and told Shen Xin they were leaving for the municipal bureau right away.
Shen Xin froze. ’Didn’t you say yesterday that there was no rush?’
’Besides, what are we going to do at the municipal bureau?’
Zhang Songhao said, "With a case this big, do you think the detachment wouldn’t get involved?"
Shen Xin realized.
’True. The numbers are in the billions. It’d be strange if the detachment didn’t step in.’
’They’ll probably form a special task force, too.’
Zhang Songhao continued, "The main thing is, I haven’t told Han Zhi about this idea yet. I need to have him weigh in on whether it’s feasible first."
The Han Zhi he was referring to was probably Han Shicheng, the deputy commander of the municipal bureau’s Economic Crimes Investigation Detachment.
’But that doesn’t seem right.’
’For a case this big, wouldn’t Detachment Commander Xie Changyuan be taking the lead personally?’
As Zhang Songhao led Shen Xin outside, he explained, "You don’t know. The task force was formed over in Songpu. The case is primarily based in Songpu."
"They sent a deputy chief to take the lead, so we’re outranked. That’s why both us here in Nanjiang and the guys over in Pingyu are just playing a supporting role."
"Someone at my level has been reduced to an errand boy."
Shen Xin understood and was secretly alarmed.
’It is a three-billion-yuan case, after all. They even sent a deputy chief.’
’The Deputy Chief Commander of the Songpu City Economic Crimes Investigation Detachment... what kind of rank must that be?’
When they got downstairs and were about to get in the car, Shen Xin stopped and asked, "Should I bring the cat?"
"If they like the idea and want us to head out immediately, we’d have to come back for the cat."
"Good idea." Zhang Songhao nodded and asked Shen Xin where the cat was.
’I have no idea either,’ Shen Xin thought.
He hadn’t seen the Chief since he got back yesterday.
He ran to ask Ding Yuwei, but she said she hadn’t seen him.
But it wasn’t a problem. He knew the Chief roamed around, so he had fitted him with a tracking collar.
He checked the tracker and found the cat was in the office building.
But he didn’t know which floor.
The little guy was all black; if he was curled up in some random corner, finding him would be a real chore.
Following the tracker’s signal, Shen Xin searched room by room and, to his surprise, finally found him in Wang Xihai’s office.
When he found him, the Chief was dozing on Wang Xihai’s lap.
Shen Xin pushed the door open a bit too loudly, and Wang Xihai actually glared at him, as if to say, ’Don’t you dare wake the Chief while he’s sleeping.’
"Director Wang, I need to use the cat."
Shen Xin said, not sure whether to laugh or cry. He hadn’t realized Director Wang was a cat person.
"Use?"
Wang Xihai’s gaze was wary. Only after getting a clear explanation of the situation did he reluctantly hand the Chief over to Shen Xin, admonishing, "You better be careful. You can’t let the Chief take any risks."
Shen Xin agreed, again at a loss for whether to laugh or cry, and carried the Chief downstairs.
Favorability: Stage 2, one bar. The cat stared up at Shen Xin with its big eyes, then burrowed into the crook of his arm.
They drove to the municipal bureau.
There was a meeting going on at the bureau; Han Shicheng, another deputy detachment commander, and Xie Changyuan were all in attendance.
The two of them waited in the corridor, a good distance from the main conference room.
Shen Xin held the Chief to keep him from running off, internally debating whether he should go check on his own little plot of land.
’I wonder if they’ve put the nameplate up yet.’
After waiting for over half an hour, the meeting finally ended.
A huge crowd of people filed out, with Zhao Hongjie at the very front.
Shen Xin and Zhang Songhao watched from a distance, offering a silent, respectful gaze.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Hongjie caught a glimpse of Shen Xin out of the corner of his eye.
He waved Shen Xin over and, as he approached, asked curiously why he was there.
’The paperwork hasn’t even gone through yet.’
’And he’s holding a cat.’
He instinctively reached out, wanting to pet the Chief.
The Chief’s paw shot out like lightning.
Zhao Hongjie snatched his hand back, surprised. "Whoa, he’s a feisty one."
A chill ran down Shen Xin’s spine, and he quickly apologized.
