"It hasn't been that long, and you've already been promoted to captain." Zhao Chengshuang clicked his tongue and suddenly glared, pointing at Old Yuan as he cursed loudly, "That bastard Hou Qiang has to behave himself in front of me, what the hell are you worth, daring to gesture and point fingers in my presence!"
Zhao Chengshuang used to be a spoiled and unruly young master. Although he never did anything as egregious as bullying men and oppressing women or causing irreversible damage, he was not the type of person who would take a loss lying down.
His temperament had changed quite a bit lately, but being pointed at and scolded by a junior deputy captain still made him furious, and he didn't mince his words in response.
The nearby police officers were immediately stunned. Someone who talks is either pretending to be tough or is genuinely tough. With the way Zhao Chengshuang was acting, it didn't look like an act, which meant he was probably the real deal!
Old Yuan had been drinking and his reaction was a bit slow. He didn't think too much, and swatted away Zhao Chengshuang's hand with a slap, cursing, "You dare to curse at people, believe it or not, I'll take you back and lock you up for a few months!"
"Old Yuan!" Li Lianshan couldn't stand to watch and came over to pull Old Yuan away, saying, "Stop making a scene, he's West City Sub-bureau's Criminal Investigation Captain Zhao Chengshuang, your captain Hou Qiang was mentored by him!"
The subordinates Old Yuan had brought with him took a sharp breath in response. In recent times, Zhao Chengshuang's reputation in the city bureau was particularly prominent.
Especially since the time when the vice director of the North City Sub-bureau, Chen Tianyao, got slammed by Zhao Chengshuang, resulting in not just a dismissal from his post, but also multiple charges brought up against him, leading to a few years of sentencing. Because of that incident, every police officer in the city knew Zhao Chengshuang's name and had witnessed the Zhao family's clout.
And now, the man standing before them was none other than Zhao Chengshuang, causing the officers' calves to begin trembling.
"What Zhao Chengshuang, damn it, I don't recognize any Zhao Chengshuang!" Old Yuan was truly drunk, still making a racket, shouting and bellowing, "Li Lianshan, if you pull me again, we're not finished!"
Zhao Chengshuang also looked at Li Lianshan, saying, "Old Li, if you pull him again, that means you're not giving me face!"
Li Lianshan sighed. He got along okay with Old Yuan. But he knew that this time, Old Yuan was done for.
As Li Lianshan released his grip, Old Yuan immediately pulled out handcuffs and walked up to Zhao Chengshuang, reaching for his hand as he muttered, "Damn it, you won't shed a tear until you see the coffin, will you? I'll cuff you and take you back to the station, then we'll see how tough you are."
Before he could handcuff Zhao Chengshuang, the other officers had already hurried over and clumsily pulled Old Yuan away.
"Captain Zhao, we're really sorry. He's confused from drinking tonight, please don't stoop to his level." One officer said apologetically, smiling at Zhao Chengshuang.
"How can that be okay?" Zhao Chengshuang waved his hand, saying, "As police officers, we have rules to follow. Since he wants to arrest me, let's use this opportunity to make things clear. First, I want to ask, was he resting tonight or on duty? If he was resting, how could he be wearing a uniform and carrying equipment while handling cases? If he was on duty, why did he drink so much?
Second, I don't understand, just based on what his niece said, he can convict us? As police officers, are we supposed to protect the people, or our own relatives?"
The officers looked at each other, thoroughly embarrassed. Old Yuan was still struggling and shouting to take Zhao Chengshuang and his group back to the station. As the awkward situation escalated, a police car hurriedly arrived, with Captain Hou Qiang and two of his subordinates rushing over.
"Zhao, what brings you here?" Hou Qiang hurried to Zhao Chengshuang, nodding with a smile. What Li Lianshan said about him being mentored by Zhao Chengshuang was really just to give him face. He had only worked with Zhao Chengshuang for a while, and it was Zhao Chengshuang's help that had enabled him to climb to his current position.
Zhao Chengshuang gave Old Yuan a sidelong glance, saying, "I'm not exactly free, but if you hadn't come, I guess I would have had to go visit your station!"
Hou Qiang, already aware of most of what had happened on his way over, immediately went up to Old Yuan and slapped him across the face twice.
Seeing Hou Qiang, Old Yuan sobered up a significant amount. Covering his face, he said with a tremble in his voice, "Captain, what's… what's going on?"
Hou Qiang angrily said, "Weren't you on duty tonight? How could you be drinking so much?"
"I…I…" Old Yuan stammered, unable to articulate a response. This kind of thing isn't usually pursued, but if they really wanted to get to the bottom of it, there would genuinely be no excuse.
Old Yuan's niece stood by, dumbfounded by everything that was happening. She originally thought that with her uncle coming here, taking down these three men would be a piece of cake. She never imagined that she would stir up such a hornet's nest.
Zhao Chengshuang said, "Captain Hou, I don't know how things are done in your North City Sub-bureau. However, we have high standards for police officers in the Xicheng District. Drinking on duty is not allowed, especially to the point of being so intoxicated. According to the rules, the highest punishment is dismissal from public service!"
