Task Force 151

"This old scoundrel was trying to rent out a single storefront to multiple people. He had already negotiated with two tenants, and I was the third. I heard he was even talking to a fourth, planning to sign transfer contracts with all four of them. As soon as the money hit his account, he was going to take off with the cash," Wang Qingsheng said.

"Uncle, how did you figure it out?" Han Bin asked.

"Following your advice, I kept my guard up and carefully inquired around the antique market. That old scoundrel was very good at keeping secrets, and I didn't find out anything useful at first," Wang Qingsheng took a sip of tea and continued:

"There are plenty of rumors in the antique market, but when it comes to personal interests, no one is willing to speak out. I had no choice but to try another way."

"Stop keeping us in suspense and just tell us, how did you finally discover it?" Wang Huifang walked out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron.

"I staked out the entrance of Yubao Hall to see who went in and out of the shop. It was a bit of a clumsy method, but it really worked. I saw three different people enter Yubao Hall and stay inside for a full hour. When they came out, I intercepted them. At first, they refused to say what they were doing there, but after chatting for a bit, I found out they also wanted to lease Yubao Hall and had already paid a deposit, otherwise they wouldn't have told me." Wang Qingsheng explained.

"That still doesn't prove that the guy was leasing the same property to multiple people," Wang Huifang noted.

"Don't worry, I haven't finished yet," Wang Qingsheng waved his hand and went on:

"Right in front of them, I called Boss Zhou of Yubao Hall and asked if the shop was still available for rent. He said as long as I could produce two hundred and fifty thousand, it was mine. Those three people were instantly dumbfounded..."

Wang Qingsheng recounted the whole story in detail. Boss Zhou certainly got what he deserved; he was arrested by the police on charges of contract fraud, and due to the massive amount of money involved, he would face criminal prosecution.

"Congratulations to Police Officer 577533 for applying criminal investigation skills to daily life, protecting family members from fraud, successfully preventing a crime, and earning the gratitude of loved ones."

"Micro-expression analysis proficiency +2."

"Merit value reward: 1 point."

Han Bin's eyes lit up. This was quite an unexpected bonus.

He hadn't expected his casual intervention to earn him merit points and skill proficiency.

"Qingsheng, are you still planning to take over that shop?" Han Weidong asked as he changed the pot of tea.

"Aside from Yubao Hall, there aren't many suitable places right now. Besides, after this incident, I feel I was a bit too hasty. If Binzi hadn't gone with me, I might have been scammed again. I think I'll just stick to running a street stall for a while, and think about renting a storefront later," Wang Qingsheng sighed.

"You live and you learn. At least we didn't suffer any losses this time, so taking it slow is the right move," Wang Huifang comforted him.

"Uncle, whenever you're unsure about something in the future, just call me. I don't know much about the antique trade, but when it comes to reading people, I'm pretty accurate," Han Bin smiled.

"You, you're just like your father, thinking everyone looks like a bad guy," Wang Huifang huffed.

"What's wrong with that? The water is deep in the antique industry. Even if you make a little less, you can't let yourself get scammed," Han Weidong said.

"Brother-in-law is right. The antique industry today is different from twenty years ago; there aren't that many bargains left to pick up. Although the profit margins are still higher than other industries, if you get fooled just once, you can lose all the money you made from ten successful deals," Wang Qingsheng gestured with his hand.

He had made up his mind. From now on, whenever he encountered an item he wasn't sure about, he would rather buy it late than without Han Bin taking a look first. With his own experience in appraising goods combined with Han Bin's talent for spotting lies and reading people, this double insurance would greatly reduce the chances of buying fakes.

Since Han Bin was his own nephew, he might as well make good use of him. Furthermore, he was a bachelor; to put it bluntly, after he passed away, whatever family wealth he had left would go to Han Bin anyway.

...

The next day.

Inside the Office of Squad Two.

There were no cases assigned for the morning. Han Bin drank a cup of coffee and a few cups of tea while playing on his phone. Such leisurely and relaxed moments were truly rare.

After finishing lunch, Han Bin rested his head on his desk.

Li Hui chattered away incessantly, chatting with Sun Xiaopeng while occasionally boasting about his past heroic exploits.

It was impossible to tell how much of it was exaggerated, and Han Bin couldn't be bothered to listen too closely.

"Tap, tap..."

A series of footsteps echoed as Zeng Ping walked in: "We've got a case."

Han Bin sat up straight and rubbed his neck: "Captain Zeng, what kind of case is it?"

"Transferred over from the sub-station, a burglary case," Zeng Ping pulled a file out of a kraft paper envelope.

The stolen amount did not meet the threshold for criminal case registration, classifying it as an administrative public security case, which was normally handled by the local police station.

However, if the involved amount was huge or there were other aggravating circumstances that met the threshold for theft, it would then be classified as a criminal case.

Zeng Ping glanced at the file briefly before placing it on the projector: "This is the dossier transferred from the sub-station. The suspect broke in through a window and likely carried a weapon, posing a certain degree of danger."

A burglary case was more severe in nature than ordinary theft because once the victim resisted, it could easily escalate into aggravated robbery, threatening the victim's life.

"Was it carried out by an accomplice or a lone offender?" Han Bin asked.

"Judging by the current evidence, the possibility of a lone offender is quite high," Zeng Ping pointed at the projector and said:

"Take a look..."

"Screech..." With a sound, the door to the Squad Two office was pushed open.

Zheng Kaixuan strode in.

"Captain Zheng," everyone greeted.

Zheng Kaixuan glanced around and said: "Having a meeting?"

"Captain Zheng, you came at the right time. We were just about to discuss a new case, and you can help us vet it," Zeng Ping stood up and said.

Zheng Kaixuan waved his hand: "I don't have time for your burglary case right now. The criminal investigation division has set up a temporary special investigation team, and we need to pull two people from your squad."

"Captain Zheng, our squad only has a few people as it is, and you want to take two at once..." Before Zeng Ping could finish, he was interrupted by Zheng Kaixuan.

"I don't have time to bargain with you. I'm taking the people right now. You still handle the burglary case, and whatever comes up, we'll talk about it later," Zheng Kaixuan said in a tone that allowed no room for objection:

"Han Bin, Li Hui, the two of you come with me."

Han Bin and Li Hui packed up their things and followed Zheng Kaixuan out of the office, leaving Zeng Ping standing there with a helpless expression.

"Captain Zeng, what's going on here?" Tian Li asked in surprise.

Zeng Ping was equally clueless, as Zheng Kaixuan hadn't given him any prior notice.

"Captain Zeng, are we still handling this burglary case?" Zhao Ming asked.

"Nonsense, of course we are," Zeng Ping said irritably. Losing two capable subordinates all at once made handling this case extremely frustrating.

...

Meanwhile, downstairs at the Yuhua Sub-bureau.

A police van was parked at the entrance, with Wei Zimo and Sun Xing from Squad One waiting nearby.

"Captain Zheng," the two greeted.

"Get in the van," Zheng Kaixuan gestured, and all five of them climbed inside.

"Captain Zheng, where are we heading?" Li Hui asked curiously.

"Is this a joint investigation with three squads?" Wei Zimo inquired.

"We're going to Moonlight River to process a crime scene. A headless male body was found by the river," Zheng Kaixuan fastened his seatbelt and urged the driver to get moving:

"The sub-bureau just issued an order to establish the '9.19 Special Investigation Team'. Bureau Chief Dai will serve as the team leader, with myself and Li Zhankun as deputy leaders. We are pulling personnel from Squad One and Squad Three to conduct a joint investigation."