Urban Martial Saint

Standing in Chen Jia’an’s position, one must carefully consider even a casual remark, not allowing anyone to seize upon it. Especially as a policeman, before a perpetrator is fully convicted, one can only refer to the suspect as an alleged criminal, not as the most annoying person.

But now, Chen Jia’an’s direct statement reflected his intense anger. Moreover, he had already seen the situation very clearly: Lin Zhichang was without a doubt the Beggar King’s protector. For such a person, why should he be courteous?

After finishing his statement, Chen Jia’an patted Lin Zhichang’s shoulder, yet Lin’s face remained as gloomy as ever.

If one walks the path of integrity, then of course one can stride forward confidently. However, the problem was that Lin’s path was dishonorable, so how could he not be worried?

Nonetheless, there was nothing he could do now. The operation was personally commanded by Liu Changping and led by Vice Minister Chen Jia’an. As a director, he had no say in front of these superiors. All he could do was wait to be investigated by Chen Jia’an, and he knew very well that there would be no good outcome for him after the investigation!

Seeing Lin Zhichang in such a state, the other policemen didn’t recognize Chen Jia’an, but they understood that this vice minister was the real deal. Everyone’s expression turned sour because they had all been involved in the Beggar King matter. If Lin Zhichang fell, they feared they would be in for bad luck too!

However, Chen Jia’an paid no mind to these people’s worries and went straight to Lin Zhichang’s office to sit down. Lin Zhichang, though resentful, had no choice but to hand over his gun and badge to Chen Jia’an, as he didn’t have the guts to oppose him directly.

No sooner had Lin Zhichang handed over the items to Chen Jia’an than the phone on the desk rang. Lin gave Chen a look, but it was clear Chen had no intention of answering the call. After hesitating for a moment, Lin finally picked up the phone.

”Director Lin, what’s happened?” The Beggar King’s anxious voice came through the line, ”A bunch of cops just stormed into my place. Most of my strongholds have been taken by these police, a lot of merchandise has been seized. Plus, many of my brothers have been arrested, and I hardly have anyone left now. Director Lin, what on earth are you doing? If you had a mission, you should’ve given us a heads up to let me make arrangements. What’s the meaning of this now?”

The Beggar King’s anxiety made his voice loud enough that it was crystal clear to Chen Jia’an sitting in the room, which severely embarrassed Lin Zhichang and left him at a loss for words. Hesitating, he tried to hang up the phone, but Chen Jia’an suddenly pressed the speaker button.

Chen Jia’an said in a stern voice, ”Tell him to come to the police station and turn himself in, and he may be considered for a sentence reduction. Otherwise, he will be harshly punished!”

”Who’s talking?” The Beggar King on the other end sounded surprised, ”Director Lin, who... who’s there with you? What are you doing?”

Lin Zhichang’s face became even more sullen. Grinding his teeth, he said, ”Beggar King, the person who just spoke... is Vice Minister Chen Jia’an from our Provincial Police Department. The operation was arranged by the department, personally led by Vice Minister Chen. Come to the police station immediately and turn yourself in, and we might consider a reduced sentence for you. But if you remain obstinate, then... we will certainly deal with you severely!”

The Beggar King fell silent for a moment, clearly intimidated by the name of Chen Jia’an. After a pause, the Beggar King spoke in a heavy tone, ”Lin Zhichang, what kind of game are you playing with me? If you want money, just tell me. No matter the amount, we can negotiate. Why bring in some vice minister? Haven’t I given you enough over the years? A person should have some loyalty. Every time you took money from me, weren’t you happy? And now you’re telling me to turn myself in, to be severely punished, what do you mean by this?”

The Beggar King’s words left Lin Zhichang exceedingly embarrassed, while Chen Jia’an looked on with cold detachment. Now, there was no need to gather evidence; Lin Zhichang’s corruption was out in the open.

”You... what are you talking about, I can’t understand a word...” Lin Zhichang still tried to deny it, but his whole body was shaking uncontrollably.

”Lin, are you trying to feign amnesia with me now?” the Beggar King shouted angrily, ”What do you mean you don’t know? The money you take from me every year is all recorded. Do you want that vice minister to have a look at my books? Let me tell you, if this blows up, I won’t survive, and not many in your police station will either. Damn it, you ungrateful dogs, who hasn’t taken money from me before? Now you’re pretending to be incorruptible? Pah! How many cops are really clean?”

Lin Zhichang was so insulted that his face turned red with rage, and he secretly wished he could shoot the Beggar King dead. But now, he no longer had the opportunity; his gun was already in Chen Jia’an’s possession. Hearing the Beggar King’s words, Lin Zhichang simply stopped responding and stood to one side, his face ashen.

