Chapter 34

Seeing Li Xuyin actually walk toward Xu Zhangying, Li Jiayu instantly relaxed, his body going slack. The Li family bodyguards immediately helped him up.

Zhao Yang cast a cold glance at Lin Shuhua, then stepped forward to stand by Xu Zhangying’s side before anyone else could.

Li Xuyin halted before Xu Zhangying, seemingly at a loss for words. Xu Zhangying, however, proactively extended his only functional right hand and shook his hand warmly with Li Xuyin, whose face still bore traces of residual anger. "Xuyin, long time no see! You’ve gotten even more handsome!"

Li Xuyin glanced at Xia Qing beside him, then looked back at Xu Zhangying’s battered face. A wave of emotions welled up inside him, and a trace of bitterness surfaced on his expression as he asked, "I looked for you before. How did you end up here?"

Xu Zhangying fiddled with the silver leaf design on his blue-striped shirt and smiled at him. "I’m the executive specialist dispatched by my superiors from AGB’s Asia-Pacific headquarters to assist in the investigation of Case 523."

"I’d heard AGB was involved this time, but I didn’t expect it to be you, Xu Zhangying," the person standing beside Li Xuyin cut in—Lin Shuhua himself.

Even the city bureau’s Director Shen, along with Yan Jianbai and others, couldn’t conceal their astonishment. They hadn’t expected this dispatched AGB Chinese specialist to be so familiar with the heirs of both the Qingyuan and Xing’an families.

Xu Zhangying raised his head with a faint smile, meeting Lin Shuhua’s eyes. "Indeed, Senior Shuhua, it’s been a long time since we last met."

He added cheerfully, "Senior, Xuyin, it’s also been ages since you last saw Zhao Yang and Qi Feng, hasn’t it?"

Yan Jianbai and Fang Puxin shared a look of understanding.

Lin Shuhua’s gaze lightly swept over the two alphas standing beside Xu Zhangying. A faint smile surfaced on his refined and handsome face as he addressed Zhao Yang. "Zhao Yang, how could you not tell us Xu Zhangying was back? That’s not very thoughtful of you."

Zhao Yang sneered. "We’re not that close. Why would I bother?"

The room was filled with high-ranking officials at the bureau level and above. Hearing this young officer’s sharp, dismissive retort, they all frowned in unison. This was the eldest son of the Xing’an Lin family—a high-ranking alpha, no less. Even the provincial-level officials accompanying him today had to show him some respect. They couldn’t help but wonder if this seemingly ordinary alpha officer had some serious connections.

"Exactly, Senior Shuhua. We haven’t been in touch for years. And given the nature of Zhao Yang’s and my work, isn’t it better that we don’t keep in frequent contact?" Qi Feng shot back with a smirk, arms crossed.

Director Shen of the city bureau and Chief Rong of the Criminal Investigation Division both looked at Yan Jianbai, signaling with their eyes. Yan Jianbai, however, deliberately ignored them, pretending not to notice.

Yet, not a trace of displeasure or offense showed on Lin Shuhua’s face. He mused aloud, "True. I’m just an afterthought. The four of you share genuine camaraderie. But Xu Zhangying, not telling Xuyin is a bit much. Weren’t you two desk mates?"

The usually ruthless alpha spoke calmly for the first time. "It’s been too long. Contact was lost. It doesn’t matter."

Lin Shuhua shook his head slightly, a hint of wistfulness in his voice. "So many years have passed in the blink of an eye. Speaking of which, I was chatting with Xia Qing the other day, and he mentioned AGB had dispatched an outstanding Chinese beta specialist. I truly didn’t expect it to be you."

The expression on Li Xuyin’s face froze almost instantly. He turned to Lin Shuhua in disbelief, while Zhao Yang and Qi Feng, standing opposite them, glared coldly at Lin Shuhua, their faces icy.

The next second, Li Xuyin heard Xu Zhangying chuckle cheerfully. "Really? Senior Shuhua, blame my terrible memory—I completely forgot you and Professor Xia are brothers! These past few days, he and I clicked instantly. How could it be such a coincidence? Hahaha!"

Xia Qing, standing beside Xu Zhangying, showed no reaction to being mentioned. He simply gazed quietly at his elder brother’s eyes. Lin Shuhua, sensing his look, smiled faintly without comment.

