Hu Xiao turned to Lin Qiang: "Hey, he's asking you. How should we handle this? This time, we're following your lead."
"Right, right..." Lin Qiang patted his head, then looked around at the young women crying and huddling on the floor. He felt some sympathy. For minors, maybe they deserved another chance. After all, they hadn't done anything too outrageous, just accompanying drinks. Being sent to a labor camp would ruin their lives. Hopefully they'd learned their lesson from this.
With Hu Xiao's permission, Lin Qiang told the nearby officer: "Thanks for your hard work. Check their IDs - anyone under 18, give them a good talking to and let them go. Keep their identities confidential."
"Well..." the officer hesitated, "Shouldn't we at least notify their schools or parents?"
At this, the young women cried even harder, begging:
"Please... don't tell my parents..."
"We know we were wrong."
"We'll never do it again..."
Lin Qiang couldn't take it. He put his arm around the officer: "Give them a chance, they're all so young."
"Alright," the officer sighed with a smile, "You're the team leader this time, we'll do as you say."
"Thanks for going along with it." Lin Qiang continued, "For the older ones, take some in for questioning, get some testimony, but go easy on them. They were just after money. Have them turn in evidence on the ringleaders."
"Okay." The officer nodded again, spreading his hands helplessly. "These people got lucky, meeting such a soft-hearted leader like you."
Just then, Lin Qiang noticed two officers escorting two customers out of a room down the hall - none other than Hao Wei and Wang Jiaxin.
The two men hung their heads, faces ashen. Hao Wei's glasses had fallen to the floor, but he didn't dare bend to pick them up.
"Ahem..." Lin Qiang had an idea and said sternly to the officer beside him: "As for customers with pedophilic tendencies, they knowingly came here despite underage girls being present. We must punish them severely! Notify their workplaces and families tonight. Have their work leaders come sign for their release."
The officer was puzzled by the sudden change to harsh treatment.
Lin Qiang thought for a moment and added: "Oh, and interrogate them to see if there was any misuse of public funds. Try to squeeze that out of them. Give them a good dressing down in front of their work leaders. For serious cases, file charges and punish heavily!"
Hu Xiao burst out laughing, guessing Lin Qiang's intentions. She pushed the officer: "Do as he says. Take them back and question them thoroughly. We'll seal off this place for now."
"Alright," the officer smiled resignedly and led Fang Qing away.
Fang Qing kept shouting: "Thank you, big brother! Thank you! Please be sure to help!"
"You all head back first, we'll grab a late dinner," Hu Xiao stretched and told the other officers. She rubbed her stomach and turned to Lin Qiang, "Shall we? After helping you so much, you should treat me to a snack at least?"
"Of course," Lin Qiang felt grateful. Thanks to Hu Xiao being reasonable, he was able to exceed expectations - not only shutting down this place, but also catching two big fish. The only disappointment was Zhang Jiaming's absence tonight, probably still hurting from the last gambling session.
"Let's go, Sister Xiao can pick the place!"
...
A crowd had gathered outside the karaoke bar. They'd known the place was shady, but didn't expect such a thorough crackdown. Some applauded as officers led customers and hostesses to police cars, others were secretly relieved, and some seemed disappointed.
Finally, Lin Qiang and Hu Xiao walked out casually. The Golden Boy & Jade Girl Karaoke's doors closed behind them, and two officers came to seal it with long strips of tape.
The onlookers wondered why these two seemed so at ease when everyone else was arrested. Afraid of running into bank clients who might recognize him, Lin Qiang draped his suit over his head and hurried with Hu Xiao into a nearby alley.
"What are you afraid of? You're busting prostitution, not running it," Hu Xiao giggled, also hiding under Lin Qiang's suit.
"Hey, the locals will hate me for taking away their entertainment spot. Can't let them see me." Lin Qiang stuck out his tongue with a grin. Seeing no one following, he lowered the suit. "You think about what to eat, I need to make a victory call."
Hu Xiao was considerate, walking far away to make her own call without overhearing Lin Qiang's.
Lin Qiang first dialed Ling Lele's number. She must be anxious tonight, so he wanted to put her mind at ease.
The call connected after one ring. Ling Lele's worried voice came through: "How did it go? Did Fang Qing agree?"
"Hehe, of course she agreed. She's locked up now. That karaoke bar is finished. You can rest easy," Lin Qiang said casually.
"What? Arrested?" Ling Lele became scared. "Oh no... what if she turns me in?"
"Her? She wouldn't dare," Lin Qiang reassured her. "I've made it clear to the police - even if she mentions you, they'll pretend not to hear."
"You're that powerful?"
"Well..." Lin Qiang wanted to say it was actually thanks to her father's influence, but couldn't. He reluctantly replied, "Well... I do have some reliable friends in law enforcement."
