Attending ex-girlfriend's wedding, arresting the groom's officer on the spot

To gather more evidence, Zhang Hui contacted Li Bing's neighbor, who stated, "Around 10 p.m. on the 15th, I saw Li Bing driving a tricycle back from outside the village. The cargo bed was covered with a tarpaulin, and it looked like it was carrying something. He was driving very fast and almost hit a stone on the side of the road. In the early morning, I also heard clanging and banging sounds coming from his house, like he was packing something up."

Based on all the clues, the conflicting information with Zhang Tao, the matching height and build, the consistent vehicle characteristics, the matching DNA evidence, the lies and deception, the missing murder weapon, and the mysterious deceptive phone calls, Li Bing's prime suspicion for the crime is undeniable. Zhang Hui immediately reported the investigation results to Lu Chuan: "Li Bing possesses the motive, the time, the tools, and the conditions to commit the crime, and multiple pieces of evidence point directly to his connection to Zhang Tao's murder. I recommend that Li Bing be arrested immediately!"

Upon receiving the report, Lu Chuan immediately convened an emergency meeting and formulated an arrest plan: "Zhang Hui, you will lead the team to arrest Li Bing at his residence and the veterinary station. Arrange 5 police officers to prevent Li Bing from resisting or escaping; Wang Shuai, you will lead 4 police officers to set up roadblocks at the intersections around Dongfeng Village to prevent Li Bing from noticing in advance and escaping from the outside; Yang Lin, you will contact the technical department and bring equipment to be on standby at the scene to collect any evidence that may have been missed; in addition, arrange 2 police officers to protect Li Bing's family to prevent any accidents."

Once the plan was finalized, each team immediately took action. At 3 PM, Zhang Hui's arrest team quietly surrounded Li Bing's residence. The team members, dressed in plainclothes and disguised as villagers, moved about the surrounding area, waiting for the optimal moment to make the arrest. At 3:30 PM, Li Bing returned from outside. Just as he reached the courtyard gate, Zhang Hui gave the order: "Go!"

Li Bing's steps faltered as he entered the courtyard. His pupils contracted sharply as he watched several plainclothes police officers suddenly emerge from behind the walls and trees. His calm demeanor was instantly replaced by shock. He instinctively took a step back, his right hand stealthily reaching into his trouser pocket to find a small fruit knife he had casually tucked into his pocket that morning. Now, it became his last resort in his attempt to resist.

"What are you doing?!" When two police officers rushed forward and grabbed his arms on either side, Li Bing struggled violently, letting out a hoarse roar, "Let me go! I haven't broken the law! What right do you have to arrest me?!" His body twisted violently, his shoulders thrusting backward, trying to break free from the officers' restraints. His knuckles turned white from the force, and his fingernails almost dug into the officers' arms.

“Li Bing, we are from the Municipal Criminal Investigation Detachment. We are summoning you in accordance with the law. Please cooperate!” Zhang Hui stepped out from behind the officers, revealing handcuffs. His tone was calm but carried an undeniable authority. Li Bing’s gaze fell on the handcuffs, his pupils contracted again, but his resistance did not diminish in the slightest: “Summoned? I haven’t done anything wrong! I’m just a veterinarian, treating sheep every day. You must have arrested the wrong person!” His voice was deliberately angry, but his eyes darted away, avoiding Zhang Hui’s gaze. His eyes swept frantically over the police cars in the yard, as if searching for an opportunity to escape.

"Whether you arrested the wrong person or not, you know in your heart." Zhang Hui was not swayed by his sophistry. He took out the first piece of evidence, a DNA test report, from his file bag and handed it to Li Bing. "This is the DNA from the cigarette butt found in your farm tricycle. It matches the DNA from the skin tissue fragments extracted from Zhang Tao's fingernails with a 99.99% match. How do you explain that?"

Li Bing's body stiffened visibly, his struggling movements slowing down by a beat. A flicker of panic crossed his eyes, quickly masked by feigned composure: "Cigarette butt? Who knows where that came from! Maybe someone dropped it while riding in my car, it has nothing to do with me!" His voice began to tremble, yet he stubbornly retorted, his right hand discreetly pulling from his pocket, attempting to hide the fruit knife in the bushes of the yard. However, a sharp-eyed police officer grabbed his wrist, and the fruit knife clattered to the ground.

Upon seeing the fruit knife confiscated, Li Bing's face paled instantly, and her strength to resist weakened. Zhang Hui then produced a second piece of evidence: a screenshot of a call record. "At 4:05 PM on August 15th, you called Zhang Tao using a temporary phone number, luring him to the pasture under the pretext of 'sheep disease.' The call lasted 1 minute and 23 seconds. This number is registered at the Dongfeng Village branch office. Do you still want to deny it?"

"I...I didn't!" Li Bing's voice completely lost its confidence, and the panic in his eyes could no longer be concealed. His body began to tremble uncontrollably. "That...that was a phone number I registered for someone else, I didn't call it!" His lies were full of holes, his lips trembled, and he could no longer utter a complete sentence. His shoulders slumped down, and his previous arrogance vanished without a trace.

Zhang Hui produced a third piece of evidence: photos of the crime scene. The photos clearly showed the body on the grassy slope, black canvas fibers, and tire tracks from a farm tricycle. "This is the scene where Zhang Tao was murdered. The tire treads on your farm tricycle match the tire tracks at the scene perfectly; the black soil in the truck bed matches the composition of the black soil on the grass 100%; and the fibers in the black tool bag in your veterinary station are exactly the same as the fabric Zhang Tao was clutching. How do you explain this evidence?"

Upon seeing Zhang Tao's body in the photo, Li Bing's body trembled violently, as if all his strength had been drained away. His legs went weak, and he almost collapsed to the ground, only managing to stand with the support of the police officers. His eyes were filled with fear; his previous composure, anger, and attempts to justify himself completely crumbled at this moment. Tears welled up unexpectedly, streaming down his cheeks and dripping onto his mud-stained clothes.

"I...I didn't mean to..." Li Bing's voice was choked with sobs, all of his previous toughness gone. "He stole my business first, cutting off my livelihood...I just wanted to scare him, but I didn't expect...I didn't expect to fail..." His body trembled violently, his teeth biting his lip until it bled, his eyes filled with despair, and when he looked at Zhang Hui, there was no longer any evasion, only endless regret.

"Now you're scared?" Zhang Hui looked at his broken state, his tone still calm. "Zhang Tao's family is still waiting for an explanation. It's too late for you to say this now." He gestured for the officer to put handcuffs on Li Bing's wrists. With a soft "click," the metal handcuffs locked Li Bing's hands, and also locked away the crime he was trying to escape.

Li Bing offered no further resistance, allowing the officers to escort him to the police car. His head hung low, his disheveled hair obscuring his face; only his trembling shoulders were visible, and suppressed sobs escaped his throat intermittently, sounding particularly jarring in the quiet courtyard. As he passed the police car, his gaze inadvertently swept over his own reflection in the window—pale-faced, eyes vacant, all traces of his former veterinarian composure replaced by the pathetic state of a prisoner. (End of Chapter)