Special Forces Medic-Chapter 840 - 813: Half of a Lock Fitting
Gently stroking the remaining part of the lock, Wu Mian was a military weapons enthusiast. He had a fairly deep knowledge of weapons from ancient to modern times, so Xiao Lin felt he had found the right person. Despite searching for information on this kind of lock, due to its historical age or its insignificance, the descriptions in the materials were pitifully scarce.
"Xiao Lin, does this hold any significant meaning for you?" The two sat on a jutting rock by the North Palace, overlooking a corner of the central lake. Meanwhile, Wu Mian’s subordinates were conducting a thorough, suffocating search of the North Palace, and a fire expert had also entered to assist in the work.
"To be honest with Director Wu, this lock might be related to a case I’m currently investigating."
"Aren’t you and Qing Yi investigating Yao Zheng? Is there another case as well?" 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂
"Yao Zheng is just the first move. I’m looking for the hand behind him."
"Oh, I see. You two have stirred up such a big commotion, turning the North District on its head, all for another person. Truly remarkable youth!" Wu Mian said this with more admiration than sarcasm. If it were one of the old bunch like him, they might not have done this, too many considerations leading to this situation. In the end, it’s all about people, something China doesn’t lack.
"This lock isn’t exactly what you mentioned. It’s been around longer than those military cases. It’s an upgraded version, with changes made to the size, material, and locking mechanism over time. It should be from the 80s or 90s, and as far as I know, the remaining few are kept in the Military Museum." As Wu Mian said this, he began to find it strange. Since they were all in a museum, what exactly was he holding now? "Where did you find this?"
"Right here! Yan Juanjuan had a batch of goods he and Yao Zheng embezzled together. My analysis points to this being the hiding spot, but someone beat us to it, took the items, and set fire to the North Palace. This lock was found outside."
"Are you wondering if these people might be military?" Wu Mian filtered out a few factors to reveal Xiao Lin’s underlying concern.
"I’m not saying they have to be military. This lock is quite old. When it was dealt with, could it have been resold elsewhere?"
"Generally speaking, these storage boxes aren’t in demand. They’re either scrapped or refurbished. There’s a possibility they were sold to other underdeveloped countries, but there shouldn’t be much connection to your case here. Transportation poses a significant barrier.
In underdeveloped countries or villages, the hardest thing to overcome is the roads. Outsiders can’t get in and insiders can’t get out, creating a disconnect with the outside world. It’s hard to even get meat up there, let alone military cases."
Xiao Lin lowered his head gloomily. Wu Mian had hit him hard. If not underdeveloped countries, then it must be the military. He didn’t want such a conclusion, preferring to believe the people who took the goods were some organization or group without military involvement.
"There’s another possibility." Wu Mian raised the lock into the sunlight. "This is an antique. Compared to those bronzes, it doesn’t stand out much, but in arms trade, there are collectors for such items too. If you’re transporting goods, you might want to look into the Middle East or Southeast Asia. Armed forces over there have a keen interest in sturdy items like this."
"The Middle East or Southeast Asia?" Xiao Lin mulled over these words, a sudden spark of inspiration hit him. He had always imagined the goods as contraband drugs, but never considered drugs. Wasn’t the second brickyard plant in the North District used to smuggle drugs using bricks? The people who took the goods might indeed be from Southeast Asia, Vietnam!
"Thank you, Director Wu, you’ve given me great enlightenment."
"No need!" Seeing Xiao Lin’s frown relax, Wu Mian breathed a sigh of relief. He wondered if the young man had any awareness—such an intangible pressure was overwhelming for someone close to fifty like him! "That’s all I know, and I didn’t really provide much help."
"No, now I know where I’m heading!" Xiao Lin chuckled.
At that moment, a man in a suit ran over; dressed so formally in this weather must be tough! "Director Wu, Technician Shen wants you to come over."
"Got it! Let’s go over and see if there are any findings."
Technician Shen was as rigid as his name, always pushing up his gold-rimmed glasses that never sat well on his nose. As he spoke and adjusted his glasses—a small quirk—he led them around the North Palace. His analysis mostly matched what Yilian deduced earlier, and it aligned with his hypothesis. The North Palace had indeed been confirmed as the site of an arson case. Now it was up to the City Police Department’s detectives to hunt down the culprits based on the gathered evidence. Technician Shen used two different technical terms to explain his conclusion that the three fires were not set by the same person. The accelerants used were different, one for small areas, another for covering large areas. Yet, Xiao Lin wondered if the same team might have had a rift. The outermost fire, which was set without identified accelerants, was just ignited, making it seem unnecessary.
