National Forensic Doctor-Chapter 976 - 912 - Proactive

Bang.

The interrogation room door was forcefully shut, causing Wang Zhuang, who was handcuffed to the interrogation chair, to shudder involuntarily.

"Wang Zhuang, you remember me, don’t you..."

Following the assistant’s routine questioning, the interrogator began with a smile on his face.

Wang Zhuang said uneasily, "I remember. After I committed the crime, it was you who interrogated me."

"Well, since we go way back, let me share some news with you." The interrogator looked at Wang Zhuang, his hand pressing down on a thick, prop-like file, "I have a document here, take a look."

As he spoke, someone from behind the iron bars handed a thin sheet of printed paper to Wang Zhuang.

He lowered his head and saw that one-third of the paper was covered in red text and lines. In the middle, underneath the red text and lines, there was a bolded black line of text— "Special Plan for In-depth Crackdown on Cultural Relics Crimes."

Wang Zhuang felt a mix of pain and relief in his heart, forcing a smile, "The government... I’m already in prison, even if you crack down, it won’t reach me."

The interrogator retorted, "It won’t reach you, but what about your uncle? What about your brother, and all your other relatives? Do you want to have a family reunion in prison?"

Wang Zhuang, startled, said, "Ah... that... they haven’t committed crimes..."

"Take a good look at the top. Which unit issued this red-headed document?"

Wang Zhuang whispered, "Ningtai County..."

Interrogator: "Remember anything?"

Wang Zhuang could never forget. Although he had never met Jiang Yuan, the name Jiang Yuan resonated in his ears every few days and echoed in his mind.

Wang Zhuang inhaled deeply, "Ningtai Jiangyuan, fiercely blazing."

The interrogator nodded slowly, "Do you understand now?"

"I... I really don’t understand. The government..." Wang Zhuang felt he shouldn’t be nervous, but he still was, and whispered, "My family isn’t from Ningtai, their crackdown on cultural relics crimes in Ningtai County shouldn’t involve us..."

"Were you caught in Ningtai County?" the interrogator said indifferently. "Read the document, did it state that the crackdown would only be in Ningtai County?"

Wang Zhuang shook his head blankly.

"No. It’s nationwide." The interrogator said.

"Ah... this..." Wang Zhuang was slightly startled, then remembering what he heard and saw in prison, it suddenly made sense.

The interrogator felt enough groundwork had been laid, and considering there were still tasks ahead, he threw a hardball, "Yong King’s Great Tomb in Shannan Province was robbed before the archaeological team moved in. Captain Jiang is now in charge of excavating the Yong King’s Great Tomb, and finding it like this made him very displeased, hence the decision to crack down on cultural relics crimes."

The interrogator stared at Wang Zhuang for a few seconds, then continued, "And don’t say you don’t know what Yong King’s Great Tomb is. You’ve been in this business for a long time. Even in prison, you’re allowed to watch TV, read newspapers, make phone calls. Such a major excavation, outsiders might not know, but you definitely do."

Wang Zhuang gave a wry smile, "I only know a little about it, knew that Yong Wang Tomb was a newly discovered tomb, really didn’t know Captain Jiang went there to excavate... I truly didn’t know that, if I did... I wouldn’t dare."

"Stop talking nonsense." The interrogator looked at him disdainfully, speaking slowly and pressingly, "In summary, Captain Jiang has laid down the word: if the tomb thieves aren’t caught, the crackdown won’t stop."

Wang Zhuang got confused, "What does that mean?"

"Just what it says. The items from Yong King’s Great Tomb, unless they’re retrieved, and unless the people who excavated Yong King’s Great Tomb are caught" the interrogator closed the folder in front of him, declaring the interrogation over.

Wang Zhuang got anxious instead, "We didn’t even know what Yong King’s Great Tomb was before, the name itself is new. Even if someone looted the tomb there, they wouldn’t have known to flaunt that name... and really, I haven’t heard of anyone looting a major tomb around here."

"The number of stolen artifacts isn’t large, and their economic value isn’t high, but they hold substantial archaeological value, so..." the interrogator stood up, looked at Wang Zhuang, and said, "Captain Jiang is already gathering cases of tomb robbery nationwide, and I heard that your area is also within the scope of collection."

Wang Zhuang stared dumbfoundedly at the interrogator, "He can’t... shouldn’t... it’s said the economic value isn’t high. It shouldn’t be necessary..."

...

News spread rapidly.

In less than half a day, photos of the red-headed document began circulating in some private groups.

No one knows how many leaders of tomb-robbing gangs put down their temporary 47K girlfriends, held their phones, and plunged into deep thought.

...

"Is there anyone willing to turn themselves in?"

In a Ritz-Carlton suite, Mr. Ma with a pockmarked face lay naked on the bed, a Tencent Meeting software running on his phone, his voice as somber as if coming from a grave.

A group of tomb robbers, using alternate accounts, huddled in the software, falling into silence.

They were all here for a transaction today, but by the end of the meeting, Mr. Ma read out the "Special Plan for In-depth Crackdown on Cultural Relics Crimes" issued by Ningtai County, turning a somewhat lively scene utterly quiet.

"This isn’t a joke, who wants to turn themselves in?" a middle-aged man’s voice came through, equally heavy.

Mr. Ma merely grunted, "Not turning in? Then Jiang Yuan will start sweeping for tomb-robbing cases."

"Let him sweep then." Someone chuckled.

"Huadouzi didn’t show up." Mr. Ma suddenly made an offhand remark, asking, "Does anyone know where he went?"

"He said he was coming." Someone whispered.

Mr. Ma scoffed, "Right, he said he was going to come. I heard that too. But the news I got tonight, his situation got involved."

"Huh? Huadouzi got involved? Where did you get that news?" Suddenly, several avatars lit up in the meeting software.

Mr. Ma smirked, "Hui went to pick up goods from him, nearly didn’t make it back. Ningtai police came knocking directly."

"Ah?"

"What?"

The meeting software lit up.

"You really think you a bunch of old farmers can act flawlessly? It’s just that they didn’t have the time," Mr. Ma paused, then said, "I heard that Ningtai Jiangyuan’s team, which was recently formed, includes several dozen people, even Huadouzi’s uncle and nephew are going in."

"This..."

"That’s too fast."

"Can’t be..."

Mr. Ma sat up and slowly said, "I have a suggestion, since none of us here have robbed Yong King’s Great Tomb... let’s report it, whoever has any relevant clues, let’s report them!"

"This..."

In the meeting software, suddenly, it fell silent again.

"I’ll start, I’ve already made up my mind," Mr. Ma coughed twice, and said, "I remember seeing a porcelain piece two years ago, in the same style as the artifacts from Yong King’s Great Tomb..."