Zhang Yi'ang brought Wang Ruijun into the interrogation room. The interrogation team informed them that Yang Wei was being slippery, repeatedly insisting that Lin Kai's death had nothing to do with him—it must have been Boss Fang who hired someone to do it. As for other matters, he either dodged the questions or outright refused to speak, even denying that he had ever forced Boss Fang to drink urine.
The surveillance footage had already revealed that Lin Kai's death was most likely committed by those two robbers, confirming it had nothing to do with Yang Wei or Boss Fang. Zhang Yi'ang waved his hand, dismissing the interrogation team and instructing them to turn off all the monitoring and recording equipment in the room. Then, with only Wang Ruijun accompanying him, he stepped inside, slammed the door shut, and sat down in front of Yang Wei with a dark expression.
Yang Wei stared at them wide-eyed. These two were clearly higher-ups—they had dismissed the others and turned off the surveillance. Instantly, a thought flashed through his mind: They're going to extract a confession by torture! Before the two could even begin questioning, Yang Wei cried out first, "Sir, I'm really innocent! Lin Kai's death has nothing to do with me. He was like a brother to me—I could never kill him. It must have been that bastard Fang who had someone take care of Lin Kai!"
"Is that so?" Zhang Yi'ang's face remained expressionless. Of course, he wouldn't reveal the investigation results. Instead, he said coldly, "From what we know, there was some tension between you and Lin Kai."
"I... I did sleep with Lin Kai's wife. But other than that, we kept our business dealings completely clean—no issues there."
"What? You slept with Lin Kai's wife?" Zhang Yi'ang had only intended to use interrogation tactics to bluff him, never expecting to uncover an affair with his friend's wife.
"Lin Kai was always out fooling around with other women—he barely touched his wife all year. So... we naturally ended up like that. But... but Lin Kai never found out! And I definitely wouldn’t kill him over it. I’m telling you, I’m innocent!"
"Whether you're innocent or not, we’ll find out. Today, I’m not here to ask about Lin Kai—I have other questions for you. But I heard you weren’t very cooperative during the earlier interrogation."
"I... I was cooperative!" Yang Wei widened his eyes innocently, trying his best to appear sincere.
Zhang Yi'ang leaned back and chuckled lightly. "I’ve seen plenty like you. When they first get hauled into the station, they always think they can outsmart the police—dodging questions, making excuses, lying through their teeth. But within a few days, they’re practically begging to hand over their certificate of submission, answering not just the question asked but everything else under the sun. Why? Because we cops have a hundred ways to make you talk. Take you, for example—if you refuse to tell the truth, I’ll have you sent to the detention center and put in a cell with rapists. And I’ll make sure they know you slept with your buddy’s wife. Guess what’ll happen then? Hahaha... The next day, you’ll be so 'happy' you won’t even be able to get out of bed."
Zhang Yi'ang let out a chilling laugh, sending an involuntary shiver down Wang Ruijun’s spine, who instinctively clenched his legs together.
Yang Wei’s eyes widened as he slowly swallowed, forcing an ingratiating smile. "Th-that’s not right, Officer... You cops can’t do that. Law enforcement is supposed to be by the book now."
"Don’t play dumb with me!" Zhang Yi'ang slammed the table and barked coldly. "If I sense even a hint of dishonesty in your answers today, you’ll see exactly what I’m capable of!"Wang Ruijun, also inspired by his superior, rolled up his sleeves and rudely took on the role of a chef: "If you don’t cooperate, before you even get to the detention center, I’ll kick your balls in and make you a fried rice with them for dinner tonight!"
Yang Wei swallowed hard, his scalp tingling instantly at the thought of that image, every hair on his body standing on end. He wished he could lay his very soul on the table, his attitude dripping with sincerity as he assured them: "Boss, whatever you want to ask, I’ll confess everything. I wouldn’t dare lie about even half a word!"
This round of ideological education was highly effective—far more so than the big slogans about "leniency for confession, severity for resistance." Zhang Yi'ang gave Wang Ruijun a nod, and he immediately got to the point: "Let me ask you, did you force Fang Guoqing to drink piss?"
