The Chief Detective Inspector is dead. I'm now the top police officer in Hong Kong!

Chapter 45 Buying a Life with a Needle (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

That evening, in the living room of Rongchang Building, a whiteboard was erected, displaying photos of three craftsmen known as "Wu Xikun," "Yan Dongkui," and "Master Zai," each with two trusted henchmen below them, connected by black thread.

At the very top is a picture of Hu Xuyong, but it's crossed out and labeled: Lychee Corner.

They cannot place their hopes of solving the case on a single person who is in charge of a group of people. It's like trying to put D into the body of a menopausal woman—it won't produce offspring.

Zhang Jinrong, Deng Gengyun, Zhong Zhihui, and Chen Anquan, the "Four Sergeants," sat on the sofa. Three of them held Cokes, while the other drank whiskey alone, their eyes fixed on the whiteboard.

Meetings at the police station during the day are just to understand the case details. To make real decisions, we still need the four sergeants to offer advice and help. The lower-ranking officers are too inexperienced and have already lost their way.

Several case files were scattered on the table, indicating that everyone had already read them. Lin Tiansheng picked them up, returned to a single sofa on the left, sat down, interlaced his fingers, leaned over and stared intently, and said, "It's obvious that we need a needle to stick into it to find their warehouse."

Zhong Zhihui put down the can, her expression serious: "I can't do it!"

"Two months ago, the Criminal Investigation Department launched an operation and successfully arrested the mute boy, relying on an informant's identification. Later, when the operation team stormed the warehouse, the transaction had already been cancelled."

"It turns out that not only does the police have spies in the triads, but the triads also have people in the police!"

After the last operation failed, the informant had already left, and the entire Yi Zi group had been thoroughly purged. Not only was the person in charge replaced, but even the henchmen working under him were all replaced from beginning to end.

The arms trade isn't a "high-frequency transaction," but rather a "low-frequency transaction" like heroin. Distribution points might be easy to find. Most of the time, the upstream and downstream agents haven't even met.

Furthermore, to ensure the security of transactions, those involved in the arms trade are strictly prohibited from using the weapons locally. The weapons traded by the "Number Gang" primarily import from North Korea and the Soviet Union, and are shipped to conflict zones such as Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand, where they are sold to local armed groups.

Sometimes they would use a barter system, exchanging weapons for heroin. Each transaction was small, considered "small-scale" in the international arms trade, and involved no advanced weapons, but the profits were astonishing. It would not be an exaggeration to describe it as making a fortune every day.

Criminals are keeping a close eye on them, and they are also very willing to spend money to pave the way, secretly bribing quite a few people.

Zhang Jinrong sipped his wine and said bluntly, "If we can't get our informants into the police force, we might as well just start doing it ourselves. We'll find other gangs to cooperate with and take over the business of the Yi gang together."

"When the time comes, we'll bring out a batch of goods as a demonstration, and we'll still get paid for each order. If we do well, the foreigners might even be happy."

Lin Tiansheng couldn't deny Zhang Jinrong's reasoning, because the rising elite of the police force operated in a similar style. They were ruthless and arrogant than the previous corrupt cops, disregarding morality and only concerned with self-interest.

At the same time, maintain good relations with superiors and use outstanding performance to secure rapid promotion. It can be said that Zhang Jinrong wasn't acting recklessly, but rather offering sincere advice.

Compared to the old version from ten years ago, Zhang Jinrong's new version, which "follows the example," has indeed made some progress.

However, it cannot be ignored that this tactic has been overused by elite police officers. How can you compete with others when they are using the same methods?
The old comrades in the remnant party wanted to align their thoughts with his, and he also wanted to take this opportunity to gain the approval of the remnant party and rule them with his own ideas! Otherwise, what's the fun in being a puppet?
Lin Tiansheng was handling a case, but given his position, he also had to consider politics. So he pointed to the ceiling with his pen and said, "If we do it this way, we'll have no problem solving this case. But how will we compete with those in high positions in the future?"

"Ah Rong, it's the same old story. Do you think the foreigners will believe them or us?"

