Siheyuan came through and sent Jia Zhang to prison

Chapter 610 Zhou Tian's Report

Old Wu slapped his thigh, the cast on his knee making a loud thud, and said with absolute certainty, "I've never lied in my life, it really was done by a human! That white shadow floating around was probably just a trick they put up, either to scare me away or to make me think I'd been possessed, so I'd never dare to say a word. Humph, such a little trick, they think they can fool this old man!"

Zhou Tian nodded, tapping his fingertips lightly on his knee, having a general idea of ​​what was going on. Thefts at coal mines weren't uncommon, especially controlled items like explosives; they were always bought at high prices on the black market, inevitably tempting some criminals to take the risk. But this time was different; the other party had clearly come prepared. He quietly slipped his notebook under his pillow, already considering reporting the situation to the bureau chief and having the team send more men to focus on investigating familiar faces at the mine—the ability to time patrols so precisely was something no amateur could do.

Old Wu sighed again, his brows furrowed like a knotted rope: "But speaking of which, this matter is indeed strange. When they came in, it seemed like no one noticed at all. You know, there's a patrol team at the mine at night, four grown men, who patrol the warehouse every hour, carrying flashlights and batons, their footsteps can be heard from afar. Logically speaking, there shouldn't have been no noise at all. But that night, the patrol team had just turned the corner when they crept in, as if they had timed it perfectly, taking advantage of the patrol's gaps."

He glanced towards the warehouse, his eyes filled with an unyielding confusion: "And that barbed wire. I limped over to check it later. There was a small but clean cut in it, clearly made with pliers. But the location was so secluded, hidden behind a clump of waist-high thorns. Who would go there normally, except for lawnmowers? You wouldn't even notice it unless you carefully parted the thorns. How did they manage to find that particular spot? Don't you think it's too much of a coincidence?"

Zhou Tian remained silent, only gazing at the dark green barbed wire surrounding the warehouse, his fingertips gently stroking his chin. Old Wu's words, like a pebble dropped into a pond, stirred even deeper ripples in his heart—to evade the patrols and pinpoint the defensive loopholes so precisely, this group was no spur-of-the-moment decision; they had likely scouted the area beforehand, possessing a thorough understanding of the mine's defenses. There was probably inside cooperation involved; otherwise, things wouldn't have gone so smoothly.

He understood perfectly well, but remained outwardly calm. Instead, he smiled, revealing a hint of youthful naiveté: "I can't understand this kind of thing, Uncle Wu. It sounds like a storyteller. Just listen to it as a ghost story."

Old Wu didn't think much of it, assuming he was just frightened, and waved his hand: "Alright, alright, you're still a child, of course you don't understand the intricacies of this. Well, it's getting late, get some rest, you can be discharged from the hospital sooner if you recover from your injury."

Zhou Tian smiled and stood up. "Okay, Uncle Wu, I'm going to the restroom. After hearing what you said, I felt a little uneasy and actually needed to use the restroom."

Old Wu was amused by him and waved his hand: "Go on, go on, this kid, was he really scared?" He watched Zhou Tian's back disappear through the door and chuckled to himself—after all, he was still just a boy, easily frightened, and might really have been scared by the "white shadow" theory.

Zhou Tian walked out of the ward, his smile vanishing instantly. Instead of heading to the restroom, he quickly made his way to the public phone next to the nurses' station, using the shadows of the corridor as cover. There were some things he needed to report to the bureau immediately—the situation at this mine was far more complex than he had imagined.

Zhou Tian stood at the alley entrance, the night as dark as ink, and Old Wu in the alley hadn't come out yet. He took out his phone clipped to his waist, the screen lighting up a small patch of light in the darkness, and dialed Zhao Lei's number.

“Captain Zhao,” he lowered his voice and recounted the details he had observed outside the warehouse, “Old Wu has been inside for almost half an hour, and there hasn’t been a sound. I just saw a man in a black jacket exchange a glance with the person guarding the door, and that glance was suspicious. I suspect that someone on the inside is helping with this, otherwise they couldn’t have kept the news so tightly under wraps.”

Zhao Lei, who was looking at case files under a desk lamp on the other end of the phone, frowned upon hearing this: "I understand. Don't make any rash moves now. Besides gathering information, the most important thing is to keep a close eye on Lao Wu's safety—no one knows what they might be planning to do by calling Lao Wu in. Remember, protect him and wait for my news."

"Don't worry, Captain," Zhou Tian gripped his phone tightly, his knuckles turning white, "I will definitely handle this properly for you, and there won't be any mistakes."

Zhao Lei grunted an "Mmm" and hung up the phone. He gazed at the deep night outside the window, the cigarette half-burned between his fingers, ash falling softly. This whole thing was eerie; there was a mole within the organization… He rubbed his temples, deciding to wait until dawn—going to the bureau chief now might not clarify the situation and could easily alert the mole. "Looks like this water is deeper than I thought," he muttered to himself, stubbing out his cigarette in the ashtray.

The night flew by, and as dawn broke, He Feng had already driven to Ma Xin's apartment building. Picking her up for work had become a habit lately, and there was still some freshly bought soy milk and fried dough sticks on the car seat.

Ma Xin got into the passenger seat, her eyes showing faint dark circles. He Feng handed her breakfast and casually asked, "What's wrong? Didn't you sleep well last night? You look tired."

Ma Xin took the soy milk, nodded, and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "Yeah, I keep thinking about the case and can't sleep no matter how much I toss and turn."

What she didn't say was that she was more concerned about Ma Ran. Ma Ran's behavior these days had been too abnormal. Every time the coal mine was mentioned, her eyes would flicker. If she were an inside agent, it would seem reasonable. But after all, they were sisters who had grown up together. Ma Xin always held onto a sliver of hope, thinking that she might be able to save her life before things got too bad.

"Don't put too much pressure on yourself." He Feng started the car, his tone calm. "This case involves too many things, it can't be solved in a day or two. But as long as we keep a close eye on it and work together, the truth will come out eventually."

The two had a simple breakfast at a roadside stall, and the conversation naturally circled back to the coal mine case.

“I have a feeling that this matter involves the cooperation of insiders.” He Feng took a bite of his steamed bun, his eyes sharpening. “Otherwise, how could they always beat us to it? This is also the hardest part to investigate—it’s hard to guard against a thief within the family.”

Ma Xin looked up: "You mean... inside the police station?"

“It’s not necessarily the police station, but it’s definitely someone related to the case.” He Feng shook his head. “Have you noticed Jiang Hu’s side? Every time we try to investigate the coal mine in depth, he tries to obstruct us, either saying that the procedures are incomplete or that the miners are emotionally unstable and might cause trouble. This is not normal. As the person in charge of the mine area, he should be fully cooperating.”