Chapter 64 Assisting the Arrest

The sub-bureau gave Han Ling a few days to prepare, instructing him to report to the Criminal Investigation Detachment next Monday and join the Major Crimes Squad directly.

In the future, Fang Zhou would be his superior.

His colleagues all knew Han Ling was leaving. They were happy for him, yet felt a pang of reluctance; from then on, that young man who practically lived in the dormitory would no longer be seen around the station.

Whenever a shift change was requested, Han Ling had never once refused, sometimes not even asking for someone to cover his shift in return, for which they were deeply grateful.

He was a fine colleague and an even better friend. Moreover, his marksmanship was exceptional, and his case-solving skills were formidable—a rare gem indeed.

Sister Zhang had finally given up, no longer trying to match Han Ling with anyone. Perhaps she realized those girls simply weren't a match for him and let the matter drop, recognizing that Wanglou Police Station was far too small a stage for Han Ling.

Saturday afternoon.

Han Ling was off duty, sound asleep on his dormitory bed when a commotion outside startled him awake.

He rubbed his sleepy eyes, got up, and walked to the doorway to look outside.

Two police cars were parked there. Tao Guowei and other supervisors were shaking hands with the newly arrived visitors, and both parties entered the police station.

Han Ling glanced at the vehicles. They bore the standard white-and-blue livery with the word [Police] printed in both Chinese and English, making it impossible to tell whether they belonged to the sub-bureau or the municipal bureau.

Once awake, sleep was out of the question. Han Ling splashed some water on his face and walked over to the dispatch hall.

"Who's here?" Han Ling asked.

A colleague looked up. "Oh? You're awake? Team Leader Zhu said to call you as soon as you woke up. Hurry to the conference room.

The people who just arrived are from the Economic Crime Investigation Detachment. Sounds like they need assistance with an arrest."

Han Ling uttered an "oh" and headed toward the conference room.

Assisting with arrests was nothing out of the ordinary for a police station, which held core advantages: familiarity with the people, the terrain, and the local conditions.

The fact that the Economic Crime Investigation Detachment had asked the Wanglou Police Station for help indicated that the suspects were operating within Wanglou's jurisdiction. Since the detachment's operational scope covered the entire city, they couldn't possibly be intimately familiar with every single neighborhood.

This was precisely where the police station came in—to increase the success rate of the arrest, minimize casualties as much as possible, and, most importantly, avoid causing too much disruption to the surrounding residents.

Arriving at the conference room, Han Ling picked an empty seat and sat down.

The leader dispatched by the Economic Crime Investigation Detachment this time was the deputy captain of the First Investigation Brigade. He was a man in his thirties, decisive and efficient. Skipping the pleasantries, he got straight to the point within his first two or three sentences.

There were three targets for the arrest, all residing in the Fuyang Community under the jurisdiction of the Wanglou Police Station.

The charge was suspected illegal fund-raising involving an exceptionally massive amount of money.

Through investigation and analysis, the Economic Crime Investigation Detachment assessed the risk level as low, so they had not requested backup from the SWAT unit. This operation would rely primarily on the detachment's own forces with the assistance of the police station.

The detachment would dispatch twelve officers, and the police station would coordinate six. Subtracting those assigned to perimeter control, it averaged out to four police officers per suspect—not a big problem.

When making arrests, given favorable conditions and thorough preparation, absolute force must be used to suppress the targets and prevent any unexpected incidents.

The reason they hadn't moved in immediately was that the Economic Crime Investigation Detachment had been conducting ongoing investigations, tailing and scouting the suspects. During the day, the three suspects had unpredictable, independent schedules; rushing in to arrest just one of them might alert the remaining two and cause them to flee.

As of today, it was completely confirmed that all three were staying in the Fuyang Community, and the net could finally be closed.

A raid in the early hours of the morning was the safest approach to strike a decisive blow.

Asking the police station to assist was also intended to minimize risk to the utmost while considering the impact on nearby residents.

"Mhm, mhm..."

Station Chief Tao Guowei nodded continuously, without asking about the specifics of the case; they only needed to know who they were supposed to catch.

Gender, age, height, weight, and detailed addresses were what mattered.

"Director Tao, what's the situation over at Fuyang Community?" the deputy captain of the investigation brigade politely inquired.

