Chapter 38 of 100

Chapter 38

16 min read4,077 words

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Xiaoming stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly held the secret letter given to him by his mother.

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Zheng Qiuyi wished Zhang Yeting a speedy recovery and then bid farewell and left. However, she did not immediately go up to the fifth-floor operating room. Instead, she sat on a chair in the hospital corridor, lost in thought—she was physically and mentally exhausted and lacked the courage to face the bereaved family.

Sitting there in a daze, waves of grief began to overwhelm her. Zheng Qiuyi not only thought of Li Nanmin but also of Da Qi and Old Zhao, recalling the comrades she had once worked closely with, their faces and voices vividly present in her mind.

"How could he just be gone like that? So suddenly, a living person, with no preparation at all, how could he just be gone? They were all such good comrades!"

Tears blurred her eyes before she realized it. She covered her face and sobbed softly. After crying for a while, when she raised her head, she saw several people in police uniforms standing in front of her, silently watching her.

"Ah!"

She had been so overwhelmed with grief that she hadn't noticed anyone approaching. Zheng Qiuyi felt a bit embarrassed. She hurriedly fumbled for a handkerchief, but someone in front of her handed her two tissues: "Use this, Chief Zheng."

"Ah, thank you!"

Zheng Qiuyi wiped her tears and then saw that there were four police officers in total, one of whom had handed her the tissues, her subordinate, Captain Liu Zihui of the Second Criminal Investigation Brigade. The other three officers were unfamiliar faces.

Zheng Qiuyi asked Liu Zihui, "Old Liu, you already know about Nanmin... How are his family?"

Liu Zihui's eyes were also red, but he remained relatively calm. He said, "I went up there. Nanmin's parents... were very agitated. His wife fainted on the spot. I arranged for them to be hospitalized and gave them sedatives to help them sleep—right now, they are too agitated. We'll deal with any matters after they wake up."

"Ah, Old Liu, you're being a bit too hasty... It seems... like this..." Zheng Qiuyi's lips twitched, hesitated for a moment, and then she smiled bitterly, "There's really no other way... We can only do this."

"Chief Zheng, these are colleagues from the National Security Bureau. They came to understand today's incident."

"National Security Bureau?" Zheng Qiuyi was taken aback. Only then did she notice that the unfamiliar police officers, though wearing the same police uniforms, had different arm badges that read "National Security."

In those urban fantasy novels, the National Security Bureau is often portrayed as the strongest pillar of our great country, an agency with unlimited power and funds, where agents are all-powerful, directly connected to the Zhongnanhai, and local police and military would be scared to death at the mention of "National Security Bureau," wishing to kneel on the spot. In reality, this is just a misunderstanding by outsiders.

Zheng Qiuyi, a mid-level official in the Public Security Bureau, had many dealings with the National Security Bureau. She knew that the National Security Bureau was essentially a national law enforcement agency, similar in nature to the Public Security Bureau, but with a broader scope of operations involving national security, thus having greater operational authority. However, it was far from the portrayal in fantasy novels, where they could ignore any laws and overwhelm local police and military at will. Their work was not as exciting as outsiders imagined, with daily high-speed chases and gunfights to catch spies—there weren't that many spies to catch!

Compared to local public security, the work of the National Security Bureau was more monotonous and boring. For example, in Jincheng, an inland city not bordering any regions, the main task of the National Security Bureau was to frequently inspect various units to ensure that confidential documents were properly stored and managed according to confidentiality regulations, and to check for any potential leaks. In the past, Zheng Qiuyi had received several inspections from National Security personnel—two officers in the criminal investigation department had transferred from the National Security Bureau due to low pay and boring work. Therefore, she was not unfamiliar with or intimidated by National Security officers.

Among the three National Security officers, the young officer leading them was familiar. Zheng Qiuyi remembered he was a deputy section chief in the National Security Bureau, but she couldn't recall if his surname was Shen or Shen. He had come to the unit before to handle some work—what left an impression on her was his face full of acne and his shy, ambiguous gaze.

She stood up and greeted him, "Deputy Section Chief Shen, hello, it's been a long time. What brings you here to guide our work again?"

Deputy Section Chief Shen stepped forward, shook Zheng Qiuyi's hand firmly, and said politely, "Hello, Chief Zheng, I'm sorry to disturb you. Not to guide, but our superiors sent us to understand today's incident at Wanhe Mall. We came at an inconvenient time..."

Seeing the tear marks on Zheng Qiuyi's face, Deputy Section Chief Shen looked a bit embarrassed, "I didn't expect you to have just experienced such an event... Chief Zheng, please take care and be strong."

"Thank you, come, let's talk over here."

Zheng Qiuyi led the three National Security officers to a secluded corridor, where Old Liu was waiting at the exit.

