Chapter 595: Advancing by Retreating

"What on earth is going on?"

Headquarters, the Commissioner of Police's office.

Cai Yuanqi was furious, venting his rage at the Deputy Commissioner of the Administration Department.

Originally, with Cai Yuanqi's methods, after he had seized control of the entire West Kowloon Police Station, he had compensated for the disadvantage of having no frontline operational personnel at his disposal.

Now, things had gone wrong, and even the Deputy Commissioner of the Administration Department, Li Maike, did not know what to do.

After all, many people within the West Kowloon Police Station had been transferred there by him.

Now that they had been wiped out in one fell swoop by the Operations Department, Cai Yuanqi had no way to intervene in the matter.

He himself even had to face a hearing by the Security Bureau.

Watching Li Maike, who was constantly wiping away cold sweat, Cai Yuanqi gritted his teeth and said, "Find the Public Relations Branch for me; we must minimize the impact of this matter."

"Yes, I will handle it immediately!" Li Maike dared not delay and went down to attend to it at once.

Cai Yuanqi tugged at his tie, grabbed his coat, and prepared to go face the Security Bureau's hearing.

Little did Cai Yuanqi know, a storm aimed at him was already forming.

Inside the Yue Lai Tea Restaurant, Chen Jiajun was reading the newspaper and eating breakfast.

Li Wenbin also walked in, ordered a portion of toast, and sat down in front of Chen Jiajun.

"Uncle Chen, is it time to make a move yet?" Li Wenbin asked tentatively, "If Cai Yuanqi catches his breath, he will definitely make a move against me and Ceng Xiangrong."

Chen Jiajun chuckled and said, "Don't worry, he won't be jumping around for much longer. Wait for the noon news! I either don't make a move, but if I do, I will definitely strike him dead!"

After hearing this, Li Wenbin immediately felt at ease and ate his breakfast quietly.

Upon returning to the Police Station, he continued his investigation into the God Detective Case.

After all, there were simply too many old cases implicated by the God Detective Case, keeping the entire Headquarters Serious Crimes Unit busy with no time to rest.

After the leader of the Detective Gang, Zhang Lin, was caught, the remaining members of the Detective Gang were also arrested one by one.

Although they had adopted a method of fighting violence with violence, Li Wenbin did not make things too difficult for them.

He only prosecuted the members of the Detective Gang for disturbing the public order.

This charge would at most land these kids in jail for a few years.

Although this matter put the Department of Justice in a difficult position, it was, after all, a police case.

They could only play dumb.

By noon, Li Wenbin was eating in the Police Force canteen, taking the opportunity to watch the news.

Chen Jiajun never spoke nonsense; if he said there was big news at noon, then there definitely was.

Sure enough, when it was time for the news, the first headline was a bombshell.

A reporter who had gone to the mainland revealed that in the "Li Zhenbiao" drug trafficking case there, one of the main figures, Cai Tianming, was about to be executed.

Even more explosive was that, according to the reporter's deep digging, this Cai Tianming was also a relative of the current Commissioner of Police in Hong Kong, Cai Yuanqi.

Seeing this news, the entire Police Force canteen fell silent; everyone looked at the television news report with expressions of shock.

This report was different from the information Cai Yuanqi had previously used to confuse the public; the reporter had visited many places.

Including the Tianhai City Police Bureau, the Tianhai City First People's Hospital, and so on; the first-hand information obtained was highly reliable.

With such detailed information here, this was not just baseless rumors.

Therefore, the phones at the Complaints Division of the Police Force were blown up that day.

Many Hong Kong citizens came to inquire about the authenticity of this matter.

After all, the idea of a Commissioner selling laundry powder was just too explosive.

And Cai Yuanqi, who had just finished the Security Bureau hearing, felt his whole world fall apart after seeing the news before him.

Even though he had been prepared for this, he had not expected things to develop to this point.

He was now in a total panic and immediately summoned his subordinates to think of countermeasures.

"Didn't you say this matter could be brushed aside?" Cai Yuanqi roared loudly at the Superintendent of the Public Relations Branch.

Clearly, as time fermented, this kind of matter would soon cause a huge impact on him personally.

The Superintendent of the Public Relations Branch was also numb.

Originally, according to his assumptions, if Cai Yuanqi himself had no issues, this matter could indeed have been brushed aside quickly.

But no one had expected the sudden, unlucky appearance of the God Detective Case.

Most importantly, Huang Xin, Fang Lixin, and others were people from Cai Yuanqi and Li Maike's faction; it was difficult for Cai Yuanqi not to be unlucky.

Then they encountered a reporter who took things seriously and ran all the way to the mainland to investigate.

And they investigated so thoroughly—who could have imagined that for such a piece of hearsay news?

Even the Superintendent of the Public Relations Branch began to sense something fishy.

So he said to Cai Yuanqi, "Commissioner, don't you think these two things happened too coincidentally?"

"Hmm?" Hearing the reminder, Cai Yuanqi calmed down a bit.

Previously, he had thought he was just unlucky, but now it seemed that things were indeed a bit off.

Just as the few of them were pondering who their opponent was.

