Anti-gang campaign: Female bureau chief

"Director Jiang, I...I want to talk to you about something." He looked around to make sure no one else was nearby, then lowered his voice and said...

"Last night, someone slipped an envelope into my house containing 50,000 yuan and a note. The note read, 'Your daughter is very lucky; this time it's just her leg. Next time, it might be different.'"

Jiang Ruolan's pupils contracted sharply. She asked:

"Where are the envelope and the note?"

"I hid in my house."

"You did the right thing. I'll have someone pick it up tomorrow; these are important pieces of evidence." Jiang Ruolan pressed down on Chen Desheng's shoulder.

"Mr. Chen, listen up. From now on, you and your family are under the police's key protection."

I've arranged for plainclothes officers to guard outside the ward 24/7, and there will also be patrols around your home. No matter what happens, call me immediately.

Chen Desheng's eyes reddened. He nodded vigorously, then, as if remembering something, he said:

"Director Jiang, I...I have something else. Didn't I tell you a couple of days ago that when Zhao Biao smashed my shop, there were many people watching on the street, but no one dared to say a word?"

"I remember."

"Later, someone secretly called me. He didn't say his name, he just said one sentence—'Fengmao's biggest protector in Yi'an is surnamed Gu.' Then he hung up."

Jiang Ruolan's heart skipped a beat. She pressed on with her question:

"What about that phone number? Do you still have it?"

"It's a public phone. I called back; it's from a newsstand in the north of the city. I can't find the person who answered," Chen Desheng said.

"But one thing that person said really stuck with me—'You can't bring them down because their influence in the city government is much bigger than you think.'"

Jiang Ruolan fell silent. She stood under the corridor lights for a long time, then said to Chen Desheng:

"Thank you for telling me all this. If this person contacts you again, try to get more information, but don't press him too hard or scare him away."

After leaving the hospital, Jiang Ruolan sat in the car without starting it immediately. She leaned back in the driver's seat, closed her eyes, and let all the information race through her mind.

Gu Changhe. The biggest protector of Yi'an is surnamed Gu. Shen Wangshan invested 20 million yuan in Gu Changhe's son through Qian Shouyi's brother-in-law.

There were issues with the financial transactions between Zhou Peiwen and Fengmao, and Zhou Peiwen's transfer was approved by Gu Changhe. Fang Xuewen's wife's company used Fengmao's address.

All the clues pointed to the same person. But Jiang Ruolan knew that these clues were not enough to form a complete chain of evidence.

Gu Changhe was a meticulous man; he left no direct fingerprints at any stage. Every decision he made was reasonable and legal, and every sum of money was carefully vetted.

To bring him down, we need a single, decisive piece of evidence—evidence that directly proves he abused his power to protect Shen Wangshan.

Just then, her phone rang again. This time it was Lu Zheng calling, his voice urgent and tense.

"Director Jiang, something's happened. We just got word from the detention center—Zhao Biao was beaten in his cell."

Jiang Ruolan felt all the blood rush to her head in an instant. She gripped the steering wheel tightly, but her voice was surprisingly calm:

"How badly are you injured? Is the person dead?"

"He's not dead, but he's seriously injured. He has three broken ribs and a ruptured spleen. He's on his way to the city's People's Hospital."

The man who assaulted him was a fellow inmate, a thief named Ma Laoliu. He poked Ma Laoliu four times with a sharpened toothbrush handle while Ma Laoliu was using the toilet.

"Has Ma Laoliu been caught yet?"

"He was caught, but he didn't deny it at all, saying that he had a personal grudge against Zhao Biao. He said that Zhao Biao had taken his sister away last year, and he had been looking for an opportunity to get revenge."

We checked, and Ma Laoliu does indeed have a younger sister, and she did indeed have a...relationship with Zhao Biao. But judging from the timeline, Ma Laoliu was only put into Zhao Biao's cell three days ago, right after Director Jiang's first interrogation of Zhao Biao.”

Jiang Ruolan closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She knew better than anyone that this was no coincidence.

Ma Laoliu was sent in; his task was to deal with Zhao Biao inside.

Shen Wangshan made his move.

"Lu Zheng, you need to do three things immediately. First, increase the number of police officers guarding Zhao Biao's operating room and ward. No one—listen carefully, no one—is allowed to approach without my permission, including hospital medical staff who must undergo identity verification."

Second, conduct a surprise interrogation of Ma Laoliu, focusing on how he was assigned to Zhao Biao's cell and who signed the consent form. Cell allocation in the detention center has strict procedures; it's impossible for a newly arrived thief to coincidentally be assigned to Zhao Biao's cell. There must be a mole involved.

Third, completely suppress the news of Zhao Biao's assassination attempt, and only say to the public that "detainee Zhao Biao had a physical altercation with someone in his cell, suffered minor injuries, has been sent to the hospital for treatment, and is not in life-threatening condition."

"Understood," Lu Zheng replied, then asked again.

"Director Jiang, if Zhao Biao wakes up... shouldn't we take this opportunity to intensify our interrogation? He's been stabbed, so he should know very well who wanted to kill him. At times like this, his psychological defenses are at their weakest."

Jiang Ruolan was silent for a moment, then said:

"No. Not only will we not interrogate him, but we'll also treat him coldly. Let him think we've given up trying to get anything out of him."

Why?

"Because a person won't speak when he's afraid—he's still hoping that Shen Wangshan's men will come out to rescue him."

He would only speak in two situations: either when he was in utter despair and realized that Shen Wangshan no longer wanted him, or when he was so angry that he wanted to die with Shen Wangshan.

He's just had a brush with death, and neither of those emotions has fully formed yet. Wait a few more days, until his injuries heal, until his mind calms down from the fear, until he understands who wanted to kill him—then he'll naturally speak up.

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Ruolan started the car, but instead of returning to the Municipal Bureau, she drove towards the Municipal People's Hospital.

She was going to stand guard outside Zhao Biao's ward—not because she was worried he had died, but because she was worried someone would stab him in the back in the hospital.

As the car drove into the dark streets of Yi'an, the streetlights on both sides were sparse, and long stretches of road were shrouded in darkness.

Jiang Ruolan's car headlights were like the only spark in the night, forlornly cutting through the darkness ahead, but the darkness quickly closed in behind the car, as if nothing had happened.

That's how this city is. Light is always temporary; darkness is the eternal backdrop. But Jiang Ruolan doesn't believe in this.

Meanwhile, at the Golden Coast Club, Shen Wangshan received a report from Zhou Wenxuan.

"Ma Laoliu succeeded. He stabbed him four times, causing a ruptured spleen. He's currently undergoing emergency treatment. But the news from the detention center is that he's 'out of danger'."

..............