How You Can Sue Me for My Crimes in Dreams

”You’re Xu Huo!?”

”I am.”

”Whoa, just looking at your build, I can tell you’re something special.”

Several middle-aged men stood up and walked over, their faces full of praise.

The three of them exuded a clean and sharp aura. There wasn’t a speck of dirt on them, and their bearing had a certain undefinable quality.

They seemed very amiable, like kind old men.

Of course, these three ”old men” weren’t people you could meet just by asking.

Xu Huo’s heart stirred. His experience allowed him to subconsciously gauge the three men’s ranks.

The three of them... Not one was below the department level!

’My god. In all of Haiyun Province, with its population of a hundred million, you could count the number of department-level officials on your hands...’

”This is Li Long, he’s Liu Yun, and this is Zhang Yi.”

Chu Linhai capped his pen, stood up, and walked over. Gone was the usual tension he had with Xu Huo; instead, he cheerfully introduced the three men to him.

Chu Linhai had a sturdy build, a square face, and strong features, but that was when he was younger. Now in his fifties, his body had grown stout, and his face held a hint of world-weariness.

”Ah, just call me Uncle,”

Li Long said with a chuckle, pulling Xu Huo further inside as the other two shut the door behind them.

The way Li Long was looking at Xu Huo was as if he’d just discovered a priceless treasure. That kindness, flowing like a gentle stream, sent a chill down Xu Huo’s spine.

Sure enough, the next second, the man grabbed Xu Huo’s hand.

”Xiao Xu, have you ever thought about becoming a professional police officer?”

”Don’t worry, no internship. You temper yourself at the grassroots level for two years, and then how about Uncle here transfers you to the provincial department?”

”You’ll work under me, and in the future...”

’A professional police officer?’

’This is...’

’They’re here to poach me!?’

Seeing the man’s burning gaze, Xu Huo’s heart skipped a beat. He was about to instinctively refuse, but before he could say a word, Chu Linhai spoke up.

”Ahem, I’m still here.”

Chu Linhai coughed, reminding them that he, the Director of the Jiangsan City bureau, was still in the room.

However, the man didn’t reply. Instead, the other two spoke up.

”Tsk, it’s not that I’m talking bad about him, but working under him would be a waste of your talent. If you ask me, you’d be better off with me!”

Liu Yun shot the other man a look. He had planned to make some small talk before getting to the point, but he hadn’t expected the other guy to beat him to the punch.

”Ahem!”

Chu Linhai coughed again.

”You have the nerve to say that? One’s in administration, the other is in internal affairs. How is going to either of you any different from letting a pearl be covered in dust!?”

Zhang Yi chuckled. They were old acquaintances who had known each other for decades. When they talked now, it was more like old friends than colleagues.

”Come with me!”

”First, you’ll get experience in a special task force for two years. Then, we’ll form a provincial-level task force. You’ll have a hand in all the major, important, and serious cases. Once you’ve got the seniority, you’ll lead the task force directly!”

’A provincial-level task force?’

To be honest, almost everyone’s romantic fantasy about being a criminal detective is to become a super-intelligent investigator, commanding the entire province’s police force in a battle of wits against criminals!

This was especially true for detectives themselves; even those in internal affairs fantasized about such things, let alone at the provincial level.

So, the price Zhang Yi offered was high enough, and the pie he was sketching in the sky was just too tempting!

This was normal. It was just part of the police force’s habit of ”fighting over things,” like babies crying for milk.

Furthermore, in a way, they were also responsible for certain sectors. If a situation were to arise in their domain...

If something major happened, like the ”Flesh Processing Plant” incident...

Getting disciplined would be getting off light!

Of course, if so many people hadn’t been murdered and the case hadn’t been solved so quickly, it would have been like in his previous life when a police station lost a gun but found it again quickly—the higher-ups wouldn’t have said much.

But...

You have to understand.

These days, the clearance rate for even the most basic and simple criminal cases was only about thirty percent, and that figure was inflated.

In other words, once a major incident occurred at the grassroots level, there was little chance they could solve it. They could only wait to be punished.

But now, things were different.

Chu Linhai. Chu Linhai of the Jiangsan City bureau.

Within one month, he had turned disaster into triumph three times in a row! A full three times!

The first time, he solved the case right after staking his career on it.

The second time, he had the provincial department up in arms, but then he smoothed things over in minutes.

And the third time didn’t escalate into a situation that couldn’t be contained.

Li Long and the others fell silent just thinking about it. At the same time, they looked at Xu Huo, truly wishing they could just take him back with them right now.

They might not need him, but it was better than needing someone and having no one when trouble struck.

”COUGH COUGH!” Chu Linhai’s coughing grew louder and louder.

”Hey, what are you coughing for?”

Li Long couldn’t take it anymore and turned to tease him.

”I’m still here! What’s the big idea, trying to poach my guy right in front of me?”

It was the first time Chu Linhai realized his old acquaintances could be so shameless. He was speechless.

”Poach him? Is Xiao Xu your man?” Liu Yun laughed. ”Then why don’t you tell me Xiao Xu’s badge number?”

