28: Chapter 28 Psychological Warfare, Xie Qingshang's Overt Scheme

"Release the news."

Xie Qingshang sat in the messy command center, his fingers tapping the table lightly at a frustratingly fast frequency.

Zhao Shanhe suddenly looked up, the bloodshot veins in his eyes looking like they were about to burst. "What news? The whole internet is calling us incompetent right now. You want to release news just to get scolded?"

"No."

Xie Qingshang pushed up his glasses, the reflection on the lenses hiding a sharp glint in his eyes for a moment.

"Release a notice stating that we've captured Qin Feng's 'core accomplice' and are conducting an urgent interrogation."

Zhao Shanhe was stunned. "Accomplice? Where did an accomplice come from? That kid works alone, besides those hostages..."

"It's fake." Xie Qingshang pulled a photo from a stack of documents. It showed a wretched-looking man with a bulbous nose—a car thief randomly picked from the detention cell. "Make up a name. 'Demolitions Expert' Li Ergou, or 'Arms Dealer' Wang Mazi. The more specific, the better."

"This... this is fake news!" Zhao Shanhe slapped the table. "If the media exposes this, where will the Public Security Bureau's reputation go?"

Xie Qingshang didn't even look at him, his gaze fixed solely on the Joker's avatar on the large screen.

"This is an open scheme."

He peeled the foil off a piece of chocolate, the bitter taste spreading across his tongue.

"Qin Feng has a performative personality. He's conceited, arrogant, and treats this city as his stage. If an 'accomplice' he doesn't even know suddenly appears, how do you think he'll react?"

"He'll panic?" Zhao Shanhe asked instinctively.

"No, he'll be curious."

A cold arc curled at the corner of Xie Qingshang's mouth.

"He won't be able to resist coming to see exactly who is playing along with him in this play. He might even see it as me issuing a challenge to him."

"What we need to do is wait for the moment he can't help but show his head..."

Xie Qingshang suddenly clenched his fist, the crumpled foil ball deforming in his palm.

"And push his head underwater."

...

Half an hour later, a breaking news notification was pushed to every phone in Jianghai City.

[Breaking! Jianghai Police Achieve Major Breakthrough in 'Qin Feng Gang' Case! Core Member 'Demolitionist' Captured, Reveals Qin Feng's Next Shocking Plan!]

Binjiang No. 1 Courtyard, Safe House.

On the TV screen, pixelated footage of the 'suspect' was scrolling. It looked somewhat convincing, showing him being escorted by two SWAT officers with his head hanging low.

"Pfft."

Alice didn't stop cleaning her gun barrel, merely letting out a snort from her nose.

"Low-level."

She tossed the cleaning cloth aside, her azure eyes filled with mockery.

"I've seen plenty of these fishing enforcement tactics in the Middle East. That so-called 'demolitionist' has calluses on his palms, clearly a laborer. People who handle explosives have calluses on their fingertips."

Pei Ji was clutching his phone and trembling. He almost wet himself when he saw the news. "It's over, it's all over! Even the demolitionist got caught? Am I, the 'God of Racing,' next? Brother Feng, let's run!"

Qin Feng was slumped on the sofa, a can of cola in one hand and the other swiping through the news on a tablet.

His expression was very strange.

It wasn't fear, nor was it anger.

Rather, it was... the kind of speechlessness one feels when seeing someone use counterfeit money to buy groceries on the street.

"Who the hell is this?" Qin Feng pointed at 'Li Ergou' on the screen. "He doesn't even have as much class as my old landlord. This guy is worthy of being called my accomplice?"

"It's a trap." Alice stood up and walked to the holographic map. "Xie Qingshang is testing your reaction. As long as you make any move, even just posting a debunking, he'll be able to trace you through the network."

"The best way is to ignore it." Alice turned to look at Qin Feng, her gaze solemn. "Stay put and let him perform his one-man show."

Qin Feng took a sip of cola and let out a loud burp.

"Ignore it?"

He stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window.

Outside, the sound of sirens could still be faintly heard.

"That would be too impolite."

Qin Feng turned around, casually loosening his collar with a playful smile.

