Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 655 Coincidence
Student dormitory at the provincial police academy.

Since the lights-out whistle was blown, although all the dormitory buildings have turned off their lights in accordance with regulations, and it looks pitch black from the outside as if everyone has fallen asleep, in reality, most of the late-night conversations in the rooms have only just begun.

"What are the themes of this year's Rookie King Subject Competition? Which organizations are you planning to visit for research?" The skinny guy sleeping on the top bunk was the first to start the conversation, as usual.

"Bamboo Pole, you go first." The short, fat man, who had just returned to his room from relieving himself in the balcony toilet, sat on his bed, threw the towel he had washed his hands on the shelf, and looked like he was too lazy to move.

The nickname "short and fat" was a first for him. Despite his decent height, he'd never sat in the last few rows of school, though he'd never sat in the first row either.

Unexpectedly, even after being admitted to the police academy, my height of 170cm was barely enough to meet the minimum requirement. According to the rules, I was guaranteed to be the first in line, and when it came to seating arrangements, I could only sit in the first row with the female students.

However, the latter can be considered a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.

"Given his usual money-grubbing nature, he'll definitely end up in the Economic Crime Investigation Department." The short man's voice suddenly rang out in the room.

"I call this being thrifty! But then again, you've never seen me spend money like water. Tsk tsk, that feeling." Hearing his roommate's teasing, the skinny guy from a well-off family immediately got angry.

"Bamboo Pole Bro, next time you can take me to see how you spend money like water." Recalling the scene when Bamboo Pole, who didn't smoke, was handing out cigarettes to Hua Zi, who had a travel bag full of cigarettes, at the beginning of the semester, the short and fat boy from the countryside felt that the other party was a person with considerable strength and courage.

"What are you thinking about?" The skinny guy rolled his eyes in annoyance, even though the lights were off and no one could see him.

"You're just showing off! Don't think I don't know why you're so concerned about everyone's topics today. It's because you've decided to go to the Economic Crime Investigation Department." The short man said resentfully.

The annual Rookie King Academic Paper Competition is open to all students of the Police Academy, with no entry requirements or restrictions. Anyone who wants to participate can simply register, and the Police Academy may even proactively contact local police stations to offer research opportunities.

But everyone knows that the police station's limited resources—its security, household registration, and community offices—are hardly enough to produce award-winning papers. Each year's winning papers are the result of students pulling strings and securing in-demand positions to produce anything of value.

In recent years, the internet has grown rapidly and taken the lead in the national economy. Coupled with the developed private economy of Donghai Province and the collapse of P2P platforms, various new types of cybercrime and large-scale economic crimes have emerged. The competition between internet monitoring and economic investigation is undoubtedly very attractive.

Even though everyone knows these two projects are good, there are still many intricacies involved in practice. For example, the economic crime investigation departments of the branch bureau and the economic crime investigation departments of the provincial department, although both are economic crime investigation departments, naturally handle vastly different depths and breadths of cases due to the difference in their levels.

"Why don't you find a few special projects that don't directly compete with those with connections?" Jiang Hai, the dormitory roommate, said slowly while lying by the door.

"What other good projects are there? Anti-poisoning, traffic police, criminal investigation? There are too many papers on these old things from previous years, nothing new can be found. Unlike economic crime investigation and internet surveillance, you can easily come up with something new, and you might even get lucky and have it used as a new case in the internal report. Sigh, why do I keep running into these social issues before I even start working?"

The three-inch man sighed, not because he was jealous of the bamboo pole. Even if the bamboo pole didn't get in through connections today, other men like the man in the hat, the man in the vest, and the man in glasses would still appear.

"Anti-fraud, you know. With telecom fraud rampant lately, this project is bound to be popular," Jiang Hai said casually, offering his guidance.

“Anti-fraud is too new, and the police force there is severely understaffed. They either get yelled at on the phone every day, or they come to your door to take pictures and make you uncomfortable. We are researchers, not laborers.” The short man quickly found a reason for himself, speaking in a logical and reasonable manner, which made the short, fat man listening in nod repeatedly.

