Anti-gang campaign: Female bureau chief

Zhang Dayou, male, 52 years old, a merchant at the Yi'an Building Materials Market, received threatening letters in August 2024 for refusing to vacate his premises to make way for merchants under the Fengmao Group. His warehouse caught fire in September, resulting in losses of approximately NT$1.6 million. The fire department ruled it an accident, and the police did not file a case.

Ho Yung-fu, male, 45 years old, a taxi driver from Yi-an, was intercepted on the street by four men in July 2024 because he refused to pay "management fees" to a taxi company under Feng-mao Group. His taxi was vandalized, and he was beaten so badly that his spleen ruptured. The case remains unsolved.

She wrote line by line, her fingers pressing harder and harder, leaving deep indentations on the paper with the pen tip.

Nineteen case files, nineteen victims: some were burned, some were maimed, some lost their families, and some are still in the hospital.

And what about the perpetrator? Zhao Biao will turn himself in tomorrow, spend a few days in the detention center, then be released on bail, and then the matter will be dropped.

This is the rule of Yi An.

Jiang Ruolan put down her pen, leaned back in her chair, and closed her eyes.

She remembered the last thing the provincial department director said to her when he spoke with her before Yi'an.

"Ruolan, the waters of Yi'an are very deep, deep enough to drown people. I won't stop you if you want to go, but I hope you remember one thing—in Yi'an, your biggest enemy is not those thugs who are only on the surface, nor is it entrepreneurs like Shen Wangshan who have laundered their money, but the people behind them."

Those people you can't see, wearing the same uniforms as you. This time, you're fighting a war without gunfire. Your opponents don't carry knives or guns; they carry official seals, documents, and the rules themselves.

Jiang Ruolan opened her eyes and her gaze fell on the stack of case files in front of her.

"Then I'll use the rules to beat them."

She spoke softly, her voice as quiet as if she were making a promise to herself.

The sky outside the window gradually darkened, and night was about to fall in Yi'an City.

The city, located at the junction of three provinces, appeared exceptionally quiet in the twilight, as quiet as a stagnant pool, yet beneath the surface lay unseen undercurrents and abysses.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, on the brightly lit Renmin Road, a black Maybach slowly drove out of the underground parking lot of Fengmao Group and headed towards the east of the city.

Shen Wangshan sat in the back seat, resting with his eyes closed, while Zhou Wenxuan sat in the passenger seat, looking down at his phone.

No one spoke; the silence inside the car was like a tightly wound spring, accumulating unseen power.

The first night in Yian City thus began in silence and undercurrents.

What Jiang Ruolan didn't know was that her words at the meeting this afternoon had already been like a pebble thrown into this stagnant pool, and the ripples it created were spreading to every corner of the city at a speed she couldn't have imagined—in those dark corners, countless eyes were opening in the darkness, watching this woman who had been parachuted in from the provincial capital with vigilance.

The real contest is far from over...

At six o'clock the next morning, Jiang Ruolan had already appeared in the municipal bureau building.

She quickly washed up in her dormitory, changed into a clean police uniform, and went directly to the Criminal Investigation Division's office area.

The Criminal Investigation Division's office is on the third floor, occupying half of the entire floor.

According to the established staffing plan, there should be forty-five people, but at this moment, there are less than twenty people sitting at their workstations, and the rest of the positions are empty.

Several police officers who arrived early were somewhat surprised to see her come in, and they quickly stood up and saluted.

"Please sit down."

Jiang Ruolan waved her hand, her gaze sweeping across the office area. "Where's your team leader, Qin Chuan?"

A young police officer answered cautiously:

"Deputy Director Qin usually arrives around 8:30."

Jiang Ruolan didn't say anything. She walked to an empty desk, sat down, and casually picked up a case registration form from the desk to look through it.

The registration form records a burglary that occurred three days ago in a residential area in the north of the city. The victim reported that 50,000 yuan in cash and some gold jewelry were stolen.

The investigation progress section of the case only had four words written on it: "Under investigation".

Who is in charge of this case?

Jiang Ruolan held up the registration form and asked.

A police officer in his early thirties stood up:

"Director Jiang, it's me."

"What's your name?"

"Reporting to Director Jiang, my name is Lu Zheng, deputy captain of the Second Detachment of the Criminal Investigation Division."

Jiang Ruolan glanced at him. Lu Zheng wasn't very tall, but he was very muscular, and the police uniform looked angular on him.

His gaze was direct; he looked straight into Jiang Ruolan's eyes when he spoke, unlike the others who looked away.

"This case has been going on for three days, why is it only listed as 'under investigation'?"

Jiang Ruolan asked.

Lu Zheng hesitated for a moment, seemingly considering whether or not to tell the truth.

Jiang Ruolan noticed his hesitation and said:

"I want to hear the truth."

"Director Jiang, regarding this case... the victim lives in the Bishuiwan residential complex in the north of the city. That complex was developed by Fengmao Real Estate, and the property management is also under Fengmao. When we went to investigate the scene, the property management staff followed us the whole time and wouldn't let us touch anything."

We wanted to access the community's surveillance footage, but the property management said the system happened to be out of order that day. We wanted to visit the neighbors, but the property management had already spoken to each household beforehand, and no one was willing to talk to us.

As Lu Zheng spoke, a hint of suppressed anger crept into his voice. "I've been a criminal investigator for eight years, and I've never seen such a 'clean' crime scene—it's not that there were no clues, it's that all the clues had been cleaned up beforehand."

"Why not write these details in the registration form?"

Lu Zheng gave a wry smile:

"Director Jiang, this kind of thing is too common in Yi'an. Writing it down won't help. We've written it down before, but the materials just disappear without a trace, without even a reply."

Jiang Ruolan looked at him, and after a few seconds she said:

"From today onward, every single word that needs to be written in every case file must be included. What others think is their business; what you do is your business."

Lu Zheng paused for a moment, then said loudly:

"Yes, Director Jiang!"

Jiang Ruolan stood up and said to Lu Zheng:

"Bring me all the materials related to organized crime and gang-related leads that your brigade is currently handling. Also, notify everyone in your brigade to have a meeting here in twenty minutes."

Lu Zheng responded and turned to get the materials.

The police officers nearby exchanged glances. Some quietly took out their phones to send messages, while others silently returned to their workstations and began organizing the case files at hand.

A subtle atmosphere permeated the office—a mixture of tension, excitement, unease, and anticipation, like a pot of water being slowly heated.

Ten minutes later, Lu Zheng returned to Jiang Ruolan carrying a thick stack of folders.

These folders vary in age; some have dusty covers, clearly indicating they haven't been touched in a long time.

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