Brilliance Group

Yang Cheng, a 52-year-old veteran criminal investigator from the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the Xicheng Public Security Bureau, has dedicated his life to criminal investigation and possesses an extremely keen eye for solving cases.

In just a few hours, after reviewing all the public surveillance footage along the route and tracing the movement of people and vehicles, by 7 a. m., all the clues had been clarified.

The case was committed by security personnel from a subsidiary of the Brilliance Group. There were three people in total: one acted as lookout in the car, while the other two carried out the operation. Based on the analysis of the video footage, it is basically determined to be a kidnapping.

All three wore masks throughout, and the vehicle's license plate was obscured. It's unclear whether they were emboldened by having powerful backers, lacked counter-surveillance experience, or thought that an attempted kidnapping wasn't a big deal, as they made no effort to conceal their identities, leaving clear traces.

The surveillance along the way was so tight that the other party tried to shake off the pursuers by going around seven or eight streets and alleys, but finally ended up in the courtyard of the security company of the Brilliance Group headquarters.

Clutching the newly issued search warrant, Yang Cheng led six criminal police officers straight to the Brilliance Building.

Around nine o'clock, he parked his car in front of the building. He looked up at the skyscraper that pierced the sky, the four large, gilded characters "Brilliance Group" standing out brightly in the sunlight.

Yang Cheng had a bad feeling—this was no ordinary local company; it was one of the top 100 private conglomerates in the country, with businesses all over the Jiangnan, involved in more than a dozen industries including real estate, energy, and finance.

The boss is a nationally renowned entrepreneur with a complex and intertwined network of connections.

This task might be difficult, but then I calmed myself down: the case was an attempted kidnapping in broad daylight, the nature of which is clear, and we have proper search warrants, so it's all justified. No matter how powerful the other party is, they can't openly defy law enforcement.

Of course, another possibility cannot be ruled out: this was not ordered by the company's upper management at all, but was done by subordinates on their own.

He composed himself and strode toward the gate. As soon as he revealed his identity and presented the search warrant, as if prepared beforehand, more than a dozen security guards surrounded him, blocking the entrance and refusing to budge an inch.

Leading the group was Li Minghui, the captain of the security team, with a faint scar on his face. He glanced sideways at the search warrant in Yang Cheng's hand and spoke with a forced smile:

"Officer, it's not that we're being disrespectful. This building is full of the group's core secrets and customer data. How can we just search it like that? Your badge needs to be verified by our legal department and approved by the boss first."

"The search warrant was issued by the branch office in accordance with the law; we don't need your boss's approval to carry out official duties." Yang Cheng's tone turned serious. "Get out of the way."

The captain stood there with his arms crossed, and the men behind him took a half step forward, each with a fierce look on their faces.

"That won't do. If we alarm our distinguished guests and leak trade secrets, can you bear the responsibility?"

The two sides froze at the entrance. Seeing that Yang Cheng refused to back down, the security captain sneered, took out his phone, walked to the side, dialed a number, and whispered a few words.

After hanging up the phone and turning back, his arrogance was even more pronounced. He crossed his arms and glanced sideways at Yang Cheng:

"I advise you to go back first, don't make a fool of yourself here. If you insist on forcing your way in, you'll regret it. If you're so capable, then wait here and see if you can step into our building today."

Yang Cheng frowned. His premonition had come true; it was indeed possible that this wasn't something his subordinates had done on their own.

Yang Cheng took a step back and explained, "We're not searching the building, just your security company."

"Same here, they all belong to our group. Without our boss's permission, they can't go anywhere," Captain Li replied arrogantly.

Sure enough, less than five minutes later, his cell phone rang. He took it out and saw that it was Deputy Director Wang, who was in charge of criminal investigation at the Xicheng Branch, calling.

Yang Cheng answered the phone, and the first question on the other end was:

"Old Yang, are you at the Brilliance Group headquarters right now?"

"Yes, we've located three suspects hiding in the security company building. All the paperwork is in order, and we're preparing to search them."

"Is the evidence... conclusive?" Deputy Director Wang asked hesitantly. "They're a nationally renowned large enterprise, and the boss is a well-known entrepreneur; their influence is too great. Is it possible you've made a mistake?"

"All surveillance footage and the characteristics of the vehicle used in the crime point to people from their security company. The chain of evidence is solid. The search warrant was approved legally, and we followed all procedures."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone before Deputy Director Wang's voice came through:

"Let's wait until we have solid evidence before we search. Doing it now will have too much of an impact."

A dozen or so security guards stood in the lobby, arms crossed, blocking the building entrance. Their faces were full of disdain and contempt as they glanced at Yang Cheng and his group, clearly confident that they wouldn't dare to force their way into the building.

Yang Cheng was gripping his phone, talking to Deputy Director Wang, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force, a surge of anger rising in his chest.

Holding a legitimate search warrant and representing law enforcement, he was blocked from moving an inch in the lobby by company security guards, a truly frustrating situation.

At that moment, a soft call waiting tone came from the phone's receiver, and the screen lit up briefly. Yang Cheng glanced at the caller ID; it was the number of Director Zhang, the head of the branch office.

He immediately said into the receiver, "Director Wang, I'm sorry, another important call is coming in. I need to take this one." Without waiting for the other party to say anything more, he hung up and pressed the answer button on Director Zhang's phone.

"Director Zhang."

"Old Yang, you were the one who handled the attack in the parking lot last night, weren't you?"

"Yes, I'm right downstairs at the Brilliance Group headquarters. The three suspects are hiding inside. We have all the necessary search warrants, but the security guards are preventing us from entering."

Yang Cheng quickly gave a brief report on the stalemate at the scene.

Immediately, a sound of slamming the table came from the other end of the phone, and Director Zhang's voice was filled with anger:

"Old Yang, you've spent your whole life in criminal investigation, how come you're getting more and more eccentric? Who cares what big company or background they are, just handle the case according to the law! I'll cover for you if there are any problems, investigate however you need to!"

Yes! Don't worry!

After hanging up the phone, Yang Cheng had a clear understanding of the situation. The fact that two leaders had inquired about the case early in the morning, with the top leader personally backing him up, indicated that the case was far more significant than it appeared. Besides, legally and morally, he had no reason to back down today.