Chapter 64: All Ten Are Thanks to Jian Ruochen

Chapter 64: All Ten Points Credit Goes to Jian Ruochen

At precisely nine o'clock, the joint meeting officially began.

Lin Yazhi activated the PPT and microphone. "I am Lin Yazhi, commander of this operation."

Her long hair was pulled back in a high ponytail. She wore a white semi-high-neck undershirt, pure black form-fitting athletic pants, and white running shoes with air-cushioned soles—looking sharp and efficient.

Superintendent Lin tapped the table with a blue folder. "The purpose of this meeting is to compile evidence of Lu Qian's illegal activities, and only then to formulate a plan for investigating Tianquan Du. Understood?"

Her presence was imposing.

Everyone in the meeting room looked serious; even their breathing slowed. "Yes, Madam!"

Lin Yazhi scanned the room. "As per convention, the speaking order will be determined by the importance and quantity of information obtained. After each speaker finishes a point, everyone will have one minute for discussion. After the first speaker concludes, the remaining groups will supplement in order."

"The Major Crimes Unit of the General District has ten pieces of information this time, so shall we, the Major Crimes Unit, go first?"

The meeting room fell silent.

Ten pieces—more than all the clues obtained in the past five years combined!

Whether out of respect for Madam or the sheer weight of these ten clues, they had no reason to object.

Lin Yazhi nodded. "It seems no one opposes."

She looked at Jian Ruochen, stood up, and moved aside. "It's all yours, Sir Jian."

"Okay, Madam." Jian Ruochen stood up, holding the all-black folder in front of him.

Zhang Xingzong immediately distributed the prepared documents to everyone, one copy each.

Nearly a hundred pairs of eyes fell on him.

Some scrutinizing, some doubtful, some indifferent, some unconcerned.

Jian Ruochen walked unhurriedly to the presentation area, his gaze sweeping briefly toward Major Case Team A.

Of course, there were also completely trusting, even proud, companions.

He opened the folder. "Please turn to Appendix, page 10."

"After Mr. Jiang Yongyan, the perpetrator of the murder case in the small woods of Hong Kong University, confessed, he was shot and killed in the detention center of Sham Shui Po Police Station. According to patrol officer Ding Jiamin, who turned himself in at Sham Shui Po, the person who told him to summon Mr. Jiang Yongyan to the wall was Jiang Mingshan."

"Appendix One is Ding Jiamin's statement, with the highlighted section. Ding Jiamin clearly stated that Lu Qian gave him a sum of money to turn himself in."

The rustling of papers filled the meeting room. Those who could attend this meeting were all experienced, clean-backgrounded police officers who had handled major cases and made significant contributions.

Everyone skimmed through the documents quickly, soon identifying questions.

"How did Lu Qian know Jiang Mingshan contacted Ding Jiamin?"

"Accomplice?"

Jian Ruochen appropriately advanced the PowerPoint slide. A bullet appeared on the screen. "Our forensic team extracted a sniper rifle bullet from Jiang Yongyan's body."

"After analysis, this bullet is specifically designed for the M20 sniper rifle. Among Jiang Mingshan's seized properties, there is a firearms club, but this rifle is not among them."

As Jian Ruochen paused, a buzz of murmurs spread through the hall.

"So, the sniper who killed Jiang Yongyan was contacted by Lu Qian?"

"Definitely. If Lu Qian wasn't involved, how would he know Jiang Mingshan had the patrol officer instruct Jiang Yongyan to the wall?"

"Wasn't Jiang Yongyan arrested for contracting a killer? The report states Jiang Yongyan hired the hitman at Tianquan Du."

"After Jiang Yongyan was arrested, Sir Ji conducted the first surprise inspection. Essentially, Jiang Yongyan's problems became Lu Qian's responsibility. It's normal for him to hold a grudge."

"Lu Qian has two motives."

The analysis report clearly stated: Lu Qian and Jiang Hanyu are engaged.

Jiang Mingshan, due to the Jiang Yongyan shooting incident, faced aggravated charges and was sentenced to death. Jiang Hanyu inherited all of Jiang Mingshan's assets that weren't confiscated.

Subsequently, Jiang Hanyu sold the electronic technology company among them, profiting 800 million yuan, of which 750 million yuan was used by Lu Qian to maintain the normal operations of Tianquan Du.

At the top of the report, the case responsible person and direct relations were listed.

Jian Ruochen was prominently listed first.

Looking further, it was clear this top position wasn't unearned—he was actually one of the victims.

Jiang Yongyan hired a hitman to frame Jian Ruochen.

