Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 79 Dawn Breaks
Zheng Tianyou was caught off guard by the sudden bad break. His round face was full of disbelief; the freedom he had been looking forward to for so long was gone just like that.

His hands trembled, and he had no idea where to put them. He hated himself for having nothing better to do than follow others around and even end up in a gambling den!

He's someone who's been struggling at the bottom of society for years, how could he be so stupid as to go to a gambling den! His older cousin is a living example of how gambling can ruin a person's life!

Why! ! !
He saw a pair of hands placing a disposable cup on the coffee table in front of him from the corner of his eye.

A familiar voice rang in his ears.

"Old Zheng, are you hungry? I was too busy to prepare a midnight snack for you today. Have a glass of water to soothe your throat. In a bit, go to the next room and bring all your relatives and friends home."

He looked up, his eyes filled with shock.

The young policeman in front of him smiled and said with a grin, "This time, just because of you, everyone except those few who run the casino will be released."

"Boss! Officer Chen! This is such a huge favor! I was so rude earlier." Zheng Tianyou felt ashamed of his previous misunderstanding of the policeman and wished he could bury his head in the ground.

Officer Chen, also known as Chen Shu, smiled warmly: "Judging from your expression just now, anyone who didn't know better would think you were going to spend years in jail. But then again, even if you are detained, it'll only be for a few days. What's that saying again? I'll come out in fifteen days and I'll still be a hero!"

Zheng Tianyou's round, watermelon-like face, now beaming with a joyful smile after the rain, was about to say something appropriate when Chen Shu waved him off.

"As for what you want to say to your relatives and friends later, that's your business. You can decide the appropriate level yourself."

Chen Shu then became serious: "But from now on, you are absolutely forbidden from gambling again. Haven't we seen enough consequences of touching this stuff?"

Zheng Tianyou took a deep breath and emphatically tapped his chubby head. His older cousin's experience was still fresh in his mind.

"Fatty, take a pair of scissors and cut off the plastic bandages on Old Zheng's hands. Then take him to the office next door where his relatives and friends are being held, and cut off their plastic bandages too."

Zhu Chaoran, who had been watching over Zheng Tianyou, was also exhausted. Seeing that the task was completed, he jumped up excitedly and readily agreed. He then happily led Zheng Tianyou out.

Chen Shu called out from behind, "Old Zheng, remember to sign all the fine documents. Don't skimp on this little bit of money!"

"okay!"

The cheerful echoes of Zheng Tianyou, one of the perpetrators of the illegal gambling and a "tainted witness," could be heard from the stairwell.

Chen Shu leaned back on the sofa and stretched.

Wang Chongming made a good point: it's rare to see a case handled to my level.

Of the three people detained in the gambling case, it shouldn't be too much for me, Brother Wang, to share one of them, right?

Tomorrow, that fat Zheng will have to send me a banner with two lines of big characters written on it:

Enforce the law impartially and eliminate harm for the people!
His eyes suddenly looked a little lonely. He leaned back on the sofa, watching the digital clock on the wall ticking away, and thought to himself with a self-deprecating smile.

They saved face and substance for Lao Zheng, so next time they encounter a petty theft case, they should have something to exchange with him.

The case has been investigated and the statements have been taken into account. There is no need to detain several groups of people separately, which would be a waste of police resources.

Judging that Zhu Chaoran had already sent Zheng Tianyou and his group back to the detention room on the first floor, Chen Shu stood up and walked down to the detention room.

He gazed at the gamblers lining up to sign and affix their fingerprints at the table, thinking about the first case of organized gambling he handled in the patrol police brigade of the municipal special police detachment the year he graduated.

Back then, I was young and impetuous, but also easily trusting. When taking statements, I encountered several professional gamblers who were wailing and regretting their actions, and I felt a pang of pity. I offered them water, food, and cigarettes, treating them with utmost sincerity, genuinely hoping they could reform and return to a normal life. At that time, my one-year probationary period wasn't over yet, and I hadn't been officially hired; I could only take statements from them and had no authority to handle cases.

Therefore, after taking their statements, all we can do is offer them kind words of advice.

As a result, during a routine raid a few weeks later, they ran into the same few gamblers, or rather, gambling addicts, who had once "cried and cried, regretting their actions."

At that moment, Lin Chang, a veteran comrade from the Special Police Detachment, stood next to Chen Shu, looking at his incredulous expression, and said with a nonchalant air a phrase passed down through generations of police officers:
"You can't trust a single punctuation mark when it comes to gambling."

The Zhongshan Police Station was brightly lit and bustling with activity.

Chen Shu raised his arm to check the time. Unbeknownst to him, it was already five in the morning, almost morning.

He calculated the time and decided to order breakfast for everyone working overtime on the case, so they could have a good meal and then lie down to rest.

Although the police station's canteen opens at 7:30 a.m., for police officers who have stayed up all night, going to bed a minute earlier is absolutely not going to be a second later.

Sleeping on an empty stomach is never as comfortable as being full; this is the most tangible thing you get after working through the night on a case.

He went to the front desk and instructed the dispatcher, Xiao Wang, to ask everyone for directions, count the number of people, order another batch of breakfast, and record the bill in the security team's account.

Xiao Wang initially refused, since they had all eaten the late-night snacks that the institute usually provided. However, seeing Chen Shu's insistence, he nodded in agreement.

As Chen Shu passed through the case-handling area, he saw the tightly closed interrogation room door, knocked on it, and went inside.

Wang Chongming stood next to a scarred man, while trainee police officer Xu Lei sat behind a computer screen on the interrogation table, yawning.

Chen Shuchao waved to Wang Chongming, and the two walked together to the observation room next door.

"Brother Wang, I've taken care of everything on my end. Everyone's gathered together and in the detention room now. How's it going on your end?"
Wang Chongming pulled out a pack of rare 555 cigarettes, took one out and handed it to Chen Shu, saying with some regret, "The three people we arrested this time have all confessed, and the statements are almost done. It's a pity that one of the lookouts got away. He's the 'eyes' I told you about who found us."

Chen Shu took out a lighter from his pocket and lit it for both of them: "We never catch anyone at the scene with 'eyes'. Has his identity been confirmed?"

Wang Chongming nodded.

Chen Shu glanced at the scarred man in the surveillance footage and said with a smile, "Try to call him or go to his house tomorrow or the day after. If that doesn't work, then go online. As far as the case is concerned, it's basically over."

The term "online" here means a nationwide wanted notice, commonly known as a national arrest warrant.

Wang Chongming's expression visibly relaxed. He took a deep drag of his cigarette and exhaled heavily: "Yeah. Last night, after we finally got them under control, looking at the dark, squatting crowd on the ground, my mind was completely blank."

The two chatted for a while, reflecting on the case.

Chen Shu then proposed that he be responsible for submitting the criminal detention materials to the branch bureau's legal affairs team for approval and for sending them to the detention center. Wang Chongming went to sleep first, and the subsequent procedures for arrest approval and case organization were handed over to Wang Chongming.

After discussing it, the two went their separate ways to get started.

The night was more than half over, and slivers of light were already shining through the thick clouds onto the city.

The duty room, interrogation room, questioning room, office, and observation room of the Zhongshan Institute were littered with cigarette butts.

(End of this chapter)