Chapter 361: We Are Different

"Xiao Ye, what should we do about this?"

"No way, Peng Ge, who did you even recruit back then? Let loose the dogs? Is that really funny?"

Li Ye was woken up early by Jin Peng, who told him that Mu Weimin had set dogs on someone—leaving Li Ye completely baffled.

"I just—"

Jin Peng looked at Li Ye, unsure what his junior meant, so he explained from the side: "You know the situation in Guangzhou back then—Mu Weimin and the others had no livelihoods, that's why they came down with us!"

Jin Peng's meaning was clear: back then, all the decent folks with clean backgrounds were working at their units; Mu Weimin and his crew were all troublemakers—surely you, Li Ye, knew that?

Even Jin Peng himself was a neighborhood boss, and Hao Jian was a speculator through and through.

Later, it was only thanks to Li Ye repeatedly stressing discipline and quality that, except for the disobedient San Shui, these stubborn misfits slowly straightened out.

But you expect them to reach the level of intellectuals who won't fight back or retaliate when insulted? That could take forever! Don't set your expectations too high.

Jin Peng sighed and said gravely: "This time, Mu Weimin's incident with San Shui is different—look here—"

Li Ye said coldly: "Don't worry—if they really dare to arrest Hao Jian and the others, we'll take this case public until everyone knows it, and see whose face looks more disgusting."

But now, this young man had ruthlessly exposed the emperor's new clothes.

After his status improved, Cao Yuanmao developed a natural sense of superiority over mainlanders; after arriving in Pengcheng, people around him indeed treated him with respect and admiration.

"But at 8: 5 p. . that evening, all the suspects Cao mentioned were not at the scene, and at least three fully compliant alibi witnesses existed."

The veteran coughed twice and tugged at his apprentice's sleeve, trying to ease the invisible standoff.

Li Ye didn't hesitate: "Mu Weimin started from rock bottom; now everyone's going abroad for study tours—we need to keep up with the times—"

Send Mu Weimin to Southeast Asia to learn firsthand international management practices, and tell him plainly: your work was sloppy; next time, shape up.

"So now we hope Mr. Cao can think again—is there any other important lead?"

""

Drenched in antiseptic smell, Cao Yuanmao was yelling at two officers.

In the special care ward of the First Friendship Hospital in Pengcheng.

Hao Jian: ""

"If every clue must come from the victim, what's the point of having you?"

Jin Peng hesitated and said: "Won't this look like 'hiding silver under the ground'? After all, that engineer holds a Lighthouse passport—losing a bicycle is a major case."

"But they didn't catch anyone!" Li Ye snapped. "There are plenty of dogs in Pengcheng—who knows which one bit him? That engineer hasn't been human for a long time—why are you so worked up for him?"

Jin Peng was confused, blinking at Li Ye: Did I get worked up for that engineer?

The older officer patiently explained word by word: "We're truly sorry, Mr. Cao. According to Chen Juming's testimony and phone records, you were bitten between 8: 0 and 8: 0 p. ."

The two officers, one old and one young, were clearly a master and his apprentice.

Cao Yuanmao gritted his teeth: "Don't think I don't understand mainland procedures—you're clearly protecting Hao Jian!"

The two stared at each other for a long time, neither gaining the upper hand.

Cao Yuanmao assumed that now that he held a Lighthouse passport, no one would ever mention "Cao Zhizhi" again—it was a name from many years ago.

""

Hmm, true—Li Ye is the kind of guy who can kick a dog to death and shake the whole Qingshui City… Could he really be a good person? He's lucky if he's not a bad one.

"What do you mean 'no evidence'? Did you arrest anyone? Did you interrogate them? Hao Jian is 100% the culprit—now you tell me he's innocent? Is this how you protect investors' safety?"

Shouldn't I be the one looking down on him? A guy earning a few dozen yuan a month—how dare he look down on an elite earning tens of thousands a year?

"Cough, cough~"

But Li Ye's words relieved Jin Peng—he'd truly feared Li Ye would make Mu Weimin turn himself in!

"Big-Justice-Over-kin" sounds so virtuous—but who knows the emotional toll on the righteous enforcer?

Cao Yuanmao gritted his teeth and said lowly: "I'm Cao Yuanmao now, not Cao Zhizhi—I expect you to respect my identity."

""

""

"Xiao Ye, even though we didn't catch anyone, Cao Yuanmao insists it was one of our people—how should we handle this?"

""

The young man answered without hesitation: "Of course we'll treat your identity properly—are you going to speak English to us?"

The older officer frowned, about to explain further, but the apprentice couldn't hold back.

"Alright, I'll arrange it right away, but—"

If it were anyone else, we'd tie them to a tree and starve them for two days—no evidence needed to solve the case—I'll give you three more days; after that, you'll bear the consequences."

"Speaking English won't help—I don't know English, go ahead and talk to yourself."

But why did that kid's gaze carry a tone of contempt?

What does "shape up next time" mean? Is there really going to be a next time?

Wait, now that I think about it… Xiao Ye, you're no good guy either, are you?

…………………………

"What 'hiding silver under the ground'? This is about procedure and evidence—he really thinks changing his passport makes everyone believe he's a real Lighthouse citizen?"

