Lin Fang Residential Complex.
It was already 8:00 PM.
To assist the police investigation, the local neighborhood committee had turned on all the lights in the complex.
A total of eight people were involved in the search — Han Bin's four-person team and four local officers from the police substation.
Tian Li and Zhao Ming each led a partner. Since the green belt area was large, Li Hui was assigned two officers to help.
Han Bin sat on a bench in the complex, thinking about where Chen Kangning might have hidden the stolen goods.
Li Hui's group was checking the most common hiding spots — areas with a higher probability of yielding results.
For Han Bin to find a less obvious hiding place wouldn't be easy.
The area was quiet except for the buzzing of mosquitoes.
Han Bin mentally went over the case again, imagining himself as Chen Kangning. If he were the one, where would he hide the loot?
The Criminal Investigation Team 3 had already searched Chen Kangning's home but found nothing.
Han Bin had also deduced that the loot had not been taken out of the complex — it had to be hidden somewhere nearby.
Although the residential area wasn't small, there weren't many places suitable for hiding things. Han Bin carefully recalled every detail of the case...
After a while, he suddenly looked up and muttered, "Tape..."
Han Bin headed to Building 3, Unit 1 — the building where Chen Kangning lived.
He took the elevator to the top floor, then began checking downward, floor by floor, looking at doorways for signs of tape.
When he reached the 20th floor, he found a strip of clear tape, around 3-4 cm long and less than 1 cm wide, stuck to the bottom of door 2004. It looked almost identical to the tape found earlier at Building 5.
Han Bin examined it closely — the tape was undamaged.
Knock knock. He knocked on the door. No response.
He turned on his walkie-talkie: "Any findings on your end?"
"Nope."
"Still climbing floors."
"Digging through dirt."
"I'm at Building 3, Unit 1, apartment 2004. Li Hui, go check with the property management and find out who owns this apartment. Try to get their contact info."
"You found something?" Tian Li asked.
"Come over with Zhao Ming. I'll explain in person."
"Copy."
Soon, Tian Li and Zhao Ming arrived with two other officers.
"Bin-ge, you think Chen Kangning hid the loot in this unit?" Zhao Ming asked.
"Look at the bottom left corner of the door."
Zhao Ming crouched down for a closer look. "Tape."
"Maybe Chen knew this apartment was unoccupied and used it to hide the loot?" Tian Li guessed.
"I think Chen found a hiding spot before committing the theft," Han Bin analyzed. "He used tape to check if anyone entered. If the tape was intact, he knew the loot was still untouched and could retrieve it anytime."
"Tch, sneaky little trickster," Zhao Ming scoffed.
After a while, Li Hui arrived with someone from the neighborhood committee. Just as Han Bin suspected, the apartment was currently unoccupied. The committee had contacted the owner, who was out of town and couldn't return any time soon.
After negotiating with the owner, the police and committee agreed to enter the apartment together, with the police covering the cost of replacing the door lock afterward.
They called a locksmith, and within two minutes, the door was open.
The apartment layout was the same as the one belonging to the first victim, Xu Yan, so everyone was familiar with the setup.
It was a two-bedroom unit, with a small kitchen and bathroom — easy to search.
Just past the entryway, Han Bin signaled the others to stop.
There was a thick layer of dust on the tiled floor — clearly, no one had cleaned it in a long time.
Han Bin crouched down and examined the floor closely. Clear shoe prints were visible. "There are footprints. Everyone else, stay out for now."
"Call Captain Zheng and request the forensics team."
Wearing shoe covers, Han Bin followed the shoe prints through the apartment. They went through the living room, into the side bedroom, circled around, and returned to the door.
Han Bin guessed the stolen items might be hidden here. "Tian Li, search the living room. I'll check the side bedroom."
"Got it." Tian Li was detail-oriented, which made her ideal for the job.
Inside the bedroom were a bed, wardrobe, and vanity — all covered in dust, indicating no one had stayed here in some time.
Wearing gloves, Han Bin checked the wardrobe and vanity but found nothing.
He then turned his attention to the bed. A sheet covered it, also dusty. After examining it, he lifted the bed cover.
There were a number of things stored under the bed, hidden under a cloth. Han Bin pulled the cloth aside and found a bundle containing bedding.
He continued to dig further and discovered a gray tool bag. Inside were a black bag, a waist pouch, a flashlight, and a short knife.
The black bag was tied with a red string. Opening it, Han Bin found wads of red banknotes, along with gold and silver jewelry — all valuable items.
The waist pouch contained tape, lock-picking tools, and other burglary gear.
"Wow, you really found it!" Tian Li exclaimed, excited as she came over.
Li Hui and Zhao Ming also joined in after hearing the commotion.
"Bin-ge, you're the star again," Zhao Ming said enviously.
"Yeah, and this time Captain Zheng's here too. You're really in the spotlight," Li Hui added with a click of his tongue.
"This isn't just my achievement — it's the result of our whole team's hard work," Han Bin said with a smile.
Half an hour later, Captain Zheng Kaixuan arrived at the scene.
After seeing the stolen goods, he patted Han Bin on the shoulder. "Good work. You've earned top credit for this."
"Thank you, Captain Zheng."
Zheng nodded, then ordered Lu Wen, "Go examine the stolen items. See if there are any fingerprints or DNA."
"Yes, sir."
Lu Wen pulled out his tools and began processing the evidence. A small crowd gathered to watch.
Zheng Kaixuan waved them off: "What are you all standing around for? Back off."
Moments later, Lu Wen managed to lift prints from the knife and flashlight. Using a portable fingerprint scanner, he began on-site analysis.
Ding – Fingerprint collected.
Matching in progress...
Everyone quieted down and turned their attention toward him.
Ding – Match found. Fingerprint is a complete match!
"Finally, direct evidence! We can arrest the guy now," Li Hui said excitedly.
"Let's see if he dares act smug again," Zhao Ming muttered.
Tian Li sneered, "Chen Kangning played the innocent card so well, but it turns out he's still the same old crook..."
Zheng Kaixuan nodded. "Well done, Team 2. I'll put in a recommendation for commendation."
"Thank you, Captain Zheng."
Zhao Ying had also come along but had been quietly standing in the back. Her expression was complicated.
She suddenly felt a bit jealous of Zeng Ping — the guy stayed home the whole time and didn't even show up, yet the team managed to solve the case on their own.
What the heck was going on here?
(End of Chapter)