Siheyuan (courtyard house): My father, Li Yunlong!

As Li Zhenhua emerged from the police station, sporting dark circles under his eyes, he pushed his bicycle. Lin Taotao followed beside him with a businesslike expression, but whenever she caught a glimpse of his disheveled state out of the corner of her eye, the corners of her mouth would involuntarily turn up in a smile.

"What are you looking at? Mistakes are inevitable in friendly sparring."

Li Zhenhua said irritably, trying to maintain his last shred of dignity.

"Section Chief Li is very skilled; I'm here to learn and observe."

Lin Taotao spoke in a calm tone, but the sarcasm in her words was impossible to hide.

The two returned to the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill, one after the other, in a subtly awkward atmosphere.

Li Zhenhua reluctantly introduced Lin Taotao to Director Sun Weimin and Lao Zhou from the department, saying that she was a professional comrade sent by the police station to assist in the investigation.

Although Sun Weimin was somewhat puzzled by the injuries on Li Zhenhua's face, he didn't ask any further questions since he was from the public security system. He simply urged them to solve the case as soon as possible.

With Ma Xiaowu's guidance and Lin Taotao's professional assistance, the investigation immediately got on track.

Once Lin Taotao got into work mode, she seemed like a different person; the previous confrontation was replaced by focus and competence.

She first requested a second investigation of the garbage heap where the parts were found. Although no further physical evidence was found, she carefully recorded the location of the garbage heap, the surrounding environment, and the pattern of garbage removal.

Next, she asked Li Zhenhua to bring her a detailed floor plan of the factory area and a distribution map of each workshop and warehouse. Combining this with Ma Xiaowu's ideas of "signal monitoring" and "internal investigation," she began to identify key areas.

"The broadcasting station, communications department, technical department archives, and those underground warehouses and scrap yards storing old equipment are the most important places."

Lin Taotao pointed to the map, her expression clear and organized.

"Especially those corners that are independent, rarely visited, but have a certain degree of privacy and power supply."

In one afternoon, Lin Taotao, along with Li Zhenhua, Lao Zhou, and others, visited several departments without stopping.

She asked questions with rigorous logic and keen observation of the environment. Occasionally, she would bring up technical details that Li Zhenhua had never thought of, which made the old guards nod in approval, thinking to themselves that this policewoman was indeed quite capable.

However, just as Ma Xiaowu had predicted, things did not go smoothly.

Over time, records in many places are incomplete, and the personnel have changed several times. When asked, they either don't know anything or are vague.

After running around all afternoon, although we had some vague directions, we hadn't made any substantial breakthroughs. With the end of the workday fast approaching, the investigation seemed to have hit another deadlock.

As the sun sets, the bell rings to signal the end of the workday in the factory area.

Li Zhenhua rubbed his throbbing temples, looked at Lin Taotao who was still frowning and deep in thought while looking at the blueprints, and spoke.

"Captain Lin, you've had a busy afternoon, thank you for your hard work. It's almost lunchtime, so let me treat you to a simple meal as a way of thanking you for your professional guidance, and also... to discuss our next steps."

Lin Taotao snapped out of her reverie, looked up at Li Zhenhua, and seemed to be trying to read something from his face.

She hesitated slightly, but perhaps because she felt that work required communication, or perhaps because she was more curious about Li Zhenhua, she finally nodded and readily agreed.

"Sure, I'm hungry too. But Section Chief Li, I'm a picky eater, regular restaurants won't do."

Li Zhenhua breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her agree, but also felt a surge of competitiveness and smiled.

"Don't worry, I guarantee you'll be satisfied. Come on, I know a place."

Half an hour later, the two appeared at a well-known roast duck restaurant near Qianmen.

Despite the shortage of supplies, this time-honored brand still maintains a certain standard, with the shop filled with fragrant aromas and bustling with people.

Li Zhenhua was clearly not a first-timer; he ordered a roast duck and a few side dishes as if he knew exactly where to go.

Seeing the chef slice and serve the glistening, crispy-skinned, and tender roast duck, Lin Taotao's eyes lit up slightly. Without being polite, she picked up a lotus leaf pancake, added duck meat, scallions, and sweet bean sauce, skillfully rolled it up, took a bite, and squinted her eyes in satisfaction.

"Mmm, this tastes really good! Section Chief Li, it seems you've been to such nice places quite often."

Lin Taotao's tone was somewhat teasing, as if she was implying something.

Li Zhenhua understood perfectly well the implication in her words; she was implying that a young cadre like him couldn't afford to eat out frequently.

Without changing his expression, he rolled up the duck pancake and answered in a serious tone.

"It's nice to treat ourselves to something nicer now and then. But Captain Lin is a special guest, so we can't neglect him."

The two ate and chatted, and the topic naturally circled back to the case.

After a brief discussion with no new developments, the atmosphere fell slightly silent. Lin Taotao put down her chopsticks, picked up her teacup, and asked casually.

"Section Chief Li, to be honest, it's quite remarkable that you've become the head of the security department at the steel rolling mill at such a young age. These days, you can't hold onto that position without strong connections, right? Is your family...?"

Li Zhenhua had anticipated this question. He slowly swallowed the food in his mouth, picked up a handkerchief to wipe his mouth, put on a serious expression, and said decisively.

"Captain Lin, you're mistaken. I, Li Zhenhua, have gotten to where I am today entirely through my own hard work and the organization's trust! I absolutely haven't relied on any family connections. I've built my career up step by step!"

He spoke with an air of righteous indignation, as if the events of yesterday, when he relied on his mother's connections and Director Wang's personal delivery, had never happened.

Looking at his "righteous and awe-inspiring" appearance, Lin Taotao almost choked. She suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and sneered.

"Oh, all thanks to your own hard work? Section Chief Li, you've got a really high level of awareness."

She paused, then changed the subject, retorting with obvious sarcasm.

"But speaking of which, Chief Li, you are so young and accomplished, you must look down on those who climb the ladder through family connections, right? Unlike me, I became the captain of the criminal investigation team at a young age. In some people's eyes, I must have used my family connections to get to be so 'smooth sailing'."

Her words were clearly a sarcastic remark about Li Zhenhua, and also a self-deprecating remark, implying that Li Zhenhua's earlier statement about "relying entirely on himself" was hypocritical.

Li Zhenhua was extremely astute and immediately understood the implied meaning.

Instead of being annoyed, he took the opportunity to climb up the tango, pretending to be surprised as he looked at Lin Taotao, drawing out his words.

"Oh, so Captain Lin, you also know that you became the brigade leader because of your family connections? I thought you were really good at it. But I can understand, after all, in this world, having good parents can save you a lot of effort."

"you!"

Lin Taotao was so angry at his shameless act of turning the tables and retorting that her eyebrows shot up. The anger she had just suppressed suddenly flared up again, and she slammed her teacup on the table.

"Li Zhenhua! Stop with your sarcastic remarks! I, Lin Taotao, have solved more cases and arrested more criminals than you've ever seen! I got this job through sheer ability!"