Chapter 29: The Mayor Sent Me

"Oh, how could I possibly feel comfortable with that." Liu Yu said hypocritically and then entered the kitchen. Shen Bingqing stepped forward and took the things from Shen Yujie's hands, carrying them into the kitchen. Shen Yujie was left to face Du Long, who rubbed his hands and said, "Du Long, what do you want to say?"

Seeing that Shen Bingqing and Liu Yu had both entered the kitchen, Du Long lowered his voice and said, "Deputy Shen, it's Mayor Ma who sent me."

"Mayor Ma?" Shen Yujie's face changed instantly, his tongue tying itself in knots as he stammered, "Mayor Ma... How could he ask you... to come find me?"

Du Long smiled and said, "What do you think? Deputy Shen, you really have some nerve, threatening to blackmail a leader. You're done for!"

Shen Yujie's face turned pale, his body swaying, and he collapsed onto the sofa. Shen Bingqing came out of the kitchen and, seeing this, asked in surprise, "Brother, what's wrong?"

"Nothing much," Du Long said with a smile. "Deputy Shen, let's go inside and have a good chat, shall we? Maybe things aren't as bad as you think."

Shen Yujie had no choice; he wobbled to his feet, and Shen Bingqing reached out to support him. Shen Yujie shook his head and said, "I'm fine, I'm fine. Du Long, let's go to the study."

Once they entered the study, Shen Yujie closed the door. Du Long looked at the shelves full of books and smiled, "Deputy Shen likes reading, huh?"

Shen Yujie steadied himself and looked at Du Long, "Cut the crap. What does Mayor Ma want you to do?"

Du Long suddenly turned around and stared coldly at Shen Yujie, "Did you take the photos yourself, or did someone else do it for you?"

Shen Yujie couldn't see Du Long's eyes behind the sunglasses, making Du Long seem even more inscrutable. He trembled, lit a classic red Double Happiness cigarette, and took a deep drag before saying, "I took them, no one else. I didn't know it was Mayor Ma at the time. I..."

Du Long sneered, "No need to lie. Regardless of who the subject was, taking those photos is illegal. As the deputy head of the criminal investigation team, you can't be unaware of that, can you?"

Shen Yujie said dejectedly, "Sometimes, a person has no choice... Tell me, what does Mayor Ma plan to do with me?"

Du Long said coldly, "How many photos did you take in total? Hand over all the photos, the original files, and any copies. If you dare to keep even one, well..."

Shen Yujie suddenly looked up at Du Long, "How do I know you're not bluffing? Mayor Ma couldn't have found out so quickly that it was me!"

Du Long chuckled, "Do you think I'm here on behalf of your old classmate Secretary Zhang? Well, you're dead wrong."

Shen Yujie's pupils dilated, and Du Long immediately confirmed his suspicion. He didn't show it but took out his phone and said, "You don't know Mayor Ma's phone number, but you can at least recognize his voice, right?"

With that, Du Long called Mayor Ma again. Mayor Ma was enjoying the food Secretary Zhang had brought from the city government canteen, his mood improved because the court's President Xie had just called to inform him that the case against Du Long had been dismissed.

The phone rang, and Mayor Ma's heart skipped a beat. He pulled the phone out of his pocket, recognizing the number. After answering, he heard Du Long's voice, "Mayor Ma, hello, this is Du Long."

Mayor Ma thought, "So you finally decided to call me again?" He cleared his throat and said in an official tone, "Du Long, about that matter..."

The call was abruptly disconnected, and Mayor Ma's anger flared. Even the provincial party secretary couldn't hang up on him like that. Du Long was really going too far! He would make sure Du Long knew that Mayor Ma had three eyes!

In Shen Yujie's study, Du Long put the phone back in his pocket and looked at Shen Yujie, who had recognized Mayor Ma's voice. "Deputy Shen, do you believe I'm here on Mayor Ma's behalf now? Mayor Ma doesn't want this to become public. If you're smart, you'll hand over everything you have. Otherwise, the consequences... you won't be able to bear them!"

Shen Yujie felt like he was already dead. When his old classmate Zhang Xing asked him to help take photos of someone, he hadn't thought twice about it, especially since Zhang Xing promised to help his brother Shen Bingqing get a job. He never imagined things would be exposed so quickly. When Shen Yujie recognized Mayor Ma's voice, it felt like the sky was falling. He was finished, his life was over!

Du Long's words gave him a glimmer of hope. Shen Yujie handed Du Long a set of keys and said, "The second drawer on the left of the computer desk, there's a USB drive inside. Everything is on it."

Du Long opened the drawer and quickly found the USB drive. He tucked it into his pocket and continued to press, "Is that all? Did you copy the files anywhere else?"

Shen Yujie shook his head, "No, really, that's all."

Du Long looked at him suspiciously. The panic in Shen Yujie's eyes flickered and then disappeared as he avoided Du Long's gaze, looking down at the floor. Du Long said in a deep voice, "Shen Yujie, do you think your current life is too comfortable? Do you need some excitement?"

Shen Yujie looked at him in panic and said, "What do you want? I've given you all the photos. What more do you want?"

Du Long's eyes narrowed slightly, "All the photos? You mean there's a video too? Shen Yujie, you're playing with fire. Do you think keeping that can still be used to blackmail Mayor Ma? Don't be ridiculous. Hand it over, unless you want to lose your job and end up in jail. Your brother will also be implicated and won't find a decent job again. There are plenty of criminals in jail who you personally arrested. They'll like you... a lot."

Du Long patted Shen Yujie's face lightly, as if scolding a child. A deputy head of the criminal investigation team, being lectured by a small police auxiliary, but Shen Yujie couldn't muster any resistance. Du Long's words were far more threatening than his actions, and Shen Yujie trembled under the threat. His psychological defenses finally broke, and he said, "On the computer hard drive, in the E drive. Everything is there."

Du Long glanced at the computer and said, "Where's the screwdriver? I need to take the hard drive."

After taking the hard drive, Du Long tucked it into the back pocket of his jeans and warned Shen Yujie, "Mayor Ma doesn't want his affairs to be known. You know what to do, right? How much does Zhang Xing have?"

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