308: Chapter 308 Another Big Fish Hidden in the Shanghai Branch

In the Modu Branch meeting room, Li Bing slowly stood up, looked at Ye Qingcheng, and a sheepish smile appeared on his face: "Captain Ye, why don't we split up for now?"

Ye Qingcheng also stood up, looked back at Li Bing, and responded crisply: "Fine. I'll report the situation first and then head to Hongtai Construction. As for Deputy Director Huang's home and his wife, I'll leave that to Director Li."

Li Bing quickly replied politely: "Of course, of course. However, Captain Ye, can Deputy Director Huang Hansheng be handed over to us first? After the search, there will inevitably be some matters we need to ask him about. What do you think...?"

"Heh," Ye Qingcheng's lips curled slightly as she scrutinized Li Bing with a sharp gaze, saying deeply: "There's no way I'm releasing him! At least not until Director Li uncovers Huang Hansheng's background!" After speaking, she didn't wait for Li Bing to respond and walked straight toward the meeting room door.

However, before she could pull open the door, Li Bing's slightly displeased voice came from behind her: "Captain Ye, Huang Hansheng is, after all, a member of our Modu Branch and a deputy director! Detaining someone based solely on your deductions without concrete evidence is probably not according to the rules, is it? Although you were sent by the General Bureau, we are all part of the same System. If Deputy Director Huang turns out to be innocent, how will you work with him in the future? What will others think of you?"

"Hmph," Ye Qingcheng snorted coldly, not even looking at Li Bing. She said chillingly: "The man is with me, so my rules are the rules! I don't care at all what others think of me! Of course, if Deputy Director Huang really is innocent, I will naturally apologize to him; you don't need to worry about that, Director Li. However, I must remind you, if Hongmen really did arrange for Huang Hansheng to kill Zhang Min to silence her, then Hongmen definitely has a backup plan. Perhaps the next target is Huang Hansheng himself! After all, only the dead keep secrets forever!"

At this point, Ye Qingcheng suddenly had an idea and wanted to test Li Bing. She turned around, looked him straight in the eyes, and a sly smile played on her lips: "Of course, if Director Li is uneasy, you can go to the Safe House to see him yourself."

Seeing her like this, Li Bing knew she was up to no good, and his heart sank. After a moment's thought, he understood the trap.

Thus, Li Bing quickly tried to mend the situation: "Heh, my mistake, my mistake. I didn't think it through. In that case, I'll first arrange for people to search Deputy Director Huang Hansheng's residence. If there's anything we need to ask Huang Hansheng, I hope Captain Ye can help pass it along."

"Naturally, it's all for the case, as it should be. Then there's no time to lose; let's get moving." After saying that, Ye Qingcheng pulled open the meeting room door and walked away quickly.

Outside the meeting room, seeing Ye Qingcheng leave, everyone swarmed in.

"Director Li, what's going on?"

"Yeah, Director Li, tell us, what exactly happened?"

...

Everyone was talking at once, making Li Bing's head throb. He raised his hand and pressed it down slightly, signaling for everyone to quiet down.

Then, Li Bing cleared his throat and began to assign tasks.

He gave a brief explanation of the situation, then looked over everyone and solemnly instructed: "The responsibilities of each team must be clearly divided: First Team, take some men to search Deputy Director Huang Hansheng's home and bring back all work-related Materials! Also, arrange for two female officers to watch Huang Hansheng's wife in 24-hour shifts! Second Team, go retrieve Huang Hansheng's call logs, bank statements, and all assets under his name! Everyone else, go to the Command Center and stand by!"

After assigning the tasks, Li Bing paused for a moment, checked the time, and added: "It's eight in the morning now. I want to see your investigation results before twelve noon! Is that understood?"

"Yes!" everyone answered in unison.

After everyone left, Li Bing locked the meeting room door and breathed a long sigh of relief, but the expression on his face grew even more solemn.

He took out his phone and, after some manipulation, the screen actually displayed the view from Ye Qingcheng's temporary office.

In the footage, Ye Qingcheng had just entered the office and was about to turn on her computer when she heard the sound of sirens from downstairs.

Ye Qingcheng walked to the window and looked down. She saw Security Bureau official vehicles with flashing lights driving out of the branch gates and heading in different directions.

Seeing the people from the Modu Branch springing into action, the corners of Ye Qingcheng's mouth turned up slightly. At the same time, she whispered silently in her heart: "Move, go on. As long as you move, someone is bound to show their tail!"

Then, Ye Qingcheng returned to her desk, opened the internal network System, logged into her account, and her fingers tapped rapidly on the keyboard. Soon, the report explaining Zhang Min's "accidental" death was submitted.

Almost at the same time, Ye Qingcheng's phone rang.

Li Bing, who was monitoring Ye Qingcheng through the hidden camera, immediately perked up. He slid his finger across the screen, focusing the image on Ye Qingcheng's phone screen.

"Han Hao? Why haven't I heard this name before?" Li Bing searched his memory but couldn't recall who this person was. This was not surprising, since Han Hao had been transferred from the Modu Municipal Bureau, so Li Bing naturally didn't know him.

Li Bing turned up the volume on his phone, intending to hear exactly what Ye Qingcheng would say.

...

Ye Qingcheng answered the phone and directly turned on the speakerphone. Han Hao's voice came from the other end. This call was actually part of what the two had pre-arranged; to put on a full performance, any tiny mistake could lead to total failure.

Han Hao reported in a feigned excited tone: "Reporting to Captain Ye, Zhang Min's autopsy report is out."

Ye Qingcheng also cooperated by showing an urgent emotion, pressing: "What's the cause of death?!"

Han Hao replied: "The autopsy report shows that Zhang Min died from excessive Cyanide levels in her body. The time of death is confirmed to be four in the morning."

"Cyanide? How is that possible?!" Ye Qingcheng's eyebrows furrowed, her face full of confusion. "If Cyanide levels were that high, a person should die within minutes or even seconds. At four in the morning, I was communicating with Huang Hansheng about follow-up actions. If that's the case, then Huang Hansheng's suspicion is greatly reduced. However, it can't be ruled out that Huang Hansheng brought the Cyanide to Zhang Min. I just don't know what Huang Hansheng said to Zhang Min to make her willing to take poison and commit suicide..."

Han Hao also expressed the same confusion on the phone, then asked for instructions: "So what do we do next? Do we keep holding Huang Hansheng?"

"Hold him, of course we keep holding him!" Ye Qingcheng's tone was firm. "I don't believe we can't find evidence! Also, remember to send the autopsy report to me." After saying that, she hung up the phone.

...

Not long after, Zhang Min's "autopsy report" was sent over. Ye Qingcheng read it carefully and then attached it to the end of the situation report, submitting them together.

Afterward, Ye Qingcheng didn't linger for a moment. She stood up and called Shen Jianan: "Jianan, pack up. I'll pick you up at your place in fifteen minutes. We have a mission!"

"Received, Captain Ye!" Shen Jianan replied crisply.

The call ended, Ye Qingcheng turned off the computer and quickly left the office.

...

At this time, Li Bing also silently exited the monitoring screen, repeatedly mulling over the content of Ye Qingcheng's call.

"Zhang Min died of a Cyanide overdose? But analyzing it from Ye Qingcheng's call, Huang Hansheng shouldn't have had the time to commit the crime. Then the Cyanide might have been given to Zhang Min by Huang Hansheng, or Zhang Min might have brought it in herself... Ye Qingcheng must have thought of this too, yet she's still detaining Huang Hansheng. Could it be that Huang Hansheng really was instructed by Hongmen?"

While Li Bing was deep in thought, his phone on the table suddenly began to vibrate: "Buzz, buzz, buzz..."

He picked up the phone and glanced at the caller ID; his expression instantly became exceptionally serious. The phone rang for the first time, lasting only a second before stopping abruptly; then, it called again, this time lasting for three seconds; finally, it rang a third time, lasting for five seconds.

Three rings—one second, three seconds, five seconds... This familiar code made his heart skip a beat. Could it be that "he" was calling? Li Bing felt a chill run down his back. He immediately sprang up from his chair, hurried out of the command room, and rushed out of the office building.

Passing officers greeted him, but he only nodded hastily, having no time to respond.

Once out of the office building, Li Bing headed straight for his car, pulled open the door, and plopped inside. Then, he took out his phone and quickly dialed the number back.

The call was quickly connected. Li Bing didn't rush to speak but waited quietly for the other party to speak first.

After a moment, the person on the other end finally spoke, their voice sounding somewhat gloomy: "Is this Li Bing, Director Li?"

"It's me. Who are you?" Li Bing heard that the voice was unfamiliar and couldn't help but feel a bit suspicious.

"Who I am isn't important, Director Liang. I've been entrusted by someone to ask you about something."

"What is it?" Li Bing asked warily.

"Naturally, it's about Deputy Director Huang Hansheng."

"About Deputy Director Huang's matter? Then you should ask him yourself," Li Bing said, speculating on the other party's intentions.

"Heh," the man on the other side sneered, then threatened: "Director Liang, since I know the code to contact you, you should understand my origin. I hope Director Liang can be honest; otherwise, I can't guarantee your secrets will be kept!"

Li Bing's heart sank. This person actually knew about his vulnerabilities; it seemed they really were sent by "that person."

Thus, Li Bing's expression sharpened, and he immediately replaced it with a sheepish smile, his tone softening considerably: "Haha, it's a misunderstanding. These are troubled times, and I have to be cautious to avoid being set up by someone with ulterior motives."

The man didn't want to waste any more words with Li Bing and responded directly: "Now that your identity is confirmed, Director Liang, tell me about Deputy Director Huang's situation. How is the mission assigned to him by the higher-ups going?"

Li Bing asked tentatively: "I wonder, is Deputy Director Huang's mission to 'eliminate Zhang Min'?"

"Exactly!" the man responded somewhat impatiently.

"Then you can rest easy. Zhang Min has been silenced. However, Deputy Director Huang is currently being held in the underground Safe House, and I'm afraid he won't be getting out anytime soon."

Hearing this, the other end of the line was silent for a moment before cautiously inquiring: "Are you sure Zhang Min is dead?"

"Well, I haven't seen the body with my own eyes. However, Ye Qingcheng has already reported the situation to Director Xu Anguo of the General Bureau. I've also seen the autopsy report; Zhang Min died of a Cyanide overdose. This report has to be submitted up through the ranks, so it shouldn't be fake!"

"That Ye Qingcheng again!" As soon as the man on the phone heard Ye Qingcheng's name, a nameless fire surged in his heart, and his voice immediately became fierce: "What is she doing now?"

"Oh, after she finished writing the report Materials, she left the Security Bureau. She should be on her way to Hongtai Construction right now."

"Hongtai Construction? What is she going there for?"

Li Bing then told the other party everything about Ye Qingcheng's report to Xu Anguo of the General Bureau and the focus of the upcoming investigation.

After Li Bing finished, the man responded: "I will report this to the higher-ups! Also, immediately get Zhang Min's autopsy report and the situation report, take photos, and send them over."

"Alight, no problem..." Li Bing responded immediately.

"Hmm, I'll contact you again." After saying that, the other party hung up the phone.

Li Bing put down his phone, looked at the screen, and breathed a long sigh of relief. After adjusting his emotions, he opened the car door and got out.

After returning to the office building, he immediately slipped into his office, logged into the internal System account, opened the situation report submitted by Ye Qingcheng, and took pictures of it page by page with his phone.

Afterward, he sent those photos as a multimedia message to the number from before.

Having done all this, Li Bing estimated that the team searching Huang Hansheng's home should have arrived, so he went straight to the command room.

...

And meanwhile, in a remote house in Modu, the windows and doors were tightly shut, and there wasn't a glimmer of light inside.

Zhang Yu looked through the multimedia message he had just received, his brow furrowing involuntarily.

"Zhang Min is really dead? Died of a Cyanide overdose... shouldn't she have died on the spot? Why was there such a long interval before the poison took effect? There's something fishy here," Zhang Yu muttered to himself, then dialed Lei Poshan, who was far away on an Island.