Chapter 40

"Is it because your father is Luo Zhigang that you can act however you want?" Luo Dawei's mention of his father only made Qin Lan even angrier. She angrily questioned him and then turned to the police in the interrogation room, including Li Gengyu, and said, "What are you all standing around for? Do I need to call the Municipal Bureau to send people to help you interrogate this gang of lawless motorcyclists?"

On the way to the interrogation room, Qin Lan had already briefly understood the situation from Wu Yuqi and the other three, and had a general idea of what had happened.

Li Gengyu was the deputy chief of the public security bureau, a position of some importance. He knew very well that although Qin Lan and Luo Zhigang were of the same rank, in terms of their positions within the police system, Qin Lan, as the deputy director of the Municipal Bureau, had a clear advantage over the district bureau director. This was secondary, however, as the district public security bureau was not a vertically managed department but was under the dual management of the district government and the municipal public security bureau. In terms of personnel and finance, it was mainly under the jurisdiction of the district government, while in terms of business and technology, it was mainly under the command and management of the higher-level public security organs. Therefore, even though Qin Lan was the deputy director of the Municipal Bureau, Luo Zhigang, as the district bureau director and a member of the district party committee, did not necessarily have to fear her. In fact, in terms of actual power, Luo Zhigang's authority as the district bureau director might even be more effective than Qin Lan's. The key issue was that in this matter, Luo Dawei and even Li Gengyu himself had broken the law and were caught red-handed by Qin Lan. Who was Qin Lan? She was the deputy director of the Municipal Bureau and, according to the ranking within the Municipal Bureau, she was Luo Zhigang's superior. In such a clear case of law-breaking, it didn't matter that Luo Dawei was just the son of the district bureau director; even Luo Zhigang himself would have to admit his mistake. For Luo Dawei to dare to argue with her at this moment was almost tantamount to courting death!

Li Gengyu, who understood the gravity of the situation, was so startled by Qin Lan's rebuke that he didn't even think before wiping the cold sweat from his forehead and shouting at Luo Dawei and the others, "All of you, get down and behave yourselves!"

"Luo Gengyu, you..." Luo Dawei, seeing Li Gengyu turn against him, turned pale with anger.

"What do you mean, 'you'? Behave yourself!" Li Gengyu, seeing that Luo Dawei still couldn't read the situation and was being so arrogant, was also furious. He slapped Luo Dawei's head and scolded him.

Luo Dawei was just a guy who relied on his father's power to act recklessly. Now that no one was paying attention to his father, he had no basis for his arrogance. After being slapped by Li Gengyu, he immediately crouched down obediently. The other four, seeing their leader behave, dared not say a word, and were as quiet as little girls.

Qin Lan glanced coldly at Luo Dawei and the others, then her expression softened as she walked to Xia Yunjie, helped him up from the chair, and asked with concern, "Are you okay?"

But after asking, Qin Lan realized that her question was redundant. This guy was completely unharmed, not at all like someone who had been hurt. On the contrary, Luo Dawei and the others looked terrible, and it was unclear who the real victims were.

"I'm fine, thank you, Sister Lan," Xia Yunjie stretched his arms and said gratefully.

Although surprised by Qin Lan's position as the deputy director of the Municipal Bureau, Xia Yunjie called her "Sister Lan" quite naturally.

Li Gengyu, seeing Xia Yunjie call Qin Lan "Sister Lan," immediately realized that Qin Lan had come for Xia Yunjie. He was so scared that his legs almost gave out, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.

He could never have imagined that a bar worker not only knew the deputy director of the Municipal Bureau but also called her "sister"!

It's over, this time it's really over! Luo Dawei, I curse your eighteen generations of ancestors, you've really messed me up!

"It's good that you're fine," Qin Lan nodded. "Don't worry, we will handle this case fairly. We will need you and your three colleagues to cooperate with our investigation."

"Don't worry, Sister Lan, we will cooperate with the police," Xia Yunjie nodded in response. However, hearing the phrase "handle this case fairly" again, he felt quite conflicted, unsure whether to be grateful that a fair-minded deputy director of the Municipal Bureau had finally come or to be cynical about the advantages of being in a position of power.

Under Qin Lan's command and supervision, all the police officers left in the district bureau were mobilized to take statements from everyone involved in the fight, including Xia Yunjie and the other three.

Most of the ordinary police officers, wearing their uniforms, still hoped to be upright and honest police officers. However, as low-ranking officials, they were concerned about potential retaliation in their future work and promotions, so although most of them disapproved of Luo Dawei's arrogance and Li Gengyu's favoritism, they chose to go along with it. Now that Qin Lan was in charge, they no longer had any concerns and took their statements with serious expressions, not daring to be negligent.

The motorcyclists, including their leader Luo Dawei, were already intimidated by Qin Lan. With the previously friendly police officers now acting like fierce gods, they dared not be arrogant and obediently recounted the entire incident.

