Chapter 480: The Apprentice

Hearing Shen’s explanation, Chen Shi was a bit surprised. But given that Shen was now driven by carnal desires and his IQ had plummeted, it was unlikely he was making up something this far-fetched. Plus, his expression didn’t seem like he was lying.

Chen Shi said, “Alright, I believe you. But yesterday, when I asked you that question, you first nodded and then shook your head. What was that about? Are you hiding something from me?”

Shen looked embarrassed, hesitating to speak. Chen Shi pressed, “I promise to keep my word, but you need to tell me the truth first.”

“Dude, we barely know each other. How do I know you’ll keep your word?”

From this, it seemed Shen might have some clue about the current case. Chen Shi decided to play hardball, “If you don’t tell me, you’re not getting through that door.”

Shen glanced at Zhou inside the room, stomping his foot in frustration. After a long internal struggle, he finally relented, “Fine, you win. I didn’t expect you to be so firm. I’ll trust you this once. Although I didn’t have an accomplice back then, in prison, there was someone very interested in my past. We talked a lot, and, in your terms, I passed on some criminal techniques. I took on an apprentice!”

“So that’s it. I knew you had more to tell. What’s his name?”

Shen hesitated, knowing this was his last card to play. But seeing Chen Shi’s resolute expression, he finally said, “Zhang Xiao, a fraudster. We met in the detention center. After I went to prison, we lost contact.”

Chen Shi relaxed and opened the door behind him, “Go catch up with your girlfriend. You have two hours.”

Shen, overjoyed, expressed his gratitude repeatedly. Lin Dongxue also stepped out. The entire “reunion” was monitored by cameras since the prison authorities wanted to prevent any possible incidents, no matter how unlikely.

Chen Shi called the precinct to check on Zhang Xiao, the fraudster. He was sentenced last year but got a reduced sentence for turning in his accomplices, serving only six months.

The photo of Zhang Xiao closely matched the suspect’s sketch, giving Chen Shi a sense of relief that they had found the culprit.

Lin Dongxue commented, “He used to be a fraudster, but now he’s turned to murder for money. That’s a drastic change.”

Chen Shi said, “His record is full of misdeeds. To reduce his sentence, he betrayed his partners. He can’t go back to fraud, and someone like him will do anything for money. It’s not surprising to me.”

That afternoon, Lin Qiupu tracked down Zhang Xiao’s current hideout. The police quietly surrounded the place and entered, only to find it empty.

It was a small, rented apartment. With all windows and doors shut, the place had a stale smell. Chen Shi noticed a pot on the stove with leftover instant noodles. After checking, he said, “Someone was here as recently as last night.”

Lin Qiupu put away his gun, “This guy probably doesn’t know he’s been exposed. He might come back. We should stake out here.”

“I’ll stay,” Chen Shi volunteered.

Lin Dongxue and Xu Xiaodong also offered to stay. Lin Qiupu advised them to be cautious and arranged for additional undercover officers in the area, informing the local police station to assist with Zhang Xiao’s capture if he returned.

The police took everything in the apartment that could serve as evidence. The stakeout itself was uneventful. Chen Shi paced around, picked up a book from the shelf, and commented, “This guy reads a lot of self-help books. They’re all marked up. Seems he genuinely wants to get rich.”

Lin Dongxue said, “I’m skeptical of those books. If success could be taught, everyone would be successful.”

Chen Shi replied, “You can’t discount them completely. It’s easy to understand the principles, but hard to put them into practice.”

Xu Xiaodong looked around and said, “From this place, you wouldn’t think he’s a murderer.”

Lin Dongxue said, “You can’t judge that from the room. Some murderers have rooms full of classic literature.”

Chen Shi found an unopened bottle of Wuliangye in the cabinet. Given that the owner didn’t seem to drink alcohol—his fridge was full of soft drinks—Chen Shi speculated, “Maybe he was planning to entertain someone. But who, and does it have anything to do with the case?”

They stayed until 3 PM. Xu Xiaodong, bored, fell asleep on the sofa. Chen Shi suggested, “Let’s go for a walk.”

“What if the suspect comes back?”

“Xiaodong is here. Besides, I won’t go far, just to the property management to check the surveillance footage.”

“Alright.”

They went to the property management office and requested to view recent surveillance footage. Just then, Lin Qiupu called, “Who told you to leave your post?”

“It was my idea, not Dongxue’s.”

“Cut the crap and get back here quickly!”

Chen Shi copied the past few days’ footage and returned to Zhang Xiao’s place. Lin Qiupu had just arrived from the precinct, saying, “The forensic results are in. The resident here is indeed Zhang Xiao. We also checked the bank cards found here. One card, registered under his mother’s name, had over 700,000 yuan deposited in recent months.”

“700,000? The two victims lost 300,000 and 250,000. There must be at least one more victim,” Chen Shi said.

“But the money’s gone. It was transferred out just yesterday!”

“What? Can we trace it?”

“We’re working on it.”

Chen Shi looked around the apartment and said, “How did he get wind of us so quickly? He might have already fled.”

Lin Dongxue said, “Maybe he got suspicious after someone called the police about the last place. Brother, should we keep staking out here?”

Lin Qiupu wasn’t sure. This was the suspect’s residence, so there was a high chance he’d return. Chen Shi said, “Let’s not put all our eggs in one basket. If he’s on the run, we still have time to catch him. I’ll stay here with Xiaodong. If Zhang Xiao comes back, we can handle it.”

Xu Xiaodong complained, “Why me again? I need to go home to feed my cat!”

Lin Qiupu allowed it, saying, “Be careful.”

Chen Shi said, “By the way, I haven’t finished checking with the real estate agents. We might find another victim that way.”

Other officers left. Chen Shi and Xu Xiaodong stayed. They didn’t dare turn on the lights and sat on the sofa, playing with their phones. When it was time for dinner, they ordered takeout. Chen Shi let Xu Xiaodong go home for a bit and return later to continue the stakeout.

This job was boring but not exhausting, so Chen Shi treated it as a break.

By 9 PM, Xu Xiaodong was tired of his phone and said, “Chen, I don’t think he’s coming back.”

“Don’t be so sure. Sometimes, what you least expect to happen does happen. Life is unpredictable.”

“I’ve never had that happen. I always fail exams when I think I might, and girlfriends always break up with me when I sense it. No surprises for me.”

“If your intuition is so accurate, you should buy a lottery ticket.”

“I have, but never won. My intuition only works for bad things, not good ones…” Xu Xiaodong suddenly stopped talking because they heard footsteps outside the door, sounding very clear in the dead of night.