Chapter 10

For the current situation, Fang Xuewen was also extremely troubled. If it were in the past, even if Gong Dali were a tough nut to crack, Fang Xuewen had the confidence to pry open his mouth and get him to spill everything he knew. There was no need for any special methods; just a fatigue bombing technique would suffice. By assigning several groups of police officers to take turns interrogating Gong Dali 24/7, not allowing him a single second of sleep, even if Gong Dali were made of iron and steel, he would completely break down within four to five days and confess everything he knew. Moreover, using the fatigue bombing method would leave no physical marks on Gong Dali, thus avoiding any risk of being held accountable.

However, time was now of the essence. Li Yifeng required them to pry open Gong Dali's mouth before dawn, and such a short period of time made it impossible to use the most effective interrogation method, the fatigue bombing.

Me Lifeng was also exceptionally annoyed at this moment. At the beginning of the interrogation, he was still full of confidence. As a police officer with rich interrogation experience, Me Lifeng knew that the easiest subjects to interrogate were those involved in gambling and prostitution. These people had extremely fragile psychological resilience and often confessed everything in tears before the interrogators even opened their mouths, with their only request being not to notify their families or unit leaders.

At first, Gong Dali's behavior was no different from that of most people involved in prostitution. He repeatedly admitted his mistakes, saying that he had made a mistake that many men would make. He was willing to pay whatever fine the police department imposed, as long as they did not notify his family. However, when Me Lifeng asked him to recall what else he had done recently, Gong Dali immediately clammed up and refused to say another word. This was quite normal, as most criminals harbored侥幸心理 (侥幸心理 means侥幸 psychology, which can be translated as a侥幸 attitude or侥幸 mindset, but in this context, it means a侥幸 attitude) and would not confess their crimes without seeing concrete evidence. However, as long as the interrogators applied targeted psychological pressure, their defenses could still be broken. Therefore, when Li Yifeng came over, Me Lifeng was still confident and believed that they could pry open Gong Dali's mouth before dawn.

However, as the interrogation continued, Me Lifeng realized he had encountered a problem. No matter how much pressure they applied, Gong Dali remained silent.

Given the urgency of the situation, Me Lifeng decided to temporarily stop the interrogation and let Gong Dali be placed in a model cell to clear his head. A model cell referred to a cell where the inmates were very cooperative with the police. Inmates in such cells received some small privileges that ordinary inmates did not. In return, the inmates in the model cell had to assist the police in solving difficult cases.

The inmates in the model cell were indeed very cooperative. As soon as Gong Dali was placed in the cell, they showed meticulous "care" and used "actions" to help Gong Dali recall what he had done in the past. However, after more than two hours, Gong Dali was bruised and almost unconscious, but the inmates in the model cell had not helped him recall anything.

Me Lifeng was worried that if they continued to "help" Gong Dali recall, it might cost him his life, so he brought Gong Dali out again. When Me Lifeng faced Gong Dali in the interrogation room again, he noticed that the fearful look in Gong Dali's eyes was gone, replaced by a look of disdain and even madness. Me Lifeng had only seen such a look in the eyes of extremely tough and desperate criminals.

At this point, Me Lifeng also became determined. He set up several 500-watt light bulbs in the interrogation room, all focused on Gong Dali. It was already summer, and the night temperature was over 30 degrees Celsius. With the light bulbs on, the temperature in the interrogation room quickly rose to over 50 degrees, like a sauna. Not only was Gong Dali drenched in sweat under the lights, but Me Lifeng and the other interrogator were also sweating profusely, finding it extremely difficult to endure. After just a few minutes in the interrogation room, their clothes were completely soaked, as if they had just been pulled out of water.

After an hour of this, the blood on Gong Dali's body had dried and then become wet again, his lips were cracked, and he was almost in a state of collapse, yet he still miraculously held on, not uttering a single word.

Fang Xuewen, watching from outside, realized that this approach was not working and had Me Lifeng and the other interrogator withdraw, removing the light bulbs. They needed to get Gong Dali's confession as soon as possible and could not let him collapse and fall unconscious.

After Fang Xuewen and Me Lifeng briefed Bao Feiyang, his brows furrowed. His plan to bring down Lu Zhongcheng, save his parents and uncle, and save the fate of his family could not be blocked by a stubborn and obstinate person like Gong Dali!

Although Li Yifeng had returned early, his mind was still preoccupied with the developments here. He did not go to bed but sat in his study, smoking continuously, waiting for news from Fang Xuewen.

This matter was of great importance, directly affecting whether the old leader Bao Guoqiang could make a comeback and the future of the pragmatic officials in the Bao faction in Zhongtian City. If it was not handled well, not only would Bao Guoqiang not make a comeback, but Li Yifeng would certainly be relegated to a minor position. If Li Yifeng were in his fifties, he might have been able to endure it, but he was only in his early forties, with many years left before retirement. In these seventeen or eighteen years, he could still achieve many great things. If he were stuck in a minor position, even just imagining it made Li Yifeng shudder. If not for his concerns, Li Yifeng would have stayed at the detention center to supervise the interrogation of Gong Dali.

