Chapter 968: Taking the Lead

Lao Pu asked for Jiang Yuan for the second time; the officer in charge of interrogation, Xu Zhaoxiang, didn’t try to dissuade him—he immediately called the special task force and reached Jiang Yuan directly.

Disciplinary units value hierarchy most, but when facing cases far beyond normal scale, veteran detectives often aren’t so… rigid.

Lao Pu fears death, and veteran detectives fear mishaps. Layered reporting is safe, but the risk of leaks is also very high.

Lao Pu had the ability to send the CEO of the listed company, Denda Group, to prison—if he knew how to preserve evidence.

But frankly, this judgment and decision were made by Xu Zhaoxiang and others in a very short time, and whether they could achieve a breakthrough remained uncertain.

Xu Zhaoxiang harbored hope inside, but when he realized Lao Pu truly had something—and possibly something big—he froze for ten seconds.

Fortunately, Jiang Yuan answered his call.

Xu Zhaoxiang couldn’t reveal details, only said: “Jiang Shen, I have a suspect here who wants to meet you—I think it’s necessary. Are you available to come right now?”

He wouldn’t have added that last line unless it was especially important.

But Xu Zhaoxiang understood the saying “the longer you wait, the more trouble arises”—and he’d experienced it before.

Especially people like listed company CEOs—whose information and connection networks are denser than spiderwebs—out of respect and fear of power, we might assume such companies operate legally and serve as moral exemplars, but some bad people, say, a key person in a critical position like a security guard, might, if driven mad by greed or in a moment of folly, leak the information, and the case could take a turn.

Jiang Yuan hurried downstairs with a few others.

In the past two or three years, he’d handled more major cases than most detectives do in their entire careers; he understood the crucial points of cases intimately.

Xu Zhaoxiang was a detective from the Zhengguang Bureau. A veteran officer with over ten years’ service, involved in multiple major cases, well-regarded—exactly the type of officer leaders call “capable.” Such officers would never waste Jiang Yuan’s time on trivial matters. Even now, under these circumstances, Tao Zhi wouldn’t dare make even a slightly excessive request.

Xu Zhaoxiang sat inside the interrogation room, didn’t come out to greet Jiang Yuan, just stared at Lao Pu, worried something else might go wrong.

Sharp-witted Lao Pu quickly understood the situation, lowered his head silently, his mood slightly downcast.

Even if he implicated his boss, he wouldn’t get a good outcome—maybe a suspended death sentence would be the best he could hope for. But if he didn’t implicate his boss, he feared his boss would kill him.

In truth, Lao Pu wasn’t even sure Jiang Yuan could protect his life.

Click.

In the silent interrogation room, the sound of the door opening was faint, but to Lao Pu, it sounded like the gates of hell opening.

For Jiang Yuan and the others entering, this was a tiring but significant workday; for Lao Pu, it was the turning point of his fate.

Xu Zhaoxiang finally exhaled in relief, stepped close to Jiang Yuan, whispered the details, then stepped aside.

Now, the authority had shifted—and so had the responsibility.

In contrast to Xu Zhaoxiang’s demeanor, Jiang Yuan’s eyes brightened upon hearing the summary.

As the saying goes, each generation has its own mission; each rank of police officer has their own duty.

When Xu Zhaoxiang faced a listed company, fear filled him; Jiang Yuan felt anticipation.

There are only a few thousand listed companies nationwide; without a stroke of luck, ordinary police officers never get a chance to catch them.

“I’m Jiang Yuan. You’re Pu Li, right?” Jiang Yuan sat down at the interrogation table.

Lao Pu nodded solemnly and studied Jiang Yuan carefully.

He recognized Jiang Yuan from public media reports, but still asked: “Jiang Shen, could I see your credentials?”

Jiang Yuan showed them to him.

Only then did Lao Pu relax, glanced around, and without further delay, said: “My boss is Lü Qiang, chairman of Denda Group. If you want to arrest him, I can help. But I need sentence reduction, extra protection, and I want to choose my prison.”

Prison conditions vary drastically between cities. In short, if you commit crimes in developed, open cities, you’re more likely to enjoy urban benefits and modern attitudes; if sent to remote prisons, even the guards barely survive—don’t expect inmates to behave well.

