Chapter 270: A Bit Guilty, But Not Much

Scattered streetlights illuminated the empty street.

Occasionally a car drove by on the road, breaking the surrounding silence.

Two men who left the noodle shop each carried a bag of takeout beef, chatting and laughing.

"That guy really has no sense of face."

"Isn't that right? If he were a bit sensible and gave each of us two or three jin, I wouldn't say much, but he insists on haggling, so I can't blame myself."

"Exactly, refusing a toast brings a penalty drink; how about we go again in a few days?"

"Let's wait two days."

The man beside him grinned, showing a set of yellow teeth.

"We can't press him too hard; if he shuts down, it won't be good. We need sustainable development."

"Right, right, sustainable development!"

The two exchanged a glance and burst into hearty laughter.

They didn't notice at all that a figure had already arrived behind them, stretched out both hands, placed them on the outer sides of the two heads, and then suddenly exerted force.

In that instant, the two seemed to see a flock of small birds flying around their heads.

No one knew how long had passed; one of them felt a burning sensation on his face and groggily opened his eyes.

He saw a somewhat familiar person looking at him.

"You!"

The man startled, his mouth gaping as if to shout.

Then a cold barrel of a gun was shoved into his mouth, instantly silencing him; his gaze fixed on Jiang Cheng's face, and his eyeballs seemed about to pop out of their sockets.

He had seen this person before! Right inside that noodle shop!

But at the time he paid no mind, thinking the other was just an ordinary customer.

In the end, this person knocked him and Lao Wang unconscious and took them to this godforsaken alley.

What does he want? Robbery?

Didn't he see the uniforms we were wearing? He must have eaten the heart of a bear and the gallbladder of a leopard to dare set his plan against us?

"Stop shouting."

Jiang Cheng said expressionlessly, "I ask, you answer; if you dare play any tricks, I'll blast your dog's head with a shot."

"Woo-woo!"

The man nodded frantically in fear.

Only then did Jiang Cheng pull the barrel from his mouth and wipe the saliva off the man's clothing.

"Sir."

The man gave a wry laugh,

"If I recall correctly, this should be our first meeting; I don't think I've ever offended you. If it was Lao Wang who provoked you, that's not my business; you can settle the score with him."

"Hm?"

Jiang Cheng narrowed his eyes slightly.

The other instantly shut his mouth in fear.

"I ask you, you know Song Gang, right? The Deputy Captain of the South City Law Enforcement Bureau."

"Song Gang?"

The other widened his eyes again.

His thoughts turned rapidly.

Could it be that this person came for Song Gang?

Thinking that, he let out a sigh of relief.

"It's good that he's not after me."

He'd long been unable to stand that guy!

"I know him, I know him."

The man nodded his head like a chick pecking grain, "Sir, you might not believe it, but he's my superior. If you're trying to dig up information about him, you've come to the right person."

"Is that so?"

Jiang Cheng thought to himself how coincidental. "Then tell me, what kind of person is he?"

"Alright! Alright!"

The man's pupils rolled, and he said, "That guy is rotten through and through, full of foul intentions—deceiving superiors, taking bribes, forcing the virtuous into prostitution, committing every odd crime. I've long disliked him!"

"But just now, when I sat next to you, I thought I heard you say otherwise?"

Jiang Cheng said coldly.

"Huh? Is that so?"

Cold sweat broke out on the man's forehead.

He's ruined.

He kept trying to smear Song Gang, forgetting this round.

"I'll give you one last chance: if you don't tell the truth, I'll shoot and break one of your legs; if you still refuse, I'll break the other, until you speak the truth."

"I... I will say."

The man immediately admitted defeat.

After a long silence, he reluctantly said, "That guy has a terrible temper and is stubborn. Back when he was like us, just an ordinary squad member, nobody in the team liked him."

"Why?"

Jiang Cheng asked.

The man looked as if he wanted to speak but stopped.

Seeing Jiang Cheng point the barrel at his thigh, he hurried, "Don't, don't fire, I'll speak, I'll speak."

His face flushed red in an instant.

"Because sometimes we receive some respect from thugs, or we go to nearby shops, eat a little, then take a little more; they do it voluntarily. We think this is quite normal. What was originally a consensual matter, when Song Gang sees it, he will scold us, make us return the items, and put us in a difficult position. And that's not even the worst part."

The man's tone was somewhat angry.

"What's the most outrageous part?"

"He will report us!"

The man gritted his teeth and said, "After making us return the items, he still won't stop; he will also report us to the superiors."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Cheng smiled.

"So, just now you were in the noodle shop, demanding beef from the owner and taking it away in a bag—was that also consensual?"

"That… that was an exception."

The man was a little hesitant to look Jiang Cheng in the eyes.

"It seems you still know what you did was wrong."

It seemed that this sentence pierced him; the man immediately flushed red and said, "Everyone does it that way, why can't we? It's not just our team; members of several other teams in the bureau do the same, including several other Law Enforcement Bureaus, all the same."

"So, this is the reason you convince yourself?"

The man heard this and said nothing; there was a hint of guilt in his eyes, but only a little.

Jiang Cheng was not surprised by this.

There are no people born evil.

Moreover, even villains have a conscience at the beginning.

The first time they do something bad, they feel guilt, fall into deep self‑reproach, can't eat, can't sleep well.

Some people choose to admit fault; they're not cut out to be villains.

Some villains, however, learn to brainwash themselves.

Take con artists, for example; after they swindle people, they are deeply chastised by their conscience and cannot eat or sleep peacefully.

To avoid this, they repeatedly tell themselves in their hearts that the people they swindle are foolish and deserve to be swindled; even if they aren't swindled by them, they will be swindled by someone else. In this way they can free themselves from the pain. After deceiving one person they move on to the next; the more they swindle, the more they eventually deceive themselves, coming to believe that swindling isn't disgraceful at all, and they swagger proudly, bragging to others.

The man before me knows that threatening others and demanding benefits is wrong, but there are so many people around doing the same that, after it becomes commonplace, they can convince themselves it's acceptable.

In his heart, Jiang Cheng has already silently sentenced this man to death.

But before that, there are still some questions to ask.

For example, how did someone who doesn't understand social customs and doesn't go along with others rise from an ordinary team member to Deputy Captain?

(End of chapter)