WWY Chapter 55

Chapter 55: Wharf. Two imitation pieces, eight thousand yuan…

Chapter 55: Wharf. Two imitation pieces, eight thousand yuan…

Several members of the Second Squad were rotating in three shifts, keeping a close watch on Wen Shan Wang’s building.

At two in the morning, the sky was as dark as if it had been soaked in ink. Rows of dim streetlights stood silently, stretching to the park not far away. From a distance, the long stone steps looked like they led to hell, with darkness at the end.

There weren’t many people on the road. Shengbo Xia was joking with Li Wu on WeChat when the investigator next to him nudged him, “Brother Xia, look, doesn’t that look like Maohu Li?”

Shengbo Xia turned off his phone and indeed saw a person walking on the sidewalk, like a gray silhouette in the twilight.

He walked unsteadily but quickly, occasionally turning his head to look around, making him look very suspicious.

“Why is he walking like that? I haven’t heard that Maohu Li is a cripple?”

“Looks like he’s drunk.”

To ensure they had the right target, Shengbo Xia raised his night-vision binoculars, took a quick look, and put them down, immediately calling Tuxi Ling.

“Captain Ling, the target has appeared!”

“Roger that, I’ll be there right away. Keep a close watch on him!”

Maohu Li returned home late at night, and Wen Shan Wang was awakened by his knocking. She was furious when she opened the door, “Didn’t you have a key?”

“Lost it!” Maohu Li said breathlessly, walking into the house without even changing his shoes.

Wen Shan Wang then noticed that he was limping. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and, using the small light in the foyer, saw that his face seemed swollen.

She quickly turned on the living room light and was immediately frightened.

“Maohu Li, were you beaten up?”

Maohu Li’s face was bruised and swollen. She reached out to touch it, but he impatiently brushed her away, “Don’t fucking bother me. Hurry up and get me something to eat, I have to go out again!”

“You ungrateful bastard! What the hell? Coming and going as you please, what do you take me for!” Wen Shan Wang was so angry that she grabbed the pillow on the sofa and threw it at him, her mouth not letting up, but she still went to the kitchen, took out a roast chicken, and tore open the packaging while cursing.

While it was heating in the microwave, she leaned against the kitchen door, looking at Maohu Li, “Where have you been these past few days? Didn’t you get my WeChat messages? I told you the police came, how dare you come back?”

“Could I not come back!” Maohu Li waved his hand impatiently. “Don’t fucking talk nonsense, come and help me move the TV!”

“Are you taking the money to run away?”

“Run away my ass! My life is on the line, why run!”

Maohu Li took out two antiques from the safe, and also packed a pocket full of money and two gold bars. Wen Shan Wang started jumping around, “Maohu Li, what are you doing with so much money? Are you going to separate from me?”

“I’m taking this money to save my life, I can earn more later!”

“Later? The police are already looking for you. Just being a snakehead is enough to get you a sentence. Do you think you’ll have a future?” Wen Shan Wang touched her belly, getting agitated, “This is for our son, you can’t touch it!”

Maohu Li stopped packing the money, thought about it, and put the money and gold bars back, “Damn it, you’re right, being imprisoned might save my life. If this money goes out, I’ll definitely lose everything!”

Maohu Li was a ruthless person. His unusually flat attitude today made Wen Shan Wang panic, “What exactly is going on? Explain it to me!”

He sighed heavily, his voice weak as if he were a different person, “I shouldn’t have been greedy. I thought a strong dragon couldn’t suppress a local snake, who knew… I’ve really taken a big fall this time!”

“Who did you offend?”

“You don’t need to worry about it. I can’t drag you and our son into this. Don’t do anything these next few days. If something happens to me, take the money and run away, find a mountain valley to give birth to the child, then go somewhere else and never come back!”

“What do you mean? Maohu Li, explain yourself!”

“Explaining it would mean you’d have to die with me? Understand? Don’t ask around!”

Wen Shan Wang’s expression changed from anger to fear, biting her lip as she silently shed tears. Maohu Li pushed her, “Go get me food. I have to leave after eating!”

