Chapter 406: Chapter 333: Legal Infiltration (Part 2)
It even got to the point where regular people were going to the Tingyang Branch to "check in" online, hoping to catch a glimpse of Tian Kui.
The time passed slowly as they shot the breeze.
They ended up waiting the entire afternoon.
Just before seven in the evening, they got word that the suspect, who had been stuck in traffic for ages, was finally about to arrive home.
Everyone quickly got into their vehicles.
A little over ten minutes later, Zhang Songhao and the others watched intently.
Shen Xin immediately knew who the target was.
A two-tone Maybach drove past. The windows were tinted with reflective film, making it impossible to see the driver inside.
The car drove into the underground garage.
At the same time, another van-sized MPV slowly pulled up and parked behind their two vehicles.
A man in his thirties or forties got out and came over to greet them.
"You must be Shen Xin. A pleasure, I’m Hu Mingchuan." The man extended a hand in greeting.
He wasn’t that old, but his rank was high.
The deputy chief of the Zhongming Branch’s economic investigation detachment.
After the greeting, he casually pulled open the car door to get in and asked, "By the way, where’s your cat?"
Just as he was about to sit, a sharp MEOW made him jump. He realized there was a cat on the seat right under his butt, and he had almost sat on it.
"Holy crap, is it really that black?"
Hu Mingchuan’s eyes widened. He carefully sat down beside it, staring at Sergeant in disbelief.
It was truly pitch-black. Against the dark background, it was completely invisible.
"Amazing. No wonder they want to use a cat." Hu Mingchuan gave Shen Xin a thumbs-up.
Once this cat slipped into a shadow, it was as good as invisible.
Zhang Songhao turned and asked Hu Mingchuan what was going on at his end; they’d been waiting so long without any news.
After all, Hu Mingchuan was a Songpu local, so he should have better intel.
"Long?"
Hu Mingchuan shrugged. "You have no idea. They’re at each other’s throats over there. I heard they even brought in people from the court. They’ve probably worn the legal statutes and the criminal procedure law thin by now."
Shen Xin broke into a nervous sweat. That was a bit of an exaggeration.
Just then, Hu Mingchuan asked curiously what exactly Sergeant could do.
He had only been told that the cat would be used for reconnaissance, but he wasn’t qualified to participate in the discussions about the specifics, so he didn’t know the details.
Shen Xin thought for a moment and then beckoned to Sergeant.
When Sergeant hopped into his lap, he handed the cat an empty drink bottle, rolled down the window, and pointed to a trash can about ten meters away. "Sergeant, go throw this bottle away for me."
’If Tiger Stripes can buy drinks for me, then having Sergeant throw out some trash is no big deal.’
Sergeant’s yellow eyes stared at Shen Xin.
’Why don’t you go yourself?’
Shen Xin glared. "Can’t you just help me out?"
’Fine.’
The thought in Sergeant’s mind was likely one of extreme exasperation. It bit down on the mouth of the bottle, leaped out of the car with a WHOOSH, and darted straight for the trash can.
With a single bound, it jumped into the trash can, then quickly jumped back out and scampered back.
"Holy crap, that’s incredible!"
Hu Mingchuan’s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head.
It wasn’t a cat he was raising, it was some kind of monster.
"Well, that’s more or less it." Shen Xin asked if Hu Mingchuan understood.
Hu Mingchuan nodded blankly and couldn’t help but say, "Seriously, I think they should come see this for themselves. Your cat is just too damn awesome. How did you raise it?"
Shen Xin just smiled and didn’t explain.
’It’s at Stage Two, so its comprehension is very strong.’
The person was home, but they still had to wait.
They waited like that until almost nine at night, when the main leaders of the task force finally arrived.
That deputy director didn’t come.
The most important person who came was Qin Chunyi, the deputy head of the task force and the chief of the First Detachment under the Songpu Economic Investigation Corps.
A bona fide second-grade superintendent—a deputy division chief—just one rank below Zhao Hongjie.
He had a square-jawed face and a very serious demeanor.
