The crackdown on organized crime began with the arrest of the mother-in-law.

Chapter 1311 Arrest in Xing'an County

At 2 PM, Xiao Zhou's train slowly pulled out of the station. Looking at the scenery rushing past the window, he silently resolved: this time, he must catch Zhao Gang; he couldn't let him harm anyone else, and he couldn't let Chen Wannian's sacrifice be in vain. Meanwhile, the police in Xing'an County had already set up surveillance on Sun Qiang's residence, and a tense manhunt was about to begin. Everyone firmly believed that with the close cooperation and tireless efforts of all parties, the truth about the Dongshan Park corpse case would soon be revealed, and justice would ultimately prevail.

At 7 p.m. on Monday, the lights in the conference room of the Xing'an County Public Security Bureau were blindingly bright. Xiao Zhou and two team members had just gotten off the train and headed straight there to meet up with the local police. Li Wei, the captain of the Xing'an County Criminal Investigation Brigade, had already laid out a floor plan of Zhao Gang's uncle Sun Qiang's house on the table, along with surveillance screenshots from the surrounding streets. "Captain Zhang, according to the clues you provided, Sun Qiang lives in Fumin Lane in the old town. That area is full of low-rise houses, narrow lanes, and many side streets. Once Zhao Gang senses something is wrong, he can easily slip into one of those lanes." Li Wei pointed to a red mark on the floor plan. "Sun Qiang's house is a detached house with a low wall, about 1.8 meters high. There's a small gate in the backyard that leads directly to the vegetable market behind it. This is a crucial escape route, and we must have someone guard it."

Xiao Zhou leaned closer, tracing the floor plan with his finger: "Zhao Gang has a prior theft record, strong counter-surveillance awareness, and may be carrying a weapon. We must ensure a foolproof arrest. I suggest we split into three groups: the first group, led by me, will break through the main gate and control Zhao Gang and Sun Qiang inside the courtyard; the second group, with personnel arranged by Captain Li, will guard the back gate and the entrance to the vegetable market to prevent Zhao Gang from escaping through the back gate; the third group will set up roadblocks at both ends of Fumin Alley to prevent unauthorized personnel from entering, while also intercepting any suspects who might try to escape through the alley."

He paused, then looked at Li Wei and added, "Also, could you arrange for two civilian vehicles to be parked 50 meters away from the alley entrance, disguised as residential vehicles, to avoid prematurely exposing our target? We'll first send plainclothes officers to observe near Sun Qiang's house to confirm whether Zhao Gang is inside and the situation of the people inside, before deciding on the specific time for the arrest."

Li Wei nodded and immediately assigned tasks to his team: "Xiao Wang, take two plainclothes officers and go to Fumin Lane to find out the situation. Be careful to stay hidden and report any news immediately. Xiao Zhang, get two civilian cars and park them on the east and west sides of the lane entrance. The rest of you, divide into three groups and prepare the arrest tools according to the division of labor Zhang gave you. Meet at the entrance of the Public Security Bureau in half an hour."

At 7:40 p.m., plainclothes police officer Xiao Wang reported: "Sun Qiang's house is lit up. There is a red electric tricycle in the yard, which is similar to the model captured by the city's surveillance cameras. Looking through the window, there are two men inside. One is sitting on the sofa watching TV and his build is the same as Zhao Gang's. The other is busy in the kitchen and should be Sun Qiang. The two do not seem to be going out for the time being. The back gate is ajar and not locked."

"Great! Now!" Xiao Zhou stood up, picked up his tactical vest and put it on. "Everyone, pay attention: keep quiet during the operation, try not to disturb the surrounding residents, and immediately subdue any resistance to ensure your own safety."

At 8 p.m. sharp, the arrest team quietly arrived at Fumin Township in three groups. Xiao Zhou led the first group of team members, crouching low as they approached the front gate of Sun Qiang's house. Team member Xiao Li gently pushed open the half-closed gate, and a red electric tricycle was clearly visible inside the yard. The truck bed still had a small amount of mud on it, similar in color to the soil at Dongshan Park.

"Action!" Xiao Zhou ordered in a low voice, and the team members rushed into the courtyard. Hearing the commotion, Zhao Gang in the living room jumped up from the sofa, reaching for his waistband behind his back—where a switchblade was hidden. "Don't move! Police!" Xiao Zhou lunged forward, grabbing Zhao Gang's wrist tightly. Xiao Li and another team member immediately stepped forward, handcuffing Zhao Gang's arms behind his back.

Hearing the commotion in the living room, Sun Qiang, who was in the kitchen, ran out with a kitchen knife. Seeing the yard full of police officers, he froze in fear. "Put down the knife!" Li Wei and his second team arrived just in time, subdued Sun Qiang, and took the knife from his hand.

The entire arrest took less than a minute, and there was no violent resistance. Zhao Gang was pinned to the ground, his face pale, his eyes filled with panic and resentment, still trying to argue, "Why are you arresting me? I haven't done anything wrong!"

Xiao Zhou squatted down and looked at Zhao Gang: "You didn't do anything wrong? You know Chen Wannian from Dongshan Park, right? Where were you last Sunday night?" Upon hearing "Chen Wannian" and "Dongshan Park," Zhao Gang's body visibly trembled, his eyes darted away, and he couldn't say another word.

Subsequently, the team searched Sun Qiang's home and found a dark gray cotton coat in the bedroom wardrobe. The coat had a small amount of dark brown stains on it, which, according to preliminary testing, were suspected to be bloodstains. At the bottom of the bed of the red electric tricycle, they found a plastic board that perfectly matched the black plastic fragments collected at the Dongshan Park site, with the fracture marks matching perfectly. In addition, they found a shovel in the yard's storage room, and the soil on the shovel was consistent with the soil composition of the planting pits in Dongshan Park.

"The evidence is conclusive, take them away!" Xiao Zhou stood up and gestured for his officers to put Zhao Gang and Sun Qiang into the police car. Sun Qiang cried and shouted the whole way, "I didn't know he was a murderer! He said he was just hiding for a few days, I really didn't know!"

At 9:30 p.m., the police car returned to the Xing'an County Public Security Bureau. Xiao Zhou arranged for his team to conduct a preliminary questioning of Sun Qiang, while he himself led Zhao Gang into the interrogation room. The interrogation room was dimly lit. Zhao Gang sat in the interrogation chair, his head bowed low, his hands trembling uncontrollably. Xiao Zhou pushed a glass of water in front of him: "Zhao Gang, at this point, there's no use in trying to deny it. You killed Chen Wannian, didn't you? The red electric tricycle, the shovel, the dark gray coat—all this evidence is here. You'd better confess truthfully and try to get leniency."

Zhao Gang remained silent for a long time before suddenly raising his head, his eyes wide with anger: "I killed him... I shouldn't have been so foolish, I shouldn't have killed him..." His voice was choked with sobs, and his mental defenses began to crumble.

Seeing that Zhao Gang was willing to confess, Xiao Zhou softened his tone: "Tell me, why did you kill him? How did you kill him? Explain the whole process clearly."

Zhao Gang took a deep breath and slowly began, "I owed gambling debts and wanted to borrow money from Chen Wannian, but he refused and even called me useless. Later, I found out he had tens of thousands of yuan in savings, so I decided to rob him. Last Sunday night, I lied to him and said I had an emergency, and asked him to meet me at Dongshan Park. When he arrived, I used the corner of a quilt I had prepared to strangle him. When he struggled, he scratched my arm, but I didn't dare let go until he stopped moving..."