Chapter 595

"Li Ju, other things can be discussed, but matters of principle should not be used to make things difficult for me. The materials on the two Puluo wars are top-secret. I can't see many materials to begin with, and you're asking me to leak information to you. Isn't this just making things difficult for me?"

Li Li Banfeng held his teacup and said: "In other words, there's no room for discussion on this?"

"There really is no room for discussion."

"Then let's talk another day." Li Li Banfeng held his tea to see him out, and Shen Shen Jingye got up and left.

Returning to his office, Shen Shen Jingye felt uneasy.

He hadn't helped Li Qi today; asking him to handle things in the future would probably be a bit troublesome.

But then he thought, he couldn't just let him be so willful because he needed Li Qi's help; he couldn't easily agree to everything he said.

He would distance himself from him for two days and not contact him. Li Qi was a smart person and should be able to distinguish the pros and cons here.

"Li Ju, sorry to disturb you so late."

"Xiao Shen, what happened?" On the other end of the phone, Li Li Banfeng yawned.

"The situation is like this: a case has occurred at the Opera Immortal Hotel in Yunxiu District. More than ten Dark Energy Users have hijacked a guest in Room 2509. The situation is very critical."

"What is the background of these Dark Energy Users?"

"It cannot be determined yet. According to preliminary judgment, it is related to the Birch Hidden Cultivation Society."

"So it's a retaliatory action. What is the identity of the hijacked guest?"

Shen Shen Jingye adjusted his position; he didn't want too many people to hear this: "According to preliminary judgment, it should be one of our superior leaders, Guan Guan Zhengyang, Director Guan."

No wonder Shen Shen Jingye called so late; this operation could not afford any mistakes.

"This situation is a bit complicated. What conditions did the kidnappers propose?"

"After preliminary communication, the condition they proposed is the release of two detained elders of the Birch Hidden Cultivation Society."

"This is a bit tricky."

"Li Ju, look at your side—"

"Xiao Shen, be sure to pay attention to safety." Li Li Banfeng hung up the phone.

Shen Shen Jingye stood silently in the cold wind for a moment, smiling, and continued speaking: "Li Ju, thank you for your help. I will seriously consider your suggestion. Yes, yes, I will consider it—"

He knew Li Qi had hung up the phone long ago. He stood there continuing to speak to cover up his embarrassment.

There were many pairs of eyes watching him, and many people waiting for Li Qi's news.

Shen Shen Jingye put down the phone and said to Chen Chen Zhangrui: "Li Ju is not in Ban Yue Province and cannot come to the scene tonight. Tell everyone to carry out work according to the normal plan."

Chen Chen Zhangrui looked at Shen Shen Jingye; he wanted to know what the normal plan referred to.

Shen Shen Jingye didn't want to pay attention to Chen Chen Zhangrui. The normal plan was that there was no plan.

Without a plan, could this matter not be handled?

The Public Security Team had handled this type of case many times. Just follow the normal process; what would it matter if Li Qi came or not?

Chen Chen Zhangrui issued orders for each group to be in their positions, maintain communication with the kidnappers, and not take unauthorized action.

Shen Shen Jingye frowned: "Old Chen, is this how you handle cases?"

Chen Chen Zhangrui didn't make a sound. He was no longer the captain of the Public Security Team. Although he was in charge of the Public Security Team's work, the action plan should not be proposed by him.

According to the normal process, the plan should be proposed by the new Public Security Team captain, Shao Shao Yingzhen. After his preliminary review, Shen Shen Jingye would make the final decision.

Shao Shao Yingzhen lacked experience and clearly couldn't come up with an action plan at this time.

If it were someone else, Chen Chen Zhangrui would definitely help, but now the hostage was Director Guan, and the situation was somewhat special.

A slight mistake could lead to unimaginable responsibility. Chen Chen Zhangrui had had similar experiences.

Every member of the Public Security Team was not stupid; they all stayed in their positions, waiting for the captain's instructions.

