I Sent You to Take the College Entrance Exam, and You Ended Up Solving a Murder Case?! - Chapter 24

“Remember, only mention reopening the investigation, and don’t mention the old town or the scavengers at all.”

“We need to make him think that we are still like headless flies.”

“Yes!” the whole team responded in unison.

“Jiang Xiaomiao, Qiao Zhoucheng, Lü Hui.”

“Here!” The three immediately stood up straight.

“The three of you are responsible for preparing all the miniature technical reconnaissance equipment.”

“I want a button camera, a high-fidelity microphone, and a real-time GPS tracker…”

“Prepare all the top-of-the-line products available on the market.”

“Mission accomplished!”

Chen Mo’s gaze swept over everyone.

“Starting tomorrow, the entire Fifth Team will enter a state of first-level combat readiness.”

“Everyone, cancel your vacations and be on standby 24 hours a day.”

A high-stakes gamble targeting the city’s most wanted criminal is about to begin.

Right in the center of the gambling table lay the life of their new captain.

After arranging everything, Chen Mo picked up his coat from the back of the chair, turned around, and walked towards the door.

“Captain, where are you going?” Jiang Xiaomiao asked subconsciously.

Chen Mo did not stop walking, but turned his head to the side, leaving behind a meaningful profile.

“Go and familiarize yourself with the venue.”

“And while I’m at it, I’ll put on some makeup.”

The night was as dark as ink.

The office of the Fifth Criminal Investigation Team of the Shucheng City Public Security Bureau was still brightly lit.

The plan has already begun.

As per Chen Mo’s plan, Wu Che used an extremely secretive inside informant.

The news that “Criminal Investigation Team Five has reopened the Fan Xiaotian case” was spread discreetly.

The next day, a small news article, barely the size of a tofu block, appeared in an inconspicuous corner of the social section of the Shucheng Evening News.

Police reopen investigation into cold case.

The title is bland, and the content is only a few hundred words long.

The article makes no mention of the name “Fan Xiaotian” and reveals no specific details.

This news was like a pebble thrown into a lake, without causing a ripple.

Meanwhile, Chen Mo, the newly appointed captain of the fifth team, became the most “punctual” person in the entire team.

I work from 9 to 5 every day, and leave on time; I never work overtime.

He even gave himself two days off over the weekend.

This “perfunctory” attitude made many people in the team nervous.

But this is part of the plan, and they can only strictly follow it.

They wanted to convince Fan Xiaotian that the police were just going through the motions.

Reopening the investigation is just a new broom sweeping clean; it won’t last long before it’s extinguished.

They wanted to lower his guard and make him think that this young captain who had been parachuted in was nothing more than a pretty face with no substance.

Everything was proceeding smoothly according to Chen Mo’s script.

However, they all overlooked one person.

Fan Yuan, the former captain of Team Five.

On the same day that Wu Che spread the news, Fan Yuan was far away at the Wujiang District Police Station.

They also learned through their own channels that the Fifth Team had restarted its investigation.

The veteran detective kept quiet and, three days in advance, began his secret operation alone.

His gaze also fell upon the scavengers wandering in the dark corners of the city.

8 PM.

Chen Mo had just returned to his studio apartment, taken off his coat, and walked into the kitchen.

He took a bag of frozen noodles from the refrigerator, boiled water, and cooked the noodles.

The aroma of the simple scallion oil noodles quickly filled the entire house.

Just as he was holding his bowl, preparing to sit down and have dinner, his cell phone rang abruptly.

Caller ID: Wu Che.

Chen Mo’s brows furrowed almost imperceptibly. At this time, Wu Che’s phone call usually meant one thing.

There’s something going on.

He answered the phone.

“team leader……”

The voice on the other end of the phone was trembling.

Chen Mo’s heart sank.

“explain.”

“Old Fan… Old Fan is in trouble!”

Wu Che’s voice was almost a roar.

“In the third alley north of the sand dune, he was…his throat was slit.”

boom!

Chen Mo’s mind went blank.

Fan Yuan?

“It’s Fan Xiaotian.”

