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

Chapter 250: The Blooming Red Flowers! (Seeking monthly votes)

Early June.

It rained in the evening.

Bus No. 6 came from the Chengnan Building Materials Market and stopped at the Workers' Cultural Center stop in the pouring rain.

The sky was gloomy, and the dark clouds in the rain, like cotton wool, seemed frozen in time, drifting across the sky above Anam City, dropping large raindrops that pelted the streets, buildings, and pedestrians' umbrellas.

With a "click," the car door opened, and the passengers gathered around it got off one after another, then opened their umbrellas and left to the sides of the street.

A transparent umbrella was opened, revealing a man wearing a floral shirt underneath.

He held an umbrella in one hand and a cigarette in the other, looked around, and finding nothing amiss, walked into the alley on the right.

At the entrance of the alley, the two large locust trees swayed in the wind. Because it was not yet the flowering season, the flower buds on the treetops clung tightly to the branches, desperately holding on.

On the red brick wall to the right of the alley entrance, there is a road sign that reads 'Taihe Alley'.

The man in the floral shirt stood at the alley entrance, glanced left and right again, and hurriedly stepped into the alley.

The leather shoes smacked and smacked as they stepped through the rain.

To the left is the guardhouse, which is locked. To the right is a staircase leading to the second-floor card and chess room.

The man in the floral shirt was so focused on walking that when he was almost in the middle of the alley, he stepped onto the stairwell on the left.

Both sides are three-story buildings, which are either teahouses, card rooms, or brothels hidden inside.

It was raining heavily, and there was no one else in the alley, but you could hear the sound of mahjong being played upstairs.

Hearing that voice, the man in the floral shirt felt much more at ease.

He had just climbed a few steps when he suddenly noticed a pair of blue and white sneakers on the top step.

The rain pattered down on the feet of these sneakers, making a loud pattering sound.

He looked up abruptly and saw a man in a military raincoat looking down at him.

The man was very tall and slender. His face, hidden under his rain hat, was refined and gentle, with a smile in his eyes.

But the other person's eyes looked at him like a hunter waiting for its prey—ruthless and cold.

The man in the floral shirt felt his heart pounding and turned to run downstairs.

He hurriedly grabbed his umbrella and ran towards the alley entrance, but after taking a few steps, two more people wearing military raincoats suddenly appeared at the alley entrance and blocked his escape route.

This is a young man and a burly man; the younger man is gripping a police baton in his right hand, while the older man is holding a gun in his right.

The two men slowly approached him and shouted, "Lai Changyu, do you know who we are?"

"I don't care who you are!"

The man in the floral shirt hurriedly stepped back, turned and ran in another direction, just in time to run into the tall man coming down from upstairs.

The tall man walked at a leisurely pace and didn't chase after him.

The man in the floral shirt ran more than ten steps in one breath, and a man and a woman, both wearing raincoats, came out from under the eaves on the other side.

The woman held a gun, while the man gripped an extendable baton.

Now, all three roads are blocked.

The man in the floral shirt quickly stepped back, so much so that the umbrella in his hand couldn't cover his head. Rain poured down on his head and body, blurring his vision.

Even so, he didn't put down his umbrella, and hurriedly retreated to the wall behind him, which was three meters high and covered with broken beer bottles.

The man in the floral shirt was leaning against the wall, with two green trash cans placed to his right.

Because of his disturbance, several wet-furred mice scurried into the sewer with a 'squeak'.

Behind him, a slogan was written in white lime plaster: "Five Stresses, Four Beauties, and Three Loves".

Seeing people approaching from three directions, the man in the floral shirt, his face covered in rainwater, spat to the side and held the transparent umbrella in front of him.

He shouted a loud threat: "Don't come any closer! I have weapons! If you want to die, I'll fight you to the death!"

Yang Jinwen stood opposite him, about ten meters away, about the width of a box.

To his left were Maozi and Cai Ting, and to his right were Yao Weihua and Qi Bin.

