Chapter 816: Test, Test

"Chief."

Wang Yan returned to the Balihe Police Station with the auxiliary police and reported in to Wang Suozhang.

"The suspect's information has been sent to our group: Bao Daquan, male, thirty-six, owes over a million in gambling debts. Yesterday morning, he was involved in a car accident at the highway entrance; after being rescued, he was taken to our hospital—Third Hospital—but as soon as he woke up, he fled. Cao Army Supervisor, based on blood traces inside the vehicle and the hospital's injury report on Bao Daquan, determined the blood inside the car did not come from one person."

"The branch conducted blood analysis and confirmed this conclusion. Combined with Bao Daquan's abnormal behavior, we suspect a murder and body disposal case. After fleeing the hospital, he bought a jump rope and dumbbells—he's very likely to commit another crime."

"We reported to the branch, the branch reported to the municipal bureau, and the bureau took it extremely seriously, immediately forming a special task force under Song Ju's unified command. Ten minutes ago, all city checkpoints were sealed, and all police forces are out searching. Our station's operation is under Chief Gao's command."

"A murderer, with confirmed blood evidence—no amount of attention is too much. After all, he may already have killed someone and will likely kill again; if he kills two or three more, Liang Ju might be fine, but Song Ju is definitely in danger, and Luo's team will definitely fall."

"In the original plot, Song Ju commanded the operation, but clearly, the current command situation differs from the original plot—after all, the past few months' achievements speak for themselves: Song Ju, as a district committee leader, has outstanding records both in public security and in his role as deputy district head. So overall, that unified command carries less political significance."

"Song Ju hasn't even been dark bureau chief for two years yet—next year he's supposed to become deputy county magistrate…"

Zhai Gui nodded, looking at the nearby Zhao Chao: "What's the plan?"

"Searching for a needle in a haystack—how could there be no plan? He's taking Liu Er to keep patrolling inside; report any findings immediately—you think he'll bump into him."

Wang Yan glared angrily at Xia Jie, not bothering to respond. Though it was true, it still wasn't pleasant.

For Zhai Gui's sake, Zhai Gui has gone to great lengths. The deadly crisis hasn't passed yet—only this Seventh-Class Merit test remains. We hope Wang Shouyi holds firm; if he repeats past mistakes, Zhai Gui will really lose it, and this is absolutely beyond what Wang Shouyi can bear…

"In the original plot, Wang Yan spotted the clue through surveillance—he discovered another man was still in the killer's car, but the man vanished. Later, he secretly acted with Li Xiao and found the victim—but the man wasn't dead."

"Placing the man on the stretcher, watching the emergency doctors and nurses wheel him away, Bao Daquan turned to look at Xia Jie, covered head to toe in blood: 'How's the scene?'"

"The victim didn't die, the suspect was caught—big win…"

"So, Cao Army Supervisor's boyfriend's family is where he should send people to guard. I have confidence in my judgment—if he catches the guy, he gets the Seventh-Class Merit. Let him see just how much weight a Seventh-Class Merit carries with his mother-in-law."

"Wang Shouyi, as the party involved, understands perfectly what Zhai Gui intends—does he really plan to use the murderer to kill me?"

Xia Jie gave a final instruction, then signaled the auxiliary police officer surnamed Liu to leave.

"Hope so. No results yet, no official word from the doctors—just his 'seven knives' theory—I'm not convinced."

"And since I was covered in the victim's blood, I couldn't go out patrolling anymore, so I just stayed there waiting. Not idle sitting, though—I'm busy as a dog every day, with plenty of work. As always, whenever I had a spare moment, I pulled out my phone to reply to endless WeChat messages."

"Nothing's happened, you've seen it yourself, Chief—he must doubt my judgment. Though I don't save lives, I can still spot things—the issue is big."

"I don't care about merit at all—I already got First-Class Merit this year. The award regulations are crystal clear: no same or higher merit within one year. This murderer's case is capped at Seventh-Class Merit, maximum."

"He's really impressive—Wang Shouyi caught him, no one was injured, I'll thank him for life."

"Enough. Do I need you to say it?" Bao Daquan impatiently cut off Xia Jie, turned, and walked away. "Let's go check—emergency needs a whole pile of tests. Let's run over and see if we can still save him."

"If he really bumps into the murderer, what then? Can he even fight him? If he shouts and alarms the public, causes chaos—what then?" Xia Jie laughed. "It's for his own good, for everyone's good—he ensures safety and avoids trouble. Perfect solution."