Everyone: What?

The room paused for a moment, then quickly understood.

This bullet could indeed explain many things, but it couldn't serve as solid evidence to convict someone like Lu Qian!

Could this even count as evidence?

Pretty weak, isn't it?

Jian Ruochen leaned over to move the mouse and change the slide. "A single bullet indeed can't convict Lu Qian, but we caught the shooter."

"During the last joint operation with Sir Ji, we arrested 60 henchmen in Kowloon Walled City, including the one who shot and killed Jiang Yongyan."

"Below is the testimony transcript."

He hadn't participated in interrogating the 60 henchmen.

After all, he still had school and didn't have enough time to interview each individually.

Most of these were painstakingly processed by the entire Major Crimes Unit.

Detective Guan and the others handled more interrogations. The henchmen, easily intimidated, were willing to disclose anything to reduce their sentences.

Once the sixty started betraying each other, valuable intelligence increased dramatically.

He only learned about this clue right before the meeting began.

·

Team A's report was so detailed and clear that within just 30 seconds of discussion, the entire meeting room returned to silence.

Everyone simultaneously turned to the last page to see the author—Team A's Zhang Xingzong.

Once again, it was Detective Guan’s team.

The meeting had just started, and Team A presented a lead that could secure a conviction against Lu Qian.

With this alone, even if they found nothing at Tianquan Capital today, they could bring Lu Qian in for questioning for a few days.

Consultant Jian knows what he’s doing.

Everyone sat up a little straighter, their gazes toward Jian Ruochen turning more cautious.

This kid has real skills.

Jian Ruochen swept his gaze across the room. "Seems like no one has questions."

He spoke quickly, immediately moving on to other leads. "In the 1892 group drug abuse case, we recovered a food container used to package drug bricks."

Images of the food container from all four sides appeared on the screen.

"We followed the trail and found the factory that produced the food container. For details, see Appendix 4, which documents the complete investigation process of Chen Ba's murder and dismembering the corpse case."

"After locating the food container factory, we traced it to Lu Qian's backup stash location—the duplex in Kowloon Walled City."

Jian Ruochen paused briefly. "Both the food container factory and Kowloon Walled City have now been raided and investigated. All workers and henchmen have confessed, and the ringleader Yao Yingzhe admitted that Lu Qian instructed him to manufacture and traffic drugs."

"Although multiple people have implicated him, the lack of concrete evidence makes it difficult to convict Lu Qian."

"This case involves a wide range of issues and covers eight leads. You now have five minutes to read the report, after which you can ask me questions."

The room immediately filled with the sound of rustling papers.

To maintain confidentiality, information isn’t shared between teams. Aside from Major Crimes Unit Team C, this was the first time the other teams were reviewing Team A’s submitted report.

They didn’t realize until they read it.

Not only were all ten leads connected to Jian Ruochen, but most of their own leads were also based on his findings.

For example, everyone working on the Lu Qian case knew about Duan Ming being a corrupt cop. They were all putting on an act, hoping this corrupt cop would help them score more wins.

But he was exposed because of a thief who stole handcuffs in a restroom.

*Wow, that’s almost funny.*

It’s like a plot from a crime novel.

And Consultant Jian caught the thief—their superiors all knew!

Why did the superiors keep their knowledge of Sir Jian so tightly under wraps?

Then their earlier discussions must have seemed absurd in their superiors’ eyes.

Of these ten leads, nine ended up with Team A because Jian Ruochen was a victim.

The team member who earlier asked Sir Liu if he knew what was going on finally put two and two together.

"Sir Liu, didn’t you say you didn’t know what Sir Jian contributed? Weren’t you there when he arrested Lin Zheng?"

Sir Liu gave a low chuckle. "Surprised? Shocked?"

He leaned in with a sly grin. "That’s exactly how I felt. Now it’s your turn to experience it."

·

Five minutes was enough for everyone to review the report.

Team A’s report was extremely well-organized, with all conclusions highlighted in yellow.

This Zhang Xingzong might as well have spoon-fed them the information.

Even then, they were expected to ask questions—practically announcing to all their colleagues that they had intellectual shortcomings.

Jian Ruochen looked around the room, a slight smile curling his lips. "Looks like no one has questions. Let’s move on to the key takeaway."

"Please turn to the last appendix."

"The tire marks in the back garage of Tianquan Capital match those from the 1892 case. Therefore, the Major Crimes Unit suspects Lu Qian likely moved a batch of drugs into Tianquan Capital."

If they could find this batch of drugs inside Tianquan Capital, it would be concrete evidence to convict Lu Qian!

