Chapter 96: Shouldn’t Be Outside the Car, Should Be Inside

Chapter 96: Shouldn't Be Outside the Car, Should Be Inside It

Kevin's face flushed with humiliation.

It was utterly humiliating.

Whether it was having his gun taken by an Asian man who didn't even hold a formal police rank or being mocked to his face—it was all too humiliating!

He raised his hand and pointed at Jian Ruochen, saying in a deep voice, "I'm reporting you for seizing the gun and firing it without authorization!"

Thankfully, he had brought a recorder.

As long as he could provoke Jian Ruochen into saying something incriminating, West Kowloon was going to pay!

Jian Ruochen gave a low chuckle. "Of course, you can report it."

He muttered under his breath, "After all, I didn't fire it. There are no fingerprints of mine on the gun. What evidence do you have? You're not trying to frame me, are you?"

He had made sure to wipe down the gun before putting it back.

Kevin’s breath hitched.

He knew full well that Jian Ruochen was trying to provoke him.

But the man spoke softly, using polite language, laced with sarcasm!

It was even more infuriating!

Jian Ruochen said, "Worst case scenario, the gun definitely wasn’t fired by me, and you won’t admit you fired it either. So, this bullet was fired by an unknown person who picked up your lost service weapon."

He spread his hands, and amid the increasingly loud siren of the ambulance, drawled, "According to current regulations, the penalty for a police superintendent losing their service weapon is more severe. I think it’s better for you to just admit it."

Kevin almost bit back a curse.

Was this just a simple matter of a lost firearm?

This was about losing a service weapon, wounding a fellow officer, losing the codebook, and directly causing the failure of a high-level plan!

If the higher-ups couldn’t punish Jian Ruochen, wouldn't they make an example of a police superintendent like him?

Kevin Chris’s mouth felt sour, sweat beaded on his forehead, and he was so anxious his vision swam, yet he couldn’t think of a single word to refute.

He had planned everything before coming today.

Stop the West Kowloon Major Crimes Unit, verify the forged search warrant, then use the opportunity to impeach the current Commissioner Lei Jinwen, and find a way to oust the pro-mainland police faction led by Lei Jinwen, replacing them with his own people.

The higher-ups would surely view him in a new light.

Wouldn’t a promotion then be in the bag?

But now?

Jian Ruochen fired a shot.

His merits were gone, and he might even be held accountable!

His career advancement just went up in smoke.

Kevin watched the ambulance speeding over and stopping beside the security guard.

He wished he were the one in the ambulance.

He was fuming, ready to pass out.

Kevin’s eyes rolled back, and he reached out to lean against the white Toyota. Before he could touch it, Guan Yingjun, who had just finished handling the scene, shoved him aside one-handed.

Guan Yingjun dumped the evidence bag containing the codebook into the car with his other hand, then turned and seized Kevin’s hand, blocking the car window and door. "Hello, I’m Guan Yingjun from the West Kowloon Major Crimes Unit."

Kevin Chris managed a strained smile, his heart hammering. His other hand slid into his pocket, feeling the recorder inside.

There was still hope.

Jian Ruochen had been cautious and never spoken the truth.

But Guan Yingjun was different. He had also seen Jian Ruochen fire the shot. As long as he could get Guan Yingjun to admit this fact...

Guan Yingjun glanced at his movement, smiled fakely, and shook Kevin’s hand up and down. "Thank you, Commissioner, for having our backs."

Jian Ruochen bit his lip, holding back.

In the end, he couldn’t help it and turned away, laughing silently.

Kevin closed his eyes, his face went pale.

Well, his last hope vanished.

Guan Yingjun made a gesture of invitation. "Let me help you to the car?"

His movements were polite and polished.

But his expression didn’t match his actions—the act wasn't convincing.

Though his words were about getting into the car, his expression seemed to say, "I’ll send you on your way."

Jian Ruochen leaned against the car door, watching, amused, as the British police commissioner in a daze got into the black police car parked by the roadside.

The car swerved as it drove off, hit a flower bed, scraped a roadside trash can while reversing, and finally sped away.

His eyes crinkled with amusement as he turned to Guan Yingjun. Just as he was about to speak, he caught the scent of blood.

Remembering the earlier gunshots, his face fell. "Did you get into a firefight? Are you injured?"

Guan Yingjun: "Just a scratch. But Lin Jiacheng took a bullet to the leg. The security guard fired at his calf, but thankfully it didn’t hit the bone."

