Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 263 Shadow (10,000 words, please vote)

"Director Nie, we've found something."

Zhang Yong hurriedly found Nie Guoqiang and placed a stack of documents on his desk: "There are indeed unexplained transfers into Song's bank account. The first one was nine months ago, a transfer of 3,000 yuan, the source of which Song could not explain. Then the second month it was 12,000 yuan, followed by 33,000, 24,000 and 60,000 yuan! All from different accounts. The account holders are all elderly people over 60 years old from all over the country, clearly using false identity information."

"There's definitely more to this guy than meets the eye."

Nie Guoqiang was not surprised, or rather, from that day on, he had already anticipated a certain possibility behind Zhangzhou City.

"According to Song's confession, his task was to help deliver goods. Each box cost three thousand yuan. They were the kind of cardboard boxes that were twenty by thirty centimeters in size. He didn't know what was inside. The boxes were required to be placed at a fixed location, which was the beverage warehouse of the Happy Shake Bar."

Zhang Yong's expression was very serious as he earnestly stated, "Although the locations where Song picks up the goods vary each time, they are basically all in various logistics parks. It just so happens that Song's job is in the transportation of alcoholic beverages, and he travels all over the city every day, making it very convenient for him to pick up the goods."

"A cardboard box costs three thousand yuan, so the contents must be worth at least thirty thousand yuan to justify such a high price. It's shipped to Zhangzhou City via logistics, and then collected and gathered by outsiders. Heh... It's an organized and planned operation."

Nie Guoqiang knew very well that Song was definitely not the only person delivering the goods. In other words, there was definitely a powerful figure behind the scenes, quietly carrying out illegal activities in the shadows of Zhang City.

Nie Guoqiang did not express any opinion on logistics.

Most people know the truth: this kind of smuggling is rarely done by logistics companies. Usually, it's logistics drivers who secretly do odd jobs to earn some extra money. Sometimes they even know perfectly well that the items they're carrying are prohibited, but ultimately, money can corrupt them.

Smuggling is a historical phenomenon, and it's virtually impossible to completely eradicate it.

Take the simplest example of express delivery: even with a large police force, it's impossible to thoroughly inspect every single package. While express delivery companies have their own sorting equipment, how can the contents loaded by drivers along the way be checked?
All the police can do is strictly control both the starting point and the end point, and do their best to curb this smuggling activity, nothing more.

"Drugs or luxury goods? In any case, Happy Shake Bar is highly suspected."

Given the exorbitant price paid to the transport personnel, especially for such large cardboard boxes, Nie Guoqiang could only guess at a few possibilities. After thinking for a moment, he continued, "Since he has such a substantial income, why would Song be living near the rural farmers' market? Three thousand yuan per box—even if he's stupid, he wouldn't let Xue siphon off all his secret earnings, would he? Or is the person behind it more cautious, using Song a few times before abandoning him?"

Zhang Yong shook his head and chuckled, "Hehe... the questioning of the woman surnamed Xue has yielded results. That woman is even more troublesome than you imagined. Song's ID card is still in Xue's hands, and there's even a mobile phone registered under Song's name. These days, most online payment terminals have a one-click function to bind all bank cards. Unless Song only accepts cash, all of his accounts are under Xue's control. Every penny Song earns is basically transferred away by Xue within three days, truly demonstrating her bloodsucking skills to the fullest extent. The reason Song was abandoned by the smuggling gang is simply because Xue is even more greedy, thinking Song can earn even more, forcing Song to ask them to increase the volume of his shipments."

Hearing this, Nie Guoqiang was speechless.

He didn't ask Song why he didn't use this to blackmail the other party. After all, he was doing something illegal. How could this bastard who dared to commit rape have the guts to call the police?

"What is Song's contact information with the other party? And what is his role in the Happy Shake Bar?"

Now that it has been confirmed that there is a sizable smuggling ring operating behind the scenes in Zhangzhou, Nie Guoqiang cannot turn a blind eye to it. A crackdown is inevitable, but this kind of case undoubtedly requires a thorough investigation to completely eradicate it.

"It's a foreign communication software, and the other party is more cautious than we imagined."

Zhang Yong sighed and said regretfully, "This software has the function of not leaving records, and in addition, the server address is overseas, making it difficult to find relevant records. However, according to the records of the circumvention tool used by Song, the IP address is in the Philippines."

Nie Guoqiang nodded, flipping through the documents as he said, "Song is just a middleman in the transportation chain. His connections are with logistics vehicles and the Happy Shake Bar; these are the two key points where we can find more clues. However, this matter is beyond the capacity of our police station. Let's hand the case over to the Municipal Bureau. By the way, what did Yang Kang say? That kid is no pushover. The Municipal Bureau must have already obtained these interrogation records from me, right?"

Zhang Yong smiled but remained silent.

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. No sooner had Yang Kang been mentioned than Yang Ye brought him to their door.

"Old Nie, let's hand this case over to the Municipal Bureau. Your police station is usually very busy. It's okay to do this once or twice, but doing it all the time will only delay your main job."

Yang Ye snatched the case with a smile, and the reasons he gave left Nie Guoqiang with no room for rebuttal.

After all, a police station is just a local agency, and its responsibilities include maintaining order in its jurisdiction and dealing with disputes and fights involving the elderly.

Solving cases like this once or twice is fine, but repeatedly will eventually raise objections from the municipal criminal investigation department. Even if Nie Guoqiang has a special status and manages to solve drug cases or murder cases once or twice, everyone can only grit their teeth and accept it. But if he keeps doing this and constantly embarrasses the municipal criminal investigation department, people will eventually have grievances, even if they don't say it out loud. Your police station's year-end review focuses on the security of your jurisdiction, but what about the municipal bureau's case-solving rate and opportunities for meritorious service? Are they just going to disappear like that?

