After breaking up with my boyfriend, I made a fortune and rose rapidly in my career.

As soon as the press conference ended, Chen Pingfang accompanied Xiao Yuhan to the Criminal Investigation Division of the Municipal Public Security Bureau.

Although the online sentiment had completely shifted, Xiao Yuhan leaned back in her seat, rubbing her temples, her face showing no sign of relief. Her voice was tired: "Zhao Defu is an old fox. As long as he doesn't speak up, Wang Jianzhong can still cause trouble."

Chen Ping looked out the window, his eyes calm. He knew that the real battle was just beginning.

The convoy drove into the Criminal Investigation Division compound, where Section Chief Li was already waiting at the entrance. He bowed even lower than the last time they met, his face beaming with smiles: "Mayor Xiao, Secretary Chen, thank you for your hard work! The interrogation is underway."

But the glint in his eyes behind his smile betrayed his inner unease.

The group walked quickly toward the interrogation room, the atmosphere in the corridor tense. Through the one-way glass, they could see Zhao Defu leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed, seemingly unfazed by the questions posed by the two young officers opposite him.

The interrogation room door opened, and a middle-aged police officer with two bars and two stars on his shoulders walked out. Upon seeing Xiao Yuhan, he immediately stood at attention and saluted: "Mayor Xiao! I am Zhou Qiang, the deputy head of the Criminal Investigation Detachment, in charge of this special case interrogation."

Zhou Qiang, with a square face and a serious expression, sighed and began his report: "Zhao Defu refused to cooperate, insisting that he knew nothing about anything that happened at Jinshui Bay and shifting all the blame to Scarface Li."

Zhou Qiang paused for a moment, then pointed to a cell phone with a cracked screen in the evidence bag: "Moreover, the key piece of evidence, the cell phone seized from Scarface Li, was broken by him during the arrest. The technical team is working on repairs, but they can't read the data yet, so they can't form a complete chain of evidence."

He took a document from his assistant and handed it to Xiao Yuhan, his face showing a troubled expression: "Mayor Xiao, this is a report just released by the technical department. The phone's motherboard is severely damaged, and data recovery is very difficult. Our team's technical capabilities are insufficient, so it may need to be sent to the provincial department. It will take about a week for the whole trip."

As Zhou Qiang spoke, he unconsciously patted his pocket with his hand.

"Moreover," he emphasized, "Zhao Defu's lawyer has been making a fuss, saying he has severe diabetes and his 24-hour detention period is about to expire. If we can't produce new direct evidence, according to procedure, we'll probably have to change the coercive measures."

Then, Zhou Qiang made a suggestion: "Mayor Xiao, considering Zhao Defu's health and safety, I suggest that he be transferred to the West Suburbs Detention Center tonight. The medical conditions there are better."

West Suburbs Detention Center?

Chen Ping sneered inwardly. That place was where Wang Jianzhong made his fortune, and the relationships there were incredibly complex. Sending people there would be like releasing a tiger back into the mountains.

Xiao Yuhan's face instantly turned cold, and the air in the corridor seemed to freeze.

"Oh."

A soft laugh broke the silence.

Chen Ping stepped forward and stood in front of Zhou Qiang. Under everyone's gaze, he took out a tablet computer from his backpack and turned on the screen.

"Does Captain Zhou think that just because the phone is broken, the chain of evidence is broken?"

He held the tablet up to Zhou Qiang's eyes; the screen displayed a magnified, high-definition photo.

The background of the photo is the burning fire at Kam Shui Wan, and Scarface Lee's panicked face is clearly captured. The focus of the photo, however, is the screen of the cell phone in his hand.

This is footage captured by a drone from a very tricky angle amidst the chaos.

After zooming in on the photo, a text message that hadn't been opened yet was clearly displayed on the screen.

Sending time: 6:10 pm yesterday.

The message contained only four words: "When the Japanese devils enter the village, burn it down immediately."

Chen Pingfang's cold gaze swept across Zhou Qiang's face: "Team Leader Zhou, yesterday afternoon, the only people who knew we were going to Jinshui Bay were those few people in the small conference room of the Municipal Government Office. The mole who tipped us off was among us."

A commotion broke out among the police officers in the corridor. Chief Li's face turned deathly pale in an instant, and cold sweat soaked his back.

Chen Ping didn't stop, tapping his finger on the unfamiliar sender code on the screen: "This number is an anonymous space number, and the owner cannot be found. However, on the way here, I already had my colleagues from the Municipal Bureau's Technical Investigation Department perform base station triangulation on this number."

He raised his head, looked around at everyone present, and finally fixed his gaze on Zhou Qiang, saying slowly and deliberately, "The location of the letter is on the third floor of this Criminal Investigation Detachment office building, in the east corridor."

That's where they're standing now.

Zhou Qiang's expression finally changed, but he still forced himself to say, "This...this might be a coincidence! Secretary Chen, you are interfering with our investigation!" He reached out, trying to snatch Chen Ping's tablet on the grounds of confidentiality.

Chen Ping dodged to the side, not even looking at him, but turning to the stunned Section Chief Li.

"Section Chief Li, in order to prove the innocence of everyone present and to clear your own name, I suggest that you dial this number now in front of everyone."

Xiao Yuhan's icy gaze fell on Section Chief Li at the same time.

Section Chief Li was under immense pressure, and even his breathing was a little labored. He looked at the number on Chen Ping's tablet, then at Xiao Yuhan's unwavering gaze, and finally, with trembling hands, pulled out his own phone.

His fingers were trembling as he typed in the number, and those few seconds felt like an eternity.

The corridor was eerily quiet; everyone held their breath.

Section Chief Li pressed the dial button.

Two waiting tone sounds came from the receiver.

Just as the third sound was about to ring out—

A jarring old-fashioned chord bell suddenly rang in Zhou Qiang's pocket!

Zhou Qiang froze, his face changed drastically, and he instinctively reached for his pocket. But it was too late.

He realized what was happening and turned to run away.

"Still trying to run?"

Liu Tiemian and Zhang Zheng were prepared. They pounced on him from the left and right and forcefully pinned him against the wall.

Chen Ping slowed his pace and stepped forward, pulling the screeching black old-fashioned mobile phone from Zhou Qiang's struggling pocket. The screen displayed the number that Section Chief Li had just dialed.

The phone was still ringing; the evidence was right in front of them.

Zhou Qiang's face instantly turned pale, and he lost all his strength, collapsing to the ground.

"Well done," Xiao Yuhan said to Chen Ping in a low voice, then resumed her demeanor as the deputy mayor.

She walked up to Zhou Qiang, who was being held down, and said in an icy voice, "Effective immediately, Zhou Qiang is suspended from his duties and placed under investigation by the Discipline Inspection Commission! Take him away!"

Two disciplinary committee staff members who had been following her immediately stepped forward and took Zhou Qiang into custody.

After doing all this, Xiao Yuhan's gaze swept across the entire room, finally settling on Section Chief Li's face.

"Section Chief Li," she said coldly, "anyone who dares to play tricks on this case again will suffer the same fate as Zhou Qiang."

Startled, Section Chief Li snapped to attention, gave Xiao Yuhan a crisp salute, and loudly assured her, "Mayor Xiao, please rest assured! Our public security bureau will fully cooperate with the investigation and will show absolutely no leniency!"

Wang Jianzhong's key pawn in the police station was thus removed.

The heavy door to the interrogation room finally opened for Chen Ping.