Huang Mao's hands were icy, and he trembled so much he could barely keep a cigarette steady.
Chu Yuxuan frowned, gently patting his arm. "Don't be afraid. Continue."
Huang Mao swallowed hard, took a moment to calm down, and said shakily, "My mind went blank at the time. One of the security guards hit me with a stick and yelled at me to get lost if I didn't want to die. I... I was really scared! There were over thirty of them! I could only hide to the side, watching as they beat Douzi to death! In less than a minute, Douzi's intestines were smashed out, and his brain matter was splattered everywhere!"
Chu Yuxuan took a deep breath. "How did you attract such a gang of desperadoes?"
Huang Mao shook his head. "I don't know them, really! After they finished beating up Douzi, they swaggered away. I hurriedly called Brother Bin. When the brothers arrived, they were also frightened. They quickly reported it to the police, but after the case was filed, they claimed it was a case of mistaken identity! One life lost, and they just casually brushed it off as a mistake! Moreover, there were no surveillance cameras at the scene, and they only arrested a few of the thugs!"
"Later, Brother Bin did some digging, and it turns out that this gang is from a security company that signed a contract with the district office, claiming to maintain public order... but in reality, they're just a debt collection company. The people there are all thugs working for the boss, who is a loan shark named He Baobao!"
"Who?" Chu Yuxuan's eyes suddenly brightened. "He Baobao?!"
Huang Mao was taken aback and asked timidly, "Mr. Chu, do you know him?"
Chu Yuxuan couldn't help but laugh. What a coincidence!
He had avoided making a move on He Baobao recently to spare his life, waiting to find the right person to use him as a pawn to create a commotion. And now, it seemed He Baobao was being delivered right to his doorstep?
"I've only heard of him," Chu Yuxuan said with a slight smile. "Continue."
Huang Mao gritted his teeth, his eyes reddening. "He Baobao has a very powerful background. Many years ago, he killed someone on the street and was heavily covered by the media. The case was handled swiftly, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment. However, as the case gradually faded from public view, his backers began to operate behind the scenes. Within two years, his sentence was reduced by twenty-one years, twenty-one years! And before long, he was released!"
"Brother Bin knew we couldn't mess with him, and no one could give us small-time crooks justice. But we couldn't let our brother die in vain! The night before last, we were discussing how to take revenge. Brother Bin said we couldn't risk losing more brothers, and a direct confrontation was out of the question. We needed to use our brains... but by dawn, he had vanished! We couldn't reach him by phone. We knew he didn't want to drag us into it and had gone alone to find He Baobao for revenge!"
As he finished speaking, another lackey with a nondescript face took over the conversation. "Mr. Chu, I'm best at tracking. I followed He Baobao for a whole day and night yesterday and just sent another brother to continue watching him. So far, we haven't seen Brother Bin take action. Mr. Chu, you must help us find Brother Bin. We can't let him do something reckless!"
Chu Yuxuan clicked his tongue. "Why didn't you come to me sooner?"
Huang Mao lowered his head. "Brother Bin said you always wanted him to stay away from you, so he didn't want to trouble you."
"Ah..." Chu Yuxuan sighed and murmured, "Li Bin does have a bit of the big brother's style." Just then, the fourth and fifth brothers arrived. After listening to Huang Mao's account, they were also very angry.
"I was thinking on the way here that Li Bin's phone was off and it would be hard to find him for a while. But now it seems we don't need to rush. We'll just keep an eye on He Baobao," the fifth brother said.
Chu Yuxuan nodded and asked the fourth brother, "Do you have the gear?"
The fourth brother replied, "I heard someone died, so I brought some."
Chu Yuxuan looked at the nondescript lackey and said, "Ask your replacement where He Baobao is now."
The lackey quickly made a call and reported back to Chu Yuxuan, "He's at the Criminal Police Team."
Chu Yuxuan pondered for a moment and said, "You all get some rest and recharge. Li Bin will definitely be secretly observing He Baobao, looking for an opportunity to act. No matter when he strikes, I won't let He Baobao live through tonight. I'll make sure to return Li Bin to you safe and sound!"
Huang Mao and the others exchanged glances. Setting aside Chu Yuxuan's background, just his previous act of single-handedly dealing with multiple attackers in the underground garage was impressive enough to make them trust his words completely. They gritted their teeth and said, "Mr. Chu, we'll go with you!"
Chu Yuxuan raised an eyebrow. "Not afraid anymore?"
Huang Mao felt deeply ashamed and remained silent.
Chu Yuxuan smiled and patted his shoulder. "In such a situation, fear is natural, especially since you're alone and unarmed. Don't blame yourself. Tonight, I'll help you build some courage!"
He then looked at the nondescript lackey. "Make sure your brother keeps a close watch on He Baobao today. Be careful not to get noticed. We can't be too blatant during the day. We'll have to wait until night to act, understand?"
"Got it, Mr. Chu. We'll follow your orders!"
An hour later, under the guise of delivering lunch to his sister, Chu Yuxuan arrived at the Criminal Police Team. In reality, he was just curious about the progress of the case.
Inside the police station, Chu Muchan was frazzled. The street office director summoned to the case kept shirking responsibility, distancing himself from He Baobao, and occasionally used the chief as leverage against her.
"I've made it very clear. We signed a subcontract with the security company to maintain public order. The incident where someone was killed has nothing to do with us. It's all the security company's personal behavior. Just arrest them. Why ask me? Do you know how busy I am? I work overtime every day, serving the community. And this is how you treat me? I'm going to have a good talk with your chief!"
He Baobao, on the other hand, was disdainful and said arrogantly, "We're also here to maintain public order! The day before yesterday, we heard about a disturbance on the street, so we rushed over. We didn't want any conflict. This was an accident. I'll pay for the damages, that's all!"
Chu Muchan's hands trembled with anger. "A life lost, and you think paying some money is enough to brush it off?!"
He Baobao scoffed. "What more do you want from me? You've already arrested the ones you needed to. Do you want me to pay with my life? Officer, do you understand the law?"
"In the witness statements, it clearly says there were over thirty assailants!" Chu Muchan shouted angrily. "Do you think picking out a few people will make all the problems disappear?!"
He Baobao glared and retorted, "Who said there were thirty? Huh? If someone says a thousand, will you believe it? If you have evidence, arrest them. Don't just yell at me! Do you think being loud makes a difference? D*mn, you have no brains!"
Despite He Baobao's usual arrogance, his behavior was exceptionally aggressive today. He was extremely agitated and couldn't control his temper.
A few days ago, some lackeys from a repair shop had stolen his safe while he was drunk, running off with all the cash. He hadn't even had time to look for them, and now his company's thugs had caused trouble again.
It was a minor altercation initially—a drunken thug argued with a young man on the street. The thug, alone at the time, didn't dare to be too arrogant. But after returning to the dormitory, he was still angry and called a large group to "maintain order." However, due to excessive drinking, they mistook the target and ended up killing Douzi.
Regardless of whether they mistook the person, the atrocity committed by these beasts couldn't be described as merely "outrageous." Treating human lives as worthless showed just how arrogant and tyrannical they could be.
"What did you say?" Chu Muchan was seething with rage and grabbed He Baobao's collar.
Unexpectedly, He Baobao cried out first, "Help! Someone's hitting me! Is there anyone to stop this? Police are hitting people!"
The police station was thrown into chaos. It took the squad leader's intervention to regain control of the situation.
Chu Muchan, gritting her teeth, noticed Chu Yuxuan leaning casually at the entrance of the office hall. After a deep breath, she walked over.
"I already said I'm busy and can't eat. And yet you come!"
Chu Yuxuan handed over the