159 Capture

"That is possible, but guesswork isn't enough. We need to produce evidence," Zheng Kaixuan said.

"Captain Zheng, you had me go to the telecommunications company to check the call logs of Zhang Haiyan and Cao Yang. While I was at it, I also checked Sun Shaoqiang's call logs and found that after August 30th, his cell phone made no more calls," Han Bin said.

"That's right. I looked at the call logs and was also a bit puzzled. Sun Shaoqiang is definitely connected to this case. Before August 30th, he frequently contacted Li Tao, but after August 30th, his phone was practically abandoned, and he seemed to have gone off the grid completely. The timing matches the corpse-dumping case too perfectly," Li Hui said.

"Could it be that Sun Shaoqiang is actually the real victim, and Li Tao is the suspect who killed him?" Wei Zimoh said, letting his imagination run wild following their train of thought.

"Killing someone requires a motive. What is the relationship between this Sun Shaoqiang and Li Tao, and what grievance is there between them?" Han Bin asked.

"Li Tao doesn't have a car registered in his name. Where did that white sedan used for dumping the body come from?" Zheng Kaixuan asked.

"Could it be the victim Sun Shaoqiang's car?" Li Hui made a bold guess. "Under the pretense of doing business, Li Tao lured Sun Shaoqiang to Qindao, then seized the opportunity to kill him for his money and car. That would explain Li Tao's motive for murder."

"It seems necessary to take a trip to Guang'an City," Zheng Kaixuan muttered.

...

That evening, Zheng Kaixuan, Han Bin, and Li Hui took a train to Guang'an City.

It was the three men's first time in Guang'an City, so they were complete strangers to the area. Fortunately, Dai Minghan had made arrangements in advance, and the three borrowed a police car from the municipal bureau, driving it directly to Xiguan Village to ask the local police station for assistance in their investigation.

Shortly after arriving in Xiguan Village, the three received a call from Wei Zimoh. He and Sun Xing hadn't been idle either and were still tracking Li Tao's whereabouts.

The two uncovered two new clues: first, Li Tao had withdrawn money on August 30th, which they suspected was in preparation for fleeing; second, Sun Shaoqiang did not own a car under his name.

Accompanied by local police officers, the three of them went to the village committee to inquire about Sun Shaoqiang's family situation from the village cadres.

However, to their utter astonishment, not only was Sun Shaoqiang still alive, but he was actually at home.

The three of them were somewhat baffled. If Li Tao wasn't the victim and Sun Shaoqiang was still alive, whose body was the decapitated corpse?

After pondering for a while without any leads, the three decided to go to his house to investigate and see what was really going on.

Sun Shaoqiang's house was located in the southern part of Xiguan Village. Accompanied by a village cadre and a police officer, Han Bin and his team arrived near Sun Shaoqiang's house. Entering the alley, the second house on the left was Sun Shaoqiang's residence, and a black sedan was parked right outside the entrance.

"Whose car is this?" Li Hui asked.

"I'll go ask around," the village cadre said, heading over to Sun Shaoqiang's neighbor's house.

Han Bin stepped forward, inspected the black sedan, touched its body, and said, "Captain Zheng, this car has a layer of car wrap on the outside."

Zheng Kaixuan squatted down and inspected the license plate: "The license plate also shows signs of having been removed and reattached."

"The model of this car is the same as the one used for dumping the body. Could this be the suspect vehicle we've been looking for?" Li Hui said.

"Captain Zheng, I suggest we arrest Sun Shaoqiang," Han Bin said.

A moment later, the village cadre walked back out, having learned from the neighbor that Sun Shaoqiang originally didn't own a car. He had gone out of town at the end of August and had just returned a couple of days ago, and this car had been driven back only recently.

Upon learning this, Zheng Kaixuan made a decisive judgment and ordered the immediate arrest of Sun Shaoqiang.

...

"Honk, honk..."

A series of car horns blared as Li Hui drove a gray sedan right behind the black sedan and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Whose black car is this? It's blocking the whole road, move it right now!"

"Honk, honk..." Another burst of honking followed.

With a creak, the door of Sun Shaoqiang's house opened, and a middle-aged man walked out.

Li Hui looked up and recognized Sun Shaoqiang himself.

"What are you yelling for? Where are you trying to drive?" Sun Shaoqiang had a robust build and a booming voice.

"Is this your car?" Li Hui asked.

"Duh! It's parked right at my doorstep. Whose car would it be if not mine?"

"Move it aside and let me through."

"Move your ass! This is my family's alley. If you can't get through, take another route," Sun Shaoqiang cursed.

"Why are you being so unreasonable?" Li Hui said.

"So what? I am unreasonable. What are you gonna do about it?" Sun Shaoqiang glared fiercely, looking ready for a fight.

Taking advantage of the argument, Han Bin, Zheng Kaixuan, and the police officer had already circled around behind him, boxing him in from all sides.

"Police! Don't move!" Han Bin shouted.

Sun Shaoqiang was momentarily stunned, then turned around to run. Zheng Kaixuan whipped out a can of pepper spray and blasted it straight into his face.

"Ah—!" Sun Shaoqiang let out a sharp scream, wiping his face frantically, first with his hands and then with his clothes.

Han Bin and Li Hui stepped forward swiftly and subdued him.

Hearing the commotion, Sun Shaoqiang's wife rushed out. Seeing her husband handcuffed, his face burning red and showing signs of extreme agony, she anxiously asked, "Who are you people? Why are you arresting my husband?"

"Police," Han Bin displayed his police badge once again.

"Even the police can't make arbitrary arrests! What grounds do you have to arrest my husband?" Sun Shaoqiang's wife demanded.

"A murder and corpse-dumping case occurred in Qindao, and Sun Shaoqiang is a prime suspect. We are taking him back to assist with the investigation," Han Bin said as he searched Sun Shaoqiang for the car keys and unlocked the black car.

He found the vehicle registration certificate in the driver's seat, which was registered under a white sedan with a fake license plate. They also discovered two license plates in the trunk, one of which was precisely Lu B 7D14C.

This confirmed that the car was indeed the suspect vehicle used in the body dumping.

"Haha, the First Team has been chasing this suspect vehicle forever, and to think we found it first," Li Hui laughed.

"Well said. When we head back this time, I must see what expression is on Li Zhangkun's face," Zheng Kaixuan joked.

Clearly, he was in high spirits.

Han Bin chuckled helplessly. They had originally come to investigate the victim, only to stumble blindly into capturing the suspect. It certainly came as quite a surprise.

Shortly after, Sun Shaoqiang was forced into the police car, and an officer drove Sun Shaoqiang's car back to the police station.

"How did you guys find me?" Sun Shaoqiang asked, looking bewildered and seemingly unprepared for his arrest.

"You have the nerve to ask? You traveled thousands of miles to Qindao to commit murder, thinking the heads of us Qindao folks are just Chinese cabbages for you to chop off whenever you please?" Li Hui scolded.

"Bah! The bastard I chopped wasn't from Qindao," Sun Shaoqiang spat.

"You punk, you still dare to talk back?" Li Hui reached out with his right hand and gave Sun Shaoqiang a smack on the head.

However, Han Bin took Sun Shaoqiang's words to heart. If the victim wasn't from Qindao, then who on earth was he?