Chapter 28

Furen squinted his eyes, seemingly disbelieving, and said, "Is that so? You really didn't find her?"

"Really didn't!" Shiqiang said with a mournful face, "Sir Fei, it's just a chicken, right? If I had found Weidan Hong, would I dare not tell you?"

From these words, one could see the cold-hearted nature of these gang leaders. In their eyes, those women were merely tools for making money, and they could be discarded at any time if they became a burden.

However, Furen had seen such things many times in the cycle space, so he wasn't particularly concerned. Yet, he didn't want Shiqiang to get off easily: "Qiangzi, in Causeway Bay and Tin Hau, your and Emperor Entertainment's brothels overlap in some areas. Has there ever been any friction?"

Shiqiang's face changed: "Sir Fei, what do you mean by that? You don't think I did something to Weidan Hong, do you?"

Furen smirked and said, "I don't know the truth, but it's possible that you or one of your girls saw Weidan Hong's business was good and decided to get rid of her."

Upon hearing this, Shiqiang's face turned pale. He had been involved in a few murders, but those were from over a decade ago and were considered gang-related killings. They were done secretly, and even if the police investigated, they wouldn't dig too deep, as the victims had also been involved in drug and gun trafficking. Now, Furen was accusing him of killing a girl, which was completely unreasonable. If not for Furen's formidable combat skills, Shiqiang would have had his men attack him long ago.

"Sir Fei, you can eat more, but you shouldn't speak recklessly!" Shiqiang said with a look of distress, "The business of brothels is endless. To kill someone over a few thousand dollars, I haven't fallen that low yet."

Furen sneered, "That's not certain. You might not be that poor, but maybe someone under you is struggling to make ends meet." He was deliberately trying to corner Shiqiang.

Shiqiang was sweating profusely and said with a stern face, "Sir Fei, if you keep making baseless accusations, I'll sue you for defamation!"

"Alright, alright, I'm just asking casually, no other intentions!" Furen waved his hand, "But the girls in this line of work are quite mobile. Has Weidan Hong ever worked in your brothel before?"

Upon hearing this, Shiqiang's face turned completely cold, "Sir Fei, if you have evidence, arrest me. If not, I'm sorry, but I won't accompany you anymore!" With that, he turned and left without waiting for Furen to respond.

Watching Shiqiang's hurried departure, Furen muttered, "It seems there are quite a few dirty things going on in this brothel. If I were in charge of the anti-prostitution campaign, it would be a headache."

After a while, Shiqiang, seeing that Furen was still sitting on the sofa in the lobby and had no intention of leaving, sent a thin, greenish-yellow-haired underling to watch over him: "Sir, I'm called Hanzi. If you need anything, just tell me."

Furen pointed to the single sofa next to him and said, "Sit here, and don't make a sound!"

Perhaps Shiqiang had already described Furen's strength to Hanzi, so he obediently sat down and remained quiet. Furen didn't say much to him but kept observing the men and women passing through the lobby with his half-closed eyes.

By noon, Furen was feeling hungry. Shiqiang personally brought two luxurious boxed meals, first giving one to Hanzi and then smilingly asked, "Sir Fei, would you like to eat something?"

This guy looked a bit foolish on the surface but was actually quite cunning. If Furen accepted the boxed meal, he would likely be reported, or even to the ICAC!

A cold smile appeared on Furen's lips. He stood up and walked to Shiqiang, patting him on the lower back.

"What are you doing? Sir Fei, I kindly brought you a boxed meal..." Before he could finish, Shiqiang's eyes widened as he saw his wallet in Furen's hand.

Furen opened the wallet nonchalantly, almost making Shiqiang jump. He managed to suppress the urge to call his men to retrieve the wallet and said, "Sir Fei, you're a police officer. Stealing my wallet is a crime..."

Furen cut him off, "I'm not stealing your wallet; I just want to pay for the meal." He took out a thousand-dollar Hong Kong bill from his pocket and put it in Shiqiang's wallet, "Give me the boxed meal, and I'll return your wallet. Otherwise, I'll have to turn in this wallet I found to the police, and my colleagues will make a detailed record of its contents."

Shiqiang's face turned green, and he quickly handed the boxed meal to Furen.

Furen took the meal and casually threw the wallet back to Shiqiang, sitting down again, "Shiqiang, if you try to play any more tricks on me, I'll beat the shit out of you. Got it?"

"Ah, ah, I understand, I understand!" Shiqiang nodded and bowed, checking the contents of his wallet as he backed away.

After eating and drinking, Furen (24 years old) went to borrow a toilet. On his way back, he saw a young man supporting a dazed, flamboyantly dressed girl arguing at the front desk.

The Hongli Hotel was not a reputable place, and it was common for young couples to check in. However, with Furen, a police officer, present, the receptionist had to ask the young man for his ID.

The young man couldn't produce an ID and started complaining, "Damn, I've been to your Hongli Hotel before, and you never asked for an ID. Why today..."

