"No, what he said can't be right." The early spring morning breeze blew as the middle-aged man walked the dark corridors of the police station. The man, who was named Wang Shouyi, felt a chill running down his spine. His mind was filled with the image of that smirk on Zhang Heng's face before he left the room as if the younger man was winning.
Having been on the force for decades, Wang Shouyi was very knowledgeable about the human psyche that he was considered an expert in mind games. He knew very well that such a smirk could have only come from someone who knew what they were doing, and someone who had massive backing.
"Damn it, was I just seeing things back there?" Wang Shouyi gritted his teeth. If that hadn't been some kind of trick, then there was no doubt that the younger man had some kind of trump card up his sleeve.
He wondered just how regular folk like Zhang Heng would be able to wield so much power in the first place.
Furthermore, given that his son had practically been castrated, not even the likes of his immediate superior would want to make an enemy out of him if they had no intentions of making life difficult for everyone.
Wang Shouyi became somewhat at ease at the thought, so much so that he began to believe that he was just seeing things back there.
"That was quick, Vice Chief Wang." A bald man who looked like he was in his forties appeared when Wang Shouyi reached the end of the corridor. The bald man looked rather flustered.
"What happened?" Wang Shouyi noted the flustered demeanor of the other man and lowered his voice, "Inspector Fan, how did the kid get that car? Did you manage to find anything?"
If there were to be something that Wang Shouyi found out about Zhang Heng, that would be the Audi A8 that Zhang Heng suddenly bought. According to the files, Zhang Heng's family was the typical family with average income, there was no way they could afford a car like that.
The car was deemed an important factor, so much so that he deemed it held the key to the success of his revenge.
"I've looked into it." That bald man with a greasy face nodded. His features seemed squished up as he continued, "According to what I've found, he bought that car from a car dealership in the city yesterday. All the procedures checked out."
"Wait, what? Where did he get the money to buy a car like that?" Wang Shouyi felt his eyes were about to pop out of his eye sockets, wondering if Zhang Heng had won the lottery or something.
"We're unable to get a hold of that. No trace, nothing. It's just like…" That bald man wore a worrisome look and confused look at Wang Shouyi, before voicing out his speculations. "It's just like everything he'd done was rendered top secret after he went to Haizhou."
"Rendered top secret? Who did such a thing?" Wang Shouyi was stunned.
"Maybe he really has connections up there…" That bald man pointed his finger upwards at the sky. That one gesture made Wang Shouyi feel as if he had just been dropped into some icy chasm.
Did that kid really have some kind of connection? Is he really someone on a top-secret mission of some sort?
Wang Shouyi immediately felt his head start to ache. The only databases the Public Security Bureau were unable to get a hold of would either be foreigners who had never stayed in Huaxia or some kind of important figure in some key government departments.
Then again, that was not all there was to it, as there could be other reasons. For example, the relevant data could be lost somehow or that particular person hasn't had contact with the outside world for years.
The current situation he faced was the worst kind Wang Shouyi deemed he could run into throughout his career. Any mishap could have ended up making the case even messier and unravel a power struggle between those in the upper echelons. The officer in charge of the case would be ordered to cease the investigation immediately and report to their superiors when something like that happened.
Zhang Heng had just castrated his son and there was no way Wang Shouyi would go easy on the young man.
"It's a coincidence. This has to be a coincidence of some kind," Wang Shouyi said with a look as if he was trying to lie to himself.
His phone suddenly rang and startled him for a moment before he took out his phone with a flustered look. His face was completely ashen when he saw who called.
The bald man who was referred to as Inspector Fan wore a look that said, 'the sh*t finally hits the fan' and took two steps away from the vice chief, in an attempt to make it look as if he wasn't that familiar with Wang Shouyi.
"Hello, Chief Yu. Is there anything I could help you with?" Wang Shouyi took a deep breath. He didn't expect that the man on the other end of the phone was the chief himself.
While it wasn't true that the two avoided contacting each other at all cost, it was simply too much of a coincidence for the chief to call him with such bad timing.
All that unease he had suppressed not long ago came to mind right then.
"Vice Chief Wang, have you gotten on the bad side of someone you should steer clear of recently?" The voice of Chief Yu was heard from the other end, who sounded rather flustered.
"N-No, I didn't." The files that Wang Shouyi read about Zhang Heng came to mind, but he quickly denied the possibility. The files of that young man looked completely clean and he appeared to be nothing more than a regular person with the only notable mention being the brother of Zhang Heng's father working in the Ministry of Finance. Then again, that man was but a measly section chief, and Zhang Heng's father had severed contact with his brother for over a decade.
All in all, he simply deemed that it couldn't have had anything to do with Zhang Heng.
"You sure about that? Some bigshot from the institute called the city council, accusing you of corruption and abusing power to exact your own revenge!" the chief said.
"Wait, what? Someone from the institute? I-I really don't know anything!" Wang Shouyi gasped as his heart raced.
"What? So, you're going to lie to me now?" Chief Yu sounded displeased.
