Chapter 417: Another Disaster
Here, Director Yu sat upright, discussing every detail of the case in depth with Liu Zhiye, striving to unravel the mystery and restore the truth.

On the other side, Zhang Zhijie frowned and listened to the reports from his subordinates.

It is reported that the gangster leader Zhou Changli who was captured today took the initiative to claim that he had key clues to the case, intending to gain a chance for a lighter sentence by making meritorious contributions.

Zhang Zhijie thought to himself that no matter whether the clue was true or false, it was worth a try.

So, he acted decisively and immediately went to the interrogation room to personally interrogate the gangster leader named Zhou Changli, ready to uncover the secret behind him.

Zhou Changli faced Zhang Zhijie, the director of the police station's security department, with a nervous look but a hint of anticipation. "Leader, I have clues to a major case and would like to report it to you."

Zhang Zhijie's eyes froze when he heard that, then he relaxed, "Tell me, if the clues you provided are true, we will definitely give you leniency." As he spoke, he lit a cigarette and took a deep puff. In the smoke, he seemed unfathomable.

Zhou Changli stared at the cigarette in Zhang Zhijie's hand, his throat moving unconsciously, and he couldn't resist the urge to smoke. Seeing this, Zhang Zhijie skillfully took out another cigarette from the box and handed it to him, "Have one, relax."

Zhou Changli quickly nodded in thanks and took the cigarette with trembling hands, as if it was a life-saving straw.

Although he is not very old, he is an old smoker with a heavy addiction. He has been enduring it for a long time since he was arrested, and now he is finally comforted.

"Hiss--Hoo!" Zhou Changli took a deep puff of the cigarette, his face filled with satisfaction.

Zhang Zhijie waited quietly for him to finish smoking, then asked calmly, "What's the matter? Can we talk now?"

Zhou Changli came back to his senses and nodded gently: "Leader, I heard that you are currently tracking down a serial rapist who rapes women. His nickname is 'Shuangqiao Old Rogue'?"

When Zhang Zhijie heard this, his eyes immediately became sharp and his voice became louder: "Oh? Do you have any clues about the 'Shuangqiao Old Rogue'?"

Zhou Changli noticed Zhang Zhijie's change and was secretly delighted: "Haha, now I have a chance to make a contribution. Maybe I can escape this disaster!"

Zhou Changli deliberately kept the secret, with a sly smile on his face: "To be honest, I was walking around Shuangqiao one night and saw a suspicious guy. His figure and eyes were somewhat similar to the description on your wanted poster. He was sneaking around in the middle of the night, holding a black bag in his hand. I don't know what was in it."

Then, he said softly: "It was dark at night, and I couldn't see the details of his face, but I vaguely felt that he was somewhat similar to an old acquaintance of mine. After that night, I vaguely heard that a woman nearby met with an accident..."

Zhang Zhijie's eyes flashed when he heard this, and he asked hurriedly, "Are you sure? Which direction did he escape to? Is there anything special about his appearance?"

Zhou Changli patted his thigh and said mysteriously, "He slipped away deep into the alley to the south. Although he was not tall, he was very strong. There was a tiny scar on his face that was difficult to detect unless you looked closely. I saw that he was in a hurry and did not dare to follow too closely, but there was no doubt about the direction he was going."

"Then you might as well tell me frankly, who do you think this person might be? Feel free to guess, no need to worry..." Zhang Zhijie's emotions were instantly ignited, this case had been a headache for them for a long time.

Zhou Changli frowned and said, "I can't guarantee that it is him. I can only say that he does look a bit like him. He is quite radical and seems like someone who can do such a thing. By the way, his name is Li Baocheng and he lives in..."

Zhang Zhijie had already made up his mind. He stood up and patted Zhou Changli on the shoulder: "Well done, your clue is very important to us. If we really catch the person, you will have done a great job!"

Zhou Changli chuckled, looking very proud: "Of course, we also want to contribute to the public security!"

Zhang Zhijie's mood suddenly brightened, and he inadvertently found Zhou Changli more pleasing to the eye. He joked, "Hey, I didn't expect that a gangster like you would also care about the overall situation of social stability?"

