Noticing the situation, the faces of the other two policemen immediately turned ugly, and they hollered, "Punk, you sure have the gall! You actually dare to assault a police officer!"
"Assault?" Ling Chen sneered, "Both of you saw that he was the one who pushed me on his own accord, I did not even move a single limb to resist, so how can you call it assault? Is this how the police work on cases?"
"Ling Chen, what are you doing?" Behind him, Xia Mutong came rushing into the room.
When she heard the painful wail from the interrogation, that was when she discovered that Ling Chen had gone missing. Noticing the policeman that was lying on the ground, her face became gloomy, and she coldly asked, "This is your doing?"
"You're mistaken. He fell on his own. Moreover, these policemen, the supposed allies of the public, are abusing their authority and were going to lynch my friend. Tell me, Officer Xia, the police have been taking our taxpayers' money, but is this how you repay us?"
"Stop spouting nonsense."
One of the policemen fumed angrily. "Which eyes of yours saw us abusing our authority. I was just feeding him water. If you don't believe me, then you can bring him for a check-up."
Ling Chen snorted in response.
"If it were not for my timely intervention, I'm afraid that my friend would have died full of grievances. Officer Xia, you best give me a proper explanation. Or are you telling me that the words 'Forced Confession' are written on the wall just for show?"
"I will properly investigate this matter, but I do not need to report anything to you. Don't forget you have been brought here under my authority."
With that said, Xia Mutong turned to the two policemen and dispassionately asked,
"Who's in charge of this case?"
"I am."
Xia Mutong and Ling Chen both turned their heads, only to see a youth sporting a flattop walking into the interrogation room.
"Wei Dong, what crime has this person committed?"
"He's just a hooligan that brought his men around to cause trouble and disrupt public order. That was why I arrested him."
"I'm being falsely accused. It was clearly you who brought your men and barged into my house forcefully to capture me. You had no arrest warrant at all!"
Wei Dong seemed like he had not heard Jiang Hao's words and smiled slightly.
"Officer Xia, there's no need to trouble yourself with these kinds of trivial matters. I'll settle this properly. You should carry on with your own business."
"Your subordinates were coercing a suspect to confess. Since I witnessed this personally, I can't turn a blind eye to it. You better learn how to manage your subordinates properly. This suspect is under my jurisdiction now, and I'll be taking over his case."
Watching as Xia Mutong was ready to bring Jiang Hao and walk away, Wei Dong stretched out his hand to block her exit, making a smile that did not reach his eyes.
"Xia Mutong, you best not interfere in my matters."
"Report me to the bureau head directly if you want. If you don't have the guts to do so, then scram! Don't block my way."
Xia Mutong showed no signs of weakness in the face of his objection.
Wei Dong's eyes suddenly shone, and his originally scrunched up forehead relaxed and smoothened out, replaced by a face brimming with smiles.
"Alright, since Officer Xia wants to take over this case, then naturally I have no objections as well."
"Let's go."
After leaving the interrogation room, Ling Chen matched his pace to that of Jiang Hao, and asked, "Brat, what happened?"
"Didn't I explain just now? The bastard called Wei Dong barged into my house without rhyme or reason. He said that I was responsible for inciting disorder and forcefully brought me back to the police station."
Jiang Hao made a face full of grievance.
"He wouldn't have apprehended you for no reason, right? I'm familiar with what kind of person you are, stop pretending in front of me."
"Bro Chen, these past few days, I have been busy with proper business, where would I find the time to commit any illegal deeds? It must be Yang Sheng that bastard! Since he could not swallow up my territory, thus he resorted to these kinds of underhanded methods."
"How do you know that it was him?"
"Yang Shen had always been a hardliner. Rumours have it that his previous opponents had been dealt with in a similar fashion as well."
"Are you two done chatting?"
Xia Mutong turned her head around in annoyance.
Ling Chen displayed a sheepish smile. After watching Xia Mutong's unyielding stance just now, the favourable impression he had of her rose by several notches. Putting aside her perfect appearance, Xia Mutong was one of the more upstanding policemen that he had met.
Back at the detention cell, Xia Mutong locked them up in the same cell.
"Everyone better stay put here, especially you." She was pointing towards Ling Chen.
"You better wise up and stop causing me trouble."
At that time, in the main lobby of Hongyu Multinational headquarters.
Zhong Wei and Liang Zhaohui pushed open the door leading to the chairman's office and said, "Chairwoman, it's almost time. The signing ceremony will begin in approximately half an hour."
Nanrong Wanqing put down a contract that she was browsing and pushed her wheelchair forward. "Let's go then."
"Chairwoman."
"Is there anything else?"
"Regarding Ling Chen..."
Nanrong Wanqing's face grew stony. "From this day on, I never want to hear that person's name again. Don't mention it to me in the future."
"Understood, Chairwoman."
The three rode the elevator down to the underground parking lot, where the usual convoy of vehicles was waiting.
"Move off."
Zhong Wei instructed via the walkie-talkie, and the Land Rover in the lead immediately exited the parking lot.
After more than twenty minutes of driving, the convoy reached the Old City District safely.
Today was the commencement of the first phase of the Old City District's reconstruction project. Many important dignitaries in Donghai City were gathered here to witness this monumental moment.
For many years, the public security in the Old City District was not only abominable but it was also a cesspool of villains. The environment there was chaotic, and the crime rate was the highest in the entire city. Once the reconstruction project was completed, it would not only bring a breath of fresh air to the outlook of the city; it would also significantly boost their public track record. Therefore, senior officials of the city government attached great importance to the project, personally coming down even despite the scorching hot weather.
Nanrong Wanqing's arrival was undoubtedly the biggest highlight, with her appearance immediately attracting everyone's attention.
In fact, the primary purpose of some high-ranking government officials was to get a glimpse of Nanrong Wanqing's splendour. As an untouchable flower in Donghai City, Nanrong Wanqing's name was widely known, but only a few had seen her.
Due to Nanrong Wanqing's disability, many activities were attended by other representatives of Hongyu Multinational. Given that this was large-scale cooperation with the various government departments, Nanrong Wanqing had thus personally come down to the scene to show the importance the company placed on the project.
"Liang Zhaohui, we are in charge of the chairman's safety. Everyone else spread out."
After arriving at the scene, Zhong Wei assigned different roles for the squad members.
As the people attending the signing ceremony were all high-ranking government officials, as well as many affluent entrepreneurs, the security of the venue was very tight. Since earlier that morning, the roads surrounding the site had been on lockdown, prohibiting the passage of any vehicles. There were many barricades set up at the venue as well, preventing the onlooking crowd from approaching within ten metres of the site.
The signing ceremony was slated to begin in an hour, but Nanrong Wanqing had no time to idle about. As the main sponsor of this ceremony, she naturally had to exchange pleasantries with these government officials.
Outside of the barricades, the crowd were raising parasols to fend off the scorching sunlight, excitedly murmuring amongst themselves.
Unbeknownst to everyone, there was a cap-wearing male that was holding on to a cell phone as he deftly wove his way through the crowd. He coldly stared at the venue of the signing ceremony. He seemed as though a venomous snake was locking in on its target before striking.
A short while later, the man's phone buzzed. He picked up his phone, and on the screen, there displayed a short message with only four words.
'The goods have arrived.'