Before he could finish, Shiqiang came down with a few underlings, shouting, "F*ck, showing an ID is a basic rule. If you say another word, I'll f*ck you up!"

Shiqiang's heavily tattooed arms intimidated the young man, who realized Shiqiang and his gang were real gangsters, "I, I won't check in here, okay?"

"Then get the f*ck out!" Shiqiang roared.

Furen, however, noticed something odd and shouted, "Hold it, they can't leave!" He signaled for Shiqiang's men to surround the young man who was trying to help the girl leave.

"What, what do you want?" The young man, usually tough at school and outside, suddenly became scared.

Shiqiang sneered, "Nothing, just that this Sir wants to ask you some questions, so you can't leave."

"Sir?!" The young man was shocked, wondering how gangsters and police could be working together, and also understanding why the receptionist asked for his ID today.

Furen approached and showed his badge, "I'm Inspector Furen from the District Major Crime Unit. I suspect you intend to rape this girl!" He nodded at the girl, who was half-conscious.

The young man's face changed, and he frantically waved his hands, "Sir, I didn't, I didn't..." While denying it, he tried to run away.

Before Furen could act, Shiqiang, who had seen this many times, kicked the young man in the knee.

"Thud!"

The young man fell to his knees and was held down by Shiqiang's men. Furen helped the girl, who was indeed half-conscious, and took a napkin to wipe some saliva from her mouth to smell, "Hmph, date rape drug!" He turned to the young man, "Where did you get it?"

The young man bit his lip and refused to speak. Furen didn't force him, took out handcuffs, and cuffed him, then said to Shiqiang, "Get some ice water!"

Shiqiang quickly signaled his men to get the water and said, "Sir Fei, it's really inconvenient to interrogate here. Should we take them to the police station?"

"Am I disturbing your business?" Furen asked with a smile.

Shiqiang waved his hands, "No, no, not at all!"

"Relax, if there's nothing happening here by the end of the afternoon, I'll leave."

"Ah? Oh!" Shiqiang mumbled, secretly pleased. Since there were few customers during the day, it wouldn't affect his business much. However, he knew he needed to find Weidan Hong's whereabouts and deal with Furen, or the police would keep coming, making his men uneasy.

When the ice water was brought and splashed on the girl's face, she woke up, dazed.

Furen didn't immediately question her but took her small bag, found her ID, and coldly said, "Shiqiang, come and look. Fifteen years and two months old. Tsk, tsk, it's a good thing you didn't let them stay, or I would have shut down your place. Got it?"

Shiqiang's heart skipped a beat, and he broke out in a cold sweat.

At this moment, the girl, seeing a group of men surrounding her, almost fainted and screamed, "Ah—"

Furen, annoyed by the noise, said, "Shut up!"

But the girl kept screaming, and it was Shiqiang who was more effective, waving his tattooed arms and shouting, "F*ck, if you scream again, I'll rape and kill you!"

The girl immediately stopped, looking pitifully at Shiqiang's tattoos and murmured, "Boss, big brother, let me go! I'm still a minor."

Furen took the opportunity to show his badge, "Liang Xiaolin, right? I'm Inspector Furen from the District Major Crime Unit. You don't need to be afraid!"

The girl was surprised, "You're a police officer? How do you know my name?"

"I am indeed a police officer!" Furen showed her his badge clearly, "I know your name because I saw your ID."

The girl, Liang Xiaolin, finally confirmed Furen's identity and noticed her purse on Furen's lap. She quickly grabbed it, checked it, and breathed a sigh of relief when she found nothing missing.

"Don't worry, I didn't touch anything in your purse!" Furen said calmly, "Tell me, how did that guy knock you out?"

Liang Xiaolin, whose makeup was smeared by ice water, sweat, and tears, saw the young man who had drugged her and shouted, "Jibo, you bastard!" She tried to rush over.

Furen held her back, "Liang Xiaolin, don't worry. Once we confirm his crime, he'll get a good beating in jail. Tell me what happened first!"

Liang Xiaolin sobbed and began to recount her ordeal, "Jibo, no, Jibo said he would treat me to beef noodles..."

Furen rolled his eyes, thinking that a girl with tens of thousands in her purse would be tricked into eating a bowl of beef noodles for a few dozen dollars.

"… The beef was tough, and the taste was strange, maybe it was old and spoiled. I barely swallowed a piece and felt nauseous..."

Hearing this, Furen's eyes became sharp, and he asked, "If the beef was so bad, why did you swallow it?"

"… Although the beef was bad, the soup was very fragrant, and I was really hungry, so I... Later, when Jibo saw me almost choking, he gave me a drink, and after that, I started feeling dizzy..."

Furen's eyes brightened, "Where did you eat the beef noodles?"

(①: HK ID cards are issued to those aged 11 or over or staying in Hong Kong for more than 180 days)

(Dear readers, please recommend and collect more!)

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