Chapter 996 - 512: Waiting for the Outcome

He looked like he was in his thirties, with messy long hair and fierce eyes, standing about 1.7 meters tall, and had a sturdy build.

Seeing a few strangers standing at the door, he turned around without a word and grabbed a heavy iron rod from behind the door, holding it defensively in front of him.

In this tense moment, Zhang Biao and his colleagues reacted swiftly, almost simultaneously drawing their guns and aiming at him, shouting, "Don’t move! Police!"

The middle-aged woman was instantly flustered, quickly turning around and waving her hand at the man, her voice trembling, "Tao Tao, put it down! Don’t make trouble... they’re the police, they won’t do anything to us!"

But the man named Li Tao did not relent, instead growing more agitated, clutching the iron rod tightly, veins bulging on his neck, he shouted, "I don’t care! No one can bully my mother! So what if they’re police!"

Seeing this, the old woman quickly rushed forward, tightly holding onto his arm, soothing him with kind words, and taking advantage of the moment to forcefully snatch the iron rod from his hand, throwing it aside.

Taking advantage of this gap, Zhang Biao quickly assessed the young man in front of him—his breathing was rapid, his eyes glaring, his whole body tense, clearly in a high-stress state.

Zhang Biao steadied his breath and spoke solemnly, "Are you Li Tao?"

The man raised his head, meeting his gaze without hesitation, responding firmly, "Yes, I am. Li Tao! What’s going on? What do you want with me?"

Upon confirming his identity, Zhang Biao signaled his colleagues to remain on guard, stepping forward himself, speaking seriously, "We’re looking for you."

"Looking for me?" Li Tao’s expression suddenly darkened, his fists clenching instinctively, "What do you want with me?"

This series of hostile reactions did not escape Zhang Biao’s notice.

Quickly assessing, Zhang Biao concluded: This person is highly prone to emotion, with clear violent tendencies, and his height and build match the suspect’s characteristics deduced from footprints at the crime scene in Dongcheng City.

Zhang Biao maintained a calm and professional demeanor, clearly stating, "We are from Dongcheng City’s criminal investigation team; there is a case that requires your assistance for an investigation."

"A case?" Li Tao frowned deeply, his tone resistant, "What case? We’re in Wuhe City, not your East City’s jurisdiction!"

At this moment, Wan stepped forward and took over the conversation with moral righteousness, "Even if it’s Wuhe City, as long as it involves illegal activity, the police have the authority to enforce the law across regions."

"Moreover—the incident happened in our Dongcheng City."

As he spoke, Wan retrieved the handcuffs from his waistband and gave them a shake, the cold metal glinting in Li Mei’s eyes.

Seeing this, Li Mei immediately panicked, quickly stepping forward, waving her hands frantically, her voice noticeably trembling, "Officer, please don’t misunderstand, our Tao Tao really hasn’t broken the law! Please make sure to investigate thoroughly..."

"Although he hasn’t found a suitable job yet, he’s always been obedient from childhood, just gets a little hot-tempered at times, but he’s kind-hearted, would never hurt anyone, much less commit a crime!"

She spoke rapidly, almost in one breath, her eyes full of pleading and anxiety.

Despite her repeated explanations, Zhang Biao slowly turned his head, directing his gaze at the ever-silent Li Tao, his tone steady yet commanding, "Whether he has broken the law is not for you or me to decide."

"The law speaks of evidence; everything must be based on facts."

He paused briefly, his voice lowering, "You should still remember the massacre near your home ten years ago, right? Although it was a long time ago, such a major event shouldn’t be easily forgotten."

"Ten, ten years ago?"

Li Mei’s face turned pale immediately, shaking her head urgently, "No, no! Back then, Tao Tao was only in his early twenties, helping out at home all the time, how could he have anything to do with that sort of thing..."

At this point, Wan had already holstered his gun and strode forward with the handcuffs.

Seeing this, Li Tao instinctively stepped back half a step, his eyes filled with a mix of caution and defiance.

Wan immediately barked, "Cooperating with the police is beneficial for you! We four officers are here not to waste time with you."

"If you refuse to cooperate, and something unexpected happens in the process, getting taken by force won’t look good."

Zhang Biao then took over the conversation, "Ma’am, please don’t get too agitated."

"If Li Tao is truly innocent, the law won’t wrong him."

"The public security organ handles cases based on evidence, everything must follow legal procedures, rest assured about that."

Perhaps Zhang Biao’s words somewhat calmed Li Mei, she took a deep breath and turned to her son, her eyes slightly red, her voice softening, "Tao Tao, why don’t you go with the officers for now, cooperate with the investigation, maybe once everything’s cleared up, it’ll be okay."

"Mom will wait here, waiting for you to come back, and we’ll go home together, okay?"

Li Tao’s face remained tense, his chest heaving slightly with suppressed anger.

But listening to his mother’s near-pleading persuasion and faced with the encirclement of four policemen, he ultimately did not struggle further, just stubbornly turned his head away.

Seizing the opportunity, Wan quickly stepped forward, a crisp "click" sounded, and the handcuffs securely locked onto Li Tao’s wrists.

Zhang Biao signaled the other two officers to step forward together, and they took Li Tao out of the house, pushing him into the police car.

On the way back, the night was already deep.

Zhang Biao exhaled slightly, reaching into his pocket to take out his phone, quickly finding Lu Shaohua’s number and dialing it.

"Director Lu, we have successfully apprehended Li Mountain’s son, Li Tao, and he is now in the car, everything went smoothly."