But at his level, even for someone from an operational department, he had a masterful grasp of social graces.
He smiled and shook Shen Xin’s hand. His own was rough and firm. He first thanked Shen Xin, then said jokingly, "I’ve certainly heard a lot of stories about you today."
Throughout the afternoon, he had heard all about the cases Shen Xin had solved and the things he’d done using animals.
And it wasn’t just Han Shicheng talking; people from Pingyu were talking too.
After all, Shen Xin had helped Pingyu crack a cold case that had been unsolved for years.
"By the way, where’s the cat?" Qin Chunyi asked.
Shen Xin quickly pulled open the car door and pointed to the floor of the back seat.
Qin Chunyi was stunned for a moment. He had to stare hard before he could make out where Sergeant was.
"My god, that thing is seriously black." Qin Chunyi called the others over to look.
With its eyes closed, the cat seemed to absorb light, making it completely invisible.
Shen Xin noticed Han Shicheng secretly nod at Zhang Songhao.
It looked like they had reached an agreement.
They had probably scoured the criminal procedure law and found no articles prohibiting it.
Sure enough, the leader hadn’t come over this late just to chat. He immediately called Shen Xin over to explain the basic situation.
But he still didn’t reveal the details of the case, only what he needed Shen Xin to do.
Shen Xin listened intently.
He then realized why the prosecutor’s office had to get involved and even assign someone to supervise.
The task force had only obtained some evidence that made them suspect the owner of the villa.
They had conducted long-term surveillance, but had not found any definitive proof.
However, logic and all sorts of circumstantial evidence pointed to this person.
And it was reasonable to assume that this person definitely had crucial evidence in his possession.
Under these circumstances, a rash break-in was out of the question. Any evidence obtained that way would be deemed inadmissible, which would in turn hinder the investigation.
The reason they wanted to get inside was that their investigation had revealed that six years ago, when the owner bought this villa, he had a secret room built during the renovations.
The team reasonably suspected that the evidence they were looking for was hidden in this "secret room."
But if they couldn’t even legally enter the villa, getting into this secret room was even more out of the question.
That’s why they came up with the idea of using a cat to reconnoiter the villa’s interior and find a way to get into that room.
To see if it could capture images of the key evidence.
In Shen Xin’s view, this was a repeat of the situation from last year’s drug case in Ningshan.
Da Mei had been up to the task, so Sergeant should have no problem either.
He was now wearing a smaller collar equipped with a microphone, allowing Shen Xin to even give him commands remotely.
After explaining the situation, Qin Chunyi said, "Xiaoshen, let’s just do a trial run today and see if it’s feasible."
After discussing it all afternoon, the task force had decided to give it a try.
If it actually worked, they would continue.
If not, they would call it off immediately.
Most importantly, using a cat wouldn’t startle the suspect.
Shen Xin nodded.
Only then did Shen Xin get the chance to enter the MPV in front.
It was, as expected, a modified surveillance and command vehicle.
The prosecutor approached Shen Xin and asked to inspect Sergeant’s collar, also demanding that Shen Xin explain all of its functions.
He even gave Sergeant a thorough pat-down to check for anything else.
His inspection was serious and meticulous, and his questions were very detailed.
He came across as a bit cold and unforgiving.
After the inspection, however, he did quietly apologize to Shen Xin.
Shen Xin gave a slight nod.
First, they connected the surveillance equipment to the collar so it could transmit a real-time feed.
After adjusting the collar’s camera angle and tightness, Shen Xin carried Sergeant and strolled toward Villa 8.
Then he carefully explained the plan to him.
He told him what he needed to do and that he would be giving commands through the microphone, so he shouldn’t panic when he heard his voice.
"Just hide yourself well, don’t let the people inside find you, and then just keep an eye on him. Only come back when I tell you to."
Shen Xin repeated himself several times, and only after confirming through his thoughts that Sergeant understood did he put him down on the ground.
The cat turned to look at Shen Xin one last time, then shot off.
The two-meter-plus fence was no obstacle for him; with a light and nimble leap, he vaulted into the villa’s grounds.
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