But after a brief silence, Li Xuyin’s gaze turned unreadable as he took in Xu Zhangying’s battered appearance. He asked bluntly, "Xu Zhangying, are those injuries new? Are you alright?"

Xu Zhangying followed his gaze to his left arm, bandaged and slung across his chest. He raised his head and gave a careless grin. "Just flesh wounds. Nothing broken—just looks scary."

Then, he pointed behind Li Xuyin and said with a laugh, "See? Li Jiayu’s guys did this yesterday."

The room fell silent. Behind Li Xuyin, Li Jiayu, still supported by bodyguards, had just caught his breath. He couldn’t believe his ears. His head snapped up as he shrieked, "Xu Zhangying!"

Almost instantly, the calm on Li Xuyin’s face shattered into fury. A vein pulsed at his temple as he turned and kicked Li Jiayu hard in the knee. Li Jiayu screamed and collapsed to the ground.

Xu Zhangying made a token effort to stop him. "Xuyin, hey—"

Li Jiayu lay on the floor, sobbing and mumbling incoherent protests. "It was Tang Xinrong who did it, not me..."

Xu Zhangying then leisurely said to Li Xuyin, "He’s a key suspect under the Major Crime Unit’s custody. Even if you’re furious, Xuyin, you’ll have to go by the book."

Li Xuyin reined in his temper, actually fell silent for a moment before nodding. "You're right. I acted impulsively just now."

The officials present finally let out a sigh of relief. Li Xuyin turned to his subordinates and said, "Get him medical attention first, then hand him over to the city bureau."

Li Jiayu, uncertain whether to feel relieved or afraid, was promptly escorted out by bodyguards and the city bureau's medical staff to treat his injuries.

Li Xuyin then slightly bowed his head to the MCU detectives standing at the ready nearby. "Li Jiayu's crimes are severe. Our actions earlier crossed a line—please forgive us."

Fang Puxin nodded. "Understandable."

Zhao Yang remarked with a smirk, "Convenient timing. He wouldn’t talk under standard interrogation procedures anyway. Your little outburst just now counts as coerced confession—helps us confirm the value of his statements."

Xu Zhangying smoothly mediated, "No rush. Let’s all calm down and talk properly, right, Inspector Yan?"

Yan Jianbai nodded composedly and stepped aside toward the door. "Inspector Xu is right. Mr. Li, this way?"

The tension in the meeting room, thick enough to cut with a knife, gradually dissipated as everyone moved toward the exit. Both Lin Shuhua and Li Xuyin seemed to want to speak with Xu Zhangying, but he cheerfully sidestepped them. "Xuyin, you go ahead. My leg’s still injured—I’ll just slow you down."

Only after Lin Shuhua, Li Xuyin, and the others had left under Yan Jianbai and Song Yuli’s guidance did Xu Zhangying and Xia Qing leisurely stroll out. Xu walked slowly, and Xia matched his pace. Though outwardly calm, Xu braced himself internally—yet Xia asked him nothing.

Li Xuyin left behind one bodyguard and a senior Qingyuan executive, while the rest, including two provincial department leaders, were sent back by his subordinates. Thus, only Li Xuyin, Lin Shuhua, and most of the MCU remained in the administrative meeting room.

Rarely did such a confined space host more than one top-tier alpha—let alone the infamous Lin brothers. The MCU members, having witnessed quite the spectacle, now sat in their familiar meeting room, their gazes inevitably drawn to the oddly tense "high school reunion" group.

As soon as they sat down, Fang Puxin remarked mildly, "I hadn’t realized Director Li and Section Chief Lin were classmates with Qi Feng and the others. Those two never mentioned it—quite a surprise today."

Lin Shuhua gave a slight nod. "We all attended City No. 1 High. Though I was just an extra—a year above them, not as close as those four were."

Li Xuyin, seated across from Xu Zhangying, looked up at him earnestly. "I never imagined you’d join AGB. No wonder I couldn’t find any trace of you all these years."

Xu Zhangying spun a pen with his uninjured hand and grinned. "Just happened. You know me—always following whims, trying anything new."

Li Xuyin said, "You haven’t changed at all."