Yang Wei hesitated for a few seconds. Just as he was about to deny it, the looks from the two men across from him made him lower his head and admit: "I did make him drink piss, but I was really out of my mind at the time, couldn’t control my emotions. I regret it deeply now. If I get the chance, I’ll apologize to him properly."
"Who else saw it happen?"
Yang Wei hesitated again—this was the police asking for witnesses—but he didn’t dare stall for too long. He could only mumble vaguely, "Everyone who was there saw it."
"Who exactly was there?"
"There was... Boss Fang’s family, and... a few of my guys. They’ve all been arrested by you."
Wang Ruijun glanced back at his superior. Zhang Yi'ang spoke up: "You illegally detained Fang Guoqing’s family, forced someone to drink piss—that’s definitely a criminal offense. Luckily, no one was physically hurt, so the injury report won’t show anything. Don’t worry, the sentence won’t exceed ten years. But then there’s your loan sharking, violent debt collection, and organizing and leading a criminal syndicate—"
Yang Wei hastily interrupted. He wasn’t stupid—the first few charges were manageable, but organizing and leading a criminal syndicate was a major crime in China, punishable by the death penalty. He hurriedly said, "Boss, I was just running a small crew for loans and collections. We... we’re not big enough to be a syndicate."
Zhang Yi'ang sneered: "Whether you are or not isn’t up to me. There’s a saying: we police are the ones who buy the groceries, the prosecutors cook the meal, and the courts eat it. Our job is just to hand over all the details to the prosecutors. What they say and how the courts rule is their business. But you know, how the meal turns out also depends on what ingredients we buy. If there’s something extra mixed in, well... let’s just say the outcome might not be so predictable. Anyway, whether you’re a syndicate or not can wait. Loan sharking, violent debt collection—those are still punishable offenses. And then there’s forcing Fang Guoqing to drink piss, which drove his whole family to protest in the streets. The higher-ups in the government are furious about this—it’s drawn nationwide attention."
"I... I’ll never do it again." Yang Wei was paralyzed with fear. He also knew that normally, something like this would’ve been handled by the local police station. The only reason the Public Security Bureau got involved and arrested his whole crew was because the victims had taken to the streets and blown the whole thing wide open.Zhang Yi'ang continued, "For such a major incident, if the court doesn't hand down a heavy sentence of several years during the trial, do you think all parties involved would accept it? But there's always a way out. If you're willing to atone for your crime by good deeds, I think these matters can be handled internally within our police department without needing to go to court."
Yang Wei pondered for a few seconds, his eyes darting around. Recalling how the two leaders had dismissed the interrogators and turned off the surveillance earlier, he suddenly saw the light. Rubbing his handcuffed fingers together, he leaned forward with a grin and asked, "Boss, what's the price?"
"Price your ass!" Wang Ruijun's sharp retort wiped the smile off his face. "We need you to cooperate on something!"
"Uh... what is it?"
Wang Ruijun glanced at Zhang Yi'ang, who nodded in approval, then turned back to Yang Wei. "First, tell us about Fang Guoqing owing you money."
"Boss Fang... his factory was struggling financially, so... so he borrowed a sum from us half a year ago. The debt has his personal signature and fingerprint—it's genuine."
"Financial struggles? Bullshit! Tell the truth."
"He... he lost money gambling and borrowed from us to recoup his losses."
"Borrowed from you specifically?"
"I..." He hesitated.
"Speak!" Wang Ruijun slammed the table.
Yang Wei blurted out immediately, "Fang Guoqing went gambling in Macau and lost a million. Then he borrowed five million in installments from the casino to double down, but lost it all. The casino sent us to collect the debt."
"Who owns the casino?"
"It's... it's a boss from Macau!"
"Your sworn brother Mei Dong, right?"
Yang Wei froze, frowned, and could only nod.
"How do you and Mei Dong split the money?"
"After we collect the debt, the principal goes back to him, and we keep most of the interest. If the debt has been outstanding for a long time, we give him half of the interest."
"After you collect the debt, how do you get the money to Mei Dong?"
"We find people to take it to Macau."
"Bullshit! You think you can just carry millions around like that?"