’Badge number?’

’How could a non-staff member have a badge number!?’

”Alright, alright, let’s get down to business.”

Chu Linhai’s voice deepened as he quickly changed the subject, steering the conversation back to official matters.

Hearing this, Xu Huo’s heart sank. He looked at the three men.

’Sure enough, people from the provincial department wouldn’t come all this way just to chat with me...’

’I just don’t know...’

’...what it’s about.’

”Do you remember the Sun Jian case from early September?”

Li Long’s expression sobered. He looked at Xu Huo, his face growing serious.

”I remember. The case about buying and selling corpses.”

Xu Huo nodded. The memory of opening that warehouse to a mountain of bodies had left an indelible mark on the entire squad.

”Yes, that’s the one!”

Chu Linhai nodded. ”We’ve uncovered something. Some businesses, some influential groups, and some people.”

The emergence of a trafficking chain isn’t something that can be propped up by Sun Jian alone.

The buyers, the sellers of the raw materials... these are all links in the chain.

Especially the buyers.

It comes back to the same question: what kind of people like thrills, who seek out the ultimate stimulation?

First, people living in extremely repressive environments.

But where would these people get the money to ’enjoy’ the thrills Sun Jian provided?

That leads to the second type.

People who have built up a tolerance to ordinary thrills!

Beautiful women, fast cars... if you can build a tolerance to things like that, what kind of status would you have?

Perhaps some illustrious businessman reveals his true nature the moment he gets home!

”These people have become vigilant. The search operations over the past month have made them realize the higher-ups are serious this time.”

Chu Linhai added faintly.

”This is a last-ditch struggle, the thrashing of a dying animal. But the police are also afraid they’ll get desperate.”

”Because in the initial stages of the case, the police didn’t treat it with enough importance, which led to information being easily accessible.”

The fishing village residents, the people interviewed, the police themselves... it’s all too easy for these people to find out some information.

”What I mean is...”

”They can trace it back to you.”

Chu Linhai said, his eyes fixed on Xu Huo.

”The higher-ups have issued a kill order for this case. These people can’t fight the state apparatus, so the anger they feel is bound to be focused on a single target!”

The power of the state apparatus is not something any single individual can resist.

But that also presents a problem.

The city bureau is currently trying to wrap up too many cases and has limited manpower. The provincial department’s forces can’t be transferred over directly. Before it comes to a fight to the death, the other side has enough time to retaliate.

Retaliate against the entire police department? That would be suicide!

Or retaliate against one person, the individual officer who directly brought about their downfall!?

Would they dare?

They would!

This isn’t just alarmist talk.

In the Eastern Country, countless bloody examples of police officers being retaliated against and killed by murderers hang over their heads!

”So, I plan to have you leave for a while.”

Chu Linhai took a drag from his cigarette, the smoke swirling around him.

”To the next city over?” Xu Huo frowned.

”Wrong. Out of the province. For at least a month, don’t show your face in Haiyun Province!”

Chu Linhai’s expression was extremely grave. ”It’s best if you don’t come back until the case is in its final wrap-up phase!”

’Leave the province?’

Suddenly, Xu Huo froze.

It wasn’t out of fear, nor was it shock. It was...

...bewilderment!

A face gradually materialized in his mind.

”Am I going to one of the northernmost provinces?” Xu Huo asked tentatively.

”No, you’re going south. To the far south.”

Chu Linhai shook his head.

Hearing this, Xu Huo breathed a sigh of relief.

The far south was completely separate from that person. He wouldn’t have to worry about any more strange complications.

He began to mull over what Chu Linhai had said. After a long moment of contemplation, he spoke:

”Okay.”

”Where am I going?”

Chu Linhai let out a breath. His biggest fear was that Xu Huo would refuse to leave and insist on helping the city bureau investigate the suspects.

Doing so would be pointless. The difficulty with these people wasn’t about whether they could be found!

It was about how to arrest them.

”Hanhai Province!” Chu Linhai said immediately. He paused, then added:

”They have a festival over there recently. You can take these next few days to go have some fun and get some rest.”

Xu Huo nodded.

He wasn’t afraid of individual assassins, but the people around him were. To those criminals, the idea of ”not harming family and friends” was a joke.

As for whether the other side would actually resort to assassination...

Heh, don’t be brainwashed by the so-called ”real-life business warfare” that’s just pouring boiling water on a competitor’s money tree or smearing them with petty ads.

Real business warfare is inhuman, rule-less, lawless, and chaotic!

A bottom line?

What’s that? Can you eat it?

Morality?

Is it valuable? How much is it worth?

”When do I leave?” Xu Huo asked.

”The sooner, the better!” Chu Linhai said.

”Hanhai Province should welcome you,” Chu Linhai thought for a moment and added.

”That’s what their tourism slogan says.”

”Welcoming residents from all over the country!”

The face from not long ago reappeared in Xu Huo’s mind.

The two of them.

One in the far north of the country, the other in the far south...

”Alright!” Xu Huo nodded immediately.

’Mmm...’

’There’s no way we’ll run into each other!’

’It’s settled. Everything is settled!!!’