Dark Light Chaser.

Chapter 163 Wang Youcai

Damn it, I don't believe you for a second. You even took out a voice recorder. You forgot? You forgot the hell?

The salesperson appears friendly on the surface, but is actually spewing profanities in their heart.

"I'm not here to ask anything important, I just want to ask you for a small favor." Tian Hao slowly put away his police ID.

The salesperson immediately patted his chest and assured him, "Cooperating with the police is the duty of every citizen. Just tell me what you need to do, and I will do my best to help!"

"This man is called Tao Jun. He's a regular customer of yours. Which technicians does he usually see?"

Tian Hao took out Tao Jun's photo and placed it on the table.

The salesperson picked up the photo and glanced at it, then felt a chill run down their spine.

"You look somewhat familiar."

Is he familiar with the person in the photo? He is very familiar with him.

Not long ago, the police came to them to inquire about the whereabouts of this regular customer.

At that time, the big boss held a special meeting with all the sales staff and technicians, instructing them not to say anything, and to say that they looked familiar but couldn't remember clearly when asked.

If the police continue to question him, just say he frequently goes to bars in Jiuhua City, and use this lead to get him arrested.

It's obvious that this regular customer has a complicated background.

The boss didn't want to offend either the police or the forces behind Tao Jun, which is why this happened.

"Unfortunately, a number of technicians resigned a few days ago, including one he frequently contacted..."

The salesperson explained to Tian Hao according to the standardized script given by the boss.

Do you have the technician's contact information?

Tian Hao didn't want to listen to this nonsense that he already knew.

"We've already given our contact information to the police," the salesperson said seriously.

"Heh, all the numbers I call are off?" Tian Hao said dismissively.

"This is the technician's own problem; we can't blame it on us for their mistakes."

The salesperson was in a dilemma: "How about you do something else that I can do?"

"Since you can't provide contact information, then go to the monitoring room and copy the surveillance footage for me." Tian Hao didn't make things difficult for him and simply changed his request.

"...Brother, could you do something I can manage instead?"

The salesperson smiled broadly, but was cursing under their breath.

If the surveillance footage could be handed over, it would have been handed over long ago. As for the footage that couldn't be handed over, how could a lowly salesman like him have access to it?

This is like playing the erhu on a grave—utter nonsense.

"This won't work, that won't work. Come back to the team with me. Surely your legs have grown a bit by now."

After Tian Hao finished speaking, he pretended to take out handcuffs to put on the salesperson.

The salesperson wasn't stupid. The fact that Tian Hao came alone proved that the investigation was definitely being conducted privately, and handcuffing himself would do him no good.

So he immediately brought that point up.

"Brother! Dear brother! Don't be like this. Since you came alone, you probably didn't want to make a big fuss, right? Let's talk this out!"

The salesperson raised his hands in an attempt to appease Tian Hao.

"Talk nicely? You won't give me your contact information, and you won't even copy the surveillance footage. Do you think you're some kind of treasure? Uncooperative? Well, there's a recording here. I guess you might as well come with me."

At first, the salesperson thought Tian Hao was just threatening them.

However, when Tian Hao grabbed his shoulders and prepared to put handcuffs on his hands, the salesman finally panicked.

"Brother, I want to help you, but you can't send me to my death. Even our boss doesn't want to get involved. If they find out I leaked the information, will I even see the sun rise tomorrow?"

Tian Hao paused what he was doing to see what he had to say.

"I know the technician's phone number, which you can use to find Tao Jun's whereabouts. If you catch Tao Jun, everyone will be happy."

But what about me? If Tao Jun and the others find out that the news leaked from me, who can save me?

As long as I'm alright, there will definitely be a second or third person who betrays them. They will definitely make an example of me to show others what happens to traitors.

You can protect me for a while, but they'll be watching me for life. I'd rather you handcuff me and take me away now than spend the rest of my life disabled.

The salesperson, Zhang Dazui, tried to appeal to Tian Hao's emotions, speaking with tears streaming down his face, a sight that moved anyone who heard or saw it to tears.

What he said makes a lot of sense. Human nature is selfish, and it's normal for people to mind their own business in order to protect themselves. I can understand that.

He also wanted to contribute to this cause, but he was too afraid to speak up due to the threats.

He was just an ordinary, timid, good man, like most people in the world.

If someone has any of the above thoughts, their age is revealed.

This means you are truly naive and immature, and when you enter society, you will be easily fooled.

It's true that Tao Jun and his group won't let sales go unpunished, but why should you believe everything the pimp says?
Any sweet words spoken by strangers in society are like empty promises from a boss to an employee—just for fun, don't take them seriously.

Wang Youcai and his team had to deal with the police, so they didn't have time to bother with small fry like salespeople.