"Well... others have their own channels. I don’t really know the details."
"You're still lying! How exactly is the money transferred out?"
"I... I really don’t know."
Just as Wang Ruijun was about to lose his temper, Zhang Yi'ang raised a hand to stop him and suddenly asked out of the blue, "Have you ever learned dance?"
"Dance?" Yang Wei shook his head blankly. "No."
"Good. Let’s teach you how to do the splits."
"Got it," Wang Ruijun responded.
As soon as he stood up, Yang Wei cried out, "Boss, boss, I'll talk! I'll tell you everything! I don’t want to do the splits, really, I don’t!"
Zhang Yi'ang chuckled and motioned for Wang Ruijun to sit back down.
"There’s a company in Hangzhou that secretly operates as an underground bank. It has many shell import-export businesses under it. We give the money to that company, and they move it overseas under the guise of foreign trade. There are specialized channels overseas to withdraw the cash. That’s how we get the money to Mei Dong. As for how the underground bank operates, I genuinely don’t know."
"Does that underground bank only handle Mei Dong’s business?"
"Of course not. The underground bank is huge—we’re just small fry. The big deals involve tens or hundreds of millions being transferred out. I’ve heard the company’s shell businesses operate under state-owned enterprise names, with some SOE insiders taking a cut."
"Who handles the money transfers for you each time?""Usually I go, and Lin Kai has handled it a few times as well."
"Do you have the receipts for those remittances?"
"Yes, Lin Kai's wife is an accountant; she keeps track of all that."
Wang Ruijun glanced at Zhang Yi'ang, who nodded calmly, though the excitement in his eyes was unmistakable. This line of questioning had unexpectedly uncovered a major case involving an underground bank. The country was cracking down on illegal asset transfers, and here was a state-owned enterprise ostensibly engaged in trade but actually facilitating the movement of gray funds overseas. This lead was explosive!
Wang Ruijun pressed on eagerly: "How does Mei Dong contact you?"
"He... he usually reaches out online or by phone."
"Has he ever returned to the country?"
Yang Wei hesitated, but another sharp shout from Wang Ruijun made him swallow hard. Realizing he was already in too deep to back out now and that he wouldn’t leave the police station without coming clean, he decided to throw Mei Dong under the bus. "He’s come back a few times, to Hangzhou. He called a few of us brothers over to catch up."
"Did he ever return to Three Rivers Estuary?"
Yang Wei shook his head. "No. He knows he’s wanted; he wouldn’t dare go back there."
"Then how did he enter the country?"
"He never told us, sir. Honestly, he didn’t share that. I figure he must have his own ways."
Wang Ruijun and Zhang Yi'ang weren’t particularly surprised by this. Using a fake identity to enter the country wasn’t impossible—just a matter of money and the right connections.
Zhang Yi'ang cleared his throat and resumed: "If Mei Dong found out Lin Kai had died, given your bond, would he come back for the funeral?"
"Uh..." This question made Yang Wei fully grasp what the police were after. He hesitated for a long time, unwilling to answer.
"Speak!" Wang Ruijun barked.
"I... I don’t know. Probably wouldn’t come back." He kept his head down.
"Weren’t you all supposed to be tight?" Zhang Yi'ang asked coolly, watching him.
"That was before. With the distance these past few years, the bond... it’s faded. If he heard Lin Kai died, I think... I think he’d send someone with condolence money. But he wouldn’t come back himself."
"Out of the four sworn brothers, one’s dead now. For the leader to just stand by and not return—that doesn’t sit right, does it?"
"Well... not many people care about loyalty these days."
"From what we know, Mei Dong is a man who values loyalty deeply. Rumor has it his current standing is thanks to that very trait."
"I’m not him. I wouldn’t know." Yang Wei weakly resisted.
