Chapter 242: Chapter 179 What Did He Do? _2
He Zhi pondered for a moment, frowning slightly.
Lin Chuan continued, "Officer He, let me ask you another question."
"Please do," He Zhi responded.
"Did the Archaeological Team find an ancient bronze coffin in another tomb passage?" Lin Chuan asked with a smile.
After a brief recollection, He Zhi answered, "Indeed, they found an ancient bronze coffin. It was opened by a member of the Archaeological Team using the method from your novel."
Lin Chuan took a sip of his tea, smiled, and said, "Officer He, imagine for a moment, if you were a tomb raider, and you entered the burial chamber, would you look for the most valuable treasure?"
"I would," He Zhi said without hesitation.
"Right, that ancient bronze coffin can be opened by pressing on the altar, and the tomb passage that leads to it is not all that hidden. Have you considered why they didn't go looking for it?" Lin Chuan asked with a smile.
A hint of confusion flickered in He Zhi's eyes, but he quickly understood and a smile appeared, "I see, I've got it!"
"Officer He, what do you understand?" Shen Qianqian, who had been listening, was a step slower in reacting.
With a sheepish smile, He Zhi said, "They probably didn't go to the ancient bronze coffin because they had already found what they believed to be the most valuable treasure, without a doubt, King Lushang's Ghost Seal."
Shen Qianqian's mouth hung open slightly as she looked at Lin Chuan.
Lin Chuan nodded, "The missing Purple Gold Box likely contained the Ghost Seal."
"That's great!"
He Zhi's eyes, bright as copper bells, shone even more, and he muttered to himself, "As long as we trace the Ghost Seal, we can follow the vine to find the suspects!"
"Exactly," Lin Chuan nodded in agreement.
He Zhi was somewhat excited, "Comrade Lin Chuan, Officer Shen, I can't thank you enough."
"Don't thank me," Shen Qianqian waved her hand and said with a beaming smile, "I didn't help much. It was all Comrade Lin Chuan's effort. If you really want to thank Comrade Lin Chuan, why not subscribe to the entire 'Touch Gold Notes'?"
"Subscribe to the entire series?"
With a hint of pride, He Zhi raised his eyebrows and said, "Comrade Lin Chuan, everyone in the Linyi Criminal Police Brigade handling this case has subscribed!"
"You've gone to great expense, Officer He," Lin Chuan remarked, his appreciation for the Linyi Police Station soaring as he laughed heartily.
"But when we subscribed at the time, we all intended to seek evidence from it to arrest you," Officer He said with a chuckle, his face slightly embarrassed.
"Cough, it's the thought, not the intention, that counts. As long as there's a full subscription, that's true love," Lin Chuan responded with high emotional intelligence.
All three people in the reception room laughed.
Afterward,
He Zhi immediately set to work contacting the captain of the Linyi Criminal Police Brigade.
Beep beep beep—
"Captain, I have some progress here," He Zhi said, taking a sip of water in the reception room before picking up the phone to continue working.
On the other end of the line,
The captain was very pleased and shouted, "Has Lin Chuan confessed?"
The call wasn't on speaker, but his voice carried.
Upon hearing this, Shen Qianqian covered her mouth and giggled.
Lin Chuan curled his lip and thought, why are they always looking to catch me?
"Ahem!"
Glancing at Lin Chuan, He Zhi quickly showed a remorseful smile before saying, "Captain, we have ruled out Comrade Lin Chuan as a suspect and confirmed that he is not the perpetrator in this case."
"Lin Chuan isn't?" The captain was immediately taken aback.
"That's right, he isn't!" He Zhi repeated, emphasizing Lin Chuan's innocence.
"There goes the lead!"
Grumbling, the captain asked over the phone, "Old He, have you come across any other clues?"
"Just now, I invited Comrade Lin Chuan to help us with the case, and he provided us with an important clue," He Zhi replied.
"Lin Chuan... What clue?" The captain was slightly puzzled.
"Based on Comrade Lin Chuan's speculations, the Purple Gold Box may contain the Ghost Seal," He Zhi recounted Lin Chuan's reasoning and analysis to the captain.
