"So how did you rule out an inside job?" Han Yu asked softly.

"When we investigated, several crew members were very resistant. The Captain, a German, suspected it was the crew's doing. Seeing their lack of cooperation, he got furious and gathered all of them on the bridge. Not only did he demand their cooperation, but he even allowed us to search the crew's quarters and their bodies."

"Did you search?"

"We did, thoroughly inside and out, searched three times, but found no stolen money."

"Did the crew cooperate that much?"

"The German Captain said whoever didn't cooperate, he'd call the company to arrange for crew rotations."

"What was stolen from the ship?"

"Cash."

As it was an international case, Zhao Hongxing remembered it vividly and said without hesitation, "A sailor from the deck department lost over thirteen thousand six hundred US dollars, and a mechanic from the engine department lost over eight thousand dollars. Their rooms were on the second floor of the living quarters, unoccupied first floor, right up the ladder to their rooms."

Han Yu pressed further, "Were the doors forced open?"

"Yes, the rooms were ransacked, but oddly, the crew's laptops on the desks and digital cameras in the cabinets weren't taken."

Thinking for a moment, Han Yu inquired again, "Were those two crew members in their rooms at the time of the incident?"

Before Zhao Hongxing could speak, Li Jun explained, "The afternoon the incident occurred, we boarded with Customs for an inspection. Though the German Captain was strict, he was kind to the crew and asked if some could disembark first. We agreed, so during the incident, six crew members went ashore via the transport boat for entry processing."

"How many people were on the ship in total?"

"Including the Captain, eighteen in total."

"There were twelve on board, yet the thief dared to break in and steal from an unoccupied cabin. What does this imply?" Han Yu paused for a moment, answering his own question, "If this theft is linked to the river thief we're after, then this thief must be familiar with maritime operations, especially those on cargo ships."

Liu Guixiang looked up, "Highly likely no connection."

"Indeed, although you searched the ship and even the crew, over twenty thousand US dollars went missing. On such a large ship, hiding that amount of money without being detected isn't difficult."

"It would've been beneficial if we had scouted the riverbank back then. If it truly was the river thief, once he succeeded, he would have come ashore, and surely footprints would be found on the nearby riverbank."

If on land, assistance from the traffic police to review nearby traffic monitors could be solicited.

If at the docks, help from the port authority could be requested, as the docks are now equipped with closed-circuit TV monitoring.

However, it was the riverbank, with a vast expanse of reeds on the outer side of the dyke and farmland on the inner side, there were no units that would install surveillance to monitor the riverbank.

The five of them walked east along the dyke, stopping at intervals based on known crime scenes.

Around noon, they passed by the Yingchuan Port Water Rescue Center and had a free meal there, and continued walking to the junction of the Yangtze River Mainline and the Yangtze North Branch.

By six-thirty in the evening, it was already dark.

After visiting over a dozen crime scenes, the five didn't hurry back to the city. They borrowed a small conference room on the third floor of the Changzhou Marine Office, studying the locations marked on the Waterway Map, and began summarizing and analyzing the river thief's criminal patterns.

"In terms of selecting targets, the suspect always chose relatively secluded areas. There were very few boats anchoring at the time and there was some distance between those anchoring."

Han Yu, chin resting in hand, continued, "Then there are the seventeen thefts; only cash was stolen, while valuable electronics like cell phones and VCD players weren't touched. This makes it difficult for us to trace back through stolen goods but also confirms Director Zhao's previous judgment that he swam over and climbed up the ship to steal. Valuable electronics couldn't be taken because they wouldn't survive in water, even if brought would be damaged."

Liu Guixiang extrapolated, "He is very familiar with our area's geography, has some understanding of navigation and perhaps either sailed, worked at the docks, or in a shipyard."

"Judging by the frequency of the crimes, he likely isn't young, possibly over twenty-five years old." Zhao Hongxing extinguished his cigarette and added.

"Director Zhao, where did you get that idea?" Xu Haoran asked curiously.

"It's simple, he has committed over a dozen crimes with only one failure, almost all were successful with substantial gains each time. He stole cash often exceeding several thousand. If he were young and impulsive, he'd blow through the money quickly and only commit again once it's spent."

Zhao Hongxing paused and added, "But this river thief is different; he might genuinely be one of the Binjiang people, knows how to steal but not spend, otherwise wouldn't be committing frequently after succeeding."

People on the ship are different from those onshore.

Ships require fuel to operate, a refueling costs thousands, and with unpredictable routes, one never knows where the next trip might lead or if there's a bank near the next fuel stop, so they keep a lot of cash aboard.

Considering the suspect's total theft amounting to over three hundred thousand, Han Yu pondered, "Director Zhao's analysis makes sense."

Xu Haoran noted while saying, "And then there are his strong swimming skills and physical fitness, daring to dive into cold waters; with these traits identified, he should not be hard to trace."

"Salted Fish, it's up to you next; your reputation is greater than ours, a word from you to local colleagues equals ten from us!"

"Not as exaggerated as you say, after all, everyone has their own jobs."