Power and wealth bring fragrance

"What exactly is going on?"

Before Wu Chao could even stand properly, he spoke urgently, his ashen face filled with almost boiling anger and killing intent.

He originally thought that with Wei Yuan leading the way, his trusted subordinates following him, and the entire police bureau's resources and strength being mobilized for support, he was confident that he would be able to achieve his goal.

Even if the opponent is a god descended from heaven, they can still have their opponent completely under their control.

Who would have thought that they would be the ones who got crushed to death!

The police headquarters bombing case is still unsolved, and now this helicopter bombing in the downtown business center has happened!

The latter is even more than ten times worse than the former!

While the bombing at the detective agency was heinous, the explosion occurred in the agency's yard, so the aftershocks did not affect ordinary people.

A few panes of glass were broken, two detectives were injured, and that was all.

It was egregious because the authority of the detective agency was challenged, but in terms of actual losses, it wasn't that serious.

But the helicopter bombing is different; it happened in the busiest downtown area!

An armed helicopter belonging to the police department was directly hit by a large number of drones of unknown origin, causing it to explode and crash to the ground. It also killed several detectives who were blocking the building and innocent civilians who did not have time to dodge. The incident was even captured by dozens of onlookers and hundreds of videos were uploaded to the Internet!

This can't even be described as malicious; this is downright monstrous!

So much so that when Wu Chao heard the news, he almost couldn't stand up and fell to the ground with a thud!

Not only him, but all the senior detectives at the scene had the same reaction.

Even the chief of the police department, who rushed to the scene after receiving the news, was so frightened that he almost had a heart attack.

The official director was about to step down and had already handed over most of the affairs to several deputy directors, including Wu Chao. He spent his days thinking about how to arrange a successor and constantly lobbying high-ranking members of the council, trying to find a lucrative job after leaving the detective agency.

But now that this case has come to light, forget about any lucrative job; even his ability to retire safely is in question!

Under his leadership, such egregious cases with devastating impact and heavy casualties have occurred one after another. As the leader, he absolutely cannot escape responsibility!

It could even provoke the anger of senior parliamentarians, who might launch a direct investigation into him.

If the executioner's blade really falls and he becomes the scapegoat, then he's doomed, and no one can save him!

Not just him, the entire top brass of the police department needs a thorough purge!

So, under such life-or-death pressure, after being rescued, the police chief didn't even bother to go to the hospital. He immediately put aside his prejudices, grabbed Wu Chao's hand, and tearfully begged him to handle the whole matter and get a satisfactory result!

Why Wu Chao?

Because Wu Chao is a deputy director who worked his way up from the front lines and has real skills and abilities!

Such a complex, turbulent, and incredibly difficult case—only Wu Chao in the entire detective bureau had the ability to handle it!

No one else, including bureau chiefs who rose through the ranks through administrative management, is eligible!

Wu Chao knew how serious it was, so he immediately set off, boarded a helicopter, and personally rushed to the scene to get firsthand information!

The senior detective looked into Wu Chao's sharp eyes, gave a tired and helpless bitter smile, spread his hands, and told him everything that had just happened.

Wu Chao's expression kept changing, and by the end, all that remained was a solemn and deeply shocked look. He even repeated the question in a rather undignified manner.

"Are you telling the truth?"

The senior detective understood Wu Chao's feelings and didn't mind the suspicion implied in his words, nodding emphatically.

"It's true, I saw it with my own eyes."

"All the brothers present can attest to this!"

Wu Chao then looked at the other special police detectives present, and they all nodded in unison, proving that what the senior detective said was true.

This truly stirred up the turbulent emotions within Wu Chao's heart.

Can a human really be that powerful?

However, Wu Chao didn't dwell on the shock for too long. Putting Wei Yuan's inhuman performance aside, the most important thing now was to find him.

Finding him means finding the culprit who caused the explosion, which will allow us to reconnect the broken clues, solve the case as soon as possible, and give an explanation to everyone.

Which direction did they go?

When Wu Chao asked, the senior detectives and the others all pointed to the southeast.

