Evidence of Crimes and Orders

The light in the study was dimmer than before. Lead-gray clouds piled up in the sky outside the French windows, filtering the afternoon sunlight into a cold, pale light. The aroma of the cold tea from before had faded into the air, replaced by a stagnant silence, carrying the subtle pressure of impending decision-making.

Lin Feng remained in the same position as when he answered the phone, sitting in the leather chair with his phone back on the table. His face was expressionless, except for a cold, almost annoyed glint in the depths of his eyes.

It's like seeing a fly that's been swatted away but buzzes back, trying to land on food. And this time, the fly seems to have found an even dirtier, more secluded corner as its base, perhaps even covered in other filth.

He had run out of patience with this persistent, despicable scum who preyed on the weak. The lesson he learned last time was clearly not profound enough, or rather, the other party had found a self-righteous "new backer" and felt that he could start jumping around again.

A very soft, almost inaudible chuckle escaped from Lin Feng's lips.

He no longer needed to deal with this filth himself, nor did he need Lü Yi lift a finger. Now he had a more efficient and thorough method.

His gaze shifted slightly, landing on the seemingly ordinary but actually heavily encrypted and physically isolated spare laptop on the other corner of the desk. He reached out, activated the screen, and, after a series of complex verifications, entered a communication program with only a simple command-line interface.

The cursor blinked on the black screen. Lin Feng typed on the keyboard, entered a concise command and coordinate information, and sent it.

Recipient ID: K.

The instructions are clear: Target: the "Treasure-Gathering Pawnshop" and surrounding area at the intersection of Fuxing Road and Xingye Street, a known fraud gang (old acquaintances, their characteristics known). Requirements: Conduct a comprehensive investigation to obtain all current criminal evidence, activity patterns, organizational structure, fund flows, and related connections. Speed is crucial; the evidence must be conclusive, complete, and sufficient to form an airtight case.

The message was sent, and almost immediately a brief reply appeared: [Received. Within 24 hours.]

Lin Feng closed the interface, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes. He placed absolute trust in K. K's abilities had already been proven in Northern Myanmar and in the series of events that followed; he was incredibly efficient at handling this kind of "dirty work."

For the next while, the study was so quiet you could hear your own heartbeat. Lin Feng didn't deal with any other matters; he simply waited quietly, like a tiger feigning sleep, waiting for its hounds to present the clearest tracks and weaknesses of its prey.

Time slipped away silently. The daylight outside the window gradually shifted from a pale white to a deeper, dusky yellow, before fading into the night. The city lights began to twinkle one by one.

The screen of the backup computer suddenly lit up automatically in the darkness, emitting a ghostly blue light. There was no notification sound, but Lin Feng opened his eyes almost at the same time.

On the screen was a highly compressed and encrypted data packet sent by K. The transmission progress bar completed rapidly. Lin Feng clicked on it.

What was presented before me was an "investigative report" with a clear structure and shockingly detailed content.

Part One: Target Confirmation and Real-Time Monitoring. Includes high-definition, multi-angle street photography and hidden camera footage, clearly identifying all core members, including "Da Fei," "Monkey," and "Iron Tower," as well as several new faces. The footage shows them still active around the pawnshop, even capturing real-time footage of "Monkey" enthusiastically leading an elderly woman carrying a shopping basket towards the pawnshop's back door. The interior of the pawnshop is also partially captured from a "coincidental" perspective by someone disguised as a repairman—a messy counter, several shifty-eyed clerks, and a vaguely visible "back room" piled with miscellaneous items.

Part Two: Chain of Evidence in a Crime

- Communication records: Intercepted instant messaging messages within the gang with extremely low encryption levels contained blatant criminal communications such as "I've found a few 'fat sheep' today," "The old method, coax first, then scare," and "The pawn price will be reduced to 30%, you'll have to sell whether you want to or not."

- Fund Flow: Abnormal fund flow over the past three months was traced through technical means to bank cards and third-party payment accounts associated with the pawnshop and several members. It showed multiple small but frequent transfers from elderly people, as well as concentrated remittances to several specific accounts (suspected to be upstream or protectors). The largest of these transfers pointed to a personal account named "Zhou Yongli".

- Victim Connections: By cross-referencing non-emergency police reports (blurred) from nearby police stations and sporadic online complaints, at least seven unresolved or failed-to-mediate cases involving "pawn disputes," "forced transactions," and "disorderly conduct" that may be related to the gang were identified. The victims' characteristics were highly consistent (elderly people, migrant workers, and seemingly honest and easily bullied citizens).

