The Chief Detective Inspector is dead. I'm now the top police officer in Hong Kong!

Chapter 121 The Head of West Kowloon (24)

"Inspector Lin, Jiawei and I have something we'd like to report to you." Hou Canxing, looking exhausted, approached Lin Tiansheng, who had returned to the office area, accompanied by B-team assistant He Jiawei. Their eyes were sincere, humble, and pleading.

Huang Ye's downfall is a foregone conclusion, and the mess he made is too filthy. West Kowloon has become a complete mess, and it is unrealistic to expect the elite high-level officials to intervene.

After all, Henry almost lost his future, and if he's still wary of Lin Tiansheng, he can't possibly send another elite. Hou Canxing and He Jiawei are still Huang Ye's right-hand men, and their relationship is very deep. If they don't ask Lin Tiansheng to be lenient, they might end up in Stanley as well.

Lin Tiansheng nodded slightly, walked to the window, took out a cigarette case, and said slowly, "Speak, what is it?"

Hou Canxing's intention to lean closer was obvious. He lowered his voice and said nervously, "In addition to the HK$560,000 in embezzled funds mentioned in the report, we also found designer jewelry, gold ornaments, and three cars at Inspector Huang's house, worth HK$1.7 million. They are not listed in the report yet."

He Jiawei, a man of honest character with thick eyebrows and big eyes, was exceptionally straightforward when it came to selling out the big boss: "In addition, Inspector Huang also owns three properties, one in Mong Kok, one in Tsim Sha Tsui, and one in Wan Chai, all held by his relatives, worth more than two million, far exceeding the income of public officials."

Lin Tiansheng smiled and, after listening, handed two cigarettes to the two men, seemingly unsurprised: "The Internal Investigation Department will take over this case. The clothing, jewelry, and car will be included in the report. As for the third-floor suite, wait for someone to contact you, and I'll take care of it."

Hou Canxing felt much more at ease after receiving the cigarette and breathed a sigh of relief: "With Inspector Lin handling it, we can rest assured."

Ho Ka-wai said, "I'm sorry, Inspector Lam, we have offended you a lot before, but as your subordinates, there's nothing we can do."

It was a classic case of opportunism and jumping ship to avoid disaster, but Lin Tiansheng, for the sake of power, couldn't do anything to the two of them and could only accept it with a smile: "I'm just a subordinate, I understand."

To expand his power, control the West Kowloon Organized Crime and Triad Bureau, and keep Hou Canxing under control, He Jiawei was a prerequisite. Mainly, Henry didn't want to escalate the case, lest it lead to further complications and implicate him.

The two Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB) officers were like worms in the mud, given a chance to survive. The price for their survival was surrendering all their power.

Hou and He understood the intricacies of the situation; paying the money was merely a gesture of goodwill, and much more needed to be done. Hou Canxing smiled wryly: "Inspector Lin is a man destined for great things. He's just transitioning through the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau, unlike us. From now on, at the West Kowloon Organized Crime and Triad Bureau, all the staff will follow your lead. No matter who the new boss is, we'll only recognize you."

He Jiawei said, "That's right, we only respect Inspector Lin!"

In short: the will of the people is power, and power abhors a vacuum.

When Huang Ye falls, the rest of them will grovel at Lin Tiansheng's feet. Because Lin Tiansheng has proven his strength with his fists, and whoever the new leader is, unless he defeats Lin Tiansheng, he will only be sidelined.

If the foreigners are sensible, they will send someone knowledgeable to facilitate communication between superiors and subordinates.
Most importantly, in the eyes of frontline officers, there is no difference between the elite faction and the remnants. They are all Chinese police gangs, all serving the Hong Kong government, and it's like brothers fighting within the same family. Lam Tin-shing's succession to power is costless, unlike the Westerners, who have to fight for every bit of power, and if they're not careful, it will fall back into the hands of the Chinese. Moreover, the fact is that the Operations Branch's Major Crimes Unit and the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau's two teams are already under Lam's control. Even Henry has been largely sidelined and can no longer easily control the lowly probationary officers as he did at the beginning.

Lin Tiansheng looked satisfied, flicked his cigarette ash, and suddenly said, "If you're going to obey me, make a list of all the previous shady dealings, how many businesses were involved, and the protection money you collected." "Keep the books, understand?"

Hou Canxing swallowed hard and said, "Don't worry, Inspector Lin, you're an expert in this area. How could we dare to lie to you?"

He Jiawei said, "You are the person in charge of West Kowloon, so you must be in charge of the accounts. Give us two days."

Lin Tiansheng chuckled, unimpressed by the title of "Head of West Kowloon." From a triad perspective, having absolute control over the West Kowloon Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB) and the Major Crimes Unit, he was the true head of West Kowloon. His authority was ten or even a hundred times greater than that of a typical triad boss in West Kowloon; a single order from him could determine the rise and fall of a triad.

But the real power he fought so hard for was not used in this way. With the ICAC keeping an eye on him, even if he managed to reassemble the power structure that the "West Kowloon Wah Detective Inspector" once had, his power was greatly diminished under the shackles of the Police Ordinance and layers of new regulations.

Seeing the others disperse, Chen Anquan approached the boss and said with a grin, "So, those two are traitors, planning to betray the guy surnamed Huang?"

Lin Tiansheng sat down with a calm expression and said, "I wouldn't call myself a traitor. Even if the big boss falls, life still goes on."

"It's not much better than selling out your master for personal gain." Chen Anquan's eyes were full of disdain. They were all spineless cowards. They never respected Huang Ye, only the epaulettes of a senior inspector.

Lin Tiansheng yawned. After working overtime all night, his body was already a bit exhausted. His eyes were sore and swollen. He handed over the finishing touches to Chen Anquan, went straight into the senior inspector's office, locked the door, and lay down to rest, making no attempt to hide his desire for control over power.

In the evening, half an hour before the end of the workday, Chen Anquan knocked on the door to wake up the boss, handed him a cup of tea, and said, "At noon, Uncle Xian came on behalf of the Internal Investigation Department and took Huang Ye away. He saw you were sleeping and didn't say hello."

Lin Tiansheng took a breath, feeling much more energetic, and nodded, saying, "It's Uncle Xian who's handling the case. It seems that Inspector Huang has been used as a pawn, and they don't intend to fight over West Kowloon anymore."

"We're done for the day. Shall we find somewhere to celebrate?" Chen Anquan said cheerfully. "Killing Huang Ye and Chen Yaoxing really put my mind at ease."

"I just finished listening to Inspector Qiao's message, and I still have some business to attend to. Let's talk after we get all the money back, then we can have a good time." Lin Tiansheng declined the invitation, put on his suit jacket, and packed his identification and gun. Chen Anquan asked, "Where are you going, boss?"

"Let's go to the hospital and see the guy," Lin Tiansheng said. Chen Anquan followed him out, saying, "I'll go with you."

Using the excuse of the Narcotics Bureau's poor handling of the case and suspecting that Fu Wenjie was involved in Huang Ye's dereliction of duty, Qiao Jingxing joined forces with the Internal Investigation Bureau to initiate a hearing. Although there was no concrete evidence to hold Fu Wenjie accountable, they successfully upgraded the undercover file to the Criminal Division.

Procedurally, Inspector Qiao had become the undercover agent's contact. Lin Tiansheng now had the ability to use this pawn to do his bidding. As soon as the car entered the hospital, Li Zhongying called and said, "Boss, the formalities for the three apartments have been completed. I will sell them as soon as possible and convert them into cash."

　The remaining two chapters will be available tomorrow evening.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)