Li Rong looked at him suspiciously, weren't they about to leave? Why did he stop?

What was he looking at?

Following his gaze, Li Rong saw the ash on the ground.

Just as she was about to explain, Song Guanchao suddenly said, "Go wait for me in the car."

"Huh? Oh."

Li Rong was curious, but dared not ask more.

After she left, Song Guanchao walked to the balcony and picked up the clothes pole.

He stood on the balcony, his gaze slowly sweeping the entire living room from the ground beneath his feet.

Ordinary living rooms are usually paved with tiles, because tiles are easy to maintain.

But this old house was entirely floored with wood.

Even the balcony had wooden flooring, and Song Guanchao had never seen a house with a balcony floored with wood.

Looking at the condition of its upkeep, the flooring couldn't have been laid down more than five years ago.

The entire old house had clearly been renovated.

He suspected there might be a hidden compartment beneath the floors.

If Lin Bin really left something behind, it's likely under the floors.

Song Guanchao grasped the clothes pole and walked, knocking on the wooden floor beneath him.

By listening to the sound, he'd confirm if there was a hidden compartment.

He first explored the balcony because a wooden balcony was too unusual. If there was a hidden compartment, it seemed most likely there.

Yet, after knocking around, he found nothing.

He continued searching the living room, then the three rooms...

After searching, he found nothing.

"Am I overthinking?"

Song Guanchao frowned and scanned the house again, putting himself in Lin Bin's shoes.

If he needed to hide something, where would he choose?

Even he could see the wooden balcony was unusual; others might think the same.

He stared intently at the balcony's wooden floor, lost in thought.

Suddenly, inspiration struck him.

He guessed the wooden floor might deliberately be meant to mislead others.

Lin Bin was an old detective with strong counter-surveillance skills.

Anything ordinary people could think of, he surely could too.

If it were easy to find where things were hidden, he wouldn't have been a police captain for so long.

Since there was contact with Li Rong after his death, it's certain Lin Bin left something behind.

There's no doubt about that!

Moreover, Lin Bin only had two properties; his assets weren't much.

If he left something, it must be in these two houses!

His gaze swept inch by inch over the small living room, growing increasingly curious about where Lin Bin's belongings might be hidden.

He approached the wall and knocked on it.

After knocking around, he still found nothing.

After almost an hour of searching, he'd explored this house from the ceiling to the floor walls, every corner, yet found nothing.

Song Guanchao started doubting himself—was he overthinking?

Could it be that Lin Bin didn't leave anything behind?

If he hadn't left anything, why would someone contact Li Rong?

Or did Lin Bin hide things elsewhere?

Song Guanchao sighed and headed towards the door.

Just as he was about to close it, he paused.

He looked at the security door in front of him and, as if possessed, raised his hand to knock.

The security door was steel, naturally yielding no result.

But the doors inside the room were wooden.

He turned back and went to knock on one door after another.

Suddenly...

"Thump thump!"

The spot beneath the bathroom door emitted a hollow echo.

"Damn!"

Despite Song Guanchao's usual composure, he couldn't help but curse.

There really was something here!

Unbelievable!

This Captain Lin sure knew how to hide things!

Despite complaining, he secretly admired him.

If it wasn't hidden like this, the room's belongings might have been snatched away long ago.

He quickly refocused his attention, examined the door panel, and discovered a narrow side with an almost invisible same-colored wooden veneer.

Peeling it away and exerting slight force, a five-centimeter square wooden panel at the corner came off.

This thing was built with mortise and tenon joints, almost impossible to fall off unless disturbed externally.

Removing the panel revealed a small space with a USB flash drive quietly lying inside.

The flash drive was stuck on one side with double-sided tape, preventing noises from opening and closing the door.

Got to say, Lin Bin was meticulous in hiding this thing.

He pocketed the flash drive and restored everything before quickly heading downstairs.

Li Rong had been waiting in the car for so long she grew impatient, finally seeing him emerge from the unit building.

Once inside the car, Song Guanchao asked, "Besides these two houses, did you and Captain Lin have any other properties?"

"No."

"Did he ever rent a place outside?"

"No."

Seeing Song Guanchao's line of questioning, she knew he must have found nothing.

Song Guanchao asked no more, gloomily driving her back to the community.

After they left, Wen Ru stepped out of a distant car and walked over.

Looking up at the building, she murmured to herself, "This is Lin Bin's property. What did he leave behind?"

```

...

Song Guanchao returned to the party school and immediately plugged the flash drive into his laptop.

Inside were a series of files, each marked with an event.

Gold shop heist, Luo Yaowen's death threats...

He skimmed through; they were unsolved cases.

But he wasn't interested in those—he just wanted to know if Tan Xiang was really an undercover agent.

"Found it!"

He paused the mouse upon seeing a file named "Undercover."

Yet, upon opening it, he found the file blank, containing nothing.

No, not nothing—it was deleted!

He quickly checked the file's edit date.

The last edit was made last year.

That meant Lin Bin personally deleted the undercover file before his death.

Song Guanchao furrowed his brows deeply, puzzled over why Lin Bin deleted the undercover file.

Was he worried the flash drive would be found by someone outside the police, thus compromising the undercover's safety?

But if he deleted the content, why not delete the file name too?

After pondering a while, Song Guanchao roughly grasped Lin Bin's intention.

Deleting the content might indeed be due to the aforementioned concern—he worried outsiders might see the files, thus threatening the undercover's safety.

Not deleting the file was probably a precaution so police officers obtaining the flash drive could discern there were undercover agents arranged and be aware of it.

Song Guanchao couldn't help but sigh; Captain Lin's thoughts were careful, though the approach was confusing.

"Wait..."

Song Guanchao suddenly thought of another suspicion.

Leaving the file name would mean he cared about the undercover agents; he wouldn't let the other party be undercover forever.

If so, he must have left physical documents or electronic files elsewhere!

But who knows where he hid that file.

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