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

Chapter 230 Night Patrol.

The next afternoon.

Inside the meeting room of the Major Crimes Unit of the Municipal Public Security Bureau's Criminal Investigation Department.

Yao Weihua stood in front of the whiteboard, writing down the key locations in the city that needed to be investigated.

He rattled off the names of the nightclubs and dance halls in the city as if they were his own: “There are nightclubs and dance halls in every district of our city. The two largest ones are in the city center. Everyone knows them. They are called Golden Age and Lijing Dance Hall.”

Comparatively speaking, the two places have much better security at night. There are three owners behind Golden Age and Lijing Dance Hall, who are three siblings surnamed Cao, and the eldest is named Cao Kuan.

They used to work in the mines, then made their fortune and opened these two nightclubs, which were their most successful businesses.
Besides Golden Age, the other three districts combined have a total of five nightclubs and dance halls of varying sizes.

Besides these, arcades, billiard halls, video arcades, and skating rinks are all places where these thugs hang out. Especially after 10 PM, and particularly in the summer, they frequently cause trouble.

Cat raised an eyebrow: "Uncle Hua, do you know who these people are?"

"That's a lot."

Yang Jinwen glanced at what was written on the whiteboard and asked, "Name a few of the most famous ones."

Yao Weihua replied, "Cao Kuan of the Golden Age appeared to be doing legitimate business, but he committed some offenses a few years ago. Since the crackdown in 96, he has become much more obedient. He is known in the underworld as the Sick Tiger."

In the northern part of the city, everyone recognizes him as their elder brother, and the area is relatively safer.

The most chaotic areas are the southern part of the city and the Jiaxing district, which are also centered around nightclubs and dance halls.

In the 'Emperor Nightclub' area in the south of the city, there's a boss nicknamed 'Mad Dog'.

But Emperor Nightclub doesn't belong to him; he's just a minor shareholder who oversees the nightclub's business and has also opened many arcades in the surrounding area.

The boss in Jiaxing District is called "Third Brother." This guy runs a bathhouse and wears a thick gold chain around his neck.

It was shut down last year for its involvement in prostitution.
This "Third Brother" has been quite active lately, and seems a bit arrogant.

Yang Jinwen squinted at the photos of several gangsters posted on the whiteboard and asked, "Uncle Hua, Captain He said yesterday that on February 11th, outside Golden Age, a few gangsters kidnapped a wealthy businessman, shot him three times in the shoulder, and threatened him. Who are those guys? Can you find out?"

Upon hearing this, Yao Weihua's eyes widened: "No, Captain Yang, you want to find these people?"

"Anyway, we don't have any cases on hand right now. Besides, are we just going to let it go like this, threatening a few businessmen who came to invest with guns?"

"No, this matter falls under the jurisdiction of the Chengbei District."

Yang Jinwen squinted: "You know these people?"

Yao Weihua quickly shook his head: "How would I know them?"

"If we don't arrest these people, they'll get too arrogant and cause trouble later."

When Yao Weihua recalled Yang Jinwen's behavior at the nightclub in Suixian County, he felt a chill run down his spine. He quickly said, "Okay, I'll go and find out."

Yang Jinwen waved his hand: "No need, anyway, it's almost time. Everyone go to the armory to get your guns and take lots of magazines. Let's get two cars and head to Golden Age for a stroll now."

Golden Age opened at 6 p.m.

It was still early, and the hall was only filled with people drinking; the thugs and gang leaders hadn't entered yet.

Yao Weihua was very familiar with this place. While Yang Jinwen and Maozi were looking for a place to sit, he quickly went to inquire about the situation.

As soon as Yang Jinwen and his group sat down, a waiter in a black suit vest jogged over and asked, "Gentlemen, what would you like to drink?"

"Soda."

"Okay." The waiter smiled, but his eyes were full of disdain. How much is a soda worth? But it's still early, I'm not worried about you not buying anything.

After the soda was brought over, the cat inserted a straw and took a sip.

Qi Bin laughed and said, "Brother Cat, have you ever spent money at these places?"

Cat shook his head: "I've come here with Captain Yang to arrest people, but I haven't spent any money."

"The bottle of soda you're drinking costs eight yuan."

"How many?"

Yang Jinwen asked this question, since he was the team leader and had to pay for it; they couldn't use public funds for food and drink.

"Eight yuan, so for the four of us it's thirty-two yuan."

Cat suddenly found the soda incredibly sweet, but muttered, "What kind of place is this? It only costs one dollar and fifty cents outside. By the way, can I recycle this glass bottle?"

Qi Bin shook his head: "Then it definitely can't be taken away, nor will it be recycled."

"It's really dark."

Yang Jinwen took a sip of the soda and thought it was no different from what was sold outside.

The Golden Age was lavishly decorated and had a large venue. The lobby was furnished with sofas and booths along the walls, and a central area was reserved for patrons to dance.

On the stage, a girl in a red dress is playing the piano.

Yang Jinwen could only see her profile. She looked young, like a student who hadn't yet left school.

Cat had never seen such a pure and charming girl before. He stared intently at the stage while chewing on his straw.

Qi Bin was the same; compared to Mao Zi, he was more impetuous.

Cai Ting blinked and laughed, "Can you two be normal for once? We're here to work, not to relax."

The cat waved its hand: "It doesn't bother me, it doesn't bother me."

Qi Bin said, "I'll just take a look."

Cat said, "Get lost. You said you'd just take a look, but you meant staring at people without blinking."

