Chapter 37 Bite the Hand That Feeds You

Chapter 37: Biting the Hand That Feeds You

"Good, you are a sensible man. What is your name?"

Gu Liancheng looked approvingly at the young man in the corner. When a leader falls, those who kick him while he’s down often earn the label of ingratitude, so most people would choose to stay out of it.

But Zhu Shinian’s subordinate was willing to risk offending Gu Zhen by stepping forward to capture him, which showed that Zhu Shinian must have treated his subordinates harshly.

Those who are righteous have many allies; those who are not have few. He had just experienced a taste of instant karma.

"Reporting to the Commander, my name is Li Qianxu, Deputy Captain of Group A2 of the Military Department."

"Good, Li Qianxu. You are now the Captain of Group A2. I hereby appoint your group to apprehend the criminal. If you succeed, dead or alive, you'll be promoted two ranks, and your team members one rank each."

"Commander..." The police commissioner frowned and was about to object.

Although it was awkward to say, he couldn’t help but wonder if Commander Gu had grown senile. Why would he send former subordinates to capture the man?

Who knew if Li Qianxu was stepping forward to show loyalty just to sneak into the pursuit team and pass messages to his former leader? The commissioner didn’t even want to use Li Qianxu, yet Gu Liancheng sent the whole group out.

"Every second wasted now increases the difficulty of the pursuit. Commissioner Wang, do you have any objections?" Gu Liancheng asked with a grim expression. "If it’s not important, it’s best not to waste my time."

Meeting Gu Liancheng’s unfriendly gaze, Commissioner Wang hesitated but ultimately didn’t voice his objections.

This matter was decided by Gu Liancheng. If the culprit escaped, he would bear the responsibility.

If Zhu Shinian couldn’t be caught, the Jiang family’s blame would naturally fall on Gu Liancheng, not on him.

If this Li Qianxu truly captured Zhu Shinian in a show of "righteous betrayal," then saying too much now would only make Jiang Huaiyan suspect him of obstructing the capture.

"Thank you, Commander," Li Qianxu saluted. "We will not let you down."

He walked out of the meeting room under Gu Zhen’s icy gaze. Based on his understanding of Gu Zhen, the man would indeed make sure Li Qianxu regretted opposing him every single day in the Military Department.

But Li Qianxu didn’t care much. He went downstairs and found Fu Cheng waiting for him in the police department lobby with the car.

"What’s going on, Li? What happened to the Colonel? Why did they arrest you?"

The police department lobby was bustling, and many cast strange looks at them.

The Military Department and the police often cooperated. Although Zhu Shinian wasn’t particularly close to most people and came as a civilian from District 26, his pleasant demeanor and mannerisms were no different from those of the capital’s residents, so the police generally had a good impression of him.

Most people here didn’t know the deceased, and betraying one’s master for personal gain was universally despised. Li Qianxu’s grandstanding in front of Commander Gu naturally made him unpopular.

"...There are too many people here. Let’s talk in the car," Li Qianxu said quietly.

"Oh." Fu Cheng obediently acknowledged and led him to the car.

Ever since joining the Military Department, he had followed Zhu Shinian and did whatever he was told.

When he heard about Zhu Shinian’s incident, Fu Cheng felt utterly distraught, as if the sky had fallen.

Thankfully, Li Qianxu was there. Little Li was resourceful, even though he was a year younger. The Colonel often praised him for being steady and said Fu Cheng could consult him on many matters.

Fu Cheng had driven the Group A2 official vehicle. Even inside the car, it was easy to be recognized. Just as they drove out of the parking lot, a black SUV cut them off at a sharp angle from the side.

The black SUV rolled down the window, revealing Gu Zhen’s face.

"Colonel Gu?" Fu Cheng, clueless, rolled down his window. "What's wrong? Did I block you? Should I back up?"

"Li Qianxu." Gu Zhen’s gaze swept past Fu Cheng and fixed on Li Qianxu in the passenger seat.

"Age twenty, from District 26, graduate of the Capital Second Military Academy. Joined the Military Department after graduation, assigned to the Air Force. Once falsely accused of embezzling army funds, later exonerated by then-Lieutenant Colonel Zhu Shinian, and was transferred to Group A2 of the Military Department, promoted from Major to Lieutenant Colonel."

"...Without Zhu Shinian, you’d probably still be rotting in the Military Department prison. A man who bites the hand that feeds him is no better than an animal."

"Major General, you're mistaken," Li Qianxu calmly retorted. "It’s precisely because Colonel Zhu showed me kindness that I must bring him back to the right path and make him face the law."

Gu Zhen seemed unwilling to waste more time on him. The black SUV rolled up the window, then arrogantly reversed, spun around, and peeled out, barely missing the gray commercial vehicle.

The train car was a bit crowded. A kid carrying a big stack of papers struggled through the crowd, smiling and asking each person if they wanted to buy one.

.......

"Brother, want a newspaper? Two copper coins each. After you read it, you can use it as a placemat for meals."

Zhu Shinian didn't have any small change. He wanted to refuse, but seeing the kid, who looked only five or six, he couldn't bring himself to refuse.

"I only have silver coins. Can you break one? If not, I’ll take five copies."

"I can make change!" The kid beamed, his eyes sparkling as he fumbled in his little pouch for change to give to Zhu Shinian.