When they arrived, Bao Daquan was already waiting with personnel; hospital doctors were also waiting at the emergency entrance with a stretcher. The suspect was from Sili River. Though the victim had previously been declared dead, now he's alive—there's still a chance to save him. That's entirely different—two completely different matters.

"Report any findings to the Chief—no unauthorized action. I'm going out on patrol."

Wang Shouyi's current state is fine—he's not slumping his face like in the original plot, where Wang Suozhang reported his minor case and had Zhao Chao command it, forcing him to join the operation.

Speaking of which, Zhai Gui looked at Wang Shouyi.

Bao Daquan frowned, glancing curiously at Xia Jie.

Xia Jie smiled at Wang Suozhang: "Look—Old Cao's improved. Don't treat me like a lord—I'd never harm our own brothers. Alright, that's it—I'm off patrol. Chief, you too—just say vaguely over the phone, no need to make me run this extra trip…"

Glancing at Wang Shouyi, Xia Jie said, "Chief, Old Zhao, let Old Cao handle this. This case is up to fate—if Cao Army Supervisor really escapes the city and evades our search, that's just how it is. The case was found by Old Cao—let him go lie in wait. If he catches the guy, he gets Seventh-Class Merit; if he doesn't, he still gets recognition."

"This operation won't last long—if we don't catch him today, at most two more days and we'll stand down. We're waiting for news from Cao Army Supervisor's hometown—if there's none, Zhai Guining disappears from police sight, and we'll just have to quickly chase the fugitive."

"Compared to later scolding me, this time, though it's a bit exposing, it's genuinely giving me a real chance to earn merit. Even though I discovered the case myself, Zhai Gui insisted on sending someone to guard Cao Army Supervisor's boyfriend's house—who else would agree? What's it got to do with me, Wang Shouyi? I didn't even dare to complain…"

"Wang Shouyi doesn't consider Xia Jie a bad person—after all, someone who patiently treats the public, who hasn't taken a single vacation since joining the force, can't possibly be bad—just too passive."

"Of course, the outcome was already decided—this matter will be resolved today."

"This merit belongs to Zhai Guining anyway—there's no need to fight over it. And as I told Zhai Guining, earning merit will prove what my mother-in-law truly thinks, completely extinguishing any thought of her looking down on me, letting me finally rest easy."

"Besides, this case is Old Cao's—I'm not targeting you, Old Cao. Let's talk facts. If you keep grabbing merit and shirking responsibility, you want your mother-in-law to look down on you. I know since I scolded you, you've changed a lot—you've become steadier—but you still can't help having that thought."

"I replied: 'Cao Army Supervisor was driving his boyfriend's car. His boyfriend thought something was wrong, came to our station to report it—I was right there. Though I didn't say clearly what was off, I sensed something was wrong, so I investigated further. I told you… didn't we find the issue?'"

"I'm no god—even good luck doesn't go this far. Our operation might be delayed—maybe he's already escaped."

"No, if there had been, I'd have told you already. Wang Shouyi's side too—I assigned two people to stake out the house of Zhai Guining's boyfriend. How big's your confidence?"

"Not long waited—less than two hours—the victim was wheeled out. His head was badly injured, but the damage was minor; he just needs longer recovery."

"Aren't you familiar? He's a veteran cop—don't you know?" Zhai Gui shook his head and smiled. "I don't think if Zhai Guining left, we'd waste our time—but if he didn't leave, he's still a local, with no friends or family here, possibly just committed murder, terrified and vulnerable—where's his most likely hiding place? His boyfriend's house."

"At that moment, Bao Daquan's phone rang. After listening for a moment, his voice lowered: 'What? Really caught him? Someone injured? Good, good, good—take him to the branch. I'll call Song Ju and Luo's team right away.'"

"That's good—Cao Army Supervisor took a wrong path, but he's been saved. Still, his boyfriend can't forget it—if not for that, he wouldn't have lent the car, wouldn't have even met him… Hmm?"

Xia Jie acted swiftly—hung up the phone, got in the car with the auxiliary police, and drove to the location Zhao Chao had given him. Following the original plot's Li Captain's method, he found a hillside road, drove down smoothly, and located the male victim, covered in blood but still alive. After checking and confirming no movement, Xia Jie placed him in the front seat of the car, notified Zhao Chao, and headed straight for Sili River's Eighth Hospital.

