Animal Detective

Chapter 149: New Goods

Zhu Tianshun’s apartment in the Spring Tide Home complex.

A three-bedroom apartment.

Right now, Jiang Wengang and his team were turning the whole place upside down.

"Li Teng, be careful. Don’t fall."

Jiang Wengang called out from the kitchen.

They hadn’t found any drugs in the obvious places.

Just as Jiang Wengang expected. A drug dealer wouldn’t be that stupid.

So the more hidden spots became their primary targets.

And sure enough, they found something in the kitchen’s exhaust duct.

A concrete nail had been driven into the duct, with a rope tied to it.

That way, even if you removed the exhaust pipe, you wouldn’t notice anything out of the ordinary.

The drugs were hanging from the end of the rope.

Li Teng stretched out his arm and carefully pulled, drawing out a black plastic bag.

It was covered in grease from hanging inside the duct.

"Captain Jiang, this is quite a haul."

Li Teng hopped off the counter and opened the bag for Jiang Wengang to see.

A full package, contained in a transparent, heat-sealed bag, weighing what looked like over a pound.

An electronic scale confirmed it: over seven hundred grams.

"At today’s street price, that’s almost five hundred thousand," Li Teng said.

Jiang Wengang nodded. He carefully picked up a shard and held it up to the window, squinting as he examined it closely.

"This doesn’t seem like the stuff that’s currently on the market."

The others gathered around to take a closer look.

They were aware of about three types of methamphetamine that they had encountered on the Nanjiang market.

Each from a different source.

"Old Geng, what do you think?" Jiang Wengang asked a gray-haired, middle-aged man beside him.

His name was Geng Xinliang, a veteran of the narcotics squad.

His eyes were like a ruler—he had a hawk’s eye for this stuff.

Geng Xinliang checked its refraction against the light, gave it a sniff, and then said, "It is different from what’s on the street. The crystals are more uniform."

After a pause, he added, "I’d estimate the purity is close to 95 percent."

Jiang Wengang nodded. He thought so, too.

Of the three types of methamphetamine they had designated No. 1, 2, and 3 on the market, the highest purity was only around 93 percent.

Li Teng clicked his tongue. "Are these dealers even trying to make a profit? Why go for such high purity?"

Purity determined profit.

Most dealers couldn’t care less about an addict’s health. They cut their product with all sorts of miscellaneous ingredients to use the least amount of actual drugs for the highest possible profit.

Of course, it was more often a case of lacking the technical skill to produce anything of high purity.

With this stuff, the difficulty of increasing the purity grew exponentially with every percentage point.

"Maybe they’re trying to take over the market," Jiang Wengang grunted, his expression serious.

Clearly, a new type of methamphetamine had appeared in Nanjiang.

He immediately led the team back.

After sending the drugs to the lab for a purity analysis, he headed to the interrogation room.

"Director Lv."

In the observation room, Jiang Wengang briefed him on the situation.

Lv Youwei’s brow furrowed, his expression extremely grave.

When you see one cockroach, there are probably hundreds more you can’t see.

He pressed the intercom button and told Chen Chao to come out.

The murder and dismemberment was a done deal. The drugs were the more pressing issue now.

Then he turned to Jiang Wengang. "Give it a try."

Jiang Wengang nodded, stepping out to take over for Chen Chao and entering the interrogation room.

"So? Any new developments with the drugs?" Chen Chao asked as he walked in.

Sun Zhao nodded. "New product. Purity’s pretty high."

Chen Chao understood immediately. Looking at Zhu Tianshun through the glass, he said, "This is going to be a problem. The guy’s a murderer. He knows he’s facing a death sentence, so he’s not going to talk."

Sun Zhao nodded slightly, his expression grim.

Shen Xin, listening from the side, didn’t quite understand.

But Ding Yuwei did, and she explained in a low voice, "If Zhu Tianshun were only guilty of drug trafficking, he’d be facing the death penalty given the quantity. However, if he were to cooperate and help us catch his supplier, he’d have a chance of getting a suspended death sentence."

"Besides, with this kind of quantity, he’s mid-level in the trafficking network. A lot of times, when guys like him get caught, the smart ones confess immediately. They try to cooperate with us to catch others, hoping to get that suspended sentence."