In the agonizing wait, time passed minute by minute. Li Yifeng sat in his study for three hours, smoking three packs of cigarettes, but still did not receive the good news he was waiting for. His wife, Guo Xiaoyan, came to the study twice, urging him to go to bed, which only provoked a furious outburst from Li Yifeng.

Seeing Li Yifeng's temper flare, Guo Xiaoyan did not dare to provoke him further. She quietly emptied the ashtray filled with cigarette butts, turned off the window air conditioner that had been running all night, opened the window, and placed a fan to blow away the smoke that filled the room.

Even though he was extremely anxious, Li Yifeng suppressed his impulse to call and urge the progress of the interrogation. He knew that Fang Xuewen and Chief Zhang, who were on the front lines, were even more anxious and would do everything possible to complete the interrogation. Calling to urge them would only add more pressure to Fang Xuewen and have no effect. If Fang Xuewen made progress, he would certainly report it to him immediately...

After several more hours of anxious waiting, seeing that it was already 6 a.m. and still no news from Fang Xuewen, Li Yifeng could no longer sit still. He called the detention center.

"Old Fang, what's the situation now?"

"Director Li, I'm sorry, I haven't completed the task. Gong Dali has extremely strong psychological resilience. We have tried many methods, but he still resists and refuses to speak. I hope you can give us a little more time."

After waiting all night for this result, Li Yifeng wanted to curse but held back. Fang Xuewen had been his subordinate for over ten years; how could he not understand him? Fang Xuewen was not someone who easily mentioned difficulties. If he said Gong Dali had "extremely strong psychological resilience," then Gong Dali was definitely not an ordinary troublemaker, and this bone would be very hard to crack!

Li Yifeng took a deep breath and softened his tone. "How much more time do you need?"

"If we have two to three days, I estimate I can pry open Gong Dali's mouth!"

"No way!" Li Yifeng flatly rejected Fang Xuewen. "Two to three days, and the opportunity will be lost! I can give you a maximum of twelve more hours. This is my limit. No matter what method you use, Fang Xuewen, you must pry open Gong Dali's mouth by 6 p.m. today!"

Hearing Li Yifeng call him by his name, Fang Xuewen knew there was no room for negotiation. If he could not get the information he needed from Gong Dali by 6 p.m., the consequences would be severe.

"Old Fang, why don't we hold a meeting and gather the experienced interrogators from the criminal investigation team and the detention center to brainstorm and see if there are any good methods?"

Seeing Fang Xuewen's furrowed brows, Chief Zhang suggested this. This was a common approach when dealing with difficult cases. Many cases seemed to have reached a dead end, but when everyone gathered to discuss, they often found a new solution through their collective brainstorming.

Fang Xuewen shook his head. "No. This case is very special, and we don't want too many people to know about it. Moreover, we have very little time. Director Li only gave us twelve more hours, and we don't have time to hold a meeting to discuss..."

"Twelve hours is enough!"

After listening to the situation, Bao Feiyang had been sitting quietly, deep in thought. Suddenly, he opened his eyes, glanced at Gong Dali, who was handcuffed to a chair, looking exhausted but defiant, and said with a cold smile, "Isn't he just a tough nut to crack? Does he think that being fearless and unafraid of death is enough? There are many things in this world that are more terrifying than pain and death!"

"Have you found a method?"

Fang Xuewen and Chief Zhang looked at Bao Feiyang simultaneously.

"Yes, I want to try it," Bao Feiyang nodded. "But I need to understand a few things first."

Then Fang Xuewen saw Bao Feiy stand up, pull Me Lifeng aside, and whisper to him. Me Lifeng's face initially showed confusion, then surprise, as he nodded repeatedly and whispered back to Bao Feiyang.

This made Fang Xuewen extremely anxious. What was Bao Feiyang saying to Me Lifeng? From Me Lifeng's surprised look, it seemed he thought Bao Feiyang's idea was good.

After a few minutes, Bao Feiyang and Me Lifeng returned together.

"Captain Fang, I have already discussed the situation with Captain Me. Captain Me can create the conditions to implement my method," Bao Feiyang said. "If you agree, we can start setting it up immediately. No matter how strong Gong Dali's psychological resilience, he won't last twelve hours."

"What method? Tell us quickly!" Fang Xuewen and Chief Zhang were already impatient.

Bao Feiyang then detailed his plan.

"Haha, no wonder Director Li said you are devious. Only you could come up with such a despicable method!" Fang Xuewen and Chief Zhang burst out laughing.

"Indeed!" Me Lifeng also chuckled. He glanced at Gong Dali in the interrogation room. "If Gong Dali can really hold out, I'll call him grandpa!"

In the interrogation room, Gong Dali was dozing off with his head on the back of the chair. Suddenly, he shivered and immediately woke up...