91: Chapter 90 Minor Injury, Level Two

Outside the rusted iron gate of the Red Star Machinery Factory, the sirens of the riot control SUVs faded into the distance, disappearing into the rising dust.

Deep within the factory grounds, on the second-floor platform of the abandoned Workshop No. 3, a figure straightened up from behind a dilapidated window frame.

His name was Scorpion, and he held a high-powered military telescope in his hands.

Scorpion casually stuffed the telescope into a canvas bag and pulled out his phone.

He dialed the number, and it rang five or six times before being answered.

"Boss, Zhao San and his men have all been taken out; the cops rounded them all up."

A cacophony of noise came from the other end of the line, accompanied by the coquettish murmurs of a woman.

Lei Dong's gravelly voice replied, "Cops? Where did they come from? The Jingjiang Municipal Public Security Bureau and the Lubei Branch didn't have any operations today. Who went there?"

"Something isn't right," Scorpion said, recalling the image he had just captured through the lens.

"There's one person I recognize—Police Chief Zhao Gang, the deputy captain of the criminal investigation team at the Lubei Branch."

"The main force that took Zhao San down were all unfamiliar faces, wearing SWAT armbands on their training uniforms. They weren't driving those beat-up cars from the branch office either; they were in riot control SUVs."

The noise on the other end of the line quieted down. Wang Xiaoqian was wrapping her fair arms around Lei Dong, but he slapped her away.

"Go wait over there and don't bother me while I'm working."

The woman retreated to the corner of the sofa, looking aggrieved.

Lei Dong gripped his phone. SWAT getting involved, with a criminal investigation deputy captain from the Lubei Branch acting as a lackey—this situation was definitely not simple.

"Boss, there's one more thing," Scorpion added over the phone. "The young man Lei Zhenzi wanted us to deal with today might have a significant background. Police Chief Zhao Gang was extremely polite to him, and the leader of the team even helped him up. Zhao San and his men likely kicked a steel plate this time."

Lei Dong hung up on Scorpion, stood up from his large executive chair, and paced back and forth in his office.

Having mixed in the underworld of Jingjiang City for so many years, he knew all too well where the boundaries between black and white lay.

For SWAT to bypass the Municipal Public Security Bureau and make an arrest directly could only mean one objective fact: the person they grabbed had offended someone they couldn't afford to provoke.

He knew he had to get to the bottom of this.

Picking up his phone again, Lei Dong dialed Lei Zhenzi's number.

"Dongzi, is it done? Is that kid lying in the emergency room now?" Lei Zhenzi's voice was frivolous.

"Lei Zhenzi, there's been a mishap. Zhao San and his brothers were wiped out by SWAT," Lei Dong said, cutting straight to the point. "What exactly is the background of the person you asked me to hit?"

"It's no big deal. He's just a classmate of mine from the Party School, named Zhu Wenhao."

"I heard his maternal grandfather is that retired senior cadre, Li Zhenguo, and his father is a Deputy Secretary at the Linjiang Municipal Party Committee."

"With just that background, it's nothing in our Jingjiang City. Don't worry about it. Since Zhao San and his men were caught, I'll find someone to give a heads-up to the branch office and get them out."

Lei Dong felt a "buzz" in his head, and his scalp went numb.

The only son of a Deputy Secretary of the Linjiang Municipal Party Committee.

The grandson of Old Master Li, the third-ranking figure in Jiangnan Province.

Just that background?

This is fucking poking a hole in the sky!

A spoiled princeling like Lei Zhenzi, who lived under his father's wing all day, simply didn't understand the cruelty of the power game.

Old Master Li had students and former associates all over the province. With just one word from him, let alone someone like him who just did construction, even the head of the Municipal Public Security Bureau would have to peel off a layer of skin.

"Lei Zhenzi, I can't handle this. And you shouldn't try to bail them out either," Lei Dong said, swallowing hard and forcing his voice to remain steady.

"The water here is too deep. I need to go report this to Secretary Lei directly. This is no longer a situation we can handle."

Without waiting for Lei Zhenzi to explode, Lei Dong cut the connection.

He grabbed the car keys from the desk and strode out of the office.

Jingjiang City Judicial Appraisal Center.

In the forensic clinical appraisal room on the second floor, forensic doctor Qin Ming was carefully measuring the several injuries on Zhu Wenhao's body.

"Soft tissue contusion on the left side, visible linear subcutaneous hemorrhage on the back, and no fractures seen in the ribs, but there is a tendency for mild hairline fractures."

Qin Ming dictated the records to his assistant while measuring.

"According to the 'Standards for Appraisal of Human Injury Degrees,' when calculated together, it constitutes a minor injury, second degree."

Police Chief Zhao Gang, standing to the side, let out a long sigh of relief and immediately urged, "Forensic Doctor Qin, this injury appraisal report needs to be expedited. The Provincial Public Security Department is waiting for this report to determine the nature of the case; we cannot delay."

Qin Ming acknowledged and turned to instruct his assistant, "Xiao Li, take complete photos. We need close-ups of the injuries from every angle for the archives. After you finish, immediately clean and bandage this comrade."

The nurse walked over with a tray.

The iodophor touched the edges of the broken skin, causing an extremely intense stinging sensation.

Zhu Wenhao sat on the examination bed, his back still held straight.

He rested one hand on his knee, his expression unchanged, not even knitting his brows once.

