Chapter 2: The Unexpected Turn of Events

  "Cheng Min, this time we came here is not for fun, how about the things I asked you to investigate?"

  "Old Wang, it's not me saying this, but what do you plan to do by inviting those few killing gods? I'm telling you, this is S City, not a military base or a battlefield. If things get out of hand, even I won't be able to protect you. The people's hearts are like iron, and the law is like a furnace - don't you understand?" Still with that tone, but the worry in his eyes couldn't be hidden.

  "This has nothing to do with you, and after this, it won't have anything to do with you either. I just want to know how Old Hu died. Once I've said what I need to say, you can leave immediately. Today, we never saw you, and you never saw us." Wang Aiguo's temples bulged, his slightly raised body seemed like a lion ready to pounce, and his low voice sounded like the roar of a wild beast in people's ears.

  Lao Hu is dead? Zhao Shi's heart skipped a beat. The person who could make the captain so flustered, and was also called Lao Hu, was only one person - their political commissar, Hu Weiguo. Hu Weiguo, codenamed "Chessboard", was an expert in strategy and tactics, and many perfect operations had been carried out under his command. However, he had left the army three years before his transfer to civilian work, seemingly going to some city to be a detective. Such an elite among elites in the military did not die on the battlefield, but rather after leaving the military, and it seemed that it was not a natural death either. Zhao Shi already vaguely knew what the captain had gathered them for.

  "Alright, alright, I admit defeat. Can't I just say no?" Facing such a captain, nobody would not be intimidated, but someone like Jin Chengmin would never get himself into such trouble, so there was no brotherly bond or grand words to speak of.

  Here is the translation:

  "It's like this, Old Hu was the head of the criminal investigation department in S City. I checked Old Hu's death record, and it turns out that after drinking with several colleagues from the municipal bureau, he was attacked on his way back and suffered 17 knife wounds. The fatal wound was to the chest, with one knife piercing his heart, causing him to die at the scene. His body wasn't seen because it was cremated a few days after the incident, but judging from the autopsy report, this wasn't just a simple fight. Everyone knows Old Hu's skills, and even if there were more people involved in a normal brawl, they wouldn't have been able to take him down. The opponent clearly had been lying in wait, with the intention of taking Old Hu's life."

  If that's the case, then so be it. Old Hu is a police officer and must have many enemies, but at the same time, his house was burned down in a big fire, and his wife and daughter Lanlan didn't escape. What's even more suspicious is that the autopsy report for his wife and daughter simply stated they died from carbon monoxide poisoning due to the fire, and their bodies were cremated immediately with Old Hu. Although the municipal bureau has been saying they're pursuing the killer, I asked someone in the bureau, and internally, they've already closed the case, concluding that the two women died in the fire without a doubt. As for the killer who murdered Old Hu, they pinned it on some vagrant who had nothing to do with anything, which is quite unusual.

  The head of a criminal investigation department died, and at the same time, a fire broke out in his home. Even someone who doesn't understand anything would find it unusual, but the municipal bureau seems to be ignoring this, which is very strange.

  I then checked the cases handled by Old Hu before his death, no way, all of Old Hu's personal belongings were cremated with his body, these bastards did a great job, I guess they wanted to make it impossible to investigate, Old Hu didn't have any close relatives anyway, and wiping out the whole family was indeed a good method.

  He added a few more words of evaluation, "Cut the nonsense, get to the point." The captain's tone had calmed down, but at this time, it also revealed a hint of impatience.

  I then carefully reviewed the several cases in Old Hu's hands, and only from here could I start. I didn't dare ask too many people, that would be too conspicuous, a case like this must involve several big shots coming out.

  I found a case that was somewhat unusual, it was a black society case. Old Hu had received some intelligence from an informant, this gang was involved in drug trafficking, smuggling, prostitution, murder and arson, except for arms dealing they seemed to be involved in everything else. It wasn't just one or two days, but still nothing happened. Who would believe that there's no one backing them up?

