Chapter 275: Vermin

The old man seemed truly enraged by Wu Haibo before him, and continued: “Now you want to be a good man, a hero! Hah! You’re worse than a prostitute! You want to have your cake and eat it too!”

His words left Wu Haibo utterly humiliated. He let out a long, mournful wail, then collapsed to the ground, weeping: “I was wrong! Boss, please spare my child! If you leave him unharmed, I—I’ll tell you everything!”

“Hmph! No spine at all. You’re worse than a traitor who served three masters! These few words of yours mean you’re about to stab your newly acquired ally in the back. Dealing with someone like you would tarnish my reputation!”

“Agui! He’s yours! Make him sort this out—whether he lies, steals, or cheats, no matter who currently holds that item, I just want him gone!” The old man spoke sharply, then waved his hand. The tall man called Agui bowed and replied, “Yes.” He glanced at the man who had brought Wu Haibo, who immediately grabbed Wu’s arms and dragged him out.

The old man didn’t look at them again, turning and walking into the inner room.

Wu Haibo was dragged like a dead dog to a side room in the southwest corner.

Agui said: “Xiang Dong, get the rope. We’re going to give him noodles.”

As Wu Haibo wondered what this meant, Xiang Dong brought a coil of nylon rope, thick as a thumb, and bound Wu’s hands behind his back. Then he looked up at the ceiling, where several iron rings, as thick as a child’s arm, hung down. Xiang Dong moved over a step ladder and threaded one end of the rope through one of the rings.

Wu Haibo now understood—they meant to hang him. Indeed, Xiang Dong grabbed both ends of the rope and pulled hard toward the opposite corner of the room. Wu Haibo felt a sharp tightening around his wrists, then searing pain as his body lifted off the ground!

The iron rings had pulleys installed inside, so Xiang Dong had barely exerted any effort to hoist him up.

The room clearly served as some kind of interrogation chamber. After Wu Haibo was suspended, Xiang Dong took down a leather whip from the wall and respectfully asked Agui: “Boss, dry or wet?”

Dry meant an unsoaked whip; wet meant one soaked in water.

Agui glanced at Wu Haibo, hanging midair: “I’ll give you one more chance. Where is it? Cooperate now, and you’ll save yourself this ordeal. Wait until you’ve suffered, then cooperate—you’ll only lose more.”

Seeing Wu Haibo hesitate, Agui smiled confidently: “Here, I’ve dealt with too many. No one has ever passed three rounds. You don’t plan to test your own endurance, do you?”

As he spoke, Xiang Dong swung the whip and struck a nearby iron pillar—*thud!*—leaving a white mark on the hard metal.

The tip of the whip was made of metal!

Wu Haibo’s heart lurched. Then he felt warmth spreading in his crotch, a foul stench rising. Xiang Dong pointed at him and burst out laughing: “Holy shit! He peed himself! What a pathetic waste!”

Agui gave a light snort: “Good. That’s exactly right.”

———

After Luo Fei assigned Xiao Sun to tail Tang Xiaofeng, he immediately returned to the branch. Director Gong Ming listened to his report, his eyebrows snapping up. He slammed his right hand on the desk: “This happened? Organize a special team right away. Process the paperwork immediately. With that video alone, we can detain Tang Xiaofeng on the spot!”

Director Gong Ming was barely forty. He had been transferred from the provincial bureau six months ago. Everyone knew such outsiders would likely be promoted in a few years if they stayed out of trouble—and handling a few high-profile cases during their grassroots tenure would greatly boost their record.

Moreover, as a provincial appointee, he had no ties to the local power structures of this small city. So even though he immediately realized this case must have involved high-level interference back then, he still unhesitatingly backed Luo Fei’s investigation.

Luo Fei, now armed with the “Imperial Sword,” felt no more hesitation. He returned to the squad desk and immediately restarted the investigation into Fang Jie’s car accident.

The USB drive containing the key evidence was kept as physical evidence in the branch’s evidence room.

———

Wu Haibo, visibly panicked, carried a pot of orchid from the balcony. He gripped the roots, trying to pull the plant out of the pot—but its root system was too extensive, fully fused with the soil, impossible to extract.

Wu Haibo turned to find a small trowel to loosen the soil, when suddenly—*crack!*—he turned back to see the pot shattered into eight pieces.

Xiang Dong, seeing he couldn’t pull it out, realized the item was hidden inside the pot, and had thrown it to the ground and smashed it.

Seeing the pot broken, Xiang Dong bent down to search—but found only soil and the white, tangled roots of the orchid. Nothing else.

He thought the old man was lying again, about to fly into a rage, when Wu Haibo hurriedly said: “Wait! Wait! It’s here…”

He crouched down, one hand gripping the plant, the other frantically digging at the soil wrapped tightly around the roots.

The soil was bound fast by the roots. After much effort, Wu Haibo finally loosened it, and the roots began to separate.

Then a white object fell out from among the roots. Wu Haibo snatched it up and looked at Xiang Dong: “Brother Dong, here it is!”

Xiang Dong grabbed it. The object was wrapped in thick layers of plastic wrap. He pulled out a small knife and carefully sliced it open—inside lay a silver USB drive.

After viewing the contents on his portable laptop, Xiang Dong asked: “Any backups?”

Wu Haibo frantically shook his hands: “No, no! I didn’t make more—it wouldn’t have helped!”

Xiang Dong thought it made sense. And this USB was hidden so cleverly—if Wu Haibo hadn’t revealed it, even smashing the pot wouldn’t have revealed something buried deep in soil and roots.

He tucked the USB away and said sharply: “Did you remember what I just told you?”

Wu Haibo nodded like a chicken pecking grain: “Remembered! Remembered! Won’t forget! Don’t worry!”

“Hmph! Better remember. What you’re remembering is your son’s life.”

Hearing this, Wu Haibo’s face twisted with fear and helplessness. He sighed deeply: “I know. I’ll cooperate fully.”

———

In the interrogation room of the Qinghe Branch Criminal Investigation Team, the director announced the start of “Operation Clearing the Smog.” Luo Fei, head of the Criminal Investigation Team, was appointed lead of the special task force, with case progress reported directly to Director Gong Ming.

A warrant for Tang Xiaofeng’s arrest had already been issued. Luo Fei ordered Xiao Sun to lead the team to apprehend Tang Xiaofeng, while he himself took officers to “invite” Wu Haibo back to assist with the investigation.

Others re-examined the social networks of Tang and Wu, and re-investigated the Chang Brothers’ case from years ago…

All teams sprang into action with fervor.

Luo Fei’s side went smoothly—but the moment Wu Haibo arrived at the bureau, his first words were: “I need to see Director Gong Ming.”