Special District 9 Chapter 152: The Suffering Platoon Commander Liu

By the stairway.

Liu Baochen trembled in fury as he glared at Qin Yu, saying, “Just wait till the day that Old Li has no use for you anymore. You’ll find out just how cruel this world is!”

“I suggest you think hard on how you’ll be explaining to the Police Inspection Squad instead,” Qin Yu pointed his finger at Liu Baochen’s face as he spoke. “Listen well, I’m an uncultured boor who knows nothing much about office politics. If you drive me up a corner, I won’t hesitate to throw everything I got against you, so you jolly well think hard before crossing me.”

After saying his piece, Qin Yu pushed Liu Baochen aside and tidied up his uniform before leaving the stairway.

After Liu Baochen got back up, he stared at Qin Yu’s back with eyes boiling with rage. He gritted his teeth and spat, “You’ll regret this.”

…

Half an hour later.

In an interrogation room in the building of the Police Force’s Internal Affairs Department.

Liu Baochen tried his best to explain himself to the panel before him, “Like I said, that Old Zhang is a street ruffian… How can you trust his report? That bastard is someone who wouldn’t hesitate to beat up children and women!”

A middle-aged police inspector dressed in a navy blue uniform replied deeply, “Platoon Commander Liu Baochen, I’ll ask you one more time. Are you certain that you haven’t received bribery of 10,000 dollars from Old Zhang?”

“I didn’t!” Liu Baochen replied with a bitter face.

The middle-aged police inspector gestured to his companion and said, “Show him the video.”

“Alright.”

A young stenographer stood up, walked toward the computer, and connected a wire. A video began playing right away.

In the video, Old Zhang was lying in his ward, stuffing money into Liu Baochen’s pockets. On the other hand, the latter had an emerging smile on his lips, barely turning down the gesture at all.

Staring at the concrete proof right before him, Liu Baochen was dumbstruck.

“How do you explain this video then?” the middle-aged police inspector asked.

Liu Baochen immediately snapped out of it and howled out in fury, “I’ve been framed! Inspector, if a person really intends to bribe a police officer, why would he install a recording device in the room in advance? Isn’t this obviously an attempt to frame me?”

“Whether you have been framed or not and whether you have accepted money from another person, those are two different cases,” the middle-aged police inspector said. “Besides, the person who reported you, Zhang Dong, said that he made the recording out of fear that you would take his money without doing anything at all, and in truth, you didn’t do anything for him either. That’s why he reported you.”

“That’s a load of bullshit!” Liu Baochen exclaimed with a reddened face. “He didn’t ask me to do anything when he forced me to take his money! He only asked me to take care of him in the future…”

The middle-aged police inspector slammed the table and hollered back, “Watch your tone! Who do you think you are shouting at?!”

“I… I… I was just… scolding myself,” Liu Baochen clenched his fists tightly as he squeezed these words out of his mouth.

…

Liu Baochen was agitated because being reported to have accepted a bribe had extremely adverse consequences for a police officer. Even if he didn’t accept any money, once word spread within the Police Bureau, he could very well face the risk of being sidelined, possibly even affecting his future promotions. Furthermore, Liu Baochen wasn’t framed in this matter. He did take the money, so if someone was really out to get him, he might just lose his uniform.

Indeed, Liu Baochen was really scared. Unlike Wen Yonggang, his standing and influence within the Police Force and on the streets were limited. Once he lost his uniform, would the Yuan Family still give him his monthly stipends? How was he going to raise his family afterward?

An hour later.

After the questioning by the Internal Affairs Department ended, Liu Baochen quickly rushed back to the Police Bureau and charged into Wen Yonggang’s office.

Sitting before his office desk, Wen Yonggang was holding onto his phone as he habitually flung his fringe and said, “Someone entered my office. I’ll call you back later. Un, be good.”

After hanging up, Wen Yonggang put down his phone and looked at Liu Baochen with a darkened expression, saying, “I just don’t get it. It has only been a few days since Qin Yu returned here, so how did a veteran in politics like you end up getting played by him?”