"No, Chief Yu, I swear, I really don't know anything." Wang Shouyi gritted his teeth. "I'm as confused about what happened as you are."
"Damn, just what the hell happened to you?" Chief Yu sighed, sounding rather sad before he continued, "Fine, have it your way and I'll leave you be then." Chief Yu hung up immediately.
"Hello, Chief… Hello? Hello?" Wang Shouyi's face was completely ashen. He didn't expect to see his superior give up on him. He wasn't aware that his phone fell to the floor.
The bald man who had been at his side moments ago had gone elsewhere for quite a while, and he was nowhere to be found.
Wang Shouyi gritted his teeth, feeling despair and frustrated as he tried to figure out who he had offended while trying to figure out how to go about things next. All thoughts about Zhang Heng took a backseat at that moment.
The sounds of cars rumbling were heard from outside the building. Those sounds gradually closed in and it seemed as if there was a convoy approaching. Wang Shouyi went outside to take a look, and what he saw left him completely stunned.
The cars made their way into the police station's compound quickly. He gasped as soon as he took a good look at the license plate numbers on those cars.
The car that belonged to the person-in-charge of the city council was at the forefront of the convoy, with cars that belonged to the other officials from the standing committee and the discipline inspection committee following closely behind.
What were the odds that the person-in-charge of the city council and the discipline inspection committee showing up at the same time?
Wang Shouyi felt that things had taken a turn for the worse and went up to the door right away. One way or another, he had to be there to receive such an entourage of bigshots.
"Secretary Yang, what brings you here today?" Wang Shouyi saw the secretary getting out of his car as soon as he walked out of the door, and he quickly went up to greet him with a stiff smile on his face.
However, what made Wang Shouyi's heart sank right away was how Secretary Yang shot a cold look at him and walked past him without bothering to say anything. He simply made room for a middle-aged man wearing military attire who was getting out of the car to stand.
"Who is this guy?" Wang Shouyi thought as he felt rather puzzled by the situation. He sneaked a peek at the man's rank and found the man to be a major-general. He was rendered too stunned to do anything but stand where he was.
"General Li, the man you're looking for should be inside." Secretary Yang gestured respectfully and the man in military attire walked inside the police station. Another man clapped on Wang Shouyi's shoulder suddenly, just when he was about to follow the two.
Wang Shouyi turned around with a frustrated look on his face and saw Liu, a member of the discipline inspection committee, whom Wang Shouyi was very familiar with. Wang Shouyi forced a smile on his face and said, "What are you doing here, Liu?"
"Vice Chief Wang, it's best for you to address me formally." The man with the surname Liu looked serious and professional, flashing his ID before Wang Shouyi before continuing, "We received a report that you, Vice Chief Wang Shouyi, are committing abuse of power to exact revenge. Secretary Yang ordered that you assist us in the investigation. Vice Chief Wang, please come with us."
"What!?" Wang Shouyi felt dizzy and was about to pass out, feeling floored with stress and fear as to what was happening.
"The ones on top assigned someone to take your case." The man named Liu continued with a sympathetic tone. "We're just the vanguards. If you were to be honest about it then we'd still be able to sort the mess out for you and request leniency. If the ones on the top were to get here…"
"So that's how it is?" Wang Shouyi attempted to speak for himself, feeling stressed and angry. "What would you want me to be honest about? I have no idea what have I done wrong."
"You'll probably know soon enough." Liu nodded and pointed at the door of the police station and said nothing else as they stood and waited.
About 10 minutes passed when Secretary Yang and the military officer walked out. Several police officers followed right behind them, wearing shocked expressions. Wang Shouyi frowned, still having no idea what had he done wrong.
"No, really, dude, just what…" Wang Shouyi turned around to look at the other man, still feeling confused.
"You still don't get it? Did you give the order to arrest a man named Zhang Heng?" Liu sighed and asked.
"Zhang Heng? Why did that name sound so familiar?" Wang Shouyi thought as he felt stunned. There was no way he wouldn't be familiar with that name.
That was the name of the man who castrated his only son and, at the moment, he wanted nothing more than to see that young man dead. He and Zhang Heng spent some time arguing and throwing insults at each other less than 20 minutes ago and he swore to make life difficult for that young man's family.
Wang Shouyi felt himself being torn to shreds as he looked at the door of the police station again. That young man named Zhang Heng was escorted outside by several police officers after the handcuffs on his hands were removed.
Zhang Heng seemed to have sensed Wang Shouyi looking at him and turned around to look at Wang Shouyi with a sarcastic and cold smirk on his face.
The sun gradually rose and Zhang Heng had his back against the rising sun. The golden silhouette shot into Wang Shouyi's eyes and he never thought that the morning sun could be so blinding that he was hardly able to keep his eyes open.
"Vice Chief Wang, we meet again. I did say that someone would be there to pick me up, didn't I?" Zheng Heng's cold and unfeeling voice seemed so alien that Wang Shouyi shuddered.
That line struck him like a bolt of lightning and everything was finally made clear. Wang Shouyi wore a despaired expression as he slumped to the ground with a pathetic grin on his face.