Zhou Changli's cheeks flushed when he heard this, but he also said frankly: "Although I am not a good person, I hate those bastards who bully the weak, especially those who bully women... I have always hated them and will never tolerate them."

…………

In Director Yu's office, as he analyzed the case in a clear and logical manner, Liu Zhiye's doubts gradually dissipated. He was almost certain that the criminal named "Shuangqiao Old Rogue" was the demon who had committed more than 300 evil deeds in his previous life.

Now, what is shocking is that this demon's crimes were committed nearly two years earlier than expected, and he has already completed more than a dozen cases quietly. His behavior is so rampant and outrageous.

Liu Zhiye was caught in a dilemma. He clearly knew who the criminal was, but he had no reasonable explanation and could not bring him to justice directly.

However, he could not sit idly by and allow the evildoer to be so arrogant, fearing that he would reach out his evil claws again and harm innocent women.

Liu Zhiye recalled the case of the "Shuangqiao old gangster" and couldn't help but become anxious.

Shuangqiao is located near the suburbs of Dongcheng District, because all the young and middle-aged men in the village go to work in factories in the city.

Many people have to work in three shifts and do not go home at night, so many single women with children are left behind in the village.

This special situation was exploited by a demon with ulterior motives.

Whenever he got the chance, he would climb through the window to enter the house, sexually assault the young left-behind women crazily, and then disappear without a trace.

Afterwards, due to excessive shock and panic, the victimized women could no longer recall the man's height and appearance.

All I remember is the black veil covering my face and the words I said before I left: "I am the old rogue!"

In the following ten years, similar cases occurred one after another in an area of ​​about 10 miles with Shuangqiao Town as the center, and as far as T County and Shun County.

The murderer would rape the woman and then extort money from her. Before leaving, he would arrogantly say, "I am just an old gangster!"

The occurrence of one case may be accidental, but if more than a dozen cases occur in succession, it means that the crimes were premeditated and planned.

The murderer must be a man with a meticulous mind and excellent physical fitness. It would be difficult to capture him without a large amount of backup.

In order to arrest this "Shuangqiao old hooligan" who had committed many crimes, Dongcheng dispatched militiamen to stake out in key villages where he might have committed crimes, waiting to arrest him as soon as he appeared.

Because at this time the "Shuangqiao old rogue" was still in his growth stage and not as cunning as he was later.

After the case happened, the public security organs attached great importance to it and organized hundreds of militiamen to guard day and night, hoping to use the "human wave tactics" to fish out this "poison needle" that was causing harm to the local area.

After studying many previous cases, the investigators sent people to set up key defenses in the villages where the “old gangsters” might have committed crimes.

Unexpectedly, on the first day of the ambush, the "old rogue" ran into the trap.

That night, the "old rogue" entered the village where the militia was stationed and committed the crime. After he was done, the victim woman cried for help.

However, when people rushed to the scene of the accident, the "old rogue" had disappeared without a trace, and people "pulled the net" around the village all night but caught no fish.

The rabbit has already jumped into the net. Logically, all we need to do is pull the net in at the right time. However, the problem lies in the timing of pulling the net in.

The militia had been informed that the murderer had committed the crime in the middle of the night, and they naturally thought that they should deploy their defenses after dark.

However, what they didn't expect was that the murderer had already entered the village at dusk that day. By the time the militiamen began to plan their guard duty, he had already set up his position and was ready to commit the crime.

In the middle of the night, a shrill cry was heard from the village. Only then did the militiamen realize that the murderer had appeared and they had been standing guard for so long in vain.

Anger and self-blame filled their hearts, and they vowed to catch this cunning, lewd and evil "old rogue".

It had only been a few minutes since the victim's cries were heard, so the murderer must not have run far. As long as they searched the surrounding fields, they would be able to catch him.

Facts have proved that their guess seemed to be wrong again. Although people kept spotting the suspected "old gangster" figure, every time they ran over they found nothing. Even the arresting officers lamented that he had a pair of "speedy legs".

Time passed minute by minute, the sun rose from the horizon, but the murderer's figure disappeared completely.

The militia had to admit that the capture operation failed due to their own mistakes and the murderer's cunning.
, perhaps the "old rogue" had already run away by relying on his two "speedy legs", leaving them alone to be fooled.