“Qin Yu is simply too despicable. I didn’t think that he would get to Old Zhang privately!” Liu Baochen cursed furiously. “And that Old Zhang is also a goddamned actor. I really fell for his words. You didn’t see just how earnest he was when he asked me to take care of him…”

“You’re just greedy!” Wen Yonggang crossed his arms and lectured. “Even a mere 10,000 dollars is enough to blind your eyes! Are you a child?”

Liu Baochen noticed that there was something amiss with Wen Yonggang’s expression, so he chose to hold his breath, “I’ve failed to think this matter through properly.”

“We haven’t even secured a footing here, and you’re already finding me trouble!” Wen Yonggang replied in frustration. “Just wait for your punishment!”

“Vice Superintendent Wen, you can’t let the Internal Affairs Department deal with the matter as it is! If Qin Yu were to pull some connections, won’t I be fired from my job? By then, there’ll be no one else in Platoon 4 to run your errands!” Liu Baochen said subserviently. “Please help me with this once. You also know that my entire family is depending on me for a living. It hasn’t been easy for me…!”

“You have been caught in the act, what can I do?” Wen Yonggang bellowed in frustration. “If I try too hard to protect you, that’s as good as admitting to the Internal Affairs Department that I took 5000 dollars from your 10,000 dollars! Are you a bloody fool?”

“Vice Superintendent Wen, please help me… I promise that I won’t do it the next time…!” Liu Baochen cast aside his pride and bent his back down. He was just a step away from bursting into tears.

Wen Yonggang was silent for a long while before saying, “Don’t even dream about getting promoted in the short-term. Be prepared that this will go into your records.”

“That won’t do, Vice Superintendent Wen! If this goes into my record, my future will be ruined!”

Wen Yonggang took a sip of tea before eventually sighing deeply, “Prepare a gift. I’ll ask someone for a meting tonight.”

“Yes yes, I’ll do it!” Liu Baochen immediately nodded his head. “What kind of outcome can I get if everything goes well?”

“You won’t be able to escape from punishment, but we’ll try to lessen the charge.”

“…!” Liu Baochen gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath, “I’ll definitely rip that fucking Qin Yu apart.”

“You should drop that idea for now. You can’t even set your priorities straight, what do you expect?” Wen Yonggang waved his hand impatiently. “Shoo! And you should really read more books when you have time!”

…

Inside the office.

Qin Yu was holding onto his phone, saying, “Thanks. I’ll treat you all to some beer when Zishu returns.”

“It’s nothing much, Brother Qin. We’ve already settled Old Zhang. He has fled to Fengbei to seek refuge with his friend for the time being. With that bit of money he has in his pockets, I reckon that he won’t return to Songjiang for the time being,” Zishu’s brother said through the phone. “Besides, what else can Liu Baochen do in that state? What’s done is already done, he can’t change a thing even if he kills Old Zhang!”

“Nice. You wrapped things up well, I’m assured.”

“No problem. Alright, Brother Qin, I’ll be hanging up. Let’s meet up next time.”

“Un.”

The two of them finished the call there. Qin Yu began heading over to Zhu Wei’s office, intending to call him over to eat together, only to realize that the old man who was there in the morning to report a case was still around.

“You aren’t done yet?” Qin Yu was surprised.

Zhu Wei turned his head over upon hearing Qin Yu’s voice, and he said with a fatigued look on his face, “The case is a bit complicated. This old man’s son went missing.”

“Where’s he from?”

The southern area.”

“… Doesn’t sound right. Why would he report this case to our Police Bureau if he’s from the south?” Qin Yu was perplexed.

“That’s ‘cause the case happened in our Black Street Sector,” Zhu Wei replied as he closed the door. “The old man suspects that his son is already dead, and he has an idea who the culprit is.”

“Does he have a lead?”

“… I’m thinking that this might be an open case. There are many people who are aware of the lead, but the suspect has quite some background.” Zhu Wei leaned over to Qin Yu’s ear and whispered. “The old man says that the culprit who killed his son is Wu Yao from the southern area. That man is a gun dealer, and he has quite a bit of money.”

“Wu Yao… I’ve never heard of him before,” Qin Yu replied.

…

Meanwhile.

Wu Yao was lying on his bed as he reached for his phone and dialed Yuan Ke’s number. “Hey, you have anything up tonight, Mr Yuan? Shall we meet up?”