Power and wealth bring fragrance

Wu Chao let out a sharp shout, and the rooftop fell silent once again.

Although the senior detectives and others dared not speak again, their faces and eyes were still full of stubbornness.

Wu Chao sighed inwardly, his cold and hard expression softening slightly, and brought up another topic.

"Do you know why the chief of police would have the authority to issue a temporary martial law order, which is completely beyond the norm?"

The senior detective and his team were taken aback.

Clearly, they didn't know.

In the current detective agency, although the senior detective has reached a mid-level position, in terms of actual status, he is far from being considered.

Therefore, he had no right to know some of the secrets and hidden matters within the police department.

Wu Chao, on the other hand, is a veteran deputy director of the police detective bureau. In terms of seniority in the bureau, even the director cannot compare to him.

Decades of ups and downs have given him a thorough understanding of all sorts of secrets inside and outside the police department.

So when his trusted confidants, including senior detectives, questioned his decision to issue a temporary martial law order, he decided to give them a lesson in the history of the police department.

"Got a cigarette? Light one up."

Wu Chao beckoned with his finger, and the senior detective quickly took out a cigarette, lit it, and then lit one for himself as well.

Wu Chao took a deep breath, glanced at his subordinates surrounding him, and spoke in a low voice.

"The temporary martial law order can put the entire Deepsea City into a state of emergency within 24 hours, and at the same time make the Detective Bureau, a secondary agency of the council, the de facto sole authority in Deepsea City within those 24 hours."

"This terrifying level of authority should not be given to the police department at all; only the Deepsea City Council should have this power."

"This is something everyone can see, but haven't you ever wondered why something that everyone finds unreasonable continues to exist and hasn't been abolished?"

The senior detective and the others fell silent.

They naturally knew about this from the moment they entered the detective agency.

Initially, there were doubts, but since no one at all knew about it, and the last time a temporary martial law order was issued was thirty years ago, over time, no one paid any more attention to the issue.

Because everyone believes that it is impossible for a bureau chief to issue a temporary martial law order now or in the future.

That's playing with your life. In today's increasingly sophisticated and self-serving society, who would do something so thankless and exhausting?

But now that Wu Chao brought it up, they naturally recalled their initial doubts and fell silent, waiting for Wu Chao to clarify.

Wu Chao, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, stared at the dark clouds in the sky, his gaze somewhat unfocused, inadvertently returning to the time when he first entered the police station.

"That must have been forty years ago, when I first joined the detective agency. I was only sixteen that year."

"You can't compare back then to now. Nowadays, college students graduate and start working at 22, but back then there weren't that many college students, and there weren't even many high school students."

"Forget about going to school, they can't even afford to eat and drink. Lots of sixteen or seventeen-year-old boys drop out of high school and go find work."

"I was lucky. My father was a doorman at the police station, and he used his connections to get me a temporary job there, doing odd jobs."

"Perhaps I was lucky; a big thing happened shortly after I joined the detective agency."

Wu Chao flicked his cigarette ash, his face full of nostalgia.

"At that time, the bureau had a major case with a very bad impact, and it was required to be solved within three days."

"But the conditions were limited at the time, and the murderer was very cunning, leaving no clues. Two days passed and there were still no clues, which was very worrying."

"But it wasn't my problem back then. I was just a lowly office worker doing odd jobs. Even if the sky fell, it wasn't my place to hold it up."

"But this windfall actually landed on my head."

"When I was leaving get off work, I happened to pass by a place and found some clues. I reported it to the head of the major crime unit who was in charge of the case at the time, and the person was successfully arrested."

"Because of this incident, I caught the eye of the head of the Major Crimes Unit. He made me a full-time employee and even became my mentor, personally guiding me."

"Ten years later, he was promoted to chief of the police department."

"That same year, he personally issued a temporary martial law order."

Wu Chao stopped, and the atmosphere on the rooftop had become so quiet that it was almost suffocating; even the air seemed to have stopped circulating.

The senior detectives and others held their breath, knowing that something big was about to happen.