Tao Guowei turned his head and signaled with his eyes for his subordinate in charge of community policing to answer. The latter, a veteran officer with rich professional experience, immediately spoke up: "Fuyang Community is quite old. Its current actual resident population is 1,200, among whom 300 are migrant workers.

There are 32 residential buildings. Every household has a balcony, but no back doors.

We registered the residents' information three months ago. Do you need us to check those records?"

The deputy captain shook his head. "These three guys are highly vigilant. Their living quarters are transient, and they've only been active in Fuyang Community for the past month.

We've already pinpointed their locations, so no need to check.

At 3:00 AM, we will launch the arrest operation directly. Director Tao, just arrange for your men to handle perimeter containment and cordoning off the area. In case of any unexpected events, make sure to comfort the residents and secure the scene properly."

When it came to comforting residents, the local beat cops were far more experienced and familiar with the community inhabitants.

Tao Guowei nodded. "Understood. All our team leaders and squad leaders are here. Captain Wu can select whoever he needs."

Captain Wu glanced around and stated, "Two from the criminal investigation team, four from community policing. Pick the most experienced ones."

Tao Guowei: "No problem. When do we assemble?"

Captain Wu checked the time and said, "Assemble at midnight to begin deployment. We'll keep in touch by phone."

Tao Guowei: "Alright."

After the Economic Crime Investigation Detachment departed, Tao Guowei held a brief meeting to finalize the personnel participating in that night's arrest operation.

Community policing would be led personally by their captain, along with three other top-notch officers. On the criminal investigation side, Zhu Yue would take charge personally, supplemented by Han Ling.

By this point, no one regarded Han Ling as a rookie anymore; his capabilities had already surpassed everyone else in the criminal investigation team.

At 11:00 PM, Zhu Yue brought Han Ling to the police armory to draw their firearms. This was the first time Han Ling would carry a gun on a mission since becoming a police officer.

Ammunition was drawn first, followed by the weapon.

The Type 05 police revolver: low stopping power, slow reloading speed, and poor sustained firepower.

Holding this handgun, Han Ling felt as though he were holding an antique.

Last year, he had heard colleagues discuss an amusing incident where a police officer from another precinct fired forty rounds from this very gun yet failed to put down a rabid bull.

The bull had even remained mobile enough to nearly toss the officer into the air.

"Load rubber bullets first; switch to live rounds only if necessary," Zhu Yue said from the side. "Try not to discharge live rounds... but your marksmanship is absurdly accurate, so judge the situation yourself. Remember, under no circumstances—absolutely no circumstances—must you lose it. The consequences are extremely severe."

A police officer losing a firearm faced heavy disciplinary action. If this gun were fired outside and caused casualties, the officer would be summarily dismissed and could even face criminal liability.

Han Ling turned the revolver over in his hands and nodded.

At 11:30 PM, the six officers drove unmarked vehicles to the Fuyang Community. The officers from the Economic Crime Investigation Detachment arrived shortly after. The operation was commanded by the captain of the First Investigation Brigade of the Economic Crime Investigation Detachment.

The deputy captain from earlier in the day was also present.

The eighteen officers assembled.

In the crowd, Han Ling spotted an acquaintance, and the other person saw him too.

"Why bring two women? Are they just here to pad their records for a commendation?" Han Ling muttered inwardly.

He wasn't prejudiced against women, but objectively speaking, men possessed vastly superior physical strength compared to women; that was a biological fact.

Unless a woman had undergone specialized training, she stood little chance against a male of comparable weight class. Xu Qinghe was a very rare exception.

Men had their strengths, and women had theirs. When investigating economic crimes, faced with massive mountains of documents and data, female police officers were indeed more meticulous, thorough, and professionally competent.

However... when it came to making arrests, relying on male officers was still far more reliable.

That being said, the Economic Crime Investigation Detachment of the Qingchang Municipal Public Security Bureau indeed had a high proportion of female officers, accounting for thirty percent of the force, and even the detachment leader was a woman—a heroine who yielded nothing to men.

Lin Rong gave Han Ling a slight nod by way of greeting. Han Ling couldn't pretend he hadn't seen her, so he nodded back in acknowledgment.