What seemed like insignificant tire marks had now become a lead that could be the key to convicting Lu Qian!

And the person who obtained it was none other than Jian Ruochen!

He even documented it while on vacation!

As for Detective Guan’s name listed beside Jian Ruochen’s?

Detective Guan has often been the one uncovering leads—they were used to it by now.

But this 19-year-old consultant was even more astonishing!

Who hasn’t been young?

Who didn’t start from the "entry" step, working their way up bit by bit, piece by piece?

Team A’s leads might seem like just a stack of paper, but every one of them had Jian Ruochen’s name on it.

How is this kid so dedicated?

Could he have some personal vendetta against Lu Qian?

"The youth these days... so intense..."

"Nineteen years old, with a bright future ahead."

"Good thing I didn’t question him too loudly earlier, or my face would be burning now."

"Who would’ve thought the bonuses we got were all trickle-down results from the Major Crimes Unit?"

"If it weren’t for Team A being understaffed, those bonuses might not have reached us. Thanks to the Hong Kong Police Department’s team system, haha."

In just ten minutes, the faint skepticism lingering in the meeting room completely vanished.

Though all officers aspire to get promoted, most are smart and reasonable. Everyone knows there’s no playing favorites in these meetings—it’s all about merit.

This consultant undoubtedly has genuine skill.

The overhead lights of the Major Crimes Unit shone softly on Jian Ruochen’s face.

He closed the folder. "That concludes my presentation of the clues. Now, please feel free to add anything."

Jian Ruochen turned and nodded to Lin Yazhi before walking step by step back to Team A's area and taking his seat.

After settling in, he let out a soft sigh.

Speaking in front of eighty or ninety veteran detectives was quite nerve-wracking.

Luckily, he managed to command the room.

Zhang Xingzong gave a thumbs-up: "That was awesome, very impressive!"

Ding Gao also whispered, "I just looked through the reports distributed by other teams. Most of them are based on cases that slipped through our fingers, and many of the clues overlap with what we’ve already uncovered."

Guan Yingjun smiled. "After all, whether it’s the 1892 bar mass drug use case, the taxi driver serial killings, or the Kowloon Walled City take down of €600 million in contraband, Consultant Jian took the lead in all of them."

Jian Ruochen brushed it off. "It’s not that exaggerated. Specialists handle specialty work—we’re not here to fight organized crime."

"Without Sir Ji and Sir Chen, we couldn’t have done it on our own either."

Members of Major Crimes Unit A and C sat up straighter, feeling an oddly proud sensation.

Gong Yingjie, listening in from the side, felt a ping of jealousy upon hearing this.

He praised Sir Ji and Sir Chen but didn’t mention him.

Sigh…

It must be because of the bad first impression I left on Consultant Jian.

I shouldn’t have challenged Consultant Jian to a shooting match back then…

Lin Yazhi took the podium. "Everyone, you may now add anything."

People looked around at each other.

What else was there to add?

Most of the clues were already covered in Major Crimes Unit A’s report.

What they knew, Team A also knew.

What they didn’t know, Team A still knew.

Ji Bailou stood up. "I’ll go."

As he approached the stage with his report, members of the Criminal Intelligence Bureau came down to distribute handouts.

Jian Ruochen received a copy and looked down—it was a detailed hand-drawn map of Tianquandu Entertainment City’s interior.

The map was sketched on tracing paper, semi-transparent and divided into five layers. When stacked together, the overlapping floors and layouts were clearly visible.

Ji Bailou stepped onto the stage, adjusted his glasses, revealing the light undereye circles characteristic of someone who's always burning the midnight oil.

"I’m Senior Inspector Ji Bailou from Criminal Intelligence Bureau Team A. This is the detailed map we drew after our first search of Tianquandu."

"Tianquandu has five floors in total, shaped like an inverted 'A,' with one entrance and two exits."

He spoke at an even pace. Just by looking at him, no one would guess such a polished guy could grab a suspect by the hair and slam them to the ground.

Jian Ruochen was lost in thought observing Ji Bailou when he felt his pinkie, closest to Guan Yingjun, get nudged.

He turned his head.

Guan Yingjun lowered his gaze, his tone sounding just like Ji Bailou on stage. "Sorry, it was an accident while I was flipping through the documents."

Jian Ruochen: …

If Detective Guan’s blink rate hadn’t been twice as fast as usual, he might have believed that.

Ji Bailou continued, "Although Detective Guan pushed through the second search warrant, to be honest, I’m not feeling good about this raid. Because based on this map…"

"Tianquandu Entertainment City has a clean layout with no hidden spaces."

