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Chapter 8
“What’s more, the drug traffickers’ insider among the high-ranking police officers may be Jiang Ting himself.”
With a “f*ck,” Wei Yao stormed out of the deputy chief’s office, taking three steps at a time down the stairs. He pushed open the door to the Vice-Captain’s office without hesitation and said, “Yan Xie!”
Yan Xie was sitting behind his computer.
“You used my password to access the internal network again! Do you know that this violates discipline?!”
Yan Xie didn’t move, slowly raising his head. Wei Yao grew angrier at the sight of him and said, “Captain Zhu has only been hospitalized for a few days, and you’re already running wild! A few days ago, you took the entire squad out for drinking and karaoke. Did you think I didn’t know? Whenever I call you, the background noise is always there, as if every day is the end of the world! What kind of love is it among a group of grown men!”
Before Yan Xie could speak, Wei Yao interrupted him harshly, “You probably never want to get promoted, do you? Look at how you’re dressed! Your suit! Shoes! Hair! Are you here for work or a fashion show? The inspection team has criticized you countless times, at least have some memory, will you!”
Yan Xie said, “Chief Wei…”
“Log out for me! Hurry up before anyone notices!”
Wei Yao stood with his hands on his hips, wanting to continue venting some more, but suddenly he heard Yan Xie ask slowly, “How did Jiang Ting die?”
Wei Yao was taken aback, “What?”
“Gongzhou Second Anti-Drug Division Captain Jiang Ting died in the line of duty three years ago. How did he die?”
Wei Yao was stunned for a moment, then realized what Yan Xie was asking. He became annoyed and somewhat amused, “What? After all these years, you still can’t let go of that little incident with Gongzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau? Yes, Gongzhou almost took credit for your achievements back then, but in the end, what happened? You still…”
“Did Jiang Ting really die?”
“Oh, you’re not finished yet!” Wei Yao interrupted him, “What does that have to do with your current investigation of the Frozen Corpse Case 502?”
Yan Xie said, “It does.”
“It’s nonsense! When you have nothing to do, you randomly browse the internal network with my password!”
“It does,” Yan Xie repeated, pushing the case file on the desk toward Wei Yao, “Hu Weisheng, from Gongzhou, was imprisoned for a large number of overseas purchases and forging prescriptions. He has a significant suspicion of using counterfeit Adderall to induce minors into drug addiction. Several years ago, he was sentenced for attempted r*pe of a high school senior in Gongzhou. I suspect there is another hidden story in this case. The drug he used should not be the date-r*pe drug Rohypnol but an addictive hallucinogen similar to Adderall.”
“This case was handled by Jiang Ting back then,” Yan Xie looked at Wei Yao firmly, “Three years ago, during a drug raid commanded by Jiang Ting, more than ten anti-drug officers were killed in an explosion at the scene. Jiang Ting himself was blown to pieces, and I want to know what really happened.”
As Yan Xie’s voice remained steady and powerful, Wei Yao’s anger subsided and he began to sink into thought. After a long time, he finally walked over, pulled out a chair, and sat across from the desk.
“In that drug raid,” Wei Yao sighed, “The total amount of drugs seized in the end was over 80 kilograms.”
Yan Xie’s pupils contracted—such a large amount!
Wei Yao’s next words hit Yan Yin like a bucket of cold water. “They later said that it was the blood money paid by those over ten anti-drug officers.”
“…What do you mean?”
“Because of the large quantity of drugs and the high transaction amount, the drug traffickers used a three-way split of people, money, and goods in their transactions. The police identified two main trading locations based on undercover intelligence, one was a suburban plastic factory, and the other was an ecological park. Through analysis, it was determined that the buyers and sellers were hiding in the plastic factory, while a large quantity of drugs and illegal weapons were hidden in a cultivation base in the ecological park.”
“According to the original plan, Jiang Ting was supposed to lead a well-armed team of elite special police officers to raid the cultivation base, while another team set up an ambush at the plastic factory for the arrest. However, just before the operation, Jiang Ting, as the overall planner, secretly withdrew most of the elites who were supposed to go to the ecological park and hastily launched an assault on the plastic factory with obvious lack of preparation. Just half an hour later, a series of unexpected explosions occurred throughout the factory.”
“The drug traffickers and buyers escaped before the police arrived, and the bombs had been pre-planted.” Wei Yao spoke in a low voice, “Jiang Ting’s unfounded change of plans on the spot was like sending his comrades to hell.”
Yan Xie was puzzled, “Why did the drug traffickers escape? Did the operation leak?”
“Afterward, many people suspected this, and some even believed that Jiang Ting taking a large number of detectives to the plastic factory was a ‘collaboration’ with the drug traffickers. But it’s hard to prove this suspicion because Jiang Ting himself died, and the fire burned so quickly that not even a complete corpse could be found.”
Wei Yao paused there, looking skeptical. “—Wait, do you suspect that he didn’t die?”
Yan Xie slowly leaned back, his gaze somewhat unfocused. After a few seconds, he cleared his throat and said, “Oh, no, not at all.”
Wei Yao seemed like he wanted to say something but held back. Instead, he scrutinized Yan Xie with inquisitive eyes, scanning him up and down. “Then why did you ask me earlier if he really died?”
“…I was just curious why he wasn’t posthumously awarded the title of martyr. I just saw that all the sacrificed detectives of the Gongzhou Second Anti-Drug Division were honored. Even if it was a serious command mistake, he sacrificed his life on duty. It shouldn’t have reached the point where he wasn’t even given the title of martyr.”
