I Found the Gold!

"Huh?"

Liu Chao, Zhao Gang, Wu Kuan, Wang Jun, and Mu Qianqian all looked at Qin Feng in confusion when they heard him telling them to wait. They did not understand Qin Feng's hesitation.

"Qin Feng, what's wrong? Is there a problem?"

Liu Chao looked at Qin Feng and suddenly remembered that he mentioned something being found earlier.

"Captain, if my guess is correct, even if we scour every inch of this bank, we won't be able to find the missing gold."

While he spoke, Qin Feng approached Liu Chao and the others until he was standing right in front of them.

With a frown, Liu Chao snapped, "Did you find something? What is it? Stop making us guess!"

"Take a look at this, captain."

Qin Feng put the gold residue in his palm and showed them to Liu Chao and the others.

"Qin Feng, what is this?"

Mu Qianqian asked while the others looked at the sand-like amalgamate in Qin Feng's hand with a puzzled expression.

"It's a piece of gold residue."

Qin Feng answered truthfully.

"Gold?"

Mu Qianqian did not understand what Qin Feng meant and asked.

The others did not understand what Qin Feng meant either. After all, they were not expecting the criminals to melt down all the gold within just a few hours. As such, they were only trying to look for shiny gold bars, and not small pieces of gold residue no larger than specks of sand.

"Yes, it's gold. I found it over there.".

Qin Feng nodded and looked at the others.

"Qin Feng, what are you trying to say?"

Zhao Gang could not understand, and he was starting to lose his cool.

Qin Feng sighed and responded, "Unless I'm wrong, the robbers did not manage to get the gold out with them. Rather, they've hidden the gold throughout the bank, but in a different form from what you're expecting."

"Qin Feng, what different form? Stop trying to keep us in suspense!" This time, it was not Zhao Gang who spoke, but Wu Kuan, who was usually the quietest of the bunch.

"What I mean is that a ton of gold is not a small amount. Everyone knows that they can't take it out under our noses, so these robbers have employed a different method instead. They took the gold and hid it in a different form within the bank. If my deduction is correct, the criminals would eventually return to the bank openly to collect the gold."

Upon hearing Qin Feng's words, everyone froze, not knowing how to react. After all, this possibility had not once crossed their minds.

After giving it some thought, they realized Qin Feng's words had indeed made sense. They could not explain the sudden disappearance of one ton of gold otherwise.

"Qin Feng, do you have any evidence to back your claim?"

Liu Chao had a solemn expression. After all, evidence was everything, especially for such a major case. It was impossible for Qin Feng to realize the criminals' actions just based on pure deduction. However, even though those were his own words, he would likely have went along with Qin Feng's hypothesis anyway, since he had no idea how to proceed.

Qin Feng raised the gold residue in his palm again and said, "This is the best proof I have. Other than the possibility that I mentioned, we have no other way to explain the origin of this residue."

Liu Chao pondered for a moment, then, he looked at Mu Qianqian, Zhao Gang, and Wu Kuan and said, "Each of you, take a group and expand the search area. Continue the search. This time, don't just search for ordinary gold as it might not exist in its original form."

The three of them nodded, indicating that they had received the captain's orders. Then, they turned around and left.

"Also, don't raise a ruckus after you've found the gold. Come back and report to me as soon as possible. We must be careful about this matter as to not alert the criminals. We must prepare a follow-up plan."

Liu Chao looked at the three people who were leaving and added.

"Don't worry, captain. We understand."

The others understood the seriousness of the matter. They put away their usual playful attitude and answered with a serious expression.

With that, Qin Feng and Liu Chao then joined the search for gold as well.

Ring ~

Captain Liu Chao's phone suddenly rang. After taking a glance at the caller ID, he then walked to the side and answered the call. "Hello, chief, this is Liu Chao."

"Liu Chao, the social impact of this case is severe. The netizens who don't know the truth are now criticizing our police department very unreasonably. The whole country is watching this case. The Quartet is hot on our tail, and they have even given us a time limit to get this case settled. I understand that it must be tough for you guys on scene, but please do your best to catch the robbers as soon as possible! We need to give the people an explanation!"

The voice of Ocean City's Police Chief, Li Dahe, came from the phone. This amiable old chief's tone was full of solemnity and sternness.

"Please rest assured, chief. I will definitely solve this case as soon as possible, recover the lost gold, and at the same time, regain everyone's confidence in us. Chief, we have found some clues on our side and are currently searching for the missing gold. We should have the results soon."

Liu Chao replied after hearing Chief Li's heavy tone.

Upon hearing that Liu Chao had made some progress on the case, his tensed nerves relaxed a little. "It's good that there has been progress. I won't disturb your work, but Captain Liu, you have to know how bad the impact of this case is. If something goes wrong, I'm afraid that you and I would have to retire."

"I will do my best."

After hanging up, Liu Chao let out a long sigh. He looked at the busy police officers around him and fell into deep thought. 'Is Qin Feng's hypothesis correct? Can we actually find the missing gold?'

"Captain, captain, we found it!"

Zhao Gang walked over quickly and whispered in a hushed but excited tone.

"Really? You found it so quickly? Where did you find it?"

Liu Chao's face visibly changed when he heard Zhao Gang's words.

Zhao Gang was also grinning from ear to ear as he responded, "Captain, it's over here. You definitely won't guess where I found it. Our team found it in the trash can. It's just as Qin Feng said. The gold doesn't look anything like its original form. After it was melted, it was wrapped with a layer of iron and then made into various shapes. It looks just like scrap iron."

As they spoke, Zhao Gang had already brought Liu Chao over to the trash can where he found the gold. Qin Feng, Wu Ju, and Mu Qianqian were also waiting there.