"It doesn’t have the capacity for secret compartments like Kowloon Walled City. Tianquandu isn’t capable of concealing large quantities of drugs."

The conference room broke into murmurs.

Was Sir Ji publicly questioning the Major Crimes Unit’s latest clue?

Zhang Xingzong was stunned, leaning over to Guan Yingjun. "Detective Guan, I thought Sir Ji was on good terms with you?"

Guan Yingjun grunted in agreement. "It’s precisely because we’re on good terms that he dares to say this openly. When it comes to work, business is business."

He paused. "It’s also possible he hasn’t been getting enough sleep lately and spoke without thinking."

Jian Ruochen bit his lip to keep from smiling.

He lowered his head and circled the location of the tire marks with a red pen.

It was at the end of the inverted 'A’s right leg.

Someone as cautious as Lu Qian would never hide something in an easily discoverable place.

Where would he hide it?

Meanwhile.

At Hong Kong International Medical Center, an unexpected visitor arrived in Jiang Hanyu’s room.

Jiang Hanyu looked up at the person before him. "And you are?"

"I’m Lu Rong. Lu Qian’s older brother." The man used a walking cane, frowning slightly as if disgusted just saying it.

He looked down at the person in the hospital bed. "I saw the interview Qiming Entertainment did with you. You don’t seem as hung up on Lu Qian as the rumors suggest."

Jiang Hanyu clutched the blanket. "I…"

"Shh." Lu Rong interrupted. "Right now, I’m giving you a chance to get out from under him."

Jiang Hanyu’s heart hammered.

How did Lu Rong know he wanted to shake Lu Qian?

Was this his chance to outdo Jian Ruochen?

·

"Haa-choo!" Jian Ruochen suddenly sneezed, didn't get the pen up fast enough. The tip dragged across the tracing paper, scoring a heavy line that cut through the entire Tianquandu. Damn it.

He sniffed, suddenly squinting as he looked at the very center of the A-shaped building. "Why is there an empty space here? What is this spot?"

He raised his hand to ask, but in the sea of people, Sir Ji on the stage was too out of it to notice.

Jian Ruochen had to stand up. "Sir Ji! Please tell me, what is the room right in the middle of the top floor of Tianquan Du? Why is it empty?"

Sir Ji replied, "That's the room Lu Qian reserved for himself. I've been inside; there's nothing unusual about it."

Jian Ruochen's heart pounded wildly.

Impossible!

He turned and held the tracing paper up to the glass, using the daylight to see below. The overlapping parts framed an extremely small square—according to the scale, it was only about one square meter.

One square meter—it didn’t seem like enough space to hide a large quantity of goods.

Jian Ruochen stared at that single point.

But what about a one-square-meter space running vertically through the entire building?

This one square meter might not be able to hide goods, but it definitely hid something else!

What was it?

Sir Ji sensed something was off. "What’s wrong? Did you find something?"

Others in the room immediately began overlaying the maps to examine them. They fit together perfectly—no gaps. What had the Major Crimes Unit’s consultant discovered?

Jian Ruochen circled the square projected from the top-floor room with a red pen. "What is this?"

Sir Ji thought for a moment. "Lu Qian’s wardrobe."

Jian Ruochen pressed on. "The top floor has a wardrobe, but look at the floors below. These areas are all left empty—pillars, protruding walls... all framing a one-square-meter space. Whose wardrobe runs through an entire building?"

Guan Yingjun moved closer to Jian Ruochen’s side, looking down at the section he had marked.

Warm breath brushed against his ear, and Jian Ruochen instinctively leaned away.

Guan Yingjun chuckled. "Sir Ji, whose wardrobe is shaped like a well?"

A well?

"It’s an elevator shaft!" Jian Ruochen turned to Guan Yingjun in astonishment.

A one-square-meter space running through the entire building—what else could it be?

Lu Qian had hidden an elevator in his room!

Where that elevator led was self-explanatory!

The police in the meeting room were stunned.

Such a simple connection, such a straightforward deduction—they had been trapped by their assumptions, thinking Tianquan Du’s internal space was just what they could see.

Young minds really are sharper!

Lin Yazhi immediately stood up. "Thank you for the map, Sir Ji. Everyone, move out! Prepare to search Tianquan Du!"

Lu Qian was well-informed; the news of the regional joint meeting couldn’t be kept secret, and he was sure to have caught wind of it.

They couldn’t afford to come up empty-handed again this time!

They had to hurry.