They can search for a few months at most; if they still can't find the person, then they'll just give up.

If it were a junior police officer with no experience in handling cases, he might actually have been fooled.

Who is Ke Tianhao?
Having been a seasoned criminal investigator for over a decade, how could he possibly be moved by a few words of sob stories?

Don't let his pitiful act fool you; if things really get tough, he'll be the first to run away, and he won't give those people a chance to retaliate.

Tian Hao turned off the recorder: "It's fine if you don't want to talk. Just come with me. Once we get to the team, I have plenty of ways to get you to talk."

Damn it! Another seasoned veteran!
The salesperson secretly gave God the middle finger.

"No, please, I'll tell you."

The salesperson immediately shut up and stopped crying.

He opened his mouth wide as if he were crying, but he was actually inhaling to make himself yawn and squeeze out two tears to feign pitifulness.

Many criminals resort to this method when they show no remorse but want to appear sincere in admitting their guilt.

Yawning can contract facial muscles, increase nasal pressure, and force tears from the nasolacrimal duct and lacrimal sac area out of the eye socket, creating the illusion of tearing.

To determine whether someone is genuinely crying or faking it.

Don't look at the tears; they can be fake. Only the snot is real.

As the old saying goes, squeezing out a couple of tears and pairing them with a sad, furrowed brow can fool most people without much trouble, but this trick won't work on veteran detectives.

We're all seasoned foxes; if you haven't been trained in micro-expression control, don't put on a show in front of others. Just cooperate honestly with the interrogation, and you might save yourself two years in prison.

Hearing that the salesperson was willing to cooperate, Tian Hao took advantage of the situation to unlock his handcuffs.

He's still suspended from his duties, so he has no right to handcuff people and take them to the criminal investigation team. Putting handcuffs on the salesperson was just for show.

Tian Hao was betting that as long as he got serious, this old fox would definitely betray him without hesitation.

As it turns out, his years of experience in handling cases proved to be very accurate.

After the handcuffs were removed, the salesperson stopped talking and immediately gave a phone number.

"This is the technician's contact information. Tao Jun always orders her when he comes here. There are even rumors that she has become Tao Jun's mistress."

Tian Hao entered the number into his memo and then asked, "When did she leave the company?"

The salesperson glanced at the voice recorder and, seeing that the indicator light was still on, completely abandoned any hope of getting away with it.

"I just resigned last week, it hasn't even been a week yet," the salesperson answered honestly.

A week?
Tian Hao was overjoyed, as this coincided almost exactly with the timing of Wang Youcai's arrest and Tao Jun's escape.

In other words, Tao Jun couldn't stand the loneliness when he ran away, or perhaps he had some secret in the hands of this technician, so he took her with him when he fled.

"Brother, that's all I know, what do you think..."

"If the information is reliable, come to the criminal investigation team to collect the reward afterward."

Tian Hao knew that he couldn't just coerce this kind of person. The old trick of giving a sweet treat after a beating was overused, but it was overused because it never went out of style.

The salesperson chuckled dryly: "Hey, look at what you're saying, fighting crime is everyone's responsibility..."

"Okay, I'll send them a banner later." Tian Hao replied while sending the technician's phone number to Jin Ping'an and the others.

"But I might lose my job, and I desperately need some money to get by..."

The salesperson politely explained that they were just joking.

Tian Hao didn't have time to waste words with him. After obtaining the important clue, he immediately paid the bill, got into the car, and contacted Jiang Kaiji and others to retrieve the technician's identity information.

The case seemed to have suddenly found a breakthrough.

…………

While the criminal police were busy investigating, Wang Youcai was also discussing countermeasures.

At this moment, the brothers Wang Youcai and Wang Youde were sitting on the sofa in the top-floor office of the club.

Compared to his younger brother Wang Youde's robust physique, Wang Youcai was thin and short, barely reaching 1.7 meters tall including his shoes and insoles.

Yet this very person controlled half of the qinse industry in Qianhua City within just a few years.

The difference between the two brothers is not only reflected in their physique, but also in the stark contrast in their expressions.

For example, right now, Wang Youde is acting as if nothing's wrong, sipping red wine one sip after another, occasionally using a spoon to scoop up a spoonful of sturgeon caviar as a snack.

They somehow managed to make a bottle of red wine that cost six or seven thousand yuan feel like a bottle of cola that cost six or seven yuan.

Wang Youde ate and drank heartily, while Wang Youcai looked worried, bent over, and pressed his hands together against his chin.

After finishing a bottle of red wine, Wang Youde opened another bottle and filled his own: "Hey bro, where did that mad dog Jin Ping'an come from?"

Wang Youcai ignored him.

