Chapter 181: Talking About Me?
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
"What?" Zhao Yu was stunned. "Bureau Chief Zhou, what do you mean by this? Why do you wanna suspend me!?"
"Why?" Bureau Chief Zhou pointed at the desk with his index finger and said, "You hired people to beat up the suspect’s girlfriend last night, and also obstructed the officers on duty! Then you led a group of agents into Guangyuan Tea House and broke the leg of its boss in front of everyone! You beat up people! Do you know that what you’ve done is not only against regulation but against the law? There were two members of the city council among the eyewitnesses! You...as policeman, how could you do this?"
"Bureau Chief Zhou," Zhao Yu quickly retaliated, "they were the ones interfering with the investigation and obstructing justice! Didn’t Hou Meng already account for this in his statement? These two knew that Hou Meng had committed murder, but they were still helping him! Especially Ji Chunhua. He helped Hou Meng hide and even arranged for him to get away. This is not only concealing a crime, but he’s an accomplice!"
"You’re only saying this after it has happened," Bureau Chief Zhou rebutted bluntly. "This was based on your assumption before you decided to take action! A wild guess! A gamble! You did not have sufficient evidence at all. What if they had nothing to do with Hou Meng! Do you know what your actions are called? Beating innocent people, abuse of power, you could be dismissed!"
"Dismissed?" Zhao Yu straightened his back and said righteously, "Team Leader Qu Ping, a Key Case Investigation Team Leader was killed! Her body was left out on the streets! How do you wanna handle this? Continue waiting? Watch over the witnesses helplessly and continued waiting like this? If I had not taken extreme actions last night, Hou Meng would have escaped with Ji Chunhua’s arrangements!"
"Excuses!" Bureau Chief Zhou was exasperated. "Alright, even if you got Hou Meng as a fluke! What happened after that? You just needed to catch the suspect! Look what you did! There were twelve people in that warehouse who have been seriously injured by you; five are still in the hospital now, and one is even in ICU and almost died! Zhao Yu, although they were pyramid scammers, they are still citizens protected by the law! Think about what you’ve done…"
"Bureau Chief!" Zhao Yu said angrily, "Those pyramid sellers were all brainwashed. Not only did they stop me from catching Hou Meng, they also attacked us and wanted to kill us! There were forty to fifty of them, and they even closed the door! There were only three of us! If we showed them mercy, would we still be alive? Do you mean that we should have been beaten and not retaliate? Even if we were not officers on duty, it would be considered a legitimate act of defence, even for regular citizens!"
"Huh! Zhao Yu!" Bureau Chief Zhou was breathing hard. "You’re still finding excuses for yourself! Don’t you feel, even a little bit, that what you did yesterday was wrong?"
"I only know that I did the right thing yesterday," Zhao Yu clenched his fist, "and that’s catching the suspect who killed Team Leader Qu Ping!"
"Unrepentant! Huh!" Bureau Chief Zhou was shaking with fury. "We are policemen, we are a disciplined service, we have to think of the consequences before acting! We cannot do as we please and disregard the law! You better reflect on your own conduct!"
"Bureau Chief!" Zhao Yu glared like a bull and clenched his teeth. "At the place where Team Leader Qu was killed, there was only a video showing Hou Meng leaving, but none showing him arriving! He wasn't holding any weapons, and the weapon appeared in a garbage bin more than a kilometer away. This means that Hou Meng might have an accomplice! There may be more to Team Leader Qu Ping's death than what meets the eye!"
"Don't tell me all this when you've already been suspended. You don't have to worry about this!"
"Before Team Leader Qu was killed," Zhao Yu did not listen to the bureau chief's warning and continued saying, "we had already made great progress in the Mianling Case investigation. I suspect that Team Leader Qu Ping's death might be linked to the Mianling Case! There could be another mastermind behind Hou Meng! And this mastermind is also very likely to know the truth behind the Mianling Case!"
"I have nothing to say about your whimsical thinking." Bureau Chief Zhou did not care about Zhao Yu's opinion. "Don't think that you're a great detective after solving a few cases. Facts need to be proven by evidence. We need evidence, not just by you saying ‘might be’ and ‘likely’..."
"If my deduction is correct," Zhao Yu also did not wait for the bureau chief to finish, and continued with his thought at the same time, "it's definitely not an ordinary person who knew Team Leader Qu Ping. The real mastermind is not an outsider, but is from our own police station! There's a rat inside the police force! We have to get to the bottom of all this fast!"
"Zhao Yu!" Bureau Chief Zhou could not take it anymore. He raised his hand and slammed the table as he shouted, "I'll be straight with you! There's now a complaint against you which is now on the way to the police station. I’ve already gotten two scoldings early this morning because of you! I'm already being very kind by not firing you. If not for the fact that you caught Hou Meng in the end, it wouldn't be as simple as just a suspension! You could already be put into custody by the police force, do you know that!?"
"Bureau Chief!" Zhao Yu’s tone was even higher than the bureau chief's. "Team Leader Qu Ping is dead! Aren’t you the least bit concerned about why she died? A responsible and dutiful detective leader died, just like that! Don't you care to know the truth?"
"How do you know that I'm not concerned and not upset?" Bureau Chief Zhou went another tone higher and roared angrily, "Team Leader Qu is dead. Do I really have to cry in front of you? You said I don't care about the truth? If I didn’t care about the truth, would I have applied to the city bureau to activate the entire Qinshan police force?"
"It's useless activating the police force alone!" Zhao Yu shouted, unwilling to accept defeat. "I understand the situation of the Mianling Case. This case has to be investigated by me! And it has to be solved fast! There’s a possibility that the mastermind is someone with great power in the police station!"
"Zhao Yu!! Zhao Yu!!!" Bureau Chief Zhou was extremely furious. He flew into a rage and shouted, "We have our rules and basis in the police force. You breached the discipline and guidelines, so you have to accept punishment! Don't you understand what I said? Go back home and wait to hear how you'll be dealt with! Stop worrying about the case. Don't think that the police force is nothing without you! Get out, get out now!!!"
"Ah!" Anger got into Zhao Yu’s head and he could not control himself anymore. He raised his leg and kicked Bureau Chief Zhou’s desk! Bureau Chief Zhou’s desk was made from rosewood and was extremely heavy. It normally took great effort just to move it a little. After Zhao Yu’s ferocious kick, the huge desk was like a see-saw and started shaking violently!
Bam…The Longjing tea, freshly-brewed by Bureau Chief Zhou, fell onto the floor with the expensive tea cup and smashed to pieces! At that moment, Bureau Chief Zhou’s face was as white as a sheet from shock, and he was completely stunned!
"Holy sh*t!" Zhao Yu scolded angrily. "You don't let me investigate, you think I wanna entertain you! Huh! I quit!!!" With this, Zhao Yu put up his middle finger at Bureau Chief Zhou and left.
Just as he turned around, secretary Song Chao, who rushed over after hearing the commotion, opened the office door at the same time. Seeing Zhao Yu come toward him aggressively, Song Chao quickly put his back against the door and looked at Zhao Yu as he left…
A long while after Zhao Yu had left, Bureau Chief Zhou finally recovered from his shock!
"Bureau Chief...are you alright?" Song Chao asked timidly.
"Wh-what!?" Bureau Chief Zhou finally thought of something. He said to himself trembling, "He said that the mastermind is someone with great power in the police station, this...isn't this talking about me!?"