Xu Zhangying laughed. "You’ve changed so much I barely recognized you—total CEO demeanor now. Li Jiayu, though? Same as ever. When I joked about beating him today, he panicked just like before and passed out—hilarious!"

Song Yuli, Yu Mei, and Tan Song exchanged subtle, complicated looks: That was a joke?

With Xu Zhangying’s quip, the conversation swiftly pivoted to the real subject—Li Jiayu.

Li Xuyin’s expression sobered as he met Xu Zhangying’s gaze, his expression inscrutable. "My grandfather’s too old to rein him in these days, so he’s grown reckless. I’ve been occupied with South American projects for the group, and the suburban industrial park was newly built two years ago. He swore he could handle it, and I didn’t want a thirty-year-old with no assets to his name—so I handed it over. Never imagined this would be his gratitude. I'm out of patience."

Xu Zhangying listened quietly. Beside him, Zhao Yang caught Fang Puxin’s glance and got straight to the point: "Li Xuyin, let’s be blunt—did you know about Li Jiayu’s criminal activities beforehand? Or any related leads?"

The Li family bodyguards had already confirmed no recordings were present, and only trusted personnel remained. Li Xuyin held nothing back: "A year ago, I learned he was involved with Tang Xinrong. He’d embezzled funds to gamble at the Tang family’s casino in Taiwan—only caught because the sum was too large to hide during annual audits. I covered the loss and revoked his travel privileges, but he kept ties with Tang Xinrong and became addicted to drugs."

Xia Qing, seated beside Xu Zhangying, spoke up coolly: "Li Jiayu’s toxicology report came back an hour ago. The drug in his system matches the new narcotic ‘Glory,’ the same found in victims like Zhao Lanyue from Case 523. ‘Glory’ has no documented cases domestically, which is why the blood analysis was assigned to my team."

Li Xuyin stiffened. Yan Jianbai turned to him sternly: "Mr. Li, ‘Glory’ is a new drug being aggressively targeted by our police and customs. Highly addictive, absorbed through skin contact, and extremely dangerous to society. With no prior seizures, Li Jiayu may be part of the first domestic distribution chain. His involvement now far exceeds just Case 523."

The grotesque "living artwork" Case 523 warranted such priority not just for its brutality and social impact, but its ties to transnational trafficking, narcotics smuggling, and the vast criminal network it exposed.

Qi Feng added gravely, "We interrogated Li Jiayu about the drug’s source, but he deflected everything onto Tang Xinrong. This confirms ‘Glory’ is linked to his syndicate. If he hasn’t left the country in a year, the drug is already circulating domestically."

A crack finally showed in Li Xuyin’s stoicism. "And the Tang family disclosed nothing?"

Qi Feng replied, "The younger Tang, like Li Xuyang, knew nothing—just dragged along by Tang Xinrong to bid meetings. Tang Xinrong himself is as clammed up as Li Jiayu. Cultists and pyramid schemers are less stubborn. But I suspect they’re banking on their status to avoid real consequences."

Zhao Yang’s icy words echoed in the room: "Li Jiayu hid Case 523’s corpse transport trucks and is the first suspect in ‘Glory’ trafficking. He refuses to name his syndicate, but his statements confirm he and Tang Xinrong are at least mid-to-high-ranking members. Even if you leverage all your connections to take him now before formal charges, once the truth surfaces, not even Qingyuan can shield him." The Li family aides beside Li Xuyin went pale.

"And what's more," Zhao Yang continued mercilessly, "I don’t think anyone in the Li family, apart from you, would be willing to pay such a high price to protect Li Jiayu. His only way out now is to be detained by the police and become a cooperating witness."

Li Xuyin clenched his fingers tightly. He looked up, his gaze resolute: "Two days—I’ll make him talk!"

"You can’t." Xu Changying suddenly spoke up.

Both Li Xuyin and Lin Shuhua turned their heads at the sound. Li Xuyin’s eyes flashed with barely suppressed anger as he stared at Xu Changying. "Why? How would you know?"

Xu Changying put down the pen and said calmly, "Li Jiayu won’t confess his crimes under police interrogation, nor will he confess to the Li family. So my stance differs from Zhao Yang’s—if you want to take him away, go ahead. He's not much use to us now."

Beside Xu Changying, Li Jiali frowned and asked, "Why are you so sure?"

