It was the National Day holiday, and I hadn't rested, still grinding out words. If you have any monthly passes, please support me—consider it comfort. Thank you.

At this moment, Officer Yang used vivid, living examples to show Old Man He the true meaning of utterly losing all integrity.

"This is..." For a moment, Old Man He was somewhat panicked, but mostly enraged: "Collusion between officials and merchants to oppress the common people—heaven will not tolerate it."

That statement didn't seem entirely wrong. After all, Officer Yang was clearly an official, and Wang Guan, Tang Qinghua, and Fang Mingsheng were bona fide businessmen. Officials and merchants assembled, plus a common citizen?

"Are you a common citizen?"

Since the masks had already been torn off, Yu Feibai scoffed and stomped down: "When you were selling fakes, why didn't you claim to be an honest person, a harmless, ordinary citizen?"

"Alright, stop the nonsense," Wang Guan didn't want to invite more trouble. He waved his hand, signaling, "Check the backyard, especially that row of large jars in the corner; they look very suspicious."

Hearing this, Old Man He's face instantly changed, and he cried out in alarm, "You are trespassing on private property..."

"It's always the same thing—don't you have any new words?" Yu Feibai sneered, but then he noticed Old Man He’s agitation, realizing he must have hit a nerve. He immediately rushed toward the backyard.

The others followed suit, but Officer Yang, with his richer experience in handling cases, gave a subtle look, and two officers positioned themselves on either side of Old Man He, politely asking him to "cooperate with the investigation."

Meanwhile, the group arrived in the backyard. By this time, the sky was just beginning to pale slightly, the time before dawn between three and four AM. Even without lights, one could vaguely make out the backyard's layout. It was as desolate as before, containing only that row of large jars in the corner.

At that moment, everyone walked cautiously toward the jars, wary that someone might suddenly spring out from inside. Fortunately, that did not happen. They reached the corner smoothly, then hesitated, unsure how to proceed.

"Move the jars and let’s see," Wang Guan reminded them softly.

As the others began moving the jars, Old Man He’s lips moved, but he ultimately said nothing. Instead, his rigid body suddenly softened. His face turned deathly pale.

In moments of danger, people naturally seek safety and avoid peril; Old Man He was no exception. Let the other fellow suffer, not me. Since the trap was already set—the turtle caught in the jar—shouting a warning now would be useless and would only fully expose him.

Old Man He reasoned that he wasn't too deeply involved in this affair; it was merely harboring a fugitive and handling stolen goods, making him an accomplice rather than the principal offender. The blame shouldn't be too great...

As Old Man He was internally justifying his actions, a bodyguard tried to move the middle jar but found it wouldn't budge an inch. Such an obvious anomaly naturally drew intense scrutiny from everyone.

"What now?"

For a moment, everyone looked to Wang Guan to make the decision.

"If we can't move it, let's try turning it," Wang Guan said quietly. "When you turn it, everyone should step back a few paces. Who knows which patch of ground might suddenly vanish."

Following Wang Guan's reminder, the group instinctively spread out, especially Officer Yang and his team, who habitually drew their weapons and took alert positions. The guns might be unloaded, but surely no one would risk betting on it.

"Whoosh..."

Just then, a bodyguard pressed down on the edge of the jar and gave it a strong turn. The jar immediately began to spin rapidly. Instantly, about five or six steps away from the jar, a hole gaped open in the ground.

In a flash, beams of intense light from everyone’s flashlights pierced the inky blackness of the cavity. Inside, they could see a rather deep cellar, complete with a small ladder extending vertically downwards.

"Just as expected."

Seeing this, Officer Yang, after his initial shock, broke into undisguised elation. His suspended heart finally settled firmly back in his chest. However, they still needed to confirm what exactly was in the cellar and how many people were hidden there.

"Xiao He, call the brothers in," Officer Yang remained calm and did not rush to look closer. Instead, he called out his colleagues who were lying in wait around the perimeter. Instantly, more than a dozen officers flooded the spacious courtyard, surrounding the cellar entrance—a situation truly deserving of the term "catching the turtle in the jar." Unless those below could fly or burrow through the earth, their only option was to surrender obediently.

"Everyone inside, you can come out now," Officer Yang declared triumphantly. "I know you can hear me. It might be a bit cliché, but I have to say it: you are completely surrounded, with no way out. It’s best to be smart and climb out one by one voluntarily. Otherwise, we’ll toss in tear gas..."

"Tear gas?" Yu Feibai sounded surprised. "That kind of equipment is quite rare domestically. Your unit is so advanced to have such provisions?"

Officer Yang was in a good mood and chuckled as he explained, "Homemade tear gas. Just mix in a packet of chili powder."

"Wow, you're vicious!" Yu Feibai became enthusiastic. "If you mix in some salt crystals with the chili powder, it might have a richer flavor."

