Now, do you believe me?

Fu Yu's body trembled slightly.

He was not afraid. He was furious.

On his birthday, in his own villa's courtyard, before more than twenty pairs of eyes, Zhou Yi had actually barged in with a large contingent of police officers, utterly without restraint.

How dare you, Zhou?

At the sight, the others exchanged uneasy glances, alarm rising in their hearts.

They were all people of standing. It was not as though they had never seen police officers before; several were even well acquainted with Lei Ming, the director of the County Public Security Bureau.

But it was no exaggeration to say that they felt an instinctive wariness and fear toward Captain Zhou.

A man's reputation preceded him, just as a tree cast a shadow.

They only had to think about how Tao Guozheng, the deputy head of the Organization Department, had ended up behind bars, how Deputy County Magistrate Chen Fengnan had ended up there, and how Executive Deputy County Magistrate Zeng Xuedong had followed. Then there was Fu Yu...

Oh, Fu Yu had not gone in yet!

But looking at the scene before them and recalling the "joke" Fu Yu had just told, they could not help entertaining a bold suspicion.

"Zhou Yi, what do you think you're doing?"

Fu Yu stood and strode toward Zhou Yi, demanding an answer in an icy voice.

Zhou Yi thrust a search warrant right in his face and said coldly, "As required by a criminal investigation, we are conducting a lawful search of these premises."

At the word "search," Fu Yu's expression changed drastically. He examined the warrant carefully. The red official seal of the Dongji County Public Security Bureau was indeed clearly stamped on it.

Lei Ming! Well done!

Fuck, you're all dead set on taking me down!

Zhou Yi pushed the warrant closer and reminded him coldly, "If you've read it, hurry up and sign."

So furious that he laughed, Fu Yu took the warrant and pen, signed his name in the field for the person being searched with a couple of quick strokes, then filled in the date. Looking up at Zhou Yi, he said menacingly, "Captain Zhou, search all you like. But let me make something clear beforehand: if you find nothing, I guarantee you won't just lose your captain's position-you won't even get to remain an ordinary police officer!"

Zhou Yi took back the warrant and handed it to a criminal investigator beside him. Then he looked at Fu Yu with undisguised mockery. "Search all I like? Are you really not scared when you say that?"

"Cut the crap. If you're going to search, get on with it. Stop disrupting our party!" Fu Yu said through gritted teeth.

"There's no party anymore. You didn't really think I was joking when I said I'd personally put you behind bars within three days, did you?"

As Zhou Yi spoke, he gave a cold wave of his hand. "Understanding," "Unhesitating," and "Duty-Bound" immediately directed the officers to take out pickaxes, hoes, and shovels, and they began digging, digging, digging in the big, big courtyard.

Fu Yu's face instantly drained of color.

He hurried aside, took out his phone, dialed a number, and began speaking in a low voice.

Zhou Yi ignored him. He walked over to the officers, took the hoe from Cai Xiaobo, and began digging, stroke after stroke.

Cai Xiaobo felt a warmth in his heart. He knew the captain was worried that the wound on his abdomen had not healed. Whether it was genuine concern or an attempt to win loyalty, a leader who looked after his subordinates was a good leader.

"Captain, what exactly are we digging for?" Cai Xiaobo could not help asking quietly.

Zhou Yi looked up at him and smiled. "Society is developing, science is advancing. Who can say for sure what might grow out of the ground?"

Cai Xiaobo blinked, then understood at once. The line the captain had quoted actually had a second part-your own soil, your own land, whatever you plant takes cash!

After digging for a while, Zhou Yi decided to try another spot. He looked around and finally walked over to a willow tree, where he swung the hoe again.

Dig, dig, dig in the big, big courtyard, dig up lots of dirty money, hand it all over to the state...

Returning from his phone call, Fu Yu saw a sight that nearly frightened him out of his wits. He could no longer worry about saving face. Rushing over, he grabbed Zhou Yi's arm with both hands and pleaded meekly, "Captain Zhou, Captain Zhou, I was wrong. My attitude just now was terrible. Please be generous and don't hold it against me. Look, could we step aside and talk?"

An eerie silence fell over the entire courtyard at the sight.

Xie Zhaolong raised his eyebrows at Sun Mei, as if to say, Well? Wasn't Fu Yu acting like such a badass just now? That swagger didn't even last three seconds!

The others' minds churned with shock. That bold suspicion of theirs was about to become reality.

"Scared now?" Zhou Yi slowly straightened, making no attempt to conceal the scorn in his voice.

"Captain Zhou, give me a chance. We can..." Fu Yu begged desperately, on the verge of dropping to his knees before Captain Zhou.

"Give you a chance?"

Zhou Yi could not help laughing. Then he abruptly seized Fu Yu by the collar and demanded furiously, "Did you give Huang Sheng a chance? Did you give Shen Hai a chance? Did you give Huang Sheng's wife and daughter a chance before they were raped, murdered, and dumped in that warehouse?"

"You thought you were above everyone else, free to trample on their dignity and decide whether they lived or died. But did it ever occur to you that one day, you too would kneel and beg for mercy-and that no mercy would be possible?"

His furious voice rang through the courtyard, like a heavy hammer pounding on every person's heart.

Zhou Yi shoved Fu Yu to the ground, then swung the hoe another seven or eight times, until a sharp crack came from beneath the soil.

The criminal investigators immediately stepped forward and pulled a shattered ceramic jar from the deep hole.

Then the other officers came over and began digging.

Before long, more than twenty jars of various sizes stood on the ground.

They smashed one at random. Inside were bundles of cash wrapped in plastic bags.

They smashed another, revealing gleaming gold bars...

Zhou Yi looked coldly at Fu Yu, who sat slumped on the ground, his face deathly pale, like a beaten stray. "I told you I'd put you behind bars within three days. Now, do you believe me?"