Chapter 153: Interview at the Detention Center

Both sides were in a standoff. Such scum was not worth keeping alive in Liu Yunfei's eyes, but committing murder inside a police station was inappropriate. It would be best to knock them out and throw them into the jade slip; besides, he hadn't used that CIA-exclusive aerosol spray in quite a while.

Meanwhile, the two police officers were calculating in their hearts whether it would be too early to open fire right now. It would be best to wait until he tore the iron bars apart, claiming that their personal safety was under direct threat. That way, those annoying police internal affairs inspectors wouldn't be able to find any fault later.

Amidst this standoff, Liu Yunfei heard the patter of hurried footsteps drawing closer from outside. Soon, the door to the interrogation room was forcefully pushed open with a loud bang. Having already recognized the footsteps before Zhu Zhicheng even entered, Liu Yunfei had already slipped back onto the iron stool.

Closely following behind Zhu Zhicheng were several police officers. These officers wore distinctly different uniforms—solemn in demeanor, impeccably dressed, wearing anti-riot helmets circled in white, pure white gloves on their hands, and bearing the insignia of the police internal affairs inspection, a symbol dreaded by all ordinary cops.

Zhu Zhicheng had only just received the news and rushed over. On the way, realizing that he was merely the chief of another police station and it was inconvenient for him to interfere in matters of a peer institution, he had hurriedly called his veteran subordinate, Li Deyong, instructing him to bring the internal affairs inspectors along immediately. Since the internal affairs department's sole jurisdiction was policing police misconduct and disciplinary violations, wasn't it completely normal and convenient for them to drop by for an inspection?

Leading his men into the Zhongyang Road Police Station, Zhu Zhicheng had been inwardly startled upon hearing that Liu Yunfei was taken to the detention cell. He had long heard rumors about this holding room, which was said to be a one-way street much like the gas chambers in Nazi concentration camps. He couldn't fathom how Liu Yunfei had managed to offend the local station chief, and his thoughts inevitably drifted: could they be using this opportunity to torpedo his training program? This damned Liu Yunfei always stirred up trouble.

Upon entering, he saw two disheveled, panicked police officers pointing their guns at Liu Yunfei behind the iron bars. With a wave of Zhu Zhicheng's hand, several internal affairs inspectors stepped forward and disarmed them on the spot. The two cops immediately shouted, "What are you doing? What are you doing?"

"Take them next door for questioning," Zhu Zhicheng ordered, and the internal affairs officers hauled the two cops out.

Zhu Zhicheng waved his hand again for everyone else to leave, dragged a wooden chair right up to the iron bars, and sat down facing Liu Yunfei. He wanted to unleash a furious rant, but realizing that yelling wouldn't solve anything, he could only let out a heavy sigh. He pointed at Liu Yunfei, wanting to say something, but unable to utter a word, he simply kept jabbing the air with his finger.

Knowing that the dark-skinned captain was fuming with rage, Liu Yunfei smiled and said, "Station Chief Zhu, you've been dragged into this trouble again. I'm really sorry."

"Can't you kid mind your own business and play the hero a little less often?" Zhu Zhicheng was so angry his words were tumbling out haphazardly.

"Station Chief Zhu, you're wrong about that. When you encounter evildoers and wicked deeds, how can you just turtle up?"

"You damn well could have pulled your punches a bit! This is a homicide case; it's not going to be simple this time. People are going to make a massive issue out of this."

Liu Yunfei defended himself, "This really wasn't my fault. It was suicide; he smashed his own head against the wall and killed himself. At least several hundred people saw it, so you can rest easy."

"It's also my fault for not filling you in on the full picture. Secretary Jin of our city's Political and Legal Affairs Commission has been gunning for me all along, just waiting for an excuse to push me down. He's definitely going to blow this incident way out of proportion. If things go south, I might end up stuck as the head of the Food Street police station for the rest of my life."

Just as they were talking, Li Deyong entered. Looking closely, Liu Yunfei realized this was the big black bear from the other day—he turned out to be the head of Huangjiang City's internal affairs division. After whispering a few words into Zhu Zhicheng's ear and exchanging a nod with Liu Yunfei, Li Deyong turned and walked out.

Zhu Zhicheng sighed again and said, "We've really stepped into a hornet's nest this time. That punk who died turns out to be the nephew of Station Chief Wu Dayou here. This Wu Dayou is Secretary Jin's diehard confidant. At the last municipal standing committee meeting, Secretary Jin was howling about booting you out of the police force and severely punishing you, and it was only thanks to the old bureau chief standing firm that you survived."

"You're dumping so much on me all at once that my head is spinning. What did I ever do to cross Secretary Jin?"

Zhu Zhicheng briefly outlined the situation, and Liu Yunfei finally understood. This Secretary Jin was the patron umbrella of the Quadad Triad. He had consistently opposed Zhu Zhicheng's police special training program while simultaneously trying to suppress Zhu Zhicheng—who was a candidate for the next bureau chief—so that his own son could inherit the position of Municipal Bureau Chief.

Liu Yunfei asked again, "If this Secretary Jin is tied at the hip with the underworld, doesn't anyone in the municipal committee or government step in to stop him?"

"You don't know this, but Jiang Mancheng's mother saved the life of the current provincial party secretary back during the Cultural Revolution. That's why he acts with such unbridled arrogance; even the mayor and the municipal party secretary wouldn't dare touch him."

