Hong Kong variety show: From being bitten by a cockroach to becoming a legend

Chapter 159 is equivalent to having a get-out-of-jail-free card.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs investigators pressed him relentlessly, and Deng Weitao was covered in sweat.

"That's not what I meant, Inspector Zhou!" Deng Weitao said urgently. "The situation was too chaotic at the time, I—I can't remember all the details! Flashbangs, tear gas, gunshots, my brothers' screams—my mind is still a mess!"

"Your mind is muddled?" Zhou Yongjie leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms on the table, and stared sharply at him. "You should remember the details about the money boxes clearly, right? How many boxes did the robbers actually take?"

Here it comes! The most crucial question! Deng Weitao forced himself to calm down and said decisively, "Three! After they pried open the door, they dragged away all three boxes! I saw it with my own eyes!" He had to hold on to this point, as it was the cornerstone of their entire lie.

"You saw it with your own eyes?" Zhou Yongjie's lips curled into a meaningful smile. "But according to our technical department's preliminary inspection of the armored truck's rear door lock, the lock cylinder was forcibly broken from the outside with specialized tools, and then opened from the inside again. If the robbers had already taken all the boxes, why would they need to open the door from the inside?"

Deng Weitao was struck dumb! This detail—they were so focused on staging a robbery-murder scene that in their panic, no one noticed the subtle traces that might have been left on the lock! The technical department actually found that out?!

"I—I don't know! Maybe the robbers opened the door and checked it again? Or—or maybe it was the paramedics or forensic personnel who arrived later who opened it?" Deng Weitao's explanation began to sound weak and unconvincing.

"The paramedics and forensic experts have complete operational records and corroborating evidence; they didn't tamper with the lock," Zhou Yongjie pressed. "Furthermore, according to our surprise inspection of the personal belongings of all PTU members involved in the operation that day, in Feisha—"

Oh, we found some—very interesting things—in Sergeant Chan Chi-hung's private locker.

He gestured to his bespectacled assistant beside him. The assistant took out a transparent evidence bag from the folder, inside which were several crumpled thousand-yuan bills with some dark red stains.

"The serial numbers on these banknotes, after verification, belong to a portion of the cash that Hengsheng Bank withdrew from the vault that day, intending to deposit it into Mr. Song Zhaowen's account." Zhou Yongjie's voice was like an icicle, each word piercing Deng Weitao's eardrums. "Moreover, the stains on them, preliminary examination, show they are human blood. Fei Sha's explanation is that it may have been accidentally spilled while rescuing the wounded. But why are the banknotes stained with blood from banknotes that should have been entirely stolen by the robbers? And why are these banknotes in his private locker instead of being handed over as evidence?"

Deng Weitao's face instantly turned ashen, and cold sweat poured down his forehead and temples like a tap had been turned on.

That bastard Fei Sha! He actually hid the money! And left behind such a fatal piece of evidence!

"I—I don't know! Fei Sha—he might—" Deng Weitao's thoughts were completely confused, and he couldn't find any reasonable explanation.

"You don't know?" Zhou Yongjie stood up, walked to Deng Weitao's side, and looked down at him. The powerful pressure made Deng Weitao almost unable to breathe. "Deng Weitao! You still want to deny it? You think you did it perfectly? Let me tell you, from the moment you decided to embezzle that money and start the murder, there were flaws everywhere! The corpses speak, the traces speak."

In fact, the Ministry of the Interior only conducts investigations after obtaining the results.

The videotape that Song Zhaowen gave us, through Liu Jiehui's hands, has already enraged the police system!

The action was swift; the Commissioner of Police granted Lau Kit-fai special permission to establish a high-level internal investigation team.

Zhou Yongjie slammed his fist on the table: "Speak! How many of the money boxes were stolen? How exactly did those three men from Hengsheng die? Where is that money now?!"

"I—I—" Deng Weitao's lips trembled, his eyes unfocused, overwhelmed by a tidal wave of fear and despair. He knew it was over, truly over. The Internal Affairs Department had far too much evidence they hadn't anticipated. The fact that Fei Sha had hoarded money had completely thrown them into disarray. Now, even if he denied it to the death, what about the others? Could Fei Sha withstand the pressure? What about the other team members who had received their share of the money?

Just as he was on the verge of a mental breakdown and about to blurt out something, there was a knock on the interrogation room door.

Zhou Yongjie frowned and gestured for his bespectacled assistant to open the door. Another internal affairs staff member stood outside and whispered a few words in Zhou Yongjie's ear.

Zhou Yongjie's expression changed slightly. He glanced at the almost limp Deng Weitao with a complicated look, said to his bespectacled assistant, "Keep an eye on him," and then quickly walked out.

Outside the interrogation room, in the corridor, stood a grim-faced British man in a high-ranking police uniform—Richard, the commander of the West Kowloon Regional Headquarters.

"Inspector Zhou, what exactly is your Internal Affairs Department doing? Without my approval, who gave you permission to take away and detain my senior sergeant directly? And you even used coercive measures!" Richard questioned Zhou Yongjie harshly as soon as he saw him, trying to intimidate him with his official position.