  But this case has nothing to do with our military, and my hands are not that long, so I couldn't do anything about it. Who let the matter be handed over by Old Wang? So I sent one of my guards to an entertainment city opened by them to drink, this entertainment city was opened by one of the leaders of the gang, you know, places like entertainment cities are mixed with dragons and snakes, making trouble is easy, three or two times they started fighting. I immediately led people to raid the entertainment city, arrested all their leaders, first framed them for attacking an active-duty military officer, during the police's interrogation at the police station, actually didn't need to interrogate much, one of them kept shouting that their chairman was the deputy director of the police bureau's brother, what I wanted wasn't evidence of their crimes or anything, since they already said such an important thing, I let them go. The police bureau also didn't suspect anything, our military is famous for protecting its own, even if we gave them the courage, they wouldn't dare to come to the military district to cause trouble.

  Later, I heard that the deputy director of the municipal bureau was involved. Ha! You guys guess what? This guy is the son of the provincial public security department head. Although this web is a bit smaller, it's still easy to deal with an old cop like Hu who doesn't have any background. I reckon Old Hu must have gotten hold of some evidence of their crimes and forced them to take action. Everyone knows Old Hu's personality - he's stubbornly honest, so bribery was out of the question. Moreover, more than half of the municipal police seem to be rotten, including those guys who invited Old Hu for dinner and drinks that night. They probably had ulterior motives. Old Hu doesn't have many hobbies, but he loves to drink a few cups, and then he was ambushed. This whole thing is fishy - if it wasn't for the knife, or even a gun, Old Hu could have dodged it. How could someone be stabbed so many times?

  "All their information is here, this time I've made a great effort, almost using all the relationships that can be used, and can't let people suspect, it's so tiring. I need to go home and make up for my sleep. Originally, when you guys came here, I was going to do my best as a host, but..."

  "You go back, we have boundaries."

  。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。

  After Jin Chengmin left, Wang Aiguo patted the stack of printed papers on his hand and said in a low voice: "I think you all know why I've gathered you here. Old Hu is dead, and he died unjustly. Old Hu was too stubborn, if he had stayed in the army back then, things wouldn't have turned out like this. When I first heard that Old Hu was killed on the street, I knew something wasn't right. Normally, it's already a surprise if he doesn't kill others, but to be killed by someone on the street... no matter how you look at it, it's somewhat laughable."

  Wang Aiguo smiled, but in Zhao Shi's eyes, the captain's smile was somewhat distorted, making people feel a chill in their hearts. Zhao Shi understood the captain's feelings. As a soldier, death is nothing unusual, but it depends on how one dies. If you die on the battlefield, no one will say anything, but if you die on the street, without honor or medals, and even the killer can't be found, and your family is implicated, for a captain who has partnered with Hu Weiguo for over a decade, he won't let him off easily.

  Wang Aiguo swept his eyes over the crowd and continued, "Originally, a country has its own laws, this matter shouldn't be our concern, but I couldn't swallow this, Old Hu can't die in vain. What do you all think?"

  The captain, who had always spoken to them in a commanding tone, was already almost pleading with this way of speaking. The old tiger, whose temper was the most impulsive, immediately shouted: "There's nothing to say, I'll listen to the captain."

  Zhao Shi glanced at the three people opposite him who had been silent all along. The military has its own discipline, and even someone like Jin Chengmin, who is well-connected, doesn't want to get involved in this matter, let alone others. One mistake and they would be taken to a military court. If it were based on ordinary camaraderie, the matter would have been settled, but they are different. They can entrust their backs to each other on the battlefield without hesitation, but to be honest, their relationships with each other are very distant. The captain and political commissar both rose through the ranks in a regular manner, and their feelings for each other run deep, an unbreakable bond of life and death. But they, their past experiences are far more complicated than those of the captain and his men. To put it bluntly, there is always an uncrossable chasm between them and the captain, as well as Hu Weiguo. No matter how many meritorious deeds they achieve, they will never be able to rise to the position of captain, and after leaving the military, it's even more impossible for them to become the head of the municipal public security bureau's criminal investigation department. Even when he heard that Hu Weiguo had died, he didn't have much of a reaction, not as much as when he heard about the death of Duanshou (a nickname).

  Wang Aiguo looked at the few people who didn't speak, and with a disappointed sigh, he thought to himself that it was like looking into a clear mirror. Whatever Zhao Shi thought of, he could think of too. This group was absolutely the elite of the military, and words like "use me to win" were not exaggerated when applied to them. Every single person in this group was a top-notch expert, but to be honest, this team was also an absolute monster within the military. On the battlefield, they acted recklessly, killing people like flies, with every person's hands stained with blood. They moved quickly and accurately, their style more ruthless than those famous international mercenaries, and their methods even more brutal. The battles they participated in were all secret missions that the country didn't want to acknowledge, their lives hanging by a thread, without any honor or recognition from the state. He was better off than Old Hu, who could occasionally stand in the sunlight, but these people under his command always walked in darkness. What else could be expected of them?

