Chapter 42.1: Caught Red-Handed
“Cough, cough.”
Feng Zhengming coughed first.
Right now, Jiang Xia was practically a walking commendation, and he was itching to drag her into the interrogation room and have a little heart-to-heart.
But he still had to restrain himself.
After all, they were colleagues. If he investigated her without confirmed evidence and it turned out to be nothing, things wouldn’t just become awkward whenever they met afterward. He’d be violating regulations, breaking team unity, and facing a serious disciplinary penalty.
Yet simply letting it go made Feng Zhengming feel like he was betraying his own crime-detection radar, which was going absolutely haywire.
This whole process was just too familiar.
She might never have done it, but she had definitely thought about it—and not just casually, either. She had clearly gone over every single step in detail, repeatedly, who knew how many times.
That was definitely not normal!
“Then we’d better hurry over there.”
Despite saying this, Feng Zhengming didn’t move an inch. A fake smile spread across his face, and he casually probed, as if making a joke:
“The scope of ‘seal engravers’ is easy enough to investigate. One trip there, and we’ll know whether there are any. But speaking of which, Jiang Xia, you really are quite familiar with counterfeiting. You explain the technical process step by step, one after another. It’s almost as if you’ve done it yourself.”
“Captain Feng, you’re joking.”
The young Bai Fangqiang’s crime-detection radar wasn’t nearly as sensitive yet, so he didn’t notice anything wrong with Jiang Xia’s words. Besides, she was his childhood friend’s teacher and could be considered half a friend herself. Hearing his superior say that, he hurriedly defended her:
“Jiang Xia has a bright future ahead of her. How could she possibly do something like that? She probably saw some cases while she was studying, which is why she can explain everything so accurately.”
As he spoke, Bai Fangqiang turned to Jiang Xia and asked, “That’s right, Jiang Xia?”
“Not really.”
Jiang Xia had finally calmed down a little.
She had gotten a bit carried away just now.
But what could she do? It was like having a hammer in your hand and seeing nails everywhere—you couldn’t help wanting to take a swing at them.
She had the skills, and when she encountered a corresponding criminal situation, having to sit on her hands and not use those skills just because she was afraid of arousing suspicion was genuinely unbearable.
Besides, she hadn’t actually done anything.
What did she have to be afraid of?
Jiang Xia said calmly, “There haven’t been any major counterfeiting cases in the province. The school only mentioned it in passing. I just figured that the supply of goods has been greater over the past two years than before, so the demand for ration coupons is declining while the demand for money is increasing. The profits from producing counterfeit currency will rise year by year, making it a potential new direction for criminals in the future.”
“Coincidentally, that happens to be related to the skills I possess, so I went ahead and extrapolated their technical procedures and behavioral patterns. I didn’t expect that I’d actually have a use for it today.”
But to Feng Zhengming, what Jiang Xia had just said sounded exactly like she believed counterfeiting money would become highly profitable in the future, so she had specifically studied the relevant skills and techniques…
That made her even more suspicious!
Then again, what kind of person who genuinely intended to do something like this would foolishly announce it out loud?
Anyone bold enough to say it so openly was basically guaranteed to have nothing to do with the crime.
But when he thought about it that way…
Feng Zhengming hesitated, seemingly wanting to say something but ultimately holding back.
He desperately suppressed the crime-detection radar that was screaming alarms in his head and continued joking, “Listening to you, I almost thought you were planning to do it yourself.”
“Captain Feng, you’re really letting your imagination run wild.”
Seeing that things were taking a bad turn, Jiang Xia immediately pulled her colleagues from the department into the line of fire as shields.
“Knowing a technique doesn’t mean you’re going to commit a crime. I only use this knowledge to predict and estimate criminals’ behavior. By your logic, everyone in our department knows how to pick locks. But have you ever seen any of us break into a house and steal anything?”
Feng Zhengming fell silent instantly.
She had a point.
He’d heard that over the past two months, the Technical Department had opened hundreds of locks using all sorts of methods in order to find evidence. Now every single person there could open a lock without a key in under ten seconds.
