PCJ – Chapter 216 Pulling out the carrot brings out the mud (Part 3)

Who knew that in his rush, he made a mistake and tripped over a broom lying horizontally on the ground? This broom seemed to have fallen when he previously crashed into the door. The thief fell headfirst to the ground, quickly using his hands to support himself. But the suddenness of it all caused his wrist to feel like it was being pricked by needles—it was sprained! His backpack flew off as well. It was packed full and heavy. These officials were indeed rich; with just a casual search, he had hit the jackpot. The thief was quite pleased with his choice of target.

Hurriedly getting up, the thief quickly picked up his backpack and slung it over his shoulder again. This delay gave Luo Changjun enough time to reach the fourth floor. The door was closed. Luo Changjun, to avoid any accidents, stood still at the door. Zhang Jiaohua stood on the stairs, not going up, with Shanbao following behind.

The thief couldn’t escape. Even if he got past Luo Changjun, there were still Jinhu and others to deal with him.

The thief felt a chilling wind blow by and shivered involuntarily. Today’s events were eerie, and he sensed something was wrong. As he approached the door, this sense of danger intensified. He placed his hand on the doorknob but hesitated, not immediately opening it. It was as if something dangerous awaited him outside.

After hesitating, he turned toward the living room window. In those days, burglar-proof windows were not common, so windows were often used as escape routes by thieves. However, some things were beyond his control. He suddenly felt a tightening on his hand, and the doorknob seemed to be turning by itself.

Startled, the thief tried to control the knob but found the force was much stronger than his own.

“Haunted!” The thief’s eyes widened in fear. He had felt a cold presence following him all along, initially thinking it was just the cool weather. But now he realized he had encountered something supernatural. He tried to let go of the knob and escape, but it felt glued to his hand, impossible to release.

With a click, the door opened. Before it was fully ajar, Luo Changjun pushed it forcefully, slamming the thief against the wall behind the door, pinning him there. Luo Changjun quickly pulled out handcuffs from his pocket, cuffed the thief, and dragged him to the living room, securing him to a chair.

“Finally, we meet. You’ve really stirred things up. Do you know you’ve turned the whole county upside down? Our Public Security Bureau brothers have gone without sleep for days because of you. And you still dared to come out.” Luo Changjun said as he walked to the phone, making a remark before picking up the receiver.

The thief turned his head and snorted, “I’m just a thief, but I only steal ill-gotten gains. Look at you officials, you look proper on the outside, but a casual search of your homes reveals your true nature. Look at how much money is in my bag—at least tens of thousands. Where did it come from? Corruption! You public security folks are just watchdogs for these corrupt officials. Go ahead, it’s my bad luck to get caught by you. When they sentence me, how much will they say I stole?”

“It’s the crackdown period now, with this amount, you could be executed. Stop worrying about others, and enjoy breathing this world’s air while you can,” Luo Changjun snorted. He despised the corrupt officials who were robbed and had no high regard for the thief either. He was the law, and the thief was the criminal, their positions were inherently opposed.

Luo Changjun arranged for Zhang Jiaohua to stay at a guesthouse since the boy shouldn’t be involved in the ensuing matters. Zhang Jiaohua, still in a daze after the thief’s capture, didn’t understand why the official’s home had so much money. He vaguely realized the official might be corrupt. Exhausted, Zhang Jiaohua fell asleep on the bed at the guesthouse.

Luo Changjun, however, had much more to do.

He dialed a number, not to the county public security bureau, but to a leader at the Zijiang City Public Security Bureau. If he had called the county bureau, the case might be suppressed as the thief had predicted. Due to previous conflicts, Luo Changjun dared to break protocol and report directly to higher authorities. His relationship with Xu Yinshan was already irreparable. Whether or not he could survive this, Xu Yinshan would try everything to take him down. Moreover, the house the thief targeted belonged to Xu Yinshan. Such a rare opportunity was in Luo Changjun’s hands, and if he didn’t leverage it, he deserved to remain a small-town police station chief for life.

This significant case involved three county-level officials, especially Xu Yinshan, enough to draw attention from Zijiang City. Luo Changjun’s promotion to criminal investigation team leader after the major case was partly due to support from a Zijiang City official. Now that Luo Changjun solved another big case, this official was delighted and immediately got up from bed.

This official was Zhou Shengrong, the political commissar of the Zijiang City Public Security Bureau, while Xu Yinshan was the protégé of the bureau chief, Tian Jinbao. They had partnered for many years, initially getting along well. However, over the years, conflicts of interest caused increasing disagreements, splitting the city’s public security system into Tian’s faction and Zhou’s faction. Tian’s faction was dominant due to Tian’s strong personality. This chance to weaken Tian’s influence was one Zhou Shengrong wouldn’t miss.

Zhou Shengrong promptly called Zijiang City’s Party Secretary Lu Yuqiu to report the situation. Furious, Lu Yuqiu convened an emergency meeting overnight, organizing an investigation team to go to Xintian County.

Luo Changjun received orders to detain the thief and secure the crime scene and evidence.

He immediately ordered the criminal investigation team to fully arm and seal off Xu Yinshan’s residence.

Xu Yinshan’s family had gone to visit relatives, and somehow the thief got this information, choosing the perfect timing.

Early the next morning, Xu Yinshan’s family returned to find public security officers guarding the entrance. Xu Yinshan’s mind buzzed: something had happened!

“What are you all doing here?” Xu Yinshan maintained his authoritative demeanor.

Zhu Qiyou quickly approached, “Director Xu, the thief was caught. Last night, he was caught in the act by Team Leader Luo.”

Xu Yinshan immediately felt a cold, boundless fear surge from his heart, breaking out in a cold sweat.