Wu Chao glanced at the senior detective and nodded at him.

I won't go into what happened that year, you all know.

"The situation is urgent, just like it is now, so he issued a temporary martial law order."

"Before the announcement, I tried to persuade him, just like you did, and he asked me, just like I did, whether I knew the origin of the temporary martial law order."

"Of course I don't know. This kind of thing is only kept in the most confidential safe of the detective department, with paper documents. There are no electronic archives. How would I know?"

"And my master didn't hide anything from me; he told me directly."

"This is actually a common practice."

"It's a rule that came from the first chief of police."

Wu Chao extinguished his cigarette, slightly raised his chin, his jaw as sharp as a knife.

"Nearly a hundred years ago, Deepsea City was far smaller than it is now, and the council was controlled by foreigners."

"We locals are nothing more than lackeys that others can drive around at will."

"Later, the world became turbulent, and the foreigners' coercion became increasingly frantic. The locals were in dire straits, living in constant fear."

"The conflict eventually erupted, leading to a local riot, while the foreigners used arsenals to try to suppress it by force."

"At that time, some people stepped forward, formed an organization on the spot, and issued a call to all locals to unite and resist. The violent confrontation ultimately thwarted the other side's strategy and forced them to sit down and negotiate."

"Later, times changed, and when the foreigners retreated in disarray, the parliament became the domain of the locals, and the man who had stood up against the foreigners became the first speaker."

"And the first thing he did after taking office was to name the organization he founded years ago the Detective Bureau, and he himself served as the first director of the Detective Bureau."

"His first order was that the chief of the police department would have the authority to issue a temporary martial law order and to guard the entire territory of Deepsea City."

"What he did was to prevent a recurrence of the incident from making the police department the central authority representing the people in resisting violence and maintaining order."

"It's not like we're in a critical situation where we want to fight back but don't even have a gun."

"Because our detective agency, from the day it was founded, has shouldered the heavy responsibility of protecting the millions of people in Deepsea City!"

"The temporary martial law order is the sharpest knife our predecessors used to wield the heavy responsibility they placed on us!"

"If any incident occurs that could endanger the residents of Deepsea City, even if it ruins our future, our detective department will not hesitate to take responsibility!"

"Now do you understand why I issued a temporary martial law order?"

Wu Chao let out a long breath, as if to release all the pent-up emotions in his chest, and felt much more relaxed.

Turning his head, he saw that the senior detective and the others were all stunned and speechless, which made Wu Chao suddenly want to laugh.

"Wake up, you're awake."

Wu Chao snapped his fingers, and the senior detectives and others shuddered, snapping out of their shock. When they looked at Wu Chao again, their eyes were filled with admiration and respect.

"So, there are such things."

"Boss, now we completely understand."

"Don't worry, no matter what you say, we'll support you to the end this time."

"If the higher-ups want to discard us afterward, we will absolutely not agree to it."

"The worst that can happen is we all get kicked out together, what are we afraid of!"

"A bunch of damn bastards, they're all afraid to take responsibility, and now you're the one taking the blame. This can't just be left like this."

With red eyes, Senior Detective Wu Chao made his commitment, and the other special agents, also caught up in the excitement, patted their chests and gave their guarantees.

Wu Chao waved his hand with a smile, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes.

"We don't need you."

"I will bear the consequences of the orders I issue."

"Our bureau chief broke through our management system of so many years, coming from the administrative level."

"Unlike the previous bureau chiefs, he did not work his way up from the front lines, nor did he receive personal instruction from his seniors, so he deeply understands our mission and responsibilities."

"That's why he didn't dare to give that order."

"I know what he's thinking. He just wants me to take the blame afterward so he can promote his cronies and make me the second deputy director to be promoted to director."

"If it weren't for this incident, I would still have fought with them."

"But the people of Shenhai City are about to face such great danger, and they're still scheming over a bureau chief position. If my master finds out, he'll probably scold me to death."

"So it doesn't matter anymore. For the sake of the people of Shenhai City, it's only right to take the blame."

"Some things, though people do them, Heaven is watching."