Jian Ruochen let out a small sigh of relief.

Not hitting the bone was a silver lining.

Lin Jiacheng’s specialty was surveillance. If the bone had been hit, he'd never fully recover his peak physical condition, inevitably affecting his career.

Now that he had made contributions, his leg would heal with a month or two of rest, paving the way for his career.

As Jian Ruochen thought this, the coppery scent of blood grew stronger.

He glanced suspiciously at Guan Yingjun’s shoulder. The black shirt was soaked and stuck to the man’s body, with a torn wound at the junction of his shoulder and neck, flesh laid bare.

That's no scratch!

Jian Ruochen glanced at the codebook. The item was in the car, and anyone shady could easily reach in and snatch it.

The car couldn’t be left unattended.

He just pointed to the ambulance, "Go ahead."

Guan Yingjun chuckled, raising one hand to touch Jian Ruochen's face, and asked softly, "Getting teary-eyed already?"

Jian Ruochen tilted his head, rubbing his cheek against the man's calloused palm, and said soothingly in a hoarse voice, "No, get going."

Guan Yingjun didn't know whether he liked Jian Ruochen's tenderness or his defiance.

Maybe both.

Because it was Jian Ruochen in front of him, he was crazy about everything he did.

Jian Ruochen felt uncomfortable under his gaze and averted his eyes. Then, his palm felt cold. Looking down, he realized Guan Yingjun had taken out his service weapon and handed it to him.

Guan Yingjun said, "Keep this just in case. Guard the codebook. If it gets opened, it’s on me. I’ll go get bandaged first."

Jian Ruochen responded softly and watched Guan Yingjun walk away. The man stood tall and moved with purpose, showing no sign of injury—until he sat in the ambulance, took off his upper clothing, and revealed the shocking wound on his shoulder.

Even from this distance, you could see the redness.

Jian Ruochen lowered his gaze, sat in the back seat, and protected the codebook.

With the codebook secured, there would be no fallout over the warrant issue.

The information in the secret files was also accounted for.

The only worry now was whether security had played them—what they fought so hard to protect might not be the codebook after all.

Jian Ruochen held the gun, on edge for nearly half an hour, until Guan Yingjun returned with Bi Wanwan and the others after getting his wound treated.

Bi Wanwan had a bandage wrapped around the back of her hand, with blood seeping through, and she smiled, "Would you look at how jumpy our Little God of Wealth is?"

"After all, it’s something you guys fought hard to get," Jian Ruochen said, switching off the safety of the service pistol and returning it to Guan Yingjun.

Bi Wanwan tossed her hair back, suddenly feeling moved and at a loss for words.

Guan Yingjun opened the back door, picked up the codebook, and then got into the driver's seat. "Alright, let’s pack it in for today. Someone stay at the hospital to watch that security guard. We’ll deal with him after he wakes up."

Jian Ruochen’s heart tightened. "Did I knock him out?"

"No, he injured his leg too," Sizheng Liu said, climbing into the back seat and fastening his seatbelt. "After he was shot, he tripped, hit his forehead on the ground, and passed out."

Jian Ruochen: "..."

Talk about bad luck.

The group drove back to the police station.

Lin Yazhi, when she got the update, contacted Li Maoming, the liaison officer of Interpol China National Central Bureau, and asked him to bring someone to take over the codebook.

This thing was a liability—at most, they could keep a copy. It absolutely couldn’t stay in the regional headquarters for long.

Li Maoming understood this too and had his subordinates take custody immediately.

Only then was Team A’s mission considered complete.

Jian Ruochen breathed a sigh of relief. "Detective Guan, Butler Luo will send a driver and bodyguards to pick you up. Since you’re in no shape to drive right now, do you want to come with me?"

Bi Wanwan, hearing this, slowed down her clearing of the desk.

She just wanted to see the iron tree flowering.

To see how things play out, to see something new—no other meaning.

Guan Yingjun said, "No need. I’m not going back tonight. I’ll crash somewhere else."

Bi Wanwan’s gaze shifted suspiciously, wondering if she had guessed wrong.

Shouldn’t someone try every possible way to get close to the person they like after they've fallen for them?

Sharing a ride, eating together—these were standard procedure.

With this reaction, could it be that Detective Guan wasn’t interested?

That shouldn’t be. If he wasn’t interested, how to explain the little things in the car?

She moved the first sheet of the A4 file to the last, pulled one out from the middle pretending to organize it, and eavesdropped intently.