After all, the militia are not professional criminal investigators, which is why they made such low-level technical mistakes.

At this moment, the dusty militia felt that "every profession has its own expertise" and that cases like this had to be handled by the police.

So after a vigorous and exciting arrest, the police took over the case of the "Shuangqiao old gangster" and reopened the investigation. The police discovered something even more shocking: the "old gangster" did not escape the encirclement at all, but hid in the straw pile of the victim's house after discovering the militia's arrest of him.

After the "old gangster" was arrested, he admitted this statement. As he watched more and more people gathering, he knew he could not escape, so he fled back to the straw pile of the victim's house and slept comfortably in it.

When it was daybreak and he saw that no one was guarding the place, he went out to relieve himself, then went to work in a swagger.

Later, the impact of the case was so great that even the main leaders ordered that the case be solved within a time limit. The Municipal Bureau then organized a special task force with elite personnel.

However, the targets of these "old hooligans" are mostly single women with children in rural areas with independent houses and yards.

Every time, they would sneak into the unoccupied west room at night when they were alone at home, take off their clothes and cover their faces in the kitchen, then put on their clothes and leave after committing the crime.

The whole process was so skillful and flawless, without any leniency or delay, making it very difficult for the police to find clues.

But this is not the most frustrating thing. The most frustrating thing is that there is no pattern in his crimes. Sometimes there is no movement for months, and sometimes he can commit 5 crimes in one day. There is no way to prepare in advance.

Besides, the previous arrest operation had already alerted the enemy and made him more vigilant. It would be very difficult to find him easily again.

Although a huge amount of manpower and material resources were invested, there was still no progress in the case because the suspect committed crimes with no pattern at all and the case dragged on for ten years.

One day ten years later, a veteran in Tong County went to a supply and marketing cooperative's sales outlet to buy something when he happened to encounter someone robbing the outlet. Out of his responsibility as a soldier, he immediately chased after the robber who had just escaped.

People nearby also joined the pursuit.

However, the robber ran so fast that he left many people behind, and the only one chasing him was the veteran.

Seeing that he was the only one in pursuit, he broke off a brick from the wall to be on the safe side and continued to chase the man alone. This chase lasted for more than 20 miles.

The boy finally couldn't run anymore, and turned around with an attitude as if he was ready to fight to the death.

The veteran went up and hit the guy with a brick...

The man who was knocked down by a brick was the "Shuangqiao old gangster" who had been pursued by the Beijing police for ten years - Li Baocheng!

However, when the veterans handed the robber over to the local public security agency, they unexpectedly found that the people at the police station said they could not handle the case.

The robbers robbed the money in Beijing, and they are here in Sanhe County, Beihe.

Later, the suspect was handed over to the Beijing police, who treated him as an ordinary petty robber and did not connect him to the sensational "hooligan case" at all, and directly put him in the detention center.

Because there were other more important cases at the time, no one paid any attention to Li Baocheng after he was thrown into the detention center. He ate steamed bread and pickles every day for more than 20 days.

Li Baocheng finally couldn't sit still anymore. He believed that the police had evidence of his previous crimes and were trying to "test" his character so that he would mentally succumb.

Thinking of this, Li Baocheng really couldn't bear it anymore and said he would take the initiative to explain the problem.

However, his confession was evasive, focusing only on some petty thefts, and he did not mention a word about the rapes he had committed.

Later, during in-depth interrogation by the police, Li Baocheng confessed to a theft case that occurred ten years ago—they stole items from the finance office and stole more than one thousand yuan, which was considered a relatively large case at the time.

When the case officer heard this, he thought this case was familiar. He stopped writing and thought about it, and suddenly remembered that this case was in the file of the "Shuangqiao gangster case".

It turns out that this ugly guy is a habitual offender who has committed hooliganism crimes that have made countless women hate him!

Under the interrogation of the investigators, Li Baocheng quickly confessed all his previous crimes, and it turned out that he was indeed the one who committed those crimes.

It turned out that when he was in school, he had won the Beijing City Marathon Championship! He relied on his own fast running legs and had never failed in all these years. It was just a pity that this time he ran into a demobilized soldier who was also able to run, so he was caught on the spot.