"He went through all the trouble of setting up the stage, hiring extras, and writing a script. As the protagonist, if I don't show up to support him, wouldn't that make me look unprofessional?"

"What are you going to do?" Su Tang poked her head out from the kitchen, still holding a bunch of green onions. "Brother, don't be impulsive! There are police everywhere outside!"

Qin Feng walked to the coat rack and picked out a dark gray suit that looked the most expensive.

"System, exchange for [God-level Disguise Technique]."

He murmured in his mind.

As a surge of heat flowed through him, Qin Feng's entire temperament changed instantly.

The arrogance and unruliness that originally belonged to the 'Joker' were completely restrained, replaced by a sense of elite sophistication that emanated from his core.

Refined, villainous, shrewd, and extremely arrogant.

He casually grabbed a pair of gold-rimmed non-prescription glasses from the table, perched them on his nose, and adjusted his tie in the mirror.

"I'm going to turn myself in."

Qin Feng smiled elegantly at the stranger in the mirror.

"And while I'm at it, I'll deliver a return gift to our Consultant Xie."

...

Jianghai City Police Headquarters, Reception Hall.

This was the eye of the storm for the entire manhunt operation. Countless officers were coming and going, exhaustion and anxiety written on every face.

In this chaotic environment, a figure pushed open the door and entered.

Leather shoes stepped on the marble floor, producing a rhythmic "tap, tap" sound.

The sound wasn't loud, but it had a strange penetrating power, causing several passing officers to instinctively move out of the way.

It was a man.

Dressed in a well-tailored, high-end suit with his hair meticulously combed, he had a pair of sharp, indifferent eyes behind gold-rimmed glasses. He carried a briefcase and walked with a composed pace, as if he were back in his own garden.

Qin Feng walked up to the front desk.

The young policewoman on duty was staring blankly at her computer screen, her dark circles making her look like a panda.

"Knock, knock."

Slender fingers tapped lightly on the counter twice.

The young policewoman snapped back to reality and looked up to see a face handsome enough to be a celebrity. Her face immediately flushed. "He... hello, how can I help you?"

Qin Feng pushed up his glasses, a professional smile curling at his lips.

"Hello, I am the legal representative for Mr. Li Jianguo."

Qin Feng's voice was deep, possessing the magnetic quality of someone accustomed to giving orders.

"I heard my client was arrested by you? According to the law, I have the right to see him immediately and ensure he hasn't been subjected to any unfair treatment during the interrogation."

The policewoman was dazed. "Li Jianguo? Who's that?"

Qin Feng's brow furrowed slightly, and the oppressive aura of an elite lawyer was instantly released.

"The 'core member of the Qin Feng gang' whose capture you announced half an hour ago."

Qin Feng took out his phone, opened the news article, and practically shoved the screen in front of the policewoman's nose.

"Don't tell me that in a case this big, you haven't even figured out the suspect's name?"

The policewoman panicked instantly.

She really hadn't heard anything about the bureau catching anyone!

With so many people coming and going in the hall, if they had truly caught an accomplice of a dangerous criminal, it would have been a huge scene. How could there be no commotion at all?

"Please... please wait a moment! I'll check!"

The policewoman frantically tapped the keyboard to check the detention records.

Ten seconds later.

Her face turned pale.

"S-sir, there's... no record of this person in the system..."

Qin Feng raised an eyebrow.

Just as he thought.

Fishing.

And the kind of lazy fishing where they didn't even bother to put on bait, just casting an empty hook.

"No record?"

Qin Feng's expression darkened. He glanced at his wrist at a non-existent watch, his tone carrying a perfect touch of anger and mockery.

"Is the police force joking? Or is this another... performance fabricated to appease public opinion?"

With such a serious accusation leveled at her, the policewoman almost burst into tears. "No, no, no! Maybe it just hasn't been entered yet! Or... or he's at a secret interrogation site!"

"Secret interrogation?"

Qin Feng sneered, his laughter full of disdain.

"Fine, stop making things up."

He looked around.

In the hall, several plainclothes officers were watching him warily, hands on their waists.

