Chapter 356: Don’t Move, I’m a Police Officer

Wang Haitao ordered takeout for dinner. As they were eating, someone knocked on the door, and Lin Dongxue walked in.

Sun Zhen casually looked up, then froze with his mouth agape, a grain of rice falling out. KK glanced over, quickly stood up, and whispered to Chen Shi, “Is that… your wife?”

“Let me introduce you all properly,” Chen Shi said.

After introductions, Lin Dongxue smiled and greeted them, “Hello.”

“Hello, sister-in-law!” both men said, bowing.

“Just friends?” Lin Dongxue looked at Chen Shi in disbelief.

“We’ve known each other for a while. Don’t worry, they’re good people,” Chen Shi explained.

“Yes, we are!” Sun Zhen said, smoothing his hair to cover a bald spot.

“Sister-in-law, you’re so beautiful. No joke, you’re the second most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” KK complimented.

“Don’t call me sister-in-law… Who’s the first?” Lin Dongxue asked, smiling.

“You, when you smile!” KK raised his phone. “Can I take a picture of you for my wallpaper?”

“Knock it off!” Chen Shi said.

Lin Dongxue, amused by KK, linked arms with Chen Shi. “Alright, one picture.”

Sun Zhen, not as thick-skinned, teased, “He says that to everyone.”

Finally, they settled down. Chen Shi handed a lunchbox to Lin Dongxue, who declined, “I’ve already eaten. Why are you at this detective agency? Did you change careers?”

“Here’s the situation…”

“These scammers are despicable, but fraud isn’t handled by the criminal police.”

“It’s urgent. Once we catch them, you can take over and decide which department handles it… Let’s get to work!”

Sun Zhen sat back at the computer. “Niubi Gang is in the suburbs, with several main roads around. I’ll hack into the traffic management system to find them.”

“What?” Lin Dongxue was shocked. “Traffic management is under the police. You’re hacking into a police system?”

Sun Zhen, embarrassed, looked to Chen Shi for help. “It’s an emergency, and formal procedures are too slow. Let him do it. Xiaochong is a top hacker; he won’t leave a trace.”

“Alright, just this once,” Lin Dongxue conceded.

Sun Zhen breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, none of them knew much about hacking. He had already left a backdoor in the traffic system and used a zombie computer as a proxy. With a few quick operations, he accessed the system, and the surveillance footage appeared on the screen.

Sun Zhen asked everyone to connect to the WiFi so they could help watch the footage. Meanwhile, he added the moms from the group chat on WeChat and wrote something on the computer. KK, dizzy from watching the surveillance, asked, “Policing is boring. Xiaochong, what are you doing… ‘6 Early Symptoms of High Blood Sugar,’ ‘Beware, These Food Combinations Can Kill.’ Why are you looking at this stuff?”

“I embedded malware in these articles. If they open them, I can hack their phones and look for clues… The undercover’s phone won’t open them. I’ve sent him a bunch of juicy videos, but he hasn’t clicked on any.”

“Xiaodong might not be able to right now,” Chen Shi said.

Meanwhile, in an abandoned warehouse in the suburbs, Xu Xiaodong was eating a stomach-churning dinner of instant noodles and ham sausage provided by the scammers. Now, everyone sat at a long table under a blinding white light.

Mr. Gao and the bearded man came out. The bearded man reeked of alcohol, picking meat from his teeth with his tongue. Mr. Gao put down a bag and took out a large envelope. “This is tomorrow’s exam paper. I’ll distribute the papers and answers. Remember as much as you can. If you memorize it all… Congratulations, you’ll be the top scorer!”

The students cheered, excitement shining on their faces. Li Mengran, sitting next to Xu Xiaodong, muttered, “You can’t get full marks on the essay.”

Ignoring her, Mr. Gao handed out the envelopes, which the students passed back. Xu Xiaodong opened his and saw poorly printed exam papers, labeled as this year’s exams, including Chinese, math, English, and comprehensive subjects, each with answers.

Some students cheered and began copying the answers. Taking advantage of the commotion, Xu Xiaodong discreetly checked his phone and saw a message: “Open the video I sent you. I’m Chen Shi.”

“What are you holding?” Mr. Gao’s shout startled Xu Xiaodong. Mr. Gao strode over.

Xu Xiaodong quickly turned off his phone. Mr. Gao stopped in front of him and held out his hand. “Didn’t I say all phones should be handed in?”

“I was just messaging my mom…” Xu Xiaodong awkwardly explained.

“Give it to me! Let me check.”

Mr. Gao’s tone was stern. The bearded man approached, cracking his knuckles. All the students stopped writing, looking at Xu Xiaodong. Cold sweat poured down his back. He clearly wasn’t cut out for undercover work.

Li Mengran stood up. “Wait, this is the 2015 exam paper. I just did it the other day. All subjects are the same.”

“Really? It did look familiar,” other students murmured.

Mr. Gao glared at her. “This is this year’s exam paper. If you don’t believe me, don’t do it. You’ll regret it when you see the paper tomorrow.”

Li Mengran flipped through the paper quickly. “These questions… And these topics aren’t in this year’s syllabus. How could they reuse an old paper? You’re scammers!”

Mr. Gao sneered, “What have I scammed you out of? I told your parents I’d collect the money after the exams.”

Xu Xiaodong stood up, slamming the table. “Everyone, listen! These papers are fake. They took our phones and brought us here to prevent contact with the outside world. Tomorrow, they’ll deliberately make us late to extort money from our parents.”

This revelation hit like a bombshell. The warehouse erupted in chaos, with students tearing up the papers.

“So what if you figured it out?” Mr. Gao sneered. “You’re in my hands now. Blame your greedy parents for believing this. Consider it an expensive lesson!” He shouted, “Everyone sit down, or you won’t get to the exam site tomorrow.”

The bearded man moved towards Xu Xiaodong, who dodged and twisted his arm behind his back, slamming him onto the table. He kicked the man’s leg, making him scream.

Seeing things go south, Mr. Gao retreated, calling for help. Xu Xiaodong rushed over, knocked him down, and pinned him, twisting his arm painfully.

When the accomplices rushed in, Xu Xiaodong shouted, “Don’t move, I’m a police officer!”