"Two copper coins a copy? Then give me one too," said the passenger sitting next to Zhu Shinian.

The train conductor sold papers for a silver coin each, five times pricier than the kid's. People were happy to buy from the kid.

Zhu Shinian had heard of such kids. They took advantage of their small size to hide in the corners of the carriages a few hours before departure, earning money by selling newspapers much cheaper than the train’s prices.

Life in District 26 was harsh. Regular kids had to find ways to help support their families.

When Zhu Shinian was a kid, he'd thought of doing the same. But although such business was profitable, getting caught by the train staff meant a beating, and his grandmother and brother would never allow it.

The kid quickly ran off to sell newspapers in another car. Zhu Shinian opened the newspaper.

The first headline in the morning paper was about Colonel Zhu Shinian of the Military Department’s Group A2 murdering and defecting. The bold black headline took up nearly a quarter of the page.

"Colonel Zhu Shinian on the Run After Assassinating District 2 Governor; Federation issues highest-level wanted notice."

The news came out quickly. He wondered how close the pursuers were.

The next stop was District 26—home turf. Once back in familiar territory, it would be nearly impossible for them to catch him.

Zhu Shinian smirked to himself and continued reading. The paper included his photo, likely taken when he first joined, showing him in uniform, looking cold and aloof.

He was sitting by the window. Turning his head slightly, he saw his reflection in the glass: wearing black-rimmed glasses, his hair and eyebrows altered, dressed in light gray casual clothes, his demeanor low-key.

No one would suspect he was anything but a student who'd failed to land a job in the capital and was heading back to District 26.

After all, Zhu Shinian had worked as a spy in enemy countries. Regular folks might think great spies disguise themselves as totally different people—a twenty-year-old as a sixty-year-old, or a man as a woman and vice versa. But in reality, the military had specialists of all ages and genders; they didn't need to pretend to be a different age or gender. Their only goal was to avoid recognition.

People often overlooked the impact of demeanor and clothing on a person. The current Zhu Shinian was almost a different person from the officer in the newspaper. Even with a careful comparison, they only looked vaguely similar.

He folded the newspaper up and closed his eyes to rest, just like any other weary passenger in the car.

Nie Hang should have already picked up Grandma by now. Fortunately, he hadn’t revealed the plan to her. Otherwise, she'd have been overjoyed and then heartbroken.

Once he got there, he'd see Grandma.

The remaining ten-plus minutes of the journey became somewhat hard to endure. As he watched the scenery outside gradually become more familiar, Zhu Shinian thought about what he had to do when he arrived and what he wanted to say to his grandmother.

"Attention, passengers: the train is about to arrive at District 26, which is the terminal station. Please prepare to disembark in advance, be careful, and no running on the platform."

The man next to Zhu Shinian, as if suddenly hearing the teacher call his name when he was dozing off in class, jolted awake and started packing up his things. Zhu Shinian only had a backpack, so there was nothing much to pack up.

When the train arrived, he stood up almost immediately. The crowd surged toward the exit, and Zhu Shinian was carried along by the flow.

The security check upon arrival at this station was much stricter than at the Capital Station. Every passenger took at least a minute to pass through, and if it was a tall male, they would be repeatedly inspected and questioned.

Zhu Shinian lowered his eyes, following the crowd forward as if lost in thought, but silently slipped his hand into his coat pocket.

Inside the pocket was a pistol, fully loaded.

Zhu Shinian silently assessed the situation in his mind when suddenly sounds of an argument broke out from outside the exit ahead.

"Stop." The man's voice was hoarse and impatient. Zhu Shinian paused his steps and looked toward the sound.

It was the child who had been selling newspapers earlier.

The boy was grabbed by the collar by a man in a jacket, his face instantly turning pale. Coins from his pocket scattered all over the ground.

"I saw you last time," the man squinted. "Where did you get the money? Sneaking around selling things on the train again, at such a young age without shame. Hand it over."

"This, this is mine. Don’t hit me..." The boy was so scared he couldn’t speak properly, shaking his head desperately. "No, don’t rob my money, don’t hit me..."

"What are you doing? Bullying someone? Have you no shame?" A woman outside the exit pulled the child into her arms. She was a female beta, wearing a plain wool coat, her hair neatly tied back in a practical style.

"This is my daughter, are you blind?" She looked up at the man, her tone sharp. "We’re here to pick up my husband. What right do you have to falsely accuse her?"

The man was stunned, clearly not expecting anyone to interfere.

"Your daughter?" He looked her up and down. "Never seen money before? Desperate for cash, huh? You'll stoop to make money off this too?"

The woman’s temper flared.

"What do you mean by that?" Her voice shot up. "Who’s making money off you? What, looking down on us? Think we mother and daughter are easy to push around?"

She stepped forward, almost pressing against the man.

"You deadbeat!" She suddenly turned and shouted at Zhu Shinian, who hadn’t yet left the station, her tone fierce and genuine. "So you went to the Capital to study and now you’re something, huh? Have you got another child out there? Your wife and daughter came all this way to pick you up, and you pretend to be blind? Found someone else out there?"

That shout was both fierce and genuine. Everyone around immediately looked over.

Zhu Shinian met her gaze and, rare for him, froze for a moment. It was a face he absolutely could not mistake.

Lin Zhiyu, a civilian staff member of the military’s A2 Group, one of Zhu Shinian’s direct subordinates.

Author's note: