87: Chapter 87: Arrest, Reward Received

He withdrew his gaze and rolled down the car window. The night breeze rushed in, carrying the unique scent of summer.

About ten minutes later, the revolving door turned again.

Zhu Qi was brought out by two police officers with his arms twisted behind his back. His face was full of terror, and he was huddled up in fear. This made his striking designer hoodie look particularly sleazy and ridiculous.

The woman following behind him had her exquisite makeup ruined by tears, and she walked unsteadily. Her high heels missed their footing several times, and she relied entirely on the policewoman beside her for support.

The police efficiently shoved the two into separate cars, closed the doors, started the engines, and quickly drove away.

After watching the whole process, Lin Ning started his car as well. He took out his phone, saw that Officer Li Feng had sent him a business card, and added it casually.

Then he dialed a number: "Old Yang BBQ for late-night snacks?"

On the other end of the line came the reply: "You got it!"

Wang Qiao leaned back in his chair, looking a bit listless, and asked in a low voice: "Is... is that it?"

"We'll go give a statement tomorrow. In a while, we're going to that barbecue place I always talk about."

Wang Qiao was speechless: "You're really laid back. I have no appetite."

Lin Ning laughed: "You'll get used to it. It's your first time, after all. I'll find a few older brothers to talk you through it. Hahaha, they are all very interesting people. I've been wanting to introduce you to them for a while. Later, I want to register them under the company to provide insurance."

Hearing about the company, Wang Qiao perked up a bit: "Just registering them?"

"Yeah," Lin Ning nodded, "They help me investigate things, and their salaries come out of my account."

At the Old Yang BBQ stall, even though it was late at night, the main street of Juma Bridge was still bustling with people.

Wang Qiao listened, dumbfounded, as Jin Er and the other two gossiped to him. The listless look on his face had long since vanished. His eyes sparkled, his expressions shifted as if he were performing Sichuan opera face-changing, and he couldn't help but exclaim from time to time.

As for Jin Er and the others, they were really getting into it. This kid was so responsive and gave them such a sense of accomplishment; he was much more interesting than that guy Lin Ning. With a drink in one hand and a skewer in the other, they were spitting everywhere, showing Wang Qiao the weirdos of the world.

Lin Ning sipped his iced beer slowly, watching them with a smile on his face.

Grease dripped onto the glowing red charcoal, sending fragrant smoke rising up. Scum belongs in hell; it's time to return the human world to humanity.

The next day, Lin Ning was woken up by a text message—the special ringtone he set for his mobile banking.

Even if he were asleep, or even dead, he would definitely react if he heard it.

[XX Bank, 12th, 09:01, incoming remittance: 1,000,000 Yuan, balance...]

He counted twice, confirming it was one million. "Yes!" Lin Ning pumped his fist.

He opened his mobile banking app to check the sender. Hmm, state-owned.

Humming a cheerful tune, he got out of bed to use the bathroom and sent a message to Chen Zhi: [My bonus was issued, which case is it for?]

Chen Zhi replied quickly: [The Wang Lijun and Senior Engineer Gao Yayin case is closed. Senior Engineer Gao Yayin calculated a consultant fee of 100,000 for you.]

Lin Ning was all smiles. Chen Zhi was a stand-up guy; he wasn't even a consultant back when he dealt with Senior Engineer Gao Yayin.

After washing up, he walked past Wang Qiao, who was sleeping soundly on the sofa, and gave him a kick.

Wang Qiao sat up, looking dazed with messy hair. Seeing the empty living room, he fell back down. "Must have been a nightmare, I'll sleep a bit more."

After enjoying a delicious brunch, Lin Ning felt that today's steamed buns were exceptionally fragrant and the soy milk was particularly rich.

Beijing, not yet fully into the height of summer, welcomed the most comfortable temperatures. With green trees, blue skies, and a gentle breeze, even the sun seemed to be covered in a gentle coat, bright yet soft.

Walking into the XX Police Station, Lin Ning looked around curiously. Other than being a bit bigger than the station Officer Li Feng and the others worked at, it was about the same.

Losing interest, he walked to the service desk: "Hello, I have an appointment with Officer Yang Jun to give a statement."

A young policewoman glanced at him and made an internal call: "The person here to give you a statement has arrived." After saying that, she hung up the phone, her face sullen, and didn't pay any more attention to Lin Ning.

Lin Ning clicked his tongue in his heart. They were civil servants, they were the 'official' ones~

A tall, thin police officer, about the same age as Officer Li Feng, came out from inside. After locking eyes with Lin Ning, he revealed a shy smile.

After the two shook hands and greeted each other, Officer Yang Jun led Lin Ning quickly toward the inner office. Once they were out of sight of the lobby, he let out a long sigh.

Lin Ning looked at him curiously several times, but Officer Yang Jun clearly had no intention of explaining. He just started taking Lin Ning's statement with a smile.

Through questions and answers, Lin Ning reversed the causality, saying he only investigated him out of curiosity after seeing someone expose him online. He told the truth about everything else.

Actually, there wasn't much to say. The results were basically out within half a day yesterday; the process was simple and unbelievably smooth.

After finishing the statement and signing it, Officer Yang Jun leaned back in his chair, took out a pack of cigarettes, and offered one to Lin Ning.

"Officer Li Feng and I are classmates. This case is in my jurisdiction, so he called me directly." His body seemed boneless, and his expression was exceptionally lazy. "It's a good thing you were so curious, and it's also fortunate that we got there quickly."

As he spoke, he exhaled a puff of smoke: "Tsk, otherwise that woman would have been ruined too."

Lin Ning was taken aback by his two completely different faces. Who was that shy, serious demeanor from before meant for?

However, hearing that he was Officer Li Feng's classmate, Lin Ning also relaxed his posture. Since the other party was so casual, he let his guard down too, took out a lighter, lit his cigarette, and took a puff.

He asked: "That kid Zhu Qi, he's just taking revenge on society, right? Did you ask if he caused any trouble at our Fighting Gym?"

Officer Yang Jun didn't hide anything; it wasn't a big case anyway. "No. He's just a coward. He wouldn't dare cause trouble behind people's backs when around other men; he only dared to target women. But women these days, ahem..."

He swallowed the rest of his words, but Lin Ning understood what he meant.

Officer Yang Jun lowered his voice: "He poked holes in the condoms. At first, he even said he wasn't intentionally spreading anything because he wore condoms. But the moment we took condoms out of his bag, he confessed immediately. With psychological fortitude like that, what was he thinking?"

Lin Ning also had a look of indescribable feeling. So, without a strong heart and a certain level of ability, don't commit crimes. It's much harder than walking the straight and narrow.

Just then, someone called for Officer Yang Jun. He replied, then stretched and stood up: "Alright, let's have Officer Li Feng treat us to a meal later so we can chat properly. My job, it's so hard to even slack off for a bit."

Lin Ning was stunned for a moment before he realized: he meant for Officer Li Feng to treat, not for himself—who had just made a contribution—to treat. Lin Ning laughed; this guy was interesting.

Officer Yang Jun saw Lin Ning to the door and turned back into his slightly shy persona. Before they parted, he whispered to Lin Ning: "It's very hard to apply for a bonus for this kind of single-perpetrator case. I'll try my best to apply for you, but I can't guarantee anything, brother."

Lin Ning's smile widened, and he patted his shoulder: "Thanks."