As long as it constituted a minor injury, second degree, the nature of the case would rise from administrative detention under the "Public Security Administration Punishments Law" to the crime of intentional injury under the "Criminal Law."

After his wounds were treated, Zhu Wenhao put on his coat and walked to the end of the corridor outside the appraisal room.

He took out his phone and dialed the number of Director Qi Shan of the Provincial Public Security Department.

Three seconds later, the call connected.

"Zhu Wenhao, is the injury appraisal done? How is it?" Director Qi Shan's voice came through the radio waves, filled with concern. "I heard from Captain Xiao Zhan's report that you were injured quite badly."

"Uncle Qi, thank you for your concern," Zhu Wenhao said, naturally closing the distance in their address.

"I just finished the appraisal. It's a minor injury, second degree."

"Only by obtaining this report can the Provincial Public Security Department handle this case as a special matter and upgrade the investigation, providing the legal grounds to block objections. A mere public security case wouldn't be enough to silence the local forces."

Director Qi Shan sighed on the other end of the line: "You child, you're too scheming and too ruthless to yourself. When you proposed this bitter-meat scheme last night, I had my reservations. Fortunately, nothing major happened to you. The Provincial Public Security Department has already escorted Zhao San and his gang back to the interrogation room. These thugs are spineless; they won't last the night before they spit out the evidence of Lei Dong's involvement."

"That is exactly the problem," Zhu Wenhao said, leaning against the white wall.

"Uncle Qi, Lei Dong is not alone; standing behind him is Secretary Lei Zhen of the Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission. With Zhao San caught, Lei Dong must have already leaked the news to Secretary Lei. Secretary Lei Zhen has been operating in the political and legal system for many years; the Jingjiang City Political and Legal Affairs Commission and the Municipal Public Security Bureau are his base. He will never just watch us pry a confession out of Zhao San that is unfavorable to him."

There was a brief pause on the other end of the line.

As the head of the Provincial Public Security Department, Director Qi Shan understood the hierarchical constraints involved.

"Zhu Wenhao, do you mean that Secretary Lei Zhen will use territorial jurisdiction to seize the suspects?"

"Objectively speaking, this is his only way to break the situation," Zhu Wenhao analyzed systematically.

"The incident occurred in the Lubei District of Jingjiang City. According to the principle of territorial jurisdiction, it is legal and compliant for the Jingjiang Municipal Public Security Bureau to come forward and request the transfer of the suspects."

"Although the Provincial Public Security Department has the authority to upgrade the investigation, it requires discussion by the Provincial Standing Committee and authorization from the Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission. However, your appointment as Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission has not yet been brought to the meeting. Without this concurrent position as legal support, if you insist on defying the administrative orders of the Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission in the name of the head of the Provincial Public Security Department, you won't have a leg to stand on in the Provincial Party Committee Compound, and it will give others leverage against you."

Director Qi Shan snorted coldly, "So we just watch them take the people away, and then let them collude on their testimonies and fabricate evidence at the Municipal Public Security Bureau, ultimately turning a big issue into a small one?"

"If they want the right of detention, we will concede the right of detention," Zhu Wenhao proposed his countermeasure.

When this was said, even Director Qi Shan could not help but be puzzled.

"Concede the right of detention, but hold firmly onto the emergency interrogation period and the right of supervision," Zhu Wenhao gave the core logic.

"Tonight is critical. The Provincial Public Security Department will conduct emergency interrogations throughout the night. We must obtain the signed and thumb-printed confessions of Zhao San and the others before dawn, and simultaneously complete the full audio and video recording. Once the evidence is solidified, this case will become an ironclad case, and then we can continue the investigation downward."

"Tomorrow morning, if Secretary Lei Zhen exerts pressure through the Jingjiang Municipal Public Security Bureau to demand the suspects, you should readily release them and transfer Zhao San and the others to the Jingjiang City Detention Center for custody."

"It is worth noting that the transfer does not mean giving up control."

"The suspects will be locked in the Jingjiang City Detention Center, which is the Municipal Public Security Bureau's territory, so Secretary Lei Zhen's face will be saved."

"But in the name of the case involving criminal underworld forces and the Provincial Public Security Department's special supervision, you can dispatch two trusted officers to enter the detention center 24 hours a day to implement close supervision and cut off all their contact with the outside world."

Kicking the ball back to the other side neither violates the current jurisdictional framework nor gives Secretary Lei Zhen any reason to complain.

The people are locked up on his own turf, but they are being watched closely by the eyes of the Provincial Public Security Department, so no one can tamper with anything.

"Good strategy," Director Qi Shan said, not sparing his praise over the phone. "We will do as you say. I will notify Captain Xiao Zhan immediately. Even if we can't pry Zhao San's mouth open tonight, we must solidify the chain of evidence."

He ended the call.

Zhu Wenhao put away his phone and walked back along the corridor.

Police Chief Zhao Gang was standing at the door holding a photocopied injury appraisal report, waiting.

"Zhu Wenhao, I've got the report. Where are we going now?"

"To the Party School," Zhu Wenhao replied.

"Since someone wanted to see me make a fool of myself at the Red Star Machinery Factory, I must return on time to cancel my leave."

He walked out of the appraisal center gate.

Outside, the sky had turned gloomy, and the evening rush hour traffic in Jingjiang City was as thick as weaving.