I am a super cop

Chapter 3041 He seems to have taken advantage of everyone
On the third floor of the antique shop, the middle-aged woman's words gave everyone a better understanding of Zhang Meng's situation.

After hearing Zhao Wen's explanation that Zhang Meng had put on a good show to get close to them, Gu Chen and Lu Weiwei felt something was amiss.

After all, the Zhang Meng that everyone knew didn't seem to be like this, but in Zhao Wen's words, he became a scheming person who wanted to take advantage of him.

But now, listening to what the middle-aged woman said, it seems that Zhang Meng has a side that no one knows about.

"Did Zhang Meng tell you what he wanted to do by approaching this person?" Gu Chen asked.

"No." The middle-aged woman shook her head and said without further ado:
"Because we are friends with Zhang Meng, there are some things we shouldn't ask too much about."

“But Zhang Meng is a smart man. He must have his own reasons for approaching this person.”

"We'll help if we can, but what he's trying to do by getting close to this person is not our concern."

"I feel like it's all about the money," the middle-aged woman said, and the young man beside her quickly chimed in.

"For money?" Officer Wang frowned and quickly asked the young man, "How did you figure that out?"

"I... I was just guessing. After all, if Zhang Meng wasn't after money, why would he go to so much trouble to get close to him and gain his trust?"

"Besides, I can tell that person is a big boss. To help Zhang Meng, we've lost a potential client, which is really not worth it. But since Sister Liu is going to help him, what else can I say?"

The young man seemed a bit upset, after all, he had lost a potential customer, and he felt it wasn't worth it just to help Zhang Meng, a retired old man from the chemical plant.

But the middle-aged woman beside him said slowly, "Actually, I think Zhang Meng is a talented person. If we can get to know a friend like him, he can bring us a lot of help."

"So sometimes, we have to make trade-offs in business. After all, dealing in antiques doesn't give you a good reputation, but we don't care anyway."

"If you really have the ability to recognize quality, then come and test your eye. If you find a good treasure, that's your skill."

"Okay." Listening to the middle-aged woman's explanation, Gu Chen roughly knew what she was thinking.
That is to sacrifice some practical benefits by befriending Zhang Meng.

Of course, it's also clear that Zhang Meng is indeed a formidable figure in the eyes of these people.

Gu Chen thought for a few seconds, then asked the middle-aged woman, "Has Zhang Meng come here since that time?"

"No." Upon hearing Gu Chen's answer, both of them shook their heads simultaneously.

"Have they contacted you?" Gu Chen asked again.

The middle-aged woman hesitated for a moment before slowly saying, "I did ask him on WeChat how that matter was going?"

"What did he say?" Lu Weiwei asked quickly.

The middle-aged woman slowly said, "He just said thank you for your help and that he would find a chance to repay you in the future."

"I know he doesn't want to talk about it, so I won't ask any more questions," the middle-aged woman said with a sigh.

Gu Chen hesitated for a moment, then continued to press, "Zhang Meng has recently disappeared, and his dog has also been killed. We feel that this matter is not so simple."

"But we don't even know where he lives!" the middle-aged woman quickly clarified after hearing Gu Chen's explanation.

Gu Chen looked at the middle-aged woman and continued to press, "Did Zhang Meng reveal any other strange information to you?"

"Uh, this..." Feeling that this was putting her in a difficult position, the middle-aged woman pondered for a moment and slowly said:

"To be honest, we feel that Zhang Meng is not a simple person, but someone who keeps a low profile."

“When he communicates with us, he always reveals only half of what he means, making it difficult for us to understand his thoughts.”

After a pause, the middle-aged woman continued, "He seems like an ordinary person. We've inquired about his background, and he told us about it himself."

"He said he was just a retired chemical plant worker, but of course, we can't interpret that as him saying that."

“Why can’t it be interpreted that way?” Yuan Shasha also sensed that there was something more to the middle-aged woman’s words.

The middle-aged woman quickly explained, "He's just being modest. Among the customers I know, I can tell their general background just by glancing at them and exchanging a few words."