The captain waited for the director's instructions.

Shen Shen Jingye originally wanted to communicate with the kidnappers personally, but the kidnappers sent him a gift first.

They cut off one of Guan Guan Zhengyang's ears and threw it down from the window.

The Public Security Team members gave the ear to Shen Shen Jingye. Shen Shen Jingye looked at the ear; he was very calm.

He had to be calm. Any step taken next could lead to serious consequences.

Everyone at the scene realized this. Chen Chen Zhangrui remained silent, and the new captain stopped speaking as well.

The newly promoted sub-team leaders, Luo Su Lijun and Tang Yuan, had wanted to offer some suggestions, but now they didn't dare to speak.

Gu Hao and Huang Huang Huaye, who were waiting to raid, focused their attention on Shen Shen Jingye. Shen Shen Jingye's attitude was more important than the kidnappers' attitude at this moment.

Of course, some team members didn't care about the situation of either side.

Zhang Gun was a bit sleepy; he just wanted to finish the mission early and go back to sleep.

Bai Chenshan focused all his attention on his position; he didn't want to take unnecessary risks or bear extra responsibility.

The kidnappers sent news again: if there was no reply in five minutes, he would send Shen Shen Jingye another gift.

The situation was very critical. Fortunately, Shen Shen Jingye had experienced many storms and soon had a countermeasure.

He dialed the phone.

"Li Ju, we are real friends."

"How real?"

"I will never be vague about things I can handle."

"Good, neither of us will be vague."

Before long, Li Li Banfeng arrived downstairs at the hotel. Bai Chenshan couldn't help but laugh: "Didn't you just say Brother Brother Qiye wasn't in Ban Yue Province?"

Tang Yuan was very excited and told her subordinates to prepare for action.

After roughly understanding the situation, Li Li Banfeng picked up the walkie-talkie and began to arrange tactics.

"Gu Hao, go in and save the hostage in a moment."

"Huang Huang Huaye, provide support for Gu Hao from behind."

"Tang Yuan, guard the hallway."

"Pan Pan Dehai, guard the stairs."

"Feng Ji, keep an eye on all the windows; don't let them jump out and run away."

"Bai Chenshan, if they run away, take your team members and chase them back."

"Zhang Gun, I'll give you two people. If Bai Chenshan has difficulty chasing, take people to assist in blocking."

Zhang Gun was no longer sleepy and immediately discussed the position with Bai Chenshan.

The action had to be fast. Since Li Ju had come, it proved that the fighting was about to start.

The mission wasn't actually difficult; the difficulty was who could bear the responsibility if something went wrong.

Now the person who could bear the responsibility had come.

Li Li Banfeng didn't use the door; he used the "Unimpeded Passage" technique to walk directly through the wall into the building. Not only did the kidnappers not see him, but even the people from the Dark Star Bureau didn't notice.

He followed the stairwell, quickly reached the twenty-fifth floor, and entered Room 2507.

Walking through walls all the way from Room 2507, he reached Room 2528. Li Li Banfeng stood by the wall.

Guan Guan Zhengyang was in the next room, and Li Li Banfeng could hear his crying.

Li Li Banfeng pressed the switch on the walkie-talkie twice, which meant a twenty-second countdown.

Watching his watch pass fifteen seconds, Li Li Banfeng walked through the wall, drew his sickle, and silently killed the two kidnappers by the wall.

Then he activated his footwork, walked to the side, and killed two more kidnappers.

This time, the kidnappers discovered Li Li Banfeng and rushed to Li Li Banfeng's side one after another.

Twenty seconds were up. Gu Hao and Huang Huang Huaye rushed from downstairs to upstairs and opened the door to Room 2529 with the hotel-provided room card.

There were many people in the room, and they were all fighting Li Qi.

Gu Hao had only one mission; he didn't need to help Li Qi; he only needed to save the hostage.

There were three guards beside the hostage. Gu Hao's movements had to be fast.