So that was how it was. No wonder the Quadad Triad ran roughshod over Huangjiang with deeply entrenched roots—it turned out there was this layer of connection. Just as they were speaking, the door to the detention room was violently pushed open once more. Wu Dayou walked in, accompanying an arrogant-looking individual. The moment Wu Dayou stepped inside, he pointed straight at Zhu Zhicheng and shouted, "Bureau Chief Zhu—oh, my mistake, it's Station Chief Zhu now—what gives you the nerve to charge into our precinct with your men? If you don't give me a satisfactory explanation today, I'll go report you to the municipal bureau, and if that doesn't work, I'll go all the way to the provincial department! Don't think you can act like a lawless tyrant just because the old bureau chief has your back."

Zhu Zhicheng retorted, "Wu Dayou, stop talking nonsense with your eyes wide open. When did I ever charge your station?"

"Didn't you? What right do you have to arrest my men? What right do you have to privately meet with a suspect? This is a severe disciplinary violation!" Wu Dayou was an old hand at this, slapping a heavy label on him with a single sentence.

At this point, the arrogant police officer chimed in with persuasion: "Let's not get emotional. We're all colleagues here, so let's talk things out calmly. Bureau Chief Zhu, I know you, as a seconded deputy bureau chief, don't give any weight to my authority as executive deputy bureau chief, but I still have to criticize you. What you did here was genuinely wrong—you can't break the law while enforcing it."

"How could I ever disrespect you? Bureau Chief Jin, you've arrived at just the right time. I was just passing by; I didn't arrest anyone. The internal affairs inspectors are the ones handling the case, and I merely helped them keep an eye on the suspect. I haven't taken any statements or conducted any interrogations. According to national regulations, prisoner interrogations must be recorded with detailed video footage. I assume this room is equipped with security cameras, so once the footage is pulled up, everything will be crystal clear." Knowing that continuing the argument would only leave him at a disadvantage, Zhu Zhicheng finished his sentence and walked out of the detention room.

The detention room was meant for dirty work like torture and beating suspects; how could it possibly have security cameras installed? Wu Dayou was briefly at a loss for how to counter this, so he dropped the point and instead briefed Bureau Chief Jin on the case: "This is the criminal suspect, Liu Yunfei. Driven by jealousy, he engaged in street fighting that resulted in death. The evidence is airtight, yet he is a police officer who knowingly breaks the law. This is entirely due to Zhu Zhicheng's lax supervision. Those internal affairs inspectors didn't just fail to deal with the matter; they even came and arbitrarily detained our officers. It's utterly lawless!"

At a single glance, Liu Yunfei recognized that this Bureau Chief Jin must be Secretary Jin's son, thick as thieves with Wu Dayou. Without offering a rebuttal, he simply nodded and smiled.

Instantly agitated, Wu Dayou chimed in, "Bureau Chief Jin, did you see that? This Liu Yunfei is utterly brazen. Even after ending up here, he's still this arrogant."

"Alright, alright. Take the suspect to the municipal bureau detention center first. Since the case is of grave importance, we'll discuss it tomorrow at the municipal standing committee meeting," Bureau Chief Jin said with a wave of his hand. Wearing a veneer of politeness, he nodded at Liu Yunfei and turned to walk out of the detention room.

Feeling somewhat puzzled, Liu Yunfei was led out of the Zhongyang Road Police Station by several officers who had entered behind them and placed into a police car. Could this Bureau Chief Jin possibly be trying to recruit him? Why else would he order him taken to the municipal bureau? With no other choice, he decided to take things one step at a time.

The municipal bureau detention center was located behind a massive iron gate in the city's outskirts, looking somewhat like a prison. Liu Yunfei was locked inside a small solitary cell containing only a bed and a rudimentary toilet, devoid of even a window, illuminated solely by a dim, yellowish light.

Since he had arrived, he would take things as they came. Lying on the wooden plank bed, Liu Yunfei passed the time by practicing breathing exercises. With no lights or clocks, he had no way of knowing how much time had passed. Back at the Zhongyang Road Police Station, his personal belongings had been confiscated, leaving him without even a mobile phone—he could only wonder how worried his parents must be, or how Yu Xiaowei and the others were holding up.

While deep in worry, the crisp, rhythmic clicking of high heels echoed from outside. The sound stopped right outside his door, followed by a metallic *clank*, and the door swung open.

Liu Yunfei sat up on the bed and looked over to see an officer escorting a woman inside. The officer asked, "Do you need me to stay here?"

The woman replied, "Thank you, you can go get some sleep. I want to speak with him alone. The leadership won't find out, right?"

The officer chuckled. "The leaders went to sleep ages ago. I'll go turn in then; just call my phone when the interview is over and I'll come unlock the door."

With that, the woman turned around, nodded and smiled at Liu Yunfei, and walked over. Taking a closer inspection, Liu Yunfei estimated her to be around thirty years old. She had willow-leaf eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes, and a full face. Her slightly wavy, wine-red hair was gathered loosely at the back of her head, and she wore trendy clothing. A tight t-shirt hugged her body, outlining full, prominent breasts that sent blood rushing through the veins, while a pair of ultra-low-rise jeans revealed a stretch of snowy abdomen between her top and bottoms, with the delicate lace edge of her pink underwear peeking out just enough to ignite a strong desire to pull it all away for a clearer view.