"The Ghost Seal?" the captain murmured.
"Yes, there are not many jade seals from the Spring and Autumn Warring States Period. If we can find its traces, we can follow the trail," He Zhi said, looking pleased.
"This is a good lead," the captain affirmed and said, "I'll immediately arrange for someone to start looking for any transaction records of it."
Tomb robbers murder and steal treasures for wealth.
Therefore, the Ghost Seal in the Purple Gold Box could not possibly remain in the hands of a tomb robber.
They would certainly have to sell it.
This would make it very easy to trace their tracks.
Moreover, "A Jade Seal from the Spring and Autumn Warring States Period" has a very distinctive implication; as long as it shows up in the market, it can be immediately traced.
The criminal police and cyber police at Linyi Police Station immediately began investigating the information on the Ghost Seal.
But then, an unexpected thing happened.
In the market, there was no trace of the Ghost Seal at all.
"The lead has disappeared again."
In the reception room, as the evening breeze came in, it was slightly cool, and Old He's arms broke out into goosebumps.
Lin Chuan sipped his tea.
He was not surprised by the lack of traces of the Ghost Seal in the market and still had a faint smile on his face, "This means, the tomb raider hasn't made a move yet."
"If they haven't made a move, we can't find them!" sighed He Zhi.
In this case, the case had become a doubtful one.
"Their lack of action has actually saved us even more effort,"
Lin Chuan said smilingly.
He Zhi furrowed his eyebrows, looking puzzled at this young man around twenty-four or twenty-five, not understanding why Lin Chuan would say that.
Lin Chuan glanced at He Zhi, who had come over from Linyi, and smiled, "Officer He, if you were a tomb raider, would you keep holding on to a relic worth hundreds of millions and not sell it?"
He Zhi looked skeptical, thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"So, my guess is, he's waiting for a good price," Lin Chuan voiced his opinion.
Having been a tomb raider himself, he could understand the practices of tomb raiders.
Usually.
Tomb raiders have a few specific contacts they deal with to sell the precious relics unearthed from ancient tombs.
This was an unspoken rule within the industry.
However, not just any relic could be accepted by these contacts.
Many small dealers cannot offer a high price, so tomb raiders would hold the item in their hands for a while, trying to get in touch with bigger dealers.
"Waiting for a good price?"
He Zhi muttered, "Comrade Lin Chuan, do you mean to lead him into selling it?"
"We just need him to show his face or someone around him to do so; that's enough," Lin Chuan said with a look of confidence.
"I'm not very familiar with the trade of relics from tomb robbing, could I ask, how should we proceed?" He Zhi humbly sought advice from Lin Chuan.
In this case.
He had to admit that Lin Chuan's experience and insight far surpassed that of an old criminal police officer like himself.
Clear thinking, well-founded, with a definite direction.
Lin Chuan took a sip of tea, smiled, and said, "Officer He, you don't need to do anything just yet, just wait here for me for a bit."
"Ah?" He Zhi opened his eyes wide, full of confusion.
Lin Chuan turned his head to look at Shen Qianqian and smiled, "Officer Shen, could you lend me your computer for a moment?"
Shen Qianqian was at first startled, then quickly understood, and immediately stood up, "Of course, no problem."
He Zhi watched the backs of Lin Chuan and Shen Qianqian as they left the reception room, with his mouth agape, not understanding the silent game the two were playing.
Outside the window, the moonlight was hazy, the evening breeze stirred, and the shadows of the trees swayed and rustled.
Sigh...
He Zhi sighed softly.
— This case is indeed tough to crack!
But for now, he had no other thoughts on solving the case and could only wait in the reception room for Lin Chuan and Shen Qianqian.
Finally!
About an hour later, Shen Qianqian came back, all smiles, "Officer He, sorry to keep you waiting."
"Not at all."
He Zhi laughed.
At that moment, Shen Qianqian handed him a piece of paper, saying with a smile, "This should be the clue you need; we should be able to make an arrest."
He Zhi looked down, swallowed hard, and was shocked, "These pieces of evidence... Comrade Lin Chuan, what did he do?"