In the Name of Divine Powers, Part 17

He knew Zhang Like was completely rattled. His next move might be to turn himself in and seek leniency.

Zhang Like hurriedly asked, "Then what should I do?"

"Pin it on Lü Jinshan."

Lu Zhao had already thought of a countermeasure. He laid it out methodically. "Get the duty rosters from previous years to prove that patrols of the back of the mountain have long been left out of the schedule. Then find the records of Lü Jinshan's meetings to prove that the higher-ups repeatedly inspected the station without pointing out that gap."

"When you write the report, make bold guesses. Exaggerate a little."

"How bold?"

Lu Zhao said coldly, "Enough to destroy him for good, preferably. Say the border station chief colluded with the smugglers."

He had never had the opportunity or the ability to deal with Lü Jinshan before. Now that the man had exposed a weakness, Lu Zhao would kick him to death even if Lü Jinshan really had known nothing about it.

For some reason, Zhang Like felt a chill run through him, and his mind gradually cleared. He hesitated. "Even if I submit the report, I'm afraid things won't end well for me. I won't escape disciplinary action."

"If there's no direct evidence that Lü Jinshan arranged it deliberately, we can't bring him down. He has connections higher up, and it would be easy for him to wash his hands of it."

He himself bore direct responsibility for the faulty patrol route planning.

Zhang Like was afraid his attempt to gain an advantage would leave him worse off.

Lu Zhao frowned. Turning it over in his mind, he also felt it would be difficult to bring Lü Jinshan down in one stroke.

He asked, "Then what do you plan to do? At least reporting it will keep you out of prison."

For a moment, Zhang Like couldn't make up his mind either. He took cigarettes from his pocket and smoked one after another. Under the influence of nicotine, his demeanor became completely calm.

Nicotine couldn't relieve stress. What really worked was the sense of ritual in lighting a cigarette, taking a deep breath, and exhaling.

Lu Zhao had touched neither cigarettes nor alcohol before entering society, but within a year of coming to the border station, he scarcely put a cigarette down.

He needed a sense of ritual too. After all, a person couldn't spend all their time crying.

After a long while, Zhang Like stubbed out his cigarette. "Give me a few months. If I can't find anything, I'll report it to the organization. Worst comes to worst, I'll quit too. Remember to find me a job when the time comes."

Lu Zhao smiled. "Getting you a job as a PE teacher at a key elementary school in the imperial capital, Jinling, would be no problem."

He had no connections in the armed police system, but he did have some in the education system.

For example, Tang Fen, his guardian at the foster home, had already been director of the Cangwu City Education Bureau while Lu Zhao was still in high school.

If Tang Fen hadn't retired by now, Lu Zhao wouldn't have been left with no way forward.

In a sewer somewhere in the city.

A tall man and a short man hid in the shadows. The tall, thin one held a handleless iron blade, while the short one had a pointed face and a monkey-like appearance.

Both men were injured, but the tall, thin one was in especially bad shape. The skin and flesh of his right arm had been burned open.

"What rotten luck. How did those cops react so fast? They found us in less than half a day. After all that, we didn't find out a damn thing, and now the cops are hunting us down. We've had eight lifetimes' worth of bad luck!"

The short man cursed and swore.

His name was Shan Yong, a grass-top flier, or intelligence operative, at Greenwood's South Sea West Circuit branch. The tall, thin man was Lao Gao, a mountain-guarding banner, or combat operative, from the same branch.

The two had entered illegally from the Miye Three Rivers region beyond the South Sea, under orders to rendezvous with Lamefoot Seven. They had originally intended not to venture deep into the Federation. For one thing, Lamefoot Seven shouldn't have had much trouble breaking through on his own; for another, they feared it was a trap.

But unexpectedly, Lamefoot Seven died just as he reached the border, before he could even send a signal.

They didn't know exactly where he had died or who had killed him, and the goods were gone too.

They had no choice but to take the risk and seize two police officers for questioning.

Chapter 20: Dispute

Lao Gao said coldly, "There's a very capable cop at the border station. We were spotted as soon as we crossed the back of Ant Ridge. Most likely a mental-type transcendent, and a fairly well-developed one at that."

Shan Yong shot back, "You really believe a mental-type transcendent would be out patrolling the mountain?"

"There is one person."

Lao Gao paused without elaborating, and his companion's expression slowly darkened.

The Miye Three Rivers region was vast. Broadly speaking, it was even larger than the South Sea, and its mix of people and factions was even more complicated.

Over there, different organizations controlled individual streets, and ownership changed hands every day.

The area near Ant Ridge belonged to their branch.

About two years ago, their drug business had begun to grow more and more difficult, entirely because of one person.

He was the current commander of the outpost deep in Ant Ridge. People in the underworld called him Lord Lu of the Mountain.

To date, no one who had exchanged fire with him directly had escaped unscathed. A year ago, even their branch boss had half an ear shot off.

A Greenwood big shot had once declared that whoever solved the problem in the Ant Ridge area could become the branch head.

"Call for backup. Get people from the other branches over here. It's only five hundred kilometers from here to Cangwu City. Take the national highway and they can make it in a day and a night."

Shan Yong made the decision on the spot.