Yang Jinwen stared intently at him and asked, word by word, "Lai Changyu, do you know who we are?"

"I don't care about you, get out of here, get out of here!"

"We're from the Municipal Criminal Investigation Division. Do you know why we're looking for you?"

Upon hearing the other person's name, Lai Changyu's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately retorted, "I have nothing to do with Mad Dog. I've only had drinks with him a few times, and I'm not familiar with him!"

"Not familiar with him? He confessed that all the guns he had came from you!"

"He lied to you, I didn't break the law!"

"Mad Dog also said that he distributed his goods to you, and that you were helping him sell them. Old Cui also identified you. In addition, you are suspected of two counts of rape and assault resulting in death!"

"Nonsense! He's framing me!"

Yang Jinwen took a few steps closer, took off his rain hat, and let the rain fall on his head.

"Lai Changyu, you can't escape. Surrender and the government will treat you leniently!"

"Get out! Get out of here right now!" Lai Changyu shouted. "Without any evidence, your police have been arresting people every day for the past month. How can the public order be any better?"

Yang Jinwen squinted: "No evidence? Let me tell you, we have both witnesses and physical evidence!"
You beat someone to death, and after sending them to the hospital, they died instantly and couldn't be saved. You then gave the family a sum of money to keep them quiet.

The body has been exhumed, and a forensic examination revealed that the deceased suffered multiple blows to the head and chest, broken ribs, and a punctured heart. Isn't this sufficient evidence?

"I'm innocent! This never happened!"

"Whether you are innocent or not, come with us first and cooperate with the investigation."

"Go to hell with your investigation!"

Lai Changyu shouted fiercely, "Don't come any closer! If you do, I'll shoot!"

A transparent umbrella blocked his way, obscuring his hands.

Yang Jinwen did see that he was holding something in his hand, but he wasn't sure if it was a gun.

Recently, people on the same line as Mad Dog, Ding San, and Lao Cui have been making arrests in full swing.

Lai Changyu is considered the fourth suspect. He owns several card and mahjong parlors and is suspected of organizing gambling and selling silver, which are not serious crimes. There are three serious crimes: two counts of rape, beating someone to death, and he owns a machine processing workshop that illegally manufactures homemade guns and other illegal tools.

A few days ago, the workshop was raided by the Chengbei Criminal Police Brigade, and the master and underlings who ate with Lai Changyu were also arrested, but he was the only one who escaped.

Lai Changyu was like a rat with an extremely keen sense of smell. As soon as Mad Dog and Lao Cui were caught, he began to hide and go into hiding.

Yang Jinwen and his team investigated for several days, and finally Yao Weihua found out from the underworld that Lai Changyu would come to Taihe Lane to collect debts on the first of every month, so they finally caught him today.

At this moment, Yao Weihua shouted, "Lai Changyu, put down your weapon. If you really haven't committed a crime, you don't need to be so agitated. Let's have a proper talk."

Lai Changyu looked at him and said, "Let me go. There's nothing else to talk about!"

"So you're saying you haven't done anything wrong? If you haven't done anything wrong, what are you afraid of?"

"I...I'm afraid you'll force me to confess. I know very well what kind of people you are."

Yao Weihua took two steps forward and laughed, "Lai Changyu, you don't even have a gun, do you? Who are you trying to scare?"

Let me tell you, I've cornered you today. You have to honestly confess what you've done. There's no other way out!

If you dare to resist, you know the consequences!

"Don't come any closer! If you dare come any closer, I'll really shoot!"

Yao Weihua raised his foot and spread out one hand: "You bastard, go ahead and hit me! If you hit me, you're all finished!"

Seeing Yao Weihua approaching, Lai Changyu gritted his teeth and roared, "Fuck you, I'll fight you to the death!"

"boom!"

A sharp gunshot rang out through the rain.

Yao Weihua was startled and quickly squatted down. He raised the muzzle of his gun and used his free hand to protect Qi Bin.