"Don’t worry about it." Zhao Hongjie waved his hand dismissively and asked why he had brought the cat.
Shen Xin couldn’t bear the consequences of being seen playing with a cat during work hours, so he turned to look at Zhang Songhao.
’Can I say anything?’
Zhang Songhao hadn’t expected Zhao Hongjie to call them over to talk.
’Shouldn’t a director of his stature just give them a nod and walk away?’
But now that he’d been asked, Zhang Songhao hurried forward and explained that for the bank case, he wanted to ask Shen Xin to use his cat to help with the investigation.
He saw Han Shicheng and Xie Changyuan.
’Perfect, this saves me a trip to report it.’
"Ah, that case."
Zhao Hongjie clearly knew about the case. Frowning slightly, he turned and called Xie Changyuan over.
Xie Changyuan was tall, in the prime of his life, and had a stern, unsmiling face.
Zhao Hongjie asked in a low voice about the investigation’s progress.
Shen Xin overheard Xie Changyuan say it was very troublesome and that they’d reached a stalemate.
Zhao Hongjie thought for a moment, then pointed at the Chief and said, "It’s another tool in the toolbox. Since we’re involved in this case, we should be more proactive."
"Let’s not give them a reason to dismiss us, making it look like we’re only here to take the credit without putting in the effort."
Xie Changyuan nodded in agreement.
Shen Xin listened silently, sensing that Zhao Hongjie’s words contained not just encouragement, but also a hint of resentment.
Recalling what Zhang Songhao had said earlier about being reduced to an errand boy, he could roughly guess the reason why.
The case had started in Nanjiang, Jiang Qi had died in Pingyu, but the bank in question was in Songpu.
It was a true three-location, cross-provincial collaboration.
Now that the case was worth so much, it was likely that the team from Songpu was making things difficult.
For instance, they were probably thinking, ’The bank is in our city, Songpu. Jiang Qi was just the informant, and she was originally from Songpu anyway.’
’So if there’s going to be an investigation, Songpu should be the one to lead it.’
’Not to mention they sent a deputy chief to lead the charge; his rank was plain to see.’
Zhao Hongjie smiled at Shen Xin, then led his people away.
Xie Changyuan, Han Shicheng, and another deputy detachment commander named Cheng Qian stayed behind.
Xie Changyuan glanced at the Chief in Shen Xin’s arms, thought for a moment, and said, "Old Han, you’re clear on the situation. You make the call."
With that, he gave Shen Xin a slight nod and left ahead of the others.
Compared to Xie Changyuan’s cold personality, Han Shicheng was much more affable.
You could tell just from his face. He didn’t even need to smile; his small eyes always seemed to be crinkled with good humor.
He led the two of them to his office.
He poured them both water, then asked Zhang Songhao how he’d thought of this approach and what his specific idea was.
Zhang Songhao gave a wry smile. "Han Zhi, my hand was forced. I had no other choice. That guy talks about nothing but rules and regulations. Fine, if a person isn’t allowed, a cat should be okay, right?"
Shen Xin didn’t know who this "guy" he was talking about was.
But judging from Zhang Songhao’s tone, he was harboring quite a bit of resentment.
Han Shicheng chuckled. "He’s not wrong, you know. With a case this big, we can’t have any procedural missteps. And besides, aren’t you just exploiting a loophole yourself right now?"
He crossed his arms and mulled it over.
He glanced at Shen Xin from time to time.
After a long moment, he nodded. "Alright. Like Director Zhao said, another tool in the toolbox. Let’s give it a try."
Zhang Songhao was overjoyed and nodded eagerly. "Han Zhi, just trust me. I’ve been thinking about this for days; it’s sure to work. Besides, you have no idea how amazing Xiaoshen’s cat is."
"Everyone at the branch bureau knows Da Mei was the one who cracked last year’s kidnapping case."
"And for the narcotics division, wasn’t that huge case in Ningshan also solved because of Da Mei?"
Shen Xin quickly said he wasn’t that amazing.
As of now, Shen Xin only knew that the Chief was needed for reconnaissance. He was still unclear on the specifics, like how the reconnaissance would be carried out or what the environment would be like.
