Chapter 369: I Can Back You Up on Anything

Having that assurance was enough... actually, what Yu Dazhang had been waiting for was precisely those words from the top leader.

And with so many eyes watching, once those words were spoken, they couldn't be taken back.

Given the moment, he really ought to make some sort of statement.

For example...

"Please rest assured, leader. I will give it my all and ensure this case is solved."

Another one.

"The responsibility weighs heavier than Mount Tai. Your trust is my driving force forward—I will not fail the trust placed in me."

If Yu Dazhang hadn't been reborn, such words would have rolled off his tongue without a second thought.

But in the later era, people no longer talked that way, and lines like that would only sound awkward to the ear.

"Thank you for your trust, leader." Yu Dazhang said, looking at the top leader.

Gratitude alone was enough; there was no need to make promises.

In the end, what mattered was the result, not who shouted the loudest slogan.

After the meeting adjourned.

Yu Dazhang had just stepped out of the conference room when Captain Hua grabbed his arm.

"The leader has something to say to you alone."

What could it possibly be? Yu Dazhang turned his head back, utterly baffled.

Sure enough, the top leader was still sitting in his original seat, unmoved.

After walking back, he stood beside the conference table, waiting for the leader's instructions.

This time the top leader didn't tell him to sit down again, but instead stood up and came over to him.

"A good drum needs no heavy mallet. I know your abilities—you won't let me down."

The top leader stared at him and said:

"Keep a relaxed mindset. Remember what I said today—in Province N, I can back you up on anything."

"Remember—on anything!"

"And I have only one demand..."

"Round up every last one of those animals!"

Big shot, that statement of yours is a bit extreme... Yu Dazhang was dumbfounded listening to it.

He never in his wildest dreams imagined such words would come from the mouth of a leader at this level.

Back me up on anything? The part Yu Dazhang understood least was precisely that line.

This was clearly the leader making a guarantee to him.

And as the condition, he was to bring the criminals to justice.

The fact that he even used profanity showed the leader wasn't treating him as an outsider.

Under Yu Dazhang's utterly bewildered expression, the top leader patted his shoulder, then turned and walked away without another word.

That bearing of his...

Felt oddly familiar.

Back in Province S, the top leader there had been pretty much the same way.

Did they come from the same training class?

Still, the top leader here had even more of that bearing, and spoke with even more commanding presence.

The fact that he dared to even offer to back people up showed this was someone who wasn't afraid of trouble.

The next morning.

Good news came from the pre-trial side—Zheng Ting had confessed.

Just as Yu Dazhang had deduced, she really was the manager of those hidden sentries.

And those hidden sentries were respectively employed at businesses and factories that didn't hire cheap labor.

Without her confession, there would have been no way to tell them apart.

There was one point that differed from Yu Dazhang's deduction: Zheng Ting was not Zhang Chao's mistress.

The two of them had a purely employment relationship—one paid the money, the other took the money and got things done.

The truly key figure in all this was Zhang Chao's wife; she was the one who had sponsored Zheng Ting through high school, and later put her through college as well.

It was precisely this kindness that made Zheng Ting willing to take risks and do their bidding.

Worth noting: several of the hidden sentries had come out of orphanages, and all of them had received sponsorship from Zhang Chao's wife.

Money makes things easy... After reading Zheng Ting's confession, Yu Dazhang couldn't help sighing inwardly.

When Zhang Chao picked people, he thought of his own relatives and friends.

By contrast, his wife had taken a completely different approach.

She didn't limit herself to her own social circle, but went straight to using money to cultivate her own trusted followers.

This method might seem crude and simple, but in fact it was highly efficient and saved both time and effort.

His wife had a unique eye for choosing people too—she had actually thought to scout candidates from orphanages.

These children had lacked family affection from a young age, so a little kindness was enough to make them deeply grateful.

Precisely because of that psychology, they were easier to control.

The operation was carried out approaching noon.

All ten industrial zones in Jianning were surrounded by police at the same moment, and every factory involved was brought under control.

Provincial bureau officers and local criminal police, acting on the information provided by Wang Hao, simultaneously moved to arrest those "feet" as well.

As the industrial zones were searched, those hidden sentries were also found and arrested to the last one.

It could be said that this operation went very smoothly, but Yu Dazhang did not relax in the slightest.

At this moment, he was in the interrogation room.

"What is Zhang Chao's wife's name?" he asked, looking at Zheng Ting across from him.

Because time was limited, the preliminary interrogator only asked for key information.

Yu Dazhang had come here to dig deeper into the leads on Zhang Chao's side.

"I don't know her full name," Zheng Ting replied:

"I have always called her Sister Yang."

She wasn't lying... Yu Dazhang already knew Zhang Chao's wife's name from Wang Hao.

Yang Jieru.

"How do you usually contact each other?" Yu Dazhang asked again.

"Usually by phone," Zheng Ting thought for a moment, then added:

"But they change phone numbers frequently. When I can't reach them, I go to Zhang Chao's mother's house to leave a message."

After the preliminary interrogator's ideological re-education, her awareness had clearly improved; she answered every question without hesitation, showing no sign of having been a stubborn element before.

Those conducting the preliminary interrogation were all experts in studying people.

Dealing with a college student like Zheng Ting, who had little experience of the world, was naturally well within their capabilities.

"Besides his mother's house, do you know any other places where Zhang Chao lives?"

When Yu Dazhang asked this question, he didn't hold out much hope.

Wang Hao also frequently went to Zhang Chao's mother's house, but he didn't know where Zhang Chao's own home was.

It seemed Zhang Chao treated his mother's place as a message relay station.

Ever since Wang Hao confessed, officers from the provincial department had been dispatched to Zhang Chao's mother's house to stake it out, but so far, no one has found him returning home.

"When I first graduated, I went to their house once."

Zheng Ting recalled while speaking:

"It was in Yuhu Community, Liancheng, Building 34, Unit 2..."

Stopping there, she paused, as if her memory was a bit hazy, causing her to get stuck for a moment.

After a while, she shook her head and continued:

"I remember it was the fourth floor, but I can't recall the specific unit number."

Upon hearing this, Yu Dazhang immediately asked:

"Are you sure?"

"That's correct," Zheng Ting answered affirmatively:

"Anything I can remember is definitely right."

She was quite confident in her memory... Yu Dazhang looked at her deeply:

"Why didn't you mention this information yesterday?"

"They didn't ask," Zheng Ting looked quite aggrieved:

"They just lectured me. By the time I started confessing, all they asked about were matters concerning the industrial zone and mentally disabled personnel, so I confessed entirely according to their line of thinking."

Hearing this, Yu Dazhang understood.

Matters are divided by priority and urgency; naturally, information concerning the industrial zone had to be understood first before the operation.

"Do you want some water?"

Yu Dazhang stood up, and his voice softened:

"I'll go get you a cup of hot water."

"Okay," Zheng Ting responded.

Before leaving the room, he made a hand gesture toward the camera inside the interrogation room.

Stepping outside, Yu Dazhang got water at the dispenser, and Qi Fang ran over to his side.

"Immediately arrange for officers to go to Liancheng."

Yu Dazhang ordered:

"Before going upstairs to search, cut off the network cables for the entire building first."

(End of this chapter)