148: Chapter 148 Zhu Wenhao's Characterization

For a desperate outlaw like this, who refused to change despite repeated admonitions and attempted to seize police equipment, verbal warnings were nothing but waste paper.

He didn't hesitate for a second.

His finger decisively pulled the trigger.

"Bang!"

Another gunshot rang out, but this time, it wasn't a warning shot into the air.

Zhang Xing let out a shrill scream, his body reeling as if struck by a heavy hammer, while red fluid burst from his left knee.

He collapsed into the mud, clutching his broken leg and rolling around, screaming in agony.

The crowd had completely given up hope this time; the dozen or so men were silent, and two of the timid ones were so scared they collapsed to the ground.

He had actually fired.

In the dead silence of the standoff, a figure slowly emerged from the shadows of the village road.

It was Village Secretary Zhang Dahai.

In fact, Village Secretary Zhang Dahai had been hiding in the back watching the show all along. The clan stepping forward to set rules for petitioners was a familiar tactic in the village. As a village official, he couldn't openly intervene, so he let Zhang Xing cause trouble.

Who would have thought they would run into a reckless policeman who actually dared to open fire and draw blood.

If he didn't come out to smooth things over now, the fire would soon burn him.

"Oh my, Officer, it's all a misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding!" Village Secretary Zhang Dahai walked up quickly, his face full of friendly smiles, as if he had just realized the situation.

Deputy Police Chief Li Sanqiang held his gun in one hand and looked at him coldly: "Village Secretary Zhang, it's the middle of the night; this misunderstanding of yours comes at quite the convenient time. Don't come any closer. If you interfere with police law enforcement, you will bear the consequences."

Village Secretary Zhang Dahai stopped in his tracks, glanced at the wailing Zhang Xing on the ground, and his expression darkened.

He put on the airs of a village secretary: "You must be the deputy director of the Town Police Station, right? Using a gun in the village in the middle of the night and seriously injuring a villager. I will personally go to the Town Government to find Secretary Qiu and report your excessive use of force to your director!"

"Report me?" Deputy Police Chief Li Sanqiang scoffed and pointed to the body camera on his chest.

"Gathering a crowd to attack the police and attempting to seize police equipment. Village Secretary Zhang, are you openly shielding criminals here, or are you threatening a police officer performing his official duties? My device has recorded every word of what you just said, without missing a single syllable."

Village Secretary Zhang Dahai's face turned purple from the retort; all his evasive, smooth-talking clichés were stuck in his throat.

Just as the two sides were at a stalemate, several intense red and blue police lights flickered and intertwined on the dirt road in the distance outside the village.

Four police cars arrived at the village entrance with shrill sirens, moving at lightning speed.

Their tires left deep ruts in the dirt road.

As soon as the cars stopped, Police Chief Zhao Gang kicked open his door.

Behind him, three police officers and five auxiliary officers, fully armed, rushed down like wolves and tigers.

"Surround them all!" Police Chief Zhao Gang roared.

The beams of police flashlights crisscrossed, sealing off the scene completely.

On the way here, Police Chief Zhao Gang had keenly sensed the severity of the situation and had immediately called Zhu Wenhao from the car.

At that moment, Zhu Wenhao was standing in front of the window of the Town Party Committee Deputy Secretary's office, overlooking the vast nightscape of Heishi Town.

After hearing Police Chief Zhao Gang's report about Deputy Police Chief Li Sanqiang being attacked and injured, and opening fire to control the situation, Zhu Wenhao tapped his knuckles on the windowsill twice.

"Zhu Wenhao, the situation at the scene is complex; villagers have gathered to resist law enforcement, and blood has been spilled," Police Chief Zhao Gang asked for instructions over the phone. "If we handle this as 'picking quarrels and provoking trouble,' the Zhang Clan of Heishui Village will definitely pressure us through the Town Government to minimize the matter."

"Picking quarrels and provoking trouble?" Zhu Wenhao's tone was extremely calm. "Police Chief Zhao Gang, you have misunderstood one thing. This is not just a simple case of resisting law enforcement."

