Inside the villa.
Lin Fan tinkered with his computer in the study.
The news playing on the television held no interest for him. He always considered himself a good person.
A painting hung on the wall.
He stood before it, lifted it, and revealed a safe embedded in the wall.
"Where's the key?"
Lin Fan searched his memory. Oh, right, the key was in his office at the corporation. What a hassle. Having to go all the way to the corporation just to retrieve the key to open the safe was a waste of time.
He gripped the edges of the safe with his fingers, tearing through the metal. Then, with a gentle pry, he ripped the safe open.
Inside were various keys.
But what caught Lin Fan's attention most was a laptop.
Back at his desk, he opened the laptop. The screen prompted him for a password. After a moment's thought, he entered his birthdate.
Ding!
The laptop powered on, returning to the main screen.
There was no software on the desktop, only a lone folder.
He clicked on the folder. Inside were numerous videos.
He randomly opened one.
The video showed Zhu Fei holding a gun, pointing it at a bound man. Zhu Fei laughed maniacally, then bang, a bullet was fired, piercing the man's head. Blood splattered everywhere.
He opened another video.
They were all videos of Zhu Fei torturing and murdering people.
There were young people.
There were elderly people.
There were children.
Time passed quickly.
Lin Fan watched all the videos. His final conclusion was…
"So, he was this bad."
He fell into deep thought. Hurting others was wrong, and the actions in the videos were even more heinous. How could someone kill others so casually?
He closed the videos and opened a web browser, wanting to search for how to become a good person.
He clicked the search button.
The page refreshed, displaying numerous results. He clicked on a forum post and read:
[The content of the forum post is missing from the original text and therefore cannot be translated.]
Lin Fan pondered for a moment, feeling that the post made sense. When encountering something he didn't understand, he should indeed ask the police. The helpful police would surely be able to resolve his doubts.
He took out his phone and dialed a number.
Han Li was a dispatcher. Her job was to answer calls, inquire about situations, and record information. Although the night shift was tiring, it was more about responsibility.
When she was on duty, she had to put aside her fatigue and approach her work with sincerity and meticulousness.
The phone rang.
Han Li answered with a clear, gentle voice that gave a sense of approachability, as if one could confide anything to her.
"I have something I'd like to ask. Can you help me?" Lin Fan asked.
What he had read online was actually an elementary school student's essay titled [Title missing from the original text]. The content was well-written, suggesting calling the police when encountering problems.
He was simply following the essay's advice.
Han Li replied, "Yes, please tell me your question."
She faced the situation seriously. Someone calling at night likely had a story to tell. She couldn't dismiss them or scold them for making an unreasonable call. She needed to communicate calmly and patiently.
Often, seemingly trivial matters could lead to the resolution of something significant.
Lin Fan pondered for a moment, then said, "If a very bad person has done many bad things, and now wants to become a good person, what should they do?"
Han Li thought for a moment. The question was interesting.
She didn't answer directly, but instead asked, "Has this person committed any illegal acts?"
Lin Fan replied, "Yes."
Han Li said, "If they have committed illegal acts, they must face trial. After the trial, they will spend time in prison. That period of confinement is meant to cleanse them of their sins. When they come out, they will be a clean person, able to start anew. Then, they can be a good person."
"Thank you, I understand," Lin Fan said.
Beep beep!
Han Li heard the dial tone. She was curious about who had called and what their purpose was.
Very curious.
She fell into deep thought, trying to understand the situation, until a second call came in, interrupting her thoughts and bringing her back to work.
The next day!
At the Flying Dragon Corporation.
"Are all our men at the corporation?" Lin Fan asked Wang Meng. He wanted to be a good person and bring everyone around him into the pursuit of goodness, striving for it together.
Wang Meng replied, "Brother Fei, I'll go check right now."
He hurried out of the office to inquire with the Human Resources department about personnel arrangements. They weren't a legitimate corporation, after all; their dealings were rather shady.
Lin Fan rested his chin on his hand, gazing out the window at the sky, lost in thought. What should he do?
After making the call last night, he had learned a lot.
He felt what the dispatcher said made a lot of sense.
Wang Meng pushed open the door and said, "Brother Fei, I just checked. All the members are here."
