Chapter 367: What Is My Life Worth?

Tang Ye's sixth sense had always been sharp.

Although Nie Kai's wording was extremely polite when speaking with him, one could always faintly detect a hint of rejection and disgust in the details between the lines.

Nie Kai had a very close personal friendship with Wang Xingjian, and as a cadre highly valued by Xiao Jingyu back in the day, he had served as the director of the management committee for the Industrial Park in his early years, subsequently rising through the ranks, being promoted from management committee director to the County Government, and finally ascending to the position of Executive Deputy County Magistrate.

It is worth noting that Chen Jiadong had once served as a Liaison Officer for Nie Kai.

Therefore, after the incident of Chen Jiadong killing his wife was exposed, rumors flew outside, and many speculated that he had been forced onto this path of no return by pressure from Nie Kai.

Even more intriguing is that Nie Kai and the former Public Security Bureau Chief Chen Bo were actually sworn brothers.

When Chen Bo was under investigation, Nie Kai secretly used various connections, sparing no effort to run around and lobby on his behalf.

Tang Ye used the opportunity of submitting an application report to try to make contact with Nie Kai, so as to gain a deep understanding of his personality traits.

However, to his great surprise, Nie Kai was a master of emotional management, and his level of cunning far exceeded expectations.

This also meant that during the turmoil where Wang Xingjian, Cao Zhengchun, and others fell one after another, he never revealed any flaws.

To a certain extent, Nie Kai could even be regarded as a cold-blooded person.

Taking Chen Jiadong as an example, when he had a domestic dispute with his wife and his wife threatened to make a scene at his workplace, Chen Jiadong was quickly abandoned by Nie Kai, just like a discarded chess piece...

Not long after Tang Ye returned to his office, Wan Ming knocked on the door.

Tang Ye poured a glass of water for Wan Ming, who took a light sip and lowered his voice: "There's progress in the interrogation. We've figured out the background of those three people—they are connected to Xu Zongchao, who fled to avoid punishment. This kid is hiding quite discreetly now, but his methods haven't been idle."

Tang Ye raised an eyebrow with a half-smile: "I'm a bit curious, how much is my life worth?"

Wan Ming held up two fingers and shook them: "Two million."

Tang Ye sighed inwardly, but his face still carried a hint of banter: "I didn't expect my life to be quite so 'valuable.' This group has committed quite a few crimes, haven't they?"

A flash of relief crossed Wan Ming's eyes: "One of them is a nationally wanted criminal who escaped from prison, and the other two are his cellmates. They had originally planned an escape route, but unfortunately, we got the news in advance and set a trap. Honestly, it's lucky your skills were solid; if it had been an ordinary person, I'm afraid they wouldn't have been able to dodge that fatal knife."

Tang Ye shook his head with a light laugh: "Coincidentally, I am not an ordinary person."

Changing the subject, his expression turned serious: "Although Mingsheng Group has already been taken over by other capital, Xu Zongchao used it as a shell company during that period, swallowing up a large amount of state-owned assets almost everywhere he could. The matter of hunting him down cannot tolerate the slightest slack."

Wan Ming's eyes turned suddenly heavy: "If he keeps cowering and hiding, it might be difficult; but since he still dares to show his face, there will always be a chance to catch him."

After work, just as Tang Ye returned to his residence, his mobile phone rang with a call from Du Xi.

The voice of his wife, full of worry, came through the receiver: "I heard from Dad that you were injured. How serious is it exactly?"

Tang Ye gave a light laugh, his tone relaxed: "Just a bit of scraped skin. If I had really hurt my bones or tendons, the Organization Department would have already called you."

Du Xi sighed: "Is it really that dangerous over there in Suiyuan? Other people work as officials, drinking tea and reading newspapers to get through the day, but the official work you do is more dangerous than my job as a Police officer."

"It's not as mysterious as you think," Tang Ye soothed her gently.

"Don't lie to me!" Du Xi snorted lightly, "I asked my colleagues at the County Public Security Bureau. Those three people are all ruthless characters who don't care about their lives, and one of them is even a nationally wanted criminal with several lives on his hands."

"Your husband here is protected by the heavens; the principle that evil never triumphs over good always holds true—don't worry, I won't let you become a widow," Tang Ye joked.

"What time is it, and you're still cracking jokes!" Du Xi spat, but her tone softened, "I was worried to death."

Tang Ye put away his smile and said seriously: "Before coming to Suiyuan, I had already prepared myself mentally. Since I want to get things done, I have to take some risks. Don't think of me as too fragile—actually, I had anticipated today's incident long ago, communicated with Wan Ming in advance, and set the trap, otherwise how could we have caught them all in one net? How can you catch tiger cubs without entering the tiger's den? If we hadn't lured these three out, we wouldn't have been able to figure out the opponent's trump cards; now, we can consider it forcing them to reveal their hidden cards."

There was silence on the receiver for a few seconds, then Du Xi's gentle instructions came through: "Take care of yourself."

"You too, take care of yourself," Tang Ye chuckled, his voice wrapped in warm concern.

After hanging up Du Xi's call, the doorbell rang suddenly.

Tang Ye walked to the door and opened it, only to see Cheng Lin standing at the entrance holding a black plastic bag.

"Sister, why did you come suddenly?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

A hint of playfulness flashed in Cheng Lin's eyes: "What, not welcome? Could it be that you're hiding a beauty in the room?"

Tang Ye laughed dumbly: "I'll go change into long pants first!"

Although there was nothing wrong with wearing loungewear shorts, he always felt it wasn't formal enough in front of Cheng Lin.

Cheng Lin reached out and tugged at his T-shirt sleeve: "Don't bother, it's not a formal occasion. I came to bring you medicine; if you keep dawdling, I might just turn around and leave."

"Since Secretary Cheng doesn't care about these empty formalities, then I won't be polite." Tang Ye smiled and took the plastic bag from her hand. Upon opening it, he saw not only medicine for external injuries but also cephalosporin, cold granules, and other common medications.

"In the future, just speak up if you're missing anything. I keep plenty of common medicine at home, so you don't have to run to the pharmacy." Cheng Lin's gaze fell on his arm—although the wound had already scabbed over and was not deep, the shape, winding like an earthworm, was still shocking.

"Thanks, Sister. I won't stand on ceremony with you." Tang Ye suddenly remembered the matter of inviting Gao Ping to dinner: "By the way, Sister, are you free on Tuesday? I want to invite Director Gao of the Municipal Finance Bureau to dinner. If it's convenient for you, could you accompany me? With you there, I'll feel more confident."

Cheng Lin laughed out loud: "So many people want to climb onto the 'money bag' of the Municipal Finance Bureau; even if I didn't have time, I'd have to squeeze some out. I'll arrange this meal and send you a message once the location is set."

"That couldn't be better." Tang Ye's brows relaxed, his smile carrying a hint of relief.

Cheng Lin was still the gentle and considerate female superior from his memories, her words and actions always carrying a reassuring sense of propriety.

Watching Tang Ye's focused expression as he tidied the medicine bag, a familiar warmth suddenly welled up in Cheng Lin's heart.

The man before her was still the same as before, accustomed to planning all matters clearly, forever a reliable partner worthy of trust.

Only, at this moment, she suddenly realized that Tang Ye was no longer the solitary young professional he had been back then.

A wedding ring was already on his ring finger, and as his female superior, she needed to maintain the proper boundaries in their interactions even more.

This clarity made her get up and take her leave shortly after.