Suddenly, a Police Constable ran in, flustered: "Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, it's bad, the people from the Independent Commission Against Corruption are here!"

"What?" Cai Yuanqi slapped the table and stood up, eyes wide, and said, "What is going on?"

The Police Constable was startled, then said, "The Independent Commission Against Corruption received a report saying that you, Deputy Commissioner, accepted bribes, and they need you to go back to assist in the investigation!"

Cai Yuanqi had already been overwhelmed by these two matters, and now the Independent Commission Against Corruption had come to stick their oar in.

To say he wasn't being targeted, even a fool wouldn't believe it.

Before the Police Constable could finish speaking, the Chief Investigator of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, Lu Zhilian, walked into Cai Yuanqi's office with his team.

"Deputy Commissioner Li Maike, I am the Chief Investigator of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, Lu Zhilian. There are three cases of bribery and abuse of power for which we would like to invite Deputy Commissioner Li to assist in the investigation! This is the investigation warrant!" Lu Zhilian held up the document.

Seeing Lu Zhilian lead the team over in person, Li Maike was instantly panicked.

Relying on Cai Yuanqi's backing and the Brotherhood as his support over these years, he had certainly caused plenty of chaos within the Police Force.

In particular, the frontline operations departments were frequently subjected to harassment by his Administrative Department.

Furthermore, regarding this God Detective Case, logically speaking, the Internal Investigations Division of the Police Force should have conducted a thorough audit.

However, under Li Maike's suppression, the scope of the crackdown was limited only to the West Kowloon Police Station.

Therefore, his irregular operations could be said to be countless.

As long as no one investigated, there was naturally peace under heaven.

But once someone did investigate, he, Li Maike, would have nowhere to hide.

Cai Yuanqi said with an ugly expression: "What is your Independent Commission Against Corruption trying to do? Are you trying to make our Police Force look bad? You actually came to my office to drag someone away!" Lu Zhilian said indifferently: "Our Independent Commission Against Corruption does not want to make anyone look bad; we are simply acting according to rules and regulations. If Commissioner Cai has any questions, you can talk to the ICAC Commissioner. Now, Director Li, please!"

Generally speaking, the Independent Commission Against Corruption would not appear too aggressive when facing the Police Force.

After all, there had been police-ICAC conflicts in the past, and the Independent Commission Against Corruption, lacking the right to carry firearms, was also at a disadvantage when facing the Police Force.

However, the situation was a bit different this time; the ICAC Commissioner had consulted with the Secretary for Security, Lu Minghua, which was why they dared to come and make an arrest so brazenly.

Hearing Lu Zhilian being so firm, Cai Yuanqi immediately felt that something was wrong.

He immediately picked up the phone and dialed a number.

A moment later, Cai Yuanqi hung up the phone with an ugly expression and said to Li Maike: "Maike, you go with the Independent Commission Against Corruption first!"

Li Maike felt somewhat uneasy, but fortunately, he was a Deputy Commissioner after all; facing this situation, he quickly calmed down and left with Lu Zhilian and the others.

After everyone had left, Cai Yuanqi slammed his fist hard against the table.

There was no point in counting on the Security Bureau; he had just called Lu Minghua, and it was Lu Minghua's Secretary who answered.

Stating directly that Lu Minghua was not in Hong Kong at this time indicated that Lu Minghua definitely would not protect him.

This left Cai Yuanqi both furious and helpless.

If he could, he truly did not want to use the Brotherhood's resources. After all, the more he used them, the faster he would be exposed.

Their Brotherhood's wings were not yet full; if they were exposed at this time, many of their plans would be ruined.

After a moment of silence, Cai Yuanqi grabbed his coat and went straight out to the private club where the Brotherhood often gathered.

While waiting for the others to arrive, Cai Yuanqi kept thinking about his own retreat.

Now that his superior at the Security Bureau, Lu Minghua, refused to protect him, the matters of Huang Xin and Fang Lixin had emerged within the Police Force, Li Maike had been taken away by the Independent Commission Against Corruption, and the matter of Cai Tianming back home had not yet come to an end.

These successive events were all telling Cai Yuanqi that his position was no longer secure.

Therefore, starting now, he had to make plans for his own retreat.

After the members of the Brotherhood arrived, Cai Yuanqi recounted the events he had recently encountered.

The people from the Brotherhood were also very surprised: "Why did it turn out like this?"

Cai Yuanqi said with a headache: "To tell you the truth, I don't know either! I just feel like there is a black hand behind the scenes!"

"Then what about our plan?" a member of the Brotherhood said with a frown.

"Don't even think about the Police Force for now; Li Maike has been taken away by the Independent Commission Against Corruption. There were only two of us at the rank of Commissioner, and the others aren't capable of stepping onto the stage!" Cai Yuanqi shook his head and said: "We can only wait a few years, wait until our people get promoted, and then we'll see!"

The Brotherhood had planted quite a few people within the Police Force, all thanks to Cai Yuanqi's help.

Everyone was helpless upon hearing this: "That's the only way! But what about you?"

Cai Yuanqi pondered for a moment and said: "In this position, I can't see many things clearly! I plan to jump out of this position of Commissioner of Police and take a good look at who is playing tricks behind this!"

