Chapter 807: Ants Calculating Against a Demon

The police couldn’t possibly give any information to Lie Guoxiao. They merely promised to investigate thoroughly. Furious, Lie Guoxiao stormed out of the police station with his men. Outside, he told his subordinates, “In ‘The Bund,’ Feng Chengcheng once told Xu Wenqiang that instead of waiting for an opportunity, you should go find it yourself. The police won’t seriously help me find the painting. Gather more helpers and find it for me!”

“But, Mr. Lie, Long’an is so vast…” one of his men hesitated.

“The pawnshops! I’m sure the thief is someone from the pawnshops. Check every single one of them. Use any means necessary to get my painting back!” Lie Guoxiao fumed. After a moment’s thought, he added, “Contact Mr. Zhou for me!”

As Lie Guoxiao left, Chen Shi remarked, “That old man won’t cause trouble, will he?”

Lin Qiupu replied, “Let him be. Team Three is gathering evidence of his crimes and would love for him to slip up. The team leader told me that Lie Guoxiao is linked to several missing person cases. Those missing were all people who had been around him.”

Just then, Xu Xiaodong returned with a man in tow, saying, “Brother Chen, I caught this guy.”

The man who was responsible for looking after the paintings was brought in for questioning. He didn’t know much. Previously working in ancient painting restoration, he had been hired by Lie Guoxiao three years ago to care for his collection. He knew how much Lie Guoxiao treasured these paintings, often visiting discreetly to admire them for entire nights. These hundreds of ancient paintings were practically his lifeblood.

So, when the man saw the empty shelves this afternoon, he panicked and fled immediately.

“Please don’t tell Mr. Lie where I am. I’m afraid he’ll come after me,” the man pleaded.

“I think you should come clean. As the caretaker, running away as soon as the paintings were stolen only benefits the thief,” Chen Shi advised.

“No, I can’t. The responsibility for the lost paintings falls on me. Mr. Lie will be furious. I’d better stay hidden!” the man insisted.

“Did you see any suspicious people around recently? When you were inside making calls, did you notice any electromagnetic interference? Any strange lights on the windows at night?” Chen Shi asked.

The man thought for a moment and replied, “Everything seemed normal. This happened all of a sudden. Just yesterday, I saw the paintings on the shelves.”

“Did you open them yesterday?” Chen Shi asked.

“I usually don’t open them. The damage to ancient paintings is irreversible. Each viewing causes wear. I only looked at them the other night at your request,” the man explained.

Chen Shi had a sudden thought. If the thief knew this, they could easily replace the originals with fakes, and Lie Guoxiao wouldn’t discover the switch until his next visit.

Taking all the paintings and leaving behind that taunting message showed that the thief didn’t mind being discovered. They probably had a backup plan in place.

After questioning the man, Lin Qiupu suggested they visit the scene. Upon arriving at the empty room again, Chen Shi felt like it had been ages since their last visit, though only hours had passed.

They found no fingerprints. The caretaker always wore gloves, and the only footprints were those of the police and Lie Guoxiao’s men.

Chen Shi paced around, considering how the thief could have taken the paintings without a trace. He speculated, “The thief might not need to take the paintings far. They could rent a room in this building and transfer the paintings there. The most dangerous place could be the safest.”

“If you’re sure, I’ll have people check each apartment,” Lin Qiupu offered.

Chen Shi frowned. He had no evidence, and such a search could leave rental records, posing risks.

His gaze fell on a corner drainpipe. Inspecting it, Lin Qiupu said, “Impossible. Who would transport valuable paintings through a drainpipe? Do you think they threw them into the sewer?”

“Let Old Peng check it out,” Chen Shi suggested.

Lin Qiupu agreed, and Peng Sijue’s team inspected all the pipes. Surprisingly, they found signs that one pipe outside the window had been tampered with. Scratches on the pipe’s interior indicated something had passed through.

Peering out the window, Lin Qiupu saw the drainpipe led straight to the street below. He instructed, “Ask around the neighborhood!”

The investigation revealed that a worker in a “City Sewage” uniform had been seen there earlier, connecting a hose to the drainpipe, which led to a nearby vehicle. The supposed “sewer cleaning” took about ten minutes.

Lin Qiupu broke into a cold sweat. “They really used the drainpipe to transport the paintings.”

“It seems there were two people involved. One threw the paintings down, and the other collected them below. The pipes are slick with grime. Wrapping the paintings in cling film would protect them,” Chen Shi noted.

“Bold and skilled!” Lin Qiupu marveled. He immediately ordered a search for surveillance footage and eyewitnesses and instructed a handwriting expert to analyze the taunting message on the wall.

Lin Dongxue suggested, “Should we visit Taiyang Pawnshop and question those two?”

Chen Shi shook his head. “Without evidence, it’s pointless. Better to confront them when we have some leads.”

“I think scaring them a bit might not be a bad idea,” Lin Dongxue proposed.

“Scaring them?” Chen Shi pondered whether a little intimidation might be effective.

The police’s investigation proceeded intensively, and the day passed quickly. However, for those two, it felt like an eternity.

After nightfall, He Jingjing opened a secret compartment behind a bookcase. The sight of the priceless paintings inside left her both thrilled and terrified. Each one was worth a fortune. She couldn’t believe they had succeeded. Two ants had outwitted a demon!

Although their plan had gone smoothly, she was still uneasy. She took the paintings out and placed them in a charcoal burner, lighting a match.

He Jun burst in, as if witnessing her strangling a child, and snatched the match away. “What are you doing? One of these is enough for a lifetime. How could you even think of destroying them?”

He Jingjing’s eyes were resolute. “Yes, one is enough for a lifetime. We don’t need so many. We’ll keep three and burn the rest. That way, they’ll never find them!”

“No, no, no. These are irreplaceable masterpieces!” He Jun couldn’t bear to destroy them. “Keeping three or a hundred carries the same risk. And if that old man finds out we destroyed them, he’ll skin us alive!”

He Jingjing sneered. “Having taken this step, do you still care about the risk of being discovered? Whether it’s him or the police who find us, we won’t survive.”

“But if we get through this, we’ll be billionaires, living in luxury for the rest of our lives!” He Jun remained optimistic, driven by the enormous reward awaiting them.