Since it was an acquaintance, Zheng Qiuyi spoke more casually. She frowned and asked, "Deputy Section Chief Shen, why are you interested in today's case? This isn't an international incident, just an ordinary criminal case... Why are you concerned about it?"

"Any case involving national security, the Security Bureau must be involved," Deputy Section Chief Shen said solemnly. "Chief Zheng, I heard that you were in charge of investigating today's case?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"I also heard that you encountered the criminal directly today, resulting in two officers being martyred and two injured?"

Zheng Qiuyi shook her head, "Your information is incorrect. Just now, one of the injured officers didn't survive the surgery... So, now there are three martyred officers."

Deputy Section Chief Shen said, "Oh," with a somewhat awkward expression, "I didn't expect that, Chief Zheng, I'm sorry—so, how many officers were present when you encountered the criminal?"

"Wait a moment, Deputy Section Chief Shen!" Zheng Qiuyi raised her hand to stop him. "I need to clarify something first. Is this a casual conversation or a formal investigation?"

She glanced and saw that one of the National Security officers behind Deputy Section Chief Shen was holding a small recorder, the light on it was on. Zheng Qiuyi widened her eyes and said angrily, "Deputy Section Chief Shen, how can you do this—looks like you're conducting a formal investigation?"

"Chief Zheng, we're just having a chat, understanding the situation from a brother unit. Don't be too nervous."

Zheng Qiuyi firmly shook her head, "I'm sorry, Deputy Section Chief Shen, we are brother units, but this is clearly a formal investigation procedure. I can't accept your formal investigation without the approval of our unit's leadership—rules are rules, we must go through formal channels for inter-departmental investigations."

She nodded and turned to leave. The two National Security officers were surprised, and the young officer with the recorder instinctively reached out to stop Zheng Qiuyi, but she pushed him away. Another National Security officer's face darkened and reached out to grab Zheng Qiuyi, but she used a reverse grip to catch his wrist and pushed him back forcefully, causing him to hit the wall with a thud.

Zheng Qiuyi called out, "Old Liu!"

Captain Liu Zihui, who was smoking outside, ran over when he heard the commotion. Seeing his leader facing off against three National Security officers, he was startled and rushed over, standing in front of Zheng Qiuyi and shouting, "What's going on? Are you going to fight?"

"Misunderstanding, just a misunderstanding!"

Deputy Section Chief Shen quickly stepped forward and shouted at his two subordinates, "Be polite, apologize to Chief Zheng!"

After the two National Security officers apologized, Deputy Section Chief Shen said to Zheng Qiuyi, "I'm sorry, Chief Zheng. We came at the request of our superiors and had already communicated with your unit's leadership. Should I call Director Deng to confirm?"

Zheng Qiuyi remained vigilant but nodded calmly. Deputy Section Chief Shen stepped a few paces away, took out his phone, and made a call. After a while, he returned with the phone and handed it to Zheng Qiuyi, "Chief Zheng, it's Director Deng, please listen."

Zheng Qiuyi hesitantly took the phone and asked uncertainly, "Hello?"

A stern voice came from the phone, "Is this Detective Zheng? This is Deng Bonan!"

Recognizing the authoritative voice, Zheng Qiuyi immediately became serious, "Hello, Director Deng, I'm Detective Zheng from the Criminal Investigation Department. What are your instructions?"

"I've heard about today's incident, and the comrades have worked hard! I'm still in the capital and can't return immediately. Detective Zheng, please convey my greetings to the comrades and my condolences to the families of the martyred comrades... First, your Criminal Investigation Department must solve the case as soon as possible and find out the truth. Second, quickly summarize the deeds of the martyrs and have the Political Department prepare the materials to report to the provincial department and the personnel department to apply for the title of martyr... How are the families of the martyrs?"

"Report to Director Deng, the families are very agitated, and there may be a lot of follow-up work..."

"Handle this well, calm the families, and meet their needs, especially material needs. If the Criminal Investigation Department can't handle it, report to the Party Committee of the Bureau, and if the Bureau can't handle it, we can report to the Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal Government—our comrades have sacrificed, we must ensure they rest in peace and not let their spirits be restless. You must take charge of this and put in extra effort. Report to me directly if necessary."

"Yes, Director Deng, I will remember your instructions and handle this matter with care!"

"Good, I'm still in the capital, and I'll talk to you in detail when I return. For now, cooperate with the National Security Bureau, don't have any reservations—I've learned some information here, and the situation is more complex than we thought. Don't feel burdened, this isn't your fault. That's all, I'll hang up now."

Putting down the phone, Zheng Qiuyi let out a sigh of relief. Hearing the promise from the director that "this isn't your fault" greatly relieved her, who had been anxious and worried about being disciplined since the incident. As a result, she felt better about Deputy Section Chief Shen from the National Security Bureau, handed back the phone, and said solemnly, "Alright, the leadership agrees to our cooperation. What do you want to ask?"

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