He cut off the hand hanging on the head of the bed, picked up Guan Guan Zhengyang, and threw him to Huang Huang Huaye at the door.

Huang Huang Huaye handed Guan Guan Zhengyang to his subordinates and immediately joined Gu Hao in blocking the kidnappers from escaping.

Li Li Banfeng withdrew from the battlefield. The combat power of this group of Lavsha people wasn't high, but it was barely passable.

Although they didn't have clear levels and sects, their combat power was equivalent to Dark Energy Users between the third and sixth layers, very suitable for honing the combat effectiveness of the Public Security Team.

Under the siege of Gu Hao and Huang Huang Huaye, only three kidnappers rushed out of the room, and the rest were all captured.

The combat power of these three kidnappers was relatively strong. One kidnapper's combat style was close to a Martial Cultivator, with outstanding fighting ability. The other two kidnappers were close to Traveling Cultivators, with excellent mobility.

Tang Yuan, who was lying in ambush in the hallway, was ready and led people to intercept the three kidnappers.

If Tang Yuan used a "Tracing Ink" technique at this time, Li Li Banfeng would have Shen Shen Jingye transfer her out of the Public Security Team.

Tang Yuan led more than a dozen team members. With an absolute advantage in numbers, if Tang Yuan still carried out indiscriminate attacks, she really wasn't suitable to stay on the front lines.

Fortunately, Tang Yuan didn't make an absurd choice. She shouted angrily at the kidnappers: "Unarmed!"

This technique was very deceptive. The kidnappers thought she used a "Common Script and Rules" technique, meaning to let both sides fight unarmed.

But for Martial Cultivators, being unarmed and fighting unarmed were two different things. They could pick up a wooden stick at will...

... and it could turn into a top-tier weapon.

But these three kidnappers judged wrong. Tang Yuan didn't say "unarmed" (shou wu cun tie); she said "body without iron" (shen wu cun tie).

She didn't use "Common Script and Rules"; she used "One Word Becomes Knowledge."

After becoming a Literary Cultivator, Tang Yuan used both of these techniques very skillfully.

Under the effect of the techniques, the belts of the "Martial Cultivator kidnapper" and one "Traveling Cultivator kidnapper" fell off one after another...

... because their belt buckles were made of iron.

The belts fell, their pants sagged, seriously affecting their mobility. After fighting for a while, two kidnappers were captured on the spot.

The remaining "Traveling Cultivator kidnapper" was wearing sweatpants without a belt. He rushed into the stairwell, and after a brief fight, he was captured alive by Pan Pan Dehai.

From the beginning to the end of the battle, it took just over three minutes.

Bai Chenshan was still complaining to Zhang Gun: "I told you not to worry about it blindly. Brother Brother Qiye is here; it's impossible for anyone to escape."

"Better safe than sorry; we can't hold them back."

Li Li Banfeng stood by the window, quietly watching everyone's actions.

If the person kidnapped wasn't Guan Guan Zhengyang, even if Li Qi didn't come, the Public Security Team could have quickly completed the mission.

They had grown. This came not only from the help provided by Li Li Banfeng but also from the changes made by Shen Shen Jingye, especially the changes between positions and harmonizing agents.

But even though they did so well, there were still people who weren't satisfied. Guan Guan Zhengyang was very dissatisfied...

... because he lost an ear.

This kid was quite tough and could endure pain. After simply treating the wound, he didn't go to the hospital immediately but cursed at Shen Shen Jingye: "What is your attitude? What is your style? What is your work ability? Is this how you guarantee the safety of hostages? If I hadn't remained calm and restrained, could I still be standing here talking to you!"

Li Li Banfeng nodded: "It's good that you can still talk. Take him to the bureau for an investigation."

Guan Guan Zhengyang jumped with rage: "Investigate whom? Investigate me? What right do you have to investigate me?"