His motive for committing the crime was also very strange. The reason he committed the crime was actually a quarrel with his wife.

Li Baocheng and his wife do not have a harmonious relationship. Every time they quarrel, he becomes very impulsive.

His impulsive response was not to walk around the yard with a kitchen knife in his hand, but to go out and commit a crime.

No wonder the police couldn’t figure out his modus operandi. Who knows when he would quarrel with his wife?

Due to the seriousness of the case and its adverse impact, Li Baocheng was sentenced to death and was executed by firing squad six months later.

…………

Just as Liu Zhiye's heart was in turmoil and he was secretly determined to uncover the true face of the devil himself, Zhang Zhijie walked into the director's office with a beaming smile, his voice filled with undisguised joy: "Director Yu, great news!"

"The Shuangqiao old hooligan case has made crucial progress..."

As soon as these words came out, Director Yu and Liu Zhiye who was present were all excited. Director Yu quickly responded with an anxious tone: "Quick, tell me the details of the situation..."

Zhang Zhijie responded, "Yes, Director Yu. This progress actually stems from what happened to Commander Liu today..."

"Great, that's great! We finally caught that bastard..." Upon hearing this, Director Yu's face was filled with irrepressible excitement. This case had been weighing on his heart like a huge rock for many days, and now it finally saw a turn for the better and there was some light at the end of the tunnel.

He turned his gaze to Liu Zhiye again, a smile appeared on his lips, and he said cheerfully: "Hey, I didn't expect that this matter has an indissoluble bond with you, haha, you really are our lucky star!"

"Zhiye, tell me, the clues Zhou Changli provided point to this person named Li Baocheng. How sure are you that he is him?"

Liu Zhiye was secretly glad that Zhou Changli's timely clues were like sweet dew, saving him from acting rashly. He quickly responded, "Director Yu, based on my years of intuition in solving cases, Li Baocheng is a serious suspect."

"From the time and place to the motive for the crime, to his daily whereabouts and physical characteristics, they are all highly consistent with recent cases. I suggest that elite forces be immediately dispatched to implement all-round monitoring of Li Baocheng."

Upon hearing this, Director Yu decisively issued an order to Zhang Zhijie: "You must quickly go to the Thirteenth Office to coordinate and send capable personnel to closely monitor Li Baocheng. At the same time, you must not slack off. First, you must comfort the victims and encourage them to bravely stand up and identify them; second, you must conduct a secret investigation and thoroughly understand Li Baocheng's social relations and family background."

Zhang Zhijie quickly stood at attention, saluted with a standard military salute, and said in a firm voice: "Yes!" Before he finished speaking, he had already walked out like the wind, and his figure quickly disappeared outside the door.

At this moment, Director Yu's frown finally relaxed, even though the case had only just begun to unfold and was still far from a successful conclusion.

However, once the suspect is identified, subsequent investigation and interrogation will be much easier.

Sure enough, on an ordinary day a month later, Liu Zhiye's phone suddenly rang. It was Zhang Zhijie who called, and his voice, unable to conceal his joy, came from the other end.

"Old Liu, good news!" Zhang Zhijie's voice was full of excitement, "We finally caught the troublesome 'Shuangqiao old hooligan', and captured him on the spot!"

It turned out that Zhang Zhijie was ordered to go to the Thirteenth Division to coordinate the operation. Faced with the recent notoriety of "Shuangqiao Old Rogue" that has disturbed people's hearts, the Thirteenth Division was also furious and quickly mobilized elite reconnaissance forces.

They quietly set up a dragnet and implemented strict monitoring of Li Baocheng's residence, workplace and daily activities.

At the same time, Zhang Zhijie and others conducted a thorough investigation of Li Baocheng's background.

After a month of close surveillance and stakeout, Li Baocheng finally couldn't stand the loneliness anymore and became restless again, attempting to commit crimes again.

One silent night, Li Baocheng sneaked into a nearby village like a ghost, attempting to commit an illegal act against a female director.

However, just as he was trying to commit another crime... the detectives who had been lying in ambush for a long time suddenly appeared like a god and subdued him on the spot, thus preventing a possible tragedy in time.

(End of this chapter)