Chapter 143: Be Careful Lately

It's not that Li Jun doesn't want to help—it's genuinely difficult.

His superior is Director Wu.

And Director Wu doesn't know about the follow-up investigation either, so all he can do is keep applying upward.

Above him is the Municipal Bureau.

When it came to the final investigation, the Municipal Bureau couldn't get involved either, so it was reported further up…

Li Jun could already imagine that after going around this whole circle, by the time they got a reply, it would take at least a week at the fastest.

And even then, there was no guarantee the higher-ups would agree.

After all, on the surface, the two cases had no connection whatsoever.

Compared to the tertiary hospital case, the one in front of him really was a small case.

"Difficult or not, we still have to handle it."

Yu Dazhang was also helpless—he knew the process was somewhat cumbersome, which was why he'd come to discuss it with Li Jun in person.

"How about this—I'll file the report on my end first." Li Jun deliberated for a moment, then continued:

"You try reaching out to someone up above too."

"Me?" Yu Dazhang was stunned.

Did he even know anyone up there?

The follow-up investigation on the tertiary hospital case had eventually alarmed the Ministry.

If he had contacts in the Ministry, he wouldn't have been worrying about this long ago—no need to complain about it here.

"What a memory you've got." Li Jun shot him a look, then reminded him:

"Just the other day you were even working with them."

"Guoan?" Yu Dazhang immediately thought of Li Mingzhao and Ye Lin.

Li Jun gave a slight nod, an equally helpless look on his face.

He knew perfectly well that asking Yu Dazhang to seek Guo's help would mean owing them a favor.

And that favor would very likely have to be repaid by Yu Dazhang himself.

But this was the fastest method available—they couldn't just leave a case unsolved for fear of owing someone a favor.

"I'll give it a try." Yu Dazhang wasn't entirely sure either, so he could only agree for now.

He didn't know much about Guoan—he'd only had contact with Li Mingzhao and the other one.

Still, from those two encounters, their authority seemed to cover a very wide scope.

And last time, both Li Mingzhao and Ye Lin had given him their contact information.

Yu Dazhang took out his phone and was about to step out to make the call, but Li Jun waved him off:

"Make the call here. If they agree to help, I won't have to apply with Director Wu."

"Alright." Yu Dazhang agreed, then opened his phone's contact list.

There was nothing confidential about the call's content, so he didn't mind Li Jun listening in.

After dialing, the ringback tone was almost over before the other side picked up.

Accompanied by a droning "Weng weng weng," Li Mingzhao's slightly hoarse voice came through the phone:

"Who is this?!"

What kind of noise is that, why is it so loud… Yu Dazhang pulled the phone away from his ear, then put it back, confirming he hadn't misheard.

Is he mowing the lawn?

Yu Dazhang vaguely remembered that when he'd used a lawn mower at the police academy, it had made exactly this sound.

"It's me, leader—it's Yu Dazhang."

The noise really was a bit loud.

He was afraid Li Mingzhao couldn't hear clearly, so he didn't bother with manners and just shouted into the phone.

"You really know how to pick your moment to call." Li Mingzhao's voice came through loudly:

"Out with it—what is it?"

Yu Dazhang really wasn't used to this style of conversation, so he could only brace himself and shout:

"Leader, the noise is too loud—can you shut the machine off first, and pick it back up after we finish the call?"

Shouting back and forth like this was hardly dignified—especially in Captain Li's office.

He hadn't expected that Li Mingzhao, as a Guoan leader, was quite fond of manual labor, which gave Yu Dazhang a newfound respect for him.

But unexpectedly, after hearing his words, the other side fell silent, and only after a moment did the voice come through again.

This time, though, Li Mingzhao's voice sounded a little odd, as if spoken through gritted teeth. "You want me to shut the machine off…" His voice sounded like he was enduring something, or perhaps controlling himself:

"Do you have any idea I'm on a helicopter?"

Yu Dazhang: …

Misunderstanding~

That request really had been excessive.

So it was the sound of the rotor blades—if he shut that off, the call wouldn't even be finished before Team Leader Li had died in the line of duty.

"My apologies." Yu Dazhang quickly explained:

"I've never been in a helicopter—when I heard the sound, I thought you were mowing the lawn."

This was the truth—he really had never been in a helicopter.

Police helicopters are a relatively independent unit; SWAT can apply for their support on operations when needed.

An ordinary criminal investigator, though~

At the very least, Yu Dazhang had never seen a criminal investigator ride out on a mission in a helicopter.

"Cut the lip, do you actually have something or not?"

Li Mingzhao's voice sounded a bit impatient—probably the noisy environment was making the call irritating for him.

Please... go.... bookmark.... 6... 9.... book.... house....!

"I do. I've got a case here that I need your help on…"

Yu Dazhang then briefly ran through the situation.

"That's easy to handle. In a bit I'll have the person in charge of the follow-up investigation get in touch with you." Li Mingzhao agreed readily enough.

"Thanks, boss."

After Yu Dazhang thanked him and was just about to hang up, he heard Li Mingzhao's voice come through the phone again:

"I was actually about to call you too. Good thing you called first, so I'll just tell you straight."

As if choosing his words, he paused for a moment before continuing:

"Recently you need to be careful, especially when you're alone. Try not to stop anywhere in between on your way to and from work."

"Also, if you notice anyone tailing you, don't act rashly—put your own safety first."

Someone's planning to get me? The thought popped into Yu Dazhang's head at once.

Li Mingzhao's warning was obvious enough—boil it down to one sentence: someone's coming for you, stay safe.

"Boss, give me more details—who's coming after me?"

You're deliberately trying to give me insomnia, aren't you… Yu Dazhang wailed inwardly.

There's a saying that hits the mark.

You can fear a thief who steals; what you really fear is a thief who's got his eye on you.

That dread of an unknown danger is what wears a person down the most.

"Don't ask. There are some things I can't tell you."

Li Mingzhao's tone softened a little—probably worried about piling psychological pressure on Yu Dazhang:

"It doesn't necessarily mean anything will happen. Just be careful on your own."

Seeing he was about to hang up, Yu Dazhang hurriedly asked one more thing:

"Roughly how long? I can't stay on edge the whole time, can I."

This was important—if he had to live every day jumping at shadows, that would be miserable.

Most importantly, Yu Dazhang feared the matter would drag his family into it.

Someone had threatened him before.

"At most a week. If things go smoothly, in another three days I'll have wrapped things up on my end."

After Li Mingzhao finished speaking, he hung up directly.

It's connected to what he's handling now… Yu Dazhang caught the meaning behind Li Mingzhao's words.

Once he wraps things up on his end, Yu Dazhang himself would be safe.

Three to seven days.

Yu Dazhang did the math, figuring he'd most likely be over at the Qingpu branch bureau investigating the case for this whole stretch.

On the surface, the current body-snatching case didn't look like a big one, but tracking it down would still take some doing.

Besides, he had a premonition.

If this case was dug into to the end, the people and connections involved would surely be many.

(End of chapter)