In the early morning of July 17th, the policemen of the second and third teams were called together to hold an emergency meeting. This case was a bit unprecedented. Last night, a car smuggling guns for a triad gang was knocked over and two drivers had their throats slit. The guns in the car were missing.

The reason that these things were known so quickly was because the rampant criminal left a letter at the scene saying that these guns would be "mailed" to strangers who don’t know each other.

The gang was found to be a triad group in the city that was already on the police’s blacklist. The first team was currently responsible for cracking them down and had already started acting. They were ready to round up the entire gang to find out how many guns were lost. They also wanted to investigate whether the incident last night was self-produced by their internal members.

Lin Qiupu said, "Everyone, the incident happened very suddenly. All the cases on hand need to be suspended so that we can try our best to find the missing guns. If these real guns fall into the hands of ordinary citizens, something dangerous could happen at any second. So, please do your very best!”

Although two teams were invested into this case at once, everyone still felt helpless. After all, it was the same as finding a needle in a haystack. The only thing that could be done right now was to start the investigation around the crime scene.

Judging from the paint and tire marks left on the scene, the murderer should have driven an off-road vehicle with a high chassis. The police checked the surveillance footage around the surrounding intersections and finally found the owner of the car in the afternoon. However, the owner claimed that his car was stolen a few days ago and had a clear alibi last night.

In the afternoon, the police received a police report saying that a gunshot was heard in a remote neighborhood in the city. Lin Qiupu immediately rushed to the scene. The area was filled with dense, illegal buildings. The owner of the property secretly added more buildings than what was registered and rented to the employees of nearby factories. They hung a taut clothesline between the buildings and clean white underwear as well as children's diapers fluttered against the wind. There was even a field surrounded by broken bricks behind the house. The rain last night washed over the garlic sprouts and vegetables making them look very lively.

Upon seeing the police coming, many residents hurried back into their houses. Lin Qiupu knew that most of the people there didn’t even have a temporary residence permit. He ordered people to question the residents separately. After a while, Old Zhang walked over and pointed to a building and said, "Some residents reported that the gunfire came from that way."

"Call everyone back. Let's go!"

Lin Qiupu found the landlord and asked about the situation of the residents living there. The landlord said, "It's a young couple. The wife seems to have some sort of sickness. She’s been bedridden and her husband works outside every day. Although they live here, we rarely see each other... Ah, yes, they still owe me three months’ worth of rent!"

"Did you just hear the gunshot from above?"

"Gunshot? Are you talking about that loud bang? I thought some car on the road had a flat tire... Officers, did these two commit crimes?"

"It’s inconvenient for me to reveal this. Can I trouble you to deceive them into opening the door?"

"You said he has a gun in his hands. What if he shoots me? I won’t go. I won't do it. I won't do it!"

"Then give me the key."

The landlord handed the key to Lin Qiupu and the police took the narrow stairs to the top floor. In this weather, they could feel the heat before they even entered the house. When they got there, it would definitely be like being inside a bamboo steamer.

For this operation, everyone took out a gun at the gun depot. For safety's sake, Lin Qiupu said, "Wait. Go to the car and put on your bulletproof vests!"

"It's too hot today. If we wear the vests, we might get a heat stroke." complained a policeman.

"Is your life not valuable? Everyone needs to put on their bulletproof vests!"

Everyone went downstairs again. As soon as the heavy vests were put on, their sweat immediately appeared. Once again, they went to the top floor that was as hot as a bamboo steamer. Most people were already drenched in sweat and their foreheads had visible beads of sweat on them. The air around them was filled with the smell of sweat.

Lin Qiupu was very nervous. He had never experienced this kind of situation since he became a policeman. He knocked on the door but didn’t get a response. He knocked a few more times.

The police officers in the corridor swallowed their saliva nervously. Lin Qiupu took out the key and gently opened the door lock. Then, they burst through the door and rushed in. Several officers pointed the gun in several directions with great teamwork but found that there was no one in the house.

Everyone entered the house one by one. The narrow and messy living room was almost unable to accommodate so many officers. There was no bathroom in this house. A toilet bucket was placed in the corner and the smell was overpowering. Then again, it was a house where they only paid 500 yuan a month.

Lin Qiupu considered how poverty-stricken the tenants would have to be to not even be able to afford to pay 500 yuan a month.

The officers were too hot and started to take off their bulletproof vests. Lin Qiupu pushed the window open and a cool breeze came in. It made everyone feel a lot cooler. At this time, Lin Qiupu found a plastic bucket in the corner of the house with metal objects inside.

He reached out to fish through it. It was a brass bullethead. Then, someone shouted, "Captain Lin, Captain Lin! Someone’s in the bedroom!"

He immediately entered the bedroom. There was an extremely bony woman lying on the bed covered with a thin sheet. She heard the movements in the house, but although her eyes were opened, she couldn't get up.

There were some tinea corporis on the woman's face and elbows, which made people wonder whether she had a skin disease. At this time, Lin Qiupu found a liquor bottle with two straws in it. He picked it up and smelled it. "It’s a flute for smoking crystal meth[1]! The two of them are drug addicts. Go contact the anti-narcotics brigade quickly."

"No... no..." As soon as she heard the words "anti-narcotics brigade", the woman struggled to get up. She moved too much and almost fell off the bed. Fortunately, she was held up by a police officer.

The spots on the woman were all due to the drugs. The couple was addicted. The landlord actually thought she was sick.

Lin Qiupu said, "What about your husband?!"

"No... Don't catch me... Please, I beg you..."

"Did you hear a gunshot?"

"I don't know... I don't know..."

It seemed like there was no way to communicate with her at all. Lin Qiupu gestured for everyone to withdraw and left a person to guard there. Lin Qiupu speculated, "This guy got the gun, tried the gun once and found that it was the real thing... He must have gone to exchange it for drugs."

Old Zhang said, "A real gun on the black market is worth a lot of money!"

"We must find him. Otherwise, the consequences will be unimaginable!"

Lin Qiupu notified the bureau to check the man's number to see who he had just spoken to. He also contacted the anti-narcotics brigade. The anti-narcotics brigade had many informants and might be able to find leads.

After waiting for a while, the police of the information department said, "We located his number. He’s currently on Shengli East Street!"

"Let’s go!"

Half an hour later, their car arrived at Shengli East Street and the police of the information department reported an update. "His location is moving slowly. The speed isn’t fast. He’s probably walking! He went south from the intersection."

Then, the anti-narcotics team called. "Captain Lin, there is indeed a drug trafficking den over on Shengli East Street. It’s a bar. We’ve been monitoring that drug dealer in order to find his higher ups."

"Specific address…"

As soon as he finished talking, a gunshot could be heard and pedestrians on the street started screaming.

1. Ice (Crystal Methamphetamine) can be smoked using a glass pipe that’s often referred to as a ‘flute’ apparently.