Police Chief Zhao Gang was stunned on the other end of the line.

Zhu Wenhao articulated every word clearly, defining the political nature of this conflict.

"Secretary Lei Zhen of the Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission has just taken charge of the Second Supervision Team and taken down the Taiyao Gang in Linjiang City. At this critical juncture, a force has emerged in our Heishi Town, daring to beat people in broad daylight, force girls, and even gather crowds to surround and attack, attempting to seize police firearms."

"This kind of tightly organized and brutal approach is definitely not that of ordinary village bullies or thugs. I have every reason to suspect that this group is a low-level branch left behind by the Taiyao Gang in Heishi Town. That leader, Zhang Xing, is a key member of the criminal underworld forces."

Police Chief Zhao Gang understood.

This was the political strategy of a superior. He was directly linking a village-level incident to the major organized crime case currently being investigated by the Provincial Supervision Team.

As long as this label of "Taiyao Gang Branch" was firmly attached, let alone Secretary Qiu Dehai, even Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan would not dare to come forward to protect these people at this time.

Whoever dared to protect them would be shielding the remnants of criminal underworld forces and opposing the Provincial Party Committee's overall anti-organized crime efforts.

"I understand, Secretary Zhu." Police Chief Zhao Gang even changed his form of address. "After I arrive at the scene, I will immediately detain all involved personnel on suspicion of organizing a criminal underworld group. I will bring them back to the Police Station for overnight interrogation and report the case directly to the County Public Security Bureau."

"Very good." Zhu Wenhao issued the final order.

"I will represent the town's Political and Legal Affairs system and submit an urgent special report to the County Political and Legal Affairs Commission overnight. At the same time, I will directly request police support from Police Chief Li Jianguo of the Municipal Public Security Bureau."

Zhu Wenhao looked at the deep night outside the window: "This evil trend will be completely uprooted tonight, taking advantage of the momentum from the Provincial Anti-Gang Office!"

After hanging up the phone, there was no ripple in Zhu Wenhao's eyes.

Governing a chaotic situation requires leveraging momentum.

Since Secretary Lei Zhen had set up such a big stage in Linjiang City, this play of going with the flow in Heishi Town naturally had to be performed.

Shifting the scene back to the entrance of Heishui Village.

Police Chief Zhao Gang strode to Deputy Police Chief Li Sanqiang's side.

By the light of the police lamps, he glanced at the bloodstain on Deputy Police Chief Li Sanqiang's head, which had been hastily bandaged, and a trace of murderous intent flashed in Police Chief Zhao Gang's eyes.

"Is the injury serious?"

"I won't die; I'm tough." Deputy Police Chief Li Sanqiang holstered his service weapon.

Police Chief Zhao Gang turned around to face Village Secretary Zhang Dahai and that group of shivering villagers.

Village Secretary Zhang Dahai still wanted to brace himself and come forward to curry favor: "Director Zhao, you've come just in time; your Police Station's men opened fire for no reason..."

"Shut up!" Police Chief Zhao Gang sternly cut him off.

He scanned the crowd, his voice as loud as a booming bell, making people's eardrums ache.

"We have received a definitive notification from higher authorities that remnants of criminal underworld gangs are conducting organized crime in Heishui Village. Everyone, immediately crouch down with your hands on your heads! Anyone who resists will be subdued on the spot!"

The police officers and auxiliary officers stepped forward in unison, their movements swift and rough, kicking the villagers holding farm tools to the ground one by one and handcuffing them behind their backs with police handcuffs.

Zhang Xing was lifted and dragged away like a dead dog by two auxiliary officers, leaving a long trail of blood on the dirt road.

Village Secretary Zhang Dahai was completely dumbfounded.

Criminal underworld forces?

This label was like Mount Tai pressing down; the sky of the Zhang Clan in Heishui Village had collapsed tonight.

"Take them all back to the Police Station! Interrogate them overnight!" Police Chief Zhao Gang waved his hand, and police lights flashed brightly across the entire village entrance.

This conflict, under the oppressive night sky of Heishi Town, had torn open a rift, but the purge had only just begun.