Wen Shan Wang looked at the two antiques, “Those two, are they real?”

Maohu Li nodded, “Don’t ask! Go, go, go!”

He hurriedly ate some food, carefully packed the two items into a travel bag, and trotted downstairs.

A hint of blue-white appeared on the eastern horizon. Four o’clock, it was almost dawn.

Tuxi Ling had just arrived, staring unblinkingly at the old building in front of him. Finally, the sensor lights in the stairwell lit up, all the way from the sixth floor to the first floor. Then the unit door was pushed open, and he finally saw the criminal suspect who had been on the run for many days.

Shengbo Xia was itching to make a move, “Captain Ling, should we arrest him?”

Tuxi Ling saw the large bag he was carrying and thought for a moment, “The two stolen goods might be in the bag. See where he’s going.”

“But, following him in a car at this time, it’s easy to be discovered, right?”

“Assess the situation. If we’re discovered, we’ll close in!”

Maohu Li stood on the side of the road for a while, constantly fiddling with his phone. Soon, a car drove into the narrow street of the residential area, with a huge “Little Deer Car” logo on the door. It was a ride-hailing car.

He looked around warily and got in.

Tuxi Ling breathed a sigh of relief and immediately asked Li Wu, who was waiting at the station, to contact Little Deer Car’s customer service and request them to provide the real-time route of the car.

Li Wu reported via radio, “Captain Ling, the destination set is the wharf freight yard. According to the navigation route, it’s taking the Southeast Road overpass.”

“Roger that!” Tuxi Ling picked up the car radio, his eyes bright, “Car Two, continue to watch the apartment. If Wen Shan Wang attempts to escape, arrest her immediately. Car Three, follow me to the wharf, prepare to make an arrest! Li Wu, contact the First Squad to assist us, and stay in contact with the ride-hailing platform. If the route changes, notify me immediately!”

The streets were empty at four in the morning. Shengbo Xia deliberately avoided the Southeast Road overpass, driving the peeling BYD like a race car.

“Captain Ling, is he trying to run away? That’s not right, haven’t we caught all the snakeheads? Who dares to be so arrogant?”

Tuxi Ling didn’t say anything. He wasn’t sure what they would face, but based on his years of experience in handling cases, he knew that today would be a fruitful day.

Shengbo Xia parked the car in the wharf parking lot, turned off the engine, and the two got out together, pretending to chat by the car, as if two people who came to the wharf on business had met each other. Car Three parked on the other side of the road, silently.

Five minutes later, the Little Deer Car arrived. The freight yard didn’t allow outside vehicles to enter freely, so Maohu Li got out of the car on the side of the road, walking towards the freight yard with a heavy heart, his pace unconsciously slowing down.

Tuxi Ling and Shengbo Xia also walked in, following him not too closely. He quickly noticed and glanced back, but saw them turning left at the intersection into a container area, confirming that they were talking in low voices and not paying attention to him at all. Only then did he feel relieved.

After he walked away, Shengbo Xia scratched his head, “He’s suspicious, Captain Ling, should I go alone?”

Tuxi Ling nodded, pointing to the freight yard across the street, “Let’s split up. Luckily, it’s almost loading and unloading time, so it won’t be too strange. Tell Xia Jiang and the others to come in quickly.”

“Okay, I’ll keep in touch!”

Fortunately, it was almost dawn at this time, and the visibility was good. Tuxi Ling could clearly see Maohu Li’s whereabouts, and he could also find cover and hide in time before he was discovered.

He hid behind a pile of goods for the Nth time, when he suddenly caught sight of a familiar LOGO above the freight yard warehouse. He looked and realized it was actually He Corporation’s.

He was stunned, frowning slightly, and then shaking his head.

What was he thinking? Impossible!

He peeked out to check Maohu Li’s movements and found that he had turned into a sizable freight yard, so he quickly followed.

When he arrived, he saw Shengbo Xia tiptoeing across the street like a mouse.

Shengbo Xia also spotted him and gestured wildly at him, from his perspective, he could clearly see the situation in the freight yard.

Then he took out his phone and sent Tuxi Ling a very short message.