Your police station has only a handful of officers, yet it solves major cases time and time again. What is the point of my municipal bureau's existence then?
“This kind of case will definitely be assigned to you. The police station is okay at handling some direct criminal cases, but for cases like this that require a large number of people to conduct a large-scale investigation, you don’t need to try to dissuade me. The police station really doesn’t have the capacity to do it.”

Nie Guoqiang sighed and pushed the documents on the table to Yang Ye. Even though he already had more detailed statements in his hands, Yang Ye still smiled and took the stack of papers, handing them to Yang Kang.

The case was then taken over by the Municipal Public Security Bureau.

"Old Yang, based on your judgment, what kind of goods are being smuggled this time? It's unlikely to be drugs, after all, even if Song alone transported more than several hundred kilograms. And without a doubt, the target is definitely not just Song."

Nie Guoqiang couldn't help but ask,

He simply couldn't understand where such a large demand for smuggling would come from in Zhangshi, a small prefecture-level city. If it were luxury goods or something, would Zhangshi really have that many potential customers?
"Hehe... To be honest, we've been following this case for a while. It's a large-scale smuggling case involving contraband across the country. The goods are most likely contraband drugs from abroad, like smart drugs or something similar."

Yang Ye didn't hide anything, only smiling as he said, "It's for kids. They say it can boost brainpower, make kids smarter, and give them a head start. Don't underestimate these few bottles; they're quite expensive. This stuff is illegal in China, but it was popular abroad for a while. So don't think there aren't many potential customers in Zhangzhou. Anyone with a bit of wealth has a need to try it. What if? Right? Who doesn't want a genius in their family?"

Nie Guoqiang frowned: "Aren't they afraid of causing brain damage to the children?"

Yang Ye shook his head and sighed helplessly, "Foreign companies hype it up a lot and claim there are no side effects, so there will always be people willing to try it. Look at those mind-enhancing products advertised a few years ago, weren't they all selling like hotcakes?"

Nie Guoqiang couldn't say anything more, since it was indeed a difficult reality to judge.

Seeing that Nie Guoqiang didn't cause trouble this time, Yang Ye breathed a sigh of relief. To be honest, he felt quite helpless towards Nie Guoqiang. On one hand, he admired his persistence and ability to solve cases, but on the other hand, he had to face the interests of the Municipal Bureau. Being a deputy director was not easy.

"By the way! Old Nie, can I borrow Mimi for a bit?"

As he was leaving, Yang Ye finally bared his fangs. Smiling at Nie Guoqiang, he casually remarked, "Your cat's abilities are known throughout the entire Zhangzhou police force. The commendation from the Southern Province should be coming down soon, right? Heh... a cat with more medals on its body than most of our police officers have on their chests. Old Xu secretly told me you're still applying for a third-class merit for it? Three medals in six months, isn't that a bit excessive?"

"What's wrong with how many merits you make and how many awards you receive?"

Nie Guoqiang, without a hint of guilt, glanced at Yang Ye and said, "What do you want Mimi for? Don't the city bureau have enough police dogs? Besides, what use can a cat be in this kind of case? It's willful and disobedient; don't let it cause you trouble."

Yang Ye didn't explain, he just smiled and stared at Nie Guoqiang.

Nie Guoqiang could only sigh, glance at Zhang Yong and Yang Kang standing side by side in the corner, and said helplessly, "If you want to borrow Mimi, you can let Zhang Yong take her with him. This guy has always been interested in criminal investigation. Let your people teach him something, so he can help me more in the future."

"The heir?"

Yang Ye thought to himself, but didn't say it aloud. He knew Nie Guoqiang's condition very well; his body could no longer keep up with the demands of solving cases. If the Zhanghe Police Station continued to pursue major cases relentlessly, Nie Guoqiang would indeed need a capable assistant.

For the municipal bureau, there's no harm in using a free laborer.

So he nodded in agreement.

Zhang Yong, standing to the side, wore an excited expression, drawing a pitying glance from Yang Kang. Did this guy think the Municipal Public Security Bureau was an easy place? Solving cases, solving cases—most cases require turning criminal investigators into complete wrecks before there's any chance of getting the case solved.

"Transferred to the Municipal Bureau?"

Lin Ge stared at Nie Guoqiang in astonishment, never expecting that this heartless bastard would sell him out without even telling him.

"Isn't this to inform you? Besides, we really need your help with this case."

Nie Guoqiang no longer felt sorry for the cat. He said in a deep voice, "I don't know what 'smart drugs' are, but I know that you absolutely cannot do anything reckless with what you give children! A few years ago, there was the Sanlu milk scandal. I don't know if you've heard of it? The price of illegally adding excessive amounts of harmful substances was that 290,000 innocent children suffered lifelong, incurable damage, and for a considerable number of them, their lives became a complete nightmare. It's a terrifying thing. It was even a legitimate company, yet such serious harm still occurred. And this time, with these illegal drugs... if we can't stop it in time, the consequences will probably be even more serious, affecting the future of many innocent children."

"..."

Two hundred and ninety thousand children—this number sent a chill down Lin Ge's spine. He didn't know if this case would be that serious, but there was no doubt… the children were innocent! The consequences were unimaginable!
Indeed... you can't be willful when doing this.

Today is the last day of October, and if you don't use your monthly pass now, it will just disappear!
Gentlemen, if you have any monthly tickets, please cast them.

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(End of this chapter)