Catching People at the Internet Cafe

The bag was in the evidence room next door. Lin Xiaosu went in. He didn't open the bag, he didn't even pick it up. He took a look, smelled the air, and that concluded the initial part of his investigation.

Next, he needed to visit the spot where the bag was found.

Miao Ruolan stayed behind to sort out the necessary documents for their detective agency's opening.

Lin Xiaosu, Zhou Mei, and Officer Sun Yang headed to the location where the bag was found.

The spot was at Yishui Bund.

The Yishui River was a river that flowed through the city. Shops lined both banks, and household sewage and garbage were casually discarded, turning the river into a stinking ditch. After Secretary Luo took office, he initiated a massive cleanup. Many houses on both banks were demolished, the riverbed was cleared, embankments were built, and green trees were planted. A dam was also constructed downstream. Once the water was impounded, the Yishui River sparkled, with weeping willows swaying gracefully, transforming it into a park with water and banks.

Everyone called it Yishui Bund.

When criticism against Secretary Luo Gong was at its peak, Yishui Bund also became a point of attack.

It was said that Secretary Luo liked women and often brought female cadres to Yishui Bund to "discuss work."

This claim was quickly refuted. As the top leader of the entire county, where couldn't he "discuss work"? Why would he specifically choose a place where everyone could see?

Although the "discuss work" anecdote about Secretary Luo lost its credibility due to a lack of logical connection, the fact that Yishui Bund was a suitable place for young couples to date was undeniable.

It was in the city center, a quiet spot amidst the hustle and bustle.

With the weeping willows swaying, enjoying the clear water by day and listening to cicadas at night, it did indeed have a romantic atmosphere.

In a place inherently designed for leisure from the beginning, surveillance cameras were naturally not installed. Therefore, the red pavilion where the leather bag was discovered was a blind spot for surveillance.

It was now early May.

As soon as they descended to the embankment, the sun, which had just begun to intensify, became gentle.

Lin Xiaosu took a breath of fresh air, brushed aside two willow branches hanging at the entrance of the red pavilion, and entered.

Outside the red pavilion, Officer Sun leaned close to Zhou Mei's ear and spoke in a low voice, "Sister Zhou, we've already checked this place several times. Is it really possible we missed something?"

He was new to the job, and Zhou Mei was essentially his training instructor. He didn't dare to question Zhou Mei's decisions, but that didn't mean he was convinced.

After all, he was a top student at the police academy.

He had excellent grades in criminal investigation and forensics.

The idea of someone with no formal training opening a detective agency in a county town was already a novelty.

If such a person could find a loophole in their work and solve cases like this, it would be nothing short of a fantasy.

Zhou Mei's beautiful eyes shifted towards him. "You've indeed searched it twice, your eyes were wide open like bells, but can you smell?"

"Smell? We can't, but police dogs were also deployed. However, the contents of that bag were sealed too tightly. The police dogs couldn't smell anything without it being opened, and it was only opened after it was sent to the team..."

His voice suddenly stopped...

Because Lin Xiaosu gently brushed aside the weeping willows at the entrance of the red pavilion and walked out.

He didn't look at them, walking directly towards the flower bed outside. He stepped into the flower bed, stopped, and his expression was one of considerable surprise...

Zhou Mei strode over and came up beside him. "Did you find something?"

"Look!" Lin Xiaosu gently pointed to the ground. "There's a footprint here!"

There's a footprint!

The statement itself was meaningless, as there were footprints everywhere.

This was a public leisure area, and footprints were abundant.

However, Zhou Mei became sensitive. "Related to the scent in the red pavilion?"

"Yes!" Lin Xiaosu said. "From yesterday evening until now, two people's scents have been left in this red pavilion. After leaving the red pavilion, these two scents took two different paths. One path led up those steps to the sidewalk. The other path is this one, going along the inside of the flower bed... Officer Zhou, assuming one of these two people was the one who dropped the bag and the other was the one who picked it up, then who would be the one walking along the inside of this flower bed?"

Zhou Mei's heart leaped. "The person who dropped the bag!"

"Exactly!" Lin Xiaosu said. "The person who picked up the bag, with the mindset of returning lost property, sent it to the police station. They were open and honest, so they took the main path!" Lin Xiaosu continued. "Then, let's consider why the person who dropped the bag would walk along the inside of the flower bed in the dead of night. You need to know that this place is infested with snakes and insects!"

Zhou Mei and Sun Yang were startled simultaneously...

Yishui Bund, the inside of the flower bed. At this time of year, with snakes and insects present, why would any normal person walk along the inside of the flower bed at night? Wasn't there a lovers' lane outside?

Sun Yang stepped forward. "Unless this incident of dropping the bag was not an accidental loss at its core."

"Precisely!" Lin Xiaosu nodded. "This is a very typical drug transaction!"

Drugs were under constant high pressure in Great Xia.