Part Three: Organizational Structure and Background Relationship

- A simple organizational structure was established, headed by "Da Fei" (real name Fei Qiang), with subordinate groups including the "Deception Group" (in charge of Monkey), the "Deterrence Group" (in charge of Iron Tower), and the "Filing and Accounting Group".

- The most important discovery: The recipient, "Zhou Yongli," after in-depth investigation by K, was found to be a nominal shareholder of a local microfinance company, but in reality, he was a minor leader of the "Yongli Gang," a local criminal gang entrenched in the urban-rural fringe area of the southern suburbs of the city.

The gang was involved in illegal lending, violent debt collection, and operating casinos, and had a certain network of connections. The registered legal representative of "Treasure-Gathering Pawnshop" was found to be a distant relative of Zhou Yongli, essentially acting as a front man.

K notes. "Preliminary assessment suggests that Fei Qiang's gang's return is due to their alliance with the ' Yongli Gang,' gaining protection, some funding, and venue support, and expanding the gang's lower-level 'money-making' channels. The pawnshop serves as a cooperative base between the two."

Part Four: Activity Patterns and Recommendations. This section provides the residences, frequently used vehicles, daily gatherings, and modus operandi of the gang's main members. It also includes K's recommendation. "The evidence has formed a closed loop; it is recommended that law enforcement close in. A focused breakthrough should be made targeting Zhou Yongli of the ' Yongli Gang ' and his financial dealings with pawnshops to expand the results."

At the end of the report, K offered his usual concise conclusion: [The evidence has been packaged and is ready for submission at any time. The related party, "Yongli Gang," should be aware that it may have lower-level protectors; it is recommended that the case be directly supervised by law enforcement at a sufficiently high level to avoid interference.]

Lin Feng finished reading page by page, his gaze lingering for a moment on the words "Zhou Yongli" and "Yongli Gang," his eyes growing even colder. Sure enough, the fly had found the dung heap. But this did not affect his determination to swat the fly; he might even consider cleaning up the dung heap along with it.

He closed the report interface and picked up another highly encrypted satellite phone on the table. This phone had a very limited range, connecting only a handful of people.

He dialed one of the numbers.

The phone rang four times before being answered. A steady male voice, tinged with late-night weariness, said, "Mr. Lin?" It was Wei Guanglin. At this hour, he should still be in his office at the Municipal Bureau.

"Old Wei, it's me." Lin Feng's voice was steady, without any pleasantries. "There's a group of fraudsters operating on Fuxing Road for some time now. Their crimes are heinous; they specifically target the elderly, and it's having a very bad impact. I've received some materials; I'll send them to you."

Wei Guanglin immediately perked up on the other end. "Fuxing Road? Fraud? Mr. Lin, please explain in detail."

"There's a lot of information. I'll have K send it to you directly via a secure link. You'll understand after you read it." Lin Feng's tone turned cold, carrying an undeniable determination. "My opinion is to make this an airtight case. Punish it severely and swiftly. If there are any other monsters or demons behind this, dig them all out. You personally oversee it."

There was a silence of about two seconds on the other end of the phone. Wei Guanglin was clearly quickly processing the weight of Lin Feng's words. "Severe and swift punishment," "Make it an ironclad case," "Keep a close eye on it personally," especially the last sentence, "Dig it all out together," he understood what it meant. Lin Feng rarely gave such clear instructions on specific cases; once he spoke, it meant the evidence was irrefutable and his determination was firm.

"Understood, Mr. Lin." Wei Guanglin's voice regained its usual steady and powerful tone, carrying a resolute determination to carry out a mission. "I'll receive the data immediately. Don't worry, I know what to do."

"Okay. Thanks for your hard work." Lin Feng said, then hung up the phone.

He used his computer to send the evidence package that K had prepared to the receiving terminal designated by Wei Guanglin via an absolutely secure line.

After doing all this, he leaned back in his chair and looked out the window at the deep night. The city's neon lights blurred into indistinct spots on the glass.

He knew that within hours, or even sooner, that gang of scum who thought they had found a backer and could continue to do evil, along with the little "Yongli Gang" behind them, would face a real and devastating blow.

And he didn't even need to furrow his brow.

Cleaning up trash shouldn't have taken up too much of his attention. His focus had already drifted back to the other side of the ocean, to the rainy night in Seattle, and to the young man who was about to start his live stream.