140 Suspicions (Third update, seeking monthly votes!)

Zheng Kaixuan gave a few more instructions, urging everyone to handle the case well and solve the base station thefts as soon as possible, before leaving the office.

Zhao Ming still looked dazed. "Sun... Xiaopeng, how tall are you?"

"I guess about 1.9 meters?" Li Hui asked.

"Not 1.98, just 1.92 meters," Sun Xiaopeng said, scratching his head with an embarrassed look.

Although he looked tall and sturdy, he didn't seem very old.

Zhao Ming tapped his forehead. His own height was only 169.5 cm; this guy was more than twenty centimeters taller than him.

Han Bin, at 1.8 meters, had previously been the tallest in the second squad, but the sudden arrival of someone 192 cm tall immediately stole his thunder.

However, Han Bin didn't care; he found such attention meaningless.

"Xiaopeng, why don't you sit next to Han Bin? If you have any questions, just ask him," Zeng Ping said.

"Yes, Team Leader Zeng," Sun Xiaopeng replied.

Zhao Ming breathed a sigh of relief. If that guy had sat next to him, he would have had to give up sitting at his desk altogether.

Clearly, Zeng Ping had made this decision after careful consideration.

"Xiaopeng has just joined our squad, so everyone please take care of him and help him get used to our rhythm," Zeng Ping said, looking over Sun Xiaopeng. He was quite pleased with this new, capable recruit, who looked like someone who could handle hard work. He continued, "Let's arrange today's tasks."

"Han Bin and Li Hui, you two go to check the two base stations stolen on September 4th. They are close to each other, which will make conducting interviews easier."

"Xiaopeng and I will check the base station stolen on September 5th. We'll split up to investigate the remaining two stations this afternoon."

"Team Leader Zeng, what about Tian Li and me?" Zhao Ming couldn't help but ask.

"You two stay at the station to review the surveillance footage. Cross-reference the footage from around the base stations to see if there are any suspicious vehicles or individuals," Zeng Ping directed.

Zhao Ming sighed. Reviewing surveillance was the last thing he wanted to do. He glanced at Sun Xiaopeng again; luckily, he was paired with Tian Li. If he had been paired with this giant...

Half an hour later, Han Bin and Li Hui drove to the jurisdiction of the Tong'an Police Station to survey the two stolen base stations.

Among the series of base station thefts, the Tong'an jurisdiction had seen four stations hit, making it the area under the most pressure and the one taking the matter most seriously.

Accompanying Han Bin and Li Hui for the re-survey were a police officer involved in the case and a maintenance technician who had reported the thefts. The officer was named Zhang Tie-zhu, and the technician was Feng Xinhua.

Because four stations in the area had been stolen, local signals had been cut off. To avoid disrupting the lives of the residents, the sites had been repaired and signals restored following the initial investigation.

The crime scenes had been compromised, so re-surveying yielded little value. Han Bin and Li Hui gave them a cursory look; the broken locks had been replaced with new ones, and surveillance cameras had been installed near the equipment rooms.

Li Hui pointed at the cameras and said to Feng Xinhua, "If your company had done this sooner, you wouldn't have had to go through all this trouble."

"We wanted to, but this way is much more worry-free; we don't have to run out here every time something happens," Feng Xinhua shrugged.

Han Bin observed the surrounding environment. "What was the exact time these two adjacent base stations were stolen?"

"It must have been on the night of September 3rd or the early morning of September 4th," Feng Xinhua said.

"Did the police station find the specific time of the theft?" Han Bin turned to look at Zhang Tie-zhu.

"According to our investigation, it should have been between 11:00 PM on September 3rd and 6:00 AM on September 4th," Zhang Tie-zhu recalled.

"A seven-hour window—isn't that too long?" Li Hui asked.

"We interviewed some residents, but many didn't pay much attention, so we can only speculate based on the statements," Zhang Tie-zhu replied.

