Michael obtained the initial police report from the officers handling the case—the report Lin Qi had filed about his residence being burglarized. It contained not only Lin Qi's address and the reason for the report, but also some notes about the scene.
It had to be said that the Federal Revenue Service was a highly sought-after department. Michael had paid only the price of a favor, yet he had not only seen the report but also the important evidence that should have been sealed away: the engraved gold ring.
Michael swore on his old badge that he had absolutely never seen that ring, much less taken it from Lin Qi's room.
The ring was worth, at most, two or three hundred dollars. There was no reason for him to take such a risk over that little money. Yet it had appeared on his own "turf," and Little Michael had obtained it and been caught at the scene while trying to dispose of the stolen goods.
How could a fool who had not even mastered the proper way to dispose of stolen goods have stolen the ring? Therefore, Michael became even more certain that the true nature of the case was a frame-up. He immediately went to find Lin Qi.
He had intended to have a proper talk with Lin Qi, but the moment he saw the man, an indescribable fury suddenly flared up, burning so fiercely that it nearly shattered his reason.
This was the fourth time he had fallen at the hands of the same person, and all within less than a month. It was the first time anything like this had happened in Michael's life.
It made him furious, but it also frightened him.
His temper and personality were both extremely unpleasant, yet his superiors had still taken a liking to him. It was not because he was "bad" enough, but because he was capable. He had plenty of flaws, but when it came to work, he was unquestionably a capable operator.
A proud man like him had lost to a kid who had not even managed to make a name for himself.
No, Lin Qi had made a name for himself now. He simply did not know it yet. The "Lin Qi Method" was a kind of gray-area procedure officially recognized by the Federal Revenue Service, the federal police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Homeland Security Bureau, and more than ten other departments.
It was more sophisticated, more secretive, harder to control, faster, more harmful, and even more difficult to stamp out than the methods those people had used before.
It was absolutely not as simple as the little trick of exchanging loose change. Under Lin Qi's advice, Mr. Fox's laundromat had undergone a complete transformation, offering dozens of options divided into different categories.
Depending on the type and quantity of clothing being washed, the detergent, the fabric softener, whether it was spun-dried or tumble-dried, and numerous other options, washing a single garment could cost dozens of dollars. If manual handling was added, it became even more expensive.
Leaving aside how they managed to achieve so many complicated options with a non-customized washing machine, or whether the clothes would be ruined after being thrown inside, they had done it. Without violating any laws, they had solved certain shortcomings and made their laundering operation faster and faster.
In a certain sense, Lin Qi could also be considered a talent—a rather unconventional one.
When he faced this man again, Michael still could not suppress his violent temper. This time, he did not back down. He glared viciously into Lin Qi's eyes. "Tell me the facts and what happened. Otherwise, you won't have an easy time tonight."
Lin Qi smiled. Michael punched him just above the lower abdomen, just as he had last time. The spot where Lin Qi's abdomen met his chest began to spasm. He bent slightly at the waist and took deep breaths to ease the twitching of his diaphragm.
He spat out a mouthful of saliva. His open mouth was filled with saliva brought on by the nausea caused by the diaphragm spasms.
"You'd better tell me! Don't make me force it out of you!" Michael remained unmoved, his eyes turning bloodshot.
His son was about to go to prison, and his entire life would be ruined because of it. A child's whole life was over!
No government department would ever hire someone with a record of residential burglary. Large corporations and financial groups would not appoint someone with such a blemish to any important position either. For the rest of his life, he could only struggle along at the bottom.
His wife had also been badly frightened. From his wife and the doctor, he had learned more details: Newspaper Boss had constantly humiliated and beaten her, and had even nearly assaulted her.
Michael could hardly imagine how his wife, whom he had always treasured, had endured all of this, much less how she had managed to hold on so stubbornly.
Everything he had was ruined because of certain people!
The smile disappeared from Lin Qi's face as well. Spasms could genuinely hurt enough to kill. He kept taking heavy breaths to calm the pain in his body, and even his voice sounded somewhat different when he spoke.
"You can kill me. They might cover up your minor mistake, but they won't tolerate it or help you conceal the fact that you deliberately committed murder." The corner of his mouth lifted slightly, carrying a hint of mockery. That made Michael even more displeased.
He punched Lin Qi in the lower abdomen again. The pain made Lin Qi's entire body sag against the wall, and he could barely remain standing. "Where's Newspaper Boss? Were you together that night?"
Lin Qi froze for a moment. He had watched Newspaper Boss die on the road out of the city. He had even imagined that some busybody might report it. Michael still did not know that Newspaper Boss had run into trouble—did that mean something else had happened? His guess was correct. In reality, not many people were willing to invite trouble. This was not a case of seeing an old woman take a fall, but an obvious murder. With a large pool of blood at the scene and a corpse stripped clean, no one would risk being placed under close police surveillance over someone else's business.
As for the body being left in the wilderness, that had not happened either. In fact, Newspaper Boss's corpse was currently in a classroom at Sabine City Medical College.
Someone had discovered the corpse and, unafraid of the trouble, sold it to Sabine City Medical College for research for fifteen hundred dollars.
Eighty-seven percent of the people in the Bayer Federation firmly believed in God and that the dead would enter another world. As for the remaining thirteen percent, although they did not believe in God, they believed in other things.
Those beliefs all had roughly similar teachings and rules. The reasons for maintaining burial customs varied, but their purpose was the same: to rest in the earth, and only then ascend to the various promised lands.
Under such circumstances, it was extremely difficult for a medical college to obtain fresh corpses for research. Sometimes, a specimen used for teaching could last several years without being replaced.
It was not that the medical college lacked the money to replace them. Even with money, they could not find new ones. Of course, this also gave rise to another profession. It had once flourished for a time, only to quickly disappear again.
This also meant that Newspaper Boss's death was not officially entered into the death registry or reported throughout the federation. In other words, in the eyes of law-enforcement departments such as the Sabine City Police Station, Newspaper Boss had already fled.
At that moment, however, neither Lin Qi nor Michael knew this.
Lin Qi's silence made Michael burn with even greater fury. He was just about to strike again when Lin Qi suddenly cried out for help.
The unexpected cry for help immediately startled the little tavern downstairs. It was already nighttime, after all, and the tavern was full of stubborn drunks and intoxicated men looking for trouble. They instantly became interested. Lin Qi, instead, grabbed Michael and continued shouting for help. As a series of footsteps came up the stairs and the whistles of mounted police sounded in the distance, Michael was utterly bewildered! He had never experienced anything like this before. Whether it had been Newspaper Boss in the past or anyone else, the force he used against them had been far greater than what he had used against Lin Qi. He had even beaten Newspaper Boss until the man vomited blood.
They had always silently endured it. Not one of them had ever cried out for help like Lin Qi.
In truth, Michael suffered from a cognitive blind spot. He always felt that Lin Qi and the others were all the same—they were criminals, and they would never dare call the police, much less cry for help. But he had overestimated his own judgment and underestimated Lin Qi's decisiveness.
Before long, Lin Qi was sent to the hospital, while Michael was put into a police car and taken to the police station with a dark expression.