Arrested
Zhong Ling reported the address to the police and explained the situation without any unnecessary words. After hanging up the phone, Zhong Ling switched the page back to the surveillance video.
Yunxi Village is not too far from the nearest Jinjiang District Police Station. After receiving the police report transferred from the Municipal Bureau, the two police officers on duty did not dare to slack off because the caller specifically mentioned "more than one person" and "professional thieves."
The police car did not sound the siren, but only turned on the police lights, and the old policeman driving the car drove towards Yunxi Village as fast as possible.
The roads were not easy to travel on at night, but the police were familiar with the situation in their jurisdiction. After several detours, the police car arrived at the entrance of Yunxi Village after more than ten minutes.
In order not to scare away the thief, the two policemen got out of the car and trotted towards the east end of the village according to the address provided by the caller. After a while, they saw the old house that the caller mentioned.
One of them noticed two figures inside the courtyard wall and immediately scanned them with a flashlight.
"People inside! Don't move! Police!" the police shouted.
Falcon and Xiao Zhou in the yard stopped moving almost immediately upon hearing the sound, their bodies instantly tensing. Falcon quickly glanced outside the yard and saw the two policemen, his brows immediately furrowed.
Xiao Lin, who was on the periphery, also reported in a low voice through the headset: "Captain, it's the police! Two of them."
Trouble.
This thought flashed through Falcon's mind. They were operating undercover, and their identities must not be revealed. But now, they were blocked by the local police at the "crime scene."
The flashlights were fixed on them. Two policemen had already approached the fence. One of them had his hand on the police weapon at his waist and said in a stern tone, "Who are you? What are you doing in someone else's house?!"
Liefian and Xiao Zhou exchanged a glance, each seeing the solemnity in the other's eyes. They hadn't expected that this remote, deserted old house would be monitored in real time, and react so quickly.
Now, things get tricky.
"Xiao Lin, retreat!" Falcon whispered the order through his headset, slowly raising his hands to indicate he was no threat. "We'll cooperate."
However, it was too late. Another young police officer's flashlight had already swept towards the hidden bushes outside the yard. Xiaolin had just put away his equipment and had not had time to completely hide when he was caught red-handed.
"There's someone over there! Don't move!" the young policeman shouted immediately, while moving his position vigilantly.
Kobayashi on the periphery was also exposed.
Liefian's heart sank slightly, but he remained calm. He and Xiao Zhou followed the police's instructions, climbed over the bamboo fence, and walked out. Almost at the same time, Xiaolin, who had been discovered, could only raise his hands and walk out from the shadows.
"Put your hands on your head! Stand against the wall!" the older policeman ordered sternly. He and his colleagues stepped forward and handcuffed the three men skillfully.
Throughout the entire process, Liefian, Xiao Zhou, and Xiao Lin didn't resist or speak, but simply cooperated silently, completely lacking the panic typical of thieves being caught. This, in turn, made the two police officers wonder if something was off about these three people.
The noise woke the sleeping villagers. First, a few houses near the east end of the village turned on their lights, and then more and more houses began to make noises. Some opened windows and peeked in, while others simply walked out of the courtyard, draped in their clothes.
"What happened?"
"It seems to be the old house of the girl from the Zhong family in the east..."
"The police are here! Are they catching the thief?"
Whispers filled the night.
Zhao Laogen and Aunt Zhao were also awakened. They hurried out of the yard with their clothes on, and after a few steps they saw three young men being escorted by the police!
"Oh my! Aren't these... the three students living in our house?!" Aunt Zhao screamed out, her face full of disbelief.
Zhao Laogen was also stunned. He frowned and looked at the three young men who were handcuffed and lowered their heads. His expression became complicated.
How could a college student who looked quite polite and well-mannered during the day run to someone else's empty house in the middle of the night and get caught by the police?
The surrounding villagers also recognized the three "Geological University students" who had just entered the village during the day, and they were immediately in an uproar.
"That's them! They said they were here for some kind of investigation!"
"Tsk tsk, he looked like a decent person, but turned out to be a thief!"
"That's what I was saying. How could any university student come to this remote and poor place to do research?"
"Are they trying to steal some treasure from Miss Zhong's house? I heard that the vegetables in her house..."
Various speculations and discussions buzzed in the air, and the villagers gathered not far away, pointing and talking, looking at the three people with eyes full of contempt and curiosity.
The falcon lowered its head and could clearly feel the stinging gazes and discussions.
He knew that their disguise had failed. Worse still, they had become "thieves" in the eyes of the villagers.
"Take them away!" The older policeman waved his hand, and he and the younger policeman took the three people away and put them in the police car.
Under the villagers' mixed gazes, Liefian, Xiao Zhou, and Xiao Lin were shoved into the back seat of the police car. The door slammed shut.
The police car started slowly, turned around and drove away from Yunxi Village, heading towards the Jinjiang District Police Station.
The carriage was completely silent. Falcon closed his eyes, his mind racing, thinking about how to handle the upcoming interrogation, how to minimize the impact, and… who had called the police? Was it that Zhong Ling?
He didn't see any surveillance in the yard, so how did she monitor it in real time?
Did someone call the police on Zhong Ling's behalf? But given his alertness, there was no one around at the time.
Zhong Ling looked at the surveillance footage, a slight smile appearing on the corner of her mouth.
"Good night, uninvited guests," she said softly, turning off the surveillance video. As for the aftermath? Let those who should worry about it worry about it.
Jinjiang District Police Station, interrogation room.
The light shone on the cold metal table and also on the eight large characters on the opposite wall: "Leniency to those who confess, severity to those who resist."
Liefian, Xiao Zhou and Xiao Lin sat side by side on chairs. Opposite them, two policemen were looking at them across the table.
The older policeman had sharp eyes and his fingers tapped rhythmically on the table, making a light "da, da, da" sound.
The young policeman held a notebook with the tip of his pen hovering above the paper, as if ready to record at any time.
"Please tell me your name, age, and ID number," the older policeman asked.
The three of them took turns reporting the fake identity information they had prepared long ago.
"Tell me, what are you doing in someone's empty yard so late at night?" The older policeman's eyes swept over the three men. "Don't tell me you were just there to enjoy the scenery."
Falcon leaned forward slightly, with a look of just the right amount of annoyance on his face, as well as a hint of regret that only comes from a young man's impulsiveness.
"Comrade police officer, we are students from the Geological University." He spoke, sounding a little embarrassed.
"We came to Yunxi Village to do social practice and collect some plant and soil samples."
"Oh? Students from the Geological University are interested in other people's yards?" The young policeman raised his eyebrows, obviously not believing it.
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