At that moment, another shot rang out.

"boom!"

Yao Weihua and the others saw Yang Jinwen kneel on one knee, raise his hands, and a wisp of smoke rise from the muzzle of the gun in his hand.

The bullet pierced the white umbrella, and blood exploded on the umbrella like a red flower suddenly blooming.

Cai Ting, crouching low and holding a gun, rushed over and pulled the trigger as Lai Changyu turned around.

"Bang, bang!"

The bullet struck Lai Changyu's legs under the umbrella, causing him to stumble backward and slide down the wall.

The cat rushed forward and carefully took the umbrella away. It saw Lai Changyu squatting against the wall with his legs outstretched. He had been shot in the abdomen and legs, and blood was gushing out.

The pistol that he had been holding was now lying next to the trash can.

Rainwater kept falling on the trash can, making a pattering sound.

Yang Jinwen glanced at his injuries and said calmly, "Take him to the hospital."

Maozi and Qibin stepped forward, helped Lai Changyu up, and headed towards the alley entrance, intending to give him a quick bandage after getting him into the car.

As Yang Jinwen holstered his gun, he asked, "Old Yao, are you alright?"

Yao Weihua wiped the rain off his face: "Luckily, that bastard's aim was terrible. I didn't even see where the bullet was going."

Cai Ting said, "You shouldn't have provoked him."

"How was I supposed to know he actually had a gun?"

"People who specialize in this kind of work, wouldn't they carry weapons?"

"Okay, I'll be more careful next time."

Yang Jinwen said, "It's good that you're alright."

After saying that, he put on his rain hat and quickly caught up with Maozi and the others.

Yao Weihua and Cai Ting lagged behind, preparing to call the trace evidence team to come and collect the bullet casings.

He said, "Hey, these past few days, Captain Yang has been arresting people like crazy."

Cai Ting nodded: "More than that, the North City Criminal Police Brigade is also arresting people everywhere, cracking down hard."

"Now that Lai Changyu has been arrested, we can finally rest for a while, right?"

"That's about enough. We've already arrested everyone we needed to."

Yao Weihua led Cai Ting to the eaves, took out a cigarette, and handed one to her.

"Cai Ting, has Captain Yang not been to the forensic lab these past few days?"

"Yes, forensic doctor Wen rarely comes up to see Captain Yang either."

"Could it be that they broke up?"

Cai Ting shook her head: "How would I know? But if it really falls through, does that mean I have a chance?"

"Give me a break, or the forensic doctor Wen will skin you alive."

Cai Ting laughed and said, "But then again, Captain Yang isn't my type. I can't see through him. He seems polite on the surface, but he's ruthless at heart."

"How can we not be ruthless? If someone else had been in charge of the arrest just now, it would have been a standoff until dark, with all the talking and arguing going on and on."

“I think you’re helping Captain Yang out of a predicament. If you hadn’t pressured Lai Changyu, the bullets wouldn’t have been shot at you.”

"What could I do? Didn't you see that Qi Bin and I were hiding next to the trash can? There was something to cover us, so the bullets couldn't reach us."

Captain Yang gave me a wink, trying to force Lai Changyu to fire, so he could take him down with one shot, to put it bluntly..."

"Then don't talk about it. People like Lai Changyu and Ding San have ruined other people's families and caused their deaths. They deserve to die."

"That's true. Fortunately, we found out that Feng Yang wasn't at the scene when Gong Zhen committed the murder. The most serious charge against him is that he helped dispose of the body and protected Gong Zhen."

But it's a pity about Gong Zhen. He drove a woman to such a state; anyone would feel sorry for her.

Cai Ting took a drag of her cigarette, blew the smoke into the rain, and replied, "After all, it involves three lives. We can't be lenient with her. That's just how the world is; good people don't live long."

As soon as she finished speaking, a police siren sounded at the entrance of the alley, its wail echoing through the torrential rain.

(End of this chapter)