107: Chapter 107 The Investigation Begins

Liu Yi lowered his head, his gaze falling on the communication investigation record.

The air in the office seemed to freeze; Lu Zheng's roar was still echoing in his ears.

Jiang Nan stood to the side, watching him warily.

The occasional sound of distant car horns outside only made the indoor atmosphere more suffocatingly oppressive.

"Director Lu..."

Liu Yi finally spoke, his voice raspy.

He slowly raised his head, a trace of a bitter smile appearing on his face.

"I've followed you for five years. Do you really distrust me this much?"

Lu Zheng didn't say a word, only staring at him coldly.

His gaze was as calm as a pool of deep water.

Seeing this, Liu Yi became increasingly agitated.

He stood up abruptly, his chair sliding back with a harsh scraping sound.

"Fine, since you don't believe me, then I'm leaving!"

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly turned and lunged toward the window.

Jiang Nan suddenly realized that Liu Yi was trying to escape or commit suicide.

Her body reacted before her mind did.

Just as Liu Yi's hand touched the window frame, the back of his right knee took a heavy blow.

Jiang Nan delivered a low sweeping kick, hitting him right in the weak point of his joint.

Caught off guard, Liu Yi's right leg buckled, and he lunged forward, his upper body hitting the wall with a dull thud.

"You..."

Liu Yi hadn't expected such a delicate-looking female officer to strike with such agility.

He reached back to grab Jiang Nan's arm, but she sidestepped and seized his wrist in the same motion.

She pressed her knee into the small of his back, using a standard grappling move to pin the grown man firmly against the windowsill.

The entire sequence was clean and efficient, taking less than three seconds.

With his face pressed against the cold glass and half his body immobilized, Liu Yi's eyes were filled with disbelief.

Hearing the commotion inside, Zhao Yang rushed into the room.

He saw Jiang Nan with one knee pressed into Liu Yi's lower back, one hand gripping his wrist, and the other holding the back of his neck.

Zhao Yang lunged forward and pinned Liu Yi down firmly.

"Jiang Nan, leave him to me." Having seen Jiang Nan's skills before, he wasn't surprised at all.

Jiang Nan let go, intending to look for handcuffs.

Lu Zheng waved her off. "Take him to the interrogation room."

As for Liu Yi, he didn't want to hand him over to the police just yet; he had to make him confess first.

Soon, Zheng Beichen entered the room and helped Zhao Yang take Liu Yi to an empty interrogation room.

Lu Zheng went to the interrogation room himself and sat across from Liu Yi.

He waved a hand at Zhao Yang and Zheng Beichen. "You two head out. Call Wu Licheng over."

When Wu Licheng arrived at the interrogation room and saw Liu Yi restrained in the questioning chair, he was greatly surprised.

"Director Lu, this is..."

Lu Zheng said in a heavy voice, "He leaked information to a target of the investigation. The circumstances are severe."

He pointed to the seat beside him, gesturing for Wu Licheng to sit.

"Licheng, I, Lu Zheng, have worked in discipline inspection for twenty years and sent dozens of people to prison, and I've never felt bad for any of them."

"Today is the first time."

As he spoke, Lu Zheng's eyes grew red.

Wu Licheng listened quietly without interrupting.

"I once took pride in the Fourth Division, thinking that every soldier under my command was a man of integrity."

Lu Zheng's voice grew lower and lower until it was barely audible.

"And yet, he... he... has disappointed me so deeply..."

Lu Zheng raised his hand and pointed at Liu Yi, who sat with his head bowed in silence.

"He leaked information, which led the investigation target to commit murder to silence a witness. Fortunately, Zhao Yang was lucky and escaped with his life."

Lu Zheng's expression gradually became resolute, and his voice turned powerful and resonant.

"In this situation, he'll be sentenced to at least seven years in prison!"

"Licheng, you're his partner. Talk some sense into him. Persuade him to confess voluntarily and strive to perform a meritorious service. That way... his sentence can be reduced."

After saying this, Lu Zheng stood up with a dark expression and walked back to the lounge with heavy steps.

Looking at Lu Zheng's back, Zhao Yang felt as if his master had aged ten years in an instant.

Zheng Beichen looked at Zhao Yang beside him and asked in confusion,

"Zhao Yang, what's going on?"

