62: Chapter 62 Reporting Escort-Style Drug Dealers

Lin Ning pointed at the page, addressing Jin Er and the others. "Drug dealing? This... this... how is this possible?"

Jin Er set down his glass and scanned the surroundings. Everyone was minding their own business, and no one was paying attention to them; they had even specifically pulled their small table away to maintain some distance.

Jin Er said in a low voice, "For the others, we just caught some spare time to ask around. But for this one, the three of us really put in some effort."

"At first, it was just that there was 'that' in their malatang, which wasn't a huge deal. But didn't you say there was definitely some other 'big' thing going on? So we went to their shop, ate a little, or bought some takeout. A few of us took turns going once or twice every day."

He spread his hands. "Nothing seemed out of place."

"So we figured, maybe the action happens at night."

"We staked out the previous ones at night too, but this is the one we put our heart into. We watched them for five days straight and found that besides the delivery riders, the shop also sends out its own people for deliveries."

"And it's always a double act."

Lin Ning asked, "What does that mean?"

Xu San said, "It means besides the one riding the bike, there's always a girl on the back."

Lin Ning: "Then they must be 'delivery escorts,' delivering goods to the door?"

Xu San gave a lewd smile. "Hehe, you know your stuff!"

Jin Er interrupted them, "We're talking business, why are you two being so vulgar?!"

"We thought it was prostitution at first since they were riding electric scooters, so we followed them once."

"It's door-to-door. The male rider waits outside, the girl goes in, and she comes out about an hour later."

He looked at Zhang Shitou as he spoke.

Zhang Shitou said, "It was on the first floor. It was dark but the lights were on inside, so I could see clearly. I knew the person inside."

Lin Ning raised an eyebrow. Quite a coincidence.

Zhang Shitou continued, "That guy's nickname is 'Ma Houpao.' He's a drug addict."

Then he fell silent.

Jin Er took over, lowering his voice, "There used to be a gang here at Juma Bridge that had girls deliver drugs to the door, providing both sex and company for drug use. You know how things get messy when people take that stuff. Business was booming, but they were eventually busted."

"Since this situation looked so familiar, we started to get suspicious. We began following every single one, noting down the addresses, and went back during the day to ask around."

"Without exception, they were all addicts."

Hearing this, Lin Ning understood why they said it was 'suspected drug dealing.'"

He nodded. "Alright, I understand."

He paused. "This matter ends here. From now on, if you see them, take a detour, understood?"

Jin Er said with a grin, "Don't worry, even if you didn't say it, we'd still stay far away!"

The group dropped the topic and began drinking and bragging.

As the night deepened, no one on the bustling streets of Juma Bridge knew what kind of conversation had taken place in this corner.

Back at his residence, Lin Ning took out the information Jin Er had given him and read through it carefully again. Combining it with their detailed accounts, he reorganized it into formal files.

Especially for the [Malatang Drug Dealing] report, he even added the names and addresses of the addicts Jin Er and the others had discovered.

Shaking his stiff hand, his thoughts drifted. Should he find a secretarial assistant or something? Should he equip Jin Er and the others with some gear, like pinhole cameras or audio recorders?

His head, already fuzzy from the alcohol, grew heavier, and light snoring soon filled the room.

At 10 AM the next morning, after a hearty brunch, Lin Ning grabbed the thick envelope and rode his electric scooter straight to the Chengqiao Road Police Station.

Officer Li Feng was quite happy to see Lin Ning after so many days, but when he saw the stack of documents Lin Ning produced, a sense of dread from being 'hard-controlled' by work washed over him again.

"Holy crap! What are you doing?!" Officer Li Feng reflexively crossed his arms over his chest.

Lin Ning froze for a moment. Seeing Officer Li Feng's classic feminine defensive posture, he burst out laughing. "Hahahaha..."

Officer Li Feng also realized something was wrong and quickly lowered his hands, cursing under his breath, "Dammit!"

After the joking, Lin Ning spread the five files out one by one on Officer Li Feng's desk and shrugged. "I got these all at once, so there's no helping it. How about I give you one first, and I'll keep the others? Once you're done, I'll give them to you one by one?"

Officer Li Feng let out a long breath. "Forget it. Our station has already met its targets for the year. If it's too much, we'll just distribute some to others."

Lin Ning thought of the files he'd read and understood instantly. "Trading resources with other stations, right?"

Officer Li Feng had a complicated expression. "Don't state the obvious, man."

Lin Ning picked up the fifth file, the one about the malatang shop, and handed it to him. "Read this one first."

Officer Li Feng began flipping through it. Lin Ning didn't disturb him. As time passed, Officer Li Feng read slower and slower, his brow furrowing.

After finishing, he skimmed it once more, thought for a few seconds, and asked Lin Ning seriously, "Are you sure?"

Lin Ning shook his head, being very honest. "I'm not sure!"

"The basic facts are all in the file. The final conclusion is just a deduction. Investigating and closing cases is your job. I'm just reporting. There's no liability for reporting, right?!"

"You..."

Officer Li Feng scratched his head vigorously.

He knew Lin Ning was right, but a report of such a major case meant not just merit, but also an endless investment of manpower and resources, and a long-drawn-out struggle.

And the final outcome was uncertain.

Officer Li Feng gave up thinking and stood up with the file. "I'm going to find the Director."

Lin Ning quickly reached out to stop him. "Read all the others first. See if you need to report and plan everything together."

He criticized him with mock seriousness, "You're not being steady. Do you really want to keep bothering the leader every few minutes?"

Officer Li Feng really wanted to kill him. He gave him a resentful glare, sat back down, and began reading the other files.

After finishing, he breathed a sigh of relief. They weren't major or complex cases. That was good.

He specifically took out the file on the small gambling den and placed it on top along with the malatang shop case.

Lin Ning let out a wheezing laugh like a leaking pipe. He knew Officer Li Feng and the others would definitely love this case—the big money-maker, a gambling case!

Picking up the files, Officer Li Feng said to Lin Ning with a sour face, "Come with me to see the Director."

Lin Ning wanted to crack a few more jokes, but considering Officer Li Feng's soon-to-be-lost vacation and his overworked body, he decided to let it go. After all, it was technically making money for himself. He'd spare the poor workhorse.

In the Director's office, Director Zhang listened to Officer Li Feng's report with a serious expression. His gaze occasionally swept over Lin Ning, who was sitting on the sofa picking at his fingernails, and his lip twitched.

Having been a policeman for decades, Director Zhang had seen all kinds of major cases and remained quite calm.

He nodded and said, "Leave the files here."

Director Zhang turned to Lin Ning. "We will investigate the specific situation. Don't look into it any further."

Lin Ning: "Alright, I understand." He hadn't planned on continuing anyway. Although he had become stronger and was no longer as afraid of retaliation from criminals as before, the spirit of 'playing it safe forever' was ingrained in his bones.

Five cases all at once, including a particularly thorny one. Director Zhang was in no mood for small talk, so he dismissed them after a few pleasantries.