Li Li Banfeng said: "You have a residence in Ban Yue City. Why did you come to stay at a hotel at this time? Can you give me a reasonable explanation?"

"I, what right do I have to explain to you? Do you have this qualification?" This matter was indeed not easy to explain.

The only thing Guan Guan Zhengyang could do now was to throw a tantrum.

But Li Qi didn't buy it: "If you can't explain it here, you have to go back to the bureau to explain. Get him in the car."

"What right do you have? I am a victim. I need medical treatment. I need a doctor! I want to get my ear reattached..."

Guan Guan Zhengyang was taken into the car and sent to the Dark Star Bureau.

Shen Shen Jingye was in a bit of a dilemma: "His ear really needs to be reattached quickly. If it's reattached too slowly, it might not be saved."

Li Li Banfeng laughed: "Xiao Shen, we are real friends. Don't forget about this matter."

Shen Shen Jingye understood Li Li Banfeng's meaning: "Tomorrow morning, I will bring a document to find you."

The next morning, Shen Shen Jingye first asked someone to turn off the surveillance before entering Li Li Banfeng's office.

"Li Ju, have you heard? The Qianliang Workshop in Puluo Province has had a serious situation. More than one hundred thousand people died overnight, and the cause has not yet been determined!"

Li Qi lowered his eyelids and said: "I don't need you to tell me the news from Puluo Province. I want the materials on the Puluo War."

Shen Shen Jingye wanted to change the subject but failed, so he could only take out the document bag.

Li Li Banfeng took the document bag; there were only three pages of paper inside.

"Just this?" Li Li Banfeng was very angry. "Is your Director Guan only worth these three pages of paper?"

Shen Shen Jingye signaled Li Li Banfeng not to speak too loudly: "Do you really not know? Do you know how much risk I have to bear for these three pages of paper!"

Li Li Banfeng opened the three pages of paper. These were photocopies of a manuscript, with the original text on the front and the translation on the back.

Judging by the tone, it should be meeting minutes, but Li Li Banfeng didn't see the first page of the records.

The first page of the meeting minutes was very critical, containing a series of key information such as meeting time, meeting location, and participants.

"Where did the first page of the records go?"

Shen Shen Jingye shook his head: "I can't get it. That page is beyond my consultation authorization; I can't even see it."

Li Li Banfeng flipped through these three pages of records. A name appeared in the first line: Nie Li Aisha. The entire three pages of records were his speech alone.

"Xiao Shen, did you deliberately intercept his speech?"

"It's not that I did it deliberately; it's that I only have this much authorization. I can only consult materials related to Nie Li Aisha."

Li Li Banfeng looked at the content of the speech, a paragraph:

"I listened carefully to your viewpoints. I didn't expect that there are still people who think there is disagreement with the cooperation with Chernobog, and even regard this as a shame. I really want to ask these people, what is the concept of your so-called shame?"

During the interrogation process of Gangcharova, Li Li Banfeng once obtained an inference: in the sleeping land of Lavsha, the pure bloodline of Chernobog was the pure Inner Province people.

The Birch Hidden Cultivation Society chose to cooperate with the Inner Provinces. A short sentence basically exposed the positions of both sides in this war.

The Inner Provinces and the Birch Hidden Cultivation Society joined forces to be enemies with Puluo Province.

Huang Huang Yuxian was an enemy of the Birch Hidden Cultivation Society, proving that she stood on the side of Puluo Province.

Yao Lao also stood on the side of Puluo Province.

Knowing Huang Huang Yuxian's position, Li Li Banfeng felt much more relaxed. He continued to read down:

"No matter how much hatred Chernobog has toward us, he is the deity who dominates one side. The deity has the qualification to rule us, but has no obligation to treat us kindly. If we keep holding onto hatred, how can we face our common enemy?"

"We must distinguish between primary and secondary contradictions, and distinguish between priorities. Our current greatest enemy is Puluo Province. It is precisely because of their repeated unreasonable and arrogant provocations against the deity that led to the deity's more severe punishment of other lands."