"But Zhang Meng is different. He always gives me a feeling that I can't figure him out, and he always protects himself very well."

"He said he likes antique culture, but that's just his opinion. I always feel like he's a big businessman."

"Yes." The middle-aged woman had barely finished speaking when the young man beside her quickly added, "Yes."

"I also feel that Zhang Meng is someone who is destined for great things; that kind of aura cannot be hidden."

"However, based on my experience with so many customers, he is good at hiding his identity, making it impossible for you to figure him out, but you can still sense the aura he exudes."

Officer Wang and Yuan Shasha were a little confused by the young man's explanation.

After all, neither of them had ever seen what Zhang Meng looked like, and the more they listened to the middle-aged woman and the young man's explanation, the more confused they became.

Officer Wang then looked at Gu Chen and asked, "Gu Chen, is that so? Didn't you meet Zhang Meng before?"

"I have seen him before." Gu Chen nodded in acknowledgment, and said slowly:

"However, the Zhang Meng I met seems to be a different kind of person from the Zhang Meng they described."

"Two kinds of people? How can there be two kinds of people?" Officer Wang said, expressing his incomprehension.

Gu Chen replied in a low voice, "The Zhang Meng that Lu and I met was just an ordinary retired worker who spends his free time at home growing flowers and plants."

"Moreover, Zhang Meng's neighbors also felt that Zhang Meng was a quiet person who didn't like crowds and had a very regular daily life. He even chose to buy groceries every Monday."

“Such a retired old man with an extremely regular life doesn’t show much temperament at all; he’s more like an ordinary person.”

"My goodness!" Upon hearing Gu Chen's story, Officer Wang's heart skipped a beat, and he exclaimed without hesitation:
"Even you, Gu Chen, can't see anything wrong with Zhang Meng. It seems that Zhang Meng is really good at hiding his identity."

"In my opinion, Zhang Meng's neighbors were all deceived by Zhang Meng's tricks. It's not hard to see this from how Zhang Meng used these tricks to successfully get to know Zhao Wen, gain Zhao Wen's trust, and finally infiltrate Zhao Wen's circle."

"This Zhang Meng is really something, and even Hu Xue was tricked by him. It's clear that Zhang Meng is a guy who is good at using others to do things for him, and he's also very unpredictable."

"Now it seems that's the case." Gu Chen agreed with Officer Wang's statement. After pacing back and forth twice, Lu Weiwei quickly asked:
"Has Zhang Meng talked to you about anything? Has he been having any difficulties lately?"

"I don't know." The middle-aged woman and the young man both shook their heads.

The young man quickly said, "We don't really know Zhang Meng, but we're not exactly familiar with him either."

"Yes." The middle-aged woman quickly added after the young man finished speaking.

"You should ask that customer from that day; he should know more than we do."

“He figured out you were in cahoots a long time ago,” Gu Chen said bluntly.

"Huh...what?" Hearing Gu Chen's words, the middle-aged woman was stunned for a moment, and said without waiting for a reply:
"You mean, that customer from that day, he already knew we were in cahoots? He knew Zhang Meng was putting on an act with us?"

"Mm." Gu Chen nodded silently.

"Oh my god!" Seeing this, the middle-aged woman was also embarrassed: "This is so embarrassing! Are our acting skills really that bad?"

"Perhaps that's not the problem." Gu Chen shook his head and continued to explain:

"That person has been working in the business world for many years and is quite shrewd. Any unusual situation will make him wary."

"You tell me, with a shrewd person like him, how could he not see through your act?"

"Moreover, those who threatened him were hired by Zhang Meng. How could things not go wrong?"

"Uh……"

Feeling that Gu Chen's words made sense, the middle-aged woman gave a wry smile and slowly said:

"It seems we underestimated that person. In fact, everyone knew what was going on that day, but kept the secret to themselves. It seems none of us are pushovers."

"That's for sure." Lu Weiwei sighed and said slowly:

“They had already noticed something was wrong, but they didn’t know what Zhang Meng’s purpose was in trying to get close to him. So they played along and became friends with Zhang Meng.”

