The First Order

Chapter 991: A highly intelligent crime

“The mastermind?” Ren Xiaosu looked at the Northwest’s intelligence agent who came to report the matter. “How can we be sure that it’s the mastermind?”

The Northwest’s intelligence agent explained, “Wang Yun said the person appeared at the intersection where Mr. Jiang Xu was killed. Two hours later, he reappeared at the spot where Mr. Jiang Xu was nearly crushed by a falling billboard as though nothing had happened. This is a classic case of the guilty returning to the crime scene to secretly check on things. Furthermore, he was extremely cautious about it. Most field personnel would definitely not do such a thing, and only the person planning behind the scenes would go back to the scene of the crime.”

Ren Xiaosu walked out of the villa. He was no longer interested in the suspects who had already been captured. If this person Wang Yun had identified was the mastermind who wielded the power of the heartworms, he would have to find this person and get rid of them together.

Ren Xiaosu turned around and looked at Luo Lan and Zhou Qi. “Can you make that person talk if I bring him back?”

Zhou Qi said with a sinister smile, “Under my interrogation, there’s no such thing as refusing to speak. Don’t worry, my water power makes it just right for torture.”

After Ren Xiaosu came out of the villa, he said to the Northwest’s intelligence agent, “Send out photos and leaflets of that person to everyone and ask if they know him.”

In the end, it only took ten minutes to get an update. “Luo Zongren, 29 years old, a technician at the water plant. He came to Luoyang City for work more than two years ago and was hired at a high salary by the water plant.”

However, no one in the neighborhood knew Luo Zongren’s address.

The Northwest’s intelligence agent brought a resident over. “Future Commander, he says he knows this Luo Zongren.”

The resident said, “Hello, I’m a shop floor worker at the freshwater plant. I’m very familiar with Luo Zongren. He solved many technical problems and has been attached to our factory for some time. However, no one knows where he lives. When we go out to eat after work, he never participates in them. All we know is that he likes to read. Whenever he has nothing to do, he just stays in his office and reads.”

“What’s his usual routine?” Ren Xiaosu asked.

“Other than reading, I don’t think he has any other hobbies,” the resident answered. “But there’s something about him. That Luo Zongren always washes his hands after touching the plant’s equipment. He’s dressed very neatly as well. Many of the young girls at the factory think that he is different from us shop floor workers, so some of them even tried to date him.”

“He has OCD?” Ren Xiaosu wondered. For some reason, he got the impression that the man was extremely disciplined and secretive.

But what should they do about the man’s address? Ren Xiaosu said to the intelligence agent, “Contact the water plant. The factory’s staff roster should have the addresses of all the workers. Although it might be fake, it’s still a lead.”

But just as Ren Xiaosu was feeling bitter about not knowing the other party’s address, another call from the Northwest came in. “Wang Yun has tracked the other party’s behavior through the surveillance cameras and determined his address. It’s near 149 Triumphant Road! If you take his photo and ask the residents nearby, you’ll definitely find some evidence. There’s only two apartment complexes there.”

Ren Xiaosu immediately led the troops and rushed for 149 Triumphant Road.

When they got there, Ren Xiaosu found the grocery store owner on the sidewalk and took out Luo Zongren’s photo. “Hello, have you seen this person before?”

The grocery store owner immediately recognized Luo Zongren. “Oh, he’s the one who’s always wearing the water plant uniform and passes by my shop every day. Of course I’ve seen him before! I think he lives nearby. He buys all his rice, oil, and salt from me.”

“Then do you know where he lives?” Ren Xiaosu asked.

“It’s in that apartment building up ahead, but I’m not sure which floor exactly,” the owner answered.

After that, dozens of Northwest intelligence agents quickly surrounded the residential building with guns. Even Yang Xiaojin found the best sniping position several hundred meters away.

Yang Xiaojin said through her earpiece, “I’m in position.”

Only then did Ren Xiaosu walk towards the apartment building. There were some old men and old ladies playing mahjong at a small table downstairs. Ren Xiaosu took out the photo and asked, “Do y’all know which floor he lives on?”

An old lady took a look at the photo and said with a smile, “Isn’t that Little Luo? He lives on the 4th floor. Room 401. Why are you guys looking for him?”

“It’s nothing.” Ren Xiaosu smiled. He beckoned for the intelligence agents to escort these people away so they would not accidentally get hurt in the battle later.

The apartment building was very dilapidated, with only four stories in total. Ren Xiaosu led several intelligence agents up the stairs.

But when they reached the fourth floor, the door of Room 401 was slightly ajar.

Ren Xiaosu had an ominous feeling. After pushing the door open, he saw that the furnishings in the room were very simple. There were only some basic tables, bookcases, kitchenware, and a bed.

Ren Xiaosu suddenly thought of a saying. “When a person’s inner self is extremely complicated, they have extremely high expectations for their living environment, which would be to have things placed neatly and orderly.”

There was no one in the apartment. The other party had probably sensed the danger in advance and left beforehand.

A playing card had been left on the table across from the entrance. It was an ace of spades.

The card was placed neatly on the table as though Luo Zongren was silently mocking Ren Xiaosu and everyone else.

The other party had guessed that Ren Xiaosu and company would definitely find their way here, so not only did he leave in advance, he even left behind a “mark” as though he were declaring war on them.

This was a highly intelligent criminal. Not only did he enjoy the execution of the crime, he also got a kick out of his accomplishments in teasing and controlling his pursuers.

Ren Xiaosu turned around and went out. “Tell the Northwest that the enemy has escaped, but he won’t be able to escape from this stronghold. Let’s see if there’s any other ways to find this person.”

Ren Xiaosu’s expression was calm.

When the news got back to the Northwest, Wang Yun stood in front of the hundreds of screens in a daze. He suddenly said, “A person like him will definitely leave a way out for himself, right? Everyone says that a crafty rabbit has three burrows. A cunning and highly intelligent criminal like him will definitely leave himself an escape route. C’mon, show me all the recordings of him on his way to and from work. I want to know everything he’s been up to for the past month.”

This was an extremely large amount of work to do. The suspect’s route home from work spanned at least eight to nine kilometers and would require going through dozens of recordings to piece together the enemy’s whereabouts.

There were several hundred surveillance cameras in the entire stronghold, so they would have to first pick out the recordings of that route from those surveillance cameras.

Just as the soldiers fell into a predicament, they heard Wang Yun say, “I’ve already marked the camera numbers. The surveillance footage of his route to work is captured on Cameras 102, 129, 130, 141…”

Wang Yun listed more than a 100 numbers in a row and accurately identified the complete route that Luo Zongren took every day.