Jiang Bin put the cigarettes and matches into his pocket.
Xu Siqi predicted his next step - as a former smoker, he knew that this meant leaving.
Otherwise, there is no need to put the cigarette in your pocket.
Seeing that Xu Siqi looked unhappy, A Yuan asked attentively: "Are you okay?"
"It's okay, my stomach feels a little uncomfortable."
As he spoke, Xu Siqi walked towards the door.
He stopped at the door, turned around and said, "If you find anything unusual, report it immediately!"
"Yes." A Yuan replied respectfully.
Coming out of Room 18, Xu Siqi walked slowly in the corridor.
There was an advertising flyer printed with ink tucked into the crack of the door of Room 11.
I pulled it out and saw that it was the opening of a nearby restaurant. If you hold this flyer, you can enjoy a 20% discount for three days.
The date shows one week ago.
There is no advertising flyer in the door cracks of other rooms.
That means that no one lives in Room 11, it is an empty house.
If anyone had been there, the flyers would have disappeared - they would have fallen to the ground as soon as the door was opened.
Between the windows, there is a thick iron wire, on which more than a dozen salted fish are drying.
This is the masterpiece of a local Shanghai tenant.
There was no one in the corridor. Xu Siqi quickly stepped forward, untied the wire buckle about the length of his finger, and folded it several times. After a while, the wire was broken.
I straightened the bent wire, came to door No. 11, stretched out my hand and knocked on the door.
No one answered in the room.
He looked around, inserted the wire into the keyhole, and held his breath for a while, only to hear a soft click, and the lock spring opened in response.
He gently opened the door and entered the room.
Even if he was discovered, Xu Siqi could still explain it: Hearing an abnormal sound in the house, he immediately broke into the door and went in to check the situation.
As the Inspector of China, he has this power.
Sure enough, there was no one in the room.
The situation inside the house is almost the same as that of Room 18, it is basically an empty room.
The same thing is that they all have a telephone.
There is a telephone installed in every room, but it cannot be dialed directly. It needs to be transferred through the Maolin Building switchboard.
The advantage of this kind of phone is that the installation cost is greatly reduced, and at the same time it can be used as a feature to attract tenants.
Nowadays, the initial installation fee and monthly rental fee for telephones are very high, and not everyone can afford to install a telephone.
Of course, only large consortiums and large companies have such benefits.
Naturally, Xu Siqi knew all about these situations.
Not daring to delay at all, he reached for the phone and dialed the number of the Hongkou patrol room.
After being transferred to the switchboard, the call was finally connected about a minute later.
"Hello?"
"Who's on duty today?"
"Report to Inspector Xu, I'm on duty." Inspector Zhang Huan's voice came through the receiver.
Xu Siqi said: "There has been an increase in smuggling cases recently. You should pay more attention to this trend. When you have nothing to do, walk around and look for clues."
"yes."
"Oh, by the way, when investigating the case, bring Wu Yanhui with you. He is a newcomer and has little experience. There is no harm in getting more experience."
"yes."
The call was immediately hung up.
Xu Siqi came to the door and leaned against the door panel, listening to what was going on outside.
There were footsteps in the corridor, two women talking and laughing, the sound of doors opening and closing, and then there was no sound again.
After waiting for a while, Xu Siqi finally left the room.
He inserted the advertising flyer into the crack of the door again, and then walked quickly down the stairs.
Zhang Huan was recently in charge of investigating the smuggling case. Howard and Ivanov were registered in the patrol room, so they were naturally one of the main targets.
Under normal circumstances, during the investigation process, patrol officers will first go to the informant to ask about the situation.
Every patrol officer has his own informant, and Zhang Huan certainly has one too.
One of the informants was a cigarette seller in front of Yong'an Department Store.
Xu Siqi is also gambling.
Zhang Huan can only be guided to his next move through a persuasive approach.
You can't be too clear on the phone. If you just ask Zhang Huan to come to the main road, it will be too easy for someone to get caught.
Let no one else tell you, the Hongkou Patrol Room has a solemn character.
What if one day Zheng Zheng starts chatting with Zhang Huan and mentions the content of today's phone call, it might arouse suspicion.
The main reason why I don't talk on the phone on the street is because I am worried about being seen.
According to Jiang Bin, the Secret Service sent two groups of people for this operation, which means that there are Secret Service agents everywhere near Yong'an Department Store.
At this time, if Xu Siqi suddenly made a phone call, it would inevitably arouse suspicion.
If the "Iron Hammer" is caught, everything will be fine and no one will investigate the content of the phone call. On the other hand, if nothing is found today, with Jiang Bin's IQ, he will definitely investigate the whole thing afterwards.
…
About ten minutes later, Ning Zhicheng carried his suitcase, mixed in with the bustling crowd, and walked towards Yong'an Department Store.
Across the street is Fengxiang Jewelry Store.
There are many shops on the main road, and many famous time-honored brands are gathered here. This is a battleground for merchants.
Xu Siqi and Jiang Bin hid in the shadows, watching Ning Zhicheng from a distance. "Have you known each other before?" Jiang Bin asked.
Xu Siqi nodded: "I know. I went to Yingbai Firm for Zhou Qingshan's case."
"It's best not to let him see you until the last moment, so as not to alert the enemy. After all, you are the Chinese Inspector of the British Concession."
"I see."
"Let's split up."
"OK."
Jiang Bin folded his hands and observed secretly for a while, then quickly disappeared into the crowd.
Xu Siqi entered a nearby bookstore.
I picked up a book on the bookshelf and could see the scene in front of Yong'an Department Store through the glass window of the bookstore.
Not far away, a dark-skinned young man with a wooden cigarette box hanging around his neck shouted once or twice and went around selling cigarettes.
Few people know the boy's last name. Because he is dark, everyone is accustomed to calling him Hei Wa.
Hei Wa is Zhang Huan's informant.
People who sell cigarettes nearby all day long and come into contact with all kinds of people are the most suitable people to be informants.
After another ten minutes, Zhang Huan and Wu Yanhui came over on bicycles, one after the other.
In the bookstore, Xu Siqi secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
This is a 50/50 chance.
If Zhang Huan went to other places, even if he rushed back later, he might not have enough time.
Fortunately, his first choice was the main road.
Putting the bicycle aside casually, Zhang Huan stretched his neck and looked around. He was looking for Hei Wa.
Seeing Hei Wa in the crowd, he walked over.
Wu Yanhui turned back as he walked and said worriedly: "Inspector Zhang, do you want to lock the car? We are leaving. What if someone steals it?"
Zhang Huan snorted: "The cars in the patrol room all have special markings. Who dares to steal a police car without opening their eyes? I'll lend him some courage!"
"Then I'll be relieved..." Wu Yanhui followed step by step.