But since they were here, they had to go take a look.
Zhang Jian left the main force outside, planning to scout the situation himself first.
Chen Chao and Zhao Shouchuan were definitely going with him.
To Shen Xin's surprise, Zhang Jian brought him along as well.
He didn't explain why, simply calling Shen Xin's name and motioning for him to come along.
Shen Xin murmured an "oh" and hurried to catch up.
'He couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement. He was just a trainee officer. On such an important mission, who would dare let him lead the charge? He'd be lucky just to be an assistant.'
Chen Chao glanced at Shen Xin but didn't say anything.
Xianghong Village was now officially called Xianghong Community. After becoming a logistics distribution center, urban planning had merged it with several neighboring villages. Since Xianghong Village was the largest, the new area was named Xianghong Community.
Over the years, the area had developed rapidly around several large logistics parks, now featuring resettlement communities and large-scale supermarkets.
Most of the major roads had been repaved, making transportation very convenient.
Back when regulations were lax, some quick-witted villagers built additions onto their homes to rent out.
There were a lot of outsiders now. With more people came more shops. According to Zhao Shouchuan, the area became especially lively at night, packed with people.
He knew the area well. He led the three of them on foot, turning off Huie Road and walking for about two hundred meters before heading north along a small concrete path.
It seemed to be a street lined with vegetable stalls.
He explained the situation at number 113 as they walked.
"The homeowner's name is Wu Zhicun, born in 1950."
Something stirred in Shen Xin's mind when he heard that number.
'Born in 1950. It's 2017 now, so he's 67 years old.'
'If I remember correctly, Zhang Jian mentioned before that the real-name verification for the QQ account belonged to a 67-year-old man from this city.'
'Then it's a match.'
Shen Xin raised his head, wondering if he should remind Zhang Jian.
But then he noticed that Zhang Jian and Chen Chao were both frowning.
'Looks like they've already figured it out.'
'Right. They've been cops for years, real veterans. They didn't need me trying to show off how clever I was.'
Zhao Shouchuan continued his explanation, "He's blind. I think it's from doing too much welding in the past. He developed glaucoma as he got older and slowly lost his vision. He doesn't have any family left, just an old man on his own. With no land to farm here anymore, and being a blind, solitary old man, he has no way to make a living."
"The community applied for public assistance for him. A few years ago, they also spent a bit of money to renovate his house. That way, he could free up two rooms to rent out. He lives on that rental income now."
At this moment, Zhang Jian raised a hand to interrupt Zhao Shouchuan.
"Lao Zhao, why do I get the feeling you're very familiar with this Wu Zhicun's situation?"
Xianghong Village might be under the Huangtang Police Station's jurisdiction, but Huangtang Street had a permanent population of nearly seventy thousand. With that many people, there was no reason for Zhao Shouchuan to know so much about one solitary old man in his district unless there was something special about him.
Chen Chao seemed to have noticed this as well and shot him a questioning look.
"I knew it. You criminal investigators have a different kind of mind." Zhao Shouchuan sighed and explained why.
He brought up a case.
Seven years ago, Wu Zhicun's eight-year-old grandson, Wu Jiawang, went missing.
"At the time, almost our entire station was mobilized. We left no stone unturned, you could say. We searched nonstop for a solid two weeks, but in the end... he'd vanished without a trace."
He sighed, his expression complicated.
"Wait."
Chen Chao suddenly raised a hand, interrupting Zhao Shouchuan, and muttered, "Wu Jiawang... I knew I'd heard that name somewhere before."
It all came back to him. He said, "Seven years ago, not long after I was transferred to the branch's Criminal Investigation Division, I remember you guys reported this case. The family suspected foul play, so we looked into it. We found no evidence of homicide and sent the case back to you."
Chen Chao's memory was incredible; he remembered a minor case from seven years ago with perfect clarity.
"So how was the case handled in the end?" Chen Chao pressed.
Zhao Shouchuan shook his head helplessly. "What else could we do? We searched everywhere we could think of. That only left one possibility: he was abducted by human traffickers."
"That's not right."
Shen Xin couldn't resist chiming in. "Wu Jiawang was eight years old. What kind of trafficker abducts a kid that old?"
Human traffickers always abduct small children.
An eight-year-old is in second grade. They're old enough to know what's going on.
Zhao Shouchuan glanced at Shen Xin, his voice growing heavy. "There's another kind of trafficker... one that specializes in kidnapping older kids, breaking their arms and legs, and forcing them to beg."
Shen Xin drew in a sharp breath.
'Damn it, these traffickers are absolute animals!'
Zhao Shouchuan continued, "After considering all the angles, it was the only possibility we could come up with. But Wu Zhicun only had that one grandson, and he refused to accept that conclusion. He insisted someone had murdered the boy. For years now, he's shown up at our station every so often to make a scene, demanding we find the killer."
"That's why I'm so familiar with his situation. Captain Zhang, I don't know what case you're working on, but I can guarantee it has nothing to do with Wu Zhicun."
He said it with conviction.
A man in Wu Zhicun's condition couldn't possibly be involved in any kind of crime.
Zhang Jian clearly understood this, but said anyway, "Let's go have a look first."
'It's probably not Wu Zhicun.'
'But Zhang Jian considered another possibility: one of Wu Zhicun's tenants might have stolen his identity to register the QQ account.'
After crossing the street, they navigated a series of winding alleys for nearly five minutes before reaching their destination.
Wu Zhicun's home was located on the outskirts of Xianghong Village. It was a small courtyard with a low, one-story house that showed signs of renovation.
To its right stood a five-story, privately constructed building dotted with windows and draped with laundry.
And to its left was a small workshop for manual work.
Behind the house was a large, walled-off vacant lot. Zhao Shouchuan explained that there were plans to develop a wholesale market for home improvement materials there, but it was still just a plan. The project had never gotten off the ground, so for now, it was just a patch of wasteland.
"What's the plan?" Zhao Shouchuan asked Zhang Jian and Chen Chao after he finished his explanation.
Zhang Jian was getting a headache now too.
'This meant Chen Chao's guess had been spot on. Given Wu Zhicun's condition, he couldn't possibly be Fan Jie's supplier.'
'But they'd made such a big fuss coming all the way out here; they couldn't just leave empty-handed.'
'The only option was to go with his earlier theory and assume that one of Wu Zhicun's tenants was the problem.'
'If it wasn't the current tenant, then it had to be a former one.'
'So they could definitely get some leads from Wu Zhicun.'
'But the first step was to scout out the situation.'
"Xiaoshen, you look like a recent college graduate. How about this: you go in on the pretext of renting a room and check things out."
Zhang Jian looked towards Shen Xin.
Shen Xin said, "Oh," his respect for Zhang Jian growing.
'No wonder he specifically asked me to come. It turns out he'd already planned out this reconnaissance mission.'
Zhang Jian then told Zhao Shouchuan to call the community office and check for any tenant registration information.
Meanwhile, he would canvass the neighborhood and ask about the tenants.
"Captain Chen, does that sound okay?" he asked, looking at Chen Chao.
Chen Chao nodded, patted Shen Xin's back, and reminded him, "Be careful."
Shen Xin had been fine, but that reminder made him tense up.
'Come to think of it, this would be my first time going undercover.'