This question was actually something Yan Xie casually brought up, but Wei Yao’s expression suddenly became awkward. After contemplating for a while, he said, “It’s because of an undercover agent.”
“Hmm?”
“After the explosion, the Gongzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau formed a special investigative team. Through a thorough investigation of all the operation plans and details, they discovered something—do you remember when I mentioned earlier that the undercover agent reported two trading locations?”
Yan Xie’s eyebrows unconsciously furrowed.
“That undercover agent, codenamed ‘Rivet,’ had been embedded within the drug trafficking organization for several years. Although he couldn’t penetrate the highest levels of the organization, codenamed ‘Big K,’ he was once close to the organization’s second-in-command. As a result, he provided valuable information and clues, making him a highly valuable source of intelligence within the Gongzhou Anti-Drug system.”
“After the explosion at the plastic factory, there were suspicions of an internal leak within the police, and Rivet faced a significant exposure crisis. Therefore, the special task force urgently formed a rescue team for him. However, when they arrived at the location, it was already too late. The drug traffickers killed Rivet, burned his body, and covered their tracks, rendering the rescue operation futile.”
Wei Yao let out a long sigh, and Yan Xie’s expression also turned solemn.
“After Rivet’s death, the special task force obtained his computer and found that he had forwarded encrypted emails from within the drug trafficking organization to the police. Decrypted, the email contained a portion of the trade deployment map, clearly indicating the location of the hidden drugs and illegal weapons in the ecological park cultivation base. This means that Jiang Ting, as the overall planner of the operation, couldn’t have missed seeing this email. So, his sudden withdrawal of elite forces from the ecological park to the plastic factory, leading to the deaths of over ten anti-drug officers in the explosion, became highly suspicious.”
Yan Xie’s tone slightly sank, “He might have done it intentionally.”
“Yes,” Wei Yao’s gaze became very serious, “Furthermore, that traitor who leaked the police operation information could very well be him.”
Yan Xie remained silent, and the air suddenly grew tense, rough like a blunt knife scraping against their facial skin.
The two sat in silence for a long time. Then, Yan Xie spoke in a low voice, “When we filed the case report for that joint operation with Gongzhou, someone came to talk to me and asked me to voluntarily give the credit to a ‘privileged individual’ in Gongzhou. I was young and full of arrogance at the time, so I refused. As a result, I was lectured by various people for half a month, feeling that the whole world had let me down. Every day, I was filled with resentment and wanted to smash the entire municipal bureau with a brick.”
Deputy Chief Wei coughed, covering his mouth.
“I threw tantrums and made a scene every day, but I kept it up until two days before the commendation ceremony. Suddenly, news came from Gongzhou again, saying that the report signed by the overall commander credited me and awarded me a Second-Class Individual Merit. And the one who was the overall commander of that operation was Jiang Ting.”
Deputy Chief Wei, who was older and more balanced in viewing matters, said, “People have many facets. It’s good to feel grateful to him for that, but you still need to look at the subsequent events objectively.”
“No, it’s not gratitude,” Yan Xie firmly said. “There’s no gratitude.”
Deputy Chief Wei didn’t understand.
However, Yan Xie didn’t explain his state of mind to others. He simply said, “I just can’t figure out this person, Jiang Ting.”
Wei Yao patted his shoulder. “He’s already dead, and although we haven’t reached a definite conclusion, there’s no use pondering over it anymore. Remember not to tell anyone else about what I told you today. After all, it’s a pending case in Gongzhou, and it’s highly sensitive. It won’t do you any good if it spreads.”
Yan Xie nodded in silence.
The telephone on the desk rang, “Hello, Vice-Captain Yan! We’ve caught that bastard Hu Weisheng, and we’re almost at the municipal bureau!”
“You guys focus on your work,” Wei Yao stood up, “Any drug-related case is not a small matter. You must investigate the source, the buyers, and the entire network. Make sure to capture all the suspect’s accomplices. If you can uncover the secrets behind the attempted r*pe case in Gongzhou, don’t miss the opportunity, understand?”
“I understand,” Yan Xie replied.
Yan Xie personally escorted Deputy Chief Wei out of the office, standing at the stairwell and watching as Wei Yao entered the elevator. Soon, the noise downstairs began to rise—the sound of cars, footsteps, and voices getting closer. The detectives who had dragged the suspect out of bed early in the morning were returning.
“Brother Yan!” Ma Xiang poked his head out from the end of the corridor and gestured towards the interrogation room, “Shall we go together?”
Yan Xie raised his hand to signal him.
Ma Xiang ran over, confused. Yan Xie leaned close to his ear and whispered softly, “You, Old Song, Old Zhao, and Vice-Captain Qin from the adjacent team, go interrogate Hu Weisheng. I’ll go out for a while, don’t spread it to anyone.”
“Where are you going…?”
Yan Xie patted his back. “Contact me if anything happens.” He then walked toward the stairs and descended a few steps but suddenly stopped, as if he remembered something.
He turned back to the office, grabbed an unused car key from the drawer, and as he stood up, his gaze fell upon the computer. His movement halted.
On the screen, Jiang Ting’s calm and indifferent gaze stared into the void, his lips slightly downturned, like a sculpture wrapped in a police uniform, devoid of any warmth.
Yan Xie and Jiang Ting locked eyes for a long time. Slowly, Yan Xie took out his gun from the drawer, holstered it at his back, put on his jacket to cover it, and turned to leave the office, closing the door behind him.
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