156: Chapter 156 Man is the root of all problems

Passing through the lobby and entering the main office, Lin Ning felt that the entire Police Station was permeated with a sense of exhaustion, as if everyone was on the verge of sudden death.

In the main office, everyone had dark circles and heavy bags under their eyes, looking as haggard as if they had been ravaged by a gang of thugs.

When he walked in, no one looked up at him; they were all gritting their teeth, staring intently at their computers, and constantly switching between their mice and keyboards.

The hallway leading to the interrogation rooms was also bustling with people coming and going.

A trace of guilt flickered in Lin Ning's heart, but it was overshadowed by a sense of trepidation—surely he wouldn't get beaten to death, would he?!

As he hesitated about whether to retreat, Officer Li Feng suddenly looked up.

The moment Officer Li Feng saw Lin Ning, his eyes widened suddenly. After a brief moment of confusion, a rage that seemed ready to consume human flesh erupted.

"How the hell do you still dare to appear before me?!"

Lin Ning flashed a standard smile, revealing eight sparkling teeth. "Well, you know, I just got back from my hometown and came to check on you..."

Officer Li Feng suddenly sprang up from his seat.

Lin Ning immediately took to his heels, and the two of them circled the office desk twice.

The attention of the others was drawn over as well. Upon seeing it was Lin Ning, they wore expressions filled with ghostly resentment, their gazes like heavy mountains that slowed Lin Ning's pace.

Officer Li Feng erupted with a burst of strength, grabbed him by the back of his collar, and kicked him in the butt.

The others looked relieved, some even seemingly unsatisfied, as if they felt Officer Li Feng should have kicked Lin Ning a few more times.

Lin Ning shrank his head, realizing he had incurred everyone's wrath.

"Sit there!" Officer Li Feng pointed at the stool in front of him.

Lin Ning obediently sat down, like a prisoner, with his hands resting honestly on his knees.

Officer Li Feng sat back in his seat and said with a hateful expression, "You really are something! Do you have any idea how I've spent the last few days?"

Speaking of this, tears almost fell from Officer Li Feng's eyes.

His workload was heavier than the others because he was the one who actually received the reports, taking on ten cases at once.

Even though the others knew it had nothing to do with him directly, they hated him intensely.

While suffering the same hardships and more exhaustion, he also had to endure the disdain of his colleagues.

Officer Li Feng rambled on, constantly accusing, criticizing, mocking, and badgering Lin Ning.

Lin Ning endured it all obediently, but in his heart, there was a persistent feeling of awkwardness.

Officer Li Feng spoke until his mouth was dry. He picked up his teacup, gulped it all down, and then got up to go to the restroom.

After Officer Li Feng left, Lin Ning sat there, thinking it felt more and more wrong.

Wasn't he handing them credit? If ordinary people reported a crime, would they subject them to both physical and mental attacks as well? So why did he have to endure this? Look at Zhao Jianguo from Erenhot.

He was so eager to recruit him.

He spoke nicely and his attitude was sincere. Even after he refused the poaching attempt, every time he called him to report information on wanted criminals over the next two days, the other party would persistently and sincerely invite him again.

Now look at Officer Li Feng—had he been too good to him? Was this kid getting too big for his boots?

The more Lin Ning thought about it, the angrier he became. Suddenly, he placed his hand near the power strip, covered his hand's movement with his sleeve, and shouted, "Oops, I accidentally pressed the power strip button, and I haven't let go yet."

As he spoke, he used his other hand to pick up his phone, dialed Officer Li Feng's number, and repeated what he had just said.

A few seconds later, Officer Li Feng rushed back into the office, practically hitching up his pants, and started saving the various case reports and transcripts he had painstakingly typed out on his computer.

The office was in chaos, with everyone frantically saving their work.

Even those who had already saved their work fearfully checked multiple times to ensure it had been saved successfully.

Lin Ning pressed his lips tightly together, his uncontrollable laughter almost spilling out. He suddenly bolted up and ran while laughing wildly, "Hahaha! No need to thank me! Make sure to develop the habit of saving as you go! I'll come back to 'remind' you next time!"

The louder the cursing behind him, the happier he ran, and the irritation in his heart completely vanished.

In a good mood, Lin Ning ran to where Jiang Yu was taking her class to pick her up, and the two chose a small restaurant for lunch.

