Nanjiang City, Xintong Mansion, Building A, Suite 1201.
Belun Electronics Technology Co., Ltd.
In the product R&D center, the staff of the company's technical department were gathered around a young man.
"Engineer Li, how did this signal interference issue come up?" the company's technical director asked.
The young man at the center of the group was holding a laptop, using DFM software to check the programming on the PCB board in front of him.
"It's still an issue with the logical judgment for the kickstand power-off function you added. It's nothing major. I'll just tweak it, it'll be quick," the young man said without looking up.
The technical director nodded, gesturing for a colleague to refill the young man's tea. He then said, "Engineer Li, are you sure you won't consider staying? If you're not satisfied with the salary, I can talk to the boss again for you. Working freelance like this isn't very stable, after all."
The young man shook his head. "Thank you, but there's really no need."
Someone next to them chuckled. "President Tan, don't you get it? Engineer Li must have found a better company. He's looking down on our humble little operation."
The young man quickly denied it.
But the look on his face said it all.
The technical director understood immediately and asked curiously which company it was.
The young man paused for a moment, then said, "Number Six."
"Whoa, that's a huge company," a nearby technician exclaimed.
The technical director also gave the young man a thumbs-up. "Engineer Li, with your skills, getting into Number Six will be a piece of cake."
Just then, someone suddenly pushed the door open.
It was the company's receptionist.
"President Tan, the police are here to see..." Before she could finish, Wang Shuwei, who was following behind her, cut her off.
His gaze sharpened, having already spotted the young man.
Shen Xin was there as well.
He stared in utter disbelief at Li Jin, who was the center of attention in the crowd.
After confirming it was Li Jin, Song Liang had immediately begun giving orders.
They were to pull surveillance footage and track Li Jin's escape route.
Meanwhile, he contacted the railway and airport police stations, telling them to watch for Li Jin's ticket purchase records.
They found one right away: Li Jin had purchased a high-speed rail ticket to the neighboring Jinning City for 6:40 p.m.
Song Liang took a team to the train station to intercept him.
At the same time, they had learned from his landlady that he worked at a company in the city called Belun Technology Company.
To ensure nothing was missed, Shen Xin and Wang Shuwei had come over to investigate.
They hadn't expected Li Jin to be at the company.
'He's already on the run, who would still show up for work?'
But to their surprise, he was actually there.
Shen Xin couldn't quite figure out what he was thinking.
'Is he just that dedicated to his job?'
'Or does he think the police wouldn't find him this quickly?'
"Can I help you?" the technical director asked, confused.
Before Wang Shuwei could speak, Li Jin spoke up first.
"Brother Tan, they're here for me."
A flicker of panic crossed his face, but he quickly regained his composure.
Then, he turned to Shen Xin and Wang Shuwei. "Can you wait just a moment? I want to finish modifying this bit of code. See it through to the end."
Wang Shuwei quickly walked over. He first had Li Jin put the laptop aside, then asked the technical director what was going on.
He was a freelancer, here to fix a bug.
He looked at Li Jin.
Li Jin's expression remained calm. "It'll be quick. Just a few minutes."
Wang Shuwei glanced at the technical director again before nodding slightly. "But I'll be watching you."
To prevent Li Jin from trying anything funny.
Li Jin actually said "thank you," then started typing code.
Shen Xin was in disbelief.
'The police are at his door, and he's still focused on finishing his work.'
'This guy's a real workhorse!'
It really only took a few minutes. Under everyone's watchful eyes, Li Jin typed the last line of code and pushed his laptop away.
He held out his hands to Wang Shuwei.
He even turned his head to the technical director and said, "Oh, right, don't forget to send me the final payment."
The technical director, whose surname was Tan, nodded blankly, completely stunned.
Wang Shuwei cuffed him, while Shen Xin stepped forward, stuffed his laptop into his backpack, and took it with them.
'His ID photo really didn't do him justice.'
