"Captain Han, do you suspect that Wade Health and the Third Era are secretly conducting transnational organ trafficking?"
At this point, Song Hongbiao’s gaze also beca serious. If this were true, it would indeed be a significant case.
"I don’t know," Han Bin shook his head again, handing Song Hongbiao a cigarette, "I’ve also investigated the Third Era and found this company to be terrifyingly clean. On the surface, I couldn’t find any illegal records related to this company.
"Just like with Tang ngjia’s case, other than the body disappearing at the end, every step had no issues. It could almost be described as perfect."
"But Captain, haven’t you taught us that there’s no such thing as the ’perfect cri’ from novels and movies?"
Song Hongbiao took the cigarette but didn’t light it, just pretended to sniff it a few tis.
"I still rember your words—no matter how cautious the criminal, they will eventually slip up.
"Besides, we are in civilized society now. There’s no such thing as an organization that can cover everything up so tightly that there isn’t even a single loophole.
"If they committed illegal acts, they would definitely leave traces behind."
"That is why I am so concerned about the Third Era." Han Bin paused, pointing at the cigarette in Song Hongbiao’s hand, "Aren’t you smoking?"
"Oh, my wife won’t let . She’s less than a month away from her due date. For the sake of the baby, I have to quit smoking," Song Hongbiao said, scratching his head.
"Really, your sister-in-law is about to give birth?" Han Bin was startled, then added, "Then congratulations."
"Hahaha, she hasn’t given birth yet. It’s not too late to congratulate after the baby is born," Song Hongbiao responded.
Han Bin humd in acknowledgnt, looking out the window, lost in thought.
At this mont, the traffic finally began to slowly move forward. After waiting a while, seeing that Han Bin had not spoken again, Song Hongbiao asked, "Captain, what are you planning to do next in the investigation?"
"Investigate what?"
"The Third Era and Wade Health."
"That’s none of your concern, focus on your current cases."
"Co on, Captain, don’t leave hanging like this. It makes feel uncomfortable, stuck in limbo, especially when you were about to tell ."
"I didn’t know you were about to beco a father. I’ll handle this myself; you stay out of it."
"Hey, Captain, now you’ve got all anxious. Well, how about this, whether I can help or not is a separate matter. You tell what information you have, and I can offer so advice to you.
Before Han Bin could refuse, Song Hongbiao added, "I know I’m not as good as you in criminal investigation, but even the smartest person can miss sothing.
"As the saying goes, ’Three cobblers with their wits combined exceed Zhuge Liang in wisdom.’ Besides, this could also be an opportunity for you to go over everything again, you might find sothing new."
Han Bin thought for a mont and nodded, "Alright then. I realized that the power behind the Third Era might not be simple. After being busy for so long and unable to find anything of value, I used the old thod again.
"Muddying the waters?" Song Hongbiao’s eyes lit up, "Then why didn’t you co to ? I’m best at that kind of work. Rember that last ti with the smuggler? I pretended to dial the wrong number, started arguing with him, and eventually lured him out of hiding by inviting him to fight. Then we both went up and caught him imdiately."
"This ti, I didn’t involve anyone from the departnt," Han Bin said. "I directly asked a friend for help, letting her infiltrate the Third Era under the guise of applying for a job to gather intelligence."
Song Hongbiao was initially stunned, then realized, "I rember, there was a day a while ago when you told us not to leave after work and to stand by. That was then, right? You were luring the snake out of its hole. How did it go, did the Third Era take the bait?"
"No, but one of my friends got a job there. She refuses to disclose any further about the Third Era to ."
"..."
"Is it because the Third Era offers her a high salary?" Song Hongbiao asked.
"It’s alright, around eight or nine thousand. But they guarantee weekends off, punctual quitting ti on weekdays, compensated ti off for any required overti, and no work tasks assigned via WeChat or phone calls after work."
Song Hongbiao was surprised, "There are such fairy-tale jobs in City B? Are they still hiring?"
Han Bin glanced at Song Hongbiao with a sidelong look, "Why, are you considering going there too?"
"Just kidding, just kidding, Captain Han," Song Hongbiao said with a laugh.
"It’s okay if you want to go; the benefits are quite good."
Encouraged by Han Bin’s words, Song Hongbiao beca more energetic, "It’s not just good. Our salary is similar, but we barely ever have weekends or holidays off.
"Moreover, we can’t turn off our phones. In case of any issues, a call in the middle of the night can pull us out of bed. For cases like this out-of-province investigation, we could be gone for ten days to half a month. My wife has often complained about this."
Han Bin understood the harsh realities of frontline detectives all too well. He patted Song Hongbiao on the shoulder, "After you finish up this case, you should avoid leaving City B for the next three months."
Song Hongbiao nodded, "Thank you, Captain Han."
Later, Han Bin shifted the conversation back to the case at hand, "Anyway, I currently don’t have any evidence to prove that Tang ngjia’s missing body is related to the Third Era.
"A few days ago I asked Tang ngjia’s parents again, and I just went to ask her grandparents; none of them have seen Tang ngjia again."
Song Hongbiao furrowed his brow upon hearing this, "So aside from that one ti Tang ngjia’s mother saw her, no one has seen her at all. Where did her mother see her, at ho, or outside?"
"On the street. I specifically checked the nearby surveillance footage, but the cara angle was a blind spot. It only captured Tang ngjia’s mother standing there, looking distressed, but couldn’t capture where she was looking."
"Were there any cars passing by or parked nearby, anything captured on their dashcams?"
"The sa, only a Buick provided a clip that was too blurry to recognize anyone, but the figure did resemble Tang ngjia’s shape."
"This is troubleso." Song Hongbiao pondered for a while but couldn’t find any breakthrough, so he had to give up for now and turned to ask,
"By the way, Captain Han, can you tell about that apocalypse nightmare you keep having?"
"Why are you interested in my nightmare?"
"Because I can’t be of much help with your case, I might as well care about your health and ntal state." Song Hongbiao was quite honest.
"It’s nothing special, just a typical nightmare. Have you seen an Arican movie called ’The Day After Tomorrow’? It’s quite old, about a global climate change where New York gets frozen."
Han Bin said, "My nightmare is sowhat similar, except it’s about City B, no, from the newspaper I found in my dream, it seems the entire world might have been done in by that mysterious teorological disaster.
"It’s like the great flood the Christians talk about. And let tell you, that dream felt incredibly real, and it’s set to happen in about two and a half years.
"It was really cold by that ti, I nearly froze to death in that dream.
"I think I was on Changan Street, walked for half a day, and didn’t see a single person; probably all of humanity was already gone."
Recalling the bone-chilling cold from his dream, Han Bin couldn’t help but shiver again and tightened his jacket around himself.
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