Cai Ting said thoughtfully, "If I wore that red dress, I certainly wouldn't look bad either."

Maozi and Qibin turned their faces and looked at her together, expressing their doubt.

Cai Ting immediately gave them both the middle finger.

At this moment, Yao Weihua arrived with a long-haired young man.

"Xiao Ma, let me introduce you. This is our team leader, Yang."

Captain Yang, his name is Ma Kang. His father used to be a shareholder of Golden Age. In 96, his father kidnapped him and his mother, taking them hostage, intending to kill them all. I shot and killed him.

Yang Jinwen raised an eyebrow. Ma Kang extended his hand: "Captain Yang, hello."

Yang Jinwen shook hands with him.

"Captain Yang, just call me Xiao Ma."

Yao Weihua said, "Xiao Ma said that on the night of February 11, outside the Golden Age, the person threatening the wealthy businessman was a man nicknamed 'Old Cui,' whose real name was Cui Jun."

This man is Wan San'er's sworn brother, and Wan San'er is the one I mentioned whose nickname is "Third Brother".

Xiao Ma said that Lao Cui was standing up for Wan San'er and wanted to steal Golden Age's business, so in February, he led people to cause trouble outside Golden Age.

Ma Kang chimed in, "Captain Yang, our boss has already sorted this out, and nothing major has happened. I think it would be better if..."

Yang Jinwen laughed and said, "You're talking about matters of the martial arts world. Have you even asked for our opinion?"

"Uh……"

"I'm asking you, does Old Cui have a gun? Did he fire three shots outside your nightclub?"

Ma Kang pursed his lips and nodded: "That's true."

"Just one gun?"

“I wasn’t there at the time, but I heard there was more than one.”

Where can I find Old Cui?

"Uh……"

Yao Weihua said, "Xiao Ma, tell the truth, don't have any reservations."

"There's an arcade on Anyuan Road in Jiaxing District. It's owned by Lao Cui."

"Okay." Yang Jinwen stood up and beckoned to the waiter: "Give me the bill."

Just as the waiter was about to speak, Ma Kang kicked him: "What do you want money for? Put the bill on my tab."

Yang Jinwen shook his head, took out his wallet, counted out thirty-two yuan, and placed it on the table.

Then, the group got up and left.

Ma Kang quickly called over two of his underlings and said, "Go tell the boss that a crackdown has begun. Brothers who are hiding weapons should hand them over to the police station immediately, and those who are afraid to take them out should throw them away!"

The younger brother blinked: "Brother Ma, these are our livelihood. What will we use to fight back if our mortal enemy comes to cause trouble?"

"You only know how to fight! When something happens, don't you know to call the police?"

The younger man was a bit confused: "Would calling the police be of any use?"

Ma Kang said, "Finding that Captain Yang should be useful. Old Yao is my savior, he wouldn't lie to me."

It's 8 PM.

Game arcade on Anyuan Road, Jiaxing District.

Before Yang Jinwen and his team arrived, they had already called Jiang Bala and Fu Yun, who were in charge of night patrols in Jiaxing District.

After Yang Jinwen and his group arrived, they did not get out of the car immediately. They waited for Jiang Bala to bring more than a dozen people from the public security brigade before Yang Jinwen opened the car door.

Jiang Bala stepped forward and asked, "Captain Yang, what's going on?"

Yang Jinwen said, "Investigate involvement in organized crime."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Bala and Fu Yun immediately widened their eyes.

The arcade door was closed, but Maozi and Qibin rushed to push it open, letting Yang Jinwen lead the way inside.

The room was filled with smoke and dimly lit. Besides a group of adults playing video games, there were also quite a few teenagers.

The receptionists were two young women who, seeing that this group of people looked hostile, quickly came to greet them.

Jiang pulled out his ID and shouted into the arcade, "Police patrol!"

A dozen or so children rushed towards the back door, and several adults also started running out.

These people are all gambling on slot machines inside; they dare not not leave.

But a few people, upon hearing the word 'police,' continued playing Contra on their arcade machines without even looking up.

Yang Jinwen stepped forward, patted one of the thugs with a ponytail, and asked, "Where's Old Cui?"

The man with the ponytail remained unmoved and continued cranking the joystick.

Jiang walked over, grabbed the thug's ponytail with one hand, and pulled it down while asking, "I'm asking you a question, are you deaf?"

Immediately, the thugs next to the man with the ponytail stood up, puffed out their chests, and stretched their necks.

Yang Jinwen grabbed a thug and shoved him hard forward, pushing him onto the machine.

"Where is Lao Cui? I don't want to ask you a second time."

"I don't know. If you're so capable, hit me!" the man shouted arrogantly.

"If you've got a temper, come with me!"

Yang Jinwen grabbed his arm and led him to a corner of the arcade, right next to a slot machine.

At the same time, Yao Weihua, Maozi, Qi Bin, and Cai Ting stood in a row, blocking the passage.

It's unclear what Yang Jinwen said to this thug, but after Yang Jinwen left, the man squatted on the ground and slapped himself in the face with both hands in turn.

"Crack, snap!"

The fan was extremely loud, as if it were an irreconcilable enemy.

The man with the ponytail swallowed hard as he watched this scene unfold. He shouted, "Are you crazy?! Why are you hitting yourself? Don't be afraid of them!"

The thug ignored him and continued slapping himself, making the scene seem utterly absurd.

Yang Jinwen straightened up, walked slowly over, and asked the man with the ponytail, word by word, "Tell me, where is Lao Cui? Don't make me ask you a second time!"

(End of this chapter)