"With a murderer on the loose, the streets echoed the same scene as during the National Day crackdown on Zhao Changyi's criminal gang—police everywhere patrolling, all city exits sealed."

Xia Jie smiled: "Any news on the suspect?"

Xia Jie shook his head: "An abnormal inference—nothing extraordinary. Any veteran cop would think of it. To say Wang Shouyi should thank him for life? No need—he just needs to show some improvement."

"From a personal standpoint, I can't doubt Xia Jie—I think he might be trying to manipulate Wang Shouyi with some unknown method. I know their surface relationship is decent, but it's hardly believable he'd genuinely hand over merit."

"The former sighed and said loudly: 'Thanks.'"

"If he improves, you think I'm afraid of his scolding? Next time, I'll really scare him." Thinking of Zhai Guining's recent behavior, Wang Suozhang sighed helplessly, then smiled again and called Song Ju.

"Her tone carried a hint of displeasure, but there was nothing to be done."

"On the other hand, the words I scolded Wang Shouyi with—he himself also wants merit. Of course, that's normal—how many cops don't want merit? Even I, Wang Mou, was thrilled when I first earned Eighth-Class Merit. Wang Shouyi's problem is his lack of responsibility."

"Still, Xia Jie's scolding has no effect. Though I want merit, I want a peaceful life with my wife and child more. Besides, I dare not sulk anymore—Xia Jie has a habit of this; he really scolds me, gives me not a shred of face."

Zhao Chao said nothing, just smiled quietly.

"Chief, you're a veteran cop—don't pretend not to know. Only two possibilities: either Cao Army Supervisor escaped Ping'an City, or he didn't. If he didn't escape, and wasn't spotted by our patrol officers, Wang Shouyi's Seventh-Class Merit is a sure thing."

"What about finding clues?"

"Nothing at all—the suspect's gone, no experience, just dumped the man and ran. This guy's lucky—he's been lying here a full day and night and's still alive. It's really hard. Thanks to Wang Yan, Chief—he really…"

Clearly, Wang Suozhang didn't understand who I was talking to.

After thinking about it briefly, Xia Jie went out and found Wang Yan, who was in the surveillance room watching the monitors.

That was Dicao precisely allocating police force. I know Zhai Gui's strength inside out — they actually sparred afterward, and Xia Jie took us down like it was nothing. Definitely send Zhai Gui; then as long as there's an auxiliary officer, meeting the police action guidelines is enough. If it's definitely Xia Jie, then seven or eight people have to go together. But right now it's the citywide small-scale search period, so obviously we can't do that. We can only let Xia Jie go over and have a look, do some searching.

As he spoke, Wang Shouyi was stunned for a moment, then caught on. "He means Cao Army Supervisor's boyfriend might know some of the situation?"

If it weren't for the merit record, that mother-in-law would have become Wang Shouyi's inner demon — always thinking about it isn't good either.

Compared to the others' urgency, Xia Jie didn't have that kind of feeling. After all, the outcome was decided long ago, and he had confirmed it on the scene — there simply wouldn't be any accident. If there were, it would be the quack doctors at the Third Hospital harming people, but the chance of that happening is just too, too small.

Zhai Gui waved his hand, turned his head to look at Zhai Guining sitting off to the side, and asked knowingly, "How was it discovered? Who reported it to the police?"

Wang Yan nodded: "They won't let me go out either, so I can only watch the surveillance."

Zhai Guining waved his hand, said nothing more, and the few of them went outside together to wait…

"Those two have a decent relationship?"

Since it was confirmed the person wasn't dead, Xia Jie didn't intervene — after all, the task division was different; he was supposed to patrol outside. The original drama said that the male victim died, was still alive when he was thrown, so Zhai Gui must have raced against the clock. In the current situation, the problem isn't big…

The expressions of the few people were all taken in at a glance. Xia Jie shook his head with a good-natured smile: "Chief, you're still doubting my character here. Would I really go through all that trouble to mess with Old Cao? Besides, facing a murderer with crazy eyes, I can't joke around with Old Cao's life either.

That evening, Xia Jie received a call from Dicao, saying Zhai Gui had discovered through surveillance the person Cao Army Supervisor had harmed earlier — it was at the suburban Dicao — and asked Xia Jie to bring auxiliary officers over to take a look.

Thanks to (book friend) big brother for the 100-coin tip in support.

Daily thanks to the good brothers who threw monthly tickets in support,

Thanks to all the brothers who threw recommendations in support,

Thanks to the big brothers who silently read in support.