You're supposed to be a security officer, what case are you solving?

Chapter 103: The Truth Is Revealed! (Seeking First Subscription!)

Nine p.m.

Willow Tree Alley.

Jiang Jianbing and Maozi led two members of the joint defense team into a pawnshop.

The small shop is hidden in the stairwell, with a small door on the right side of the stairwell, making it seem very secretive.

If it weren't for the local joint defense team members leading the way, Jiang Jianbing would never have found this storefront.

In the late 90s, pawnshops existed in the gray area of ​​the financial black market, caught between legal loopholes and the desire to survive.

Some model workers came to pawn their model worker medals, and the pawnshop actually scraped off 0.2 grams of gold from them.

Jiang Jianbing walked into the pawnshop. The owner behind the iron-barred counter was actually a local thug. Upon seeing them, he immediately came out through a side door.

"Hey guys, what's up?"

Jiang Jianbing nodded and asked, "What is your surname?"

"My surname is Li, you can just call me Xiao Li."

The boss wore a jade Buddha amulet around his neck and a jade thumb ring on his right thumb.

He pulled out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes from his pocket and skillfully distributed them to people.

Jiang Jianbing thought for a moment, took the cigarette, and then took out a lighter to light it for the boss.

"Oh, how could I trouble you?"

Mr. Li bowed and scraped, looking extremely apprehensive. He held the cigarette in his mouth and lit it with both hands around the flame.

Jiang Jianbing knew that the other party wasn't concerned about him, but rather about the two uniformed members of the joint defense team behind him; those two were the real bosses.

Today, Jiang Jianbing, Xu Guoliang, and others spent the whole day making visits, enduring many cold shoulders, and having to patronize other people's businesses while trying to gather information.

If the joint defense team comes to ask, these shop owners will not only dare not cause trouble, but will also have to obediently give it away for free.

Jiang Jianbing asked, "Have any people come here to pawn their gold jewelry and watches these past few days?"
One of the watches was a Citizen Hikari, and the other was a gold-plated Tissot watch; both were men's models.

The shopkeeper shook his head and pointed to a row of bicycles parked in the hallway: "Officer, I'm just a small business owner. I only buy valuable items like bicycles and televisions."

Jiang Jianbing pointed to the jade Buddha pendant and jade thumb ring on his chest: "Is this a small business?"

“It’s fake!” The shopkeeper picked up the Buddha amulet on his chest: “If you don’t believe me, touch it. If it were real jade, it would be cool to the touch. Mine gets hot as the temperature rises.”

Jiang Jianbing reached out and touched it; the texture was indeed very rough.

The shopkeeper laughed and said, "Really? It's worthless. If you like it, I'll give it to you."

He was about to take it off when Jiang Jianbing raised his hand to stop him: "No, I dare not take it. Let me ask you, besides your place, where else around here is there a pawn shop?"

“There’s a shop in Yanzi Lane that’s bigger than mine. The owner’s surname is Cai. He buys gold and jade. You can go there and ask him.”

"Okay." Jiang Jianbing nodded and left with his men.

No sooner had they left than the boss closed the door and went back behind the iron fence. One of his underlings leaned over and whispered, "Boss, didn't we just take those two watches the police were talking about?"

"Shh, keep your fucking voice down."

The boss glanced at the door and frowned, saying, "Do you think I dare to tell the truth? I paid money for this, and then I handed it over to the police for no reason, and all they gave me was a banner? Isn't that a rip-off?"
"Keep your mouth shut and don't let anything slip. Those two who came here the other day weren't good people. Don't cause me any trouble."

The younger brother nodded: "Okay, if the police come to ask again, I'll just do what you did earlier to them."

"Yes!"

At the same time, Jiang Jianbing came out of the building and stood in the alley, scratching his head: "Cat, how many houses is this?"

“The third one,” the cat replied.

"This damn dump has a lot of pawnshops." "Should we ask Uncle Xu how his investigation is going?"

"Let's ask again later. Let's go check out Swallow Lane now."

Jiang Jianbing led the cat forward, while the two auxiliary defense team members followed lazily behind them, looking left and right, completely out of sorts.

At this moment.

A person wearing a baseball cap came from the opposite direction. After glancing at them, he carried a plastic bag and quickly walked into the stairwell.

There is a light bulb on the wall to the right of the corridor. In summer, mosquitoes swarm around the light bulb.

The dim light cast the man's shadow on the steps.

He walked up and reached out to grasp the light cord hanging from the light bulb.

With a "click," he pulled down the light cord and turned off the light.

His shadow vanished instantly, plunging the stairwell into darkness.

The man turned to look at the stairwell below. It was pitch black outside, with only a faint light coming from the pawnshop on the left. Then, he quickly climbed up to the third floor.

Upon arriving at room 301, he quickly knocked on the door three times.

The door immediately opened a crack, and the man nimbly slipped inside.

"Brother Zhang, what's the situation outside?" a voice asked in the darkness.

Zhang Tianqiao walked into the living room and placed the plastic bag he was carrying on the coffee table.

“I just saw two joint defense teams, probably on a routine patrol. I think we should leave.”

Li Tianquan, who had just asked the question, nodded quickly: "I told you, we should have left a long time ago. The longer we delay, the less likely we are to leave."

Yong Wancai, who was sleeping on the sofa, sat up.

"Brother Zhang, Brother Li, if you ask me, we have to run now while it's dark. If we get caught, we're finished."

Zhang Tianqiao took out a cigarette, lit it, and looked at the two of them: "Tianquan, tell me the truth, has the police found out about the job you two did in An'nan City?"

Li Tianquan shook his head: "They won't move that fast."

The room was dark, with only a small, red glowing ember from the cigarette butt in Zhang Tianqiao's hand.

Seeing that he hadn't spoken for a while, Yong Wancai urged, "Brother Zhang, we really can't delay any longer. We killed someone at the savings bank, and these police officers are definitely looking for us desperately!"

Just as Zhang Tianqiao was about to speak, the pager clipped to his waist suddenly went off.

He took the pager down, glanced at it, then looked up and pointed to the plastic bag on the coffee table.

"You guys eat something first. I'm going out for a bit, and we'll leave as soon as I get back."

Zhang Tianqiao turned to look at Li Tianquan: "Has the money been divided yet?"

Li Tianquan went to his bedroom and came out carrying three military green waist bags.

“We robbed a total of 350,000. Lao Yong and I each took 110,000, and Brother Zhang, you took 130,000.”

"Okay, give me ten thousand yuan from my share, and also, give me your gun!"

Li Tianquan took out a wad of cash and handed it to him, then took a pistol from his waist.

"Brother Zhang, where are you going?"

"Don't ask any questions. You guys eat first, and we'll leave when I get back!"

Zhang Tianqiao tucked the gun into his coat pocket and the pistol into his back waistband. He threw the cigarette butt on the ground, stubbed it out with the sole of his shoe, and then opened the door, disappearing into the darkness.

(End of this chapter)