My cousin-in-law helped me achieve my ambitions.

He glanced at Su Ming, noticing the handcuffs still on his wrists, reflecting a blinding light in the sunlight. He immediately forced a smile at Su Ming, quickly walked over to him, and frantically rummaged for the keys at his waist, his voice tinged with a fawning eagerness: "Here, young man, let me uncuff you first. I was reckless just now; I shouldn't have handcuffed you. I'll uncuff you right now."

Su Ming naturally understood that he now held the upper hand. The fact that Director Gu was so humble meant that Dr. Hou's phone call had had its effect. The moment of reckoning was approaching, and he wasn't about to let this guy off so easily.

He deliberately twisted his body, tilting his handcuffed hands to the side, and arrogantly raised his chin, his tone laced with sarcasm: "I don't need you to uncuff me, I like it this way. It's fine with the handcuffs on. When the people arrive, everyone can see how you, the station chief, enforce the law, not even following procedures, just handcuffing people as soon as you come up."

Director Gu was both angry and anxious, but he dared not lose his temper. He could only suppress his agitation and immediately began to coax a child, bending over with the handcuff keys in mid-air, a smile on his face, his voice as soft as if he were soothing an angry child: "Young man, don't be like this, give me some face, take off the handcuffs first, your wrists will hurt if you're handcuffed for too long. Here, I'll take them off for you, please be magnanimous and don't hold it against me..."

The villagers present were all shocked when they saw this, and they looked at each other in disbelief, and then started to discuss it among themselves.

"What's going on? Why did Director Gu suddenly change his expression?"

"Didn't you see? I just got a phone call, I must have been yelled at by the higher-ups."

"Just who are these two outsiders? Why are they making Director Gu so afraid?"

"This is troublesome. It seems Director Gu has run into a brick wall today."

As they were discussing this, they suddenly heard a rapid siren coming from not far away. The sound grew louder and louder as it approached, echoing through the valley.

Everyone turned their heads and saw three police cars speeding towards them on the road in the distance. The police lights on the roofs flashed red and blue alternately, raising a cloud of dust that was particularly dazzling in the sunlight.

Seeing the police car arrive, Chief Gu's face instantly turned ashen, cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and his legs began to tremble as if he were walking on cotton. He bent over, his face contorted with pleading as he approached Dr. Hou, his voice tinged with apology and even a hint of a sob: "Mr. Hou, please, have mercy on me this time! I'll apologize to you right away, whatever you say goes..."

Dr. Hou ignored him completely, raising his face and not looking at him at all. His gaze was fixed on the police car approaching in the distance, his expression indifferent as if he were looking at a landscape that had nothing to do with him.

Director Gu then turned to Su Ming, who was standing to the side, and pleaded in a low voice with a fawning smile, "Young man, look at the mess this has made, it's all my fault. I'll take the handcuffs off you, and we can talk things out, okay? Can you help me persuade your brother-in-law not to make things too big..."

Su Ming followed suit, imitating Dr. Hou's manner, arrogantly raising his face, placing his handcuffed hands in front of his chest, and coldly replying, "No need, it's fine as it is. You're the one who put these handcuffs on, so if anyone's going to remove them, it'll be someone who should remove them. Didn't you say you didn't need a reason to handcuff me? Then let everyone see whether these handcuffs are reasonable or not."

Chief Gu was furious, his chest felt like it was stuffed with cotton, both suffocating and anxious, but he dared not lash out, and could only glare helplessly. The burly man beside him stared wide-eyed in shock, his mouth agape. He looked at his uncle, then at the three approaching police cars, and couldn't help but mutter softly, "Uncle, what's going on? Didn't you say you were the chief? Didn't you say you were in charge in this area? Why are there so many police cars?"

Director Gu was seething with anger and had nowhere to vent it. Upon hearing this, he raised his hand and slapped the burly man across the face with a crisp sound, leaving a bright red handprint.

Director Gu roared angrily, "What's wrong? It's all over! People from the city bureau and the county bureau have arrived! If I lose this job today, don't call me uncle anymore. I don't have a nephew like you! Keeping a dog without a leash, it bit someone and then tried to extort money from them, you've ruined me!"

Upon hearing this, the burly man who had been trying to extort money was so frightened that his legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground, his buttocks landing on the gravel. His face trembled uncontrollably as he muttered, "The Municipal Bureau... why would the Municipal Bureau come..."

Soon, three police cars pulled up at the village entrance, kicking up a cloud of dust. Two slightly overweight middle-aged men stepped out of the first police car. Both were wearing police uniforms and held high ranks. The older of the two, who was in his early fifties, had his hair neatly combed, walked with a steady gait, and exuded an air of authority that only those in positions of power could command, radiating an imposing presence without raising his voice.

Another officer, of similar age but noticeably more subdued, followed behind, looking nervous. Immediately afterward, a dozen or so police officers emerged from the two police cars behind them. Their uniforms were impeccably tailored, their movements perfectly synchronized. There were even two SWAT officers armed with submachine guns, their expressions stern, accompanied by a spirited wolfhound, its tongue lolling out, its eyes scanning the surroundings warily.

The two middle-aged men who came down first glanced at the scene, their eyes sweeping over the onlookers, the dead dog on the ground, and the bloodstains, finally settling on Dr. Hou's face. The older man recognized him, his eyes sharpening. He immediately walked towards Dr. Hou, his pace noticeably quickening. He greeted him respectfully, looked him up and down, and asked with genuine concern, "Dr. Hou... Dr. Hou, are you alright? Are you injured?"

He wanted to use a different form of address, but changed his mind before he could finish.

Dr. Hou sighed calmly, stood up from the rock, dusted off his trousers, and said in a calm but heavy tone, "I'm fine. However, the security situation in this area is seriously problematic! Local bullies run rampant, dogs are kept unleashed and allowed to bite people, and extort money. When the police station chief comes, he doesn't investigate or collect evidence; he immediately sides with his own people and arbitrarily handcuffs people. How can ordinary people live in such a security environment?"

The older man nodded respectfully, repeatedly saying "yes, yes, yes," his expression growing increasingly grim. He turned sternly to another man of similar age, dressed in a police uniform, and coldly said, "Director Liang, this is dereliction of duty. For something like this to happen within your jurisdiction, you, as the director, cannot shirk your responsibility."

Director Liang's face stiffened, and sweat beaded on his forehead. He immediately nodded awkwardly, his voice filled with fear and self-reproach: "I'm sorry, Deputy Director Guo, this is my dereliction of duty. I will definitely deal with this matter seriously and will not tolerate it."