“No matter how much you say it, the fact that Xiao Luo killed people will never change. What is the point of having laws if a murderous villain can run wild and go unpunished without having to be tried in court? Why are we as police officers even still needed?”
“The country comes first, and then its people. The law follows that. If the state does not exist, even the basic lives of people cannot be protected. If that happens, for what purpose does the law exist?”
“That’s absurd, Dad. I think you are getting more and more muddle-headed!”
“I’m not becoming muddle-headed. I’m seeing things much deeper and more thoroughly. There are many things police officers cannot handle. This world is a lot more complex than you can imagine. The reason that peace and prosperity can be enjoyed is because so many people have had to make sacrifices to silently protect this country without any medals or honor. Even their names are a blank. However, their contribution is enormous and cannot be erased.”
“Are you going to tell me that Xiao Luo is such a person?”
“That’s right. He is exactly such a person. To all of you he may be a criminal who violated the law, but for the country and the entire Chinese race, he deserves the worthiest of praises.”
Just talking about Xiao Luo made Gu Zhanguo and Gu Qianlin get into a heated argument. By now, their faces and ears had both turned red. Neither of them was willing to back down and come to a compromise regarding this subject.
In an attempt to mediate the argument, Fan Changlong coughed and gently said, “Old Captain and Team Leader Gu, please calm down. Don’t destroy the feelings between father and daughter because of an outsider!”
“Fan Changlong, stop pushing the problem around!”
Gu Zhanguo was riled up and had become hot-tempered. “As the highest-ranking official in the NSA, I will use my position to bail out Xiao Luo. Whoever dares to touch him will be treated and handled as treasonous.”
Sigh…
Fan Changlong took a deep, cold breath. This old captain was becoming more serious. The NSA was under the central government’s jurisdiction. Even members of the provincial departments and party committees had no authority to interfere with the NSA’s actions, not to mention Fan Changlong as the director of the municipal bureau.
“Do we, the NSA, need to discuss when we take action?” Gu Zhanguo shouted, getting his point across with a bright and authoritative voice.
The two NSA members in suits responded unanimously, “There is no need!”
Gu Zhanguo stubbornly glanced at Fan Changlong and Gu Qianlin. He let out a light harrumph before leaving with his hands behind his back. Through his dominating attitude, he had brought the point that Xiao Luo belonged to the NSA and whoever dared to touch him would suffer across to Fan Changlong, as well as Gu Qianlin.
“The old captain is so hot-tempered. I didn’t say I was going to decline. Sigh…”
Fan Changlong spoke with a bitter smile. He had not been planning to give up until all hope was lost and the old captain was forced to make use of his position as commander of the NSA. It was hard to say whether this incident had offended the old captain. In the end, he had to let Xiao Luo go.
“My dad is muddle-headed! Xiao Luo has to be prosecuted under the law!”
Gu Qianlin was not planning to give in so willingly. Going back to the scene of the underground parking lot, she had seen Xiao Luo brutally kill He Ruanliang with her own eyes that. The scene often appeared in her dreams and had become a thorn in her heart. If Xiao Luo wasn’t brought to justice, she would never be able to get over that incident. Furthermore, punishing crime with justice was the right thing to do, so what was wrong?
“We are unable to interfere any further,” Fan Changlong said after a long sigh.
Gu Qianlin anxiously asked, “Why can’t we?”
“The old captain’s next step will be to make Xiao Luo a member of the NSA,” Fan Changlong said. “As the old leader just said, there is no reason for the NSA to discuss their actions with us. Similarly, NSA members are not what we police officers can manage.”
“How can my dad do this?” Gu Qianlin asked while gritting her teeth. “This is as good as covering for criminals. I must appeal, even if it means bringing the incident up to Hua Jing. I must stop him from making a mistake.”
“Calm down. No department has the authority to interfere with the NSA’s actions.”
Fan Changlong patted Gu Qianlin’s shoulders and hoped she would calm down. “The old leader is very dominating and determined to bail out and protect Xiao Luo. Presumably, Xiao Luo must have another unknown identity that is related to national security. In the eyes of the old captain, national security is more important than the sky, so we must make concessions.”
Gu Qianlin was shocked to her core. She started to feel that the world was becoming unfamiliar. Ever since she became a police officer, she had been fighting crime. Her principles were that any violation of the law must be pursued. The truth she had believed in was collapsing, and she was not willing to accept that.
“I’m not giving in. By what means can Xiao Luo, who committed murder without any impunity, get off scot-free? What is the justice that I have been insisting on all this time? If national security is greater than the sky, does that mean that in the face of national security even murder can be pardoned? In the end, am I feeling prejudiced or have the values of this world been distorted?”
She was shouting so loudly at Fan Changlong that her eyes were red. Meeting with her father was supposed to be a happy occasion, but her father had instantly destroyed the perspective that she had built growing up. If a murderer could be pardoned, what else was there that could not be pardoned?
“Qianlin, don’t be like this,” Ye Wenson said. “We are still representatives of justice. It’s just that the NSA belongs to the department of national security and we do not have jurisdiction over them.”
Fan Changlong helplessly sighed. His heart was not able to calm down for two days after letting go of a brutal, murderous guy.
…
Xiao Luo didn’t know how long he had been in a coma. When he woke up, he found himself in a hospital bed. The sunlight shone through the window, which was particularly dazzling.
After his eyes cleared, he saw a middle-aged man with white hair sitting on the stool next to him. He was holding a fruit knife and peeling apples.
“You’re awake,” Gu Zhanguo said with a smile.
“You are?”
Xiao Luo was sure that he did not know or recognize this middle-aged man.
“Gu Zhanguo, the highest commander of the National Security Administration, NSA.”
Gu Zhanguo introduced himself in a dignified and poised manner. He smiled and asked, “What about you? Do I call you Mie, or your name, Xiao Luo?”
When he heard him casually mention the name Mie, Xiao Luo’s eyes slightly widened. He connected it back to the time when he contacted Bai Ling. He somehow figured out what was going on. Bai Ling had cracked his IP address and had always been secretly watched by the NSA people, which was how they were able to locate him.
Things were really quite simple, but he could not believe that Bailing was actually Bai Ling.
Bailing… Bai Ling… He should have made the association earlier.
“Director Gu, do you need something from me?” Xiao Luo asked.
“Yes!”
Gu Zhanguo handed the peeled apple to Xiao Luo and smiled before saying, “I came to Jiangcheng to bail you out!”
“Bail me out?” Xiao Luo asked with surprise.
“That’s right, I’m here to bail you out,” Gu Zhang said, affirming what he had already said.
“I killed people,” Xiao Luo reminded him with a playful look. “I killed a lot of people,”
“I know, but you are Mie!”
Gu Zhanguo’s tone became ominous as he said, “The country needs Bailing, and the country needs you too. With the protection of you and Bailing, only then can the people of China enjoy peace and prosperity.”