Fang Puxin, sensing something amiss, also questioned, "Officer Xu, why wouldn’t Li Jiayu confess within his own family?"

Xu Changying tilted his head slightly, looking at Li Xuyin with a helpless shake of his head before delivering a conclusion that shocked everyone: "Because Li Jiayu, like Tang Xinrong, has realized that other members of their organization are right beside them."

Xu Changying’s words sent ripples through the room. Everyone’s expressions shifted. Song Yuli quickly challenged, "What? How could you possibly know that?"

Seeing Li Xuyin and the Major Crime Unit members staring at him intently, Xu Changying got straight to the point: "From Li Jiayu’s current testimony, we can deduce two key pieces of information about this organization. First, it has a strict, brutal hierarchy where superiors hold absolute control over subordinates—which explains why Tang Xinrong and Li Jiayu claimed they were forced to assist in crimes. Second, members of this organization don't know each other personally, using codenames instead. Leaking a member’s codename or organizational details brings retaliation—hence why Li Jiayu, after accidentally revealing the codename 'Mephisto,' would rather die than confess it."

Having spoken too much in one breath and with the medication wearing off, Xu Changying’s tongue began to ache again. He couldn’t help but cough lightly.

After a few seconds of contemplation, Yan Jianbai looked at Xu Changying with certainty. "The 'people around them' you mentioned—it’s a specific group."

Xu Changying nodded. "Exactly."

Li Xuyin immediately pressed, "Who are they?"

Xu Changying drew a large circle on an A4 sheet, then three smaller circles inside it. "Everyone present at the scene yesterday—including Tang Yingshao and Zhong Zhengyi from the Tang family, Li Xuyang and those Li family muscle, Major Crime Unit officers and me, as well as Xia Qing."

At this, everyone’s eyes turned to Xu Changying in unison. Even Zhao Yang and Qi Feng looked shocked.

Qi Feng said quietly, "Wait, I'm on that list too?"

Xu Changying chuckled. "Of course. Me too."

Zhao Yang turned to him. "Why? What makes you think that?"

Lin Shuhua glanced at Xia Qing, but the latter just stared at the pen in Xu Changying’s hand.

Xu Changying began drawing three more circles and making a flowchart with two arrows. "It’s like a math problem—you can deduce the conditions from the result, or the motive from the behavior."

"Li Jiayu and Tang Xinrong’s current behavior is this: they were ordered by superiors to participate in crimes and dare not reveal any information about the organization. Since Li Jiayu wasn’t present yesterday, we’ll leave him out for now and focus solely on analyzing Tang Xinrong’s actions."

"Tang Xinrong did two important things yesterday. First, he led his men to block Zhao Yang and the others to stop them from reporting the discovery of the truck to the police, intentionally dragging it out until the SWAT team forcibly arrested them. Second, after being arrested, he was willing to take someone down with him—attempting to kill Xia Qing right in front of the police."

Lin Shuhua already knew the full story, but Li Xuyin, having just returned, looked at Xia Qing in shock. Xu Changying coughed twice before continuing, "Both behaviors came from orders issued by the organization. Though we don’t know what 'CA612-1' refers to, 'CA612-2' and 'CA612-3' are easy to guess—likely 'Destroy the truck before the police arrive' and 'Kill Xia Qing,' respectively."

"But these instructions are too simplistic. They don’t explain some of Tang Xinrong’s strange actions yesterday."

Yu Mei asked, "Officer Xu, what actions count as strange?"

Xu Changying replied, "First, the intensity with which he carried out the two orders differed. After Captain Yan and the others arrived, Tang Xinrong basically had no chance of completing Order No. 2—destroying the truck. Yet he still refused to surrender, stubbornly standing his ground and doing nothing as he waited for the SWAT team to arrest him. This suggests his behavioral logic in executing the 'destroy the truck' order is intriguing—if he couldn’t complete it, he would at least demonstrate his loyalty."

Zhao Yang frowned. "Loyalty?"

Xu Changying nodded. "Exactly. At the time, we all noticed that before receiving Order No. 3 via text, Tang Xinrong, though anxious, never considered a suicidal last stand. He simply refused to surrender in a weirdly stubborn way—as if deliberately waiting for the SWAT to escalate the situation. That makes no sense."