"there!"

Wu Chao squinted and looked, but unfortunately, there was no trace of him in sight.

However, this was no challenge for Wu Chao.

Wu Chao took out his encrypted phone and began issuing orders on the spot.

"Get me the playback footage from all the surveillance cameras in the southeast corner of Changfeng Building over the past ten minutes, and find out where that drone went."

"Immediately arrange for the top sketch artist to come to Changfeng Building to draw a portrait of the bomber for me, and then print the portrait down throughout the city."

"We will mobilize the entire city's surveillance system for comprehensive, blind-spot-free monitoring. Anyone found to match the profile with a 50% or higher probability will be immediately arrested without prior reporting!"

"in addition……"

At this point, Wu Chao took a deep breath, his thick eyebrows twitching slightly, revealing the turmoil in his heart.

Clearly, he was having some difficulty making up his mind about what he was about to say.

But Wu Chao finally let out a long breath, gritted his teeth, and gave the order.

"In addition, a temporary martial law order is hereby issued for all residents of Deepsea City."

"During the martial law period, all detectives will have their leave canceled and will immediately be on duty to monitor every intersection."

"Martial law will be in effect for 24 hours!"

"Execute immediately!"

Wu Chao uttered the last four words with an extremely cold and murderous tone, and the other end of the phone and the scene below fell into a state of complete silence.

No one spoke; only a chilling aura of killing intent lingered.

"Gulp."

A distinct sound of swallowing rang out, and the senior detective, his throat dry and his face still showing lingering shock, spoke.

"Boss, are we really going to issue a temporary martial law order?"

"This thing..."

At this point, the senior detective could no longer continue.

Wu Chao knew exactly what he was going to say, glanced at him expressionlessly, and spoke calmly.

"The situation has deteriorated to this point that martial law is no longer an option."

"Otherwise, we don't know what kind of insane attacks our opponents might launch next."

"Not imposing martial law will only cause greater casualties."

"No, no, no, that's not what I meant."

The senior detective couldn't help but interrupt Wu Chao, staring intently at him, his eyes trembling incessantly.

Wu Chao, of course, understood what his trusted subordinate meant, but his expression remained unchanged.

"Before I arrived, the director had suffered a heart attack and was unable to continue working."

"So he has transferred all authority to me and reported to the council that I will temporarily serve as the chief of the police department."

"Furthermore, the chief has joined forces with all the senior officers of the detective agency to grant me the authority to issue a temporary martial law order."

"So this order is legal and compliant, you don't need to worry, just execute it."

The senior detective couldn't listen any longer; his eyes widened suddenly, and he became agitated.

"fart!"

"It's not that simple!"

"Boss, I don't believe you can't see the trick to this."

"What temporary director, what granted authority? It's all bullshit!"

"It's just a bunch of spineless cowardly bastards who are afraid to take responsibility and dare not stand up, so they're forcing you to be their scapegoat!"

"With the temporary martial law order issued, all the responsibility falls on your shoulders!"

"Even if we catch the culprit afterward, you will still be held responsible for all the consequences of the temporary martial law order. Even if you have done a good job, you will still be punished!"

"The lightest consequence would be immediate resignation!"

"You've completely sacrificed yourself to save those bastards!"

"You can't be the leader like that, I don't agree!"

"Shut up!"

Wu Chao suddenly shouted, his unprecedented sharpness and murderous aura instantly making the senior detective tremble and shut his mouth, not daring to speak.

However, the senior detective remained fixed on Wu Chao, his gaze never wavering.

Looking at this loyal confidant who was always thinking of him, Wu Chao sighed inwardly, his gaze softening slightly.

"I know everything you're saying."

"But I don't care."

"I know that doing this might lead to my resignation with a bad reputation, but as long as the stability of this city can be preserved, what's wrong with sacrificing myself?"

Wu Chao's words completely silenced the senior detective and the other special agents.

A temporary martial law order is the sole authority of the chief detective.