When the statements were halfway done, a middle-aged man with a somewhat imposing appearance rushed into the office.

This middle-aged man was none other than Luo Zhigang, the director of the Yunlong District Public Security Bureau, who had rushed over upon receiving a call.

"Dad!" Luo Dawei, seeing his father arrive, called out with a belly full of grievances, as if he had found a savior.

However, Luo Zhigang, who had reached the position of director of the Yunlong District Public Security Bureau, was not foolish in matters other than his son's education. On the way over, he had already learned the entire story from an old police officer's call. The only thing he couldn't understand was why Qin Lan would come to the Yunlong District Public Security Bureau in the middle of the night and her attitude toward the matter. When he pushed the door open, he saw Qin Lan sitting there with a cold expression, and his son and his usual companions all looking dejected with their heads down. Luo Zhigang immediately understood that Qin Lan had already intervened in the matter and seemed quite angry. Although he was very worried about his son's bloodied and battered chin, he didn't even look at him but instead walked directly toward Qin Lan with a smile.

"Welcome, Director Qin, for coming to the Yunlong District Bureau to guide our work. Thank you, Director."

"Director Luo, you're too kind," Qin Lan responded. Luo Zhigang, being the director of the Yunlong District Public Security Bureau, was a powerful figure. Although Qin Lan was very angry about his indulgence of his children and lack of discipline, she couldn't be too rude when he extended his hand, so she got up and shook his hand coldly, then continued to supervise the taking of statements.

Luo Zhigang understood Qin Lan's temper and wanted to ask her to be lenient in this matter. Seeing her attitude, although he was somewhat annoyed, he didn't show it. He smiled awkwardly and then turned to his son, asking sternly, "Dawei, what's going on here?"

Luo Dawei, seeing his father arrive, had initially felt a surge of joy, thinking that his savior had come. However, when he saw his father lose his usual authority in front of Qin Lan, he realized that offending a deputy director of the Municipal Bureau was no joke. If he didn't behave well, even his father might not be able to save him. So when Luo Zhigang spoke, he quickly recounted the entire incident in detail.

Luo Zhigang knew his son was rebellious and often got into trouble, but he had never taken it seriously, thinking it was just young people playing around. Today, he was shocked to realize how far his son had gone. After hearing the story, he couldn't help but pick up the statement book from the table and hit his son's head repeatedly, shouting, "I'll beat you to death, you lawless brat!"

"Dad, stop, stop, I won't do it again," Luo Dawei, being beaten by his father, covered his head and ran around.

Luo Dawei's gang, seeing their leader being beaten by his father, were all trembling with fear, their faces pale, and their gazes toward Qin Lan even more fearful. Now they truly realized the terrifying power of Deputy Director Qin Lan, who remained seated, watching coldly.

As a deputy director of the Municipal Bureau, Qin Lan could see that Luo Zhigang was putting on a show for her, hoping she would let it go for the sake of face. However, she deeply despised lawless second-generation rich kids like Luo Dawei, and since this matter involved Xia Yunjie, she let Luo Zhigang continue his performance.

The Luo family had a single male heir for three generations, and Luo Zhigang had always been very indulgent with his son, rarely hitting him. However, given the special circumstances today, he had to put on a half-true, half-false "fleshly punishment" act. He thought that since they were of the same rank, Qin Lan would give him some face, but to his surprise, she didn't intervene at all, leaving him both angry and embarrassed, unsure whether to continue the beating or stop.

At this moment, Li Gengyu hurriedly stepped forward, pulling Luo Zhigang and saying, full of shame, "Director Luo, please calm down, please calm down. I bear a great deal of responsibility for this. Luo Dawei was racing motorcycles, and as the deputy chief of public security, I should have reported it to you earlier. If I had reported it earlier and stopped it, they wouldn't have gone so far."

Luo Zhigang, although he knew that Li Gengyu had already mentioned his son's motorcycle racing to him in private, the main reason was that he hadn't taken it seriously. However, at this moment, he needed a way out and a scapegoat. Seeing that Li Gengyu was tactful enough to step forward, he took the opportunity to stop, panting, and then shouted at Li Gengyu, "As the deputy chief of public security, you should set an example, but instead, you concealed the truth and acted corruptly. From now on, you are suspended pending an investigation by the organization."

"Yes," Li Gengyu, being smart, knew that he had left a very bad impression on Deputy Director Qin Lan and now had to rely on Director Luo Zhigang for any hope.

Luo Zhigang, seeing that Li Gengyu was sensible, showed a glimmer of appreciation in his eyes, then raised the statement book again and hit his son's head, saying, "Now, apologize to Director Qin, Comrade Xia Yunjie, and the three ladies, Wu Yuqi."

Luo Dawei, being smart at this moment, after being hit, quickly ran to Qin Lan and Xia Yunjie to apologize.

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