"Puluo Province is a very perfect piece of land. It has fields suitable for farmers, grasslands suitable for herdsmen, factories suitable for craftsmen, and prosperous cities suitable for merchants."

"The deity bestowed such a piece of land to Puluo Province, but the people of Puluo Province did not learn to be grateful and cherish it."

"Look carefully, what have they turned Puluo Province into?"

"They have no institutions to handle government affairs, nor do they have the concept of law. All order relies on families and gang forces to control. They don't even have a leader in the practical sense!"

"Can you imagine? They have no king and no leader! No one teaches them how to think,"

"no one teaches them how to act, no one tells them what to think or what to do. What meaning can their living like this have?"

"They only have a nominal leader. The absurd thing is that this nominal leader is actually a grocery seller! Look at those pitiful generals, stubborn craftsmen, short-sighted farmers, muddled drunkards, homeless travelers, and dirty actors!"

"This group of rabble, what qualification do they have to occupy this land? What qualification do they have to become the masters of this land?"

"This land is a gift bestowed upon us by the deity. We must abandon hatred and cherish the deity's gift with a grateful heart!"

The grocery seller was the Peddler.

Who was the craftsman?

Was the farmer Xu Han?

The muddled drunkard, was that Yao Lao?

The actor definitely referred to Huang Huang Yuxian.

And who was the homeless traveler?

Li Li Banfeng returned the materials to Shen Shen Jingye.

Shen Shen Jingye breathed a long sigh of relief.

If Li Li Banfeng insisted on not returning them, Shen Shen Jingye wouldn't be able to do anything about it, but this document would indeed bring great risk to Shen Shen Jingye.

After putting away the materials, Shen Shen Jingye said to Li Li Banfeng: "The materials I can get are very limited, and the high-level archives you want to find are not in the Dark Star Bureau at all."

This was to show Li Li Banfeng the actual situation; he could only do this much.

Knowing these materials was almost enough.

In Li Li Banfeng's mind, the general outline of that war had already emerged.

That war overturned people's impression of Puluo Province and also overturned people's cognition of Puluo Province.

There were still many places similar to Puluo Province, where people might still be unable to understand how the scattered Puluo Province won that war.

Yes, the result of the war must have been Puluo Province winning, otherwise the current Puluo Province would have long ceased to exist. As for how exactly they won, Li Li Banfeng didn't know, but it seemed he could make some relatively reasonable inferences.

"Xiao Shen, will there be a Third Puluo War?"

Shen Shen Jingye shook his head: "How would I know that? Our stance certainly won't change; we still hope to resolve contradictions through peaceful means."

As the two were talking, Shen Shen Jingye's phone rang; it was Chen Chen Zhangrui calling.

In front of Li Qi, Shen Shen Jingye would usually restrain his emotions, but this time he didn't.

"I told you at the beginning of the year to guard against Gourd Village. What were you all listening to? Tell those people in the Investigation Section that this year's year-end bonus is gone!"

Hanging up the phone, Shen Shen Jingye rubbed his forehead for a long time, looked up at Li Li Banfeng, and said: "Gourd Village has opened for business, and more than a dozen people have fallen into it."

"What is Gourd Village?"

Li Li Banfeng had lived in Ban Yue Province for a long time; he really didn't know which urban village was called Gourd Village.

Shen Shen Jingye didn't know where to start: "Gourd Village opens for business for one month every year, usually before the Lunar New Year,"

"the location is not fixed, and it is a key object of prevention for branch bureaus everywhere,"

"Gourd Village opened for business in Ban Yue Province today, and there was no precaution here. It's a laughingstock that such a thing happened on the bureau's territory!"

"What does it mean to open for business?"

Shen Shen Jingye spoke incoherently, and Li Li Banfeng really couldn't understand.

"Let's talk on the way."

Li Qi laughed: "Xiao Shen, we are real friends."

