174: Chen Bin, who was promoted twice in a row, and his strange real estate transactions

When Deputy Mayor Wan was mentioned again, Brother Zhao was so scared he almost couldn't sit still. Damn, this is huge, directly involving the third-highest-ranking person in the City, and a native of Yuezhou at that.

"Is this news reliable?" With such a high-ranking official involved, Brother Zhao felt a bit overwhelmed.

Yu Haifeng also looked at Ye Lin with burning eyes; he too felt a little apprehensive.

Ye Lin said calmly, "There's no such thing as reliable or unreliable. If someone gives us a lead, we investigate. If we find evidence, it's reliable; if we don't, it's not."

"Holy crap, Lin Zi, what you said actually makes a lot of sense, haha." That one sentence clarified things for Brother Zhao. In truth, he was only scared because of the high-ranking official. As police, if they find evidence, it means there's guilt. They should investigate first and not scare themselves from the start.

As the great man said, one must be pragmatic.

"Alright, then we'll investigate and see what we find," Yu Haifeng decided.

"So, Lin Zi, how do you suggest we investigate?" Brother Zhao asked.

Now, all the brain-intensive tasks fell to Ye Lin; they were too lazy to think.

"We'll still follow the original plan and start with Chen Bin. Team Leader Yu, Brother Zhao, how has your investigation been these past two days? Please give us an update first," Ye Lin said.

Previously, the three of them had divided the work: Yu Haifeng was to investigate Chen Bin's assets, and Zhao Jianfeng was to investigate Chen Bin's promotion history.

"Alright, I'll go first," Brother Zhao said.

Zhao Jianfeng contacted a few old buddies, had two rounds of drinks, and got a general understanding of Chen Bin's past.

According to their Hongxing Police Station, Chen Bin is in his early 40s. After graduation, he had always been at the Hongxing Police Station, working in both public security and criminal investigation. However, his abilities were average, and his luck was also average, with no significant achievements.

So, until two years ago, he had only just been promoted two ranks. Following this trajectory, he would likely have been a sergeant his entire life.

However, two years ago, for some unknown stroke of luck, he connected with someone higher up. Although he himself didn't say who it was, within the police system, there are only so many people, so everyone could guess with a little thought.

Chen Bin had connected with Deputy Director Feng Shikun of the Municipal Bureau. Everyone said this guy had struck gold, and soon after, he was promoted to Deputy Station Chief, and then to Station Chief the following year.

As for the two cases Brother Zhao mentioned, the case where Zheng Xiao reported being assaulted was personally handled by Chen Bin, from taking the report to investigating it.

They found that case quite strange at the time, wondering why the caller disappeared after making the report. Chen Bin's explanation at the time was that he didn't know either.

Just this point alone contradicts the lead provided by Meng Qiu. According to Meng Qiu, Zheng Xiao only left after receiving a call from Chen Bin the next day, which conflicts with Chen Bin's own statement.

As for the second case, Huo Chunli's case, Chen Bin was already the Deputy Station Chief then. He led the officers to the scene, and Brother Zhao's buddy also went along. That time, Chen Bin, leveraging his position as team leader, handled it very casually, essentially just going through the motions, and then classified it as a suicide. He was the leader, and since no useful clues were found at the scene, everyone let it go.

"It seems this Chen Bin really has a problem," Yu Haifeng said.

Such a rapid promotion could only mean two things: either he performed a great meritorious service or he helped someone with a major task. In Chen Bin's case, it should be the latter.

"I also had someone discreetly inquire about Chen Bin's family's assets."

"He and his wife own a total of four properties. Apart from one they bought when they got married, the other three were all purchased in the last three years."

"Their family car also changed from an economical commuter car to a luxury sedan, and his wife's jewelry, handbags, etc., have all become high-end luxury goods. He must have profited quite a bit in recent years."

Ye Lin shook his head. "Qiang Teng Group probably gave him a lot too. Look at his later transfer to Chengguan Village Police Station; it was likely to cooperate with Qiang Teng Group in acquiring land."

"This guy actually sold out his police badge for money; he deserves to die," Zhao Jianfeng said fiercely.

Although he was a seasoned veteran, his respect for the police badge had never wavered in his heart.

"These are all the leads we have now. It seems there's no useful evidence," Yu Haifeng said with a self-deprecating laugh.

"There isn't, but we can continue to investigate deeper. I have another lead here; let's try it," Ye Lin said.

Then he pulled out his notebook, "Does Chen Bin own a house in Blue Garden Community?"

Yu Haifeng compared it and said, "Yes, he bought it in early October two years ago. It's an old house, not very big, and it's considered normal given his income."

"No, the lead I got is that the place where he arranged to meet Zheng Xiao on the phone was Blue Garden Community."

"Team Leader Yu, Zheng Xiao disappeared in September. On the day she disappeared, she was scheduled to meet at Blue Garden Community. Half a month later, Chen Bin bought a house in Blue Garden Community. Don't you think that's quite a coincidence?" Ye Lin smiled.

"You mean, Chen Bin very likely committed the act in Blue Garden Community?" Yu Haifeng realized.

"It's possible, Team Leader Yu. Can you find out who sold this house to Chen Bin?" Ye Lin prompted.

"Alright, wait for me, it's just a phone call away." Yu Haifeng immediately pulled out his phone and started looking for someone.

Soon, the other party sent over the transaction information. This house had actually been transacted several times in a short period.

Chen Bin bought it from someone named Wang Kaili, and Wang Kaili had only held it for three days. Three days before that, the house belonged to someone named Bian Dahua.

"Consecutive transactions within a few days, that processing fee wasn't wasted for nothing," Brother Zhao said, feeling a pang of regret.

One must know that according to the transaction rules of Daxia, tax must be paid for every transaction, and it's not cheap. Based on the transaction price of 500,000 for this house, each transaction would cost over 20,000.

"This is to create an extra transaction record, so if you don't specifically investigate, you won't find the source," Ye Lin explained.

"So now this Bian Dahua is the source?" Zhao Jianfeng asked, "Who is this person?"

"I know, Bian Dahua is one of Gu Teng's thugs. This house should belong to Gu Teng, registered under Bian Dahua's name," Yu Haifeng said. He had arrested many of Gu Teng's subordinates during this time, and Bian Dahua was one of them.

"So that means this house was actually given by Gu Teng, which is to say, by Qiang Teng Group to Chen Bin."

"That's right."

"I think we should go take a look. Maybe there will be some clues," Ye Lin suggested.

"It's been three years; what clues could there still be? Even if it was a murder, any clues would have been disposed of long ago," Zhao Jianfeng felt that hope was slim.

"I believe that justice will prevail. Since it was done, there will definitely be traces," Ye Lin insisted.

"Alright then, we'll find someone to scout it out first."

Ultimately, the three decided to find an unfamiliar auxiliary police officer to go check out the house...