They were practically walking commendations—every last one of them looked suspicious enough to be arrested on the spot.
Thinking of this, Feng Zhengming’s gaze subtly changed.
There really is something a little strange about you people in the Technical Division, huh.
He cleared his throat and put on a serious expression.
“I was overthinking it. It’s just an old habit of mine. Don’t take it to heart, Jiang Xia.”
‘Sure enough, colleagues really are the best shield!’
Seeing Captain Feng drop his suspicions, Jiang Xia was absolutely delighted. She even regretted not dragging her colleagues into the mess sooner.
She smiled and said, “It’s fine. The theory of criminal behavior prediction is pretty new. I only heard about it when an expert came to give a lecture at school. Apparently, research into it has only just begun, and not many people know about it yet, so I can see how it might easily lead to misunderstandings.”
After saying that, Jiang Xia paused for a moment.
She felt like she’d just added another layer to her defensive buff today, making herself even safer.
“Criminal behavior prediction?”
Feng Zhengming repeated the term.
It really was his first time hearing it. It actually sounded somewhat reasonable—kind of like how, after working enough cases and gaining enough experience, they could take one look at a situation and immediately know which direction to investigate.
Still, for some reason, when Jiang Xia explained it, he couldn’t help feeling that she was using the name of an expert theory to lend credibility to her own claims.
Even with prediction, did she really have to predict things this precisely?
His suspicions hadn’t completely disappeared, but he didn’t bring them up again. He merely said, “So that’s what it is. This really is my first time hearing about it. Pretty interesting, huh?”
Jiang Xia had already shifted her attention back to the case.
“By the way, Captain Feng, this counterfeiting gang should be highly vigilant. You’d better go undercover. Whatever you do, don’t alert them.”
Her deductions had become almost instinctive by now. It was like seeing √144 and immediately knowing the answer was 12—the intermediate calculations were simply skipped.
Jiang Xia pondered for a moment, then worked backward through the reasoning to justify her conclusion.
“Most ordinary people wouldn’t have the nerve to prepare for large-scale counterfeit production, let alone make the fake notes look this authentic. There’s a good chance they’ve practiced with something else before. And as for the seal engraver… if someone can engrave ordinary seals, they can engrave fake ones too. It all comes down to whether they’re bold enough to do it. This person has probably already done it before and has a history of illegal or criminal activity. They may even have been investigated in the past. Now they’re secretly making counterfeit notes again, so naturally they’d be extremely cautious.”
As she spoke, another thought suddenly flashed through Jiang Xia’s mind.
“Oh! I almost forgot. This person can engrave seals, and they’re also good at drawing. Making fake identity documents and forged letters of introduction would be a piece of cake for them! That means getting out of the area would be much easier for them than for an ordinary person!”
At these words, Feng Zhengming immediately straightened up.
It was true. If someone knew how to engrave seals, there was a very good chance they also knew how to make forged documents. With fake identification, getting on a train and fleeing would be much easier.
They really did need to hurry. Once the culprit got away, they might never be able to catch them again.
“Thanks, Jiang Xia.”
Feng Zhengming put the matter out of his mind for the moment and said directly, “How about this? Let’s hurry up and eat. Afterward, we’ll change clothes and head over to Jiming Bridge to take a look.”
“Okay.”
Jiang Xia nodded. “There’s nothing else for me to do, so I’ll head out first. I’ll be waiting for your good news.”
This counterfeiter was definitely a talented person. Unfortunately, counterfeit currency wasn’t currently causing much social harm, and the sentence under the criminal law wasn’t particularly heavy—just three to seven years, with a life sentence only for extremely serious circumstances.
So even if Captain Feng managed to catch the culprit quickly, judging from the market value of the counterfeit cloth coupons, this probably wouldn’t qualify as an extremely serious case. The culprit would likely spend four or five years in prison before getting out.
But after this whole enlightenment-through-the-dragon-field experience, the culprit would probably improve considerably in all kinds of technical skills. Jiang Xia absolutely had to meet this person.
