43: The big net is closing in

“Brother Gao, you really aren't afraid of things blowing up, are you? ”

Shen Gang looked deeply at Gao Ze and shook his head lightly.

Only he knew how much resistance and pressure he had encountered after reopening the Mu Yu Rou Case as Gao Ze had suggested.

His phone was almost blown up by calls, and the unspoken bribery and hints from businessmen were too numerous to mention, but the most important was the invisible gaze from his superiors.

Unfortunately, he had already boarded Gao Ze's pirate ship, and the direction was now beyond his control.

Gao Ze said, “The bigger the Mu Yu Rou Case gets, and the more attention it receives, the safer we will be.”

Shen Gang was stunned by his words, met Gao Ze's calm and deep gaze, and gradually understood, a bitter smile appearing on his face:

“Brother Gao, oh, Brother Gao.

I finally understand now why you wanted me to widely publicize the reopening of the Mu Yu Rou Case investigation. This is probably your plan.

You want to create a huge stir, to beat the grass to startle the snakes, and ideally, to force all the forces obstructing the investigation of the Mu Yu Rou Case to reveal themselves!”

“And even I am a part of your plan!”

Gao Ze smiled slightly, offering no explanation.

He wasn't a rookie fresh out of the Police Academy, only focused on solving cases and unaware that outside of the cases, there could often be many obstacles, especially the interference of power and money.

This has been true throughout history, in ancient and modern times, both in China and abroad.

He had a lot of experience from his previous life on how to investigate cases thoroughly and bring justice to the deceased while protecting himself.

That's why Gao Ze wanted to bring Captain Shen on board and beat the grass to startle the snakes.

Because for Captain Shen to reach the rank of Captain of the Shanghai Criminal Investigation Brigade, he must have had support behind him.

“Captain Shen, since you understand everything, can you tell me who exactly is opposing our reopening of the Mu Yu Rou Case investigation?”

“There are 3 people!”

After understanding Gao Ze's plan, Captain Shen wasn't angry.

Gao Ze's intention was good; he merely wanted to bring justice to the deceased, Mu Yu Rou, and find the real culprit.

Furthermore, the Mu Yu Rou Case involved significant connections, and if the opposing forces couldn't be thoroughly investigated at once, failing to strike the snake could lead to self-harm, potentially landing him in prison.

“The first is Zhao Yan, the former Captain of the Jinghai District Criminal Investigation Brigade two years ago. He strongly opposed it when he learned I wanted to reopen the Mu Yu Rou Case.”

“Although he's not in Donghai City, serving in an important Police position in a neighboring province, his speed in getting news about Donghai City is not slow at all.”

Gao Ze asked, “What rank is Zhao Yan?”

Hearing that name, Gao Ze wasn't surprised. The Mu Yu Rou Case had many suspicious points; could the person who led the investigation back then have been without problems?

Captain Shen said, “Two ranks higher than me!”

Gao Ze immediately understood. Two ranks higher than Captain Shen meant he had been promoted to a bureau-level position. “And the other two?”

“Another is the current Captain of the Jinghai District Criminal Investigation Brigade, Qi Zhiyuan, and the last is a Deputy Bureau Leader in charge of logistics at our Municipal Bureau.”

Hiss!

Gao Ze took a deep breath. No wonder the Mu Yu Rou Case couldn't be thoroughly investigated.

The Mu Yu Rou Case itself wasn't very difficult; with diligent effort, it could have been solved in half a year at most, but there was too much external interference.

“Are you scared yet?”

Looking at Gao Ze's calm face, Captain Shen felt a sense of surprise. For a low-ranking Traffic Police like Gao Ze, hearing that a Municipal Bureau leader was involved would likely be enough to make him tremble with fear.

Even he had been unsettled when he first learned about it.

How could Gao Ze be so calm?

Gao Ze chuckled teasingly, “What's there to be afraid of? Isn't Captain Shen still here?”

Captain Shen sighed and shook his head, “I've boarded your pirate ship. Tell me, who is the real culprit in the Mu Yu Rou Case? I've told you everything, now you tell me too!”