Seeing him in person, Li Jin looked much more refined. His face was cleaner, his hair was neatly styled, and the short-sleeved shirt and jeans he wore were clearly high-quality, expensive items.
Based on his appearance alone, he didn't look like a criminal at all.
As they escorted him to the police car, brushing past one another, Wang Shuwei frowned. "Xiaoshen, this kid is not simple."
Shen Xin nodded.
Li Jin had been far too calm throughout the entire arrest.
Just like now, sitting in the police car, he showed no signs of panic. He simply turned his head to look out the window, as if he'd just hailed a private car.
His composure, however, made Shen Xin's heart pound with unease.
Because they had no direct evidence.
The QQ account he used was registered with Wu Zhicun's information.
His transactions with Fan Jie and Li Hao were done with cash, entirely online, and he never showed his face.
Beyond that, there was truly no other evidence.
Even if Wu Zhicun talked and could point the finger at Li Jin, it would be useless.
In a criminal case, it's difficult to secure a conviction on testimony alone.
'Li Jin probably knows this, which is why he's so fearless.'
Through the rearview mirror, Shen Xin noticed Wang Shuwei's grim expression.
He knew the situation was tricky, too.
Before long, the police car arrived at the Yunlin Police Station.
Chen Chao had also rushed over.
To be honest, he was very surprised.
After the meeting at noon, the decision had been made to transfer the case to the sub-bureau.
At the time, Chen Chao had been thinking he would come over tomorrow to pick up the case file and consider how to proceed with the investigation.
Who would have thought that in just one afternoon, the Yunlin Police Station had quietly found the suspect?
Even more incredibly, they had brought him right back.
It was simply mind-blowing.
He had previously thought the case was a tough one—even if transferred to the sub-bureau, it would be hard to handle. It had been giving him a headache.
Song Liang waved a hand, signaling Wang Shuwei to take Li Jin to handle the booking procedures.
Chen Chao, however, suddenly grabbed Shen Xin.
"I heard you put a recorder on a stray cat, captured the suspect's face, and that's how you identified him?" Chen Chao stared at Shen Xin, a mixture of shock and disbelief in his eyes.
He had been a criminal investigator for nearly twenty years, and honestly, he had seen all kinds of cases.
But this was the first time he had ever seen a suspect found with the help of a stray cat.
He felt that even TV dramas wouldn't dare to film such an investigative method.
And yet, it had happened, and Shen Xin had pulled it off.
Thinking back to the meeting at noon, where he had scoffed at the lead about the suspect feeding stray cats, he felt a wave of embarrassment.
Shen Xin nodded, then asked, "There wasn't a problem with me doing that, was there?"
"No."
Chen Chao shook his head blankly.
'Zhang Jian and his team investigated over eight thousand people and couldn't find him. You found him, and you're asking if there's a problem?'
'You're a goddamn genius!'
"Shen Xin, nice work." After a moment's hesitation, Chen Chao reached out, patted Shen Xin's shoulder, and offered a word of praise.
He felt that he had truly underestimated Shen Xin before.
For instance, when he'd heard that Shen Xin had found the electric scooter while looking for stray cats.
At the time, he had truly thought, 'Who investigates a case like that? It's just messing around!'
But who could have imagined that it was precisely Shen Xin's seemingly nonsensical method that had managed to push the case to this point?
Moreover, looking back at the entire investigation now, the vigilance and sharp observational skills Shen Xin had demonstrated were also exceptionally outstanding.
Like the tuxedo cat that Li Jin was feeding—it was Shen Xin who had noticed the cat bowl and discovered it.
And with the phone and headphones Wu Zhicun was using, Shen Xin had noticed something was off right on the spot.
Going back to the very beginning, even if Shen Xin was just looking for stray cats, his ability to spot the anomaly with the truck showed a level of vigilance beyond that of an ordinary person.
Thinking it over, Chen Chao suddenly realized something.
Perhaps Shen Xin's methods were a bit unconventional, but he was truly prime material for a criminal investigator.