Ideally, she’d get a record of their fingerprints, appearance, family background, and every other relevant piece of information. Then, if they encountered another high-quality batch of counterfeit currency in the future, he’d be the first person she suspected.
Jiang Xia felt that she was really showing the utmost respect for her fellow professional.
Hmm. She was in a pretty good mood today.
She absolutely had to treat herself to an extra dish.
The crocodile tears instantly started flowing from the corners of her mouth.
Fried crocodile meat sure smells good~
＊
Jiang Xia went to the cafeteria to eat, while the members of the Third Squad who remained in the office exchanged uncertain glances.
“No.”
Once Jiang Xia had left, Tian Jianguo furrowed his brows and asked, “Captain Feng, you don’t really think it’s going to be some huge counterfeiting operation like Jiang Xia said, do you?”
A few counterfeit coupons were easy enough to spend, but if they really printed hundreds or thousands of them, wouldn’t they be obviously fake the moment they were taken out? Who would even accept them?
Until they’d witnessed the spread of counterfeit currency firsthand, it was difficult for ordinary people to imagine what such a scene would actually look like.
Feng Zhengming couldn’t really imagine it either, but based on Jiang Xia’s remark that the gang had the means to flee, he could vaguely figure out how they might operate.
They could find buyers on the black market and sell the counterfeit coupons in bulk. The starting price would be one-tenth of their face value, with the price dropping by a few more tenths of a cent for larger purchases.
If the counterfeits were convincing enough, then as long as the price was low enough, there would always be people tempted to buy them—thinking they could resell them at a slight markup, or use them to cheat someone else.
And with private trading of ration coupons flourishing at the moment, no one knew how many people would fall victim to such a large influx of counterfeit cloth coupons.
Even if this was only Jiang Xia’s speculation, Feng Zhengming still had to make this trip as quickly as possible.
He said, “We don’t know how large the operation is yet, but these counterfeit coupons really do look like they’ve been printed. Since this person has engraving plates, there’s no way they’ve only printed these few. We’d better investigate as soon as possible. Otherwise, more and more people are bound to get cheated.”
As he spoke, Feng Zhengming bent down, opened a cabinet, and pulled out a set of civilian clothes.
For him, conducting investigations in plainclothes was nothing unusual. Having to go home and change every time was too much trouble, so he kept a spare outfit in the office. Whenever he needed it, he could simply change and leave.
“I think Captain Feng is right.”
Guo Lianyi nodded in agreement. “We can’t wait until things become serious before doing anything. The sooner we investigate, the sooner we can eliminate the potential threat. But Captain Feng, I also think Jiang Xia is a little too familiar with counterfeit coupons… Even if she was doing some kind of prediction, she didn’t need to study the entire process of making them, did she?”
He put it rather tactfully.
But how could Feng Zhengming not understand what he meant?
Suspecting a colleague of being involved in a crime was no small matter. But Jiang Xia really was suspicious enough that he couldn’t blame them for having their doubts.
It just sounded a little heartless when you put it that way.
But if you phrased it differently, wasn’t there practically a walking commendation right beside them? If she really committed a crime and they caught her, they’d have a major achievement on their hands!
A colleague they weren’t particularly close to had suddenly turned into a warm, comforting merit point.
Just thinking about it made them feel all warm inside.
Ahem.
Just kidding.
He really didn’t want to be the one putting handcuffs on his own colleague.
“If you get the chance, remind Section Chief Liao about this. Tell him to keep a closer eye on her.”
With that thought in mind, Feng Zhengming changed clothes. As he did, he said, “Don’t overthink it. With her incredible skill at portrait drawing, she’s got a bright future ahead of her. Why would she take the wrong path over a little money?”
“All right, none of you just stand around. Anyone who brought a change of clothes, put on your plainclothes. Let’s hurry up and eat. Once we’re done, we’ll head over there.”
With things put that way, Guo Lianyi naturally said no more. He immediately replied, “Yes, Captain.”
<< _ >>