Seeing that his brother still looked worried, Wang Youde poured him a glass as well: "Why don't we just find someone to take care of him, so he won't keep pestering us?"

Wang Youde dared to say this, naturally he had the confidence to back it up.

Although the two brothers didn't have many henchmen, Wang Youneng was able to rise from a country boy to one of the underground giants of Qianhua City in just a few years, so he must have some skills.

Zhang Feng relied on gambling, Song Jie relied on intelligence, the outsider "Crippled Wolf" relied on ruthlessness, while Wang Youcai relied on outstanding interpersonal skills, a clever mind, and a little bit of luck.

The Wang brothers moved from the countryside to the big city to settle down. When the older brother, Wang Youcai, was working, he was noticed by the owner of a nightclub because of his eloquence and quick wit, and became the accountant.

In the second year of working there, the boss died in a car accident, and Wang Youcai took the opportunity to take over the nightclub, thus giving the two brothers their own business.

Later, while shopping, his younger brother Wang Youde helped catch a thief. It turned out that the person who was robbed was Hu Yingshao, the vice president of the calligraphy association. Just like that, he became Hu's assistant without even realizing it.

Although the calligraphy association in Qianhua City is not an important organization, it has a wide network of cultural figures. Many newspaper editors and underworld bosses are his students.

Wang Youcai gradually expanded his business through Hu Yingshao's network of connections, and then used money, alcohol, and women to pave the way and build up a wider network of contacts.

Logically speaking, the rise of such an emerging force should inevitably attract suppression from established forces.

Coincidentally, their rise to power coincided with a large influx of criminals from Nevada into Thousand Flowers.

Zhang Feng and Song Jie were too busy dealing with external forces to bother with him.

This gave Wang Youcai another opportunity.

The fierce competition between local and outside forces, coupled with the influx of criminals into Nevada and the resulting shift in social values, directly led to a surge in the number of lower- and middle-class thugs.

The bigwigs who fled from Nevada were short of manpower, and as soon as they arrived, they said that as long as you followed them, you would be rich.

The local powers, naturally, wouldn't stand idly by and allow outsiders to grow stronger, so they also improved the treatment of their subordinates.

At this point, the hooligans were like the restaurants during the period when clown groups and food-themed restaurants were vying for market share.

Originally, they were unwanted even when offered to them, but now, due to the power struggle among the big shots and the lack of manpower, they have all become highly sought-after.

Wang Youcai also seized the opportunity to recruit soldiers and horses. Because of his industrial advantages, he gathered a lot of subordinates and thus had a certain military foundation.

Once the situation stabilized, Zhang Feng and Song Jie, because of the presence of the lame wolf, began to win over Wang Youcai and actively help him consolidate his position.

Although Wang Youcai has only recently risen to prominence, he is at least a local of Qianhua City. We can't force him to join the Crippled Wolf's side just to suppress a newcomer.

Connections, powerful backing, strong military force, and expert certification.

With the three combined, a new giant was born in Qianhua City amidst a series of coincidences.

Of course, Wang Youcai's success wasn't entirely due to luck; it was also inseparable from his personal abilities. If it were someone else, they would probably have been crushed when they first started expanding their nightclubs.

If Wang Youcai's experiences were written into a novel, it would definitely be a satisfying story about a male protagonist.

At this moment, the emerging tycoon was sternly reprimanding his younger brother: "What did I tell you? Keep a low profile! Keep a low profile! Do you think you're the King of Hell? Always talking about getting rid of this person or that person, if you're so capable, why don't you get rid of me too?"

Wang Youde felt somewhat aggrieved: "But it's not good to just leave it like this! This Jin Ping'an has already traced us back to him."

He rubbed his head where he had been hit: "It's not a question of whether to provoke us or not anymore. He's clearly going to fight us to the death and won't stop until he takes us down."

It would have been better if he hadn't mentioned it, because as soon as Jin Ping'an was brought up, Wang Youcai's brows furrowed even deeper.

Nobody knows what's wrong with this young man; he's been making things difficult for himself ever since last month.

The current relationship between the two sides, if not to the point of mutual loathing, is at least one of irreconcilable enmity.

I haven't provoked him at all, so what grudge could have led us to this point?
This is the point that Wang Youcai has never been able to understand.

Wang Youcai looked exhausted and kept pinching his brow.

He picked up his wine glass: "Did you ever provoke Jin Ping'an back then?"

Wang Youde immediately replied, "I have always listened to you and have never provoked him."

However, as soon as he finished speaking, he seemed to remember something and added, "However, when he was investigating the kidnapping case, Tao Jun seemed to have sent his men to teach him a lesson."

With a snap, the wine glass in Wang Youcai's hand broke.

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(End of this chapter)