"They'll get their comeuppance sooner or later."

Wu Chao didn't dwell on the topic any further, and the senior detectives, though feeling aggrieved, couldn't say anything.

While everyone was talking, detectives hurriedly arrived.

They cordoned off the scene, investigated traces, and collected drone wreckage, beginning their work methodically in an attempt to find clues to locate the person behind it all.

Wu Chao did not stay there any longer. His subordinates naturally cleaned up the scene. As the temporary director, he needed to be in charge and maintain communication with all parties.

He wouldn't have come in person if such a big thing hadn't happened here.

Wu Chao boarded the helicopter and left Changfeng Building. His order was like a boulder thrown into a lake, instantly causing a huge uproar.

The sirens of police sirens blared throughout the police headquarters and branch offices in various districts of Deepsea City.

All detectives were immediately recalled and urgently assigned tasks, going directly to the streets to block off streets, persuade people to return home, and immediately impose martial law.

News of the two major cases—the explosion at the police headquarters building and the helicopter crash at the Changfeng Building—had already leaked, shocking the entire Deepsea City and sparking widespread discussion.

Now, with the addition of a sudden temporary martial law order, the entire Deepsea City is in an uproar.

"A temporary martial law order? What's that?"

"Why should I be forced to stay home and not go out? Your detective department is being way too domineering!"

"What are you detectives doing? Such big cases have happened one after another and you can't even catch a single person. Now you're putting martial law on? What use are you?!"

"Can someone tell me why it's the police department, and not the council, that issued the martial law order? Is this some kind of police rebellion?"

"Maybe I sensed something was off about these two cases earlier. The police headquarters building is always heavily guarded; how could it be so easily infiltrated and blown up? Not to mention the helicopter—that's the face of the police department! How could it be blown up so easily? Could it have been staged?"

"Hehehe, maybe it really is possible. Who knows, we might wake up tomorrow to find that everything has changed."

"Shut up, you bunch of youngsters! You're too young to know, but we old folks do. Thirty years ago, a similar incident happened, and the police department issued martial law to resolve the crisis. Don't you know the police department has that authority?"

Countless people started cursing online, instantly sparking a heated debate.

They just didn't understand the inside story of the detective agency's temporary martial law order, but some people always remembered it.

Top floor suite at Ronghua Hospital.

The police chief, who had just been hospitalized for a heart attack, lay half-reclined on the hospital bed, with Minister Zhang and several other close confidants on either side of him, their faces full of excitement.

"Wu Chao actually issued a temporary martial law order. That's great. We don't even need to lift a finger; he's already got himself killed."

"It's all thanks to you, Chief. You took care of him without firing a single shot. Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!"

A middle-aged man with a square face was flattering the bureau chief with an expression of admiration. Minister Zhang and the others sat on either side, just smiling and not saying a word, which was enough to show the status of this square-faced man.

Actually, it doesn't matter much. This square-faced man is the successor chosen by the director, and also the deputy director of the police bureau, who is at the same level as Wu Chao.

Wu Chao's biggest rival.

A man with a square face who is chosen as a successor must have cultivated a deep understanding of character that is far from superficial.

But Wu Chao put too much pressure on him. He was the trusted apprentice of the previous director, and he was also the most senior member of the bureau, a tough guy who had worked his way up from the front lines.

In every aspect, he is far superior to the deputy director of the bureau who rose through the ranks by flattering and currying favor with the bureau chief.

If it weren't for the bureau chief's strong support, he wouldn't have been qualified to compete with Wu Chao at all.

Now that Wu Chao has been crippled, how could he not be happy?

The bureau chief, lying on the hospital bed, had a calm expression, unlike their overt joy. He waved his hand to stop their laughter and spoke softly.

"Don't be so happy too soon."

"Although he issued a temporary martial law order, he will be purged no matter what after the deed is done, but before it is done, everything is subject to change."

"Don't stay here, I'm fine, go back to the station right away."

"Keep an eye on the case, keep an eye on Wu Chao, and call me anytime if anything happens."

"yes!"