When Jiang Yu saw him, the corners of her mouth couldn't be kept down. She glanced at him secretly from time to time, her eyes hiding amusement.

Lin Ning leaned over and asked happily, "Did you miss me like crazy?"

Jiang Yu couldn't help it, "Why are you so tanned? I couldn't tell when we were on video call. Did you really go back to your hometown? Or did you go to the beach?"

Lin Ning's smile froze on his face. He touched his face, "It's windy and sandy over there. Damn, did I really get that much darker?"

Jiang Yu couldn't help but laugh, "What is there for a man to fear about being dark? Or being rough?"

In response to Jiang Yu's teasing, Lin Ning countered by describing the various delicacies of Erenhot. At this moment, he seemed to transform into a fan of Erenhot cuisine.

Hand-grabbed mutton, pot tea, grilled skewers, lamb offal—he made Jiang Yu drool. She saw through Lin Ning's little mischievous intentions and elegantly rolled her eyes.

The two of them sat together, happy even while talking about meaningless, boring topics.

The two chatted while they ate.

Lin Ning told Jiang Yu about the interesting things that happened when he went back to his hometown, such as being mistaken for a Dragon King son-in-law. Jiang Yu laughed uncontrollably, almost choking, and reached out to pinch his face with a smile: "Only you could encounter such absurd things, haha..."

Lin Ning then talked about picking up meteorites, camping in the Gobi Desert at night, and reporting wanted criminals. Although he skimmed over many of the dangerous parts, Jiang Yu's expression changed from longing for the starry sky of the Gobi to a slightly furrowed brow of worry.

But she knew this was something Lin Ning enjoyed; otherwise, if it were just for money, he wouldn't be so proactive.

Jiang Yu reached out and touched the thin calluses on his arm, picked up some food for him with her chopsticks, her eyes soft and filled with concern: "In the future, if you go to such dangerous places again, you must send me your location every day, even if it's just the word 'Safe'."

After they finished eating, they were just thinking about finding a place to stroll around.

Lin Ning's phone rang—it was Chen Zhi.

Lin Ning was unwilling and reluctant, but he still answered quickly, "Hello?"

Chen Zhi: "If you have time, come over. I'm back."

Lin Ning said in a muffled voice: "Okay."

He dropped Jiang Yu off downstairs at her company and reached out to ruffle her hair: "Work hard, I'll come find you for dinner when I'm done." Watching her run into the office building, he then turned and hailed a taxi to head to the small building.

In Chen Zhi's office, he was frowning at his computer. Seeing Lin Ning knock and enter, he signaled him to sit down.

Chen Zhi was silent for a few seconds, then spoke.

"A group of people from the Middle East have come to China for training."

Lin Ning understood immediately—wasn't this the rumored Shijiazhuang military academy trainee program? He had only heard of ones from Africa before; he didn't expect people from the Middle East to come too. Awesome!

"A fire broke out in the training base for no apparent reason."

Lin Ning frowned, "Any casualties?"

Chen Zhi shook his head, "No. But regarding the fire, we have investigated it three times."

As he spoke, he curled his lips in mockery, "The conclusion was always electrical aging, an accident."

Although Lin Ning knew this world was just a huge amateur production, still, for an important foreign-related training base, given the Chinese people's penchant for saving face, electrical aging??

Chen Zhi watched the change in Lin Ning's expression and nodded, "The base is a key area and is frequently inspected; it's impossible for it to catch fire due to aging."

Having said this, he paused, and then Chen Zhi asked Lin Ning.

"Do you know about the incident in 1948 where Feng Yuxiang's ship, the Victory, caught fire for no apparent reason?"

Lin Ning shook his head.

Chen Zhi said, "Everyone knew that fire wasn't right. At that time, our Special Division was already very capable, but even with all our resources, we still couldn't find the cause."

His eyes, besides mockery, held a trace of anger, "Now, the same method—this is a slap in the face..."

"We conducted a final inspection and personnel screening last night, but we still couldn't find any issues. I called you back because I want you to go over there and take a look to see if there is anyone suspicious."

"Alright!" Lin Ning did not hesitate, "But I can only look at people; I probably can't help you with anything else."

Chen Zhi looked at him with a complex gaze, a flash of helplessness in his eyes, along with a bit of wry amusement—did this kid really not realize his own abilities? All trouble ultimately stems from people; finding the person is equivalent to solving all the trouble.