Chapter 967: Taking the Lead

When Old Piao asked for Jiang Yuan for the second time, Xu Xu Zhaoxiang, the police officer responsible for the interrogation, didn't try to dissuade him. Instead, he immediately called the special task force and asked for Jiang Yuan directly.

Discipline-based forces place the highest importance on the hierarchy between superiors and subordinates, but when encountering a case that far exceeds the usual scale, veteran criminal investigators often aren't quite so... rigid.

Old Piao was afraid of death, and veteran criminal investigators were also afraid of things going wrong. Reporting layer by layer was certainly safe, but the probability of a leak was also extremely high.

Old Piao had the ability to send the boss of the listed company, Danda Group, to prison, provided he knew how to preserve the evidence.

But honestly, such a judgment and such a decision were discovered by Xu Xu Zhaoxiang and the others in a very short time; whether they could achieve a breakthrough was also uncertain.

Xu Xu Zhaoxiang was filled with anticipation, but when he discovered that Old Piao really had "goods," and they might even be "big goods," Xu Xu Zhaoxiang panicked for ten seconds.

Fortunately, Jiang Yuan answered his call.

Xu Xu Zhaoxiang couldn't go into details, so he could only say, "God Jiang, I have a suspect here who wants to see you. I think it's quite necessary. Is it convenient for you to come over now?"

If it weren't particularly important, he wouldn't have added that last sentence.

However, Xu Xu Zhaoxiang not only understood the principle that "long nights bring many dreams," but he had also experienced it before.

Especially with people like the heads of listed companies, whose information and relationship networks are denser than a spider's web. Out of respect and fear of power, one might assume such companies usually operate in compliance and are moral models, but one can't account for certain bad actors—for instance, a key person in an important position, like a security guard. If they were to be momentarily blinded by greed or confusion and pass the information out, the case could face variables.

Jiang Yuan brought a few people and hurried downstairs.

In the past two or three years, he had handled more major and serious cases than most criminal investigators did in a lifetime. He was also well aware of many of the intricacies within such cases.

Xu Xu Zhaoxiang was a criminal investigator from the Zheng-Guang Bureau. A police officer of the main bureau, with over ten years on the job, who had participated in many major cases and had a good reputation—the type of officer seen as capable in the eyes of leadership. This kind of officer would absolutely not waste Jiang Yuan's time for no reason. Given the current situation, even Tao Zhi would be embarrassed to make a slightly excessive request.

Xu Xu Zhaoxiang sat in the interrogation room, not coming out to greet Jiang Yuan, just staring at Old Piao, worried about other problems arising.

The shrewd Old Piao quickly understood the situation, silently lowering his head, his mood appearing slightly low.

Even if he turned in his boss, he wouldn't have a good outcome; a suspended death sentence was probably the best ending. The problem was, if he didn't turn in his boss, he was afraid his boss would kill him.

In fact, Old Piao wasn't very sure if Jiang Yuan could save his life.

*Click. *

In the silent interrogation room, the sound of the door opening was extremely faint, yet to Old Piao's ears, it felt like the opening of the gates of hell.

For Jiang Yuan and the others entering the room, this was a slightly exhausting and important workday; for Old Piao, it was the turning point of his fate.

Xu Xu Zhaoxiang was thoroughly relieved. He first stood next to Jiang Yuan, introduced the situation in a low voice, and then retreated to the side.

Now, the power of decision had shifted, and naturally, the responsibility had shifted as well.

Contrary to Xu Xu Zhaoxiang's expression, Jiang Yuan's eyes lit up after hearing the introduction.

As the saying goes, every generation has its own tasks, and police officers at every level have their own tasks.

When Xu Xu Zhaoxiang discovered he had to face a listed company, he felt fear in his heart, while Jiang Yuan was filled with anticipation.

There were only a few thousand listed companies in the whole country; without a bit of luck, where would ordinary police officers get the chance to arrest them?

"I am Jiang Yuan. Park Li, is it?" Jiang Yuan sat down in the interrogation position.

Old Piao nodded solemnly and carefully sized up Jiang Yuan.

He recognized Jiang Yuan, having seen him in public media reports, but Old Piao still said, "God Jiang, can I see your credentials?"

Jiang Yuan showed them to him.

Only then did Old Piao breathe a sigh of relief. Looking left and right, he didn't beat around the bush anymore and said, "My boss is the chairman of Danda, Lü Huang Qiang. If you want to arrest him, I can help. But I want a sentence reduction, extra protection, and besides, I want to choose my prison."

Prison conditions vary greatly between different cities. In short, committing crimes in developed and open cities makes it easier to enjoy the benefits and concepts of big cities; if one is put into a prison in the middle of nowhere, where the prison guards and other units are barely scraping by, then don't expect the prisoners to reform well.