"Director Wu, if there’s no problem, I’ll head back first." After his lengthy discourse, Technician Shen exited, parading his latest Subaru around town.
"Can Technician Shen really afford that car on his monthly salary?" Xiao Lin stood beside Wu Mian. While tech specialists earn well, affording a million-dollar car was still a stretch.
"Can’t your olfactory nerves be a bit less sensitive, kid? Even though he’s into some sketchy stuff, he comes from a somewhat influential family in Yanjing," Wu Mian said as he wrapped up with his team and asked if Xiao Lin wanted to return to the district government with them. The visit to the brickyard was scheduled for the afternoon; he was about to decline when Hua Muyun’s call came in.
"No, just let Secretary Hua know, I need to head to the North District Police Station to check things out."
"Alright then!" Wu Mian didn’t push him, pointing to his own car on the desk. "Meet at the district government entrance at one in the afternoon."
The journey from police officer to prisoner and back to police officer again is quite a peculiar one. Shi Shuai and Li Wei lay on their beds, sighing deeply, rolling around hugging their blankets. Xu Ming personally went to the kitchen to cook some of his specialty dishes to reward them. This trip to prison wasn’t in vain!
"The boss will be here soon, stop being so melodramatic over there."
"Lao Xu, no way. You’ve got to give us a raise and a promotion. We went through hell inside!"
"Yeah, Lao Xu, young master’s whole body is aching terribly. You should be responsible for massaging me. Or you can find a couple of girls, it’s up to you!"
Xu Ming was about to speak when someone behind him pushed him aside. "Lao..." Xiao Lin waved him off and went to Shi Shuai’s back.
"Lao what? Hurry up and knead young master’s back!" Shi Shuai shouted with his head buried in the pillow, raising his right hand to point to his lower back, whimpering. A pair of strong hands started massaging his back. "Ah! Right here, right here, a bit harder."
"Is it here, master?" Xiao Lin asked, holding back his laughter.
"Eh, what’s wrong with Lao Xu’s voice?" Shi Shuai lifted his head and looked back at the awkward sound, eyes widening once focused. "Lao... boss!"
"Hmm!" Xiao Lin smacked Shi Shuai on the rear, making him howl in protest, white-eyed at Li Wei for not warning him sooner.
"Doing something so small and you think you deserve a promotion and all, still want me to find you a couple of beauties, get a bathtub or something to soak in?" Xiao Lin looked at him sideways, eyes filled with mischief.
"No, boss, don’t look at me like that, I’m not a woman!" Shi Shuai was scared by Xiao Lin’s demeanor, suddenly jumping off the bed.
"I really thought you were a chick, whining endlessly. Hurry up and eat, in the afternoon you’re coming with me to the brickyard."
"You don’t want to hear the intel we got from the district police station?" Shi Shuai lay over his food bowl. Inside, he heard about Ji Weihua’s false confessions, how those cases were cracked.
"Do a report and submit it along with the evidence collected, your task is pretty much done. Director Xu, later you’ll have to sort out all the evidence and reports that have been collected over these days and make a list, I’ll give it to Secretary Hua.
"Yes, I got it." Xu Ming nodded, these things were already ready, just waiting for Xiao Lin to ask. "Boss, what about that guesthouse?"
"Once Yao Zheng steps down, it’ll be dealt with."
"Boss, where’s Wang Xi? Why haven’t I seen him?"
"Recuperating somewhere, it won’t be long before he’s back on duty. Meet at the district government entrance at twelve forty-five in the afternoon." Xiao Lin intentionally moved the time up by fifteen minutes, can’t have them making the boss wait!
"You’re not eating?"
"Got other stuff to handle!" Xiao Lin had already walked out of the police station. Today was a good day, but sadly not a good mood. Standing on the street, the police station was at one end and the guesthouse was at the other. The guesthouse owner seemed rather carefree, sipping tea with an abacus, half lying over the counter napping. Xiao Lin didn’t go up to greet him like usual, but headed straight upstairs. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets, your support is my biggest motivation.)