But there was only confusion in their eyes, not the excitement of seeing prey.

This meant they had no idea about Xie Qingshang's plan.

Deceiving even his own people.

Consultant Xie, you play a dirty game.

"Since the person isn't here, I won't trouble you further."

Qin Feng adjusted his wrinkle-free cuffs and pulled a fountain pen from his briefcase.

"However, since I'm already here, I should leave something behind."

He turned and walked to the nearby 'Police-Public Contact Message Board.'

It was covered in sticky notes saying things like 'Thank you, People's Police' and 'Eliminating evil for the people.'

Qin Feng uncapped the pen.

He wrote with flourishing strokes on a pink, heart-shaped sticky note.

His movements were graceful and smooth.

After finishing, he slapped the sticky note right in the center, the most prominent spot.

"Tell that consultant of yours."

Qin Feng turned around and gave the still-dazed policewoman a meaningful smile.

"Next time you want to invite me for tea, remember to use better tea leaves."

"This cup has gone sour."

With that said...

Carrying his briefcase, he walked out of the police station's main entrance with an arrogant, swaggering stride under the gaze of dozens of police officers.

The sunlight bathed him.

In that moment, he even wanted to turn back and flash a peace sign.

But for the sake of that 5,000 yuan appearance fee (now a 10 million reward), he held back.

...

Five minutes later.

Xie Qingshang rushed into the reception hall like a gust of wind.

The technical department had just monitored a suspicious person in the hall whose height and build were extremely similar to Qin Feng's.

"Where is he?!"

Xie Qingshang grabbed the young policewoman's shoulders, his voice trembling.

"He... he left..." the policewoman stammered in fear. "He said he was a lawyer... looking for that Li Jianguo..."

Xie Qingshang suddenly let go, feeling a rush of blood to his head.

A lawyer?

Looking for an accomplice?

He actually came!

And in such a blatant, humiliating manner!

"Did he leave anything?" Xie Qingshang asked through gritted teeth.

"The... the message board..." The policewoman pointed to the corner.

Xie Qingshang strode over.

Amidst the sea of colorful notes, that pink, heart-shaped one was particularly eyesore.

The handwriting was vigorous and powerful, exuding an air of arrogance:

[The tea wasn't bad.]

[But the bait wasn't fresh, and it got stuck in my teeth.]

[— Sincerely, Joker]

Furthermore...

Next to the 'Joker' signature, there was a very simple sketch of a smiley face.

The smiley face was sticking its tongue out, its eyes seemingly mocking the entire world.

Crack!

The pen in Xie Qingshang's hand was snapped in two by his sheer force.

Ink splattered onto his white shirt cuff like a blooming black rose.

The surrounding police officers gasped, not daring to even breathe loudly.

This was a total psychological blow!

Not only did he see through the trick, but he also specifically came to tell them: I'm right under your nose, what can you do to me?

"Good..."

Xie Qingshang stared at the smiley face, his chest heaving violently, before he finally laughed out of pure rage.

"Very good!"

"Qin Feng, you think you've won?"

Xie Qingshang ripped off the sticky note, folded it carefully, and placed it in his inner pocket.

In his eyes, a frantic fighting spirit began to burn intensely.

"Since you like to act..."

"Then I'll play along with you until the very end."

"Pass down my orders!"

Xie Qingshang turned sharply, the hem of his trench coat cutting a sharp arc in the air.

"Lift the city-wide lockdown!"

Zhao Shanhe, who had just run over, almost fell to his knees upon hearing this. "What? Lift it? We're not catching him?"

"We can't catch him like this."

Xie Qingshang pushed up his glasses, his tone returning to that heart-chilling calm.

"He's enjoying the cat-and-mouse game. As long as we chase him closely, he'll always find a way to slip away."

"To catch this kind of top-tier prey..."

"We have to make him feel..."

"That he has already won."

Xie Qingshang glanced at the bustling street outside the entrance, a bottomless glimmer of light flashing in his eyes.

"Give him the stage."

"Let him be wild."

"When the curtain finally falls..."

"That will be the moment of his death."