After waiting a moment and getting no response from Lin Zhichang, the Beggar King said angrily, ”What’s wrong? Not talking now? Damn it, hit the nail on the head, and now you play dead? Either you sort this out for me, or we die together. Don’t think that if I go down, you’ll be fine. Let me tell you, at worst, I’ll just leave Tianhui City for a while, they can’t catch me. But if I hand over those books, all of you are done for!”

Lin Zhichang simply turned his head away, refusing to listen to the Beggar King any longer. Chen Jia’an, though, smiled faintly and leaned forward, ”You seem to have quite the attitude. What, do you think you can escape Eastern Province?”

”Who are you?” The Beggar King’s voice immediately turned very cold.

Chen Jia’an, ”I am none other than the Deputy Chief of the Dong Province Police Department, Chen Jia’an!”

”So it’s you!” The Beggar King took a deep breath and said gravely, ”Vice Minister Chen, I’ve heard of your name. To become a deputy chief at thirty-five truly portends a limitless future. I very much enjoy making friends, especially with young and promising friends like Vice Minister Chen. I have three villas in Dongzhou and a passbook worth thirty million. If Vice Minister Chen could show me some leniency, all this would be yours!”

”Are you trying to bribe me?” Chen Jia’an said coldly.

The Beggar King said, ”This is just my way of seeking friendship with Vice Minister Chen, nothing to do with bribery. It is said, ’Three years as Qing prefect, a fortune of one hundred thousand Snowflake Silver.’ How many years can one be an official, and is that pension enough after retirement? Thirty million, three villas, it’s all very simple if Vice Minister Chen just nods his head.”

Chen Jia’an said coldly, ”Thirty million, three villas, you think too little of me, Chen Jia’an!”

The Beggar King took a deep breath and said gravely, ”Then how much do you want? Name a specific amount. We’re all sensible people here; there’s no need to beat around the bush.”

Chen Jia’an chuckled and said, ”Nodding my head is simple, for a police officer serves the people. I can nod for the people, but I will never nod for criminals. You could add several more zeroes to those numbers, and I still would not nod for you, because human life is priceless. No amount of money can buy back the lives you’ve taken!”

”You motherfucker, are you playing me!” The Beggar King cursed, outrageously using profanity in speaking to Chen Jia’an.

”So what if I am?” Chen Jia’an’s temper also rose, and he slammed the table, saying, ”Let me tell you, I came to Tianhui City precisely to wipe out you and your gang completely, and I will not let a single bad guy go. I advise you to turn yourself in at the police station, and you might get a lighter sentence. Otherwise, you are definitely facing a death penalty!”

”Turn myself in, your mother’s ass! I don’t believe you can catch me!” The Beggar King shouted furiously, ”To hell with everything in Tianhui City, I don’t need it. Chen Jia’an, I’ll remember you. Hmph, you will definitely pay for everything you’ve done today!”

”Oh, you dare to threaten me? You’re really not lacking in courage!” Chen Jia’an immediately laughed and said, ”What’s the matter? Thinking of assassinating a national public servant? Don’t think I’m underestimating you, but even if you had a hundred or a thousand more guts, you wouldn’t dare lay a finger on me.”

”Let’s just wait and see!” The Beggar King cursed, then angrily hung up the phone, clearly furious.

Chen Jia’an was also very angry, slamming the phone onto the table, glaring at Lin Zhichang, and roared, ”Lin Zhichang, is this the district you oversee? Are these the criminals that have grown under your jurisdiction? Is this the black gang that commits crimes right under your nose? They dare to threaten a national officer so boldly, Lin Zhichang, just how exactly do you perform your duties as a policeman!”

Lin Zhichang hung his head, not daring to speak, knowing he was finished this time and deeply regretting his cooperation with the Beggar King.

Ye Qing stood on the side, listening to the conversation between Chen Jia’an and the Beggar King, and felt secretly astonished. The Beggar King really had guts, openly defying Chen Jia’an, even daring to threaten him. Moreover, he even declared that he would never be caught, suggesting that there must be a formidable force supporting him from behind. Otherwise, where would he get such audacity?

About twenty minutes later, police officers from the Provincial Police Department arrived at the city department one after another, having turned over all the dens Ye Qing had identified. All the goods inside were seized, and most of The Beggar King’s underlings were captured, with only a few small fish slipping through the net and posing no real threat. Most importantly, the children were rescued.

Chen Jia’an personally inspected the site, and what enraged him the most was the discovery of a truck containing the bodies of more than twenty children. They had been killed not long ago and had not yet been disposed of. The oldest of these children were no more than fifteen or sixteen, while the youngest were only five or six years old. Seeing their tightly closed eyes, even Chen Jia’an couldn’t help but have tears in his eyes, and he clenched his teeth with a grating sound.

”What about the Beggar King?” Chen Jia’an asked gravely, ”Was this man captured?”

”We haven’t found him...” The deputy leading the team said, ”We’ve searched every possible hiding place of the Beggar King, but we simply couldn’t find him.”