Therefore, Shen Xin didn’t dare to make any guarantees.
Han Shicheng smiled and said, "Xiaoshen, I’m aware of your record. It’s absolutely not that I don’t trust your cat, it’s just that this business is quite complicated. How about this: if you’re okay with it, let’s head out for Songpu now. I’ll give you a proper briefing on the way."
He’d said he would give a proper briefing, but throughout the entire drive, despite all his talking, Shen Xin realized he hadn’t revealed a single specific detail about the case.
In other words, Shen Xin didn’t know how many people the case involved, or why they needed to investigate this particular person.
That’s right, "this person."
Shen Xin didn’t even know his name.
He wasn’t even clear on the nature of the case.
Was it embezzlement, or fundraising fraud?
Shen Xin knew that economic crimes investigators were tight-lipped, but he never knew they were *this* tight-lipped.
「More than two hours later, the car arrived in Songpu.」
Here, they split up.
Han Shicheng went to the task force headquarters on his own, while Shen Xin and Zhang Songhao drove into a villa community.
This was Dingjiang District, on the west side of the city and not too far from the downtown area.
You could tell by the real estate prices.
A single villa here would probably wipe out Shen Haolin’s entire family fortune, and he’d still have to sell his factory to afford it.
When they entered, they didn’t have to sign in; the security guard proactively opened the gate for them.
’Looks like they’ve been here quite a few times.’
After entering the community, instead of heading to a specific villa, they ended up stopping behind an MPV parked on the side of the road.
Zhang Songhao got out, walked over, and knocked on the van’s rear door.
The door opened quickly, and out stepped... an acquaintance.
Gu Dawei.
The captain of the Songling Branch’s Economic Crimes Investigation Division.
When Shen Xin had gone to Songling to help solve Han Xiaolong’s case, Ding Junbao had hosted him, and Gu Dawei had been there to help entertain him.
After getting out, he closed the van door and greeted Shen Xin with a wide smile.
Then he turned to Zhang Songhao. "Old Zhang, I told you it would work. See? You brought him over after all."
Surprised, Shen Xin asked what he meant.
Zhang Songhao said, "Actually, it was Captain Gu who first mentioned it. I thought it over carefully and decided it was feasible."
Shen Xin nodded.
’It doesn’t matter who suggested it,’ he thought. ’What matters is what I’m actually supposed to be doing.’
"So, you two, which villa are we surveilling?" Shen Xin asked.
’They’re being way too mysterious about this.’
’All I know is we’re investigating a person, and it involves going into his villa.’
"That one there. Number 8." Gu Dawei gestured with his chin toward a standalone villa in the distance.
Shen Xin glanced over. It was quite impressive. A wrought-iron fence was completely covered in vines, obscuring the view inside and ensuring excellent privacy.
Shen Xin instinctively asked who owned the villa.
Zhang Songhao and Gu Dawei exchanged a look, then shook their heads.
Zhang Songhao said, "Xiaoshen, I know you must feel frustrated that we’re not telling you anything."
’If I were in Shen Xin’s shoes, I’d be annoyed, too.’
’It’s not my case, I’m just here to help, and they’re being all secretive and not telling me anything.’
"But this case is really special, and our hands are tied. You don’t know this, but the prosecutor’s office is involved now, and they’re watching our every move."
As he mentioned this, a resentful look crossed Zhang Songhao’s face. He added, "Especially that young kid they sent over. He’s got a sour look on his face all day, saying ’you can’t do this’ and ’you can’t do that.’ If we actually did everything he says, we’d never be able to solve this case."
As he was complaining, Gu Dawei, who was standing beside him, quickly jabbed him with an elbow.
Zhang Songhao whipped his head around and immediately realized what he meant. ’The guy is in the van.’
Shen Xin’s curiosity was piqued.
Generally speaking, the prosecutor’s office would only send a case back for reinvestigation if there were problems with the submitted files or if the evidence was insufficient.
They almost never participated in the investigation of a case itself.
Especially not during the initial investigation phase.
A situation like this, where they assigned someone to shadow the investigators and monitor the entire process, was exceedingly rare.
But it also indirectly proved that this case was truly out of the ordinary.
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