Therefore, drug transactions were conducted very discreetly.

Many dealers adopted a method where the "upline" and "downline" did not meet. Both parties would agree on a location, the upline would place the "goods" in the designated spot, and then the downline would retrieve it.

The biggest advantage was cutting off contact between the two. Even if one party was caught, the other would not be implicated.

The fundamental reason for the failure of this transaction was an unexpected occurrence.

The upline placed the bag in the designated spot, but before the downline could retrieve it, it was picked up by a passerby.

Under normal circumstances, a passerby who found something could have the owner come forward to claim their property. But the problem was, the contents inside were illicit. Who would dare to claim it?

What if they encountered a scrupulous person? If you said the item was yours and described its contents, and they opened it and compared each item, and you were correct, then the bag would be returned to you!

Wouldn't that be walking into a trap?

So, even if the person who went offline was watching nearby at this moment, they probably wouldn't dare to step forward.

If the person who found the bag took it home, those people would still have ways to get it back. The problem is, this person was a good kid since childhood, deeply believing "I found a penny on the street, I'll give it to Uncle Police." Once handed over, both the upper and lower lines were screwed...

One pavilion, two auras.

Two routes of travel.

One took the main road, the other took the flower beds.

With just this simple information, the three of them simultaneously connected the dots to a serious case.

"The problem now is, can we find that upper line in the vast sea of people?" Zhou Mei said.

Lin Xiaosu chuckled, "Let's try!"

With this attempt, they went from the edge of the flower beds onto the sidewalk, crossed the bridge, and arrived at an internet cafe.

It was just past eight in the morning. The small town had a slower pace of life. Many people were still having breakfast. The air was filled with the fragrance of spring flowers, the aroma of fried dough sticks and steamed buns, and the scent of everyday life.

But inside the internet cafe, the situation was different.

A long row of gaming machines, sixty to seventy teenagers. Some were still playing games all night, others were wearing their clothes backward and sleeping in their chairs. The air was thick with the smell of smoke, instant noodles, and some unidentifiable smog.

The tables were a mess, and the floor was a mess.

The cleaning lady had an expression of extreme disapproval but also helplessness. If these kids were her sons, she would have truly beaten them. But they weren't!

On the contrary, their very existence provided them with a job...

They were restrained because they didn't dare say anything in front of these people.

But when they saw Zhou Mei and the other two walk side-by-side through the front passage towards the private rooms, they couldn't help but sigh inwardly...

Private rooms were the VIP areas of internet cafes.

Everywhere else, VIP meant high-end, but the VIP rooms in internet cafes were indescribable.

They knew very well that these private rooms were money-guzzling beasts and bottomless pits.

Some people entered wearing short sleeves and left when the snow was falling heavily.

What's more, some had families, wives, and children. They would stay in here for years. Their wives would run off with other men, their sons would become orphans, their houses would be sold off, and everything they gained would be poured into these private rooms...

What was the point?

People their age genuinely couldn't understand.

They could remain indifferent to matters that didn't concern them, but seeing the three newcomers, dressed so smartly, enter the private room, they still felt a sense of pity...

Yes, Zhou Mei and Sun Yang were not in uniform; they were wearing casual clothes.

Lin Xiaosu stopped at the door of a private room.

Zhou Mei's eyes gleamed, "Are you sure?"

Lin Xiaosu nodded gently.

He was absolutely certain that the person with the dyed yellow hair had entered this private room and had not come out.

Zhou Mei gently raised her hand and knocked on the door.

A impatient voice came from inside, "Who is it?"

"Cleaning staff!" Zhou Mei replied.

The door to the private room opened...

The person who opened the door was the one with the yellow hair.

When this yellow-haired guy saw Zhou Mei, he was a little surprised. Was such a young and beautiful woman also doing cleaning? Although the economy was declining and anything was possible, this was too much of a subversion!

Zhou Mei didn't look at him. Her eyes were firmly locked onto the footprints the yellow-haired guy was walking on.

Normally, floors wouldn't leave such obvious footprints, but there was one exception: public places where liquid was spilled everywhere and cleaning was handled by dedicated staff...

The footprints on the floor were incredibly clear.

It was him!

Zhou Mei raised her hand, and a police ID was in her palm...

The yellow-haired guy trembled violently, his expression completely changing...

He suddenly turned sideways and rushed out past Zhou Mei.

Just as he was about to get away, Zhou Mei lifted her knee. The yellow-haired guy's face contorted, and he hunched over like a shrimp.

There were two other people in the private room. They both jumped up simultaneously. The one on the left was knocked down by Sun Yang with a single kick. The one on the right, he applied a perfect chokehold, pressing his face to the ground.

The internet cafe was alerted, and the owner was alerted...

A police siren sounded outside, then stopped. Three male police officers entered side-by-side, led by Captain Zhang himself, and escorted the three into the police car.