"It'll be made public once the investigation is clear," Zhao Yang replied. "Let Master have some peace; don't disturb him for now."

Zhao Yang paused and looked at Zheng Beichen,

"Did you and Brother Wu make any progress in your talk with Guo Mingkai?"

Zheng Beichen shook his head. "No. After you left, Guo Mingkai became a mute; he wouldn't say a single word."

Zhao Yang nodded slightly; it was all within expectations.

He had already sensed the change in Guo Mingkai's mood earlier and knew the man realized that the more he spoke, the more mistakes he made, so he wouldn't talk again for a while.

That was why he had decisively ended the questioning.

There was no rush.

Generally speaking, after six or seven days of endless questioning, it's easiest to crack the investigation target's mouth.

At that point, the target's mental and physical energy have reached their limit.

Some people will even start confessing voluntarily without you even asking a question.

Zhao Yang walked back to his lounge and found Jiang Nan already waiting for him in the room.

He gave Jiang Nan a grin. "Jiang Nan, wait for me a moment. I'm going to draft a questioning outline for Beichen."

Jiang Nan originally wanted to snap back at him, but since today's events were indeed unusual, she didn't hold it against him.

She smiled slightly. "I'm your soldier now; you don't need to worry about me."

"Oh? That sounds a bit bitter!"

Zhao Yang put down his pen and paper and turned to look at Jiang Nan.

"Jiang Nan, I've been really busy these past two days, and there are regulations while handling a case."

Jiang Nan pointed toward Lu Zheng's room. "I see Director Lu's mood isn't right. Aren't you going to go over and comfort him?"

Zhao Yang waved his hand. "He's that old; what's there to comfort? He can just process it himself. I'd rather spend that time with you."

Jiang Nan's eyes curved into a smile. "You have a sweet tongue. So you do know you should spend time with me?"

Just as she finished speaking, Zhao Yang's phone rang.

He picked it up and saw it was Lu Zheng calling.

"It's Master." Zhao Yang hung up the phone, waved to Jiang Nan, and turned to head out.

When he arrived at Lu Zheng's room, he saw the entire place filled with smoke, and the ashtray was full of cigarette butts.

Zhao Yang joked, "Master, aren't you afraid of burning the room down?"

Lu Zheng smiled at him, showing his signature grin.

Seeing him like this, Zhao Yang knew his emotions had stabilized and felt much more at ease.

Lu Zheng spoke slowly, "How much value do you think those backup materials at Secretary Jiang's place have?"

Zhao Yang pondered slightly. "Since they're restructuring materials, they've likely been tampered with, so they won't be very useful. We can only compare them with existing materials to see if we can find any loopholes."

Lu Zheng nodded. "Regardless of whether they're useful, let's get them first. It's time to put the strength of the Tongan Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection to use."

After saying that, he stood up. "No dating during work hours. Let's go, accompany me to the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection."

"Master, your mindset is problematic. Don't forget who brought those investigation records; I'm doing all this for work!"

After saying goodbye to Jiang Nan—who returned to the Criminal Investigation Detachment—Zhao Yang drove Lu Zheng to the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Seeing Lu Zheng arrive, Jiang Yunheng quickly stood up.

"Oh, a provincial leader is here. Why didn't you give me a heads-up?"

Lu Zheng got straight to the point. "Secretary Jiang, bring out all the backup materials you have."

Jiang Yunheng was taken aback. He glanced at Zhao Yang and shook his head.

"A daughter really can't be kept at home!"

Lu Zheng chuckled. "My best disciple is going to be your son-in-law; you should be secretly laughing with joy."

After a few jokes, Lu Zheng's expression turned serious.

"Secretary Jiang, I assume you've already received the Clear-text telegram from the province. Please immediately dispatch your best personnel to seal the existing materials of the Die-Casting Machine Factory and conduct questioning of relevant personnel. I will send people to cooperate."

When he said 'cooperate,' he actually meant 'lead.'

This also meant that the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection's investigation would now spread across the board.

Jiang Yunheng nodded. "Alright, I'll arrange it now."

Just as Jiang Yunheng finished speaking, Lu Zheng's phone rang.

He picked up the phone, and Wu Licheng's voice came from the other end:

"Director Lu, Liu Yi has confessed!"