Chapter 718

Are you speaking to me?

Yu Dazhang couldn’t help turning his head to look, and only after confirming the room held only the two of them did he ask:

“Does the Ministry of Public Security leadership know me?”

He had assumed the senior leader’s remark about “a reputation beyond the walls” was mere politeness.

He had indeed solved several cases, but not enough to be remembered by Ministry leadership.

After all, there was only one Ministry of Public Security nationwide.

There were countless investigative units like Hongkou Branch, and nationwide, there were nearly two million police officers, over a hundred thousand of them criminal investigators.

The numbers were simply too large—even if he was somewhat outstanding, nationally he was at best upper-middle tier.

This had always been Yu Dazhang’s self-assessment.

As for having a reputation beyond the walls, he thought maybe in Songhai, but only within Songhai.

“Judging by your expression, you think I’m joking with you?”

The senior leader’s tone carried a hint of displeasure:

“Do you think I’d joke about something like this?”

Yu Dazhang, unsettled by his gaze, immediately shook his head:

“No no, I just didn’t expect the Ministry of Public Security leadership would know who I am.”

The gap in rank still made Yu Dazhang feel insecure.

Although his police rank and administrative level had risen somewhat, his service time was still under a year—no matter how much he advanced, there were limits.

Many of his peers who joined the Criminal Investigation Unit at the same time hadn’t even been formally appointed yet, yet he was already a Third-Class Police Inspector and a full Section Chief.

This was even under restrictions placed on him.

Had standards been strictly applied, his rank could have been raised two more levels, and his administrative level could have reached Deputy Division Chief.

A Deputy Division Chief at age twenty-four…

Some might not grasp what that means.

Let me put it this way: many people spend their entire careers as mere clerks—a common phenomenon in the civil service system, especially in grassroots posts like policing.

For most, reaching Deputy Section Chief is already the ceiling; advancing to full Section Chief is extremely difficult.

Because full Section Chief positions are scarce.

Only after full Section Chief comes Deputy Division Chief.

Is that clearer now?

Don’t be fooled by his current rank of full Section Chief—that’s a height many will never reach in their lifetime.

And he achieved it in under a year.

What would people think if he were promoted to Deputy Division Chief?

When a tree stands tall above the forest, the wind will surely break it; sometimes holding back isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

“If they overlooked you, that would be dereliction of duty.”

The senior leader’s tone softened:

“In the past year, you’ve solved five special cases under your command—not even counting other homicide cases. You’ve received four First-Class Merit Awards personally, and I hear you haven’t even claimed them all yet.”

His gaze toward Yu Dazhang grew increasingly intense:

“I don’t know if there’s another young person like you in the country—in my memory, I truly can’t recall a second.”

Faced with such praise, Yu Dazhang didn’t know how to respond.

If I told him I’m currently a Captain, what would he think? He could almost picture the senior leader’s expression upon hearing that.

Oh, and I also have a doctorate—verifiable on the China Higher Education Student Information Network.

Now that he thought about it, cooperating with the State Security had its risks, but the returns were substantial.

They always delivered unusual rewards.

“Do you know why no task force was sent down?”

As the senior leader asked, he pulled out a cigarette and placed it between his lips. Yu Dazhang moved to light it, but the man waved him off:

“Stop learning useless gestures—I’m asking you a question.”

Since you’re asking like this, it must be related to me… Yu Dazhang wore a puzzled expression:

“I don’t know.”

See but don’t speak—this wasn’t the time to show off cleverness.

A good supporting player must first learn to play dumb, leaving the punchline to the leader; don’t steal the spotlight by answering before the leader even speaks—that’s called “digging up the joke.”

In his past life, Yu Dazhang never fully grasped many things, which is why his career path was always bumpy.

It wasn’t about kissing up or flattery, but he still needed to understand basic social graces.