Cao Yuanmao was left speechless by the young man's remark, glaring at him with venom.

"Mr. Cao Zhizhi, do we need your advice on how to solve this case? Were you just threatening us?"

The young man reluctantly shifted his gaze, letting it fall on Cao Yuanmao.

Then, Cao Yuanmao's face twisted.

Because the young man was staring at the spot—Cao Yuanmao's wounds.

It was dark that night; several dogs suddenly lunged, knocking him down and leaving five or six wounds on his body.

Those wounds were now covered in white antiseptic gauze, like patched-up holes on a broken doll, pitifully so.

The senior officer quickly said: "Mr. Cao, please don't speculate about our investigative methods or misunderstand our attitude—today's session ends here! We'll return and work through the night."

"Hey hey, you're leaving already? You haven't even given me a deadline!"

Despite Cao Yuanmao's desperate protests, the veteran led his apprentice away.

Outside the special care ward, the veteran said: "Xiao Zhang, why are you arguing with him? You've been working for half a year—still so hot-headed?"

The apprentice, Xiao Zhang, protested: "Master, it's not that I'm hot-headed—just look at his arrogance just now—he wanted us to tie Boss Hao to a tree and torture him!"

"Who does he think he is? Why not just shoot Boss Hao right away? He's exactly right—this dog traitor thinks we're still in 1949? This is Pengcheng, not Hankou!"

Xiao Zhang grew angrier, yanking off his cap and declaring: "Next time I'm not going in—Master, you go in and charm him yourself! I'm afraid I'll punch him."

"Next time? This is the last time—there won't be a next time."

""

Seeing his apprentice didn't understand, the veteran whispered: "Do you know why the bureau assigned us two to handle this case?"

Xiao Zhang frowned: "Isn't it because you're the famous 'Eagle-Eyed Detective'?"

"Eagle eyes must be used wisely," the veteran chuckled. "You're a fresh graduate who knows nothing, and I'm a lifelong mid-level clerk who never got promoted—you think the higher-ups expect us to solve this case?"

""

"It's just a minor dog-bite case. The higher-ups aren't rushing—why should we? Don't worry, the bonus is guaranteed."

""

……………………

After the two officers left, Cao Yuanmao fumed for a long time—uselessly.

Finally, he dragged himself out to make a phone call.

He first dialed Dongshan, looking for Chen Juming.

"Juming, it's me—I need your help."

After a long silence, Chen Juming replied: "Brother Cao, fabricating testimony is illegal—I genuinely didn't hear any other voices that night."

In fact, the day after the incident, Cao Yuanmao had approached Chen Juming to collude, asking her to testify to their department that she'd heard the suspect mention Boss Hao's name over the phone.

But even if Chen Juming had guts, she wouldn't frame Hao Jian, a well-known figure in Pengcheng, especially without any real benefit.

"Juming, why are you so rigid? Don't you understand what I mean? If you keep being so stubborn and reserved, you'll never get a Lighthouse passport like me."

""

"Brother Cao, I do want a Lighthouse passport—but I'm a person with principles."

Chen Juming still refused Cao Yuanmao's "favor."

But Cao Yuanmao's next words made her hesitate.

"Juming, if you help me this time, I can get you a Lighthouse green card—I promise."

""

"I… I'll think about it."

Chen Juming knew well that Cao Yuanmao's way of helping her get a Lighthouse passport was to marry him.

But thinking of Cao Yuanmao's appearance, she found it hard to sacrifice herself.

……………………

Cao Yuanmao's call was hung up by Chen Juming.

He was furious—because all of this stemmed from Chen Juming.

Cao Yuanmao had gotten into trouble with Pengcheng Red Bull because of Chen Juming—and now she was dragging her feet?

"Hmph, short-sighted woman, still stalling? Don't you understand that opportunity knocks but once?"

As he cursed inwardly, Cao Yuanmao dialed the Pengcheng Pepsi representative.

"Jamie, I need you to apply pressure on Pengcheng—otherwise they won't take my case seriously. This concerns our company's dignity and face."

But Jamie on the other end of the line said, "Cao, Vain flew in from headquarters yesterday—he inspected the production line and said no repair was needed at all. How on earth did you decide it needed fixing?"

Cao Yuanmao froze, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

He wasn't afraid of explaining the production line issues to Jamie—he was afraid of Vain. Why had Vain rushed all the way from headquarters to Pengcheng?

Before Cao Yuanmao could explain to Jamie, the voice on the other end said, "Cao, focus on resting and recovering. Once you're well, return to headquarters."

"Jamie, you can't do this!"

Cao Yuanmao cried out in panic, "Jamie, you know me—I've done everything for the company. I work twelve hours a day!"

"Cao, I admire your work ethic, but you should understand: we assigned you as technical lead in Pengcheng because you communicate better with the mainland workers."

"But now it seems you're worse than even our Lighthouse people—you make me feel you're always hostile toward your own kind?"

「」

Cao Yuanmao stood stunned for a long time, then asked bitterly, "Jamie, what do you mean by 'your Lighthouse people'? Am I not one of them?"

「」

Jamie fell silent for several seconds, then said gravely, "Cao, you're an adult—you know we're different."