"Supervision?"

"Can't think straight? Lock yourself in jail."

"Quitting drugs?"

"Tsk tsk, too dirty and dangerous."

"110 command?"

"Sorry, my back can't take it."

"Public security?"

"They won't include us."

"Immigration?"

"Those sitting by the window can't stand this suffering."

"National Security Bureau?"

"No way, I don't want to work on just one case my whole life." Jiang Hai was almost amused by the short man's antics, and kicked the bed frame above his head: "Are you kidding me? Do you want to go to the Economic Crime Investigation Department with Glasses?"

The guy in the upper bunk finally quieted down, probably because his thoughts had been hit.

“I thought it was something serious. Three inches, no problem. It’s all arranged anyway. They don’t have to pay us salaries, so one more person won’t make a difference!” The skinny man on the next bed laughed.

"Really?" the three-inch man asked hesitantly.

"Why would I lie to you? You'll come with me to the hall tomorrow." The skinny man said bluntly. "I thought it was something serious. You're already criticizing me at the very beginning of our late-night chat."

The knot in his heart was untied and his wish was fulfilled. Judging from the bamboo pole, it still means that he is the general manager of the provincial department!
The three-inch man grabbed the bamboo-pole man's leg without hesitation and said with great joy, "Thank you, godfather! Your son greets you!"

The short, fat man was taken aback at first, then immediately shouted, "Godfather! Don't forget, you still have a son!"

"Get out! I don't want you two money-losing trash!"

"."

Listening to his roommates' random antics, Jiang Hai thought about the surprised look on his "brother-in-law's face when he returned to Dongzhou the next day.

However, knowing my sister's temperament, she should have come to inform me much earlier.

"Jiang Hai, why don't you come with us to the General Manager's office? It's good for us brothers to look after each other if we're together." The three-inch-tall man sleeping on the upper bunk of Jiang Hai's bed patted the outer side panel of his bed and suggested.

"Yeah, yeah, it's so much fun when everyone's together," the short, fat man chimed in.

The guy with the bamboo pole didn't say anything, not because he was being reserved since he was the one who formed the team, but more because he knew his dorm leader's personality.

Despite his cheerful and nonchalant demeanor, Jiang Hai possesses a deep-seated pride.

This way of dealing with people, this disposition of not easily asking for favors from others, is somewhat similar to the academic high-achievers that the skinny guy had seen in his hometown's top high school.

Just as he had expected, Jiang Hai casually made up an excuse to brush the matter off.

No police academy student could refuse the opportunity to intern at the General Economic Center, but Jiang Hai so casually rejected it, without even bothering to come up with a good reason.

The skinny man couldn't help but ask, "Jiang Hai, what research project are you planning to work on this time?"

"Anti-K." Jiang Hai didn't intend to keep his good brothers in suspense.

"Anti-K? There's nowhere in the East China Sea to study that stuff. You're going to Xinjiang?" Among the dorm's group, the most worldly-wise among them, Zhugan, was the first to react, analyzing the situation. "Right now is a crucial moment for the Belt and Road Initiative, and the biggest problem in the west is the KMT. Starting with anti-KMT is absolutely a brilliant idea."

Bamboo Pole paused suddenly, then asked in confusion, "Do you have acquaintances in XJ?"

"No."

"Then... wait a minute, I remember you went to NJ with Professor Lin last time, could it be..."

"My famous detective, it's late, go to sleep."

After saying that, Jiang Hai closed his eyes, ignoring his roommates' various guesses.

The next morning, Jiang Hai, who had a dreamless night, was the first one to get up in the dormitory. He rushed to the provincial capital's bus station and boarded the first bus back to Dongzhou.

Leaning his elbow against the car window frame, feeling the cool morning breeze, Jiang Hai felt exceptionally relaxed.

Although it took an extra hour or so, the bus was a full thirty yuan cheaper than the bullet train. For Jiang Hai, whose parents are divorced, it was a good option if he wasn't in a rush.

The bus slowly drove onto the highway leading to Dongzhou.

(End of this chapter)