Chapter 664: Involvement
Over the next two days, not a single member of the Fourth Squad rested.
Zhou Bin and Sun Jing recounted all the confiscated physical evidence multiple times, hoping to find Wang Haidong’s fingerprints on the packaging or other traces that could directly link him to the crimes.
But the results were disappointing. All the packaging only had the fingerprints of Zhang Yuhuai and the warehouse manager. There was no trace of Wang Haidong at all.
Fang Xiaoxiao and Li Zhaowen threw themselves into the electronic evidence. They turned the data in Zhang Yuhuai’s personal terminal upside down, trying to find direct proof of Wang Haidong’s involvement in the smuggling operation—even just a single sentence would do.
But Zhang Yuhuai was clearly an experienced frontman. All content involving Wang Haidong utilized codenames and jargon. Even if taken to court, it would not constitute valid evidence.
Chen Yunxuan was responsible for monitoring the surveillance footage from the interrogation room. She replayed every word and expression of Wang Haidong and Zhang Yuhuai over and over, hoping to spot a flaw.
Yet Wang Haidong maintained that innocent expression from start to finish, and his words were completely watertight. Zhang Yuhuai, on the other hand, acted like a dead man who had already accepted his fate; aside from his confession, he refused to say anything else.
Two days later in the afternoon, the five of them sat around a circular table in the Fourth Squad’s office area, their expressions grim.
Li Zhaowen pushed up his glasses, his voice low. "Legally speaking, the chain of evidence only locks onto Zhang Yuhuai. As the company’s legal representative, Wang Haidong will at most bear the responsibility for poor oversight. He’ll pay a fine and that will be the end of it."
Chen Yunxuan bit her lip and said unwillingly, "But we all know that such a massive smuggling network couldn’t possibly be supported by Zhang Yuhuai alone. Those channels, those connections, the movement of all those funds—without Wang Haidong’s nod of approval, how could it possibly operate?"
Sun Jing leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers against the desk. The rhythmic tapping was exceptionally clear in the quiet office.
He said evenly, "Yunxuan, we all know it’s useless; we need evidence. The Inspection Department has handled cases for years, and we’ve seen plenty of old foxes like Wang Haidong.
"They prepare scapegoats well in advance, cleanly severing any links that might leave evidence behind. Even if we know he’s the mastermind, as long as the evidence isn’t solid, there’s nothing we can do to him.
"The reason the department hasn’t touched Wang Haidong before is because no one dared to take this case. They probably all anticipated that he would have a frontman."
Sun Jing let out a heavy sigh.
After everyone had weighed in, Fang Xiaoxiao gritted her teeth and added, "Moreover, Zhang Yuhuai is keeping his mouth tightly shut.
"We’ve looked into his family’s situation. His wife and children are all in Xingjing, living in a villa under Wang Haidong’s name. The kids also attend an elite school that Wang Haidong helped arrange.
"As long as Zhang Yuhuai doesn’t talk, Wang Haidong will take care of his family for life. If he does talk... it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what would happen to them."
Zhou Bin sighed. "That’s exactly what a frontman is used for."
Chen Yunxuan said softly, "So we’re just going to let it go? We finally caught the guy, we finally found the evidence, and we’re just going to let him get away?"
No one answered her.
Because everyone knew this wasn’t a question of letting it go, but a question of capability. The law required evidence. If the evidence was insufficient, it just wasn’t enough; no amount of frustration could change that.
Fang Xiaoxiao suddenly looked at Xu Wuyi, discovering that their masked captain was leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed, looking as if he were asleep.
She was stunned for a moment, an indescribable emotion welling up in her heart.
The news of Wang Haidong’s arrest had already spread over the past two days. As far as she knew, there was already movement from Li Mingyuan of the Celestial Swallow Battle Group, though he hadn’t formally stepped forward yet.
Once that Quasi-Grandmaster level Vice Commander truly made a move, Wang Haidong might be released that very same day.
Yet their captain had been like this ever since they returned from making the arrest.
He wasn’t anxious, he wasn’t angry, he wasn’t assigning new tasks, nor was he trying to find new evidence. Every day he just sat in his seat with his eyes closed, making it impossible to tell if he was contemplating something or genuinely resting.
She couldn’t help but speak up. "Captain Meng, about Wang Haidong... what do we do next?"
Xu Wuyi opened his eyes and looked at her.
That gaze, filtering through the pale blue crystals of his mask, was as calm as a deep pool of water.
"Wait," he said.
Fang Xiaoxiao paused. "Wait? Wait for what?"
"Wait for the person behind him to make a move," Xu Wuyi said. "Whether Li Mingyuan and Wang Haidong are actually connected is still unknown to us. Let alone evidence, even our speculations are entirely baseless."
Sun Jing raised an eyebrow. "Captain Meng, do you mean we wait for Li Mingyuan to step forward, and then follow the trail to drag him into this as well?"
Xu Wuyi nodded. "Correct."
Wang Haidong alone simply wasn’t worth expending so much effort.
His team members believed it was incredibly difficult to find evidence to convict Wang Haidong, but for Xu Wuyi, it was a very simple matter.
Instead, Li Mingyuan—a collateral descendant of the Li family of Celestial Swallow Province—undoubtedly held much greater value.
Zhou Bin frowned. "But Captain Meng, if Li Mingyuan really steps forward to apply pressure, what if we can’t hold the line? If headquarters caves and Wang Haidong gets released, catching him again will be difficult."
Xu Wuyi glanced at him, his tone still perfectly calm. "Even if we can’t hold out, we have to. We cannot just let the people we catch go."
When he spoke, his tone held zero fluctuation, as if he were merely remarking on the nice weather. But for some reason, upon hearing this sentence, an indescribable feeling surged in Zhou Bin’s heart.
This newly arrived captain genuinely didn’t seem to plan on backing down.
Fang Xiaoxiao wanted to say more, but seeing that Xu Wuyi had already closed his eyes again, she swallowed her words.
The answer came quickly.
On the morning of the third day, a special guest arrived in the reception room of the Inspection Department’s headquarters.
Li Mingyuan: Vice Commander of the Celestial Swallow Battle Group, Minister of the Logistics Department, Level 48 Quasi-Grandmaster, and a collateral descendant of the Li family of Celestial Swallow Province.
Although the Li family was not a Grandmaster noble family, they had operated in Celestial Swallow Province for over a century. Their influence was deeply rooted and intertwined, and the various figures connected to them were innumerable.
Even though Li Mingyuan hailed from a collateral branch, his martial arts had reached a level where mere bloodlines could no longer serve as a hindrance. On the contrary, the Li family needed Li Mingyuan’s support far more than he needed theirs.
Therefore, as one of the core figures of the Li family’s current generation, the weight of Li Mingyuan’s words in Celestial Swallow Province was no less than that of some slightly weaker Grandmasters.
In the reception room, Li Mingyuan sat on the sofa, picked up a teacup, took a sip, and then set it down.
His movements were extremely casual, as if he were in his own home. He completely disregarded the Inspection Department’s Deputy Director who was sitting across from him, responsible for his reception.
"Director Chen, I won’t beat around the bush." Li Mingyuan’s voice was not loud, but it carried the oppressive weight of someone who had long held a position of absolute authority.
"I know this Wang Haidong. He has been in business for many years, always played by the rules, and has never had any major issues. Is there some sort of misunderstanding with your Inspection Department arresting him this time?"