hotmtlnovel Chapter 653 Jie's Situation
Chapter 653 Jie's Situation
Ma Xin glanced out the window, seeing the streets deserted except for the occasional night taxi driving by, splashing a few drops of water, before turning her gaze to He Feng, her tone grave: "Captain He, we have quite a bit of evidence now—several large transfers from Jiang Hu's hidden accounts have unclear origins, the timing of which coincides with those disappearances, and we have testimonies from three victims that connect the dots—but he simply won't say a word. During interrogation, he just stares blankly at the ceiling, like a rock that can't be warmed up. If pressed, he closes his eyes and pretends to be deaf. This case is stuck here; it's really difficult to solve."
He Feng picked up the rough porcelain teacup on the table, took a sip of the warm tea, and felt the warmth slide down his throat, slightly relieving the fatigue from days of staying up late. He looked at Ma Xin, his eyes as calm as a deep pool: "If he did it, there will definitely be clues. Jiang Hu has been in the underworld for so many years, he's done a lot of things, it's impossible that he didn't leave any trace. The evidence we have now is enough to initially lock him down. If we dig deeper and find his direct connection to those smuggling cases—such as shipping documents, contact information, etc.—then when the chain of evidence is complete, link by link, he won't be able to deny it."
Ma Xin nodded, her anxiety easing somewhat. She tapped the table unconsciously with her fingertips: "You're right. Then I'll go to the evidence department again first thing tomorrow morning and go through all the ledgers and delivery slips that were seized during the search of his residence. Maybe we can find some new clues, even if it's just an inconspicuous phone number."
"Hmm," He Feng responded. Just then, Uncle Luo came out of the kitchen carrying two dishes, along with a large enamel bowl—one was stir-fried pork with green peppers, the vibrant green peppers contrasting beautifully with the glistening slices of pork, the aroma filling the air; the other was scrambled eggs with tomatoes, a vibrant mix of red and yellow, the sauce so thick it could be pulled into strands; and the seaweed and egg drop soup was steaming hot, sprinkled with chopped scallions, all with a comforting, homey flavor. As soon as the dishes were served, the aroma filled the air, making everyone's stomachs rumble.
The two stopped talking about work and started eating. Uncle Luo's cooking was indeed superb; the stir-fried green peppers with pork was cooked to perfection, the pork slices were tender and flavorful, with a hint of spiciness; the sauce from the scrambled eggs with tomatoes mixed with rice was sweet and sour, appetizing and so delicious that one wanted to eat two more bowls. After the meal, the chill in their bodies had completely dissipated, even their tense nerves had relaxed a bit, their stomachs were warm, and they felt much more at ease.
It was almost 1 a.m. when they finished paying and left. The night breeze was a bit chilly, making them a little more awake. He Feng noticed that Ma Xin's apartment complex wasn't on the way to his own, so he didn't say much. He started the car, took a detour, and dropped her off at her apartment building: "Go upstairs, get some rest so you'll have the energy to keep working tomorrow."
"You should get some rest too, Captain He." Ma Xin opened the car door, waved to him, watched the car turn on its turn signal, and slowly disappear into the thick night before turning and walking into the building. The motion-activated lights in the hallway turned on with her steps, the warm yellow light illuminating her tired but determined face—tomorrow, another tough battle.
When He Feng returned to the courtyard house, it was already late at night. All the lights were long gone, even at Aunt Zhang's house, where she usually stayed up late playing mahjong. Only the old streetlamp at the alley entrance, covered in cobwebs, remained lit, its dim light filtering through the locust tree leaves and casting long, short shadows on the bluestone slabs, like a messy drawing on the ground. He quietly pushed open his courtyard gate; the hinges creaked softly, startling the crickets chirping by the wall, who seemed afraid of disturbing their early-asleep neighbors. The pomegranate tree in the courtyard swayed gently in the night breeze, its leaves rustling softly, the only sound in the still night.
Lying in bed, He Feng couldn't fall asleep. Jiang Hu's case weighed heavily on his mind like a waterlogged stone—that guy had connections, it was obvious to everyone, otherwise he wouldn't have dared to be so arrogant in the mine. Although they caught him red-handed this time, and the ledgers and embezzled money they found were enough to give him a hard time, what if things dragged on? The other side could use their connections to pull strings and get him out, at most serving a few years' sentence. By then, the miners he had cheated would have broken legs and no one would care, and the state assets he had embezzled would be gone—wouldn't it all become a mess? No, he had to hurry and lock down the chain of evidence, leaving him no room to recover. He rubbed his throbbing temples, secretly resolving to meet with the inspection team first thing tomorrow morning to refine the subsequent interrogation plan, even investigating Jiang Hu's relatives in his hometown, leaving no loopholes for the other side.
Meanwhile, in a shantytown on the other side of the city, a dim lamp shone from a low-ceilinged shack. The light was completely blocked by thick, old curtains, with only a faint halo of light peeking through the edges like a peering eye. Zhang Jie sat on a creaking wooden stool, its legs sinking into the dirt floor. The cigarette between his fingers had burned to the very end; the embers burned him, making him shudder and realize he had been lost in thought. He looked up at his two subordinates opposite him, his Adam's apple bobbing, his voice barely audible: "Is it... really safe here?"
The scarred henchman on the left nodded hurriedly, his tone brimming with certainty: "Boss, don't worry! We rented this house six months ago using a fake identity we found in the countryside. It has absolutely nothing to do with us. The lease still has six months left. Aside from the old lady who comes to collect the rent every month, not even a stray dog would come here. No one will suspect anything." He paused, a puzzled expression creeping across his face. "But... how did this get exposed? We hid it so well! We even buried the box containing the stolen money under the old locust tree on the back hill. Logically, no one should have found it."
Another tall, thin man nodded in agreement, his eyes full of confusion: "Yeah, boss, we've been working with Jiang Hu for so long, from smuggling ore to reselling equipment, and we've never had any problems. How come we've been targeted this time? Could it be that there's a mole within our ranks who betrayed us?"
Zhang Jie stubbed out his cigarette on the ash-covered table, the cigarette butts piling up like a small mountain on the porcelain plate. His eyes were venomous. "A mole? Impossible." He glanced at his two men—these two had followed him from the coal mines of his hometown, had fought alongside him through mine collapses, and their wives and children were all back home, "looked after" by his men. Who would dare to betray him? Unless they wanted to die. "I bet it's that bastard Jiang Hu!" He gritted his teeth, his back teeth almost breaking, his voice filled with malice. "He's the only one who knows the exact time and place of this shipment. No one else could have leaked the information! He must have been arrested and is trying to drag us down with him so he can get lenient treatment. That son of a bitch!"