Lin Fan said, "Find a restaurant and treat everyone to a meal. Oh, and make sure everyone attends. Also, buy some sleeping pills and have the chef put them in the food."
"Huh?"
Wang Meng looked at Lin Fan with a head full of question marks, as if someone had asked, "Little boy, do you have a lot of question marks?"
He could understand a group meal.
But drugging the food was baffling. And the way Brother Fei explained it, the operation was so bizarre, it made his scalp tingle.
Even though he had many questions, he had to carry out Brother Fei's orders immediately.
In the Flying Dragon Corporation's work group chat:
The members cheered upon seeing the message. Oh my god, Brother Fei was treating them to a meal, and he had even booked the largest hotel in H City!
Honestly, if they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they wouldn't have believed it.
Brother Fei had been acting strangely lately.
Suddenly charitable.
Suddenly generous.
Suddenly loyal to his underlings.
All signs pointed to one thing: something was up. They just couldn't figure out what it was. They wondered if Brother Fei had watched a movie and suddenly had an epiphany, becoming particularly concerned about brotherhood.
The news couldn't be contained.
Duan Shanhu's men all knew that the Flying Dragon Corporation was treating its members to a meal. They were envious and jealous. Why was their boss so stingy, while others… well, it was better not to talk about it, lest it add to their frustration.
The news also reached Duan Shanhu's ears. His only response was:
"That idiot has too much money. Playing philanthropist, treating people to meals. He's really freaking sick."
Eighth Master, retired from the underworld, lived on his pension. Occasionally, he would mediate underworld negotiations, as they needed a respected figure to maintain order. This allowed him to get free meals.
Every free meal saved him some money.
Eighth Master hung up the phone. The call was from the Flying Dragon Corporation, inviting him to dinner. In the past, he would have been delighted and showered them with praise. The young people these days truly respected their elders and cherished the traditions.
Even though he was retired, they still needed him to preside.
However, ever since being tricked at the Juxian Restaurant, Eighth Master had developed a fear. He always felt like he would be scammed. If the banquet turned into him footing the bill, honestly, even if he sold his old bones, he wouldn't be able to afford it.
For safety's sake, it was best to stay home.
Xu Jian, as an undercover cop, never doubted his own judgment.
On the rooftop of a building:
Xu Jian leaned against the railing, looking into the distance. "I'm certain they completed the transaction at the hospital that day. You just didn't find it, but it doesn't mean it didn't happen."
He firmly believed his guess was correct.
As for them not finding anything, it was simply their incompetence.
The middle-aged man in the hat said, "Do you know I was under immense pressure during yesterday's operation? There were no results, and I was severely reprimanded because of you."
"Boss, you didn't find anything, how is that my fault? It's your incompetence. Look at Zhu Fei, he's treating all his men to a meal. This means his transaction was successful, he made a lot of money, and he's in a good mood, so he's celebrating." Xu Jian's imagination ran wild.
No matter what Lin Fan did, he could connect it to the supposed drug deal.
The middle-aged man said, "I hope next time you have concrete information before you send me a message."
Xu Jian looked at him in astonishment, then laughed. "If I had concrete information, I'd be arresting him directly, not like this. Being undercover is hard and dangerous. Can't you understand? Because of this damn undercover job, my wife left me, my son took someone else's last name, and I can't even go home."
Seeing Xu Jian getting agitated, the middle-aged man patted his shoulder and comforted him, "Calm down. Everything you're doing is for justice. Don't worry, once this is over, the organization will bring your wife and child back."
Xu Jian said, "Actually, I don't care about the wife. Just get my child back. And the reward can't be too little. These past few years, I think I've developed some psychological issues. I need a lot of money to go out and relax, and I need to see a therapist, you know?"
"I understand," the middle-aged man nodded.
Only then did Xu Jian feel slightly better. At least the promises the boss made usually came true.
"Zhu Fei, I will find evidence of your crimes and bring you to justice."
Xu Jian encouraged himself. He had persevered until now because of this drive. Without it, he would have gone insane.
Being undercover wasn't for everyone.
It required immense psychological resilience.
Acting skills, strength, intelligence, and mentality were all indispensable. Lacking any one of these, an undercover agent like him could easily be exposed.