Anti-gang campaign: Female bureau chief

Jiang Ruolan put down her pen and remained silent.

Ding Hai closed his eyes, his voice as soft as a speck of dust falling to the ground:

"In my life, what I hate most is not my stepfather calling me a bastard, not people on the street looking at me like I'm a dog, and not Zhou Haipeng using me as a tool."

What I hate most in my life is that I killed the only person who was willing to wait for me. I could have chosen not to kill her; I could have made her call the police, I could have turned myself in. But I didn't.

Because I'm more afraid of losing her than going to jail. I'm afraid that if I turn myself in, I'll never see her again. I'm afraid she won't be able to wait that long.

I was afraid she'd be like Fang Zhiqing, saying nice things but secretly looking down on me. I chose a path only a madman would choose—I'd rather she die than live in a world without me.

Jiang Ruolan remained silent for a long time before speaking.

Her voice contained no anger, no contempt, only a coldness that transcended the case itself:

"Fang Zhiqing and Su Nian, and those you might hurt in the future—they are living, breathing people, not your possessions."

You lacked love as a child and grew up in a distorted environment, which led to a pathological personality. These factors can explain your behavior, but they can never be used as an excuse to absolve you of your guilt.

Your upbringing may be worth examining, but it will not lessen the crimes you committed in the slightest.

Ding Hai did not refute.

He lowered his head, staring at his hands that had killed two people, and remained silent for a long, long time.

The interrogation lasted four hours.

Ding Hai confessed to every case he had been involved in—the Fang Zhiqing case, the Su Nian case, and the entire process of his drug trafficking partnership with Zhou Haipeng and Wei Xiaojun over the past three years.

He confessed to their drug distribution network in New Jersey, Nghe An, and Shek Kiu, as well as the nicknames and contact information of each of their downlines. He also revealed the hideouts they had established in the mining areas of Bijie, Guizhou and Zhaotong, Yunnan, and that Wei Xiaojun had a supplier in Chongqing who was specifically responsible for transporting drugs from overseas, codenamed "Sister Hua".

He spoke these words in a mechanical and precise tone, as if he were reciting a list that had been stored in his mind, with every number, every place, and every time clearly remembered.

It was almost dawn when the interrogation ended.

Lu Zheng escorted Ding Hai back to the detention center. When he returned, he seemed completely drained and sat in the office for a long time without saying a word.

He was a veteran police officer who had worked in criminal investigation for eight years. He had seen murders and dismemberments, massacres of entire families, and people smashing their heads over a few hundred dollars.

But Ding Hai's confession still gave him an inexplicable chill—not because of the level of gore, but because of that utter, deep-seated twistedness.

To treat murder as possession, and to confirm one's desires with a kiss—this cognitive pattern has exceeded the emotional logic of a normal person. Yet, he described these things with unusual calmness, as if he were repeating some self-evident axiom.

Jiang Ruolan stood by the office window, watching the first light of dawn appear on the horizon.

The rain has stopped, and the morning in Yi'an is exceptionally clean. The streets are sparkling from the rain, and there is a damp, earthy smell in the air.

The first wisp of white smoke rose from the breakfast stalls in the distance, drifting in the morning light, and the city was waking up as usual.

She sent Zhou Pei a message:

"Ding Hai was brought to justice and confessed to the Fang Zhiqing case, the Su Nian case, and the drug trafficking network."

Zhou Haipeng and Wei Xiaojun are still at large. Ding Hai has revealed their hideout and information about their supplier, "Sister Hua." The provincial department is requested to coordinate with Chongqing police to quickly implement surveillance on "Sister Hua."

Zhou Pei replied instantly: "Received. You've been working non-stop for several days now, can you take a break today?"

She didn't reply to the message, but put her phone in her pocket and said to Lu Zheng, "Pass the word down and gather all members of the task force for a meeting at seven o'clock."

Zhou Haipeng and Wei Xiaojun are still outside, and their downstream distributors are still shipping goods. Every day of delay could mean another victim. This case is not over yet.

Three days later, Chongqing police arrested the drug supplier, who was using the alias "Sister Hua," in a high-rise residential building in Jiangbei District. Her real name was Luo Xiuhua, 42 years old, a local Chongqing resident, and she had multiple prior drug-related convictions.

1.2 kilograms of methamphetamine, 300 grams of heroin, and a ledger detailing her transactions with Zhou Haipeng's gang were found at her residence.

On the same day, Wei Xiaojun was arrested in Bijie, Guizhou.

His temporary residence registration at the mining area police station backfired—based on clues provided by Ding Hai and combined with the technical means of the Guizhou police, the task force located the specific mining area where Wei Xiaojun was hiding and his daily routine, and apprehended him at four in the morning while he was sleeping after his shift ended.

When Wei Xiaojun was arrested, he had less than 200 yuan in cash and two fake ID cards, leaving him with no chance to resist.

The last person to be apprehended was Zhou Haipeng.

According to Ding Hai's confession, Zhou Haipeng broke up with him after Su Nian's case and fled to Yunnan alone.

He had a batch of goods that had not yet been sold and a sum of cash, which he planned to smuggle out of the country from the Yunnan border.

However, through the clues provided by Zhu Minghai, the task force found a spare mobile phone number that Zhou Haipeng had used a few months ago, and through the call records of this number, they were able to pinpoint his contact with the "snakehead" on the border.

After three days of surveillance along the border, Yunnan police finally apprehended him in a small border town in Mengla County, Xishuangbanna Prefecture.

When Zhou Haipeng was arrested, his luggage was full of compressed biscuits and mineral water, indicating that he was prepared to cross the rainforest.

His right hand was always in his pocket. After the police officers subdued him, they pulled a hand grenade out of that pocket.

It was a homemade grenade, with a working fuse, ready to detonate at any moment.

As Zhou Haipeng was being put into the police car, he glanced back at the distant border line, which was less than three kilometers away from him.

When the news reached Yi'an, Jiang Ruolan was in her office compiling the case closure report.

Lu Zheng pushed open the door and placed three confirmation forms on her desk—Zhou Haipeng, Wei Xiaojun, and Luo Xiuhua, all present and accounted for.

She picked up the confirmation forms and read them one by one, then signed her name on the last page, put down her pen, leaned back in her chair, and let out a long sigh.

She had been holding this in for more than ten days.

"Ding Hai confessed to a drug trafficking network involving a total of seventeen people. In addition to the five ringleaders we have arrested, there are twelve downstream members distributed across six cities in three provinces. The provincial department has coordinated with local police to conduct simultaneous raids. Eight people were arrested this morning, and the remaining four are still being pursued."

Lu Zheng opened his notebook, his voice carrying a sense of relief after days of tension.

"In addition, Zhu Minghai's case has been transferred to the Xinzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau. He is suspected of harboring a criminal and aiding in the destruction of evidence, but considering that he voluntarily provided important clues about Zhou Haipeng and has made significant contributions, the prosecution may recommend leniency."

Jiang Ruolan nodded, her gaze falling on the densely packed case numbers and suspect names on the case closure report.

These names are like a string of cold symbols, but she knows that behind each name lies countless lives shattered.

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