Animal Detective

Be that as it may, Yang Zeran still seriously analyzed the possibilities on the way there.

He believed the people running the gambling operation had set up a two-tiered failsafe.

As for how the real and fake casinos passed information, he figured it had to be done by human runners.

Basically, someone would be posted at a distance with a telescope. As soon as they saw the fake casino get busted, they would immediately notify the real one.

And how would they send the notification? On foot, of course. They’d run.

"So, you see, the real and fake casinos aren’t too far apart. That’s probably to make it easy to pass on the warning. By the time our guys realize something is off and start searching again, they’ll have had more than enough time to get away safely."

After laying out his analysis, Yang Zeran added, "If it were up to me, I’d start by tailing the lookouts on the perimeter to confirm where the casino is actually located."

"Then, instead of moving in right away, I’d spread our men out. They’re using signal jammers, right? So as soon as we find an area where the signal drops, we’ll know they have to be nearby."

"And I wouldn’t use a drone. It’s too obvious. Once it enters the jammed area, it can’t transmit information back in real time. We’d be operating blind, unable to make a solid plan, and it would be very difficult to catch them."

Running a casino in the mountains is all about being hidden and having an easy escape route.

You could surround the entire mountain to make sure they can’t escape, but that would be too resource-intensive.

"That’s why using Teddy for reconnaissance is actually a great idea."

Yang Zeran turned to playfully pat Teddy in the back seat. It could fly, and it was stealthy.

But when he turned back around, he noticed Shen Xin’s expression was off.

Yang Zeran paused, puzzled. "What? Am I wrong about something?"

Shen Xin’s face certainly didn’t look like he agreed with the theory.

Shen Xin shook his head. "No, no, your analysis is pretty good."

"That’s not it!"

Yang Zeran furrowed his brow and thought it over again seriously.

But he couldn’t see any flaws in his logic. Seeing that Shen Xin still wouldn’t talk, he gave up. "Oh, come on. We’re analyzing the case. Just say what’s on your mind."

Only then did Shen Xin speak up. "Your idea about using runners to pass messages... I think that’s taking too much for granted."

"It’s a mountain, covered in trees, with uneven terrain. Even if you were at a high vantage point, you wouldn’t necessarily have a clear line of sight."

"And as for running through the mountains to deliver a message... well, I’ve had to do it before. It’s no easy task."

The fake casino and the real one were nearly three kilometers apart.

When Yang Zeran said it wasn’t far, he was thinking of flat ground.

In the mountains, a distance of almost three kilometers...

Shen Xin had searched for suspects in the mountains before. He knew just how difficult the paths were; it was anything but easy.

Yang Zeran opened his mouth to argue, but he swallowed his words and said, "Keep going."

Shen Xin wasn’t trying to be difficult on purpose.

Using runners to pass messages sounded reasonable and simple in theory, but putting it into practice was another matter entirely.

Shen Xin continued, "Also, have you considered why the suspects would set up two casinos in the first place? Don’t you think that in itself is a bit strange?"

Yang Zeran immediately replied, "I already told you. It’s a two-tiered failsafe."

The lookouts are one layer of security, the fake casino is the second. It ensures their operation is foolproof.

"I’m not so sure about that."

Shen Xin shook his head. "If they’re going to go through all the trouble of setting up a two-tiered failsafe, they might as well just put more effort into their perimeter lookouts."

"Think about it. They set up signal jamming at the real casino, but they were still able to get the message that we were making arrests."

"That means they have some special method for transmitting information."

"If that’s the case, why bother with a fake casino at all? The moment the perimeter lookouts spot our people, they could just send the message directly."

"The casino is up in the mountains; they’d still have plenty of time to escape."

Yang Zeran crossed his arms, thought for a moment, then countered, "Now you’re the one making assumptions. Even if they have a special way of sending messages, what if the lookout doesn’t have time to send it?"

As he spoke, he frowned and said tentatively, "Could it be on purpose? Maybe they know we’re onto them, so they set up a fake casino specifically to taunt us."

Shen Xin was taken aback and immediately replied, "What are you talking about? Taunting us? They’re just running a gambling den. It wouldn’t escalate to that."

’Taunting the police? How much nerve would that take?’

’If they really pissed off the police, we’d cast an inescapable net. We might even end up surrounding the whole mountain.’

Yang Zeran had just been spitballing. He shot back, "Then what’s your explanation?"

Shen Xin shook his head.

"I don’t know. I’m just saying it’s strange. As for why they’re actually doing it this way, we’ll have to catch them to find out."

Shen Xin wasn’t a mind reader; how could he guess the suspects’ true motives?

Yang Zeran scoffed and rolled his eyes at Shen Xin. He’d actually thought Shen Xin was about to reveal some profound insight.

Shen Xin just smiled, said nothing more, and focused on driving.

’Actually, Shen Xin had already thought about this point.’

’He figured it must be a countermeasure against undercover officers.’

’The most common method for busting a gambling ring is to send in an undercover officer to confirm the location, send the signal, and have the perimeter team move in.’

’This crew had set up signal jamming.’

’But there was no jamming on the way up the mountain, which meant there was still a risk of the location being exposed.’

’Having two locations was a way to guard against an undercover agent sending a signal out.’

’Once the fake casino was busted, they’d know there was a mole in that group of gamblers and could immediately clean house.’

’But the key was still their method of transmitting information.’

’Shen Xin had a vague idea, but he couldn’t be sure of it.’

As he was driving, he suddenly got a call from Zhang Hancheng, who asked if he was headed to Ji Port.

Zhang Hancheng said, "The team at Ji Port is getting ready to move. I’ll send you a location. Head straight there, and we’ll rendezvous on-site."

After he hung up, Yang Zeran heard they were finally making a move and grumbled, "So now that there’s a lead, we’re finally taking action. What were they doing all this time?"

Shen Xin thought to himself, ’How can you compare the two?’

’You can never completely stamp out gambling.’

’Besides, it’s not exactly an urgent matter. The guys in the field are all busy with their caseloads; they can’t possibly keep an eye on this one thing forever.’