Chapter 99: Suspect Target Locked

Xiao Yu’s heart skipped a beat, and an indescribable discomfort surged in his chest.

A police officer had just died. Perhaps his death was partially due to his own negligence. But in the end, he was still a police officer.

Xiao Yu paused the surveillance video and picked up a file.

Zhao Jun, 34. Graduated from the police academy at 22. Assigned as an trainee at 23. Became a full-fledged police officer at 24. Solved dozens of cases within five years. Although they were mostly minor cases, he was just a regular officer. At 29, Zhao Jun received an internal warning.

Why?

On that day, Zhao Jun’s wife was celebrating her birthday. He took his wife and child to a restaurant to celebrate. Midway through, his wife took their daughter to the restroom. A drunk man barged in and harassed Zhao Jun’s wife. She fled with their daughter, but the drunk man pursued them.

Zhao Jun arrived at the scene. Hearing the situation and having had a bit to drink, Zhao Jun lost his temper. Seeing the drunk man pulling his wife and daughter in front of him, Zhao Jun acted. He beat the drunk man severely.

Was he wrong?

Because of his position, he should had restrained himself instead of fighting. From a professional standpoint, he was wrong. 

But as a husband and father, what did he do wrong?

As a result, the drunk man accused him first. The drunk man edited the surveillance footage, removing key parts, and uploaded it online. Several unscrupulous media outlets sensationalized the story, and many keyboard warriors began criticizing Zhao Jun, stirring up public opinion against him.

When the original video was released, the onlookers finally understood what had happened. But it was too late. 

Zhao Jun had received an internal warning and was transferred to the detention center. If nothing unexpected happened, he might have worked there until retirement. 

But now, a wife had lost her husband, and a child had lost their father.

Xiao Yu’s face was as cold as ice as he put down Zhao Jun’s file and pressed play on the video again.

As expected, in the control room, another guard was killed by Lu Jia and Ma Hexuan in the same manner. They found two sets of guard uniforms in the locker room, put on the police caps, and took the guard’s keys and access cards. Then they escaped from the detention center.

The surveillance video ended.

“The oddity lies here,” Xiao Yu’s eyes were cold as he murmured to himself, “Only this makes sense. After all, Ma Hexuan couldn’t have been so familiar with the detention center. Only a habitual offender would know the place so well. They knew how to bribe the servants, how to contact the prison bully to get the entry/exit maps and layout, and how to escape from the cell. The disinfectant was likely a coincidence, meant to mask the smell when the toilet seat was lifted. They hid the maps and weapons underneath. Why didn’t they take the maps? Because they had memorized them. The extra toothbrushes were backup weapons? The mastermind behind the prison break was never Ma Hexuan. It was Lu Jia.  I was careless, initially misled by the disinfectant and overestimating your intelligence. The enemy’s strength indeed comes from our overthinking. So the question is, why did Lu Jia do this? Clearly, he was about to be released soon. Why would he break out of prison? And why would he take Ma Hexuan with him? The root cause still lies with Ma Hexuan. This can be confirmed from the fact that after they escaped the detention center, his girlfriend’s best friend was killed. Now, were the three accomplices Lu Jia’s people or Ma Hexuan’s people? By the way, those three had a very strange smell. What was that smell? Judging by the depth of their footprints, they were all very strong individuals. Three strong people appearing suddenly, kidnapping a woman, and delivering her to Ma Hexuan… wait. Ma Hexuan was clearly terrified during the escape, and it seemed like he was being forced by Lu Jia to commit the murders, right? At one point, Lu Jia was snarling at Ma Hexuan, saying something. Was it a threat? From start to finish, Lu Jia was the one in control? If that’s the case, then those three accomplices should be Lu Jia’s men? No, that doesn’t make sense.”

Xiao Yu lifted his head, feeling a headache coming on. His thoughts were becoming muddled.

How could a petty thief dare to plan a prison break and have three accomplices willing to kidnap?

Moreover, wasn’t that woman also brutally tortured by you before being killed?

Suddenly, Xiao Yu’s pupils contracted, and his heart sank to the bottom as he thought of a possibility.

The portable hard drive!

“Retrieve all surveillance footage from the detention center for the past three months,” Xiao Yu ordered.

Quickly, the footage was placed in front of him.

For a full five hours, Xiao Yu watched the surveillance. He focused on monitoring Lu Jia and Ma Hexuan.

Why was he watching them? Not exactly. Xiao Yu wanted to see who they had interacted with.

Soon, Xiao Yu locked onto a target.

This person had been brought into the detention center on the third day of Ma Hexuan’s stay. On the fourth and fifth days, he was always around Ma Hexuan. On the sixth day, he approached Ma Hexuan directly.

The two of them hid in the detention center’s public restroom, discussing something unknown. Afterwards, Ma Hexuan left angrily, with the man following closely behind.

On the eighth day, the man found Ma Hexuan again. This time, when Ma Hexuan came out of the restroom, he looked pale and terrified. Yet, he still gritted his teeth and left angrily.

The man did not seek out Ma Hexuan again but instead approached Lu Jia.

By the eleventh day, Lu Jia and Ma Hexuan had grown close, with Lu Jia taking care of him.

On the twelfth day, the man found Lu Jia again, and they had an unknown conversation in the restroom. Afterward, Lu Jia walked out with a twisted expression on his face. Initially looking lost, he eventually seemed to come to a firm decision.

On the fifteenth day, the man left the detention center.

On the same day, Lu Jia approached a familiar prison guard and recommended Ma Hexuan for a servant position.

On the eighteenth day, Ma Hexuan moved to the servant’s quarters and became a servant.

“So, the plan started from this point.” Xiao Yu paused the video, his eyes fixed on the person in the surveillance footage who had met with both Ma Hexuan and Lu Jia.

Soon, the information was laid out before Xiao Yu.

Yang Zhichao, male, 31 years old, a local, unemployed.

All his personal information was spotless, without even a criminal record.

After investigating, it seemed that the unemployed Yang Zhichao never lacked money. He often frequented high-end places, had a good network, and many friends. Among them were senior executives, company owners, first-generation rich, and second-generation wealthy individuals.

Xiao Yu issued an order, “Arrest Yang Zhichao.”