"Sigh!" Feeling there was nothing more to say, the middle-aged woman resigned herself to her fate.

"It's really not easy to do business these days. I never expected that just inspecting the goods would lead to so many complicated details. The relationships are just too complicated."

"Yes, we originally thought we were very shrewd businessmen, but now it seems these people are the real old foxes. We really didn't expect that," the young man remarked.

Seeing that he couldn't get much information from the middle-aged woman, Gu Chen gave her a few instructions, telling her and the young man not to talk about what happened today, before leading everyone away.

Back in the car, Gu Chen couldn't help but sigh, "Zhang Meng is no ordinary person. I even suspect now that the dog might not have been killed by someone else."

"Junior Brother Gu, are you saying that Zhang Meng might have killed that dog?" Lu Weiwei asked, somewhat curious.

Gu Chen nodded silently: "I have this suspicion. After all, judging from Zhang Meng's interactions with these people, he has completely fooled them. Everyone seems to have fallen for his tricks."

"So I feel that the dog might not have been killed by someone else, but by itself."

"Then what is the purpose?" Yuan Shasha asked curiously.

Gu Chen calmly analyzed: "His purpose may be to attract the attention of our police, or it may be a way for him to cleverly escape."

Looking at everyone, Gu Chen continued to explain, "Perhaps, we have all been deceived by him."

"No way?" Yuan Shasha was completely stunned.

Gu Chen then said without hesitation, "For the Zhang Meng we know now, anything is possible."

"Because Senior Sister Lu and I have been to his house and talked to him, he may be trying to use us to create an opportunity for him to disappear."

"He may be trying to use the image he puts on in front of us to confuse our investigation."

"After all, using others to do things for oneself is Zhang Meng's style."

“From all the people he came into contact with—the middle-aged woman in the antique shop, Zhao Wen, the gentleman Xu Lang, his former colleague and friend Wang Tianming, and Hu Xue—weren’t all of them used by him?”

"My goodness!" Lu Weiwei exclaimed upon hearing Gu Chen's words.
“Junior Brother Gu, now that you mention it, it seems to make sense. And his neighbors have all been fooled by him.”

"It seems like he used everyone. Anyone who had contact with him became a stepping stone for him."

At this point, Lu Weiwei was also quite unhappy, as Zhang Meng seemed too cunning.

Gu Chen smiled and said, "So what danger could such a cunning person pose? With such keen senses, he would definitely be able to detect any disturbance immediately."

After a pause, Gu Chen continued, "Perhaps, Xu Lang's younger brother appeared near Zhang Meng's house twice because Xu Lang didn't know much about Zhang Meng's background, so he sent his brother to investigate and find out what Zhang Meng was really like."

"But Zhang Meng is such a smart person, he must know this."

"Moreover, the neighborhood where Zhang Meng lives is a relatively deserted place. In such a place, Zhang Meng could probably walk anywhere with his eyes closed."

"So Xu Lang's brother came to investigate, and maybe he was fooled by Zhang Meng again."

“Yes.” Hearing Gu Chen’s explanation, Lu Weiwei couldn’t help but sigh:
"If that's the case, then in Zhang Meng's home turf, can they still take down Zhang Meng's dog?"

"Moreover, none of Zhang Meng's neighbors heard his dog barking. Logically speaking, in such a sparsely populated place, you should be able to hear a dog barking clearly, but no one did."

"So that dog might have been a smokescreen orchestrated by Zhang Meng himself. Perhaps he sensed that he might face some kind of danger, so he took the initiative to set up this smokescreen to strike first."

"After all, I doubt anyone could cause trouble for Zhang Meng on his home turf. You have to understand that Zhang Meng is a seasoned veteran."

"Yes." Listening to Lu Weiwei's analysis, Gu Chen nodded in agreement.
“I agree with that view. It’s true. Zhang Meng might be playing us. He definitely has his own ideas. We’ve checked the room, and Zhang Meng’s room is very clean.”

"This Zhang Meng." Listening to Gu Chen's explanation, Officer Wang couldn't help but sigh, "Perhaps he really is a seasoned veteran."

……