Jian Ruochen smiled. "Detective Guan, you’re injured and don’t want your family to know, right?"

Guan Yingjun grunted in affirmation.

"Then I’ll give you a ride," Jian Ruochen said, finalizing it.

Bi Wanwan didn’t bat an eye, put the files in order, picked up her bag, and walked out. Reaching the stairwell, she stomped her foot, took a deep breath, and whispered, "It must be! Your logical reasoning is almost perfect—how could you doubt yourself!"

Zhang Xingzong, following behind, asked confused, "Must be what?"

Bi Wanwan went poker-faced again and acted as if she knew nothing. "Nothing."

The next afternoon, around three.

After Jian Ruochen was done teaching, he received a call from Li Maoming on his way to the West Kowloon Region Police Station.

Li Maoming: "Mr. Jian, the code has been deciphered. I’ve sent someone to deliver the decoded version to Superintendent Lin. Politically sensitive material falls outside your responsibilities—we’ll handle it. You can handle the rest."

This feeling of reassurance!

It’s good to have backup!

Jian Ruochen’s lips curved. "I understand. Thank you, Officer Li."

"No need for thanks—we’re on the same side," Li Maoming said with warmth and respect toward the 5.9 billion (assets), which was sure to grow in the future.

He added seriously, "We should be thanking you. The deciphered content has significant impact. Without you, we would’ve faced greater risks."

Jian Ruochen was a little surprised. "You’re too kind."

After exchanging a few more polite words, Jian Ruochen hung up.

Now he was even more curious about the contents of the secret files, wishing he could beam over to the station to see.

·

Meanwhile.

Kowloon, Lu Estate.

The house manager of the Lu family stood respectfully before Lu Rong, with his head lowered as he said, "Mr. Lu, our informant reports that the West Kowloon Regional Police Station took the cipher codebook yesterday. They should have cracked the message by now."

Lu Rong gave a low laugh. "They work fast."

He leaned back into the sofa, glanced down at the documents on the table, and drew a line across one of them with a pen. "Send this back to be redone."

"Yes."

"And one more thing." Lu Rong hooked a finger, waiting for the house manager to lean in closer before continuing, "Repackage the Preludin our people obtained as diet pills and sell them at Hong Kong University to divert the police's attention. Don’t rush it—put it through several layers and use the organization Lu Qian left in place to handle it."

The house manager didn't understand why Lu Rong was doing this, but he knew this wasn't the time for questions. He lowered his head and acknowledged the order.

Lu Rong added, "Doesn’t the Chief Director of the ICAC want a sports car? I’ve heard his youngest daughter will be visiting our supermarket this weekend. Set up a prize drawing and give her that limited-edition sports car as the prize."

The house manager bowed again and asked, "To secure Jiang Hanyu’s release?"

Lu Rong laughed. "Financial crimes—you want to take his spot once he’s out?"

The house manager fell silent, sweat forming on his brow as he stared rigidly at his shoes.

Lu Rong said, "Lu Qian faces execution the day after tomorrow. I want the video."

He chuckled again. "This Jian Ruochen has stopped taking his meds and is far more interesting than he was half a year ago. Pity he wised up about choosing men—unlike his mother."

A drop of sweat finally fell from the house manager’s forehead onto the carpet, leaving a small, dark circle. Too afraid to respond, he backed out of the study shaking.

·

Elsewhere.

West Kowloon.

Major Case Team A. Jian Ruochen stared at the decrypted secret files, muttering to himself, "Cooperate with university students to promote democracy and human rights speeches, murder Hong Kong businessmen who invested in the mainland, move their assets offshore after taking control, establish dual registration to facilitate future profits… Special attention… Jian Electronics Technology."

The contents of the secret files had nothing to do with the key, nor did they mention the use of Preludin, yet they were clearly targeting him.

But it wasn’t just him—it was targeting all businessmen who had invested in emerging industries.

This indicated that British Hong Kong was preparing to extract money from Hong Kong post-handover.

This information reminded him of the death of "Jian Ruochen’s" mother.

After arriving in Hong Kong, she had vigorously developed public infrastructure, benefited the people of Hong Kong, invested in high-growth industries, and listed multiple companies in Hong Kong.

Fundamentally, she had threatened the interests of those in power.

Her inability to receive medical care during childbirth might not have been solely because she loved the wrong man…

On the surface, Lu Qian and Jiang Hanyu were responsible for "Jian Ruochen’s" tragedy, but who's really behind it?