Getting by in the underworld nowadays wasn't a matter of being tougher and fiercer than everyone else. No matter how tough you were, you couldn't beat the special response forces; no matter how fierce, you couldn't outdo the martial marquises.

Going head-on against the authorities was basically suicide, especially with Lord Lu of the Mountain in the picture.

This kind of transcendent was the trickiest to deal with. You never knew when he would strike, or even whether his mental power had already detected you.

What they feared most was exposure under the authorities' watch, which meant a devastating blow was on its way.

On June 2, many soldiers at the border station received counterterrorism assignments and began gearing up.

As expected, Lu Zhao received no notice. His superiors wouldn't give him any chance to earn merit.

Within the system, everything was done by the rules. No matter how Lü Jinshan suppressed him, as long as he earned merit, he would eventually be promoted.

Meanwhile, elsewhere.

After his request for Lu Zhao to join the arrest operation was rejected, Zhang Like stormed into the administration building and got into a fierce argument with the person in charge.

Lü Jinshan had rejected the request on the grounds that "the current task force is already at full strength, and adding personnel could compromise its concealment."

The clerk, a junior officer, gave a bitter smile. "Captain Zhang, these are orders from above. If you object, I can help you file an appeal. In theory, they can assign him a task of equivalent value instead."

"By the time the process is finished, it'll be far too late!" Zhang Like slammed the table, and everyone around them looked over.

"Tasks of equivalent value? Where are we supposed to find that many major violent cases? We put our lives on the line when we go out on missions. Having a transcendent like Lu Zhao there could spare us a lot of casualties, so why won't they approve it?"

"Whenever something serious happens, isn't Lu Zhao the one who keeps the situation under control?"

"You use this kind of excuse to fob me off every time. Do you really take me for a fool?"

It happened to be just after lunch for many people, and more and more of their comrades at the border station gathered outside the door and windows.

They pointed at the personnel department and muttered quietly, making no effort to hide it.

Many at the border station had heard a little about Lu Zhao's situation. Usually, they were all rank-and-file personnel and could only keep their heads down when it didn't concern them. Now that someone had taken the lead, they naturally had the nerve to join in.

More than ten minutes later, the disciplinary officers arrived and took Zhang Like away.

"Outrageous! This is a blatant breach of discipline!"

In the station chief's office, Lü Jinshan slammed his desk and glared at Zhang Like. Their conflict had almost reached the point of an open breach.

"Who are you to tell the organization whom it can assign?"

Zhang Like said, "Chief, this operation needs Lu Zhao. If anyone else dies during the arrest, it won't be good for anyone at the border station."

"You're getting more and more out of line. Don't you even understand the rules and regulations?"

"I just want to know why Lu Zhao can't join."

"Get out!"

Furious, Lü Jinshan ordered him away.

If Lu Zhao earned more merit, things would only get more troublesome later.

From the border station to the city, and then to the South Sea West Circuit, so many important figures were involved. Suppressing Lu Zhao was a small matter for all of them, but reopening his case would be an earth-shattering affair.

Were they supposed to admit their mistakes and accept punishment?

Absolutely impossible!

Zhang Like was driven out of the station chief's office, and the crowd gathered outside immediately scattered.

Lu Zhao arrived late. Before he got close, he heard Zhang Like let loose in beautiful South Sea West Circuit dialect: "Xie miemeng, you old dog Lü!"

The corner of Lu Zhao's mouth twitched. Every mountain and river in the South Sea West Circuit had its own dialect; Old Zhang probably had a Jinxing Commandery accent.

He said, "I still suggest we wait for an emergency dispatch. We can't just disobey orders."

Lü Jinshan's refusal was expected. If he hadn't refused, Lu Zhao would have suspected a trap.

On the previous occasions Lu Zhao had earned merit, the first time he had stumbled into it himself, and the second time Zhang Like had dispatched him.

During a mission, if an unexpected violent confrontation occurred or serious injuries reduced police manpower, the on-site commander could temporarily authorize nearby officers to provide support.

Now they could only use the same trick again.

"I don't want to see that happen. Our brothers' lives matter more." Zhang Like shook his head. "By the way, how about we go to the special investigation team?"

Lu Zhao said, "We're not even in the same system. They have no authority to dispatch personnel from the border station."

Although Lü Jinshan treated the special investigation team with the utmost respect, he couldn't surrender his authority where his jurisdiction was concerned.

"I hear that Team Leader Lin has quite a background."

"So what if she does? Why would she help me?"

Zhang Like looked Lu Zhao up and down. He had prominent cheekbones, a chiseled jawline, a high nose bridge, and a pair of phoenix eyes with sharp inner corners and upturned outer corners.

His only flaw was that exposure to wind and rain had left his skin rough. Even so, it couldn't hide his natural looks. It wasn't enough to call him handsome; he was as beautiful as Pan An.

In ancient times, he was handsome enough to become a tanhua. Otherwise, he couldn't have been ruined by his own looks.

Even after being held down at the border station, he had no shortage of female comrades casting him admiring glances, and three or four had openly pursued him. In the end, though, all of them had been scared off by his deadly serious manner and those dead eyes.

Just as beautiful women were surrounded by admirers, handsome men were no different.