Specifically, when the police chief believes that the entire Deepsea City is about to face a huge and unpredictable risk that will cause irreparable and serious damage to the city, he can issue a direct order without reporting to the council!

Once the temporary martial law order is issued, all police detectives in the city, whether temporary or permanent, will have all their leave canceled and will be required to take up their posts and stand guard in their assigned areas.

All ordinary residents of Deepsea City will be required to stay at home and may only go out at fixed times each day, and are not allowed to go out at other times.

Any violation will be considered sabotage and will result in immediate arrest.

The temporary martial law order is valid for 24 hours.

No further explanation is needed; just looking at the explicit interpretation of the martial law decree is enough to tell you how terrifying this authority is.

This command is like an invisible hand.

Within 24 hours, the entire Deepsea City was essentially put on pause, with all activities suspended except for the police department, which was allowed to move freely!

Furthermore, the detective agency has virtually unlimited authority during these 24 hours.

They can arrest anyone they suspect and interrogate anyone.

Apart from the thirteen members of parliament at the very top, even the heads of other departments on par with the police department, no matter how powerful they are, will instantly become lambs to the slaughter.

This means that once this order is issued, the head of the police department will instantly become the fourteenth person in Deepsea City!

The most terrifying thing is that this fourteenth person also controls tens of thousands of rigorously trained detectives!

In terms of actual authority, apart from the top-ranked member who has the power to mobilize the security detail, the other twelve members have to act according to the whims of the police chief. This shows just how much power that is!

However, everything in this world is equal.

You reap what you sow.

The greater the power, the greater the risk.

Despite the fact that the police chief was practically second only to the police chief after the temporary martial law order was issued, he still held considerable power.

But don't forget, there are only 24 hours.

Once 24 hours have passed, the police chief will be exposed for what he truly is.

This was only the first step; what followed was the serious consequence of issuing martial law.

Because of the strict requirements of the temporary martial law order, once it is issued, the entire Deepsea City will inevitably be filled with intense resentment.

Their lives are disrupted, their freedom is restricted, and even their lives may be in the hands of others. How can people who are used to freedom tolerate this?

Even if some people can understand, the majority will still harbor resentment towards this.

Those powerful and wealthy individuals, in particular, are most averse to this situation.

They already have everything, yet the temporary martial law could take it all away. How could they possibly bear it?

So no matter how legitimate the chief of police's reasons for issuing the order, once martial law is lifted, there will always be people who will vent their anger on him.

Once someone starts something, others will naturally follow.

Once things escalate, an explanation is always needed.

Where does this explanation come from?

Doesn't it all come down to the detective chief who issued the temporary martial law order?

There are many ways to appease public anger, but the simplest, quickest, and least costly way is to sacrifice the bureau chief who issued the temporary martial law order to vent the anger of the majority and thus silence dissent.

This has always been the approach taken by the Deepsea City Council.

In the century since the establishment of Shenhai City, not counting this time, a total of seven temporary martial law orders have been issued.

Each time, it was when Deepsea City faced a life-or-death crisis or major unrest that the police chief decisively ordered martial law to be declared throughout the city.

The seven police chiefs who issued the temporary martial law order all met the same fate: they were stripped of all their positions and thrown into prison, where they remained until their deaths, never to leave again.

Now, Wu Chao is about to become the eighth police chief to issue a temporary martial law order.

Oh no, it should be the interim head of the police department.

He wasn't even a real worker, but a temporary one.

Thinking about this, Wu Chao couldn't help but chuckle.

But while he wanted to laugh, none of the senior detectives around him had any intention of laughing. Their faces were all grim, as if they had lost their parents, as they looked at Wu Chao.

The senior detective stepped forward and said through gritted teeth.

"Boss, a temporary martial law order has just been issued, there's still a chance to salvage the situation."

"All you have to do is say you gave the wrong order, and it will be revoked immediately. At most, you'll be questioned afterwards, but you'll never be able to rise to a higher position again, and there's no chance of that happening again..."

"No!"

Before the senior detective could finish speaking, Wu Chao resolutely refused.