"But he’s also a murderer who dismembered his victim—the circumstances are heinous. Considering the murder alone, a suspended death sentence is off the table. So, he has no reason to confess."

"And since he knows he’s going to die anyway, if he snitches on his supplier, his family could face retaliation. And drug traffickers are vicious when it comes to revenge."

As she said this, Ding Yuwei’s gaze wavered.

’She must be thinking about her father.’

Her father had worked in narcotics.

"Are you okay?" Shen Xin asked softly.

Ding Yuwei forced a smile and shook her head, indicating she was fine.

Inside the interrogation room, Jiang Wengang didn’t waste any time and got straight to the point.

"Zhu Tianshun, you know you’re finished. But you have a son, right? He’s only ten, in the fourth grade."

"I saw on your phone, you’re still in touch with your ex-wife on WeChat. You transfer money to her often. And your profile picture... that’s your son, isn’t it? See? He’s a good-looking kid."

"So, give them a chance. Help us catch your supplier."

Jiang Wengang stood up, walked over, and lit a cigarette for Zhu Tianshun.

Zhu Tianshun took a deep drag and sneered. "Officer, this isn’t my first rodeo. You don’t have to pull this act with me."

"If I keep my mouth shut, they might have a chance to live. If I really talk, then they’ll be the ones who are dead for sure."

He paused, then added with a cold laugh, "But since you were willing to try this approach, I’ll give you a little tip."

"Oh? Go on."

Zhu Tianshun chuckled. "By now, my supplier has probably gotten the news and is getting ready to run. But you never know, maybe he’s a slow reactor. So hey, you might still have a chance."

With that, he burst into loud laughter.

After a moment of silence, Jiang Wengang walked straight out of the room.

He hadn’t given up, however. He went to interrogate Tao Yufei next.

As Zhu Tianshun’s underling, he might also know about his boss’s connections.

Zhu Tianshun was taken to a holding cell for the time being.

Before long, Chen Guanglin, the head of the Municipal Narcotics Division, heard the news and rushed over.

It was Shen Xin’s first time seeing the man. He was in his forties, with a buzz cut and ordinary features, but his eyes were sharp and bright, and he had a commanding presence that demanded respect without a hint of anger.

The narcotics squad was about to have its hands full.

Of course, the criminal investigation team wasn’t sitting idle, either.

Du Xin Kai didn’t get back until almost seven in the evening.

When he saw the others, he immediately started complaining about Zhao Tianxing, saying he’d been splashed with a whole potful of... something... and that it had taken him half the day to shovel it all up.

They worked until ten o’clock that night before Sun Zhao finally told everyone to clock out.

That was only because they had cracked the case in a single day. Otherwise, these kinds of cases meant working around the clock until a breakthrough was made.

Just as Shen Xin grabbed his bag and was about to leave, Zhao Tianxing suddenly pulled him aside.

He gestured with his chin toward Ding Yuwei, who was packing up nearby, and whispered, "Hey, kid, be a little more observant. Can’t you see she’s in a bad mood? Go walk her home."

Having been swamped all day, Shen Xin really hadn’t noticed that Ding Yuwei was in a bad mood.

"How about we all go out for a late-night snack?"

Shen Xin figured the drug case had brought up painful memories of her father, who had sacrificed his life in the line of duty.

’Since she’s feeling down, maybe a meal would help.’

’Besides, I’m starving, too.’

"No way. You trying to make me sick?" Zhao Tianxing waved his hand dismissively. After getting splashed with... that... it would be days before he got his appetite back.

With that, he hurried off.

Shen Xin hesitated for a moment, then walked over to her. "Ding Yuwei, are you okay? How about I walk you home? It’s completely out of my way, anyway."

It really wasn’t on his way.

Ding Yuwei stared at him for a second, then broke into a smile, amused by his awkward joke.

"I’m fine, really. You should hurry home," Ding Yuwei said, waving him off.

"You sure you’re okay?"

Shen Xin pressed.

Ding Yuwei nodded.

"All right, then. Be careful on your way home."

Shen Xin gave Ding Yuwei one last look before grabbing his bag and leaving.