Chapter 308 - 172: Lock On! Make the Arrest

"Thirteen thousand, three hundred and twenty-four yuan."

"That much?" Zhang Liang was stunned.

"It’s not that much. Not everyone who lost money had it stolen by the monkey."

Xu Huo shook his head, then paused and added:

"Likewise, not everyone who loses money reports it to the police!"

"Let’s temporarily estimate it at half, so around seven thousand yuan."

"Seven thousand yuan..."

That was equivalent to Li Jianye’s base salary—a full six months’ worth!

The suspect was making seven thousand yuan just by having a monkey, lying back and doing nothing...

"Have you guys noticed a problem?"

Xu Huo suddenly spoke up.

"What problem?" Zhao Shui asked, confused.

Xu Huo paused and looked at Li Jianye.

"Captain Li, you must have noticed it too."

Li Jianye nodded. Hearing the question, he spoke in a low voice.

"In less than a month, they made a conservative estimate of seven thousand yuan. That’s undoubtedly a huge sum. Even if they had seven or eight children, it would be more than enough to cover daily food and drink!"

"So if that’s the case... why resort to prostitution!?"

At his words, Zhao Shui froze.

The realization left him momentarily dumbfounded.

’That’s right.’

According to the construction workers’ descriptions, she only charged ten yuan per session!

Even if she worked nonstop, once every ten minutes for two hours, that’s only twelve sessions, which comes to just one hundred and twenty yuan.

One hundred and twenty yuan, and that’s on the high end. A normal day’s work probably wouldn’t even earn half of that.

Let’s call it sixty yuan.

Sixty yuan a day for a month isn’t even two thousand. Compared to the seven thousand the monkey stole in less than a month, it’s a pitifully small amount!

And the price she paid was extremely high: a woman’s chastity, her moral bottom line!

’In that case...’

’...why would she still do it?’

"Given that she was willing to stay with the flute-playing murderer, it’s clear this wasn’t a case of forced prostitution."

"She was doing it willingly!"

’Who would sell their body willingly?’

’Two types of people.’

’One, a whore who’s just promiscuous.’

’Two, someone with a goal, who wants something and enters the trade to earn the money to buy it.’

’Was she just promiscuous?’

’Maybe, but if it were simply to satisfy her own carnal desires, there would be no reason for the monkey trainer to help her.’

’That leaves the second option.’

At this thought, it was as if the police had caught onto something.

"A common goal?"

"During the times she was prostituting herself, the rest of the murderers’ group all disappeared."

"You think... they might all share this goal, and they all went out to make money!?"

Zhang Liang said slowly. The others paused, then exchanged glances.

"It’s possible!"

"Money. They desperately need money!"

Xu Huo spoke, his brow furrowed with certainty.

These people were short on cash, but they wouldn’t use the money from Sima Kong, Zhao Shan, and the others. Instead, they went out to get it themselves.

But then another question arose...

’What do they need so much money for!?’

’A better life?’

Xu Huo didn’t believe it. If it were for a better life, she wouldn’t have had to sell her body in the first place.

’Since it’s not that, then...’

"They were trafficked back here from overseas!?"

Xu Huo suddenly spoke again.

"Based on current speculation, that seems to be the case."

Li Jianye nodded.

"Transported by truck, it would be impossible to cross provincial lines and arrive in Jiangsan City safely without being discovered."

If something like this could be transported across multiple provinces...

...then the first people to celebrate wouldn’t be smugglers.

It would be drug traffickers!

And from the predicament of drug traffickers in the Eastern Country, one could deduce just how difficult it would be to openly transport a person like this.

Since we’ve ruled out overland transport from other provinces, then it must be...

"Transshipment from the docks. And the docks connect directly to overseas, or to other coastal provinces."

Li Jianye stated.

"Where are the docks?" Xu Huo asked.

"To the east, in the coastal area. It’s a long way from the scenic area," Li Jianye said.

As he finished speaking,

Xu Huo abruptly changed the subject, mentioning a piece of information that no one had thought of or connected.

"The murderers..."

"Which way did they go?"

"East..."

Li Jianye answered subconsciously, but as the word left his lips, the scene fell instantly silent.

"East!?"

Everyone was instantly stunned.

The murderers were brought here by Sima Kong from the eastern docks.

But instead of getting away from there, they’re now heading east!?

"Are they crazy!?"

"Although we don’t know the exact location of the people behind this, they are definitely in the east."

"This group wants to go back!?"

Zhao Shui, shocked, shot upright.

’When you see a pile of crap, do you want to get away from it or get closer?’

’But what if you saw your mortal enemy, someone you’ve been searching for for decades? Would you get closer or stay away?’

’By the same logic, if you see a wolf, you stay away.’

’But what if that wolf had mauled your pregnant wife?’

’So...’

For them to approach the docks again means they’re approaching the people Sima Kong worked for.

For the murderers, that place was a nightmare. It was Hell.

In a situation like this, it’s either a case of Stockholm Syndrome, or... revenge!

The former is basically impossible. If it were Stockholm Syndrome, they never would have killed Sima Kong in the first place. That only leaves the latter...

"They want revenge!?"

Zhang Liang’s eye twitched.

"They’re insane, all of them!"

"A group of the old, weak, disabled, and young... it’s hard for them to even move, they can barely see. How are they supposed to cross the sea for revenge..."

"Even a cornered rabbit will bite, even if it’s facing a lion."

Xu Huo sighed, his feelings complex and heavy.

The Eastern Country People have a characteristic: when their backs are against the wall... they will carve out a brand-new path.

Even if that path seems impossible at first glance, they will still take it.

Even if they can’t kill you, they’ll take a pound of your flesh before they die.

"If it’s revenge... then they would indeed need a lot of money."

Xu Huo spoke again.

Whether for a boat, food, or other necessities, the costs would not be low.