Chapter 265: A Shame Not to Be a Thief

One day later, at H City Airport, Xiao Yu and eight members of the task force stepped off the plane.

Outside, the H City police were lined up to receive them. No small talk, no wasted words. Everyone got in the car.

“Shen Li, male, 29, from H City, currently a coach at a live-action CS game center…

“Hua Xiangyang, male, 30, also from H City. He used to work for a security company and has five years of experience as a professional bodyguard…

“Our investigation shows that the IDs of these two individuals registered an exit from H City 22 days ago. They both checked into hotels in S City, and one of them also had recent transactions in their online banking account. Nineteen days ago, both IDs show the purchase of long-distance bus tickets, returning to H City that same night…”

A police inspector in a white shirt delivered all the details gathered by the local authorities.

“Any suspects locked down yet?” Xiao Yu asked.

“Not yet,” the inspector replied with a shake of his head. “After we received your notice, the city police began looking into their whereabouts. We tracked that both of them briefly returned to their homes but left again the following day. However, based on info from their residential complex’s security guard, it appears Shen Li drove away in an unregistered off-road vehicle. The city’s Skyeye surveillance and traffic control are tracking the vehicle’s movements, but no updates yet.”

“Thank you for the hard work,” Xiao Yu said with a smile and a nod.

“Hard work? We’re all on the same team.” 

The inspector gave Xiao Yu a complicated look, smiling as he praised, “The younger generation really is impressive.”

Aside from that one comment, he didn’t say much.

Just yesterday he’d nearly jumped out of his skin when he got a personal call from the top official of a provincial department. Then, soon after, the provincial governor himself called, requesting full cooperation with the neighboring province’s investigation.

And today, Xiao Yu showed up with his team.

No need for extra words.

Just looking at Xiao Yu’s age and the first-class police inspector rank on his shoulder was intimidating enough.

Even more startling? This ridiculously young officer with a shockingly high rank was actually the leader of a provincial-level special task force.

You wouldn’t even need a brain to figure it out—this guy had to be at least at the bureau level, right?

If that’s true, believe it or not, it would mean Xiao Yu’s rank might actually surpass his own. Here he was, a police inspector, the highest-ranking officer in H City’s police system, and this young guy might outrank him purely by position.

When it came down to it, was a municipal role ever more powerful than a provincial one? Anyone could tell you the answer to that.

At that moment, the police inspector felt like his whole career had gone to the dogs.

Xiao Yu kept quiet, but inside the car, Gao Shengli and Wu Jia exchanged looks, barely holding back their laughter.

‘Impressive young people?’ they thought, amused.

This inspector was a riot. The guy in front of him wasn’t just some rookie; he was practically a Police King. If he saw Xiao Yu’s medals and honors, he’d probably be scared out of his wits.

***

A line of police cars came to a stop at the H City Police Bureau.

Xiao Yu and his team stepped out of the cars, following Bao Yong, the head of H City Bureau, into the main building and then into the cafeteria.

A welcome meal was standard. When a partner unit arrived, sharing a meal came first. Plus, they needed to wait for the traffic control department’s report on the suspect’s vehicle. There was no alcohol, just food and drinks. They’d barely started eating when the vehicle report came in, and the local police quickly located the car.

“We found the suspect’s vehicle in a county within our jurisdiction,” Bao Yong reported to Xiao Yu.

“Let’s go.” 

Xiao Yu sat down his chopsticks and stood up. The rest of the task force rose and followed.

***

Night. 1:32 a.m.

In a residential complex in a nearby county, shadows moved quietly through the gates.

“Check your guns,” Xiao Yu ordered as they approached a residential building.

The suspects were extremely dangerous, so they couldn’t take any chances. This time, everyone in the task force was armed.

Once all weapons were checked and safeties engaged, Xiao Yu motioned to his team.

A team member came over with a visibly shaken security guard.

Who could blame him? The poor guy had just seen this group of officers pulling out their guns. It was natural to be terrified.

The security guard took out an access card and swiped it at the building’s electronic lock. The door unlocked with a beep, and the group entered. Two team members stayed back to guard the staircase while the rest stepped into the elevator.

The elevator doors opened on the sixth floor. Xiao Yu stepped out, glancing around before zeroing in on the door to the left with the number 603.

The seven-person team started to approach.

“Wait…”

Xiao Yu stopped and looked up at the corner above the door of 603.

A security camera.

He reached into his jacket, pulled out his gun, then took a cylindrical attachment from his holster and twisted it onto the barrel.

The other team members watched silently, eyes gleaming with admiration. Guys and guns—always a thing. But Xiao Yu’s weapon wasn’t just any standard issue. Normal police guns didn’t come with silencers. This was a special-issue piece for national security agents.

With the silencer in place, Xiao Yu raised his arm.

A muffled pop sounded through the hallway.

A silencer couldn’t make a gun completely silent, but it could keep the noise from being deafening. This one did the job well, softening the shot enough that only the hallway would catch it—not anyone inside the apartments.

The camera lens shattered, scattering tiny pieces, but no major noise.

Still holding his gun, Xiao Yu stepped up to the door of 603. Leaning his cheek against it, he listened for a moment.

Then, he holstered his weapon and looked down at the lock.

A fingerprint-locked door?

Xiao Yu stepped back. He held off on showing his lockpicking expert skills since Wu Jia was already reaching for his own set of tools to handle the lock.

With practiced hands, Wu Jia carefully pried open the fingerprint scanner’s cover, used tweezers to pull out the fingerprint sensor and studied the wires inside. Taking out a mini soldering iron, he melted away the protective coating on the wires, revealing the metal beneath.

Then he pulled out a small electronic device, clipped two tiny clamps onto the exposed wires, and pressed a button.

The fingerprint lock clicked open.

The whole thing took less than a minute.

Xiao Yu glanced at a smug-looking Wu Jia and thought, ‘Man, what a waste if this guy doesn’t go into burglary someday.’

As soon as the door cracked open, Xiao Yu and the team surged inside.