Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 276 Clues
The young Zhu Chaoran and Xiao Qiang were full of energy. While the police officers from Dongming Police Station were busy with their work in Lao Xi's rented room, the two of them pulled out an O-shaped kettle from somewhere and sat on the sofa, discussing it.

This O-shaped bottle is quite exquisite, unlike the homemade plastic beverage bottles commonly used in the market.

Its main structure is a cylindrical glass bottle with two holes on the cap. One hole connects to a straw for drinking; the other is a glass tube for heating. Inside the bottle is a blue gourd-shaped filter, which, combined with its transparent exterior, makes it look quite beautiful, like a work of art.

Zhu Chaoran looked at the glass bottle in front of him and asked, "Is this the O-pot?"

Community assistant Xiaoqiang, a man of wide experience, finally spoke up, tilting his nose in the air: "O-pot is just a name. Anything used for playing O can be called an O-pot. But this one is a bit special; it's the first time I've seen one like it. I estimate it costs several hundred yuan. The more common ones are made of plastic bottles, which you can buy for fifty yuan each."

Zhu Chaoran: "This thing is still available for sale?"

Xiao Qiang curled his lip and continued to lecture Zhu Chaoran smugly: "As long as you can make money, what can't you sell? Let me tell you, those small shops selling these things aren't breaking the law. At most, they'll confiscate the goods, and the people involved won't be in any trouble."

Zhu Chaoran was completely stunned, as if he had discovered a new continent.

If Chen Shu, who is more perceptive, were here, he would definitely be interested in these small shops; they are great places for fishing.

Wang Chongming, who was sitting on the sofa chatting with his family on his phone, twitched his ears, as if some thoughts were forming in his mind, but he did not express his opinion at the moment.

After finishing their conversation about the O-pot, the two casually tossed the glass O-pot onto the coffee table in the living room and then enthusiastically began searching for new things again.

Zhu Chaoran, the "trash can investigator," went to the kitchen to get a pair of chopsticks and began searching through the various trash cans in the rented room. Not to be outdone, Xiao Qiang followed the other officers, searching through the drawers and corners of the wardrobe.

Persistence pays off; Xiaoqiang found a set of keys in a drawer that had already been searched by other police officers.

With plenty of time to spare and nothing else to do, Xiaoqiang called Zhu Chaoran over, and the two of them began searching through the drawers and cabinets in the house, trying out the keys one by one.

As a result, apart from the room where Chen Shu was, no matching keyholes were found anywhere else, or rather, there was nothing locked in the room anymore.

Although Chen Shu had some reservations when he first interrogated Lao Xi, after all, not all clues are necessarily reliable. Two years ago, Chen Shu led his men on a three-day stakeout, only to find that the informant's so-called "large shipment" and "definitely a big case" turned out to be nothing more than two or three grams of methamphetamine.

But that's how cases like O-products are; until the final roundup, nobody knows what they'll get, or how much.

Chen Shu pulled up a chair and sat down in front of Lao Xi, chatting with him, hoping to glean some clues by appealing to his emotions.

At this moment, Zhu Chaoran knocked on the door, opened it a third of the way, poked his chubby head in, casually greeted Chen Shu, and then carefully scanned the room.

"What are you looking for?" Chen Shu asked, seeing the fat man's serious expression.

Zhu Chaoran rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a keychain: "These are the keys Xiaoqiang found. Let's see if we can find anything."

As Zhu Chaoran entered and took out his keychain, Chen Shu, who was sitting next to Lao Xi, keenly sensed a fleeting tremor in the person beside him.

He gave Lao Xi a meaningful look. Lao Xi's gaze met Chen Shu's briefly in the air, and then Lao Xi immediately pursed his lips and looked back at the corner of the room.

There is a play.

Chen Shu smiled and got up to take the key from Zhu Chaoran's hand by walking to the door.

These three keys are quite ordinary. The two smaller ones are probably for cabinets or drawers. The third key is long and large, with numerous grooves and a complex design, clearly indicating it's a key for a highly secure door lock.

"Where is this key from?" Chen Shu deliberately raised his voice to ask Zhu Chaoran, while his eyes were fixed on Lao Xi sitting in the room, observing his movements.

Zhu Chaoran nodded, then added, "This big key is the key to his front door. It's not very useful; Director Xu has one too. I was just looking for the other two smaller keys to open some drawers or cabinets. I searched all over the place but couldn't find anything, so this room was the only one left."

Old Xi didn't react at all.

Could it be that the problem isn't with the key?
Chen Shu looked around the room, which contained nothing but a bed and chair, then turned to Lao Xi and called out, "Where did you get this key?"

Old Xi answered quickly: "This is the key to my front door."

Chen Shu smiled and asked, "Where are those two small keys from?"

Old Xi fell silent.

Chen Shuling suddenly had a flash of inspiration. His previous conversation with Zhu Chaoran was based on the purpose of finding the two small keys, and the two of them had already determined that the large key was Lao Xi's door key.

When Chen Shu asked Lao Xi about the purpose of the two small keys, Lao Xi answered about the purpose of the large key, clearly indicating that his attention had been focused on the large key.

Chen Shu seemed thoughtful and asked, "Fatty, are you sure this big key is his house key?"

Zhu Chaoran said seriously, "Yes. Director Xu showed me his, and it's the same."

"Snapped!"

Chen Shu slammed his fist on the door, making a very loud noise.

Old Xi, who had been sitting motionless in his chair, staring at the corner of the room, twitched slightly at Chen Shu's sudden sound.

It seems this old fox has been listening intently this way, and the key must be the problem. Chen Shu was slightly taken aback, and then his cunning eyes gleamed.

"Fatty, you stay here and keep watch."

Chen Shu pulled Zhu Chaoran inside, grabbed the key, and strode towards the front door. As they passed the living room, Xu Chaofan, who had partnered with Chen Shu several times, saw him smoking and knew they had found a clue. He immediately stubbed out his cigarette and ran out after them.

The two arrived outside the gate. Chen Shu took out the security door key and inserted it into the keyhole of the security door. The process was very smooth.

Could it really be this room key? My deduction couldn't be wrong, could it? Chen Shu felt his heart leap into his throat, and it even pounded violently a few times.

Standing to the side, Xu Chaofan asked in surprise, "Isn't this the front door key that Xiaoqiang and the others took from the drawer? What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

This is what I said...

Chen Shu gritted his teeth and turned the key clockwise.

"Crack!"

The key got stuck halfway through turning.

(End of this chapter)