“Zheng Yiren. His father is Zheng Jiasheng, a billionaire in Donghai City.”

Gao Ze no longer concealed anything: “Zheng Yiren and Mu Yu Rou were in the same high school back then. He was the one who assaulted Mu Yu Rou and fabricated the Serial Flower Season Girl Murderer case. The Zheng family probably didn't want their son to go to prison, which is why they exerted their influence.”

“No wonder. Perhaps only someone like him could have such a network of connections.”

Captain Shen's face showed shock as he looked at Gao Ze and asked, “Then do you have evidence that Zheng Yiren assaulted Mu Yu Rou?”

Gao Ze remained silent, not speaking.

“Brother Gao, at a time like this, are you still going to keep things from me?”

Captain Shen, the burly man, flushed red and slammed his fist on the office desk, saying:

“I'm on your side now, and I've received countless threats on the phone today. And you still don't trust me?

Moreover, I've received instructions from high-level Municipal Bureau leaders that we can investigate boldly and without worry, and that any resistance or pressure will be handled for us. What are your concerns?”

Gao Ze wiped the spittle from his face and chuckled wryly:

“Captain Shen, it's not that I don't trust you, but as for the case evidence, I have it and I don't.”

Captain Shen suddenly quieted down, frowning: “What do you mean?”

“I don't have the real evidence for the case, but I can fabricate evidence as bait.

For example, after beating the grass to startle the snakes, we can use Zheng Yiren's panic to say that I found a piece of evidence at Mu Yu Rou's home.

That would be Mu Yu Rou's phone from back then. I think Zheng Yiren will definitely be desperate, either risking going to snatch the phone himself or sending someone to snatch it.”

This was Gao Ze's entire plan. Originally, he thought of fabricating some of Mu Yu Rou's belongings as bait, but he didn't expect the system intelligence to actually give him a lead on Mu Yu Rou's phone.

“You want to lure Zheng Yiren, make him take the bait himself?”

Captain Shen frowned deeply and said, “Will that work?”

“I think Zheng Yiren will definitely take the bait.

First, before I came to the Police station, he called me, and his emotions were highly tense and fearful, making him unable to think calmly.”

“Second…” Gao Ze took out his phone, opened the gallery, and showed a photo, saying, “This is the phone Mu Yu Rou used back then. I think Zheng Yiren will definitely recognize it.”

Captain Shen looked over. The photo showed a light pink smartphone with a cartoon bear printed on the back of its casing, and signs of corrosion.

Could this guy have really found Mu Yu Rou's phone?

Captain Shen's gaze lingered on Gao Ze, vaguely sensing that the phone in Gao Ze's photo was genuine, not just a model similar to Mu Yu Rou's from back then.

“But how can we make Zheng Yiren see this bait?”

Captain Shen felt confused. Gao Ze's plan was fine, but it lacked a crucial step: how to reasonably let Zheng Yiren know that a lead on Mu Yu Rou's phone had appeared and was about to be seized by the Police.

Only then would Zheng Yiren or someone he sent take the risk to snatch the evidence.

“It's very simple. We need the help of Mu Yu Rou's parents and Zheng's family's connections within the Police station.”

Gao Ze leaned close to Captain Shen's ear and whispered:

“...The specific action plan is like this: this afternoon I will attend Sun Chaohui's thank-you dinner. I won't be at the Police station then, which will give Zheng Yiren the illusion of 'opportunity.' That will also be our chance to catch him in the act.”

“Good, I'll handle the 'lure the tiger out of the mountain' trick. You go to Sun Chaohui's dinner and mislead Zheng Yiren and the Zheng family.”

Captain Shen nodded heavily, a hint of joy appearing on his face. After hearing Gao Ze's specific plan, he felt it was highly feasible.

If they could successfully apprehend Zheng Yiren or the person Zheng Yiren sent, it would directly advance the investigation of the Mu Yu Rou Case, which would be a great achievement.