It was precisely because Old Piao was a frequent resident of prisons that he knew how important choosing a prison was.

The fake "rigid demand" for real estate: 996 during the day, sleeping at home at night, and not even having time to eat breakfast at home the next day before rushing to the company. Always paying attention to housing prices, never caring about rent.

The real "rigid demand" for real estate: living in the house 24 hours a day, needing the support of the residential complex's facilities for three meals a day and outdoor time, buying once and holding long-term. No rent, no property management fees.

Jiang Yuan nodded in agreement and said, "If you can turn in the chairman of Danda, all the requests you mentioned can be met."

"I want some guarantees," Old Piao said.

"Let's talk first. If it's true, I can invite a prosecutor over," Jiang Yuan said very easily, mainly because he was certain Old Piao couldn't escape anyway.

The evidence to convict Piao Li was something Jiang Yuan had sifted out over the past two days; Piao Li belonged to one of the "big fish" Jiang Yuan had caught.

With sufficient objective physical evidence, it's very difficult to overturn a case in the domestic judicial system. Jiang Yuan wasn't afraid of Piao Li hearing anything from him and subsequently getting a sentence reduction or even acquittal.

Piao Li smiled reluctantly and explained, "Danda is a company that started with demolition. The chairman... Chairman Lü Huang Qiang looks refined, but his personality is very aggressive. To use current parlance, he has many 'shady operations.' For example, right now, I'm worried that if I confess here, you or the responsible police officer might suddenly be transferred..."

Jiang Yuan couldn't help but feel a stir in his heart upon hearing this: "Your way of putting it is very interesting. It doesn't sound like something you imagined. Have similar cases appeared before?"

"I've heard of them. We aren't allowed to know about these kinds of cases. At least, I don't have the qualifications to come into contact with them," Piao Li didn't dare to spout nonsense.

"If you're worried about this situation, I suggest we speed up the interrogation and not delay for too long. To be honest, if my superiors really want to transfer me somewhere, I can't refuse." Jiang Yuan looked at his watch and said, "So, I hope you can cooperate well. Let's trust each other and strive to confirm one or two major cases within an hour or two. In that case, it won't be a problem for us to arrest Lü Huang Qiang directly."

"Then are you willing?" Piao Li was already over 50; he wasn't someone who could be persuaded by a sentence or two. He continued to press: "Jiang Yuan from Ningtai is taking action, surely you want to wipe out Lü Huang Qiang's gang in one go, right? If you only arrest Lü Huang Qiang, will you be satisfied?"

This got to the crux of the problem. Arresting Lü Huang Qiang alone might be enough with Piao Li's confession, but what about arresting the whole gang? Laying the groundwork for a year or a year and a half is quite normal.

Jiang Yuan pondered slightly and said, "Let me put it this way: I don't need to pursue a total wipeout from you. Of course, subsequently, I will definitely find a way to clear them out. However, considering Lü Huang Qiang's status, I am more willing to cut the Gordian knot. As long as you can turn in Lü Huang Qiang and his few main subordinates, and additionally, turn in as many people as possible—I'll give you a number: over twenty people. If we can't wipe them out, that's on me."

"The people working for Lü Huang Qiang aren't just a few dozen. And, as far as I know, most of them are involved in economic crimes—'white-collar crimes,' as they're called now. Investigating these takes a lot of time..." Piao Li was no longer a naive rabbit; he had many questions.

Jiang Yuan nodded and said, "Then let's first arrest those with criminal cases. Once we arrest the criminals, we'll interrogate them about their economic cases."

"This... alright." Compared to economic cases, criminal cases were indeed much simpler.

"Let's talk about Lü Huang Qiang first."

"Lü Huang Qiang..." Piao Li gritted his teeth and said, "He ordered me to kill three people."

The few people sitting in the interrogation positions all had their expressions tighten.

Jiang Yuan said, "Tell us one by one. Which three people?"

"The case from 18 years ago. That shop owner on the ground floor was the first one." Piao Li pursed his lips and said, "You already know the reason. Lü Huang Qiang knew a subway station was going to be built there, so he wanted to rent all the ground-floor shops. The shop owner knew Lü Huang Qiang's background wasn't clean, so even if he offered a higher rent, he wouldn't agree. Later, I stabbed him to death, and only then did Lü Huang Qiang rent the shop from the shop owner's son..."

Piao Li also mentioned some details, especially the content of the discussions between the two parties, as proof.

Jiang Yuan listened, and without waiting for him to finish completely, he stood up and said, "I'm going to make a call."

When he returned, Piao Li asked expectantly, "Is the prosecutor coming?"

"Prosecutor? Oh... they're coming." Jiang Yuan replied, then added, "I called the ministry. In a while, people from the ministry will come over to ask you some questions; just tell the truth. By then, the special task force targeting Danda Group will be led by the ministry." ===== CHAPTER 968 =====