"That's great... that's great..." Ling Lele got excited. "Now I don't have to be afraid anymore..."
Then she laughed: "You're so bad."
"So bad?"
"Yeah, even Fang Qing was no match for you. Aren't you worse than her?"
"That's not a fair comparison."
"Anyway... thank you so much, Uncle Lin..." Ling Lele's voice started to break. "If it weren't for you... I don't know how deep I would've fallen... My dad would've killed me."
"Alright, calm down. This is over now, forget about it forever. Remember, don't breathe a word of this to anyone."
"Mm, I won't."
Hanging up, Lin Qiang felt relieved. This matter was finally settled.
With the big task done, it seemed time to claim credit and rewards. Lin Qiang immediately dialed Ling Chen's number. This father-daughter pair was exactly alike - Ling Chen also picked up very quickly, even asking the same question.
"How did it go? Did Fang Qing cooperate?"
Lin Qiang found it amusing how father and daughter were concerned about the same thing without knowing it.
"Don't worry, it's all taken care of. Fang Qing's been arrested. I used reduced sentencing as bait to make her turn in the school leaders, while not mentioning anything about Lele."
"Good! The reduced sentence trick never fails! Haha!!" Ling Chen laughed heartily on the other end, then showed a hint of worry, "What about Lele? Is she okay?"
"She didn't come today. The other students have been released. I've spoken to the officers to keep this low-key and avoid giving the media any openings."
"Well done." Ling Chen's tone was approving. "Little Lin, you really are reliable. You thought of everything, even things I didn't mention."
Lin Qiang demurred: "It's not my ability. It's all thanks to you being able to mobilize the police. I couldn't have done anything otherwise."
"That's not true," Ling Chen said seriously. "Leaders are decision-makers, but whether a task is completed excellently depends on the executor's ability."
Lin Qiang felt a bit embarrassed yet elated by Ling Chen's praise. He then asked: "Fang Qing is now our informant. We can make her provide whatever evidence we want. For the upcoming interrogation, what's your intention? Severe punishment or leniency? And the school leaders - should we bring them down too?"
"On that, let's wait a bit. Keep her detained for now," Ling Chen mused. "We'll deal with the school's bad apples after Lele transfers."
"Understood. Let me know if you need any help."
"Haha, I can handle the rest with a few words. Really, thank you so much this time." After expressing satisfaction, Ling Chen's tone shifted, sounding somewhat regretful: "Little Lin... now that this is done, I originally wanted to bring you over to develop at the Audit Office. But... given your background... it's really not convenient."
Lin Qiang was quite surprised. He hadn't expected Ling Chen to be so generous, planning to directly bring him into officialdom, and such a feared department at that. But he knew people from banks couldn't easily join the Audit Office or Banking Regulatory Commission, as it might lead to favoritism for their former banks. This was an unwritten rule.
"It's alright, I wouldn't dare go even if you transferred me. I still have a mortgage here," Lin Qiang laughed awkwardly.
"Oh... mortgage... that is troublesome." Even Ling Chen started scratching his head at this. "You've helped so much, I really don't know how to thank you... Given our positions, it's not appropriate to give gifts either."
Lin Qiang's mind raced, knowing the moment was ripe. Ling Chen wanted to thank him and was testing the waters to see if he had any pressing needs.
As a matter of fact, he did.
"Director Ling, I do have one improper request..."
"Go ahead, as long as it doesn't violate regulations, I'll definitely help."
"It's like this - I suspect some people in my bank of minor embezzlement. I want to investigate privately, without making a big fuss."
"Hmm..." Ling Chen acknowledged. "I understand. You're a bank insider after all, hoping to avoid scandal and resolve things internally. As an official at the Audit Office, this is rather sensitive for me."
"Well..." Lin Qiang felt disappointed, thinking Ling Chen wouldn't help.
"However, I can pretend not to know," Ling Chen chuckled. "This little matter hardly counts as a favor. I'll give you an auditor's contact info tomorrow. Just tell him directly who you want investigated."
After a brief pause, Ling Chen added: "If it involves officials at bureau level or above, or military personnel, you'd better check with me first."
"Don't worry, they're not even at division level."
"Then it's no big deal. Just have him look into it."
Hanging up, Lin Qiang was secretly delighted, thanking Ling Chen a thousand times in his heart. For Ling Chen at the Audit Office, auditing financial records was just routine work. With his extensive authority, this request was nothing. But for Lin Qiang, it was a crucial source of intelligence. As long as he could target precisely and gather evidence, there was no one he couldn't take down.
Unless that person had absolutely no misconduct.
As for Hao Wei... his misdeeds were likely not few, with attempted statutory rape just added to the list.