Only someone like Lao Pu, who’s spent so much time in prison, knows how vital choosing the right prison is.

False housing demand: Work 996 during the day, go home to sleep at night, have no time even for breakfast the next morning, rush straight to the company. Always watch housing prices, never care about rent.

Real housing demand: Live in the apartment 24/7, rely on community facilities for all three meals and outdoor time, buy once and hold long-term, no rent, no property fees.

Jiang Yuan nodded and said: “If you can expose Denda’s chairman, all your demands will be met.”

“I want some guarantee,” Lao Pu said.

“Let’s talk first. If what you say is true, I can bring a prosecutor over,” Jiang Yuan said casually—he was certain Lao Pu couldn’t escape.

The evidence to convict Pu Li had already been sifted out by Jiang Yuan over the past two days; Pu Li was one of the big fish Jiang Yuan had caught.

With sufficient objective evidence, China’s judicial system is extremely hard to overturn. Jiang Yuan wasn’t afraid Lao Pu would learn something from him and use it to reduce his sentence—or even escape guilt.

Lao Pu forced a smile and explained: “Denda started with land requisition. The chairman… Lü Qiang looks refined, but he’s domineering—by today’s standards, he pulls a lot of shady moves. Right now, I’m worried that once I confess, you or the officer in charge might suddenly be transferred…”

Jiang Yuan’s heart stirred: “That’s an interesting point—not something you just imagined. Have similar cases happened before?”

“I’ve heard of them, but we’re never told about such cases. At least, I had no access,” Pu Li didn’t dare speak recklessly.

“If you’re worried about this, I suggest we speed up the interrogation—don’t delay too long. Honestly, if superiors really want to transfer me somewhere, I can’t refuse,” Jiang Yuan glanced at his watch and said: “So I hope you’ll cooperate fully, we’ll trust each other, and aim to confirm one or two major cases within one or two hours—then we can arrest Lü Qiang without issue.”

“Will you do that?” Pu Li was over fifty—not easily swayed by a few words. He pressed: “If Jiang Yuan from Ningtai shows up, you clearly want to wipe out Lü Qiang’s entire gang, right? Just arresting Lü Qiang alone—would that satisfy you?”

This hit the core issue. Arresting just Lü Qiang might be enough with Pu Li’s testimony; but arresting the whole gang? Planning for a year or half a year is normal.

Jiang Yuan paused briefly, then said: “Let me put it this way: I don’t need you to deliver a complete takedown. Of course, later, I’ll find ways to clean them all up—but given Lü Qiang’s status, I’d prefer to cut through the chaos swiftly. If you can expose Lü Qiang and his key subordinates, and as many others as possible—I’ll give you a number: over twenty people. If we can’t get them all, that’s on me.”

“The people working for Lü Qiang aren’t just dozens. And from what I know, most of them are involved in economic crimes—now called white-collar crime—which takes a long time to investigate…” Pu Li wasn’t a novice—he had many questions.

Jiang Yuan nodded: “Then let’s start by arresting those with criminal cases first. Once we’ve arrested the criminals, we’ll interrogate them on economic crimes.”

“That… alright.” Compared to economic crimes, criminal cases were indeed much simpler.

“Start with Lü Qiang.”

“Lü Qiang…” Pu Li gritted his teeth: “He ordered me to kill three people.”

The officers seated at the interrogation table stiffened.

Jiang Yuan said: “Tell them one by one. Who were the three?”

“The first was the owner of a ground-floor shop eighteen years ago,” Pu Li gestured: “You already know the reason—Lü Qiang learned a subway station was planned there and wanted to lease all the ground-floor shops. The shop owner knew Lü Qiang’s background was dirty and refused even at higher rent. Later, I stabbed him to death, and only then did Lü Qiang lease the shop from the owner’s son…”

Pu Li added more details, especially the content of their negotiations, to substantiate his claims.

Jiang Yuan listened, then rose before he finished: “I’ll make a call.”

When he returned, Pu Li asked hopefully: “Will the prosecutor come?”

“Prosecutor? Oh… yes, he will,” Jiang Yuan replied, then added: “I just called the ministry. Someone from the ministry will come to ask you questions soon—just tell the truth. The special task force targeting Denda Group will be led by the ministry.”