Yang Wenqing naturally followed his superior's arrangements and left the office. Outside the forensic lab, he found Ding Lang waiting for him.
"How did it go?" Ding Lang asked as Yang Wenqing approached.
"Director Gao wants to look into some information first." Yang Wenqing's answer was half truth, half lie.
"Fair enough. Then this is as far as we forensic doctors can take this case." Ding Lang nodded, then turned and returned to the forensic lab.
Yang Wenqing returned to the Third Squad office. The moment he entered, Liu Rong came up to him. "Captain, this is the red envelope they gave us while we were handling the case yesterday."
"How much is in it?"
"I didn't check."
Liu Rong had already adjusted his mindset. From his initial discomfort with Yang Wenqing becoming his superior, he had now come to accept it.
Yang Wenqing picked up the red envelope and opened it. Inside was exactly one thousand yuan, the standard amount for a red envelope. If it exceeded that figure, the Internal Affairs Inspection Division might take notice.
"Put it into the little treasury as usual." Yang Wenqing handed the money to Liu Qin, then seemed to recall something and asked, "How much do we have in the treasury now?"
As Liu Qin took the money, she replied, "Eight thousand seven hundred yuan."
Yang Wenqing nodded. Thinking that he would soon be leaving the Third Squad, he said, "At the end of the month, take out five thousand yuan as bonuses for everyone." After saying that, he reminded them, "Remember to leave a record with the Internal Affairs Inspection Division."
"Captain, you're so generous!"
Liu Rong flattered him immediately, while Wu Yan beside him smiled as well.
Yang Wenqing walked over and sat down at his desk. Looking at the pile of files on it gave him a headache. Over the past month, he had spoken with many young security officers, yet he had not found a single one who satisfied him. He wanted to find one or two officers worth cultivating to follow him, so that once he was promoted, he could bring them along to take up his post. Otherwise, he would never be able to break open the situation.
On the other hand, he could also request a spot at the city's Security Academy. He could choose a junior from the Lineage and, once the two-year term was over, transfer them to his side. Or he could go through direct recruitment, but that required sufficient authority. For now, it was not even worth considering, since there were only a few slots each year—unless some major incident resulted in the deaths of many security officers.
Seeing that Yang Wenqing had nothing to do after sitting down, Liu Rong picked up the case-closing report he had written overnight and submitted it. "Two people from this case need to be prosecuted. We'll have to go through our Major Crimes Unit channel."
Yang Wenqing accepted the case file and glanced at Liu Qin. "Has the case file been established?"
Liu Qin nodded. "It has."
Liu Rong continued, "This was a large-scale armed brawl. Twelve people were seriously injured. One person couldn't be revived even with a Healing Spell and is still unconscious. It happened at the boundary between two districts, and after officers arrived, there was also an attack on security officers. One senior security officer was stabbed in the chest..."
"They found some contraband at the home of the person who attacked the officers, then uncovered a family-style criminal gang. The chain of evidence is extremely complete."
Yang Wenqing froze for a moment, then understood what had happened. He carefully read the case-closing report Liu Rong had submitted before asking, "Did you check the situation at the home of the person who attacked the officers?"
Liu Rong nodded. "I did, and I asked the nearby neighbors too. That family's surname is Hu. They're notorious local tyrants in that area. The eldest of the Hu Family, Hu Biao, was the one who attacked the officers. He's an idle hooligan ringleader. Normally, he leads a few other scoundrels like himself around the market, collecting protection fees and throwing their weight around."
He opened the notebook he carried with him and continued, "His younger brother, Hu Kui, is the captain of the community militia, yet he often sets up gambling dens at home without authorization, making the whole neighborhood restless."
"Their old mother not only fails to restrain them, but throws her age around and indulges and shields them. The surrounding neighbors are furious but dare not speak. The fact that they dared to draw knives on security officers this time shows just how arrogant and overbearing they usually are."
After hearing this, Yang Wenqing nodded. Local bullies like these were often more troublesome than organized criminals. This time, they had run straight into the muzzle of the gun. It was the perfect chance to uproot them completely and serve as a warning to others.
"Since the chain of evidence is complete and the facts are clear, handle it according to procedure." Just as Yang Wenqing was about to sign his name, he suddenly stopped and looked Liu Rong over. "It's only a small case. Your signature and the local Public Security Office's signature will be enough. Take it and proceed with the process."
"Alright!"
Liu Rong did not think much of it. He took the case-closing report and left happily.
After Liu Rong left, Yang Wenqing activated the Communication Formation on his badge and connected to Qiu Xuan, captain of the West City First Patrol Squad. After chatting casually for a few moments, he asked about yesterday's officer-assault case. Once he confirmed there were no problems, he arranged a time to have a meal with Qiu Xuan.
His action made Wu Yan and Liu Qin pause in the middle of what they were doing. Wu Yan soon caught on, but Liu Qin felt her scalp go numb. She lifted her eyes and shot Yang Wenqing a quick glance, as though she were meeting him for the first time.
Yang Wenqing continued flipping through the files, and time slipped away without notice. Near noon, Wu Yan was dispatched over a case at the North City Public Security Office, while Liu Rong was still busy with the matter from that morning.
When one of Liu Qin's close friends from the Archives Division brought her lunch, Deputy Director Gao sent word for Yang Wenqing to find him in private room 311 on the third floor of Fengtai Building.
Yang Wenqing found it strange. He assumed there had been a lead regarding the Soul-Absorbing Crystal, so he immediately got up and left the office. Only after he departed did Liu Qin and her friend dare to speak loudly, with cheerful laughter drifting out from time to time.
Just over twenty minutes later, Yang Wenqing appeared outside private room 311 on the third floor of Fengtai Building. The instant he knocked, Deputy Director Gao's steady voice came from within. "Come in."
Pushing open the door, he saw Deputy Director Gao seated at the head of the table, leisurely sipping tea. Besides Deputy Director Gao, there was another person in the room—the deputy director in charge of Internal Affairs Oversight, Zhou Deputy Bureau Chief.
"Wen Qing, you're here. Sit." Deputy Director Gao smiled and pointed to an empty seat. "This is Zhou Deputy Bureau Chief. You should have met before."
Yang Wenqing immediately bowed respectfully. "Hello, Zhou Deputy Bureau Chief."
Zhou Deputy Bureau Chief gave an "Mm" in response. His gaze lingered on Yang Wenqing for a moment, seemingly appraising him.
Just as Deputy Director Gao was about to say more, the private room door was knocked on again.
This time, two people entered. To Yang Wenqing's surprise, he knew both of them. One was Qin Feng, deputy chief of the Archives Division, while the other was Deputy Chief Li from the Operations Division.
"Director Gao, brother-in-law, we're not late, are we?" Li Yi's voice was booming, while Qin Feng smiled and greeted the two deputy directors.
The moment the two entered the private room, Yang Wenqing rose to greet them. He wore an appropriate smile, politely shook hands with both men, exchanged a few casual words, then smoothly moved to a seat farther to the side.
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