Zhang Jinrong was completely convinced: "I will definitely believe them." Lin Tiansheng said, "Therefore, our methods of handling cases must surpass theirs."

Chen Anquan frowned: "Boss, how can we play by the rules and abide by the law? When you're in the game, you can draw your gun instead of using a stick, and you can't tie your own hands."

Lin Tiansheng sneered: "Black and white are irreconcilable, but our white is not legal, it's reasonable. Reason isn't determined by foreigners, it's in people's hearts."

"The methods can cross the line—execution, bribery, using money to pave the way—no problem. But when the incident is exposed, the public must feel it's understandable and forgivable. It's not about learning from those highly educated, English-speaking elites, serving foreigners well, and exposing their misdeeds—that would definitely lead to everyone condemning them."

"To give an example, if you torture a criminal to extract a confession in order to solve a case, and in the end save the person, the citizens will sympathize with you even if they don't sign a petition. Among the five of us, if any of us gets into trouble or is arrested, we still have influence. Because we have the sympathy of the most grassroots citizens and police officers."

"But if we collude with triads, giving the impression of being allies between the underworld and criminals, aiding and abetting evil, we're still just dogs, killed at the whim of foreigners, no different from Brother Lok before, no different from Inspector Lee now!"

Military and police agencies, prioritizing law enforcement, often represent the law rather than reason and compassion. However, Hong Kong is a densely populated area where laws are determined by outsiders, which is largely unacceptable to the grassroots. As Chinese people, if we want to grasp the strongest forces, our starting point is not the law itself, but the interests of our compatriots, the interests of Hong Kong, embodying "Chinese legal principles" and "Chinese morality."

Back then, Brother Lok stood out and became the strongest Chief Detective Inspector, and his style of doing things reflected this. That's why the foreigners had to take drastic measures; otherwise, the police force might have gone it alone with public support.

Even when Westerners were wielding weapons, they still opened up the economy and promoted Chinese politicians to "feed their dogs," which still resulted in massive demonstrations with tens of thousands of people taking to the streets, demonstrating the power of this political belief.

Lin Tiansheng was a soldier, not a politician, but given the social atmosphere in Hong Kong, it was impossible for him not to sense it. As a citizen, to build momentum and achieve success, he willingly picked up this force, turning it into a banner, waving it, shouting slogans, and charging forward.

Zhong Zhihui sighed inwardly. Three years in the pond had made the big boss politically mature. He said, "I support Brother Sheng. Supermarket shelves sell instant noodles, and they even differentiate between cup noodles and flat noodles. When I go shopping in Malan, I only go to the most popular places. When I do business, I only do the trendiest things. How can I be vulgar?"

Deng Gengyun crumpled the empty Coke can and complained, "Boss, what are you saying? My scalp is itchy. Can we order some braised pork knuckle rice for a late-night snack and chat while we eat?"

Chen Anquan glanced at the clock on the wall and said indignantly, "You just ate some noodles an hour ago, and now you're having a midnight snack. Did you eat something stupid?"

"Yan Dongkui is a clerk, in charge of the accounts of the establishment. He works as a secretary but doesn't handle specific matters. However, he is temporarily managing the Yi Zi Dui (a type of entertainment venue). Master Zi manages the nightclub and has nothing to do with weapons."

"We still need to keep our eyes on the big boss. His henchman, Dao Zai Dong, is a gambler who frequently travels to Macau. We can't get a foothold there, so is there any way to find a way to get to him?" Lin Tiansheng asked. "Bribe him!"

Zhong Zhihui nodded: "It's worth a try. If it doesn't work, we can think of another way."

Zhang Jinrong looked surprised and asked in astonishment, "How much money would it cost to bribe him? Who's going to pay for it!"

The Criminal Intelligence Division's legitimate funding is definitely not enough to bribe a key member of the arms trade, and none of the four could afford to pay out of their own pockets.

"Who said we have to pay money to buy him off? We'll use his life to buy him off!" Lin Tiansheng's lips curled into a sinister smile: "Doesn't he like to gamble in Macau? If he doesn't do what we want, let's just let him sink into Macau forever."

(End of this chapter)