"Damn it, I'm so unwilling!" At this moment, a member of the Brotherhood slammed the table and said viciously: "With such a good situation, why did it turn out like this!"

"Doing things always involves many variables!" A woman picked up her wine glass and said indifferently: "Although Cai Sir has run into a little trouble, as long as we don't have any problems, there will always be a time for a comeback. This was the original intention of us founding the Brotherhood, wasn't it?"

Cai Yuanqi nodded and said: "That is the logic, but we must also properly win over our members in the Police Force. I am preparing to go underwater! If I don't leave now, I'm afraid I won't be able to leave at all."

"You are preparing to resign?" someone said in surprise.

Cai Yuanqi nodded and said: "That's right. The person pulling the strings behind the scenes is highly skilled. Since the other party intends to move against me, they must be confident in putting me to death. Leaving now, I can still maintain some dignity."

Since Cai Yuanqi's mind was made up, the others could not persuade him otherwise and could only raise their glasses to see him off.

Chen Jiajun had already prepared all the work, ready to launch a fatal blow against this guy during Cai Yuanqi's hearing three days later.

Although the Police Force was under the Security Bureau, Lu Minghua did not have the authority to dismiss Ceng Xiangrong.

However, Ceng Xiangrong and Li Wenbin and others led the frontline officers of the Operations Department, and together with the Legislators of the Legislative Council, launched an impeachment against Ceng Xiangrong to drive him out of office.

By then, without the status of the "Number One Brother," Cai Yuanqi could be handled by Chen Jiajun as he pleased.

Just as the preparations were in full swing, Li Wenbin suddenly called.

"It's so late, what's the matter?" Chen Jiajun asked somewhat curiously.

Li Wenbin said in a panicked tone: "Uncle Chen, that guy Cai Yuanqi... he's actually been hospitalized!"

"Hospitalized?" Chen Jiajun frowned: "What kind of trick is this guy trying to pull?"

Li Wenbin said in a hurried tone: "I don't know the specifics, but the Commissioner's assistant has gone straight to the Chief Executive's Office to submit his resignation!"

"Resignation?" Chen Jiajun stood up immediately and said in a surprised tone: "Are you sure!"

"Sure, it's spreading like crazy throughout the Police Force now!" Li Wenbin said hurriedly: "Everyone is saying he caught some acute illness and is resigning from the position of Commissioner of Police."

After listening, Chen Jiajun's expression was almost dark enough to drip water: "Good, good, good, I actually underestimated him!"

This move of "advancing by retreating" played by Cai Yuanqi was not just ordinarily beautiful.

The series of events that had occurred recently had already made him alert.

And he likely also found that he was beyond saving, so he deliberately used his health as a reason to resign from the position of Commissioner of Police.

As long as he was not sitting in the position of the "Number One Brother," many investigations regarding him would have to stop.

After all, he had already resigned; for the sake of the Police Force's face, or for the sake of the Hong Kong government's face, many things would no longer be pursued.

Li Wenbin asked: "Then what should we do now?"

Chen Jiajun said indifferently: "Since that's the case, you all stay put and don't leave anyone with a handle! Anyway, Li Maike has been caught by the Independent Commission Against Corruption, so the only one left who can succeed Cai Yuanqi is Ceng Xiangrong! Doing nothing is the best course of action."

"I understand, I will coordinate with Ceng Xiangrong." Wen Bin nodded and then hung up the phone.

Chen Jiajun immediately summoned his subordinate Information Officer and said coldly, "Investigate for me, where is Cai Yuanqi right now!"

The Information Officer quickly sent back news: "Boss, he is already at the airport! They say he has prepared a medical charter flight, ready to fly directly to England! If you want to do something now, I'm afraid it's already too late!"

"Hmph! He's lucky he ran fast!" Chen Jiajun let out a cold snort.

Since Cai Yuanqi had run away, Chen Jiajun couldn't be bothered to chase after him to finish him off.

Killing Cai Yuanqi alone didn't have much significance; the most important thing was the Brotherhood behind him.

It was a pity that such a good opportunity had been ruined because Cai Yuanqi sensed it and ran.

Now it would be truly difficult to investigate the people of the Brotherhood; after all, Cai Yuanqi certainly knew someone was targeting him behind the scenes, and if he notified the members of the Brotherhood to lie low, an ordinary person really wouldn't be able to find anything.

It was just that Chen Jiajun had laid his plans for so long, and he felt as if he had punched a ball of cotton.

"However... Boss, while we were tailing Cai Yuanqi, we found a very secretive club," the Information Officer suddenly said.

"Hm? A club?" Chen Jiajun immediately became alert.

The Information Officer nodded: "It is a private club, the kind that requires an invitation! We suspect this is one of the Brotherhood's strongholds."

"Can you check the background of the club's owner?" Chen Jiajun asked.

The Information Officer shook his head: "We have already checked, there is nothing strange. However, if you want to find the guest list for that place, I'm afraid it will take some time."

"Investigate slowly, I'm not in a rush!" Chen Jiajun said coldly: "Since we've already gone to such great lengths, I don't mind investigating it more thoroughly!" (End of chapter)