Chapter 663: Taking the Blame
Xu Wuyi and Fang Xiaoxiao were the last to enter the underground parking lot. As Wang Haidong was escorted out of the car, he happened to see the receding figures of Zhang Yuhuai and the freight trucks being taken away.
His expression flickered for a moment, but he quickly regained his composed demeanor.
The six of them rendezvoused in the parking lot. Zhou Bin walked over and nodded at Xu Wuyi. "Captain Meng, the inventory at the warehouse is complete. We seized a total of forty-seven crates of military-grade materials, twenty-three High-Energy Weapons, and various other contraband. The total value is at least three hundred million."
Li Zhaowen also reported, "Zhang Yuhuai’s personal terminal has been breached. We found a massive amount of chat logs and ledgers related to smuggling. Those records show that over the past three years, Tianhai Group has conducted at least seventeen large-scale Star Realm smuggling operations, with the total amount involved exceeding two billion."
Fang Xiaoxiao, escorting Wang Haidong, said coldly, "Caught red-handed with conclusive evidence. He won’t be able to escape this time."
Listening to these words, Wang Haidong’s face remained expressionless.
Xu Wuyi glanced at him and ordered, "Take them inside and interrogate them separately."
***
The interrogation room was on the fifth underground floor.
It was a place specially used by the Inspection Department to interrogate important suspects. The walls, doors, and windows were reinforced with special materials that could block all signals and seal off any Energy Fluctuation.
Xu Wuyi sat behind the one-way mirror in the observation room, watching Wang Haidong inside.
Wang Haidong sat in the interrogation chair, his hands cuffed to the armrests, yet he looked very relaxed. He even had the mind to observe the environment of the room, his gaze sweeping back and forth across the walls and ceiling as if he were touring a novel tourist attraction.
Fang Xiaoxiao and Zhou Bin sat behind the interrogation desk and began their questioning.
"Wang Haidong, how do you explain the military-grade materials and High-Energy Weapons in the East District warehouse?"
Wang Haidong smiled. "I don’t know anything about those things."
Fang Xiaoxiao frowned. "You don’t know? That’s Tianhai Group’s warehouse, and your name is on the lease agreement. Yet you claim you don’t know?"
"It’s true that I signed the lease agreement," Wang Haidong said unhurriedly. "But I’ve always rented that warehouse out to someone else. As for what exactly is stored inside, I have no idea."
"Who did you rent it to?" Zhou Bin asked in a deep voice.
"Zhang Yuhuai," Wang Haidong replied. "He’s my logistics director. He said he needed a place to store some special cargo, so I lent the warehouse to him. As for what that cargo was, he didn’t say, and I didn’t ask."
Fang Xiaoxiao and Zhou Bin exchanged a glance, a trace of gravity flashing through both their eyes.
Wang Haidong continued, "Officers, I’ve been doing business for so many years and have always kept my nose clean. With so many people working under me, it’s inevitable that someone would harbor crooked thoughts, and I can’t control that. But if you’re accusing me of being involved in smuggling, you’re truly wronging me.
"I’m willing to cooperate with the investigation. I’ll answer whatever you ask. But this smuggling business really wasn’t my doing. It must have been Zhang Yuhuai and his crew doing it behind my back. They were so desperate for money they went crazy, and ended up throwing their own boss under the bus."
The atmosphere in the interrogation room became subtle.
Behind the one-way mirror, Xu Wuyi quietly watched all of this, his eyes as calm as still water.
***
Meanwhile, in another interrogation room, Zhang Yuhuai was being questioned by Li Zhaowen and Chen Yunxuan.
Unlike Wang Haidong’s composure, Zhang Yuhuai’s face bore obvious tension. Fine beads of sweat seeped from his forehead, and his fingers continuously rubbed the armrests of the interrogation chair.
"Zhang Yuhuai, we have thoroughly investigated all the chat logs and ledgers in your personal terminal," Li Zhaowen said unhurriedly, pushing up his glasses. "Over the past three years, you handled a total of seventeen smuggling transactions, with the total amount exceeding two billion. With this evidence laid out right here, what else do you have to say?"
Zhang Yuhuai remained silent for a long time.
Then, he raised his head and looked at Li Zhaowen, his eyes carrying a strange emotion. It wasn’t fear, nor was it anger, but rather a kind of resigned calmness.
"I did it," he said.
Li Zhaowen was stunned for a moment. Chen Yunxuan was equally taken aback.
Zhang Yuhuai continued, "I orchestrated all those smuggling transactions single-handedly. Contacting the buyers, arranging the logistics, opening up the channels—I did it all. Mr. Wang was completely unaware. He didn’t know anything from start to finish."
Li Zhaowen’s brow furrowed. "Zhang Yuhuai, do you know what you’re saying? Seventeen instances of smuggling and two billion in illicit funds. This charge is enough to have you executed ten times over."
"I know," Zhang Yuhuai said. "But everything I’m saying is the truth. Mr. Wang is a good boss and has been kind to me. I can’t implicate him. I truly did those things, and it has nothing to do with him."
Chen Yunxuan couldn’t help but ask, "Could you really have pulled off something this huge all by yourself? Where did those military-grade materials come from? Who were those High-Energy Weapons sold to? How could you open up those channels alone?"
Zhang Yuhuai didn’t answer. He merely lowered his head, refusing to say another word.
***
Two hours later, the six members of the fourth squad reconvened in the office area. The interrogation results had been compiled, and everyone’s expressions were rather grim.
Zhou Bin was the first to speak, his voice carrying suppressed anger. "That old fox, Wang Haidong, pushed everything onto Zhang Yuhuai. On Zhang Yuhuai’s end, he’s stubbornly insisting that he acted alone and that Wang Haidong was completely in the dark."
Fang Xiaoxiao said bitterly, "He found himself a perfect fall guy. Zhang Yuhuai takes the rap, and he gets away scot-free. Once the heat dies down, he’ll figure out a way to bail Zhang Yuhuai out, or simply let him die behind bars.
"If Zhang Yuhuai is willing to plead guilty, it’s highly likely that his family is under Wang Haidong’s control. He’s a dead man either way, so he might as well leave a way out for his family."
Li Zhaowen pushed up his glasses and said, "From the perspective of the chain of evidence, we can currently only pin this on Zhang Yuhuai. His personal terminal contains complete chat logs and ledgers, and those records show that he has been entirely responsible for the specific operations of logistics dispatch.
"However," he paused, his tone growing heavy, "to pin it on Wang Haidong, the evidence is insufficient. In all those records, Wang Haidong’s name doesn’t appear even once.
𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖
"The approval, execution, and coordination of all the transactions were handled solely by Zhang Yuhuai. Based on the evidence, Wang Haidong can completely claim ignorance."
Sun Jing leaned back in his chair, gently tapping his fingers on the desk. "Even if we firmly believe Wang Haidong knew, there’s nothing we can do to him. The law relies on evidence, and no evidence means exactly that. As long as Zhang Yuhuai refuses to budge, Wang Haidong can walk away unscathed."
Chen Yunxuan said softly, "But we all saw it. Those warehouses are under his name, and those materials were seized from his company. How could it possibly have nothing to do with him?"
Zhou Bin sighed. "Yunxuan, the Inspection Department isn’t a place for reasoning; it’s a place for evidence. It’s useless if we just know he’s connected to this. We need proof."