"Therefore, I believe there's an unspoken rule in their organization: members are forgiven if they give their all but still fail an order."

Li Jiali understood Xu Zhangying’s point perfectly and nodded, saying, "I get what Xu means. You're saying that when Tang Xinrong was carrying out the order to destroy the truck, he believed no one was supervising him on-site. So all he had to do was hold out until the SWAT arrived to forcibly arrest him, sending the organization the message that he was 'loyal but unable to complete the order.' After all, the warehouse signal jammer was activated by then, so no one could monitor the situation."

Qi Feng then picked up Li Jiali's train of thought, continuing the analysis: "But after receiving the third text message, Tang Xinrong's attitude was completely different. By then, Captain Fang and the Tang family's bodyguards had already restrained him, so he had even less reason to fight to the death. Moreover, Xia Qing only arrived at the warehouse after the jammer was activated. Only someone present could have issued the order to kill Xia Qing!"

At this point, she clenched her fists, her eyes burning with intensity. "So Tang Xinrong confirmed that a superior member of the organization was hiding in the warehouse, so he had no choice but to shove Xia Qing into the industrial shredder pit."

Yan Jianbai, however, quickly spotted a flaw in the reasoning. He turned to Xu and said, "This sounds plausible, Xu, but what if the third order explicitly emphasized that Professor Xia must be killed? Besides, Secretary Chen had already declared himself as Professor Xia's associate before the jammer was activated. The organization members wouldn’t necessarily need to see Professor Xia to know he’d be at the scene. So, the person issuing the order didn’t have to be 'present.'"

Qi Feng, who had just felt she’d pieced everything together, let out a frustrated groan and tugged at her hair. After a moment, she conceded, "That tracks too."

Xu lowered his head and drew a small circle next to the second one. He suppressed the pain in his mouth and nose with a light cough. Zhao Yang handed him a glass of water, but he shook his head and continued, "That’s true, but Tang Xinrong’s behavior after receiving the text still doesn’t fully align with 'must kill Xia Qing.' The first thing Tang Xinrong said was to order the enforcers to drop their weapons. Isn’t that strange?"

Yan Jianbai’s expression suddenly shifted. He glanced at Fang Puxin, who nodded and said, "Yes, those thirty men were all hardened mercenaries loyal to Li Jiayu. Even after Zhong Heping was shot in the shoulder by Zhao Yang, the two leading enforcers still rushed to activate the shredder. There were only six of us armed at the scene, while they had over thirty armed with weapons. If the order was to kill Professor Xia, starting the shredder was riskier than a riot—unless the order wasn’t actually to kill Professor Xia?"

Zhao Yang added, "But when we ordered the enforcers to kick their weapons into the pit and crouch with their hands on their heads, Tang Xinrong didn’t resist at all."

Xia Qing suddenly interjected, "He resisted on his own."

Qi Feng frowned. "He resisted on his own? What did he resist—"

Mid-sentence, Qi Feng abruptly fell silent and turned to look at Tan Song, who stared back at her in confusion.

Zhao Yang suddenly remembered as well and whipped his head toward Xu. "Tang Xinrong and Zhong Heping refused to move away from the pit. Qi Feng and Tan Song gave him orders twice, and he resisted both times. Tan Song even shoved Tang Xinrong, but he stubbornly stepped back into place... as if he had to stand there."

Xu added, "Actually, the most crucial point has been overlooked. Tang Xinrong only said one thing to Zhong Heping—'Have you forgotten Order No. 3?'"

The team froze. They distinctly remembered Tang Xinrong shouting "Order No. 3" at Zhong Heping before lunging at Xia Qing, while Zhong Heping simultaneously rushed toward the control panel in the opposite direction. At no point did Tang Xinrong say anything like 'go start the shredder,' which could only mean one thing—

Under the collective gaze of the room, Xu darkened the second circle with his pen and said in a composed tone:

"So, the content of CA612-3 must have been a specific and precise directive—such as, 'Throw Xia Qing into the shredder in front of you instead of the truck.'"

"‘Destroy him.’”

Xu lifted his head calmly, meeting Li Xuyin’s eyes, and continued steadily, "That’s why Tang Xinrong knew 'that person' was right in front of him, watching him the whole time."