Shen Shen Jingye nodded: "Yes, real friends. I owe you this matter; we'll settle it slowly later."

The two took a car to Jiacheng District. On the way, Shen Shen Jingye's phone kept ringing, and he had no chance to explain Gourd Village to Li Li Banfeng.

The driver stopped the car in front of a pharmacy on Shunfu Road.

After entering the pharmacy, the pharmacy owner, Fang Dongchen, was describing the situation at the time of the case: "That man often came to me to buy medicine, saying it was for his mother. That day, after buying the medicine, he didn't walk far and stood at the door of my shop, looking inside through the glass door."

"He paid with cash every time. Once I calculated the account wrong and gave him one yuan less, he stood at my door for several minutes."

"This time I thought I had calculated the account wrong again. I do business honestly and don't take advantage of others. I even specially opened the door to take a look."

"Every day around three o'clock, my door faces the sun, which is a bit dazzling. I pushed the door open to look, and the man disappeared in the blink of an eye."

Li Li Banfeng asked Shen Shen Jingye: "Did you check the surveillance? Where did this person go?"

Shen Shen Jingye first let Li Li Banfeng get in the car. After getting in the car and shielding the surveillance facilities, Shen Shen Jingye lowered his voice and said: "Checked. From the surveillance, this person entered the pharmacy, but in reality, he entered Gourd Village."

Li Li Banfeng couldn't understand: "What does this have to do with Gourd Village? According to her description, the other party might be an Illusion Cultivator who used an illusion to deceive the owner, or it might be a Traveling Cultivator who moved too fast for the owner to see clearly."

Shen Shen Jingye shook his head: "It's not like that. This woman was inside the room at the time. She couldn't see the village; Gourd Village opened its entrance at the door of her shop."

The two returned to the pharmacy. Chen Chen Zhangrui called another taxi driver, who was in his twenties, and he described the situation at the time again.

"When I passed by this pharmacy, I saw a man looking at me, as if he wanted to call a taxi, so I stopped the car. When I turned to look again, the man didn't walk to the roadside; he was looking back."

"I wondered what he was looking at, so I rolled down the window. I saw two women standing opposite him, wearing very little clothing, with many parts not covered."

"Those two women waved at him, and the man went in. I saw that this was definitely not a decent place, so I drove away quickly."

The owner said from the side: "Comrades, don't listen to his nonsense. What do you mean it's not a good place?"

"I sell medicine honestly and have a license."

"I'm not talking nonsense," the taxi driver shook his head. "I don't know if I saw it wrong at the time, but the man didn't enter the pharmacy."

Li Li Banfeng roughly understood.

After a man left the pharmacy, he called a taxi. When he looked back, the pharmacy had changed its storefront. Under temptation, he didn't know where he had entered.

Li Li Banfeng asked: "Where did the person involved go?"

Shen Shen Jingye said: "Missing. His family called the police. The police checked the surveillance and recordings, and it was hard to trace it here. Only after finding these two eyewitnesses did we know this matter wasn't simple."

The matter wasn't simple, but why was it definitely related to Gourd Village?

Shen Shen Jingye asked the taxi driver: "What did the two women look like?"

"It's been several days, and I can't remember." The driver thought for a long time. "I can't remember their appearance, but their figures were especially good. Their waists were thin, very thin. Above the waist was big, and below the waist was also big, especially big."

"..."

Li Li Banfeng said: "Isn't what you're describing just a gourd?"

The taxi driver thought about it and nodded: "If you say it's a gourd, it really is a bit like one."

Shen Shen Jingye covered his forehead: "I'm afraid of this gourd. I don't want to have a good New Year this year."

Li Li Banfeng patted the Wine Gourd: "Sister, do you know about Gourd Village?"

The Wine Gourd said unhappily: "Little brother, didn't I tell you not to pat the place below the waist? It makes people laugh at me."

PS: Gourd Sister is still so charming.

Dear readers, Happy National Day. Give all your monthly tickets to Sala.