[Little Bo: It’s Ya Gu, just two people, let’s arrest them!]

Tuxi Ling was carrying a gun today. If there were only two people, then it was a sure thing. So he nodded at Shengbo Xia, took out his gun from the holster, and walked towards the two targets.

The person meeting Maohu Li was actually Ya Gu.

He frowned, a little puzzled.

Ya Gu and Maohu Li?

Smuggling?

Burglary?

Qing Gu?

Weiyu He?

Lan He?

…

He looked again at the He Corporation’s freight yard not far away. Many things flashed through his mind, but they weren’t connected.

While he was struggling to think, Ya Gu spotted him. Her face paled as she took a step back. The travel bag she had just received almost fell to the ground, making a “clang” sound.

And next to him, Shengbo Xia, with his gun raised, strode over.

“Don’t move, police!”

With his shout, the thread thinner than a spider silk in Tuxi Ling’s brain snapped again.

Behind him, three accompanying police officers also ran over in time. The limping Maohu Li was kicked to the ground by Shengbo Xia, and the three of them pinned him down together.

Ya Gu was so frightened that she was paralyzed, and she was controlled without resistance. Tuxi Ling took the bag handed over by Xia Jiang. Inside were the two antiques found at Wen Shan Wang’s house, including the particularly valuable gilded incense burner.

A few days ago, they had specifically gone to the museum again and asked Curator Pan. They confirmed that the items lost in the burglary were very valuable, with two even reaching the level of cultural relics. If these were smuggled abroad, the loss would be immeasurable.

Tuxi Ling looked at Ya Gu, finding her haggard, but worthy of being the CEO of a company with international business, she quickly regained her composure in just a few minutes.

“CEO Gu, care to explain?”

“Explain what?”

Tuxi Ling unzipped the travel bag, “These two antiques are stolen goods from a burglary and murder case. I don’t know how to understand today’s events. Is it assisting in selling stolen goods? Or being an accomplice in dividing the spoils?”

“What are you talking about? Aren’t they high imitation crafts?” Ya Gu’s eyebrows were almost standing on end as she looked at Maohu Li inquiringly, “You tell them! Two imitation pieces, eight thousand yuan, didn’t I pay you? What selling stolen goods and dividing the spoils!”

Maohu Li was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed, “Damn, I almost got them out. Guess I’m unlucky!”

Shengbo Xia scolded, “Laugh your ass! Your unlucky days are still ahead of you! Hurry up and confess!”

Maohu Li’s face was covered in stubble, laughing so hard that he couldn’t catch his breath, and stopped after a long while, “They are real antiques. I robbed them, and I killed the person too! I wanted to find a channel to transport the items out. I heard that CEO Gu’s company also does crafts exports, so I contacted her and said I had two imitation antiques to sell. I wanted to sell them to her first and then rob them back after they were shipped over there!”

The police officers looked at each other. Tuxi Ling asked, “You yourself are engaged in smuggling, why look for CEO Gu?”

Maohu Li said lazily, “I wanted to ship them myself, but aren’t you guys investigating strictly? My boat was seized too, what could I do?”

Ya Gu’s face turned white with anger, “Maohu Li, you’re screwing me over!”

She turned to Tuxi Ling, “Officer Ling, I really didn’t know. Who would have thought someone would sell real antiques as fake antiques? I really thought they were imitations. I agreed to take them because the quality looked good from the photos. Look, I have the customs declaration procedures prepared, just waiting for dawn to process it!”

Tuxi Ling took the paper she handed over. It indeed registered the appearance and information, just missing customs approval stamp.

Returning the form to Ya Gu, he asked Maohu Li, “How could you be sure that CEO Gu would ship the antiques abroad? What if she thought they were beautiful and kept them for herself or gave them away?”

Maohu Li paused, “Then I’d just kill a few more people!”

As he spoke, he revealed a ruthless smile. The first ray of dawn shone on him through the gaps in the towering containers. The deep wrinkles on his uneven face looked very ferocious, making Ya Gu shiver.

“You bastard! Pervert!” She couldn’t help but curse, tearing the customs declaration form into pieces in anger.