Hou Qiang's face turned awkward. Zhao Chengshuang saying this was plainly telling him to fire Old Yuan. With Zhao Chengshuang personally giving the word, Old Yuan was indeed finished. After all, the Zhao family wielded strong influence in Shenchuan City, and Old Yuan had made such a serious mistake tonight that there was no need for any further reasons.
Hou Qiang said, "Zhao, this... I will report it to the sub-bureau and let the bureau leaders handle it."
"Hm." Zhao Chengshuang nodded, then turned toward the woman standing to the side, saying, "By the way, I need to file a report."
Hou Qiang turned to the woman, frowning slightly, and asked, "Zhao, what happened?"
Zhao Chengshuang pointed to the little girl next to Ye Qing, saying, "I suspect this girl is involved in a case of child abuse, causing the child's arm to be dislocated from a fall."
Hou Qiang glanced at Old Yuan's niece. He knew her, and she was characteristically arrogant and domineering, relying on Old Yuan's backing, not exactly someone you could call decent.
"Take her away!" Hou Qiang waved his hand, and two policemen immediately went over and apprehended the woman.
The woman, frightened to a ghastly pallor, pleaded urgently, "Uncle Hou, that... that child wasn't injured by me, truly it wasn't me..."
"Enough with the nonsense, we'll talk after the investigation!" Hou Qiang didn't even look at her.
The woman turned to Old Yuan, her face grief-stricken as she pleaded, "Uncle, uncle, save me..."
By now, Old Yuan had fully sobered up and finally realized who the person in the wheelchair was. At this moment, he himself was like a clay Buddha crossing a river—barely able to save himself, let alone his niece.
Hou Qiang's subordinates took the woman and Old Yuan away, and Zhao Chengshuang nodded in satisfaction.
"Little Qiangzi, you've been doing quite well for yourself lately!" Zhao Chengshuang said with a smile.
"All thanks to Brother Zhao's boundless blessing!" Hou Qiang replied with a cautious chuckle, fully aware of his own situation. In Shenchuan City, he had no backing; only by holding on to Zhao Chengshuang and standing with his team did he have any chance to climb higher.
"Haha, I don't have any boundless blessings. Look at how I ended up, sitting in a wheelchair every day!" Zhao Chengshuang tapped on the wheelchair, adding, "Damn it, I'm really not used to this!"
With a laugh, Hou Qiang said, "Brother Zhao, this is what we call a heroic bearing stained with blood. Not just in Shenchuan City, even the whole Eastern Province is extolling your brave rescue that day. You could be called a model hero of our province's police system!"
"Hahaha..." Zhao Chengshuang was quite pleased and turned to Ye Qing, asking, "Where were we?"
By this time, the little girl had mostly filled up, and she had packed most of the food on the table into plastic bags. She timidly glanced at everyone before finally setting her eyes on Ye Qing, bowing and saying, "Big brother, thank you."
"You don't remember me?" Ye Qing asked in a low voice.
The little girl stared at Ye Qing for a while, her eyes suddenly brightened, and she exclaimed urgently, "You... you... you're the big brother who saved us last time..."
"Damn, she really remembers!" Zhao Chengshuang immediately widened his eyes, demanding, "Little girl, what exactly is going on? Weren't you all sent back home last time? Why are you still out here on the streets?"
The girl's expression suddenly turned somber, and she murmured softly, "I... I don't have a home anymore..."
"No home, weren't you taken to the orphanage? How come you're here?" Zhao Chengshuang looked at the plastic bag in her hand, continuing, "Why are you taking so much food? Are you saving it for someone?"
At those words, the little girl seemed to remember something and suddenly turned and ran.
"What's wrong?" Ye Qing was surprised, and the people beside him were also greatly astonished.
"My brother!" the little girl called back from afar, running in great haste, as if there was something very urgent.
Ye Qing hurriedly chased after her, followed closely by Zhao Chengshuang, Li Lianshan, Hou Qiang, and others.
The little girl ran breathlessly, but her pace didn't slow down, heading towards a cluster of unfinished buildings nearby. The unfinished building had been abandoned for who knows how long, and inside it was pitch-dark, eerily silent, and looked rather terrifying in the darkness.
The group followed behind the little girl, running into one of the unfinished buildings and up to the second floor, where a smell of decay hit them in the face.
"What is that smell?" Li Lianshan furrowed his brows, while a junior behind him had already pulled out a flashlight and illuminated the surroundings.
Ye Qing followed close behind the little girl, rushing into a room on the second floor. As he entered the room, Ye Qing froze; there were about a dozen children lying there, the oldest no more than eleven or twelve years old, the youngest merely three or four. The floor was covered with what appeared to be straw they had found somewhere, and the children were lying on top of it.
Each child was filthy and gaunt with a desolate appearance. Upon seeing someone come in, the children all turned to look together, their faces filled with alarm and fear, and a habitual hostility.
These children, it seemed, were filled with hostility towards all strangers. Just how much despair had the adult world caused them?
Ye Qing looked at these children; he remembered each one, as they were the children he had rescued before. However, he never expected that, despite thinking they would be able to live a normal life, they were actually living !