This is not a question, but a statement.

Apart from that living devil, no one dares to provoke the entire Chengdu police force in this way!

“Wu Che!”

“exist!”

“Notify all personnel: Level 1 Response!”

“Immediately seal off all roads leading to and from the sand dunes and surrounding areas. Send everyone out and search every inch of the dunes!”

“yes!”

“I’ll be right there!”

After hanging up the phone, Chen Mo didn’t even glance at the bowl of steaming noodles. He grabbed the coat he had just taken off, turned around, and rushed out of the house.

Underground parking garage.

Chen Mo stepped on the gas, and the car sped toward the exit.

Just as the car was about to turn out of the garage, his pupils suddenly contracted.

Beside the gentle slope at the garage exit, in the green belt that is usually empty.

At this moment, a simple wooden sign was stuck straight in the ground.

A line of large, crooked characters was written on it in glaring red paint.

“Captain Chen, I’ve been keeping an eye on you.”

“squeak–!”

The screeching sound of brakes shattered the silence of the garage.

The car stopped less than half a meter away from the wooden sign.

Chen Mo sat in the driver’s seat, staring intently at the line of text.

A chill ran down his spine and instantly spread throughout his body.

Fan Xiaotian knew he lived here!

He not only killed Fan Yuan, but also left such a provocative “challenge” at his own doorstep!

This person was even more arrogant and unscrupulous than he had imagined!

Chen Mo took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

He opened the storage box, took out a spare pair of white gloves, and put them on.

Then, he pushed open the car door and strode to the wooden sign.

He carefully observed the surrounding ground.

There were no obvious footprints.

The other party handled it very cleanly.

Chen Mo carefully pinched the edge of the wooden sign and pulled it out of the soil.

He then quickly returned to the car, opened the trunk, and placed the wooden plaque flat into a spare evidence bag.

After doing all this, he restarted the car.

This time, the accelerator was floored.

Fan Xiaotian was nearby.

He might even be in some dark corner, observing his every move through binoculars.

Observe his reaction when he sees the wooden sign.

Chen Mo’s hands gripping the steering wheel were bulging with veins.

The game truly begins now.

…

North Third Lane of the Sandy Plain.

The blinding red and blue police lights illuminated the entire narrow, dilapidated alley as if it were daytime.

Sharp police tape has been put up, keeping all onlookers outside.

When Chen Mo arrived, several police officers from the local police station were maintaining order.

“Team Leader Chen!”

Lu Hui, who had been waiting by the cordon, saw him and immediately came to greet him, his face as pale as paper.

Chen Mo nodded to him and silently crawled into the cordon.

At the end of the alley, under the bright spotlight of the technical investigation team, a figure huddled in a corner.

It’s Fan Yuan.

He was still wearing his faded old police uniform.

However, the collar of the police uniform was completely stained black and red with blood.

His eyes were still open, as if he had seen something extremely terrifying before he died.

Wu Che and several veteran members of Team Five squatted beside the corpse.

Each person’s back looked as if they were crushed, filled with anger.

Several technical investigation officers were conducting a tense on-site investigation, taking photos and collecting evidence; the atmosphere was extremely tense.

Chen Mo walked over step by step.

His gaze shifted from Fan Yuan’s lifeless face to Wu Che.

When was it discovered?

Wu Che slowly stood up, his voice hoarse.

“Twenty minutes ago, the command center received an anonymous call reporting a murder here.”

Where is the person who called the police?

“It was a public phone, so it can’t be traced.”

Chen Mo nodded; this was expected.

He then asked that most crucial question.

Why is he here?

Wu Che lowered his head and did not answer.

The veteran team members behind him also avoided Chen Mo’s gaze.

An ominous premonition began to grow wildly in Chen Mo’s heart.

His plan had been meticulously rehearsed at every step, making it absolutely impossible for such a major oversight to occur.

Fan Yuan is a veteran criminal investigator with extensive experience; he would never come to a place like this alone without support.

unless……

Unless he received some news that compelled him to come.

This news bypassed him.

Chen Mo’s heart sank little by little.