"Might as well add cumin."

Perhaps hearing their discussion, or perhaps realizing escape was hopeless, and wanting to avoid unnecessary trouble, there was finally movement from the cellar. A person slowly crawled out. As soon as he reached the surface, he wisely raised his hands, walked knowingly to a corner by the wall, crouched down, covering his head, looking utterly resigned to his fate.

This was the most realistic reaction. When the situation turned bad and there was no hope of escape, probably no one wanted to struggle to the death. Besides, this was just tomb raiding, not murder or armed robbery—why endure pain by resisting?

"This is a repeat offender," Officer Yang glanced over and immediately pinpointed their mindset with a sharp observation. Once is once; twice is familiar. After many experiences, these people become quite composed. Being caught and jailed is routine; they are used to it. Any old hand understands cooperation with the police better: no struggling, no protesting innocence, and certainly no resistance, lest the officers resort to harsher measures.

This was understandable. Officers are human too. Chasing down fugitives in the middle of the night—how could they not have some underlying anger? If the criminals cooperate quietly, no matter how annoyed the officers are, they won't do much. But if the criminals are uncooperative and increase the officers' workload, their fate could be predictable.

Compared to the "unruly" rookies, the old hands were much smoother. They crawled out one by one and crouched down neatly in the corner, spaced far apart from each other, completely alleviating Officer Yang's lingering doubts.

Seeing this situation, Officer Yang nodded with satisfaction. With a wave of his hand, officers stepped forward to handcuff the suspects. With that, the capture operation concluded, a complete success.

"Take them all away. Start the interrogations and take statements immediately..." Officer Yang directed. "Also, send two more men down into the cellar to search for any stolen goods."

As the officers escorted Old Man He and the others out, the two policemen prepared to enter the cellar as instructed by Officer Yang, but Wang Guan raised his hand to stop them.

"Wait, there's someone else inside."

Under the confused gazes of the group, Wang Guan approached the cellar entrance and called out softly, "Brother Guan, you can come out now."

"...Master Wang,"

After a long silence, someone indeed crawled silently out of the cellar. Without a doubt, this person was Guan Yang. When he reached the edge of the cellar opening, he froze. His expression was somewhat strained, and he forced a stiff smile: "Master Wang, you promised to help me explain things clearly to the officers..."

"Don't worry. I definitely won't forget what I promised you," Wang Guan chuckled lightly. "By the way, your text message was a bit late. But it did arrive eventually, so it counts as mitigating your offense..."

"It really wasn't my fault," Guan Yang complained aggrievedly. "I thought they wouldn't move until midnight. Who knew that as soon as they arrived, they started blasting? I didn't even have a chance to send a warning text. I only found an opportunity after we finally settled down."

At this moment, Yu Feibai suddenly understood: "So you knew about the cellar because Guan Yang told you? I thought your divine calculation ability had reached the level of discerning the unseen from the slightest indication."

Wang Guan smiled and continued his questioning, "Brother Guan, are the stolen goods hidden in the cellar?"

"No, they aren't."

Why do both police and bandits favor using moles? Because no matter how solid a fortress is, it cannot withstand internal sabotage. Guan Yang’s role now was like a Trojan horse program in a computer, stealing private information and exposing it directly.

Traitors are the most detested, but for Wang Guan and his group, this was pure gospel.

"The goods are hidden in Old Man He's room. We planned to split the money after he helped us move them!" Guan Yang confessed everything, striving to be a cooperating witness to distance himself from the situation.

"Take us there," Yu Feibai suggested, and the idea was unanimously approved.

Guan Yang then took the initiative, expertly leading everyone to Old Man He's room, pointing to the safe tucked in the corner: "Everything is locked inside. It requires a password and a key."

"That's simple enough!" Officer Yang called out, and a junior officer quickly retrieved the key and the combination from Old Man He.

While unlocking it, Yu Feibai asked Guan Yang curiously, "How much stuff did you guys actually excavate from the tomb?"

"Not much," Guan Yang shook his head. "It was indeed a large tomb, but it had already been looted before. The gold, silver, jade artifacts, and other burial objects are gone; only some scattered odds and ends remain."

As he spoke, the safe opened. The group looked in and saw that the cabinet was divided into three tiers: top, middle, and bottom. Each tier held various items. There were rusted bronze wares, jade pieces with warm, aged patina, and some ceramic cups, bowls, and ornaments.

In short, it was a jumble, chaotic and lacking any discernible pattern.

"Are all these things dug out of the tomb?" Officer Yang inquired. Although he didn't know the specific value of these items, he figured that anything carefully stored in a safe must be quite valuable.

The sentencing and classification of tomb-raiding cases are generally linked to the value of the recovered items. At least for Officer Yang, the bigger the case, the greater his contribution, so this was a matter of primary concern.