Yang Wenqing naturally followed the director’s instructions and left the office. He then saw Ding Lang waiting for him outside the Medical Examiner’s Office.

"How did it go?" Ding Lang asked as Yang Wenqing approached.

"Director Gao wants to look into some information first," Yang Wenqing replied, the answer a half-truth.

"Fair enough. In that case, we’ve done all we can on this case," Ding Lang said with a nod. He then turned and returned to the Medical Examiner’s Office.

Yang Wenqing returned to the Third Squad’s office. As soon as he walked in, Liu Rong came over. "Captain, here’s the red envelope they gave us for handling the case yesterday."

"How much is in it?"

"I haven’t looked."

Liu Rong had already adjusted his attitude, moving from his initial discomfort with Yang Wenqing becoming his superior to his current acceptance.

Yang Wenqing took the red envelope and opened it. Inside was exactly one thousand. It was a standard amount for such a gift; any more and they might have attracted the attention of the Internal Affairs Inspection Division.

"Put it in the team’s fund, as usual." Yang Wenqing handed the money to Liu Qin, then asked as if suddenly remembering, "How much do we have in the fund now?"

"Eight thousand seven hundred," Liu Qin replied as she took the money.

Yang Wenqing nodded. Realizing he would be leaving the Third Squad soon, he said, "At the end of the month, take five thousand out and distribute it to everyone as a bonus." He then added, "Remember to file the paperwork with the Internal Affairs Inspection Division."

"You’re too generous, Captain!"

Liu Rong was quick to flatter him, and to the side, Wu Yan also broke into a smile.

Yang Wenqing walked over to his desk and sat down, his head aching at the sight of the pile of files on it. He had interviewed many young officers over the past month but hadn’t found a single one who met his standards. He wanted to find one or two promising officers to take under his wing, people he could bring with him to a new post after his promotion. Without his own people, it would be impossible to get his footing.

Alternatively, he could request a slot at the city’s Police Academy. He could then choose a junior member from his own clan to attend. After the two-year program, he could have them transferred to his side. The other route was direct recruitment, but that required a level of authority he was far from possessing. There were only a few direct recruitment slots per year, unless a major incident led to heavy casualties among the officers.

Seeing Yang Wenqing sit down with nothing pressing to do, Liu Rong picked up the case report he’d stayed up all night writing. He handed it over, saying, "They need to prosecute two people from this case, and it has to go through the Major Case Team’s channels."

Yang Wenqing took the file and glanced at Liu Qin. "Has a case file been opened for this?"

Liu Qin nodded. "It’s been opened."

Liu Rong continued, "It was a large-scale armed brawl. Twelve people were seriously injured, and one of them is still in a coma, even after someone used a ’Healing Art’ on them. The incident occurred at the junction of two city districts. When our people responded, one of our senior officers was assaulted and stabbed in the chest..."

"They found contraband at the assailant’s home, which led them to uncover a family-based crime ring. The chain of evidence is rock-solid."

Yang Wenqing froze for a second. ’So that’s what this is about.’ He immediately understood the situation. He carefully read the case report Liu Rong had submitted, then asked, "Have you personally gone to check out the assailant’s home?"

Liu Rong nodded. "I have. I also spoke with the neighbors. The family’s surname is Hu, and they’re notorious bullies in that area. The eldest of the Hu family, Hu Biao, is the one who attacked the officer. He’s the leader of a small gang of idle thugs. He and his cronies spend their days collecting protection money and bullying merchants at the local market."

He flipped open the notebook he carried with him and continued, "His younger brother, Hu Kui, is the captain of the local community militia, but he frequently runs an illegal casino out of his house, causing constant disturbances for the neighbors."

"Their elderly mother, far from reining them in, flaunts her age to get away with things, enabling and protecting them. The neighbors are furious but daren’t say a word. For them to dare pull a knife on an officer, it just goes to show how outrageously arrogant they are on a daily basis."

Yang Wenqing nodded after listening. ’Local thugs like these are often a bigger headache than organized criminals. They picked the wrong fight this time. This is the perfect opportunity to root them out completely and send a message to others.’

"Since the chain of evidence is solid and the facts are clear, just follow standard procedure." Just as Yang Wenqing was about to sign his name, he suddenly stopped. He glanced at Liu Rong. "This is a minor case. Your signature and the one from the local public security office will suffice. Go ahead and file it."

"Right!"

Liu Rong didn’t give it a second thought, happily taking the case report and leaving.

After Liu Rong left, Yang Wenqing activated his badge’s Communication Array and connected to Qiu Xuan, the captain of West City’s First Patrol Squad. They made some small talk, then Yang Wenqing asked about the officer assault case from the previous day. After confirming there were no problems, he arranged a time to get a meal with Qiu Xuan.

His actions made Wu Yan and Liu Qin pause in their work. Wu Yan quickly figured out the implication, but Liu Qin felt a chill run down her spine. She quickly glanced up at Yang Wenqing, looking at him as if for the very first time.

Yang Wenqing went back to flipping through the files, and time passed unnoticed. Around noon, Wu Yan was dispatched for a case involving the North City Public Security Office, while Liu Rong was still tied up with the matter from that morning.

Just as a close friend of Liu Qin’s from the Records Section was delivering her lunch, a message arrived for Yang Wenqing from Vice Director Gao. It instructed him to go to private room 311 on the third floor of Fengtai Pavilion.

Yang Wenqing was puzzled. ’Could there be a lead on the Spirit-Sucking Crystal case?’ he wondered. He immediately stood up and left the office. Only after he was gone did Liu Qin and her friend dare to speak freely, their cheerful laughter occasionally echoing in the room.

A little over twenty minutes later, Yang Wenqing stood outside private room 311 on the third floor of Fengtai Pavilion. When he knocked, Vice Director Gao’s steady voice came from within. "Come in."

Pushing the door open, he saw Vice Director Gao seated at the head of the table, leisurely sipping tea. But he wasn’t alone. In the room with him was none other than Deputy Director Zhou, the head of Internal Affairs Inspection.

"Wenqing, you’re here. Have a seat." Vice Director Gao smiled and gestured to an empty seat. "This is Deputy Director Zhou. I believe you two have met."

Yang Wenqing immediately greeted him with respect. "Deputy Director Zhou."

Deputy Director Zhou grunted in acknowledgment, his gaze lingering on Yang Wenqing for a moment with a scrutinizing air.

Just as Vice Director Gao was about to say something else, there was another knock on the door.

Two people entered. To Yang Wenqing’s surprise, he recognized them both. One was Qin Feng, the deputy chief of the Records Section, and the other was Vice Section Chief Li from the Operations Section.

"Director Gao! Brother-in-law! We’re not late, are we?" Li Yi’s voice boomed. Qin Feng, meanwhile, simply smiled and nodded at the two vice directors.

Yang Wenqing had already risen to his feet as the two entered. He offered a polite smile, shook their hands, and exchanged a brief pleasantry before using the moment to shift to a seat closer to the edge of the group.