  Thinking of this, Wang Aiguo, who was already somewhat old, seemed to have aged ten years in an instant, and his sharp eyes, like those of a hawk, also dimmed.

  He can sacrifice his life for his old comrades who have been together for over a decade, but he is getting older after all. Without the help of these few people, he doesn't know if he can accomplish this task. Wang Hongjun, Xie Aimin, and Liu Guang are already married with children, now serving as instructors in the army, their lives have stabilized, they have wives and children, naturally they have concerns, he cannot let others' wives lose their husbands, let children lose their fathers for the sake of old comrades.

  He shifted his gaze to Zhao Shi's body, and his heart hesitated for a moment. Although this person had followed him for over a decade, he didn't know much about this subordinate who was nicknamed "weed killer" in the army. However, there was no doubt that when it came to ruthlessness, none of the dozens of soldiers under his command could compare to this man. He was called "weed killer" because he was cunning and ruthless in his actions, leaving nothing unscathed wherever he went.

  He also remembered that when this person first appeared in front of him, he looked like a quiet and gentle person, but his eyes gleaming with a fierce light seemed like a wolf that was starving to death. Standing there, sharp as an unsheathed sword, no superior officer would dislike such a subordinate.

  He taught him a lot, and this silent guy was also a good student, especially in the talent of technical warfare and close combat, which made people sigh. Perhaps the biggest shortcoming of this person is that he lacks sufficient vision and his heart is too ruthless.

  Allowing such a person to leave the army is absolutely a great loss for the army. When Zhao Shi was transferred out of the army, he had already mentioned this matter to his superiors. Once this person leaves the army, it will definitely pose a great threat to local security. They wanted to keep Zhao Shi in the army, but nowadays everything is lacking, except for people. Moreover, he himself has made up his mind to leave, and finally, Zhao Shi still transferred out of the army and returned to the locality.

  However, he guessed wrong. Zhao Shi found a job as a traffic police officer in C City and worked quietly for two years, reporting his whereabouts to the troops on schedule, without causing any trouble. On the contrary, it was himself who brought him here, which made him feel a little guilty.

  But in Wang Aiguo's heart, Zhao Shi was the best candidate among these people. He was not married and was not an active military officer, so he had more freedom to act, but he still hesitated. Such a person would absolutely stir up a bloody storm in the city if given orders, no one could predict how big things would get or how many people would die. Should they let the tiger come? No, the tiger's personality was impulsive and reckless, letting him charge forward would be absolutely not okay, but doing such a thing might make things a mess.

  "Stone..."

  "Captain, no need to say anything." Zhao Shi grabbed all the materials on the table and put them in his hands. He didn't want to see the captain like this now, it pained him, plus some awkwardness. "Let Jin Chengmin arrange a position for me, I want to enter the Municipal Bureau, four months, I need four months of time to prepare. Don't bother with the gun, get me a car, one with a carriage, city map, S-city's surrounding terrain map, military-use, GSP positioning system also get me a set, small tracking devices and signal receiving systems get me ten, as well as all possible data related to this matter from the Municipal Bureau, including their hobbies, where they often go, and what suspicious characters they associate with. Prepare a place for me to live, not too big, but with an underground room..."

  That's all for now, by the way, prepare some money for me, the more the better, at least 100,000. And I don't trust that kid Jin Chengmin, Captain you'd better keep an eye on him. We haven't met today and I didn't come to S city, you handle the regular report to the troops.

  Let's be blunt, if I hear even a hint of rumors or sense that something is off, don't blame me for being impolite, I will immediately leave S city. You all have families and businesses, I'm just a lone wanderer, I'll come find each of you one by one.

  "Get ready and give me a call, then don't contact me again."

  After saying that, Zhao Shi picked up the documents and turned around to leave the private room. Perhaps this was the last time they would see each other? After leaving the small wine house, Zhao Shi looked back indifferently and quickly disappeared into the crowd on the street.