When questioned by his superior, who was a member of the Constitutional Commission, Zhou Yongjie remained composed and assertive: "Superintendent Richard, we conducted a formal investigation into Senior Sergeant Tang Wai-to, who is suspected of serious disciplinary violations and criminal offenses, in accordance with the Police Ordinance and the Ministry of the Interior's Code of Procedure for Investigations, after obtaining direct authorization from Assistant Commissioner Lau Kit-fai. All relevant procedures were complete and there were no violations."

"Liu Jiehui?" Richard's eyes flashed coldly. "He overstepped his authority! This case occurred in the West Kowloon jurisdiction and should be investigated by West Kowloon! Your Internal Affairs Department took such harsh measures against my trusted lieutenant without sufficient evidence. This is disrespectful to me and shows a lack of trust in all my colleagues at the West Kowloon Police Station! I now demand that the solitary interrogation of Deng Weitao be immediately stopped, and that he be returned to the custody of West Kowloon for our internal investigation!"

He's trying to snatch Deng Weitao away, to put him under his control so he can "handle it internally."

Chow Wing-kit remained unmoved: "I'm sorry, Superintendent Richard. This case is unusual, potentially involving collective misconduct within the police force and the felony of murder, which is beyond the scope of the West Kowloon internal investigation. Until Commissioner Lau issues a new order, Tang Wai-to must remain in custody for further interrogation by the Internal Affairs Department. If you have any objections, you can directly appeal to Commissioner Lau or the Commissioner of Police."

Richard was furious, his face turning ashen. He knew Zhou Yongjie was Liu Jiehui's right-hand man, and impervious to reason. Liu Jiehui had bypassed him and directly used the Ministry of Internal Affairs, clearly indicating that he had obtained some crucial evidence that Richard was unaware of, and was determined to make a big deal out of this case.

"Fine, very well." Richard gritted his teeth. "Zhou Yongjie, you better make sure your investigation is 100% compliant and the evidence is 100% conclusive! Otherwise, this isn't over, and I'll be watching you!"

After uttering a harsh remark, Richard turned and stormed off. He knew that forcibly taking it wouldn't work; he had to find another way. Perhaps—he should put pressure on his superiors.

Zhou Yongjie turned and went back to the interrogation room. Looking at Deng Weitao, who was slumped in the chair with a blank look in his eyes, he knew that a breakthrough was just around the corner.

He sat back down, his tone softening slightly, but still more lethal: "Deng Weitao, you saw it too. Superintendent Richard wanted to protect you, but he couldn't. This case has already alarmed headquarters, and Assistant Commissioner Liu Jiehui is personally overseeing it. Think about it, if it were just a simple failed robbery, would it have escalated to this point?"

Deng Weitao raised his head blankly.

Zhou Yongjie lowered his voice: "Let me tell you the truth, we know far more than you think. Now I'm giving you a chance: be the first to step forward and tell the whole story of what happened that day. Testify against your accomplices, hand over the embezzled funds, and cooperate with the investigation. That way, you might be considered to have redeemed yourself and your sentence will be taken into consideration. Otherwise—once we complete the chain of evidence and get everyone else to talk, you'll be the ringleader, facing multiple charges of murder, embezzlement, and dereliction of duty! At that point, it won't be as simple as just going to jail; life imprisonment is a possibility!"

"Life imprisonment?!" Deng Weitao exclaimed in surprise.

"Hmm, your police are pretty efficient. What? Thirty million down to twenty-six million? These guys have never seen money before, spending four million in a week?"

"Richard's background is really solid; they didn't even remove him from his position."

"Director Liu wants to treat me to dinner? Forget it! I'm shorty, he's a big shot in the police force, it wouldn't be good for him if people saw us. Maybe when Director Liu goes to the mainland someday, I'll arrange for him to have stewed bull penis in fruit juice there~"

After hanging up Chen Jiaqi's call, Song Zhaowen slumped into the sofa chair.

Liu Jiehui's movements were very sharp!

The investigation team, including Deng Weitao, was immediately taken into custody. Unfortunately, only 26 million was recovered. The other PTU officers dared not spend the money, as Fat Sha Ma had almost lost it all gambling in Macau and it was impossible to recover it.

Even though it was only a mere four million, Song Zhaowen was still unhappy and ordered his men to cut off Fei Sha's son's hands and feet, counting each one as one million.

That settles the score.

Furthermore, according to Chen Jiaqi, the Commissioner of Police expressed his personal gratitude to him through Liu Jiehui, thanking him for preserving the police's reputation. He added that some things couldn't be said publicly, and as long as Song Zhaowen didn't go too far (at least not while he was still the Commissioner of Police), they would turn a blind eye.

Song Zhaowen essentially had a get-out-of-jail-free card in Hong Kong.

The only thing that bothered me was that Richard, that bastard, had such strong connections in his family in England that even that couldn't bring him down!

However, Song Zhaowen still had ways to deal with him.

"Hmph~ Once I catch your son, Azu, let's see who has the nerve to protect you then!"

Just as Song Zhaowen was planning his next move.

Ye Rongtian pushed open the door and entered, greeting him nervously, "Boss, my cousin is here."

Song Zhaowen then raised his head.

He sneered, "Damn it, it's been a week, and Ye Yongchang only just remembered to contact me. He clearly doesn't take me seriously!"

If Song Zhaowen hadn't ordered his men to sit in silence at Hengsheng Bank every day, directly impacting Hengsheng's business, this bastard wouldn't have come.

"Let him in, I want to see what he has to say."