After discovering the situation, Xiao He really just gave a soft, bitter chuckle.
Some people truly pass down bad tendencies from one generation to the next; like tonight's miserable scene, perhaps deep down it was their karma catching up to them.
Xiao He felt no compassion at all.
But immediately after, he grew puzzled.
From the earlier traffic collision footage, it was obvious the old woman couldn't hide her idea of trying to turn the old man into money. When the big truck came, she actually shoved the wheelchair and ran off first; in her haste she even tumbled, and the man in the wheelchair rolled forward on his own for a short distance, nearly getting swept away by the tanker truck.
At first Xiao He assumed the old woman was staging the accident to get money for her child, but now he learned her relationship with her son was bad. So why would she do that?
Could it be she was simply tired of caring for the old man and wanted to exchange a cold, lifeless husband for warm cash?
After all, the old man did look quite terrible—completely unable to care for himself, conscious only intermittently, and most of the time needing Zhang Li to handle everything: changing him, cooking, washing… And their money had been scammed away by their son. Although they still had monthly pensions as a final safety net, the medical costs for the old man must have been huge. Zhang Li had been taking care of him for almost three or four years; being unable to tolerate such a husband is humanly understandable.
Nobody can be expected to care for a chronically bedridden person selflessly and endlessly.
Maybe that kind of virtue exists, but it's rare these days.
So Xiao He believed Zhang Li harbored the intention of killing the man outright.
Only she probably hadn't expected her staged accident to trigger such severe chain reactions, even dragging many innocent people into it.
This stupid and malicious behavior made Xiao He's blood pressure just rise at the thought of it.
He then pulled up the live surveillance from the scene.
Sure enough, the old woman was still insisting she had heart disease, demanding the police find her a doctor immediately or she would die at once.
She refused to address anything else.
That blind insistence made Xiao He narrow his eyes.
Since acquiring the Psychological Suggestion skill, Xiao He had learned some basic psychology—he wasn't a mind reader or a psychological master, but he understood enough.
From Zhang Li's various behaviors and the way she faced the police, Xiao He picked up a hint that something was off.
It felt… like Zhang Li wasn't lying.
Xiao He wasn't the only one with that suspicion. After questioning her several times, Officer Yang also noticed something strange.
Judging from Zhang Li's reaction, she truly seemed convinced she had heart disease.
Officer Yang studied her expression, exchanged a glance with the accompanying officer, and they shared a silent understanding.
Officer Yang then stepped out of the room.
Not long after, he returned and informed them, "Okay, Ms. Zhang, we're taking you to the hospital for a checkup now. We hope you're telling the truth."
Yes—the way Zhang Li reacted had left Officer Yang and the others full of doubts.
To get to the bottom of things and to avoid accidents, Officer Yang's team decided to take her to the hospital.
They wanted to see whether the old woman was faking it or not.
The group finished up the paperwork and prepared to head to the hospital.
Only after everyone left the frame did Xiao He close the surveillance feed and continue investigating Zhang Li.
Aside from reading someone's chat logs or phone data, another place that reveals a lot is everyday money flow.
A person's spending habits indirectly reflect their living situation and the people they interact with daily.
Thankfully, with rapid economic development and widespread online payments, from toddlers to the elderly, most people have learned how to use mobile payments.
That made Xiao He's online investigation much easier.
Almost without effort, he discovered that Zhang Li regularly transferred a large sum to a certain person.
Sometimes weekly, sometimes biweekly, and based on the couple's monthly pensions, that sum basically consumed everything left after daily expenses and the old man's medical bills.
In other words, someone was taking virtually all of the couple's money every month.
Was it their son?
Xiao He checked the account and found it wasn't.
That made things stranger. Zhang Li and her husband were basically lone elderly folks with no close relatives or friends, so how could there be such a consistent outgoing payment that almost emptied their last financial safety net?
Xiao He continued digging.
Then a particular account remark caught his eye—
"Son."
At first seeing that label, Xiao He didn't react, thinking it must be Zhang Li's note for her actual son.
But he found that this "Son" maintained very frequent conversations with Zhang Li.
Almost from morning to night, daily and on holidays.
And in their chats, the relationship between Zhang Li and this "Son" looked very good; this "Son" also visited often.
That sharply contrasted with Zhang Li's own "unfilial son."
Moreover, after each visit from this "Son," Zhang Li would transfer a large sum of money to him.
In that instant, a lightbulb went off in Xiao He's head—he finally connected all the clues.
No heart disease, no devoted son, no lies—the truth could only be one!
Zhang Li had been conned! This "Son" was actually a staff member selling counterfeit drugs!
That supposed heart disease was probably a lie used to coax Zhang Li into buying fake medicine.
Xiao He was furious.
Seriously—what kind of luck had he been having lately, bumping into so many drug-related schemes? He was a small-time shadow operator, not some grim reaper-grade kid—stop treating him like the neighborhood death bringer!
Xiao He dug deeper and discovered this was a counterfeit drug scam ring active in several major northern cities. They had already scammed multiple elderly victims, with total amounts reaching tens of millions. Xiao He stared in disbelief.
No wonder they were targeting the elderly—there was real money to be had!
Xiao He infiltrated their internal group chat and watched their messages. The calm he'd regained earlier began to fray.
Sales A: "Did you guys see the news?"
Sales B: "Yeah, I remember that old one—code 1023, long-term blood pack, super gullible."
Sales C: "That old fool is really dumb—couldn't even stage a proper fake accident. I hinted to her several times, but she just won't learn."
Sales A: "By the way, didn't the old man have a high pension? If you have her kill him, how will you keep profiting?"
Sales C: "I can't bear that, mostly because the old man won't last long anyway—just a month or two. I'll take advantage of the last bit to make one more buck."
Sales D: "Tsk tsk, true sales champ, ruthless."
Manager: "Everyone in Beijing should get out now. This thing's blown up too big; you can't hide it. If the police spot anything, we're in trouble. Buy your tickets now."
Sales A: "*& %, I just found a new client."
Manager: "Move fast—want to end up in jail?"
Immediately the salespeople scrambled to buy tickets and flee.
Xiao He snorted.
So they plan to pack up and run with the money?
Did I agree to that?
Xiao He began hacking their phone numbers to prevent them from leaving Beijing, and from leaving the country.
Just then, an unexpected person appeared in Xiao He's view—
Zhou Junhao, an entertainment reporter from a news outlet.
Xiao He was stunned.
Where did this guy come from? How did he even get into this group?
Xiao He had some prior impression of this reporter—he had helped that reporter before during the Fearless Journey director scandal by boosting that reporter and a few others' related traffic, which helped sink the director of Fearless Journey.
Back then it was a wide net, and Xiao He hadn't expected to cross paths again.
This guy was impressive—he'd managed to go undercover into such a deep fraud ring group!
Xiao He felt respect.
At the same time an idea struck him—
With this guy charging ahead, it'd be easier for Xiao He to act.
Almost without hesitation, Xiao He followed his previous method and sent an email to this reporter named Zhou Junhao…
-
At the same time, undercover reporter Zhou Junhao, who had been monitoring the fraud ring for months and saw them preparing to flee, panicked and was about to call the police.
But at that instant, a notification suddenly popped up in his email.
Zhou Junhao froze—this scene felt oddly familiar.
He opened his mailbox on impulse, and then his eyes widened, excitement igniting in them—