Han Bin didn't press further. If it wasn't clear then, there was even less chance of finding anyone who remembered those details after so many days.

"What was stolen from the base stations?" Han Bin asked.

"Battery packs," Feng Xinhua answered.

"How many sets?"

"Three sets."

"Was one of them a backup?" Han Bin guessed.

"Yes."

"Were the cables and wires stolen?"

Feng Xinhua recalled, "No."

Han Bin became thoughtful. During the survey of the first theft on September 3rd yesterday, cables and wires had been stolen in addition to the batteries, even though they were far less valuable.

By the September 4th theft, the suspects had stopped stealing cables and wires, suggesting their methods were more mature, their targets were more focused, and the time taken for the crime was shorter.

"Are your battery packs welded or screwed together?"

"Screwed together. It makes dismantling them more convenient."

"Are all the base stations in your telecom company screwed together?" Han Bin pressed.

"It's hard to say. They used to be welded, but now many are screwed together. Each station is different," Feng Xinhua said.

Han Bin and Li Hui surveyed the other station, but the situation was much the same, and they found no useful clues.

After letting Zhang Tie-zhu and Feng Xinhua leave, Han Bin and Li Hui conducted some neighborhood interviews. Since five days had passed, many people's memories had blurred, and no useful leads were found. They collected some street surveillance footage and sent it to Tian Li for video analysis.

As it neared noon, the two prepared to grab a bite to eat nearby before heading to inspect another station in the afternoon. Han Bin ordered braised chicken with rice, and Li Hui ordered rice noodles.

Li Hui ate noisily, wincing from the heat, clearly enjoying himself. Han Bin, however, ate slowly, seeming somewhat distracted.

"What are you thinking about? Disappointed that we didn't get a girl assigned to our squad?" Li Hui teased.

"You think I'm like you, unable to walk straight the moment you see a girl?" Han Bin scoffed.

"You stare just as hard when you see a pretty girl," Li Hui said, using his chopsticks to grab a piece of chicken from Han Bin's stone pot.

"That's called appreciation. It's a completely different concept from what you do, okay?" Han Bin spread his hands.

"Mmm, the chicken tastes good," Li Hui praised.

Han Bin: "..."

Han Bin felt he was casting pearls before swine; the two were not on the same wavelength at all.

"I'm thinking about the case. Why am I even talking to you about this?" Han Bin muttered, speechless. Talking to Li Hui always made him lose his train of thought.

"Are you still suspicious of yesterday's technician, Li Weili?" Li Hui guessed.

"Not bad, the chicken wasn't eaten in vain," Han Bin smiled.

"You think I watch Detective Conan for nothing?" Li Hui lifted his chin.

"You're untouchable," Han Bin chuckled, lowering his head to finish his meal.

Li Hui sipped his noodle soup and asked, "Hasn't Li Weili's suspicion already been ruled out? What exactly are you suspicious of?"

"I just feel there are some inconsistencies," Han Bin said.

"You just overthink things. Sometimes it helps with a case, but other times you're just worrying about nothing," Li Hui pointed his finger at Han Bin and continued, "Li Weili is only one person. A battery pack weighs over a hundred pounds; how could he possibly lift it?"

"There are two types of battery packs: one is welded shut, and the other is screwed together. If it's welded, one person certainly couldn't lift it, but what if it's screwed together?" Han Bin countered.

"Are you saying Li Weili lied?" Li Hui asked, his expression turning serious.

"According to Feng Xinhua, the two base stations stolen on September 4th had battery packs that were fixed with screws. As long as someone is a professional telecom technician, one person can dismantle and move them," Han Bin recalled.

Li Hui frowned and thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Still doesn't add up. Li Weili was on the night shift on September 3rd, 5th, and 7th. Tian Li called the telecom company to verify, and the night shift is from 8:00 PM to 8:00 AM. He simply didn't have the time to commit the crimes."

Han Bin frowned. Could it be that he was really overthinking it?