I Cultivate in a Government Office

Chapter 78: Chapter 77: A Great Purge?

”Alright!” Liu Rong was relieved to see Yang Wenqing wasn’t offended. With a nod, she hurried off toward the detention cells.

After Liu Rong left, Yang Wenqing returned to his office. He didn’t head to the interrogation room right away. He knew that the Wang father and son had been operating in Qianjiao County for years; conventional interrogation techniques would be useless against them, at least not in the short term. Sending his two subordinates to question them was merely a formality, a step in the standard procedure.

Just as Yang Wenqing expected.

For two hours, Wu Yan and Liu Rong took turns interrogating them, but the Wang father and son simply played dumb the entire time.

As for the bizarre mirror and the strange circumstances of Li Mo’s death, the Wangs acted even more shocked and furious than their interrogators, Wu Yan and Liu Rong. They demanded the City Defense Bureau find the truth at once and clear their names.

Most importantly, the father and son demanded their immediate release. Without new evidence, it was a demand that might actually have to be met; the ”special circumstances” of the recent period could no longer be used as a justification for holding them.

Yang Wenqing instructed Wu Yan, ”You and Ah Rong, continue investigating along the lines I laid out in the conference room. And from now on, interrogate the Wang father and son once every morning.”

”Yes, Captain!”

Once Wu Yan had gone, Yang Wenqing collected his thoughts. He then stood and went straight to Vice Director Gao’s office. The case had reached a point where it had to be escalated.

He knocked and entered. Vice Director Gao was at his desk reviewing documents. He smiled upon seeing Yang Wenqing. ”Wenqing, have a seat.”

After a respectful nod, Yang Wenqing sat in the chair opposite the Vice Director.

”What is it?”

”It’s about a case.”

Vice Director Gao set down his pen and leaned forward slightly, his expression turning to one of interest. ”What case?”

”It concerns Zhenyuan Mining and the earlier body-dumping case at the port,” Yang Wenqing said gravely. He proceeded to give a clear and objective summary of Wu Yan and Liu Rong’s findings.

Vice Director Gao listened in silence, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the tabletop. The smile had long vanished from his face, replaced by a profound seriousness. Only when Yang Wenqing had finished did he speak. ”Bring me all the files for both cases. I want to see everything, including the medical examiner’s reports.”

Yang Wenqing was prepared. He immediately retrieved copies of the organized case files from his Storage Bag. They included the preliminary report on the port body-dumping case and Chen Dayong, crime scene photos from Li Mo’s death, medical examiner Ding Lang’s initial analysis, and the preliminary investigation report from Wu Yan and Liu Rong on Zhenyuan Mining’s financial flows and social connections.

Vice Director Gao took the files and examined them with extreme care, lingering on each page. He paid particular attention to Ding Lang’s speculation about the ”collection of extreme negative emotions” and the photograph of the bizarre mirror. For a long moment, the only sound in the office was the soft rustle of turning pages.

Yang Wenqing sat quietly across from him, keenly feeling the atmosphere grow heavier and heavier with every moment that passed.

After a long while, Vice Director Gao finally closed the last file. He set the documents gently on the desk, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes. He massaged the bridge of his nose, as if digesting the information, or perhaps weighing a difficult decision.

A few minutes later, he opened his eyes, looked directly at Yang Wenqing, and spoke in a low voice.

”Wenqing, you must remember this: when we’re facing the Yellow Springs Guide, our rules of engagement have to change.”

His voice was low, but it carried an iron weight. ”In a normal investigation, we require a complete chain of evidence. We operate on the principle of innocent until proven guilty. But when dealing with these lunatics, not a single possible lead, not a single person of interest, can be let go!”

He paused, then said, enunciating each word, ”Since the Wang father and son are prime suspects, we absolutely cannot let them go just because we lack direct evidence. That would be letting the tiger return to the mountain. I will file a report with the Municipal Bureau immediately to request authorization to use the Soul-Searching Technique on them!”

”The Soul-Searching Technique?”

Yang Wenqing was deeply shaken. ’The Soul-Searching Technique?’ He had only ever heard of it in a restricted course at the Police Academy. It was said to be a spell that could forcibly rifle through a person’s memories, but the consequences were dire. In the best-case scenario, the subject’s Divine Soul would be damaged, turning them into an imbecile. In the worst case, their consciousness would simply dissipate on the spot.

’Furthermore, the approval process is incredibly strict. It’s typically reserved for major cases involving national security or the subversion of the state, and even then, only used on unrepentant, hardened criminals against whom there is irrefutable proof.’

’For Vice Director Gao to make this move... he’s clearly classifying this as a case of the absolute highest priority. This is going to be a massive crackdown!’

Vice Director Gao saw the shock in Yang Wenqing’s eyes and explained with a grave expression, ”You still don’t understand what the Yellow Springs Guide represents. It’s more than just an Evil Cult Organization.”

He stood and walked to the window, gazing out at the city lights beginning to flicker on. His voice carried a barely perceptible trace of fear. ”They are most rampant on the New Continent. They’ve already toppled the governments of several smaller nations, turning them into hell on earth. The escalating internal conflicts among the tribes of the Northern Grassland in recent years... their shadow is behind much of that as well.”

He turned, his gaze burning as he stared at Yang Wenqing. ”The only reason our nation of Wanxuan has been able to maintain relative stability is because, from the very top to the very bottom, we maintain the highest level of vigilance and employ the harshest measures against the Yellow Springs Guide and its affiliates. ’Better to neutralize an innocent than to let a guilty one escape.’ That is the iron-clad rule, a lesson paid for with countless lives!”

”If the Wang father and son are innocent, the Soul-Searching Technique will clear their names—at the cost of them becoming imbeciles, of course. Considering all the crimes they’ve committed over the years, that’s hardly an excessive punishment. But if they truly are involved with the Yellow Springs Guide, even by the thinnest of threads, then we must do whatever it takes to rip out the entire network behind them by the roots.”