"Fine, we can’t force this," Zhang Yi'ang said, his tone suddenly accommodating. "Whether you want to atone for your crime by good deeds is up to you. If you cooperate and help us lure Mei Dong back for arrest, that’s atonement. Then today’s mess won’t even matter—I’ll make sure you walk out safe, and whatever you did before today will be wiped clean. At most, you’ll get two weeks of administrative detention. But if we don’t catch Mei Dong in the end... well, forcing someone to drink urine, inciting the victim’s whole family and factory to protest in the streets with banners denouncing you as a gangster—how can the government show its resolve against organized crime without slamming you with years in prison? Think carefully. Two paths. Which one will you take?""I—" Yang Wei closed his mouth, weighing his options. On one hand, he was afraid the police might trick him. He'd been to the police station many times and had long become a seasoned troublemaker, but this was his first time dealing with specialized detectives. He'd heard that during interrogations, police used all sorts of tactics to intimidate people or make empty promises. On the other hand, he was afraid that if he really lured Mei Dong back to the country, wouldn't that be harming his boss? Although Mei Dong had been in Macau all these years and only returned a few times, he had always been a righteous man, especially toward him and Lin Kai, his sworn brothers—treating them like his own younger brothers, letting them take over the casino business and always giving them extra red envelopes. Yang Wei felt deeply grateful. After Mei Dong made his fortune, he moved his whole family to Australia. He managed the business in Macau, and if he didn't return, the police couldn't touch him. But if he came back this time, he might never leave again. Wouldn't doing this be repaying kindness with enmity, betraying his big brother?
"If you agree to my terms, you can leave today," Zhang Yi'ang continued to offer conditions.
"Really?" Yang Wei couldn't help but feel tempted, but he immediately lowered his head in regret.
"Of course it's true. We haven't submitted the detention request to the prosecutor's office yet. Today, I have the authority to decide whether to release you or not. If it gets to tomorrow and the detention request is issued, things will get a bit complicated." Zhang Yi'ang used the classic real estate sales tactic—this is the last set, it'll be gone tomorrow, and the next phase will definitely be more expensive.
"I... I don’t think I can persuade Mei Dong to come back." After much deliberation, Yang Wei decided not to betray Mei Dong. If he couldn’t avoid prison, he figured he hadn’t done anything as serious as murder or arson. With the current charges, he’d probably only get three to five years at most.
Zhang Yi'ang, after all, had been a detective for seven or eight years and had plenty of interrogation experience. Just by observing Yang Wei's expression, he could guess what he was thinking. He smiled and casually brought up a seemingly unrelated story: "You might think it’s just a few years in prison, no big deal—after all, he’s your big brother, and you can’t betray him. I completely understand. Ordinary people outside are terrified of detention centers, as if they’re hell on earth, but it’s not really like that. Nowadays, it’s all scientific management, very standardized. There’s no extraction of confession by torture or anything like that. If we still used those old methods and the media reported it, it’d be terrible for the police’s image. Still, losing your freedom is never as comfortable as being outside. Once a prisoner is sentenced by the court, the actual experience can vary a lot. Some people get life sentences but spend their days reading, exercising, and living stress-free—they even gain weight. Others serve just six months but cry and beg their families to get them out the moment they meet, saying it’s no place for humans.""What's the difference? It mainly depends on which detention center you're sent to and who you're locked up with. In that regard, we do have some say. Last year when I was at the provincial department, I heard about a case from a friend. They arrested a group of people—all the bad deeds were done by the underlings while the boss only gave orders, never got his hands dirty. But everyone knew the boss was the real villain. Problem was, there was no evidence. One of his underlings took the fall, claiming all responsibility, so the boss walked free while the underling got ten years. Within the first month in prison, the underling was rushed to the hospital. Doctors diagnosed a ruptured sphincter. The prison investigated and found an expander in his cell. No one knew where it came from. His cellmate did it, but the cellmate was already serving a life sentence—you can't upgrade that to the death penalty, so the matter was dropped. After two weeks in the hospital, the underling's first act upon returning was to report his boss. The police promptly arrested him." Zhang Yi'ang clicked his tongue. "Ruptured sphincter!" Yang Wei shuddered involuntarily at the words "ruptured sphincter." Meeting Zhang Yi'ang's calm gaze and Wang Ruijun's fierce expression, his mental defenses crumbled instantly. He immediately changed his tune: "I'll cooperate fully. I... I'll call Mei Dong back."
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